Jewett family account books, 1692-1736 (majority within 1692-1711)
2 volumes and 1 manuscript
This collection contains 2 account books kept by Abraham Jewett and his son, also named Abraham, as well as a fragment of an apprenticeship contract. The account books primarily record the Jewetts' income from making and repairing shoes for residents of Rowley and Ipswich, Massachusetts, between 1692 and 1711.
The elder Abraham Jewett began his account book in 1692, and recorded his transactions with individuals in Rowley and Ipswich. The accounts relate to Jewett's work making and repairing shoes; he received payments in cash, foodstuffs, and other items. Notes throughout the volume provide the dates of financial reconcilement with debtors. Though the accounts in this volume cover the years 1692 to 1695, most date between 1692 and 1694.
The account book of Abraham's son is similar in format and also documents his work with shoes and hides. He, too, often received payments in corn, molasses, and other foodstuffs. Most accounts date between 1700 and 1711, though some are as late as 1720, with additional brief notes in a different hand dated as late as 1736. Both father and son recorded the names of persons for whom they made shoes, sometimes including the debtors' wives and children. One note in the second volume concerns a charge for a boarder, and the volume also has a 1-page prayer about death.
The account books are accompanied by a fragment of an undated indenture binding "Abraham Jewett" as an apprentice shoemaker in Essex County, Massachusetts.