Payne & Ney Business Records
Collection: BUS-001
Dates: circa 1870 - 1888
Description: The Payne & Ney Records collection is a single ledger which records business transactions circa 1870-1888 for Payne & Ney of Walesville, Oneida County, New York, and possibly for a Clinton meat market. The volume begins with a name index to individual account pages. The accounts record debits (items purchased) and credits (cash payments or items or services provided to the store). Early sales include household items such as clothespins and soap and food items such as coffee, crackers, oil, spices, sugar, and pork. Beginning about 1879 the sales are primarily of meat. Credits include cash, items such as butter or livestock, and services such as watch repair, shoeing, and welding. Some pages have month/day grids which appear to serve as employee time cards. A few pages include recipes for things such as sausage, curing beef, and making liniment. A few pages list School District No. 16 expenses such as wood, repairs, and teacher salaries. Of note is the second page from the end of the book which has a list of names and numbers. This may be a list School District No. 16 tax payers for 1876 possibly with property values and the amount of tax paid. The ledger entries provide evidence of people’s residence during the years the book was kept. They also provide clues to the purchasers’ daily lives through the types of goods they bought, and clues to the employment history of those who appear to have had work days recorded.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Banner Photo: Postcard image showing the Westmoreland Malleable Iron Co.