Manuscripts

Business files

Description: The Business files series is made up of various financial and business records of Dickinson & Shrewsbury from 1801 to 1892. There are also legal documents, memoranda books, property records, land surveys, related correspondence, and miscellaneous ephemera. There are several files by name of person, fellow businessmen of Dickinson & Shrewsbury, including Alexander W. Quarrier, Joel Ruffner, and Lewis Ruffner.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1801-1857
Call number: mssDS
Creator: Dickinson & Shrewsbury(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased by William Reese Company on behalf of The Huntington from Swann Galleries Sale 2517, Lot 204, September 2019.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Flatboat file

Manuscripts

The Dickinson & Shrewsbury records contain personal and business correspondence related to Dickinson & Shrewsbury salt mine company, their business and legal records, and files related to the enslaved labor that the company used in their salt mines including the family of Booker T. Washington, who were enslaved by the Ruffner family. The correspondence series, 1799 to 1880, is mostly between prominent company members and family members. The business files series, 1801 to 1857, are made up of financial accounts for the company. The enslaved labor files, 1806 to 1863, contain a variety of documents related to the enslaved people the company "hired out" from other enslavers to work at the salt mines. Many of the documents of the collection are the result of the dissolution of the company and the many lawsuits that were brought about near the end of the company. The topic of the enslaved people the company used is present in each series. The records also relate to several other companies in the same region such as Joel Shrewsbury & Company, and Dickinsons & Shrewsbury. There are also two maps, 1838 and undated.

mssDS

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Burroughs file

Manuscripts

mssDS

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Ferguson file

Manuscripts

mssDS

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Rymer file

Manuscripts

mssDS

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George Washington file

Manuscripts

mssDS

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Enslaved labor files

Manuscripts

The Enslaved labor files are made up of a variety of items mostly all related to the enslaved people that were being held in slavery by Dickinson & Shrewsbury and other enslavers in the Virginia and West Virginia region from 1806 to 1863. There are approximately 30 lists of enslaved people held in slavery by Dickinson & Shrewsbury, including two notebooks. These lists often have the persons' name (often first name only), age, related family members, and the name of the enslaver who "hired" them out to Dickinson & Shrewsbury. The series also contains letters about "hiring out" enslaved people to the salt mines and passes for enslaved people to receive supplies, to travel, and sell items.

mssDS

Business files

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Flatboat file

Burroughs file

Ferguson file

Rymer file

George Washington file

Enslaved labor files