Church Bros. Smith 1948 Essay Store Ledger Discussion Ledger (5 pages) Rowen Estate 1896 Inventory Edwin Alderman Discussion Cash Journal 1925 P&L Lillian Savery 1939 Cash Journal Leon Gardner 1956 Accounts 1957 Accounts 1965 Checking

The Middlefield Financial Ledgers I recently discovered three new ledgers in addition to the one from the Lillian Savery collection. I know of no other sources, other than personal diaries, that can offer a better insight into the everyday lives during those past times. My Mom would describe her childhood on the family farm on Town Hill Road and to me it more resembled a life style of the 19^th century and not the twentieth. The first is a 1948 analysis and study by Edward Church Smith of a ledger from Uriah Church Jr. and his woolen mills covering the period 1823-32. It is 17 pages single spaced and was found in the museum files. The second (pictured) is a circa 1900 ledger book from the store at the Center and has entries from three different owners. The first 110 pages is a circa 1890 every item sold history with the purchaser identified. The second operator dies in 1896 and we have a complete inventory of the store stock and value as part of the estate probate. This might be a unique find. This ledger is at the museum and not inventoried. See link to a detailed discussion at left column. The third ledger was from the mid-1920s by Edwin Alderman. It was hidden in the middle of a journal of earlier school notes. It gives a detailed look at what a farmer of that era did to make a living. A complete 1925 Profit & Loss statement is included. I have left this journal at the museum after being found by Eleanor Doyle at Jack Cobb’s store. See link to a detailed discussion at left column. The fourth ledger is from Lillian Savery for 1939. It details all the household income and expenses from her West Hill Road farmstead. It is in the possession of Rod Savery. The last is various extracts from financial accounts for dairy farmer Leon Gardner in the mid-1950s. It shows the difficulty of making a living from a small milking operation here. These documents were found in a box at the Museum and are not inventoried. I have only included here the first few pages of the Store and Alderman journals. In total I have scanned or photographed 278 pages for digitization for this ledger study. They are archived and available. I would appreciate any other related material to expand this fascinating study. Howard Knickerbocker November 2019