mums285 Mercantile House Ledger, 1792-1804 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Ken Fones-Wolf. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, MA

2002

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Eric Cartier. 2002-05-13 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mu142 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Mercantile House Ledger, 1792-1804 Finding Aid Manuscript Number 285 Compiled by Ken Fones-Wolf 1989 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Mercantile House Mercantile House Ledger 1792-1804 MS 285 1 volume (0.25 linear ft.) Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Firm based in Portland, Maine, that supplied "merchandize" to local merchants in Maine, as well as in several locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and northeastern Massachusetts. Firm undertook international "adventures" as well. Ledger includes general accounts for merchandise, bills receivable and payable, cash, profit and loss, storage, and truckage, as well as accounts generated with certain ships. English. Scope and Contents of the Collection

This ledger documents the network of trade in southern Maine (at that time, still a part of Massachusetts) in the new republic. The firm which kept this ledger supplied local merchants in Portland, Gorham, North Yarmouth, Orrington, Pembroke, Georgetown (in Kennebec), and Cooper, Maine, as well as several locations in New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. But this firm was not exclusively local; it undertook "adventures" to London, Cadiz, Port-au-Prince, Surinam, Virginia, North Carolina, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the goods purchased and sold are not itemized. Instead, they are accounted for under the general term "merchandize."

Throughout the volume, there are more general accounts of the form for merchandise, bills receivable and payable, cash, profit and loss, storage, and truckage. There are also accounts generated with certain ships, including the General Wayne, the Five Brothers, and the Brig. Zephyr. Among the prominent accounts represented in this ledger are the Portland merchants Robert Boyd; Stevens and Hovey; Benjamin Titcomb, Jr.; Woodbury Storer; Ralph Cross; and William Waite. Other accounts were with Williams and Coffin (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), Asaph Gates (Orrington, Maine), Charles Josselyn (Pembroke), James Coffin (Pepperell), David Coffin (Newburyport), and James Robinson (Lynn).

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Mercantile House Ledger (MS 285). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Acquired from Charles Apfelbaum, 1987.

Processed by Ken Fones-Wolf, 1989.

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