Administrative Information

Access

There are no restrictions.

Publication Rights/ Restrictions on Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Librarian/ Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, and the holder of the copyright, if not the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg.

Preferred Citation

Francis Jerdone Account Book, Manuscript MS 1929.6b, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Acquisition Information

Gift, 1929.

Alternative Form

Also available on microfilm M-1118 and in transcription TR/20.

Biographical/Historical Information

Francis Jerdone was a Scots merchant who arrived in Virginia in 1740 to manage the Hanover store of William Johnston, factor for Neill Buchanan. In 1746, Jerdone moved to Yorktown to act as factor for Buchanan & Hamilton, London merchants. He married Sarah Macon in 1753 and in that year moved with her to Louisa County. Just before his death, he purchased, with Wm. Holt, the forge and mills at Providence, New Kent County. He died in November, 1777 leaving a considerable fortune to his several children.

Scope and Content Information

Ledger kept by Francis Jerdone (1721-1771), merchant in Yorktown, Va., including accounts with individuals for goods purchased from Jerdone, with merchants in Great Britain, and with the ship captains who carried goods between Virginia and England; lists of supplies of staples such as salt and rum; invoices for tobacco shipped to England; and a summary of Jerdone's finances.

The accounts include those of Robert Anderson, John Backhouse, Col. John Baylor, Col. John Chiswell, Henry Cooke, John Cooper, Capt. Archibald Crawford, Robert Donald, John Goldsmith, Dr. Alexander Jameson, Bennitt Kirby, Edward Lankford, Thomas Nelson, John Norton, Mann Page, Proprietors of the Raleigh Tavern, William Stevenson, John Thomson, John Winn, and George Wythe.

Separated Material

There are five collections within the Special Collections department, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library that are related to this collection. There are two letters, a deed, a cargo waste book and an account.

The Francis Jerdone Cargo Waste Book, 1748-1749, Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library; primarily details cargo purchased and tobacco shipped by Jerdone.
Francis Jerdone Cargo Waste Book, 1748-1749. 1 item. Collection number: MS 29.4a

Francis Jerdone Account, September 12, 1798, Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library; an account of Jerdone with Ryal Thompson and Joseph Chew, jailors of Spotsylvania County, for apprehending a runaway slave, Nathan.
Francis Jerdone Account, September 12, 1798. 1 item. Collection number: MS 001798Sep12

Francis Jerdone Deed, Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Libary; a deed that conveyed one thousand acres of land in Louisa County from the heirs of Thomas Martinus of Bristol, England to Francis Jerdone.
Francis Jerdone Deed, March 24, 1752. 1 item. Collection number: MS 001752Mar24

Francis Jerdone Letter, Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Libary; discusses the destruction of Jerdone's crops and reports on the visit of Raphaelle Peale to Williamsburg.
Francis Jerdone Letter, September 29, 1803. 1 item. Collection number: MS 001803Sep29

Littleton Waller Tazewell Letter, Norfolk, to Francis Jerdone, Mitchel's Store, Louisa County, Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Libary; letter discusses a letter of credit Jerdone gave to Daniel McClaren.
Littleton Waller Tazewell Letter, Norfolk, to Francis Jerdone, Mitchel's Store, Louisa County, January 26, 1809. 1 item. Collection number: MS 001809Jan26

Index Terms

Persons:

• Anderson, Robert.
• Backhouse, John.
• Baylor, John, d. 1772.
• Chiswell, John, d. 1766.
• Cooke, Henry.
• Cooper, John.
• Crawford, Archibald.
• Donald, Robert B.
• Goldsmith, John.
• Jameson, Alexander, Dr.
• Jerdone, Francis, 1721-1771.
• Kirby, Bennitt.
• Lankford, Edward.
• Nelson, Thomas, 1738-1789.
• Norton, John, 1719- 1777.
• Page, Mann, b. 1718.
• Stevenson, William.
• Thomson, John.
• Winn, John.
• Wythe, George, 1726-1806.

Subjects:

• African Americans--Virginia.
• Commission merchants--Virginia.
• Slave trade-- Virginia.
• Slavery- -Virginia.
• Tobacco industry--Virginia.

Corporate Names:

• Raleigh Tavern (Williamsburg, Va.)

Genre and Form Terms:

• Account books-- Virginia-- 18th century.

Additional Descriptive Data

Other Finding Aids

There is a name index to this volume in Special Collections.