Milton, Delaware, school districts ledger

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0096-Item 0020

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This ledger consists of accounts for Consolidated School Districts 8, 12, 93, 153, and 160 in Milton, Delaware, between 1876 and 1893. It is accompanied by loose financial documents belonging to school district treasurer John H.B. Mustard.

The ledger contains double-entry accounts for the income and expenditures related to several school districts in Milton, a town in Sussex County, Delaware. It appears that the schools were primarily supported by local taxes, although the districts may also have been drawing dividends from unidentified investments. Disbursements were made primarily to pay teachers, with occasional notations regarding payments for coal, lumber, and repairs. From 1876 to 1890, the ledger recorded the accounts of School Districts 12, 93, and 160. After 1891, School Districts 8 and 153 were also included in the volume.

The ledger is accompanied by loose financial documents and other materials belonging to John H.B. Mustard, treasurer of Milton’s Consolidated School Districts from 1885 to 1893. In addition to accounts regarding the construction of a new school in the early 1890s, these documents include blank forms from the Sussex County Board of Education and list of delinquent school tax payers from 1892. There are also items regarding Mustard’s involvement with the Sussex County Democratic Party and the Endeavor Masonic Lodge. Finally, there are documents pertaining to the estates of John H.B. Mustard and John B. Mustard.

This volume is bound in marbled paper over boards with a red paper spine. It contains 148 pages of lined paper, 67 of which have handwritten notations in black ink. It is accompanied by a folder of paper ephemera including letters, memoranda, and loose accounts.

Dates

Creation: 1855-1898
Creation: Majority of material found within 1876-1893

Creator

Mustard, John H.B., 1835-1898 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Access Information

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

Historical Note

This ledger pertains to the finances of Consolidated School Districts 8, 12, 93, 153, and 160 in Milton, Delaware. In the mid-nineteenth century, District 8 encompassed the sections of town north of Broadkiln Creek while District 12 included areas to the south. District 8 was subdivided into District 153 in 1867, but both districts were soon reconsolidated. District 12 was subdivided into Districts 93 and 160, before being reconsolidated in 1876, the year accounts were first kept in this ledger. In Volume II of his History of Delaware, 1609-1888, J. Thomas Scharf stated that were 237 schoolchildren in these districts in 1888. The ledger indicates that all five districts reconsolidated around 1891.

The ledger was kept John H.B. Mustard between 1885 and 1893. Mustard was an accountant and bookkeeper who also acted as Alternate Registrar for Broadkiln Hundred, Delaware, in this period.

Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Delaware, 1609-1888. Volume II. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards & Co., 1888. Delaware Death Records, 1861-1933 (accessed via Ancestry.com on June 18, 2018)Information derived from the collection.