Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary
Special Collections© 2000 By the College of William and Mary
Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Processed by: Debby Smith-George 1984.
Collection is open to all researchers.
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Byers Family Papers, Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Purchased: 884 items, 10/01/1940.
Microfilm available.
The Byers Family Papers include personal and business correspondence; accounts, and business records of the members of the Byers family of Augusta County, Virginia, especially those papers belonging to Joseph Byers, who repaired wells; Samuel C. Byers; and Robert C. Byers. This collection also includes report cards, 1890-1893, of Edwin C. and Howard Byers, and a few letters of James C. Byers, and Leila Byers.
This inventory has been organized into seven Series: 1. Personal Correspondence; 2. Business Correspondence; 3. Accounts, Bills and Receipts; 4. Legal Papers; 5. Printed Material; 6. Miscellaneous Items; 7. Ledger and Account Book.
ArrangementMaterials in this collection are separated into series and then arranged chronologically by date. Those items with no date or an unknown date are placed at the end of the series.
The following newspapers were removed, and added to the Newspaper Collection:
Heard that they had gone to Ohio; describes his business of "making pumps and borring of pipes to conduct water"; explains the manner in which he was swindled out of property he had obtained from John Blaire and their mother following his confinement [in jail?] for failing to pay a debt owed to William Blaire; hopes to be able to visit them in May; asks that James and his spouse read the letter but not Jenny.
Reports that he detained David until morning and hopes that he [SCB] will excuse the boy for being late.
James Byers has returned home and found his family well; passed through Staunton and spoke to James Bell, who reported that Mr. Kenny, the clerk of County Court, had some information for him, possibly relating to the "claim for your servisses [sic] in the revolutionary struggle."
Ann Craig has been ill all spring; reports on friends and relations; mentions that she would like to eat Mrs. Barager's "sweet apples and apple butter this summer again"; comments that the crops, especially the wheat are doing poorly; her children are going to school for the summer.
William Hilbert describes the journey to Tennessee; reports that he is not sure if he likes the area yet, but there is plenty of work and "fine farmes" [sic].
Ann Craig received his letter with the note and check; reports on a great deal of sickness in the area; asks to be remembered to her "old mother" [Jane Patterson].
H.M. Bell has been examining the settlement of George Craig's estate from March 1819, and found that James Patterson bought land from William Craig, but it is unclear whether full payment was made; needs information concerning a bond transaction involving the Craigs and the Pattersons; he [SB] will be summoned to have his deposition taken in this case between the Patterson Administrators and the Craig Executors.
P. Shumacke states his daughter's claim to the servant girl Katy as a gift from the deceased James Patterson to his [PS] first wife Margaret Patterson; intends to pursue claim in the courts if the executors of James Patterson's estate [SB and JP] do not turn over the servant girl to him.
Sam[ue]l Life, n.p. reports that the boy, Samuel, has run away from school to avoid a whipping.
Discusses in great detail the original settlement of James Patterson's estate, and the present settlement.
Peter S. Baker has received cash and a bond from Virginia and is not sure how to split them up; finds it difficult to have a resident of Virginia as his security for the money coming to his children; has no further information on his appointment as guardian of Ann Craig's minor heirs; has divided the money equally between the seven heirs.
P[eter] S. Baker discusses a problem over a bond to the commonwealth; is confused about how the four youngest children are to get their money.
P[eter] S. Baker has had the bond notarized; asks to have the money sent by mail and says that "any solvent bank will answer either Virginia, Kentucky, or Missouri paper."
Rob[er]t M. Craig plans to continue as a schoolteacher for a year or two if "I can not make something else pay better"; has sown wheat on his farm and rented some of the land; the weather is as cold as he has ever experienced in Texas; will send his power of attorney so that their money can be drawn; asks that the money be sent by check or draft on New York, New Orleans, or Philadelphia; reports on prices for corn, oats, and wheat.
P[eter] S. Baker has received the eighty dollars and encloses receipts for each estate; complains about the expense involved in procuring the money for the heirs.
N. K. Trunk has a power of attorney from Robert Craig's heirs to collect the money from James Patterson's estate.
Jonathan and Jane Ann Stover have moved to Uncle Jacob Stover's farm; does not look like a war is going on as the "stores are crowded with goods-they are higher than when the war first began"; James Byers is very satisfied with the area and the rich land; reports on Jane Ann's trip through the mountains; gives news of family and friends in Indiana; sorry to hear of Grandfather Stover's death.
John A. Johnston insists that the bed left with him [RB] and cousin Becca belongs to him [JAJ]; gives a detailed account of why his dead mother intended that he should have the bed; also insists that the money from the sale of the wardrobe was intended to be used to fix Ida Bell's teeth
Hester Horner chastises her [RB] for calling her [HH] brother, John Johnston, a rascal; insists that their mother intended the bed go to John Johnston; has sent money to Ida [Bell].
S. B. Weller describes the climate in Texas; reports that he has received a letter from Frank Weller; sends his regards to the family.
S. B. Weller asks if he will be able to get any of his money from the lawsuit by spring because of a business opportunity.
Thomas D. Ranson discusses the settlement of his [RCB] account as guardian of S. B. Weller.
George [Oler?] has started planting his corn; mother [Jane Ann Stove?] is planning to leave for Virginia on May 13.
Nannie Oler reports that her mother [Jane Ann Stover?] is ill; discusses the outlook for the crops of wheat and corn and the sale of hogs; gives prices on eggs and butter; asks if Lelice [Byers] us going to school.
J. N. Van Deranter asking for contributions to the Old Stone Church.
Mary McClung returned from her trip to Old Mexico and Phoenix, Arizona on Dec. 11, having traveled eight thousand miles; describes the visit with family members and the weather in Arizona; sorry to hear of the illness in her family; complains that it has been snowing since the return home; reports that Hallie and Louisa [McClung?] are in school; Mr. Mc[Clung] has been on jury duty for over a month; he has presently gone "to hitch up to take a sleigh ride."
Poverty [?] plans to go away for a week, and asks if Charley can stay with the Byers.
Alice [?] complains of the freezing weather and pipes bursting; asks about a wedding she was unable to attend due to the poor weather; reports that the "comfort" has been pieced, but "lacks about 2 ½ yds. to join it with" before it can then be quilted; reports on the deaths and illnesses in the neighborhood; "hens are laying quite well" and mentions the good price turkeys are getting; mentions that she "saw a piece in the paper about your big dinner, and it gave it quite a puff"; asks about family and friends.
Katherine [?] complains of the heat; reports on a party of twenty-seven young people who went to Jump Mountain on horseback; was unable to attend the "Roller commencement"; asks her to visit after the harvest; complains of being lonesome since school is out.
Bessie Anderson sends her thanks for the good visit she had with them; mentions Cousin Sally Poague; asks to be remembered to various family members.
Robert [Byers?] asks his father to send money to pay his "second term fees" at V[irginia] P[olytechnic] I[nstitute], and to pay for board at $91.50.
[?] Byers has brought the machinery to put in a corn mill and a feed mill; has the agency for "the Foos Gas and Gasoline engine" and will get a commission for sales; asks to have a note for $750 at the National Valley Bank renewed for six months.
H. C. Barrett explains the advantages of patronizing Eastern Normal College.
Lelia B. B[yers] wants to know who the boys were who waved at her when she walked by the Academy; talks about various friends.
Lelia [Byers] reports that her lessons are going well; talks about various friends; mentions that when she walked by the Academy "two of the boys ran out on the porch and yelled at us"; has had fun out riding; asks for the hats to be sent by Sunday.
Business correspondence of the Byers family, Augusta County, Virginia, including Samuel Byer's correspondence with various individuals concerning payment of debts; use of a gate near Mt. Sidney, Augusta County, Virginia; execution of bonds; and purchase of land, 1834-1878; also including correspondence of Robert and Rebecca Byers, Fort Defiance, Augusta County, Virginia, with commission merchants and other individuals concerning the sale of farm products and livestock, such as butter, hay, cattle and hogs; concerning the hiring of farm laborers and lawsuit by a laborer; building a barn; payment on notes; sale, rental, and taxes on farm land; and correspondence with a farm machinery co. concerning machinery and fertilizers, 1880-1894, and n.d.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Joseph and Samuel Byers, Augusta County, Virginia for taxes paid; sale or purchase of household and farm items including cart wheels and axel, a buggy, shoes, clothing, cloth, hinges, screws, flour, wheat and corn; rent; payment of judgements; boarding horses; sale and repair of shoes and well pumps; and hire and payments of laborers. Also including receipts for a land transaction between W[illia]m Craig and James Patterson.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Joseph and Samuel Byers, Augusta County, Virginia for the purchase of food, household items, and farm implements; payment of tuition; hire and payment of laborers; sale and repair of well pumps and parts; and wheat shipment and miller's accounts.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Samuel Byers, Augusta County, Virginia for the purchase of food, cloth, spices, hardware goods, household items, and farm implements; accounts with millers; accounts for making shoes; purchase or sale of farm products, including straw, butter, beef and hogs; the hire and payment of farm laborers and sharpening of shears. Also including Ja[me]s Patterson's accounts with millers.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Samuel Byers, Augusta County, Virginia for the purchase of food, cloth, hardware goods, and other household and farm items; accounts with millers; receipts for the sale of land; purchase or sale of farm products, accounts for the sharpening of shears and repair of shoes and wagons; receipts for the purchase of slaves; receipt for the receipts and promissory notes for James Samuel Patterson; and court receipts involving the Patterson estate.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Samuel and Nancy [Patterson] Byers, Augusta County, Virginia for the purchase of cloth, beef, sugar, and other household items; accounts for flour sold; record of grain raised; doctor's receipts; tuition receipts; accounts for the sharpening of shears and shoe repair; and receipts for the subscription to the Staunton Spectator ; also including receipts for the settlement of James Patterson's and Ann Craig's estates, and records for the valuation of James Patterson's property.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Samuel, Robert C., and Rebecca Byers, Augusta County, Virginia for the purchase of food, household items, hardware items, seeds, cloth and furniture; accounts with farm laborers; accounts with millers for flour, corn and rye; receipts for payment of tolls; accounts for the repair of shoes and farm implements; accounts for the stabling of horses; doctor's receipts, tax receipts; a list of contributions to be made to a family whose house burned; and Samuel Byers' accounts as administrator of Nancy [Patterson] Byers' estate.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Samuel and Robert C. Byers, Augusta County, Virginia, including printed pictures on promissory notes and bills; receipts for the purchase of cloth, food, spices, livestock, furniture, and hardware items; receipts for the purchase and repair of farm machinery and implements; bank deposit slips for the National Valley Bank of Staunton; tax and insurance receipts; and bills for the sale and transportation of hay.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Robert C. Byers, Augusta County,Virginia, including printed pictures of birds, farm machinery, and other items on several receipts; receipts for the sale and transportation of hay; receipts and bills for the purchase of corn, flour, seeds, shoes, oil, food, spices, plaster, and hardware items; receipts for school and dentist fees; tax and insurance receipts; records of protest for non-payment of notes; deposit slips for the National Valley Bank of Staunton; an insurance policy from the Western Assurance County
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Robert C. Byers, and R[obert?] M. Byers Augusta County,Virginia, for the purchase of shoes, hardware items, and seeds; cancelled checks; accounts with millers; shipping charges for farm products; deposit slips for the National Valley Bank of Staunton; receipts for insurance and the satisfaction of judgments; tuition receipt for Virginia Polytechnic Institute; and receipts with printed pictures on them.
Accounts, receipts and promissory notes of Robert C. Byers, and R[obert?] M. Byers Augusta County,Virginia, for the purchase of food, houseware items, hardware items, school books and supplies, seed, and livestock; also including laborers' records.
Legal papers of Samuel C. Byers including record of appointment as surveyor; summons to appear in court; and papers dealing with settlement of James Patterson's and William Craig's estates involving the sale and rental of land, and sale and hiring out of slaves; of Sam[ue]l Clarke for a claim to money owed by William A. Truck; of Sarah A. Finley for the rental of a farm to Joseph Altapher; Robert C. Byers dealing with the settlement of S[amuel] B. Weller's inheritance and arbitration over a land dispute; of H[oward] S. Byers including a partner ship agreement with Frank Winter and J. D. Creager to become a firm of general merchants; sample draft of an inventory of an estate; lists of taxable property including white males, slaves, livestock, wagons, and home furnishings; indenture of bargain and sale between William and Matilda Craig, and the legal heirs of James Patterson for 180 acres of land in Augusta County, Virginia.
Printed material, including an electoral ticket for John Quincy Adams and Richard Rush, 1828; Abstract of the Laws relating to the…Surveyors of Roads for Augusta County, Virginia; list commissioner's sale of lands; advertisements for farm implements, pianos, livestock, shoes, medicine, and a plant nursery, some including printed pictures; electoral tickets for Middle River Township; broadsides containing weekly price lists for produce, livestock, furs, etc. in Richmond; religious material including daily lessons, a manual for the Presbyterian Progressive Program (1922-23), and financial information for home missions; an Eastern Normal College Catalogue; fiscal report for Staunton National Valley Bank; and a personal property tax form.
Miscellaneous material including a letter, 1 Jan. 1839, from Briscoe G. Baldwin, n.p., to W[illia]m Shumate, Mount Sidney, Virginia, concerning the hire of "a smart, healthy, and likely Negro fellow…as a blacksmith"; report cards, 1890-1893, of Edwin C. and H[oward] S. Byers at Augusta Classical and Military Academy, Fort Defiance, Virginia; blue print of the "Holbrook Transition Spiral condensed for practical work," 1906; assorted recipes, grocery lists, laborer's records; and school and penmanship exercises, some by S[amuel] B. Weller.
Ledger contains accounts for the sale of parts for wells and the repair of wells.
Ledger contains accounts for the sale of parts for wells and the repair of wells.
Ledger contains accounts for the sale of parts for wells and the repair of wells.
Ledger contains varied farm and labor accounts, 1832-1840; also including accounts for the sale of parts for wells and the repair of wells, 1816.
Ledger contains accounts for the sale of parts for wells and the repair of wells.
Ledger includes sale of farm products and records of laborers; also including record of costs for schooling 3 scholars, 1848.
Ledger contains accounts for the sale of parts for wells and the repair of wells.
Ledger includes mention of the sale of parts for wells or the repair of wells
Handwritten textbook in mathematics and bookkeeping, containing various mathematical rules and principles as applied to Federal money and English money; different rules on weighing for various products such as fuel, gold, or medicine; and rules for measuring cloth, land, dry substances or liquid substances; including practice exercises; also including an insert of additional practice exercises, intricate lettering, and poetry, completed by James A. Frame, 1843.
Ledger concerns the sale of grain.
Ledger contains miscellaneous farm and labor accounts.
Account book containing records of taxes, licenses, and clerks fees kept by the deputy treasurers for [Augusta County, Virginia?] including C. S. Byers, J. R. N. Speck, S. B. Stover, S. N. Patterson, and others. Includes an index.
Reportbook was signed by Rebecca Byers and R[obert] C. Byers.
Pierce's Memorandum and Account Book contains printed advertising for various medicines, including "Dr. Pierce's Compound Extract of Smart Weed," and several others.