Series IX: Breeze Johnson Ledger, 1839-1847

Extent:

1 volume

Scope and content:

Historical Information: Breeze Johnson, born in Virginia around 1811, was a lawyer in Staunton, Virginia.

Scope and Content:Breeze Johnson Ledger, 1839-1847, documents the financial activities of Johnson's law firm. Transactions were entered in the accounts of individual clients. Information found in each entry includes date, type of transaction, and monies debited and credited to the account. Few details are provided as to the type of work performed for individual clients, but some accounts do contain a notation when a suit was filed in court. Scattered throughout the ledger are notations made by Johnson noting that he was to defend a client in court.

Johnson also used the ledger to record some of the law firm's expenses. Several account entries refer to the payment of rent for office space. There are also a few account entries for the hire of Peyton and Thomas, as servants [the legal status of Peyton and Thomas are unclear, but believed to be enslaved Black men]. The account for Thomas notes that his service was hired at the rate of one dollar per month, and his account balance notes that he worked for Johnson for over two years. The accounts of Thomas and Peyton also describe several expenditures. Thomas received extra cash payments, but Peyton is documented as receiving a silk vest, a white beaver hat, and an old cloth coat in addition to his cash payments.

Physical location:

State Records Center

Access and use

Contents