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Roger Williams DaybookFinding AidFinding aid prepared by Dex Haven.2009
Administrative InformationAcquired from Dan Casavant, November 2008. Processed by Dex Haven, February 2009. Preferred CitationCite as: Roger Williams Account Book (MS 619 bd). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The collection is open for research. Return to the Table of Contents Historical NoteDuring the early decades of the nineteenth century, Roger Williams ran a ferry in West Springfield, Mass., carrying passengers and freight across the Connecticut River. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the CollectionThe 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. Return to the Table of Contents Search TermsReturn to the Table of Contents |
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