Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Unidentified "Memorandum book for the purpose of keeping acct of Negro accounts," 1836-1845. Accession 50204. Business records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, 13 October 2011.

Scope and Content

Unidentified account book, 1836-1845, entitled "Memorandum book for the purpose of keeping acct of Negro accounts." The volume features names of individuals who lived in King and Queen County, Virginia , and neighboring Middlesex County, Virginia , and also references the unincorporated community of Little Plymouth , in King and Queen. It is purported to originate from Jamaica , Middlesex County (information not confirmed). A good number of the entries clearly mark accounts with slaves, and include the slave's name and the name of the slave owner. Among the slave owners named are James Crittenden , Samuel G. Fauntleroy , Weston Hart , William S. Jeffries , Robert M. Spencer , and C. G. Tunstall . Goods purchased include foodstuffs (bacon, sugar, molasses, butter, cheese), dry goods (calico, flannel, cotton, tin, an umbrella, suspenders), tobacco, and alcohol. Another series of entries reflects an account with a representative of the Overseers of the Poor. Surnames mentioned include: Bland, Bluefoot (also spelled Blewfoot), Crittenden, Dungy, Durham, Evans, Fauntleroy, Garrett, Gilmore, Hart, Jeffries, Knapp, Lockley, Meigs, Morris, Robinson, Spencer, Tunstall, and Wyatt. Volume includes a summary of account balances due as of 31 March 1840. After this summary, the volume reverses and the remainder of entries are flipped upside-down. There are gaps in the original author's page numbering, possibly indicating that some pages are missing.