Hopewell Mill Ledgers

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

ARC251

Scope and Content

Six ledgers from Hopewell Mill, a grist mill along Hopewell Run about 1½ miles northwest of Leetown. Known as both Hopewell Mill and Strider's Mill, Isaac Strider owned the mill property until his death in 1850. (See more information on the mill in Media.) The six ledgers were primarily used as day books, that is, they contain daily records of transactions between the mill and its customers from Jun 1,1807, to Aug 4, 1830. Of that 23-year period, day books are missing for about 7½ years: Oct 14, 1811, to Dec 22, 1816, and Apr 1, 1823, to Jul 31, 1825. Recorded for each transaction are the day, the name of the customer, and the nature and monetary value of the transaction. Transactions indicate the amount of grain, such as wheat, corn, rye, a person brought to the mill for grinding or the receipt of payment in cash or other forms such as plaster, nails, salt, shoes, shirts. In addition to day book entries, most of the ledgers have lists of numbers likely referring to quantities of flour. The books contain valuable information on the kinds of grain crops grown in the area, the quantities of grain ground in the mill, the names of area farmers, and forms of bartering. Names of some farmers and other names from the ledgers are entered in People field. Page counts are approximate. ARC251-1 A 180-page ledger The day book portion has 146 pages of transactions from Jun 1, 1807, to Oct 16, 1811; Hopewell Mill is written at top of each page; 36 of the pages are out of order because deteriorated binding probably released pages that were apparently not replaced in chronological order before the book was rebound; after day book entries are 34 pages of lists dealing with quantities of flour between 1811 and 1825; some pages may be missing. ARC251-2 A 174-page ledger The day book has 173 pages of transactions from Dec 23, 1816, to Aug 17, 1818; Hopewell Mill Jefferson County is written at top of each page; after day book entries, 1 page has a list of the quantity of flour packed Aug 1, 1817; some pages may be missing. ARC251-3 A 176-page ledger The day book has 175 pages of transactions from Aug 27, 1818, to Dec 13, 1819; Hopewell Mill Jefferson County is written at the top of the first 115 pages; after day book entries, 1 page has a list of numbers with no title that is similar to lists of flour quantities in other ledgers; some pages may be missing. ARC251-4 A 172-page ledger The day book has 171 pages of transactions from Dec 16, 1819, to July 2, 1821; after day book entries, 1 page has a list of numbers under Feb 5 written at the top that is similar to lists of flour quantities in other ledgers; Hopewell Mill Jefferson County is written along the side of the last page; some pages may be missing. ARC251-5 A 160-page ledger Names and numbers are written on the first two pages; page 3 notes that Samuel Wilson finished grinding Jun 15, 1822; page 4 has a list of numbers with no title that is similar to lists of flour quantities in other ledgers; beginning on page 5, the day book has 155 pages of transactions from Jul 2, 1821, to Mar 31, 1823, followed by 1 page with a list of numbers under the title Flour (illegible) Beginning Aug 1821; some pages may be missing; inside the ledger are 2 loose papers. ARC251-6 A 258-page ledger The entire ledger is a day book with transactions from Aug 1, 1825, to Aug 4, 1830; some pages may be missing; inside the ledger are 3 loose papers. See Media for digital scans of ARC251-2, ARC251-3, ARC251-4, ARC251-5 (PDFs). To view, contact the Jefferson County Museum.

Acquisition

Accession

185

Source or Donor

Dandridge Family (E. P. Dandridge, Elizabeth Dandridge McDonald, Elizabeth Dandridge Wolf)

Acquisition Method

Gift

Archive Details

Date(s) of Creation

1807 - 1830

Archive Size/Extent

Six ledgers, each approx 15" to15½" x 6 3/8" x ½" to 1"