Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records, 1874-1907 Ms.1992.058

Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records, 1874-1907 Ms.1992.058


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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

Original web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2002.

Clayton McGahee, Staff, and John M. Jackson, Archivist

Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1992.058
Title
Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records 1874-1907
Quantity
0.5 Cubic Feet, 1 box
Creator
Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
The Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records are comprised of employee records of the company's accounting department from 1874 to 1907. The three ledgers include such information as employee name, age, marital status, date and place of birth, date of hire, jobs worked, and salary. Also included are notes regarding resignations or discharges. Interspersed throughout the ledgers are correspondence, memos and notes relating to such things as employment reference requests from other companies and employee infractions against company policies.

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records, Ms1992-058, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 2002.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records was completed in 2002. Additional description was completed in 2008.


Administrative History

The Norfolk and Western Railway was organized in 1881 from the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad. Primarily a line carrying agricultural products at its inception, the Norfolk and Western rapidly became associated with the mineral development of the southwestern part of Virginia and West Virginia. In 1881 it acquired the franchises to four other lines: the New River Railroad, the New River Railroad, Mining, and Manufacturing Company, the Bluestone Railroad, and the East River Railroad. These companies became the basis for Norfolk and Western's New River Division, which ran to the coalfields to the west.

Much of the early history of the Norfolk and Western Railway can be written in terms of expansion and consolidation with other lines. In 1890, it acquired the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, which ran from Roanoke, Virginia, to Hagerstown, Maryland. By 1891, an Ohio extension was well underway, giving the railroad access to the industrial Midwest. In 1892, Norfolk and Western leased the Roanoke and Southern Railroad, connecting Roanoke with Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and in 1893 it leased the Lynchburg and Durham, connecting Lynchburg with Durham, North Carolina. But this program of expansion, coupled with the economic depression of the 1890s, forced the railroad into receivership in 1895. It emerged as the reorganized Norfolk and Western Railway the next year.

Scope and Content

The Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records are comprised of employee records of the company's accounting department from 1874 to 1907. The three ledgers include such information as employee name, age, marital status, date and place of birth, date of hire, jobs worked, and salary. Also included are notes regarding resignations or discharges. Interspersed throughout the ledgers are correspondence, memos and notes relating to such things as employment reference requests from other companies and employee infractions against company policies.

It is important to note that these records relate only to personnel who worked within the company's accounting department. Special Collections and University Archives does not hold any other Norfolk and Western personnel records.

Arrangement

The records are arranged in chronological order.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
  • Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
  • Railroad

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Norfolk and Western Railway Accounting Department Personnel Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).

Container List

box-folder 1 folder: 1
Ledger 1
1874-1901
box-folder 1 folder: 2
Ledger 2
1902-1905
box-folder 1 folder: 3
Ledger 3
1905-1907