Guide to the  Singletary & Carmichael Records

Accession  030-08-0307

Repository Information

Archives of Wiregrass History & Culture
Troy University--Dothan Campus
P.O. Box 8368
Dothan, AL  36304

Website:  http://dothan.troy.edu/archives

Ph:  334-983-6556 x-327
E-mail:  Archivist Dr. Martin T. Olliff  <molliff@troy.edu>

Collection Information

Date Span              1915 - 1951

Perm Acc Size        ca. 4 cubic feet

Perm Phy Desc      34 Loose  Ledgers, 1 @ one-half Doc Box

Organizational History:  In 1913, A.D. Whiddon and William Singletary purchased John Sanders & Co., a dry good and farm supply store in Dothan, AL.  They established Singletary and Whiddon to provide those same goods to farmers of the Wiregrass.  In 1923, the store was located on the 132-140 block of South Foster Street, Dothan.  In 1936, the store became Singletary and Carmichael, owned by William Singletary and his nephew Archie Carmichael.  (Stepp, Wendell H., and Pamela A. Stepp.  Dothan:  A Pictorial History.  The Donning Company/Publishers, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, 1984.)

Recently, the company has undergone name and ownership changes; it is now Carmichael Electronics.  In 1998, Larry Cable purchased the store from Archie Carmichael, IV.  The current owner, Steve Crisp, acquired the assets of Carmichael Electronics from the bank in 2000 and renamed the business Wiregrass Electronics.

Scope/Content:  Collection documents the finances of Singletary & Whiddon as well as Singletary & Carmichael, including: general account ledgers, fertilizer ledgers, accounts receivable ledgers, purchase orders, and receipt books

Collection Organization:  Organized into four series:

1.  Daily Cash Journals – 21 journals, 1915 - 1951. Includes cash balances and business transactions, showing date of transactions, names of customers, quantities, costs and descriptions of merchandise purchased.  Cash journals reconciled the till.

2.  General and Sub-Ledgers– 12 ledgers, 1916-1945.  Three general account ledgers, 1916 – 1923.  The general account ledgers report balances for expenses, including: accounts for purchased merchandise, freight and express accounts and account with First National Bank of Dothan.  This series contains two types of sub-ledgers (extracts from the general ledgers):  Fertilizer Ledgers (7), 1916 – 1945 and Accounts Payable Ledgers (2), 1919 - 1926.  Because the state taxed fertilizer, the store kept separate fertilizer ledgers that list customers’ names and postings of amounts and prices of fertilizer sold.  Also, the store extended credit to customers, so it kept separate accounts payable ledgers that list customers’ names with amounts they owed.

3.  Receipts - Contains 3 items.  One receipt books from 1946 – 1948, consisting of a copy of sale receipts given to customers. Two purchase order books from 1943-1948 consisting of copies of cash paid out for items purchased by store.

4.  Miscellaneous – Contains blank receipt book, blank insurance ledger, and ephemera.

All series are arranged chronologically

Provenance:  Archie Carmichael, IV, donated collection to William Holman, Executive Director of Dothan Landmark Foundation, Inc.  Holman donated the collection to Archives of Wiregrass History and Culture.

Processing Notes:  No original order, so AWHC staff divided the collection into four series to facilitate access.

Preferred Citation:   [Item], Historical Collections:  Singletary & Carmichael Records, Dothan Landmarks Foundation, Inc. Records, RG030.  Archives of Wiregrass History and Culture, Troy University--Dothan Campus, Dothan, AL.

Access Limits?      Open

Proc Date              4/1/2008

Processor               B. Strickland

INVENTORY

Series 1:  Daily Cash Journals  -Journals include daily cash balances and business transactions.

Series 2: General Ledger  - The general ledgers include balances for expenses including: accounts for purchased merchandise, freight and express accounts and account with First National Bank of Dothan. Fertilizer ledgers contain alphabetical indexes of customers’ names and posting of amounts and prices of fertilizer sold. Accounts payable ledgers contain a list of customers’ names with amounts owed.

Series 3: Receipt books – Cash receipt books contain a copy of sale receipts given to customers.  Purchase orders contain copies of cash paid out for items purchased by store.

Series 4: Miscellaneous

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