Clement M. Adkisson Account Book

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The content of this collection is in the public domain. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Clement M. Adkisson Account Book, Ms1940-001, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.5 Cubic Feet 1 box
Abstract:
Thi collection contains a ledger from Halifax County, Virginia general mercantile store, with entries listing customer names, together with descriptions of items purchased and dates and prices of purchases.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Clement M. Adkisson Account Book, Ms1940-001, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains a single account book, purportedly from the store of Clement M. Adkisson, of Halifax County, Virginia. The ledger's entries commence with January 1859 and end in November 1861. Possibly copied from the store's day book, the entries may represent credit transactions. Each entry provides the customer's name, a description of items purchased, and the dates and prices of purchases.

Biographical / historical:

Clement M. Adkisson, son of Jesse and Jinny Medley Adkisson, was born ca. 1809 in Cluster Springs (Halifax County), Virginia. He married Mary Webb Sydnor (1824-1891) in 1849. The couple seems to have had one child, a son named William S. Adkisson, born in 1857. Adkisson owned and operated a general store at Scottsburg (Halifax County) and appears to have partnered, at least temporarily, with a Samuel T. Wright. Clement M. Adkisson is recorded by the 1860 federal census as a 51-year-old merchant and farmer, living in Scottsburg, Virginia. Also in the household are 35-year-old Mary W. Adkisson, Willie S. Adkisson (2), Synthia Adkisson (62), Mourning Adkisson (53), and several people who were apparently boarders. The family continues to be listed among the inhabitants of Halifax County through the 1880 census.

Acquisition information:
The Clement M. Adkisson Account Book was acquired by the VPI Agricultural Branch Library in 1939 or 1940 and transferred to Special Collections and University Archives in 1955.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Clement M. Adkisson Account book commenced and was completed in February 2011. Initial description was completed in or prior to May 1970.

Please note: This item was originally cataloged as the "C. M. Adkinson & Company Account Book." Because the volume had been rebound at some point, any original identifying information from the binding was lost, and the name C. M. Adkinson was derived from a latter-day label on the volume's front endpapers. The new attribution, changing the name to the "C. M. Adkisson Account book," is derived from an examination of the contents and from research. The first entry in this volume is an agreement entered into by C. M. Adkisson and Samuel T. Wright. Furthermore, though the 1870 census did record a 61-year-old merchant named C. M. Atkinson in Halifax County, other reliable sources, including other censuses, record this man's name as Clement M. Adkisson.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard