Of Jewish descent, Jacob Schwartz was born in Engenheim, Germany, in 1815 and later emigrated to Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi, where he married Judith Moritz on November 15, 1844. The Schwartzes had at least four children, including Sarah, who was blind, Caroline, Fanny, and Leon. By 1850, Schwartz was also boarding four other German immigrants.

Schwartz and his new business partner, Felix Embree, opened a general store in the Masonic building on the corner of Main and Royal Oak streets in Woodville in April of 1854. The Masonic building had been dedicated in June of 1852, and it provided retail spaces for four businesses. Schwartz and Embree were both active in local politics during this period, from their signing of an open letter supporting Jefferson Davis in 1850 to their presence on local Democratic Party committees. Among other political activities, Embree was one of the founding members of the Southern Rights Association. Schwartz was on the Woodville Board of Supervisors from 1855 to 1881, and he was a delegate to the state convention of the Democratic Party in 1881. He moved the store from the Masonic building to a more spacious building on the west side of the town square in May of 1883. In his last will and testament that was signed on August 31, 1883, Schwartz bequeathed all of his estate to his wife and executor, Sophy, and her heirs. Jacob Schwartz died in March of 1894.

Jacob Schwartz’s son, Leon, who was also active in local politics, ran the store after his father’s death, forming a new partnership with C. H. Neyland in 1896 to establish Schwartz and Neyland: Fancy Groceries and General Merchandise.

The ledger of the Jacob Schwartz general merchandise store in Woodville, Mississippi, records sales for 1859 and from 1869 to 1874. The names of customers are listed throughout the ledger, as well as the amount of each credit or debit and applicable interest rate. Most of the entries are in the 1859 section of the ledger, and they are arranged chronologically by daily sales. The 1869-1872 section of the ledger records transactions by customer name. The name of each customer is followed by chronological entries ranging from several months to several years of transactions. The 1873-1874 section of the ledger is also arranged chronologically by daily sales, but a brief description of each sale is provided. Several pages are missing from the front and back of the ledger.

1. Ledger. 1859; 1869-1874. 1 folder.