Robert Sayers Daybook 1795-1827

Access and use

Location of collection:
Wytheville Community College
F.B. Kegley Library
Wytheville Community College
Smyth Hall, Room 103
1000 East Main Street
Wytheville, VA 24382
Contact for questions and access:
POC: William A. “Bill” Veselik
Phone: (276) 223-4876
POC: George Mattis
Phone: (276) 223-4744
Fax: (276) 223-4745

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This daybook records transactions Colonel Robert Sayers made with farmers, horse breeders, midwives, blacksmiths, weavers, tailors, tanners, physicians, carpenters, and other laborers from 1795 to 1827. The majority of entries involve accounts between 1795 and 1818. Each entry includes name of customer, date, description of item or service quantity, and the price. Many entries were barter arrangements, the nature and worth of which are entered on the opposite page.

The daybook contains 178 leaves (356 pages) of which leaves 1-79 and 174-177 are written; the leaves between are blank. An alphabetical name list for entries on leaves 1-79 is in the front of the daybook. Leaves 174-177 record mares brought to Sayers' stud horses between 1801 and 1815. Of special interest are the 49 names of his neighbors who mated their mares with his horse Federalist in 1801. A more thorough analysis of the daybook may be found in Early Adventurers on the Western Waters, Volume III, part 2 by Mary B. Kegley.

Biographical / historical:

Colonel Robert Sayers was born on 22 October 1754 to William Sayers and Esther Thompson Crockett Sayers of Wythe County. Sayers, their eldest son, never married and remained in Wythe County until his death. Sayers held the positions of justice of the peace and General Assembly delegate through the 1970s to the 1790s. During the Revolutionary War, he served as colonel with the Virginia militia. Some sources indicate that he fought with Joseph Crockett in the 7th Virginia Regiment. After the war, Sayers gradually amassed land, slaves, horses, and other livestock at both his Anchor and Hope estate in Wythe County and his Burkes Garden estate in Tazewell County. At his death on 17 April 1826 the total value of these estates was over $37,000.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Mary B. Kegley in 1996.
Physical description:
1 item.