Matthew Frame and Son cash book, 1826-1833

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

ARC873

Scope and Content

This bound book was used as a cash book for Matthew Frame and Son's mercantile business in Charles Town from January 1826 to January 1833. (See Background below for information on Frame & Son.) The 174 pages are not numbered. Each month is represented by a folio for a total of 65 folios. The left folio page has six columns: 1-the numerical day of the month; 2-name of day of the week; 3-cash for goods; 4-goods charged; 5-cash for debts; and 6-cash on hand and deposits. The amount of monthly sales is totaled at the bottom. The right folio page has two columns: 1-reason for paying cash and 2-amount paid. Other details: On the inside front cover are handwritten: Matthew Frame & Son's Cash Act, Shropshire, other illegible words. On the first page are handwritten: M Frame, Matthew (4 times), Cash Book 1826, Samuel W. Lackland (three times), Impervious (several times), other illegible words. On page 3 are handwritten John James Frames Book August Charles Town Jefferson County Virginia, Virginia twice, and Jefferson County. On the penultimate page and the preceding page are miscellaneous entries. On the last page is a table showing the monthly sales totals and annual total for the years 1826, 1827, 1828, and 1829. The name John Shropshire appears twice on the inside back cover along with other words, some illegible, and numbers. Handwriting on the outside back cover is illegible. Background: This ledger, along with eight others and loose papers in the J.P. Burns Family Matthew Frame Ledgers Collection, relates to mercantile businesses operated by Matthew Frame (died 1848, age 81) in Charles Town from the late 18th century to the 1830s. Matthew Frame immigrated to Charles Town from Ireland in the late 18th century, married Massa (Massey) Gibbs (died 1854, age 78), established a mercantile business, and was appointed Charles Town's first postmaster in 1799. Although it's not clear when he opened his business, entries in ARC179 date from 1791. According to the dated entries in the nine Burns Family ledgers and ARC866, Matthew Frame appears to have been the sole operator of his business until about 1815 to 1816 when he appears to have joined with William French Lock (1788-1850) to form Frame & Lock, also a mercantile business in Charles Town.Then about 1820, Frame & Lock split into two mercantile businesses: Matthew Frame & Co and W. F. Lock & Co. Around 1822 to 1824, Frame joined with his son John James Frame (died 1834, age 30) to form Matthew Frame & Son mercantile business, which appears to have operated until 1834 when John James Frame died. See Media for digital scans (PDF) of ledger. To view, contact the Jefferson County Museum. See Media in ARC866 for location of M. Frame's store in Charles Town.

Acquisition

Accession

486

Source or Donor

Burns, John P., Jr.

Acquisition Method

Gift

Archive Details

Date(s) of Creation

1826 - 1833

Archive Size/Extent

One bound record book: 12 7/8" x 8" x ¾"

Archive Notes

Date(s) Created: 1826-1833