Skip to main content

Asa Moore Janney Forest Mills ledgers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 00358

  • Staff Only

Content Description

The Asa Moore Janney Forest Mills ledgers contains three ledgers belonging to Asa Moore Janney, a Quaker qho owned Forest Mills located in Loudoun Country, Virginia. The ledgers contain accounts of flour and other commodities Janney provided to families including African Americans as well as volunteers in the Confederate army. The ledgers tracked daily business sales and transactions along with labor expenses for the mill operation.

Dates

  • Creation: 1861-1875

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

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.

Biographical / Historical

Asa Moore Janney (1802-1877) was a Quaker, mill owner, abolitionist and Native American agent for the Santee Sioux Reseravation located in Nebraska. Janney operated Forest Mills in Loudon County, Virginia and was a unionist who provided goods to the then confederate occupied communities in Virginia during the Civil War (1861-1865). Forest Mills was raided and burned by Union and Confederate soldiers multiple times throughout the war, including once in 1864 by General Philip Sheridan's cavalry. After the end of the Civil War, Janney received finanicial compensation for the burned mill. Janney married Lydia Janney and had two daughters, Cosmelia and Thamsin. Cosmelia worked on the Santee Sioux Reservation as a teacher during Janney's work as an agent. Janney died in 1877 and the mill came under new ownership before burning again in 1899.

Extent

4.25 Linear Feet (3 oversize boxes measuring 11x17 inches.)

Language

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The Asa Moore Janney Forest Mills ledgers are arranged into one series: I: Ledgers.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Asa Moore Janney Forest Mills ledgers
Status
Completed
Author
William & Mary Special Collections Research Center staff
Date
April 2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository

Contact: