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Thomas S. Miller Account Books,

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-1940-020

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains account books maintained by Thomas Shannon Miller, proprietor of a general store at White Gate (Giles County), Virginia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Included is a series of 10 day books spanning the years 1885 to 1912. Accompanying the day books are seven account ledgers, to which credit transactions were copied from the day books. Each ledger entry contains customer name, date of transaction, goods purchased, prices, credits, and account balances.

Dates

  • Creation: 1885 - 1914

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Thomas S. Miller Account Books must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Biographical Note

Thomas Shannon Miller, the son of James B. and Eliza Jane Miller, was born in Giles County, Virginia on June 26, 1860. More familiarly known as Shannon Miller, he was employed as a store clerk by 1880, while continuing to live in the Walkers Creek District home of his parents. On April 7, 1886, Miller married Alice Bane (1863-1958), the daughter of Samuel and Lucy Baker Bane. The Millers would have six children. By 1886, Miller was a partner in Miller and Bane, a general mercantile store at White Gate, where Miller also served as postmaster. Records indicate that Miller later changed business partners: a 1912 ledger bears the name "T. S. Miller and Bro." While operating the store, Miller also engaged in farming. The 1920 census lists him as a farmer; the 1930 census as a farm manager. Thomas Shannon Miller died in 1949.

Full Extent

3 Cubic Feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Account books--including day books and ledgers--maintained by Thomas Shannon Miller, proprietor of a general store at White Gate (Giles County), Virginia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by material type, then chronologically.

Acquisition Information

The Thomas S. Miller Account Books were donated to Special Collections prior to 1941.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Thomas Shannon Miller Account Books commenced and was completed in October, 2012.

Title
A Guide to the Thomas S. Miller Account Books, 1885-1914
Subtitle
A collection in Special Collections.
Author
John M. Jackson
Date
©2012 By Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. All rights reserved.
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308