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Contact Information:Special CollectionsCarol G. Belk Library and Information Commons Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina 28608 USA Phone: (828) 262-4041 Fax: (828) 262-2553 Email: spcoll@appstate.edu URL: http://www.library.appstate.edu/appcoll |
| Repository: | Appalachian State University W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection |
| Creator: | Taylor and Moore |
| Title: | Collection 410. Taylor and Moore Ledger, 1853 - 1917 |
| Language of Material: | Material in English |
| Location: | For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Appalachian State University. |
| Abstract: | The Taylor and Moore Ledger documents the sales of the Taylor and Moore General Store of Valle Crucis, in Watauga County, North Carolina, during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. |
| Extent: | 1 linear foot, 3 archival boxes |
An appointment for research is required. No restrictions to access. No Interlibrary Loan.
The ledger is fragile. As a preservation measure, the ledger and accompanying materials were microfilmed and scanned. The microfilm is currently unavailable, but researchers may view scanned images (.jpg or .tif files) saved to compact discs (CDs).
Standard federal copyright laws apply. Any commercial use of these materials must be approved by Taylor family members first.
[Identification of item], Collection 410. Taylor and Moore Ledger, W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA.
The ledger and accompanying materials were on loan before they were donated by Peggy M. Taylor in July 2008. The accession number is 08-17. It was opened to the public in May, 2008.
Microfilmed by Dean Williams and Amanda Hedrick, April, 2008.
Scanned by Kia Vang, April, May, 2008.
Processed by Kathryn Staley and Simms Toomey, May and August, 2008.
Encoded by Kathryn Staley and Simms Toomey, May and August, 2008.
The Taylor and Moore Store was a general store, operated by Henry Taylor, in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, in the 1860s to 1870s. It is believed to have been located across the road from the present-day Mast Store.
Henry Taylor was a farmer and merchant in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. He was born in 1819 in Davidson County to Butler Taylor. He came to Watauga County in 1849 in a one-horse wagon selling Seth Thomas clocks. He lived with the John Mast family during this first year. In 1851, he married Emaline Mast, daughter of John Mast of Sugar Grove. They were active Methodists. Children were John Butler (1852-1931), James Patterson Taylor (1858-1901), Charles Davis "Squire" (1861-1937), Thomas "Hard" Hardester (1863-1922), and two girls who died in infancy.
The Taylors moved to Valle Crucis and started two country stores, including the one which became Mast Store. In 1861, he co-owned the Taylor and Moore General Store with Martin V. Moore, who is not listed in the 1850 or 1860 census. This partnership appears to have dissolved in 1861. By 1870, Taylor and Moore General Store employee Harrison Mast (b. 1841) was living with the Taylors.
The Mast General Store was also built, at least the first of its many rooms, by Henry Taylor. It was constructed in 1882 and opened in 1883. Its name is not known; however, it may have been the Taylor and Mast Store. In 1913, William Mast bought out the remaining partners and it became known as the Mast General Store.
The collection consists of the ledger and approximately fifteen loose documents that were discovered inside the ledger when it was opened. The 616-page ledger documents the business activity of the Taylor and Moore General Store of Valle Crucis, North Carolina, primarily during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, with some early twentieth-century notations as well. Entries indicate payments were made in cash or by bartering goods. Products sold include dry goods, groceries, shoes, and hardware. The loose materials found within the ledger include various advertisements, handwritten notes, cancelled checks, letters, legal documents, and account records (possibly from a day book), dated 1853-1917, and undated. The inclusive dates for this collection are 1853-1917; the bulk dates are 1861-1878.
The ledger is leather-bound with "Ledger A" and "T. & M." printed on the spine in gold lettering. The date of January 1, 1861, appears on the front page. The index, an alphabetical list of customers' names, is located at the beginning of the ledger and directs users to the pages on which information about individual accounts is recorded. The 25 index pages are not numbered. Two identical entries, "settled in dissolving partnership, July 27, 1861," appear on pages two and three; Henry Taylor's name appears at the top of page two and Martin V. Moore's name appears at the top of page three.
The arrangement of information throughout the ledger is representative of 19th century double-entry bookkeeping. The index, an alphabetical list of customers' names, is located at the beginning of the ledger and directs users to the pages on which information about individual accounts is recorded. The 616 pages following the index document the business activity of the Taylor and Moore store primarily from 1861-1878, with some early twentieth-century notations as well. The loose documents are contained within a folder that is stored with the ledger. The current arrangement of the fifteen loose items that were found inside the ledger corresponds to the order in which they were scanned and microfilmed.
Alternate formats available to researchers include a set of 2 compact discs (CDs) containing scanned images saved as .jpg files and a set of 27 compact discs containing scanned images saved as .tif files. The two-disc and 27-disc sets of access CDs containing scanned images saved as .jpg files and .tifs are housed together. One reel of microfilm is awaiting duplication as of August 25, 2008.
The arrangement of information within the ledger and the discovery of accompanying loose papers determined the creation of distinct file name formats. The electronic file names "Loose01" through "Loose32" refer to a group of 32 scans of the loose documents that were found with the ledger. When a file is named "page001" or "page616," opening that file will allow you to view a scanned image of page 1 or page 614 in the ledger. In the ledger, page 1 occurs after an index of names of individuals who had accounts at the store. The file titled "Page_a01" refers to the first page of the index; the file titled "page_a25" refers to the last page of the index. Individuals whose last names begin with the letter A are listed on "page_a01," last names beginning with the letter B will be found on "page_a02," and so on. When viewing the collection in microfilm or digital formats, it may be helpful to consult a printout of the index.
| Mercantile--Watauga County, North Carolina |
| Taylor and Moore Store |
| Valle Crucis (N.C.) |
| Watauga County (N.C.) |
Collection 128. Valle Crucis Company Records, W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University.
Collection 269. Taylor and Mast General Store Ledger, W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University.
Heritage of Watauga County, North Carolina, Volume 1, 1984.
Hughes, I. Harding, Jr.My Valle Crucis: The 1930s, Self-published, 2002.
Hughes, I. Harding, Jr.Valle Crucis: A History of an Uncommon Place, Valle Crucis, NC: Bookcrafters, Inc., 1995.
Mast, A. Clyde.History of Watauga County, North Carolina, Self-published, c. 1976.
