Joseph C. Farrar was a doctor in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
Mss. Acc. 2014.211 was received by Special Collections in October of 2014. The ledgers were purchased for Swem Library with support from the Hooker fund.
Accessioned and minimally described by Steven Bookman, University Archives Specialist, in February 2015. Description enhanced and digital material added by Karen King in September 2019.
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Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Joseph C. Farrar Medical Ledgers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
This collection consists of two ledgers belonging to Joseph C. Farrar, a doctor in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. The first ledger includes accounts from 1848-1849 while the second ledger includes accounts from 1856-1861. The ledgers contain lists of patients, treatments and prices, and expenditures, as well as entries for both enslaved persons and "free persons of color" who were treated.
The 1856-1861 ledger was partially used by an unknown prior owner in 1852-1853, most likely Dr. Farrar's niece. Her entries record books she has read, items she has purchased, algebraic problems, visits to friends, and observations of the weather. She also copied poems including "Lord Allen's Daughter", "The Artist's Love" and "The Young Bride".