Four leaves from a ledger book, each 6 1/2 x 7 1/2 in., with manuscript notations recording generations of births, deaths, and marriages, the latest notation recording the death of William P. White on 10 June 1865. Incorporated within the pages are records of the births of enslaved children alongside other family details. Leaves likely represent an attempted family history, compiled over time through to the 1880s. 

The births of 19 enslaved children are recorded in three separate entries under the heading "Births of Negroes." Children are all identified by first name, and in some cases with a surname as well. Among the enslaved children born are "James Spraggins" born 12 February 1847, "Jack Stanhope" born 16 July 1852, "Katy's Calvin" born 11 February [n.y.], and "Virgin Mary" born 22 February 1859.

John W. Armistead (1818-1883) married Elizabeth White (1825-1906) in October 1844. The 1850 and 1860 US Federal Slave Schedules show that Armistead enslaved 10 persons in 1850 and 7 in 1860.