Strickler, Robert H. and Lorraine Collection of John Zigler Daybooks, 1816-1903

Repository:

Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

Creator:

Zigler, John, 1786-1856

Title:

Robert H. and Lorraine Strickler Collection of John Zigler Daybooks

Collection No.:

SC 0128

Date:

1816-1903

Extent:

7 boxes, 2.9 Cubic Feet

Language of the Material:

English

Abstract:

The Robert H. and Lorraine Strickler Collection of John Zigler Daybooks, 1816-1903, consists chiefly of daybooks and ledgers related to the John Zigler tannery and pottery businesses in Rockingham County, Virginia. Additional materials include photographs, notes, letters, and loose accounts.

John Zigler (b. 1786) moved to Timberville in Rockingham County, Virginia in 1814. In this year, he also opened a tannery, which was known as the largest and best in the Shenandoah Valley by the year of his death in 1856. Along with his tannery, he also started a pottery business in 1830, and later opened a hemp mill. John Zigler was also part of a project to build a free bridge across the Shenandoah River in 1833. Zigler and his family were also affiliated with the Church of the Brethern (Dunkers).

The Robert H. and Lorraine Strickler Collection of John Zigler Daybooks, 1816-1903, consists consists primarily of 18 daybooks and ledgers from the John Zigler tannery and pottery businesses in Timberville in Rockingham County, Virginia. Additional materials include photographs, notes, letters, and loose financial accounts.

Series 1: Daybooks and Ledgers, 1816-1903, contains daybooks and ledgers numbered consecutively according to date. These daybooks include references to Henry Jordan as tanner, Andrew Coffman as potter, use of dollars and pounds, references to hauling hides from Winchester, references to milling hemp, reference to death of John Zigler Sr., and references to the pottery kiln, saw mill, and tons of hay. Daybooks record transactions chronologically; ledgers group transactions under individual account names. Entries made throughout ledgers and daybooks refer to the purchasing of hides and bark. Entries relating to purchasing hemp begin around 1826; entries mentioning pottery and a saw mill begin around 1830. Entries relating to the "sharping" of shovels and removing of shoes suggest the presence of a blacksmith. Many entries also suggest the presence of a shoemaker. The later years of the ledgers seem to document a change to a farm supply or general store. Many entries relate to dry goods or to agricultural products and methods such as hay and threshing. Of particular interest is the simultaneous use of both pounds and dollars until around 1845. Also, two types of entries can be found throughout the ledgers and daybooks relating to African Americans. The name of a person is sometimes followed by "black" or "blackman;" or a name may be followed by "by his blackman" or "blackboy." Many inserts were found in apparently random order in the daybooks and ledgers. Some were merely scraps for calculating numbers, while others contained account information. Unless there was a connection between an insert and the pages where it was found, it was filed in a folder. There is also one undated photograph thought to be of the kiln. Oversize daybooks are included in this series and contain accounts of Daniel Zigler and references to buying calfskins in Baltimore.

Series 2: Unbound Material, 1843-1893, consists of financial accounts of the Zigler family, notes, memos, and a photograph of Zigler's Timberville kiln.

This collection is arranged in two series:

Series 1: Daybooks and ledgers, 1816-1903

Series 2: Unbound material, 1843-1893

Jonassen, Diane. German Influences on the Early Arts in the Shenandoah Valley. Harrisonburg: James Madison University, 1981.

Miller, Gordon. Rockingham: An Annotated Bibliography of a Virginia County. Harrisonburg: Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, 1989.

Wayland, John W. A History of Rockingham County. Dayton: Ruebush-Elkins, 1912.