Collections

John W. Frazier and Bath and Rockbridge Alum Springs Ledger, 1850-1854, records the financial activities of Frazier and his hotels, two of which were the Bath Alum Spring and the Rockbridge Alum Spring. The ledger documents the accounts of individual customers and employees. Each entry includes the date, type of transaction, and monies credited and debited to the accounts. The early part of the ledger pertains to the accounts of John Frazier's store customers. Customers purchased such items as butter, meal, eggs, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and bacon. Beginning in 1852, the ledger was used to record the business activities of the two alum springs resorts. For Bath Alum Spring, customer accounts document purchases made at the Fairview Store, which sold items such as whiskey, tobacco, sugar, coffee, and cloth. Beginning in 1852, Frazier made entries pertaining to the building project at Rockbridge Alum Spring. Employee accounts document blacksmith work and the buying and hauling of lumber and other building supplies. Also in 1852, customer accounts for hotel customers begin to appear. Transactions document lodging expenses, tavern bills, meals purchased, and livery fees.

Unidentified Grocer Account Book, 1873, records financial activities on an almost daily basis. The volume was used primarily as a daybook to document customer purchases. Information found in each entry includes name of customer, name and quantity of goods purchased, and the monies debited or credited to the account. Examples of items sold include tobacco, whiskey, pickles, sugar, oysters, coffee, cigars, cherries, chickens, bacon, peaches, etc. Occasionally, throughout the volume, individual customer accounts were compiled. Such entries noted items purchased and payments made to the account. The grocer accepted cash as well as barter for payment.

The William Weaver Business Records, 1814-1826, document Weaver's partnership with Thomas Mayburry and the financial activities of his Virginia iron interests - Etna Furnace, Union Forge (later renamed Buffalo Forge), and Retreat Furnace. The collection consists of the following nine volumes: William Weaver Invoice Book and Etna Furnace Daybook, 1814-1826; Mayburry and Weaver Cashbook, 1818-1826; Etna Furnace Negro Book, 1815-1822; Retreat Furnace Daybook and Ledger, 1816-1826; Etna Furnace Daybook, 1824-1826; Union Forge Daybook, 1819-1824; Union Forge Provision Book, 1818-1826; Etna Furnace Pig Iron Book, 1815-1826; and Etna Furnace Pig Iron Book, 1820-1825.