Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Mason, Walker, and Richardson Business Records, 1860-1875. Local government records collection, Fluvanna County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These materials came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Fluvanna County.

Historical Information

Mason, Walker, and Richardson was a mercantile business that conducted business in the town of Shadwell in Albemarle County during the mid-nineteenth century.

Fluvanna County takes its name from an eighteenth-century designation of the upper James River. The name, meaning river of Anne, was originally bestowed in honor of Queen Anne of England. The county was formed from Albemarle County in 1777. The county seat is Palmyra.

Scope and Content

Mason, Walker, and Richardson Daybooks and Ledger, 1860-1875, consist of two daybooks and a ledger.

Daybooks, July 1860-July 1861 and 1873-1875, record the transactions as they occurred on a daily basis. Information found in each entry includes name of customer, items purchased, payment debts or expenses, and the amount owed and paid. Merchandise sold include beef, soap, whiskey, bed steads, cabbage, potatoes, sugar, and coffee. Entries in one of the daybooks include page numbers that correspond with page numbers found in the ledger. Both daybooks include additional miscellaneous information.

Ledger A, 1860-1861, records the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found in the accounts includes items purchased, payment debts or expenses, and the amount owed and paid. Payments made by cash, barter including eggs and vegetables, or labor. Ledger also includes a list of horses and mules worked at Shadwell. The list includes name of horse or mule, age, and value.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Mason, Walker, and Richardson (Albemarle County, Va.)

Subjects:

• Barter -- Virginia -- Albemarle County.
• Consumer goods -- Virginia -- Albemarle County.
• Merchants -- Virginia -- Albemarle County.

Geographical Names:

• Albemarle County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.
• Fluvanna County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Business records -- Virginia -- Albemarle County.
• Daybooks -- Virginia -- Albemarle County.
• Ledgers (account books) -- Virginia -- Albemarle County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Fluvanna County.