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The Hinkley collection is comprised of an account book and exercise book owned by members of the Hinkley family of Georgetown, Maine, in the mid-18th and early 19th centuries. The materials pertain to John Hinkley's finances, Samuel P. Hinkley's finances and education, and religious poetry.

The Hinkley collection is comprised of an account book and exercise book owned by members of the Hinkley family of Georgetown, Maine, in the mid-18th and early 19th centuries. John Hinkley kept 125 pages of accounts from 1755-1779, Samuel P. Hinkley kept 3 pages of accounts from 1789-1805, and Samuel P. Hinkley recorded 56 pages of information about mathematics and navigational principles. The account book also has 8 pages of religious poetry.

The first 125 pages of John Hinkley's Account Book concern the period between June 1755 and May 1779, though most accounts are dated between 1755 and 1765. His double-entry records pertain to his purchases of chocolate, sugar, corn, meal, rum, molasses, and other foodstuffs, and some reflect his interest in a sawmill. Several aspects of the mill's business are covered, such as providing boards and hauling timber. John Hinkley frequently traded with other members of the Hinkley family, including Josiah Hinkley and Samuel Hinkley. The accounts are followed by 8 pages of religious poetry, with one poem attributed to Betsey Hinkley, and 3 pages of financial accounts that Samuel P. Hinkley sporadically recorded between December 1789 and June 1805.

Samuel P. Hinkley's Exercise Book, dated December 18, 1837, contains 56 pages of nautical navigational problems and exercises. Topics include plane sailing, traverse sailing, parallel sailing, middle latitude sailing, and Mercator sailing, as well as the method of ascertaining latitude by making observations. Hinkley recorded several case studies and accompanying exercises for each sailing method, and the book contains the mathematical calculations used to solve each problem. Some problems, particularly those in the traverse sailing section, are accompanied by tables. The last several pages are copied entries from an unnamed ship's log, originally recorded during a journey between Boston and Madeira in March and April 1824 and during an unspecified voyage in January 1824.

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.

This volume contains mathematical definitions and problems, example accounts, and recipes compiled by Sarah Sinnock of Bexhill, England, around the turn of the 19th century.

This volume (128 pages) contains mathematical definitions and problems, example accounts, and recipes compiled by Sarah Sinnock of Bexhill, England, around the turn of the 19th century. Sinnock's name and a date ([1797?]) are written on the front cover.

The mathematical notes, written on most recto and some verso pages, concern addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and reduction. Sinnock copied definitions of these arithmetic functions as well as related problems, often involving money, fabric, and food prices. The mathematical notes include a basic multiplication table and conversion tables for troy weights and cloth measurements. Several example financial accounts between women includes an entry with Sarah Sinnock's name, dated 1798.

Many of the volume's verso pages contain recipes and cooking instructions, some of which are dated 1801. Sinnock copied recipes for pickling meats and mushrooms; baking cakes; and making pies, as well as instructions for roasting numerous types of birds and clarifying butter. She noted methods for making various types of wine, including orange wine and ginger wine, and for making jellied pigs' feet and ears and preserving pears. Some notes pertain to cuts of beef.