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. 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.
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. 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. 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.