Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Christiansburg , Virginia Store Ledger must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Christiansburg, Virginia Store Ledger, Ms2017-025, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Christiansburg, Virginia Store Ledger was acquired by Special Collections in 1985.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Christiansburg, Virginia Store Ledger commenced and was completed in August, 2017.

Biographical / Historical

Charles B. Gardner, likely owner of this ledger, was born in Virginia on August 10, 1813. He married Mary J. L. Miller (1817-1873), and the couple had six children. The 1840 census shows Gardner living in Montgomery County, Virginia, and owning two slaves. In the 1850 census, Gardner is described as a 36-year-old merchant, living in Christiansburg with his wife and family. The Gardners reported owning three slaves that year.

Gardner was active in the business community of Christiansburg and eastern Montgomery County. In 1842, he was named one of the directors of the Lafayette and Ingles Ferry Turnpike Company, and in 1853, he was among a group of businessmen who purchased the nearby Yellow Sulphur Springs resort. He also served as cashier of Christiansburg's Bank of the Valley of Virginia and is identified as a bank cashier in the 1860 census. (In that year, Gardner was the owner of six slaves.) He is likely the same C. B. Gardner who maintained the "Depository of the Treasury in a/c with the Treasury of the Confederate States Ledger" (Ms1984-001) . Charles B. Gardner died November 24, 1875.

Eugenia Victoria Sullivan, daughter of Thomas E. and Emily Shuptrine Sullivan, was born on August 6, 1862. The 1880 census describes her as a 17-year-old Georgia native, living in the Christiansburg, Virginia home of her grandmother, Mary A. Sullivan. Eugenia Sullivan graduated from Montgomery Female Academy (Christiansburg) in 1886. An article in the Roanoke Times of August 21, 1891 noted that Sullivan was departing for New York, to finish her art studies, and added that she was already known for her artistic works. The 1940 census lists a Eugenia V. Sullivan living in Christtiansburg with younger sister Maude, but she is described as 67 (rather than the expected 77) years old and born in Virginia. Sullivan died August 22, 1941 and was buried in Christiansburg's Sunset Cemetery.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a single ledger, maintained by an unidentified store in Christiansburg, Virginia in 1856. Entries in the volume, spanning March through September, 1856, provide customer names and transaction totals.

Evidence suggests that the ledger may have belonged to Charles B. Gardner, described by the 1850 census as a 36-year-old merchant living in Christiansburg. The spine of the ledger is embossed with the notation "C G & Co."

The ledger was later used as a scrapbook, apparently by Christiansburg teacher Eugenia V. Sullivan. Among the items that are preserved in the volume are: a souvenir from the International Cotton Exposition (Atlanta), 1881; prose and poetry clipped from various newspapers; a Christmas card published by S. Hildesheimer; a sewing pattern fragment; a calling card from Tallant & Co., of Christiansburg; several locks of hair; botanical specimens; and transcriptions of published poems.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Christiansburg (Va.)
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Montgomery County (Va.)