Zebina Bartlett's Account Book

Zebina Bartlett’s Book of Accounts

Zebina Bartlett, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Smith) Bartlett was born at North Hadley, Massachusetts 18 October 1780.   Zebina was the second of three children born to Daniel and Elizabeth. 

In 1803, now 23 years old,  Zebina married Demis Allis, daughter of Russell and Sarah (Edson) Allis.  They resided in present day East Whately at what was then called “Bartlett’s Corner”.  I believe this to be where present day Christian Lane meets River Road.  Between 1808 and 1824, the couple had seven children.   Zebina was a contractor and bridge builder. He died in Whately 9 November 1862 and is buried in the East Whately Cemetery. 

Zebina was twenty years old when he purchased and began to use his account book.  Measuring 15.5 tall and 6.5 inches wide, the book is in extremely poor condition with water stains and mold.  The paper is strong and although the binding is loose and the covers badly worn, the book is in one piece.  Many entries are badly faded and some are illegible. 

The pages are numbered only erratically; Zebina did not start at the beginning or go to the end and numbered only the verso.  My numbering starts on the first page inside the cover and goes through 204 pages. 

Zebina  used a form of double entry bookkeeping with monies owed to him itemized on the left.  The right side was used in two ways; sometimes to settle accounts with his customers and sometimes to itemize his own expenditures.  In many but not all cases, the settling of accounts was recorded on the page directly opposite the itemization of jobs.

While difficult to read, the book of accounts is an open window through which we can glimpse everyday life in the 1800’s in Whately.  Zebina Bartlett was called a carpenter but he was able to make anything from a cradle to a bridge. 

A sampling of the items for which he charged various clients goes to show the range of work he was willing and able to do.  In addition, he charged clients for riding to various nearby towns on errands, he “rented” his horse to neighbors, and he charged for work done by his sons Alvan and Zebina W.  He sold a lot of woven woolen, linen and cotton goods and it is presumed that these were the labors of his wife and five daughters.  He sold rum, cider, ashes, salt, seeds, potatoes and other items. 

Levi Morton                   “to move house”

Levi Morton                    “to pair small shoes”

Joel Wait                        “to make corn barrow”

Joel Wait                       “to mend a table”

Philow Bacon                “ to making 2 pair of shafts”

Oliver Graves                “to one bushel of salt”

Oliver Graves                 “my horse to Buckland”

Oliver Graves                “for 13 lbs of veal hind quarters”

Josiah Gilbert                “to making a slead”

Thomas Marsh              “to making a coffin”

Thomas Marsh              “for my horse to Hatfield”

Oliver Morton                “for one pair of wagon wheels”

Oliver Morton                “for hanging a grind stone”

Joshua Belding               “for taking care of two hogs”

Capt. Thos. Sanderson  “for making seed harrow”

Capt. Thos. Sanderson  “to setting glass one evening”

Solomon Adkins            “to work on tan pots”

Solomon Adkins            “to one days work chopping”

Benjamin Cooley           “to driving one hog home”

Town of Whately           “to work on highway”

Town of Whately           “to work on schoolhouse”

Asa Parker                     “to two days work reaping”

Lucius Graves                “to one bread trough”

Lucius Graves                “to help Simon finish off wheels”

Lucius Graves                “to help Rowland turn five hubs”

David Stockbridge          “to work laying floor”

David Stockbridge          “to making hay cart”

Erastus Crafts                “to make small coffin”

Samuel Bartlett              “to make a cradle”

Osee Smith                    “to one day moving cider mill”

David Stockbridge          “to my trouble collecting timber for your barn”

David Stockbridge          “to put up lightning rods”

David Stockbridge           “to fix pump and barnyard fence”

Page showing details for Oliver Graves.  

Page showing money owed to David Stockbridge.  Since this is primarily for "flip", brandy and tobacco it reflects time spent at the Stockbridge tavern.

The Account Book is in the collections of the Whately Historical Society and is catalogued as number 1981.098.001.