Shopping Stories: Revealing Lives through the Ledgers

Join the Alexandria Historical Society for a lecture by Molly Kerr, a founding Director at History Revealed, Inc., whose recent research has focused on store accounts from the 18th century for what they tell us about the people, places, events, and material culture of the communities of Colchester and Alexandria, Virginia. Account books detail a wealth of information from a community – describing people, places, objects, economies, politics, religion, events, etc. They are quite different from the typical prose of a letter or diary as they often reveal insights into the lives of less recognized members of a community, like the enslaved and women, through their accounts and purchases by, and on behalf of them by others. Learn what can be revealed about a community in and around eighteenth-century Alexandria, Virginia, from store ledgers.

Tickets are $5 for non-members and free to members of the Alexandria Historical Society. Memberships can be purchased/renewed at the door.

To request a reasonable disability accommodation, email franwbromberg@gmail.com.