Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Roller Family Ledger and Copybook, 1829-1849, SC 0389, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Purchased September 7, 2024 from Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Inc. Summer Americana auction.

Biographical / Historical

The ledger and copybook documents various members of the Roller family, their business dealings as merchants and farmers, and one of the Roller's educational pursuits. The ledger is presumed to have been kept by a combination of John Roller (1796-1856), his son Peter S. Roller (1823-1894), and John's brother Emanuel Roller (1813-1887), who also likely kept the copybook portion of the volume.

Scope and Contents

One bound volume comprising ledger entries and a copybook created by members of the Roller (variously spelled Rolar) family of Mt. Crawford, Virginia including John Roller (1796-1856), son Peter S. Roller (1823-1894), and brother Emanuel Roller (1813-1887).

Ledger entries at the front of the volume date to the 1840s. The entries in the back of the volume date to the 1830s. Commodities bought and sold include loads of wood and straw, flour, corn, pepper for wintering, and vinegar. Services rendered include hauling materials, reaping, use of a horse and wagon, and general labor. Entries of note document work paid for hauling plank from the Mt. Crawford mill (1846) and purchasing 1,500 pins for the [Mt. Crawford] bridge for $13.00 (1839).

The copybook portion of the volume, found in the middle of the book, is dated 1829. It was likely created by Emanuel Roller and includes basic math concepts and examples as well as rules and applications related to measurement and money.

One or more sections of the volume were seemingly hand-stitched into the binding as evidenced by an uneven textblock and visible thread through the spine.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Account books -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
• Business records -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
• Copybooks (instructional materials)
• Copybooks -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
• Industries -- Virginia -- Rockingham County -- History
• Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates
• Ledgers (account books)
• Mount Crawford (Va.) -- Economic conditions -- 19th century
• Mount Crawford (Va.) -- History -- 19th century
• Produce trade -- Virginia -- Rockingham County -- History