Plumer family penmanship and cypher books, 1831-1832

Summary

Creator:

Plumer family (Newbury, Mass.)

Abstract:

This collection is made up of seven penmanship books and six cypher books kept by brothers Stephen Plumer, Daniel T. Plumer, Horace Plumer, and unidentified individuals, dating from 1831-1832 (11 volumes are undated). As the books came from the same source, the unidentified volumes are likely by members of the Plumer family of Newbury, Massachusetts.

Extent:

13 volumes

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Cheney J. Schopieray, September 2020

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection is made up of seven penmanship books and six cypher books kept by brothers Stephen Plumer, Daniel T. Plumer, Horace Plumer, and unidentified individuals, dating from 1831-1832 (11 volumes are undated). As the books came from the same source, the unidentified volumes are likely by members of the Plumer family of Newbury, Massachusetts.

The seven penmanship books include two by Daniel T. Plumer, one by Stephen Plumer, and four by unidentified individuals. The students practiced writing individual words and short, largely moral and practical statements. Examples include: "Circumspection," "Saratoga," "Cherokee," "Choctaw," "Empyrean," "Command respect by deportment," "Incumber not the mind with toys," "Sound the waters of science," "God made the world," and many others.

The cypher books include one by Horace Plumer and the others by unidentified individuals. The volumes include arithmetic, decimals and fractions, proportions, weights and measures, Federal and English money, currency exchange, mercantile word problems, copies of bills of exchange, alligation, and interest.

Biographical / Historical:

Enoch Plumer (1777-1860) and Mehitable Thurston Plumer (1782-1824) of Newbury, Massachusetts, had eight children, including Stephen Plumer (1807-1889), Daniel Thurston Plumer (1819-1875), and Horace Plumer (1821-1860). The Plumer boys' education included penmanship exercises and the creation of cypher books to learn mathematics.

Acquisition Information:

2020. M-7183.1 .

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two groupings: Penmanship books and cypher books. Each group begins with volumes by identified individuals, followed by volumes by unidentified individuals.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Bibliography

Perley, Sydney. The Plumer Genealogy : Francis Plumer, who settled at Newbury, Massachusetts, & some of his descendants. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute, 1917: 166, 206-207.

Subjects

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Subjects:

Arithmetic--Problems, exercises, etc.
Arithmetic--Study and teaching.
Education--United States--History--19th century.
Mathematics--Study and teaching.
Weights and measures.
Penmanship, American.

Formats:

Copybooks (instructional materials)
Exercises.