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James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
820 Madison DriveMindy Tanner, Alicia Henneberry
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).
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.
The Stricklers purchased the John Zigler daybooks at the M. Otto Zigler estate sale held by Green Valley Auctions, Inc. on August 11, 1990.
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Robert H. and Lorraine Strickler Collection of John Zigler Daybooks, 1816-1903, SC 0128, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Robert H. "Twig" and Lorraine Strickler donated this collection to Carrier Library in December 1990.
In March 2022, Special Collections aquired from Crown Collectibles a ledger/daybook (Daybook/Ledger 19) belonging to the same John Zigler.
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 3025.
The ledger acquired from Crown Collectibles was added to the collection in April 2022.
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 19 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:
Daybooks and ledgers, 1816-1903 Unbound material, 1843-1893Ledger records quantity, weight, and value of hides being purchased at Zigler's tannery. Also included are sixteen pages of Notes Outstanding Against John Zigler. An Abraham Lincoln is listed as part of these notes (pg. 115). This likely refers to Abraham Lincoln (1799-1851), son of Jacob and Dorcas Robinson Lincoln, who was President Abraham Lincoln's first cousin once removed. Common Rockingham County surnames are present throughout and include Hoover, Kline, Shaver, Miller, Garber, Kratzer, Holsinger, Sites, Gochenour, and others. Also includes four recipes (pgs. 30-31).