Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Henry Dickenson Daybook, Accession #10747, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Library purchased this daybook from Bookworm & Silverfish of Wytheville, Virginia on March 14, 1988.

Scope and Content

This daybook, 1825-1827, of a retail store and tavern kept by Henry Dickenson, Sr., of Dickensonville, Russell County, Virginia, also contains pages entitled "Vatt Book," 835-1836, concerning a tannery. The volume was also apparently used later as a practice penmanship workbook by a Dickenson family member.

Henry Dickenson, Sr. (ca. 1750-ca. 1827) was appointed Clerk of the Court in Russell County, and as such, had to be present at all times. The Court had been holding its meetings at the house of William Roberson, and during the June term [1786], William Roberson and Henry Dickenson offered land for a county seat, and also offered to build a courthouse on the land and present it to the county. The commissioners accepted the plan, and the court buildings were completed and used from September 20, 1787 until September 28, 1798 when the county seat was moved to Lebanon. While the courthouse was in Dickensonville, adjacent to Dickenson's cabin, he was allowed to supplement his income by keeping a retail store and tavern in the building.