Virginia Hisey Myers Collection of Shenandoah County Ledgers, 1894-1900

Descriptive Summary

 

Repository: Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

Title: Virginia Hisey Myers Collection of Shenandoah County Ledgers, 1894-1900

Collection No.: SC 0100
Creator: Myers, Virginia Hisey

Extent: 2 boxes, 10 ledgers; .4 cubic feet

Language: English

Abstract: This collection consists of ten business ledgers from 1894-1900 for L. M. Hisey & Co. and Wightman, Hisey & Co., stores in Edinburg and Woodstock, Virginia, that list accounts and document business transactions for farm related products and implements. 

 

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Use Restrictions: The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk. (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred Citation: [identification of Item], [box #, folder #], Virginia Hisey Myers Collection of Shenandoah County Ledgers, 1894-1900, SC 0100, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Acquisition Information: Gift of Mrs. Virginia Hisey Myers, through Mr. Douglas Dellinger, in November 1989.
Processing Information: In May 2017, this collection was renamed Virginia Hisey Myers Collection of Shenandoah County Ledgers, a change from Virginia Hisey Myers Collection. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 2068.

Bio/Historical Note:

Wightman, Hisey & Co., later called L. M. Hisey & Co., was a hardware store for farm related products and implements that operated in two locations in Edinburg and Woodstock Virginia in the 1890s. In an 1892 edition of the Shenandoah Herald, partners trading as Wightman, Hisey & Co. were listed as James Staunton, C. P. Wightman, Lemuel Hisey, and M. H. Hottel. Beginning around 1898, in local newspapers as well as in the business ledgers, the store is referred to as L. M. Hisey & Co. Advertisements for the two stores published in local Shenandoah Valley newspapers from 1891 - 1900 market a variety of goods, including corn and oat phosphate, coal and coal oil, wagons, plows, and various seed, among other goods.

Lemuel. M. Hisey, proprietor of L. M. Hisey & Co., was born in 1844 and died in 1900. He served as a Confederate soldier in Captain H. H. Riddleberger's company of the 23rd Va. Calvary, Imboden's Brigade. In his obituaries, he is noted as a prominent and successful businessman, and the firm of L. M. Hisey & Co. is described as "among the leading and best known business establishments in the county."

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of ten business ledgers from L. M Hisey & Co. and Wightman, Hisey & Co. from 1894 – 1900. The ledgers document sales of and orders for agricultural and forestry items, especially phosphate, coal, wheat, bark, and lumber, as well as corn and various tools. Some ledgers also contain financial information about the companies, such as lists of notes due and bank deposit slips. Receipts and bills, inserted in a few of the ledgers, further document the businesses.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in 2 boxes of 10 folders.

Bibliography:

"Commissioner's Office." Shenandoah Herald, [Woodstock, VA] 13 May 1892: Vol. 72 No. 12.

"Death in Shenandoah." Richmond Times Dispatch, 1 November 1900: Whole Number 15,455, pg. 3.

"Death of Mr. L. M. Hisey." Shenandoah Herald, [Woodstock, VA] 2 November 1900: Vol. 83 No. 44.

Contents:

Folder Title	Box : Folder
Phosphate Book, 1894	1:1
Phosphate Book, 1895	1:2
Phosphate Book, 1896	1:3
Coal Book, 1894	1:4
Order Book, 1898	1:5
Invoice of Wightman Hisey, 1896	2:1
General Account Ledger, 1898-1899	2:2
General Account Ledger, 1899-1900	2:3
Wheat Book, 1899-1900	2:4
Merchant and Farmers Bank Book, 1897-1900	2:5

Compiled by: Chris Bolgiano, December 1989; Kate Morris, June 2013