John A. McLeod Department Store Records

Box 1 contains five volumes, each designed for a particular purpose. Volume one is a Combined Record Book which contains a handwritten copy of the McLeod and Kennedy Company's 1899 charter and a copy of the 1904 amendment changing the company's name to the John A. McLeod Company. Also in this book are minutes of board of directors and shareholders meetings from November 1899 to January 1920, and a stock register showing ownership of company stock. The minutes are brief, however, and provide little insight into operations during the period. Volume two is a Trial Balance Book (Aug. - Dec. 1915). In accounting, the purpose of a trial balance is to ferret out errors in journalization before final entry in a ledger. This volume contains information concerning accounts payable and receivable, and provides names of customers and suppliers of the McLeod Company. Volume three is a Cash Book which details receipts and disbursements from July 1922 to December 1923. Volume four begins a series of eight Day Books, a type of journal used to record current transactions. However, the first two Day Books (vols. 4 & 5) have been used for inventory records (1924-1930). All entries therein are dated December 31, suggesting that the company's fiscal year coincided with the calendar year. Judging from these records, the store carried a wide variety of merchandise including clothing, shoes, piece goods, sewing notions, household items, luggage, health and beauty aids, hardware, and farm supplies. Interestingly, pages 272-307 of volume four record sales of cotton produced by tenant farmers on the McLeod farm during 1926 and 1927. These entries include name of producer, weight of bale, production costs, sale price, and name of purchaser. Volume six, the final Day Book in Box 1 has been relabeled "Wood Book", and records sales of wood from the McLeod Farm between 1918 and 1922. Entries provide names of customers, price of purchase, and in some instances, the amount of wood purchased plus a note as to whether the patron was a city or country dweller.

Box 2 contains the remaining five Day Books, which are essentially cash books, dating from 1923-1932. However, pages 6-65 of volume two concern the store's grocery department, and document transactions with wholesale suppliers between 1923 and 1924. Examples of local merchants with whom McLeod's dealt are the Merchants Grocery Company, Hattiesburg Grocery Company, Mattingly's Bakery, Mohler & Sons Coffee Company, and Shelby Wholesale Company.

Box 3 contains a Purchase Journal covering the years 1920-1929. This volume records merchandise purchased from various wholesale suppliers, primarily dry goods and shoes. Suppliers represented include Ely & Walker Dry Goods Co. (St. Louis, MO); Davies Shoe Manufacturers (Racine, WI); Southern Suspender Co. (Edwards, MS); Mayfield Woolen Mills (Mayfield, KY); and Southwestern Broom Co. (Evansville, IN). Entries consist of description and monetary value of items purchased. Also in Box 3 are two receipt books (1926-27 & 1930-31) which reflect payments on customer accounts.

The collection contains three Sales Journals which provide detailed information concerning daily transactions of the McLeod Department Store between 1917 and 1931. For example, the initial entry in the first of these journals (Box 4, 1917-1920) records that on November 5, 1917, Joe Cook (president of Mississippi Normal College, now USM) purchased a handkerchief for ten cents. This volume also records salaries of McLeod Company employees at the end of each month. Due to its size, it was necessary to place the second Sales Journal (1920-1925) out of chronological order. It can be found in Box 10. The final Sales Journal (1926-1931), the rear portion of which is devoted to invoice records detailing transactions with suppliers, is located in Box 5.

Boxes 6 and 7 contain what appear to be Creditors Ledgers (1917-1923 & 1925-1930), reflecting activity concerning accounts with suppliers.

Box 8 contains a ledger that appears to record income and expenses (1924-1931). Left-facing pages have entries under the headings "Sundries" and "Merchandise", which appear to reflect income. Entries on right-facing pages are under the headings "Sundries", "Freight", Expense", "Drayage", and "Merchandise", and appear to reflect expenditures.

Box 9 contains the company's General Ledger No. 8 (1917-1930). As a rule, general ledgers contain summarized accounts of all assets, liabilities, and elements of ownership equity of a business, including expenses and revenues, and entries therein are posted portion of this volume contains accounts relating to operating expenses, for example, merchandise, bills payable and receivable, church and charity donations, advertising, drayage, insurance, interest, and profit and loss. The rest of the ledger reflects debits and credits affecting customer accounts. Arranged alphabetically, the accounts contain the names of many prominent citizens, for example, Paul Draughn, Dr. W.W. Crawford, Sam Adler, Jessie Griffin, D.W. Holmes, Joseph E. Sarphie, Victor Scanlan, and John R. Tally.

An Accounts Ledger (ca. 1917-1926) in Box 11 records debits and credits affecting customer and expense accounts. This volume lists former Mississippi governor, Paul B. Johnson, as a customer.

The oldest item in the collection, a Journal of J.C. Calhoun and Sons general mercantile company in Mobile, Alabama, can be found in Box 12. J.C. Calhoun was John A. McLeod's father-in-law. This journal documents daily transactions of the company from March 8, 1873 to October 5, 1874. Entries consist of customers' names, items purchased, price per unit, and total price of sale. Typical orders include sugar, flour, meal, candles, grits, molasses, bacon, ham, tobacco, hay, soap, coffee, and salt. An additional service provided was the boarding of animals. Page 84 notes that on April 22, 1873, E.W. Short was charged $5.00 for boarding a mule. Mr. Calhoun's great granddaughter, Lida Frances Gilliam, used this journal during the late 1920s or early 1930s for practicing her penmanship, and it is liberally sprinkled with her childish scrawl.

Boxes 13 and 14 contain loose items found in the various ledgers and journals; samples of invoice payment forms and sales books used by the McLeod Department Store in the 1920s and 1930s; and items relating to the McLeod Family. Items found in journals and ledgers are primarily invoices of various suppliers. School memorabilia of McLeod grandchildren, Lida Frances, Anne, and Howard Gilliam, comprise the bulk of family-related items. Included are scrapbooks, school papers, programs, and mementoes of Lida Gilliam's college days at State Teachers College (now the University of Southern Mississippi). One of the more unique items is a history of Forrest County prepared by Anne Gilliam in about 1935. It is in booklet form, and is in the shape of Forrest County.