Rockingham County account book

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Rockingham County account book, 1874-1885, SC 0400, James Madison University Special Collections, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
0.08 cubic feet 1 folder
Creator:
Tim Abbott Americana
Abstract:
The account book documents payments made and received for labor and farming activities, household expenses, and other goods and services in Rockingham County.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Rockingham County account book, 1874-1885, SC 0400, James Madison University Special Collections, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The account book, likely kept by one individual, documents payments made and received for labor and farming activities, household expenses, and other goods and services in Rockingham County.

The account book is arranged by patron name with entries listed chronologically. Entries describe the type of work completed (i.e. thrashing wheat, harvesting, shelling corn, general labor, etc.), goods bought and sold, and other services provided or paid for. The book also includes entries for laborers presumed to be in the employ of the creator of the account book. The volume also includes pages of entries labeled "Money paid out" and "Money taken in" for each year. Surnames represented in the account book include Huffman, Dungeon, Winegard, King, Stephens, Pitt, Falls, Dovel, Bowman, Carrier, Armentrout, Fridley, and others.

Of interest are several pages of account entries (1879) with John Dungeon, a local Black laborer and brother to Israel Dungeon who established Dungeon's Chapel, a historic Black church in the Pleasant Valley area of Rockingham County. Abe Dungeon and Robert (Bobb) Dungeon, sons of John Dungeon, are also listed. Additional extensive entries document money paid out toward building a barn (1880; pgs. 88, 91) and grain taken to a mill (1883, pg. 85). Two pages document an account with "Coulored Lewis" (1880, pgs. 32-33). The listing of money paid out in 1884 includes a July 1 entry for "cash pd to negroes for harvesting - $34.09."

An 1881 election ticket for the Readjuster Party, an invoice for Richard A. Stevens' subscription to the Episcopal Methodist, and other financial documents and notes are loose and placed in a sub-folder. A braided lock of hair is laid in the account book.

Biographical / historical:

The creator of the account book is unknown. Contextual evidence (i.e. patron names, vendor stamp inside front cover) suggests the account book originates in Rockingham County, Virginia.

Acquisition information:
Acquired from Tim Abbott Americana in February 2025.
Processing information:

Loose items were removed and placed in a sub-folder with the account book.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard