Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book
Scope and Content
This collection consists of a single day book from an unidentified general store. The names of the customers would seem place the business in the Blacksburg, Virginia area. The ledger includes customer names, dates of purchase, goods purchased, and prices. Among the customers are a number of students and professors from the Virginia Agriculatural & Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech).
Dates
- 1894 - 1895
Creator
Language of Materials
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
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.
Biographical Note
Evidence suggests that this ledger may have been maintained by Blacksburg merchant James P. Harvey. While the great majority of transactions in the day book identify customers by full name, a number are marked to the account of an individual with initials "J. P. H.," indicating that the store owner felt comfortable in not providing the entire name and would immediately recognize the initials.
Various sources note that J. P. Harvey was a store merchant in Blacksburg during the 1890s, and the 1900 census describes 39-year-old Blacksburg resident James P. Harvey as a merchant. He is listed again as a dry goods merchant in the 1910 census. An obituary for James P. Harvey, appearing in the June 15, 1915 edition of the Lynchburg News, states that he had been a lifelong Blacksburg resident, was married with two sons, and served as director of the Virginia Tech band. He is listed as musical director or director of the band in the university catalog intermittenly from 1893 until 1914.
There is also a Harvey family buried in Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg: James Patton Templeton Harvey (1861-1915), Margie S. Effinger Harvey (1860-1928), Jerry Effinger Harvey (1893-1915), and James Richard Harvey (1896-1916).
Sources:
U.S. Censuses, 1900, 1910.
University Catalogs, 1893/1894-1913/1914.
"James Patton Templeton Harvey" entry, Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74334899/james-patton_templeton-harvey, accessed Nov. 29, 2022.
Obituary for James P. Harvey, Lynchburg News, June 15, 1915.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Abstract
The collection contains a ledger recording daily transactions of an unidentified Blacksburg, Virginia general mercantile business, possibly that of James P. Harvey.
Source of Acquisition
The Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book was acquired by Newman Library in 1968.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Processing Information
The processing and description of the Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book commenced and was completed in April, 2011.
- Title
- Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book, 1894-1895
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- John M. Jackson
- Date
- 2011 (CC0 1.0)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu