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Dickinson & Shrewsbury Records
mssDS
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Dickinson & Shrewsbury records
Identifier/Call Number: mssDS
Physical Description:
55.54 Linear Feet
(33 boxes and 8 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1779-1915
Date (bulk): 1804-1860
Abstract: Business, legal, political, and personal correspondence of the founders, officers, employees, and legal counsel of the Dickinson
& Shrewsbury salt company in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Dickinson & Shrewsbury records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased by William Reese Company on behalf of The Huntington from Swann Galleries Sale 2517, Lot 204, September 26, 2019.
William Dickinson and Joel Shrewsbury founded Dickinson & Shrewsbury in 1814. The company had been proceeded by several other
corporations based on land first purchased by Colonel John Dickinson in 1784 along the banks of the Kanawha River, Virginia
(later to become West Virginia). John Dickinson conveyed his land to his sons-in-law, Samuel and John Shrewsbury. They settled
there and established farms, bought more land, and started a salt business. They invited their brother Joel Shrewsbury and
his business partner and brother-in-law William Dickinson to come to Virginia and join their business enterprises. Joel Shrewsbury
and William Dickinson began to purchase property, rented a salt furnace, and moved their business to Kanawha in 1814. The
firm of Dickinson & Shrewsbury was a large user of slave labor in their salt works and mines often using enslaved people "hired
out" from enslavers in the area. Enslavers would often "hire out" their enslaved people to others, which could earn the enslavers
more money; they would even take out insurance policies on the enslaved laborers at times. In December 1865, William Dickinson
initiated dissolution proceedings against Joel Shrewsbury. At the time, the company owned four salt furnaces and fifty-nine
parcels of land in Kanawha County and Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and the company claimed ownership of 130 enslaved
laborers. The dissolution proceedings lasted until 1882, long after the founders' deaths. The Dickinson family was later involved
in the founding of the Kanawha Valley Bank, and in 2013, descendants of the Dickinson family re-opened the salt mines under
the name of J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works.
The Dickinson & Shrewsbury records contain personal and business correspondence related to Dickinson & Shrewsbury salt mine
company, their business and legal records, and files related to the enslaved labor that the company used in their salt mines
including the family of Booker T. Washington, who were enslaved by the Ruffner family. The correspondence series, 1799 to
1880, is mostly between prominent company members and family members. The business files series, 1801 to 1857, are made up
of financial accounts for the company. The enslaved labor files, 1806 to 1863, contain a variety of documents related to the
enslaved people the company "hired out" from other enslavers to work at the salt mines. Many of the documents of the collection
are the result of the dissolution of the company and the many lawsuits that were brought about near the end of the company.
The topic of the enslaved people the company used is present in each series. The records also relate to several other companies
in the same region such as Joel Shrewsbury & Company, and Dickinsons & Shrewsbury. There are also two maps, 1838 and undated.
Processed by Brooke M. Black in August 2021. In 2022, Brooke M. Black updated the finding aid after an item was treated and
rehoused. In 2022, some materials were flattened in preparation for digitization. The box and folder numbers of the material
changed due to the change in size of materials. In 2023, Gayle M. Richardson updated the container numbers to reflect housing
after conservation work.
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are available in the
Huntington Digital Library.
Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Business files; 3. Enslaved labor files; 4. Maps and deed.
Dickinson Family Papers. Special Collections, Morrow Library, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Businessmen -- West Virginia -- 19th century
Fugitive slaves -- United States
Salt industry and trade -- West Virginia -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Salt mines and mining -- West Virginia
Slaveholders -- West Virginia
Slavery -- West Virginia -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Slaves -- West Virginia
Business records -- United States -- 19th century
Legal documents -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Dickinson, William, 1772-1861
Dickinson family
Shrewsbury, Joel, 1778-1859
Shrewsbury family
Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915
Dickinson & Shrewsbury