mums619 Roger Williams Daybook Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Dex Haven. Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Dubois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Mass.

2009

Finding aid encoded in MSWord2009-02-06 Finding aid written in English Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Roger Williams Account Book Finding Aid MS 619 bd Compiled by Dex Haven August 2009

Collection Overview Williams, Roger Roger Williams Account Book 1808-1822 MS 619 bd 1 volume (0.1 linear ft.) Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst During the early decades of the nineteenth century, Roger Williams ran a ferry in West Springfield, Mass., carrying passengers and freight across the Connecticut River. The Williams ledger is a combination daybook and account book, recording several dozen transactions of a Connecticut River ferryman, centered on the years around the War of 1812. Most of the entries are brief records of trips carrying individuals or freight across the river, however a few provide indications of other economic activity, including framing and joining, making a coffin, fixing sleds, and cidering. English Historical Note

During the early decades of the nineteenth century, Roger Williams ran a ferry in West Springfield, Mass., carrying passengers and freight across the Connecticut River.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Williams ledger is a combination daybook and account book, recording several dozen transactions of a Connecticut River ferryman, centered on the years around the War of 1812. Most of the entries are brief records of trips carrying individuals or freight across the river, however a few provide indications of other economic activity, including framing and joining, making a coffin, fixing sleds, and cidering.

The approximate location of the ferry is inferred from one entry datelined West Springfield, but also from several account names that can be traced with some confidence to that town, including Enoch and Justin Ashley, Luke Parsons, Rowley Leonard, Silas Chapin, Chauncey Morgan, Moses Bliss, Peresh Hitchcock, and Moses Ely and his sons Willard and John. A few entries, such as those for Rhoda Ashley and Jared Noble, come from residents of adjacent Westfield.

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Roger Williams Account Book (MS 619 bd). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Acquired from Dan Casavant, November 2008.

Processed by Dex Haven, February 2009.

Search Terms Williams, Roger. Ferries--Massachusetts--Connecticut River. West Springfield (Mass.). Account books. Daybooks.