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Health & Fitness

Peabody Room Acquires Rare African-American Owned 19th Century Business Ledger

The successful bid for a piece of Georgetown's history on eBay turns out to be far more historically important than initially thought.

When DC Public Library Special Collections patron and architectural historian Pamela Scott emailed me earlier this month about a unique Georgetown artifact on eBay with instructions to search for it using the keywords “Hunter Meats,” I was more than a little curious.  For years I’ve been scouring eBay for items to add to the Peabody Room’s collections of Georgetown neighborhood history.  With no acquisition funds available, I have always had to limit my purchases to relatively inexpensive items, mostly postcards that are themselves valuable documents of visual (and sometimes textual) information.

But this item was in a category that far exceeded the information provided by the humble postcard.  Described in the eBay posting as an 1894 ledger from Hunter Meats & Grocery in Washington, DC, the 7½” x 12½” hard-bound journal contained 200 pages upon which were recorded by proprietor C.B. Hunter the merchandise sold to approximately 80 customers between 1894 and 1896.  Nowhere in the ledger’s description however did the word “Georgetown” appear.

What was it that caught Scott’s eye as well as mine that this manuscript was an important piece of Georgetown’s history?  One of the many photographs of the ledger that accompanied the posting showed Mr. Hunter’s address as being 1351 Thirty-second Street, NW, the 19th century name for today’s Wisconsin Avenue.

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Immediately I consulted the Peabody Room’s vertical file collection of Georgetown addresses and was surprised to discover that 1351 Wisconsin is today the address of the National Jewel Center.  This structure was recently in the news when it was placed on the market by its long-time owners for $4.5 million.  Between 1949 and 1986 the building housed the legendary Georgetown Theatre, supplanting the original Dumbarton Theater moniker that extended back to 1913 when the late 19th century brick structure was remodeled for presentation of “moving pictures.”

Scott told me that this ledger was very likely “a fine-grained document…crucial to building a true history of Washington” and that most information like it contained has been lost to history.  When she offered to make a donation towards its purchase (to the highest bidder) I decided to contribute my own funds and place a bid.  The wait was short as the auction concluded two days after I learned of it and incredibly my bid prevailed.  Within a week the ledger was safely housed at the Peabody Room, having traveled 68 miles from Front Royal, VA.

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My initial reaction upon examining the pages of the ledger was that Mr. Hunter was a meticulous shopkeeper, recording in exquisite detail (and thankfully in legible handwriting) the day-to-day purchases of his Georgetown customers.  Inked on the top left corner of the cover is “No. 2” referring to the fact, as documented inside, that this ledger was the continuation of book No. 1. 

Each customer’s name heads a page.  The names are not arranged in alphabetical order but probably recorded as the customers came into Mr. Hunter’s store.  With no name index appearing in the ledger, I can only assume that a separate alphabetical listing was used by Hunter to refer him to the page number in the ledger detailing a specific customer’s account.

Mrs. Barnes was his best customer.  Between October 23, 1894 and April 17, 1896 she entered Hunter’s store hundreds of times and her purchases are documented over the course of twenty-five pages.  Unfortunately it is not known who Mrs. Barnes was or where she lived and an examination of period city directories were of no assist.  What IS known is what probably graced the Barnes family’s Christmas eve or Christmas day dining room table, based on her purchases made December 24, 1894:

Steak                1½ lbs            23c

Celery                                       5c

Pork sweets       ¼lb.                 8c

Butter               ½lb.                18c

Bread                                        4c

TOTAL                                      66c
(equivalent today to $16.42)

Another customer was Mrs. Charles R. Daw, who lived at 2811 P Street, NW.  Mrs. Daw was not a regular customer, having made only six visits during January and February of 1896.  Her total expenditure was $13.20, equivalent today to $241.27.  According to the 1900 U.S. Census, Mr. Daw was a furniture clerk.  In 1896 his three children, Letitia (14), Ada (7), and Truman (5), would have certainly have been reason enough to buy plenty of groceries.  Obviously Mrs. Daw also
spread her patronage around to other local grocers.

Most important though was who was C. B. Hunter?  A quick search in the 1900 Census showed Charles B. Hunter to be a 44 year old “provisions dealer” living with his wife Mary C. at 1634 Valley Drive, today’s 32nd Street.  But one piece of information in the census elevated the ledger to an entirely new category.  Mr. Hunter was African-American and as a shop owner he was one of few blacks who operated a brick and mortar businesses in Georgetown in the late 19th century.

In the 1901 directory Colored Washington, published by Andrew F. Hilyer of the Union League of Washington, DC as a “compilation of the efforts of the colored people of Washington for social betterment,” Mr. Hunter is prominently highlighted:

“An inspiration and example for the young man of the colored race who would rise above his environment and make a ‘man’ of himself with all that noble word implies is the successful dealer in fresh meats, produce, etc. at 1351 32nd street, Georgetown.  Born in Virginia in 1855, of slave parents, he came to Washington when a boy and attended public schools.  Endowed with an abundance of common sense and a desire to better his condition, he began to sell papers and black boots, the opportunities nearest him, but resolved to use these occupations as stepping
stones only.  He next drove a cart, then went into the huckstering business.  After many discouragements he finally ‘learned the business,’ by energy push, and by sticking to it.  He began with one wagon, and soon had three, opening a store for garden truck, etc., on High Street [original name of Wisconsin Avenue], in 1888.  He is a consistent churchman, public spirited, hopeful, has amassed considerable real estate, and is the owner of a nursery and truck farm in Virginia.  He gives
employment to two young men.”

A year-by-year examination of Washington city directories showed that by 1907 Hunter had relocated his business to Arlington, VA where it became Hunter & Jackson.  The 1930 U.S. Census lists him as working as a gardener and living in
Arlington’s Lyon Park.  His date of death or obituary information has yet to be located.

If you would like to see a name index of Mr. Hunter’s customers, please contact me.  I welcome researchers who would like to examine the ledger as well as any additional information about Hunter and his customers.

Jerry A. McCoy

Special Collections Librarian

Peabody Room

Georgetown Branch Library

(202) 727-0233

jerry.mccoy@dc.gov

 

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