Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

James Field Papers, 1781-1874. Accession 40963, Personal Papers Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Carol Field Lacy on 24 November 2003.

Biographical Information

James Field, the youngest child of John and Jane Field, was born on 13 October 1788 and moved to Bedford County, Virginia, when he was six. During the War of 1812, he served as a sergeant with a military unit in Norfolk, Virginia. After his return from the war in October 1814, he married Elizabeth Buford. As an adult Field grew, cured and sold tobacco and other smaller yield crops. He died in 1854 in Bedford County.

Scope and Content Information

Papers, 1781-1874, of James Field of Bedford County, Virginia, including blacksmith accounts, store accounts, tax accounts, tobacco accounts, estate records, letters, a math book that includes Bible records and records of slaves' birthdates, and miscellaneous material. The collection has been photocopied, transcribed and notated in four volumes by Carole Field Lacy in 2003. Volume one contains transcriptions and includes full surname, business name, and placename index ; volume two comprises photocopies of estate and tax accounts, letters, and miscellaneous papers; volume three is photocopies of blacksmith, store, and tobacco accounts; and volume four has photocopies of the math book. Consult these volumes before referring to the original documents.

Blacksmith accounts, 1798-1864, principally consist of receipts and accounts for blacksmith work performed for James Field and his father John Field (d. 1823). Store accounts, 1805-1864, comprise receipts and accounts of James and John Field mostly issued by local general store merchants. Tax accounts, 1800-1864, are Bedford County property and capitation tax receipts issued to John and James Field. Tobacco accounts, 1831-1844, principally comprise receipts and accounts detailing the sale and shipment of James Field's tobacco crop to merchants and shipping companies in Richmond and the northeast.

Estate records, 1805-1864, include Field family wills, estate inventories and appraisements, and estate sales accounts principally concerning the estate of John Field and the children of James Field. Letters, 1842-1852, exchanged between James Field and Field family members concerning family matters, farm production, the weather, illnesses, and politics. The math book, 1803-1804, is a volume containing lessons and problems used by James Field during his youth. Also in this volume is non math related information including Field family Bible records, family slaves' birthdates, and poems. Among the notable items found in the miscellaneous papers, 1781-1874, are deeds of sale and receipts for the purchase of Field family slaves, list and rank of men who enlisted from Bedford County in the War of 1812, a Revolutionary War pension application for John Buford, and deeds for purhcases of Bedford County land by Field family members.