Grimes Family papers

The Grimes family of Oxon Hill, Prince George's County, Maryland maintained a farm as well as a store and tavern or 'ordinary' throughout the nineteenth century. For much of that time one family member or another served as postmaster for the area. In accordance with the contemporary convention of naming towns after the local postmaster, the town was then known as Grimesville. The Grimes family papers include financial ledgers from the store, daybooks recording work on the farm, weather, and local and family news, legal agreements about land and labor, and correspondence. Thomas Grimes (1794-1864) managed the store, ordinary, farm, and post office from about 1820 until his death. His son Richard Franklin (born 1835) assumed responsibilities in the family businesses as Thomas' health declined in the 1860s and maintained the businesses after his father died