Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

John S. Chowning Daybook and Journal, 1855-1859. Local Government Records Collection, Lancaster County Court Records, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Lancaster County.

Historical Information

The general store owned by John S. Chowning conducted business in the town of Merry Point in Lancaster County, Virginia during the mid-nineteenth century.

Scope and Content Information

Daybook and Journal, 1855-1859, of John S. Chowning consist of a daybook and a journal.

Daybook, October 1855 - October 1857, records in chronological order the general store's daily transactions. Information recorded in the daybook includes date of transaction, name of customer, merchandise purchased, quantity purchased, price of each item, and amount owed. Merchandise sold includes oysters, silk handkerchiefs, dry goods, clothing, fish, whiskey, cheese, turpentine, shoes, spices, and starch.

Journal, October 1855 - December 1859, records within each month the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found in each entry includes date of transaction, name of customer, merchandise purchased, quantity purchased, price of each item, and amount owed. Transactions recorded in journal for October 1855 - October 1857 are a duplicate of transactions found in daybook for the same time period.