This volume (around 320 pages) contains financial records pertaining to David P. Gerberich of Niles, Michigan, as well as other accounts and recipes. Daybook accounts pertain to sales of whiskey in Washington, Illinois, and of ales and foodstuffs in Howard, Michigan; later financial accounts relate to farm labor and personal expenses. The volume also includes culinary, medicinal, and household recipes.
The first section (pages 1-174) contains daybook records for sales of whiskey and other goods in Washington, [Illinois], from April 1, 1840-December 11, 1841. The merchant's customers included members of the Gerberich family. David P. Gerberich's daybook records sales of dry goods, especially wheat, as well as meats and other goods in "Kingsbury" and "Belmont" from August 6, 1842-September 6, 1845 (pages 178-181) and at Howard Township, [Michigan], from August 1868-February 27, 1872 (pages 187-238) and [March?] 8, 1873-July 27, 1873 (page 243). Page 182 contains a list of household expenses, pages 240-241 are comprised of estate records (November 3, 1873-December 10, 1873), and pages 244-293 contain accounts dated September 13, 1883-1888, which largely pertain to farm labor, livestock, blacksmithing, and personal expenses. Pages 178-238 and 183-186 of the daybook are missing.
Additional financial records and notes appear on pages 302 and 321-324. Pages 248-258 and 268-272 include recipes for food and household products such as cured meats, baked goods, and cleaning solutions.
Items laid into the volume include an 1888 receipt for Mrs. Gerberich's purchase of lumber from John L. Reddick in Niles, Michigan, dried leaves, and a blank fire insurance application for D. P. Gerberich of Niles, Michigan.
David P. Gerberich was born in East Hanover, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1814. He and his cousin, Simon G. Stein, moved to Florid, Illinois, in 1837, and to Washington, Illinois, in 1839. In 1840, Gerberich moved to South Bend, Indiana, where he married Fannie Maria Miller (1817-1843) on July 2, 1840. They had two daughters, Mary Catharine (1841-1924) and Henrietta Fannie (1843-1924). In 1849, Gerberich married his deceased wife's sister, Catharine Anna Miller (1828-1905). They had seven surviving children: Henry Miller (b. 1852), Malinda (1854-1892), Ella (b. 1855), Caroline (b. 1857), Joseph David (b. 1860), Martha Ann (b. 1862), and Charles Eugene (b. 1864). David P. Gerberich died on October 29, 1873.
