Oliver Brothers Grocery Store Ledger
Scope and Contents
The collection amounts to approximately .5 cubic feet and contains one ledger from the Oliver Brothers Grocery Store spanning 1900-1901. The pages are lined and filled with handwritten accounts for the grocery store’s patrons, tracking the purchases made and money owed by its regulars throughout the year. Also included in the ledger is some basic financial information and accounting regarding the store’s operations.
Dates
- Creation: 1900-1901
Biographical / Historical
The Oliver Brothers Grocery Store was located at 741 W. Main St. in Kalamazoo. It was operated by Thomas B. (1861-1945) and George Acton (1871-1940) Oliver. The store likely opened around 1893 and ceased operations sometime after 1908, but the building remained a grocery store in some capacity under different ownership until around 1932, when it was turned into apartment housing.
Thomas B. and George A. were both born to Thomas and Sarah Hayward Oliver. Their father was from Scotland and their mother was from England, both immigrating to the United States when they were children. Thomas B. and George A. had four other siblings, Walter Alanzo, Martha Heyward, Adam Shepard, and Abraham H.. Thomas married Susan Francoise in 1893, and George married Jessie B. Palmer in 1906. Both are buried in the Kalamazoo Riverside Cemetery.
Extent
.5 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection is composed of one ledger from the Oliver Brothers Grocery Store from 1900-1901.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Starring Endowment
Physical Description
The book measures 14” x 10” x 3”, is 800 pages long, and is bound in leather. The ledger is in a delicate condition. The leather binding is starting to come undone, and the outside of the ledger is wearing off, leaving brown dust on what it touches. As a result, some of the pages have been stained, though the writing is still easy to read and the inside of the book is in good condition.
Subject
- Oliver, Thomas B. , 1861-1945 (Person)
- Oliver, George Acton, 1871-1940 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Oliver Brothers Grocery Store Ledger Finding Aid
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jacob Walsh, Mallory Heslinger
- Date
- 2024-06-28
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490
arch-collect@wmich.edu