Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections LibraryTanner Greene
Collection is open for research use.
MSS 16402, Lewis Pence blacksmith ledger, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
Accession 2017-0185 Purchased 24 October 2017.
Lewis Pence (1825-1904) was a blacksmith during the mid-19th century, living on Pence Hill just outside Edinburg, Virginia. During the Civil War, Pence was a member of the Confederate Army's 97th Virginia Militia.
Source: Materials within collection.
The Pence ledger (1856-1859; 0.25 cubic feet) records work done by and payments made to Lewis Pence, a blacksmith in Edinburg, Virginia, from 1856-1859. Pence's clients include George Grandstaff, a local gunmaker and the owner of the Edinburg Mill. The Edinburg Mill was almost burned by Union troops during the Civil War in October of 1864, but locals extinguished the fire and the mill survives to this day as a museum and designated Virginia Historic Landmark.