- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Alexander McDonald Williamson Ledger, 1874-1893
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Content Description
Account book of Alexander McDonald Williamson (1836-1919), first mayor of Carthage, Moore County, North Carolina, Confederate prisoner of war, and carriage maker who worked for a time, perhaps as a supervisor (as he notes when people "commenced working"), for Tyson & Jones Buggy Company. The company was co-owned by William T. Jones, a formerly-enslaved African American businessman and veteran of the Confederate Army.
As documented in the ledger, Tyson & Jones Buggy Company had a large presence. There was employee housing at the facility and many of the employees, including Williamson, were paid at the company store with goods and produce.
Williamson's ledger, which documents his time with Tyson & Jones Buggy Company and other business engagements in Carthage, includes the names of many employees as well as those of customers, including members of the African American community. Some of these individuals are identified by Williamson's use of "colored" or "Col" to describe the person; others have been identified as African American via U.S. Census records. These include Calvin Black, Dock Chalmers, Adam Shaw, Adam Kelly, Harmon Goins, Lizie Harvey, Reverand Miles, Isabelle Cagle, and Charles Dowd. There is also an entry for Chatham Prisoners who came to stay and board with him, presumably as they awaited trial at the local courthouse.
- Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by the name of the creator or by the date of acquisition.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
Purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books in 2022 (AM 2023-107).
- Appraisal
No material was separated during processing.
- Processing Information
This item was processed and described by Faith Charlton in April 2023, incorporating description and research provided by the dealer.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Alexander McDonald Williamson Ledger; General Manuscripts Miscellaneous Collection, C0140, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (mss): Box B-002024
Find More
- Existence and Location of Copies
Parts of this collection are available on microfilm, cataloged separately as RCPXM-7497696.
- Subject Terms:
- African American businesspeople -- North Carolina -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
African Americans -- Employment -- North Carolina -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
African Americans -- North Carolina -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Carriage and wagon making -- United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- North Carolina -- Sources - Genre Terms:
- Ledgers (account books) -- 19th century
- Places:
- Moore County (N.C.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
