1636-1865
Abstract
This guide contains a list of 19 anonymous account books from various collections at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Collection Description
This guide contains a list of 19 anonymous account books from various collections at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Included are 12 account books, forming one collection at Ms. N-2023 (Tall), as well as 7 account books in other collections at the MHS. The list contains, where possible, the geographic location and/or trade of the keeper of the book. Volumes shelved at Ms. N-2023 are arranged chronologically. Volumes in other collections are individually described in the MHS catalog. To request these items, follow the links below.
Acquisition Information
Acquired from various donors.
Volume List
Anonymous account book, Morlaix, France, 1636-1645
This volume is stored at Ms. S-31. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This account book was kept by an unidentified person from England (possibly Edward Jones) in Morlaix, France. Included are records of trade between England and France, as well as a transcribed copy of a speech delivered possibly by King Charles II.
Anonymous account book, Portsmouth, N.H., 1735
This volume is stored at Ms. S-28. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This account book was kept by an unidentified merchant in Portsmouth, N.H., July-Aug. 1735, recording goods purchased from ships, such as cloth, wine, molasses, rum, and nails.
Anonymous account book, 1757
This volume is stored at Ms. SBd-5. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This account book includes an alphabetical list of debts and credits with various people, as well as a sketch of an unidentified house. The volume is bound with an 1753 edition of the Danish almanac, D'Erven Stichers Comptoir Almanach.
Anonymous account book, 1774-1793
Anonymous account book, 1777-1789
Anonymous account book, Brookfield and Russell, Mass., 1785-1811
This volume is stored at Ms. SBd-6. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This account book was kept by an unknown resident of Brookfield and Russell, Mass., recording payments for day labor, such as carpentry, as well as goods sold and purchased, such as grain, cloth, rum, salt, and household goods.
Anonymous expense book, England, 1806-1807
This volume is stored at Ms. S-32. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This expense book was probably kept in London, England, recording payments for servants, food, wine, transportation, paper, and other goods. The volume is bound in patterned wallpaper.
Anonymous account book, groceries/dry goods, Falmouth, Me., 1810
This volume is stored at Ms. N-2023 (XT).Anonymous account book, groceries/dry goods, Dover, N.H., 1811-1812
Anonymous account book, groceries/dry goods, Dover, N.H., 1811-1814
Anonymous tavern accounts, Windham, Conn., 1813-1816
Anonymous account book, [wood dealer], Roxbury, Mass., 1822-1829
Anonymous personal accounts, 1824-1835
This volume is stored at Ms. S-29. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This account book was possibly kept to record expenses of a women's boardinghouse in Massachusetts. Included are records of payment for rooms and money spent on household goods, cleaning, and personal goods, such as shoes.
Anonymous account book, Derry, N.H., 1827-1855
Anonymous account book, 1828-1830
Anonymous account book, 1835-1846
Anonymous account book, tailor, Cambridge, Mass., 1835-1851
This volume is stored at Ms. S-30. To request this item, follow this link to the MHS catalog and click the red "Place Request" button.This account book was kept by an unidentified tailor in Cambridge, Mass., recording payments from clients for various articles of clothing.
Anonymous account book, Westbrook, Me., 1859-1862
Anonymous account book, Westbrook, Me., 1861-1865
Preferred Citation
When using the items described in this guide, researchers should cite the collection containing the item.
Materials Removed from the Collection
Two account books were identified, removed from this collection, and cataloged separately: the William S. Brown account book, 1828-1847 (Ms. N-2422), and the Burleigh & Hobbs account book, 1827-1836 (Ms. N-2423).