Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the W. D. Dehart & Sons Ledgers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: W. D. Dehart & Sons Ledgers, Ms2008-045 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. , Ms2008-045, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The W. D. Dehart & Sons Ledgers were purchased by Special Collections.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement and description of the W. D. Dehart & Sons Ledgers occurred in July, 2008.

Biographical Information

W. D. Dehart & Sons was a country store that served Meadows of Dan in Patrick County Virginia during the early twentieth century. According to the History of Patrick County, Virginia produced by the Patrick County Historical Society, some descendents of the DeHart family (originally of Charity and Woolwine) moved to Meadows of Dan and became prominent citizens. William D. Dehart, the likely proprietor of this country store, was one of these descendents. William D. Dehart married Malasha Nolan in Franklin, Virginia, on July 21 1892. As evident from the shop's name, this union produced sons. Specifically, the name Harmon Dehart notably appears in store ledgers.

William D. Dehart died in 1925, after which Mrs. W. D. Dehart assumed prominence in the management of store accounts.

Scope and Content

The W. D. Dehart & Sons Ledgers document the inventory and transactions of a country store in Meadows of Dan (Patrick County), Virginia, during the first half of the twentieth century. Materials include three ledgers of customer accounts and one ledger of wholesale purchases. Customers named in these ledgers include (but are not limited to): D. (Daniel) C. Dehart, Marion Burnett, Luther and Troy Underwood, Mrs. Nannie Keith, Mrs. Sallie Dalton, H. W. Sutphin, Miss Pearl Ayers, Willie Moles, Willie Hall, Homer Harris, and Sollie Nester. Examples of transacted items are galoshes, slippers, eggs, meat, candy, coffee, crackers, flour, an axe, cigarettes, paint, seeds, cloth, soap, butter, sugar, tobacco, and animal skins. To obtain these goods, W. D. Dehart & Sons ordered merchandise from wholesale distributors throughout the eastern United States such as: King Bros. Shoe Company, Bristol, Tennessee; High Point Overall Company, Inc., High Point, North Carolina; Bertha Hat Company, St. Louis, Missouri; Walker Remedy Company, Waterloo, Iowa; Proctor and Gamble Distributing Co., Baltimore, Maryland; and Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Martinsville, Virginia. Loose letters requesting products and the extension of personal credit to others also appear in ledgers and are addressed to W. D. Dehart, Mrs. W. D. Dehart, and Harmon Dehart.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by category, ledgers within categories appear chronologically.