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This collection contains 7 school notebooks used by members of the Gilbert and Rupley families of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to practice penmanship and mathematics. Other items include poetry, a cover sheet, and loose pages from an account book.

This collection contains 7 school notebooks used by members of the Gilbert and Rupley families of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to practice penmanship and mathematics. The collection also includes 7 pages of poetry, 1 cover sheet, and 14 loose pages from an account book.

Sally Gilbert began her 2 penmanship books on January 10 and February 24, 1813, and practiced her writing by copying brief proverbs, short poems, and examples of financial records, such as receipts. The second volume contains 2 longer poems, along with the penmanship exercises. The cover of each book bears a printed illustration, including a man falling off of a sitting horse ("How to Travel Upon Two Legs in a Frost") and a game of "Dutch Nine [Pi]ns."

George Rupley maintained 2 schoolbooks on arithmetic in 1828 and 1829, and copied problems involving compound addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as well as problems involving fractions. His notebooks also include some penmanship exercises and poetry, as well as a child's drawing of a man outside a house.

Frederick A. Rupley's book (1831) concerns economic mathematics under the heading "Tare and Tret," and covers topics such as calculating interest and discounts. The book also contains some drawings of plants and includes 2 poems on its back page. Sarah Catharine Rupley's notebook (1840) addresses similar mathematical concepts, and contains sections on reduction, interest, compound interest, and vulgar fractions.

The final exercise book is undated and belonged to Rebecca Margaretta (or Margaret) Rupley in the early 19th century. Exercises consist of copied penmanship examples, often proverbs; Mary Ann Rupley's name also appears on its back page.

Of the collection's 7 loose pages of poetry, 1 is dedicated to Sally Gilbert (September 15, 1812), and 1 to Sarah Gilb[ert] from Henry Hoffman (September 2, 1814). One cover sheet is addressed to Henry Himmelrich of Germantown, Ohio. The collection includes a broadsheet: A New Song, Or, The Lamentable Death of Polly: Young Peopel [sic] Who Delight In Sin, I'll Tell You What Has Lately Been,--A Woman Who Was Young And Fair, Who Died In Sin And Sad Despair!

Approximately 14 pages from an account book (1813-1814) document sales of merchandise, including some accounts recording customers' payments. Though most customers paid in cash, at least one compensated for purchases by chopping wood. A woman named Betsy Gilbert was among the merchant's customers.

Margaret ("Peggy") Montgomery kept this copybook in 1809 to practice her penmanship. She copied religious and moral proverbs, poems, and passages, as well as short phrases, alphabets, and examples of financial receipts. The place name "Windham" appears throughout the volume, but no state is provided. At the back of the volume, from May to June 1838, Margaret Montgomery documented accusations that she had stolen teaspoons and detailed her interactions related to the matter. An undated medicinal recipe and directions for its use appear near the end of the volume for the treatment of an unspecified complaint.

Margaret ("Peggy") Montgomery kept this copybook in 1809 to practice her penmanship. She copied religious and moral proverbs, poems, and passages, as well as short phrases, alphabets, and examples of financial receipts. The place name "Windham" appears throughout the volume, but no state is provided. At the back of the volume, from May to June 1838, Margaret Montgomery documented accusations that she had stolen teaspoons and detailed her interactions related to the matter. An undated medicinal recipe and directions for its use appear near the end of the volume for the treatment of an unspecified complaint.