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Collection Number: 01422

Collection Title: Frederick's Hall Plantation Ledgers and Other Volumes, 1727-1862, 1981

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 25 items)
Abstract The collection includes account books from Hanover and York counties, Va., 1727-1775, and from Frederick's Hall Plantation in Louisa County, Va., 1849-1862. The relationship, if any, between the former and the latter is unclear. There is also a letter copybook, 1757-1775, of Major John Snelson, probably a descendant of Elizabeth Snelson (fl. 1727-1728). Snelson wrote chiefly to Edward Harford, Jr., of England about tobacco shipments and imported merchandise. The relationship between this volume and the others is also unclear. Colonial-era merchants represented in ledgers include Colonel John Chisolm (d. 1766), A. Gordon (fl. 1750-1751), and William Montgomery (fl. 1751), all of Hanover County. Activities documented in these ledgers include tobacco sales and mining and mineral export, the daily work of merchants, and importing operations. Activities documented in the antebellum ledgers from Frederick's Hall include lumber production, manufacture and sale of shoes, tobacco production and trade, and merchandizing. There is also some information on wages for slaves and free laborers. Sheet music for an 1854 polka is also included.
Creator Frederick's Hall Plantation.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Series 1 of the collection has been closed because of its badly deteriorated condition. It is available on microfilm.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Frederick's Hall Plantation ledgers and other volumes #1422, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
All or part of this collection available on microfilm.
Additional microfilm: All or part of this collection is also available on microfilm from University Publications of America as part of the Records of ante-bellum southern plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Mrs. William C. Quinn of New York, N.Y., in January 1948, and from J. Nat Hamrick of Rutherford, N.C., in November 1952.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Scott Philyaw, July 1991

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, December 2009

This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection includes account books from Hanover and York counties, Va., 1727-1775, and from Frederick's Hall Plantation in Louisa County, Va., 1849-1862. The relationship, if any, between the former and the latter is unclear. There is also a letter copybook, 1757-1775, of Major John Snelson, probably a descendant of Elizabeth Snelson (fl. 1727-1728). Snelson wrote chiefly to Edward Harford, Jr., of England about tobacco shipments and imported merchandise. The relationship between this volume and the others is also unclear. Colonial-era merchants represented in ledgers include Colonel John Chisolm (d. 1766), A. Gordon (fl. 1750-1751), and William Montgomery (fl. 1751), all of Hanover County. Activities documented in these ledgers include tobacco sales and mining and mineral export, the daily work of merchants, and importing operations. Activities documented in the antebellum ledgers from Frederick's Hall include lumber production, manufacture and sale of shoes, tobacco production and trade, and merchandizing. There is also some information on wages for slaves and free laborers. Sheet music for an 1854 polka is also included. Note: This collection was originally divided into parts A and B. The collection has been rearranged chronologically.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Colonial Era Books, 1727-1775, 1801, 1854, 1981.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. Merchandise Ledgers, 1727-1758.

12 items.

Chiefly merchandise ledgers, cash books, and inventories from Hanover and York counties, Va. Volumes include several inventories of shipments received, with the name of the ship, its captain, and the date of arrival. Some inventories of individual stores are also included. Merchants represented include Colonel John Chisholm (d. 1766), A. Gordon (fl. 1750-1751), and William Montgomery (fl. 1751), all of Hanover County, Va. Activities documented include tobacco export, mining and mineral export, and the daily work of merchants. Enclosures from these books are in Subseries 1.4.

Folder 1

Folder number not used

Oversize Volume SV-1422/1

Volume S-1. Ledger, 1727-1728 (E. Snelson)

Folder 2

Volume 2. Ledger, 1734-1736

Folder 3

Volume 3. Ledger, 1735-1737

Folder 4

Volume 4. Ledger, 1735-1738

Folder 5-12

Folder 5

Folder 6

Folder 7

Folder 8

Folder 9

Folder 10

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder numbers not used

Oversize Volume SV-1422/5

Volume S-5. Ledger, 1738-1741

Oversize Volume SV-1422/6

Volume S-6. Ledger, 1740-1741

Oversize Volume SV-1422/7

Volume S-7. Ledger, 1742-1744

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Volume S-8. Ledger, 1750-1756 (A. Gordon)

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Volume S-9. Ledger, 1752-1755

Reel 1-4

Reel 1

Reel 2

Reel 3

Reel 4

Microfilm copy of Volumes 1-9

Oversize Volume SV-1422/10

Volume S-10. Ledger, 1754-1756

Oversize Volume SV-1422/11

Volume S-11. Ledger, 1755-1756

Oversize Volume SV-1422/12

Volume S-12. Ledger, 1757-1758

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. Colonel John Chiswell's Day Book and Abstract, 1751-1757, 1981.

2 items.

John Chiswell (d. October 1766), planter, merchant, and mine operator, was the son of Charles Chiswell (d. 1737). This ledger primarily documents Chiswell's activity as a merchant. It is Chiswell's only ledger in the Frederick's Hall collection. The abstract "John Chiswell's Day Book, an abstract of a Hanover County, Va., Merchandise Day Book, 1751-1757," was compiled by William W. Reynolds, December 1981. Enclosures from this book are in Subseries 1.4.

Folder 13

Volume 13. Day book

Folder 14

Volume 14. Abstract

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.3. Major John Snelson's Letter Book, 1757-1775.

1 item.

Letters written from Virginia chiefly about tobacco shipments their prices, quantity and quality--and imported merchandise. There are also occasional mentions of slavery and mining in Virginia. There are very limited references to politics. The majority of letters are to Edward Harford, Jr., of England. Enclosures from this book are in Subseries 1.4.

Folder 15

Volume 15. Letter book

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.4. Enclosures From Series 1, 1742-1801 and 1854.

9 items.

Arrangement: by volume in which found, then chronologically.

Some of the enclosures are from the 19th century, including printed sheet music for the "Love Chase Polka" (by M. Strakosch, 1854).

Folder 16

Enclosures

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Antebellum and Civil War Plantation Records , 1730, 1823, 1849-1862.

Chiefly ledger books of Frederick's Hall Plantation.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. General Merchandise Ledgers, 1823, 1849-1850.

Overton B. Pettit's merchandise ledger for Waterloo Mills (8 March 1823-29 August 1823), and Frederick's Hall ledgers (1 January 1849-14 May 1850 and 31 December 1849-30 June 1850). Most entries are for common household goods: cloth, molasses, whiskey, bacon, nails, shoes, salt, paper, etc. Many pages are missing from the Frederick's Hall records. The connection between Overton B. Pettit of Waterloo Mills and Frederick's Hall is unclear. Note that there is no volume 16.

Folder 17

Volume 17. Pettit ledger, 1823

Folder 18-19

Folder 18

Folder 19

Folder numbers not used

Oversize Volume SV-1422/18

Volume S-18. Ledger, January 1849-May 1850

Oversize Volume SV-1422/19

Volume S-19. Ledger, December 1849-June 1850

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Lumber Account Ledgers, 1850-1853.

3 items.

Chiefly lumber accounts from the 1850s, presumably from Frederick's Hall. There are also a few pages of merchandise accounts.

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Volume S-20. Lumber account ledger, 1850

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Volume S-21. Lumber account ledger, 1851-1852

Folder 20-21

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder numbers not used

Folder 22

Volume 22. Lumber account ledger, 1853

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Shoe Shop Ledgers, 1856-1858.

2 items.

Ledgers for the Frederick's Hall shoe shop. Other entries include labor accounts and cash accounts. Some meal and lime accounts are included.

Folder 23-25

Folder 23

Folder 24

Folder 25

Folder numbers not used

Oversize Volume SV-1422/23

Volume S-23. Shoe shop ledger, 1856-1858

Oversize Volume SV-1422/24

Volume S-24. Shoe shop ledger, 1857-1858

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.4. Tobacco Ledgers, 1860-1862.

2 items.

Accounts with dealers in or manufacturers of tobacco in various forms and brands. The second book is evidently an account book of laborers working in tobacco. It is unclear whether the workers were slave or free.

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Volume S-25. Tobacco ledger, 1860-1861

Folder 26

Volume 26. Tobacco ledger, 1860-1862

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.5. Enclosures from Series 2, 1730-1856.

17 items.

Arrangement: by volume in which found, then chronologically.

Some of the enclosures are from the Colonial era.

Folder 27

Enclosures

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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