1794 day book from general store plus index

2022-100

1794 day book from general store plus index

Businesses and Stores

1794 day book recording transactions for a Worthington general store. Digital files include a full-size 1.88 GB PDF of the entire book (file name 2022-100a.pdf), a compressed 75MB PDF of the entire book (file name 2022-100b.pdf), and an index by Diane Brenner (file name 2022-100c.pdf). The day book was acquired via Ebay.com in February 2021 and restored by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Each page is sheathed in plastic, and the book can be inspected by wearing archival gloves. The most likely proprietor of the store was Spencer Whiting, and the store was most likely located on what is now Old Post Road, near the intersection with Radiker Road. By late 1794 Whiting had decided to move to Hartford, Connecticut, and he did so on March 20, 1795. The day book contains information on 396 customers and 3,606 transactions for a wide variety of goods. The day book records purchases of goods, items bartered, store credits, credit payments for goods and services, loans, and loan repayments. The day book is thus a treasure trove of information on the social and economic life of the period. The 38-page index includes a complete list of names and explains how to interpret the entries. In 2022 Diane Brenner researched and curated an exhibit in the WHS building about the day book and Worthington in the 1790s.

Book

1794

2022-10-06

Book - Bound