Booth and Green family account-keeping exercise book and ledgers

This account-keeping exercise book, general store ledger, and shoemaker’s ledger reflect the economic activities of members of the Booth and Green families as well as other residents of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, between 1807 and 1857.

Volume 1 is an account-keeping exercise book created by James Booth of Bethel Township, Pennsylvania. Booth likely copied the daybook and ledgers from an instructional manual, possibly a later edition of Charles Hutton’s A Complete Treatise on Practical Arithmetic and Book-Keeping, Both by Single and Double Entry, which was first published in the 1760s. Booth’s daybook transcription closely follows an 1807 edition of this manual, although the names of fictional debtors vary slightly. While “George Robson, of York” and “James Wilson, Schoolmaster” are still present, Booth’s transcription updated “Lady Strawberry” to “Lucy Berry,” and changed “Sir Jeffery Slingstone” to “Jesse Sling.” The daybook records the debts of these individuals in chronological order, beginning with James Elford of Bath’s purchase of broadcloth on January 1, 1811. Although many of the debtors are described as living in English towns, Booth recorded his own location as Bethel Township at the top of the first page. Following the daybook is a section labeled “Ledger A 1811” in which each individual’s transactions for the year are grouped together with debts on the left-hand page and payments on the right-hand page. For instance, Booth noted that George Robson’s debts for sundries purchased in January and March of 1811 were settled by a payment of cash in full on October 27, 1811. Booth moved the accounts of individuals whose accounts were not settled into a second ledger at the back of this volume. Booth then recorded a list of memoranda, which included an appointment to attend the State House and a trip to Liverpool. It is likely that these entries were also copied from an instructional manual. Although the entries in this exercise were dated January 1 to December 31, 1811, Booth dated the cover of the book January 15, 1811, and the memorandum at the back of the book February 2, 1811. The volume is bound in a paper wrapper and contains handwritten entries in black ink.

Volume 2 is a general store ledger that was kept between April 3, 1807, and October 26, 1810, possibly in Thornbury Township, Pennsylvania. The ledger employs a modified double-entry bookkeeping technique. It is organized by customer, with the individual’s debts to the store in the left-hand column and his or her credit payments in the right-hand column. Customers’ accounts were occasionally carried forward to a later page in the ledger. Customers purchased a variety of goods, including textiles, spirits, foodstuffs, and notions, and paid their debts with cash, labor, and goods. Customers also paid in notes drawn on their neighbors, suggesting the prevalence of commerce and exchange among members of the community. Customers included various members of the Cheyney, Sharpless, Mercer, and Green families. The volume is missing its front and back cover and is loosely bound together. Entries are handwritten in black ink.

Volume 3 is a ledger recording the sale and repair of shoes as well as boarding debts for various individuals, dating between January 1, 1851, and April 29, 1857. This ledger was likely kept by Sharpless Green of Bethel Township, Pennsylvania. The ledger includes an alphabetical index of customers, many of whom belonged to the Booth and Clayton families. In addition to the sale of and repair of boots, it appears that Green occasionally sold other goods, including textiles and tobacco. Several of the individuals listed also boarded with Green for periods of time, including Ellis McClees, Jonathan P. Newlin, and Robert Pyle. Green’s debtors paid him in a combination of cash, labor, and goods. This volume is missing its front cover and many of the page signatures are loose. The back cover is bound with marbled paper and the remnants of the spine are covered in cloth. The entries are handwritten in black ink.