Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred Citation

William Tandy Burrus Ledger, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information

The materials were acquired by Special Collections Research Center on 03/26/2009.

Processing Information

Accessioned and processed by Ute Schechter in March 2009.

Biographical Note

William Tandy Burrus was born in either 1766 or 1776 in St. Thomas Parish in Orange County, Virginia.  He married Martha Slaughter Burrus.  "Burris" is sometimes spelled "Burris" or "Burruss."  He was the son of Thomas Burrus and Francis Tandy Burrus and had two brothers (Thomas Burrus and Roger Tandy Burrus) and three sisters.  He was a prominent land owner in Orange County, Virginia who also served as a witness for legal documents and as Justice of the Peace.  He had five daughters and five sons including Lancelot Burrus.  This Lancelot Burrus also had a son named Lancelot Burrus.  William Tandy Burrus died in 1831 in Orange County, Virginia. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: <a href="http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/William Tandy Burrus">http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/William Tandy Burrus</a>.

Scope and Contents

Based on information gathered by Special Collections staff in 2011, there appear to be three possible creators of the ledger: William Tandy Burrus (1766 or 1776-1831), WTB (?-prior to 1836?), or William Stevens (1773-1843). The ledger (200 pp., 15 pages are missing in the front, several pages are missing in back, and several halves of pages are missing) records transactions for miscellaneous merchandise, wheat and tobacco. The contra page shows payments were mostly made in cash, but are sometimes recorded as 'sundries' or other goods.  He also lists Family Expenses on page 92, Household Stuff on page 108, and Bills Receivable on page 134. The ledger has additional notations beginning on page 194 written in a different handwriting from the original creator, the entries of which include a range of dates between 1883 and 1895.  These entries are consistent with the use of the manuscript as a ledger by the second creator. A notation on the first page reads "Lancelot Burrus Book, Given to him by his Mother, January 1, 1881.”  Lancelot Burrus was a common name within the Burrus family serving as the name of both the son and grandson of William Tandy Burrus as well as his nephew and great-nephew. There is also a bookplate in the front of book for William Stevens.  William Stevens was the brother of Elizabeth Stevens who married into the Burrus family. For more detail see item description below in the box list.

Index Terms

Topical Term:

• Ledgers (Accounting)
• Merchants--Virginia--19th century.
• Merchants--Virginia--Orange County.

Additional Information