Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research

Use Restrictions

Botanical samples may require special handling.

Preferred Citation

Lietzan Family Collection 1853-1955 (M 0128), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The Lietzan family, Arlington, VA

Alternative Form Available

None

Accruals

2016.0001

Processing Information

Processed by Ben Tayloe, 2017

Historical Information

Amos Jenkins' (1855-1932) parents were Samuel L. (fl. 1799-1865) and Nancy Jenkins (fl. 1814-1880). Amos Jenkins was married twice, first to Mary Bell Wynkoop Jenkins (1868-1909) and then to Cassandra H. Rusk Jenkins (1864-1936). They are all buried at Union Cemetery in Leesburg, VA. Amos Jenkins was the proprietor of the Ashburn House in Farmwell, VA, the area that became known as Ashburn in 1896. This hotel that was built in 1882 and is now a private residence. Visitors would stay at the hotel during their trips to explore the Loudoun County countryside. The hotel, at one time referred to as the Home Sweet Home Boarding House, could accommodate up to 23 guests.

William Henry Moffett (1829-1906) lived in Leesburg, Virginia and was married to Alice Amelia Jenkins Moffett (1830-1894). A blacksmith and entrepreneur, Moffett is buried at Union Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia. Moffett's ledger and day book were found in the attic of the Ashburn House. The ledger indicates that Amos Jenkins was one of his many customers.

Scope and Content

The Lietzan Family Collection consists of a ledger, a day book and the binding and pages of a "Physics Record" book. Also included in the collection are numerous papers and botanical samples that were placed in the bound volumes. All of the materials included in the collection were found in the attic of the structure that used to be the Ashburn House.

The ledger and day book belonged to W. H. Moffett, a blacksmith and entrepreneur in Loudoun County during the second half of the nineteenth century. Both books detail blacksmithing, tool and wagon repair accounts payable to W.H. Moffett. Amos Jenkins was one of Moffett's customers and visitors to the Ashburn Hotel also likely relied on Moffett's services. Well-known Loudoun County surnames appearing in the ledgers include Gullick, Skinner, Nixon, Elgin, Carr and others.

Related Material

A single copy of Legends of Loudoun Valley by Joseph V. Nichols (V REF 975.528 NIC) was removed from this collection.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Ancestry Library Edition, United States Census, United States Census and Voter Lists. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (accessed 1 March 2017).

Scheel, Eugene M. Loudoun Discovered: Communities, Corners & Crossroads .Vol. 1, Western Loudoun: "Goin' Down the Country". Leesburg, VA: Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, 2002

Vertical File, Ashburn, Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Other Finding Aid

None

Technical Requirements

None