Item 3a: John Adams’ Ledger of accounts paid by William Barrell on behalf of John Andrews, 1771 January; 1771 October 1.
Item — Box: 9, Folder: 3a
Dates
- Created: 1771 January; 1771 October 1.
Creator
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Ledger.
Condition Note:
Good.
Measurements:
7 ⅝ in. x 6 ⅜ in.
Title:
N/A
Description:
The following item depicts a ledger of purchases and transactions to John Adams, the 2nd president of the United States, to William Barrell, a Philadelphia merchant. The account ranges from January- October 1, 1771. On the account, we see that there are numerous transactions between the holding party and various others in cases, and jury costs. The total of the account is 10 pounds, 7 shillings, and 3 pence, paid by William Barrell on October 1, 1771. The account seems to actually be held by John Andrews, the brother in law of Barrell, who is paying the account for Andrews.
We see shorthand on the account, such as the use of Dto. for Ditto, which means the same information as the line above. These nineteenth century accounts would also use Do. to mean the same thing.
The account lists Adams as the debitor of the account, noted in the shorthand “ Dr ” following his name. In account ledgers and receipts, the debtor account indicates the person buying goods or services whereas other accounts labeled “ Cr ” such as Supra and Barrell, as the author, indicate the account is a creditor, the person receiving money or lending money. In this account, Horton has arranged for Cist and family to travel between neighboring towns and regions.
The University of Nottingham has a digitized history and explanation on the history of Business Accounting, explaining the use and shorthand available in Double-entry book-keeping, such as the Dr/Cr shorthands. “The person who RECEIVES is Dr. (Debtor) for that which he receives; and the person who PARTS WITH is Cr. (Creditor) for the article which he parts with.” The abbreviations Dr. and Cr. often appear at the left-hand and right-hand sides of double-entry accounts. Dr. is an abbreviation for Debitor [Latin for debtor], and Cr. is an abbreviation for Creditor. For each transaction there is a debtor and a creditor, and the amounts of money recorded on each side of the account must be the same for the account to be correct.
The account is also being recorded in a pound, shilling, pence, monetary system, noted by the abbreviations £, s for shilling, and lowercase d for pence at the top, right-hand corner of the account.
Christopher Densmore, with Wisconsin University, has an article looking at the history of nineteenth century accounts entitled, “Understanding and Using Early Nineteenth Century Account Books.”
William Barrell’s dates have been inferred by a connection to his brother in law, John Andrews, and his sister Ruth Barrell Andrews, a Bostonian poet. The Massachusetts Historical Society has a letter between the two parties, in which it explains these links by which we found his information via a census on Family Link. The spelling of his surname moves between iterations of “Burrell” and Barrell but he is one in the same by parentage and siblings. The spelling should be Barrell by the census and birth documentation.
Location:
Boston, MA
Transcription:
Mr William Barrell to John Adams Dr [Debitor]
£ s[hilling] d[pence]
1771. Jan[uar]y. Cr [Creditor]. To a Bill of Cost & Ex[pense]s vs Sam[uel] Parker 2:12:4
To Dto. [Ditto] vs. Elisha Andres 2:10:4
To Dto. vs. Nat[haniel]. Barrell 6:8:8
To Dto. vs. Peter Staples 4:1:0
To Dto. vs. Tho[ma]s Morrill 3:18:6
---------
To Dto. vs. Brice 19:10 10
1:19:7
---------
27:10:5
10:7:3
---------
Ballance (sic) 131 [11]:3:2
[Balance]
Supra Cr [Creditor]
By Cash you p.[ai]d for Service vs. Parker 0:15:10
vs. Andres 0:15:4
Staples 0:16:6
Morrill 0:16:0
By Cash for Entries — — — 2:8:0 -------- By Cash for Jury Fees in Morrill & Staples’ Cases 5:11 8 2:16:0 --------- By Cash of Mr. S. Quincy for Brices Bill 8:7 8 1:19:7 --------- Mr. W[illia]m Barrell by the Hand 10:7:3 Boston, Oct[obe]r. 1. 1771. Rec^[ieve]d of Mr. John Andrews Thirteen Eleven Pounds Two Three shillings and Three two Pence, in full for the Ballance (sic) [Balance] of the ^ above amount John Adams
By Cash for Entries — — — 2:8:0 -------- By Cash for Jury Fees in Morrill & Staples’ Cases 5:11 8 2:16:0 --------- By Cash of Mr. S. Quincy for Brices Bill 8:7 8 1:19:7 --------- Mr. W[illia]m Barrell by the Hand 10:7:3 Boston, Oct[obe]r. 1. 1771. Rec^[ieve]d of Mr. John Andrews Thirteen Eleven Pounds Two Three shillings and Three two Pence, in full for the Ballance (sic) [Balance] of the ^ above amount John Adams
Creator
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu