Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation

John L. Bosworth Ledgers, 1891- 1948, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Shawn Finneigan, 2018.

Scope and Contents

28 ledgers ranging from 1891- 1948 tracing Bosworth's medical practice and house calls in and around Randolph County, West Virginia. In addition, there are bank receipt books, several letters, newspapers clippings, and a scrapbook of news clippings. Most of the ledgers are indexed by patient and household and include notes and relevant charges for his services, including the dispensation of medicines. Bosworth was the County Health Officer for Randolph County for some years and as such recorded a significant amount of birth and death dates for his patients and those in an around the towns of Randolph County. Scattered throughout the ledgers are notes on pharmaceuticals and therapeutic properties of substances used for remedies. He also recorded dozens of recipes for alcoholic beverages ranging from crab-apple wine to beer.

Related Material

Bosworth and Fling Family Papers, MS 00034.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Fermented beverages
• Finnegan, Shawn
• Medicine, Rural--Practice
• Medicine--Practice
• Medicine--West Virginia--History
• Randolph County (W. Va.)
• Recipes