Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Guy and Sale Account Book and Ledger, 1858-1868. Rockbridge County (Va.) Reel 204, Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These volumes were microfilmed in 2013 by Backstage Library Works in Bethlehem, PA.

Biographical/Historical Information

Guy and Sale was a milling company owned by John Randolph Guy and John H. Sale that conducted business in Rockbridge County during the mid-nineteenth century.

John Randolph Guy was born in New York in 1823. In 1850, Guy resided in Campbell County, Virginia where he worked as a clerk for a commission merchant named D.B. Phelps. After 1860, Guy resided in Rockbridge County, Virginia, where he worked as a commission agent and later as a miller.

Scope and Content

The account book and ledger of John Randolph Guy and John H. Sale, millers, consist of an account book and ledger.

Account book, 1858-1868, records John Randolph Guy's business activities as a commission agent, 1858-1859, and as a miller in partnership with John H. Sale, 1861-1868.

The portion of the account book that relates to John Randolph Guy's activities as a commission agent records transactions in chronogical order. Entries contain the following information: date of transaction; name of boat from whom Guy bought goods; name of merchants, businesses, and individuals to whom Guy sold goods; items sold; quantity sold; and cost of goods sold. Items sold include fish, molasses, spices, bacon, knives, iron pipes, nails, soap, axes, and pianos. Virginia Military Institute was one of Guy's customers.

The portion of the account book that relates to John R. Guy's activities as a miller with John H. Sale records transactions in chronogical order. The mill produced flour, plaster, and meal and also served as a sawmill. Entries contain the following information: date of transaction, name of customer, goods purchased or services rendered, quantity of items purchased, amount owed. Entries also include page numbers where information can be found in corresponding ledger.

Ledger, 1861-1863; 1865; 1868, of Guy and Sale that records the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found includes name of customer, date of transactions, form of transaction, amount owed and amount paid. Entries also include page numbers where information can be found in corresponding account book.