Jacob S. Wiard Collection, 1861-1914

Access and use

Location of collection:
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Alexandra S. Gressitt
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of six ephemeral documents related to Jacob S. Wiard of Leesburg Virginia. Included is one dollar note in Leesburg municipal currency, also known as Dog Money. The note is numbered 17234, dated 31 December 1861 and signed by Mayor John M. Orr. Property in Leesburg owned by Wiard between 1885 and 1887 is documented by one Loudoun County 1887 tax receipt issued to Wiard and signed by Benjamin Osburn, County Treasurer and three Leesburg Corporation tax receipts issued to Wiard between 1885-188, each signed by B.F. Head. These show head taxes, personal property taxes, and taxes paid on Wiard’s lot in Leesburg on the northeast corner of Market and Liberty Streets. Taxes were also collected for one dog. A flattened envelope addressed to Jacob S. Wiard documents Wiard’s later life spent living with family in Jersey City, New Jersey. Notes and doodles cover the exterior of the envelope.

Biographical / historical:

Jacob S. Wiard (1831 - 1916) was the son of Michael Wiard (1797 - 1889) and Mary Potterfield Wiard (1804 - 1869) of Loudoun County. On 27 January 1857, Wiard married Annie E. Wilder (1836 - 1888), daughter of Henry C. Wilder (1801-1871) and Mary A. Wilder (1809 -1864), also of Loudoun. Following the Civil War the couple adopted a daughter, Ella V. Wiard (b. 1868). A carpenter, Wiard established a shop in Leesburg, at times doing work for both the town and county governments.

On 22 April 1861, Wiard enlisted as a Private in the Confederate Army with the 17th Virginia. A month later he was removed from duty due to "physical unfitness for service." Following his release from service, Wiard did carpentry work for the Confederate forces in Leesburg. Records of the 7th Brigade, CSA show that Wiard was reimbursed for building and furnishing a bakery in October and November of 1861. Captain John M. Orr, acting as Assistant Commissary and Subsistence officer for the 7th Brigade at Leesburg authorized many of these payments. Orr was noted for being "actively engaged in securing commissary stores and in providing cooked rations for the brigade" following the Battle of Ball's Bluff in October of 1861. As Mayor of Leesburg between 1855 and 1866, Orr was involved in the approval, printing and issue of Leesburg's municipal currency known as locally as dog money due to the image of a dog on each bill. The bills were circulated in Leesburg among both civilians and soldiers, and were accepted without question by local tradesmen and merchants.

After the Civil War, Wiard continued to work as a carpenter in Leesburg, living on the corner of Market and Liberty Streets. In 1873 he gained clear title to a lot on this corner in a chancery court cause with Jonah Potterfield (1809-1882), a cousin. The 1878 Grays Map of Leesburg shows both Wiard's home and the Carpenter's Shop. Tax records from 1885-1887 show Wiard's payment of tax for one lot in Leesburg. In 1885, Wiard's tax receipt shows a credit for work provided to the Town of Leesburg.

In 1893 Wiard's adopted daughter Ella married John H. Grinnalds in Washington, DC. By 1900, Wiard, now a widower, relocated with his daughter and her husband to Jersey City, New Jersey. He continued to work, assisting with the Grinnalds' notions business. In 1916, Wiard died and was buried in Union Cemetery Leesburg, Virginia.

Acquisition information:
2014.0155
Physical description:
.