The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Stearns family                        

Title:               Papers

Dates:             1792-1854, 1792-1836 (bulk)

Call No.:         Col. 496

Acc. No.:        74x262; 76x94; 77x437.2; 86x60.1-.4; 98x67; 05x53.3-.4

Quantity:        126 items

Location:        34 K 2

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Members of the Stearns family were merchants working in the Boston area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  The family included Horace, Samuel, Jacob, Thomas (died in 1836), James, and William, but the relationships between these men is not clear from these papers.  Samuel was living in Waltham when he died in 1817; Thomas and William (who were brothers) were executors of his estate.  In the 1816 Boston directory, James and Jacob were listed as being in the dry goods business, with a store at 23 Cornhill.  In the 1821 directory, Thomas and Horace were business partners in Boston's first hat manufactory, located at 22 Cornhill.  In the 1823 directory, Horace was listed as having a hat store at that address.  In the 1846 directory, Horace (possibly a different one from him listed in the 1823 directory) sold hats and caps at 137 Hanover St.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

The collection consists of account books and loose bills, receipts, and letters.  Many of the bills and receipts pertain to the buying and selling of furs and fur accessories by members of the Stearns family. Kinds of furs include brown bear, pole cat, black genet, cat, sable, and mock sable; they were usually made into muffs or tippets; fur gloves are also mentioned.  As well, there are receipts for the purchase of what may be items for personal use (as opposed to use in their businesses), such as lumber, cart wheels, cloth (broadcloth, India cotton, nankin, cambric, linen), buttons, thread, and food items.  One document lists items “sent to holand” in 1804.  There is a trade card for Horace Stearns, commission merchant in hats, furs, trimmings, gloves, and umbrellas.  His printed trade card depicts two women in classical dress with a shield between them and hats and an umbrella at their feet.  Behind them are seen sailing ships and a fort.

 

Most of the bills relate to Thomas Stearns.  He bought skins, at least some of which came from Maine.  In addition, there are bills for hardware, food, cloth (French print, linen tape, gauze ribbon, Paris jaconet, diaper, etc.), lace, sewing supplies, and other household items.  Thomas died in 1836; there is an inventory of his goods with prices affixed, either the valuation or the price realized at a sale.  The list includes furniture, barrels, a wash tub, knives and forks, china, bedding, cooking pots, a floor cloth, and carpet; the items are listed by room (entry, dining room, chamber, etc.)  As well, there are inventories for the stores of Thomas Stearns & Co. and James Stearns.  Thomas’ store included hats and bonnets for men, boys, and women, and hat making supplies.  James’ store had fur muffs, tippets, cloaks, and some fabric. 

           

As well, the collection includes four account books (86x60.1-.4), three of which pertain to Thomas Stearns & Co., with detailed listings of a wide variety of caps, hats, and gloves made, and of the pay records for 19 women employees. The other sales book, dated 1846, records sales made by Horace Stearns.

 

 

ORGANIZATION

 


First divided into Stearns family papers and Thomas Stearns papers.  Then arranged chronologically. 

 

Name index to acc. 76x94 (Stearns family papers) is part of this finding aid.


 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Accession 76x94 purchased from William Pennebaker.

Accession 86x60 purchased from Peter Masi.

Accession 98x67 purchased from Carmen D. Valentino.

Accession 05x53.3-.4 purchased from Harold R. Nestler.

 

 

REALTED MATERIAL

 

Baker Library of Harvard Business School holds papers of Massachusetts residents surnamed Stearns, but it is not known if those papers are related to these.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Stearns, William.

 

Topics:

            Thomas Stearns & Co.

            Exports.

            Fur garments.

            Fur trade - New England.

            Lumber.

            Commission merchants.

            Commercial correspondence.

            Business records - Massachusetts - Boston.

            Inventories of decedents’ estates - Massachusetts - Boston.

            Inventories, Retail - Massachusetts - Boston.

            Hat trade.

            Hats - Massachusetts - Boston.

            Wages - Hat trade.

            Women – Employment.

            Trade cards.

            Bills.

            Receipts (Acknowledgments).

            Invoices.

            Merchants.

            Hatters.

 

Additional authors:

            Stearns, Horace.

            Stearns, Jacob.

            Stearns, James.

            Stearns, Samuel, d.1817.

            Stearns, Thomas, d.1836.

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 34 K 2

 


 

Folder 1: Stearns family papers, 1792-1812 (acc. 76x94.1-.37)

                       

76x94.1           trade card for Horace Stearns, Commission Merchant, Hats, Furs, & Trimmings, No. 22 Cornhill, Boston, Gloves & Umbrellas; engraved by A. Bowen

            [see also Col. 9, Trade Card Collection, for additional examples of Horace Stearns trade card and for cards for Thomas Stearns & Co., which uses the same image and almost identical wording]

 

76x94.2-.37     Summary: Bills, receipts, correspondence, variously addressed to Samuel, James, Jacob, or Thomas Stearns; many of these are for furs (kinds of furs mentioned include brown bear, pole cat, black genet, cat, sable, and mock sable), muffs, or tippets; bills also mention lumber, cart wheels, textiles, sewing supplies, and some food items; also an account of land, a list of names (including women), a letter advising Friend Stearns not to purchase any more furs, a letter ordering muffs and tippets, and some other items; acc. 76x94.3-.4 refer to trade with The Netherlands

 

[note: the items in this folder are indexed in the name index appended to this finding aid]

 

.2         receipted bill, Samuel Stearns paid Amasa Davis, signed by Nathl. Davis, Boston, July 3, 1792, for planks and boards, endorsed on back “bill for lumber for Mr. Harrington’s barn”

 

.3         receipted bill signed Pomroy & Leavitt, for fox, otter, etc., March 3, 1804; note at bottom: “this bill went to Amsterdam to pay for part[?]”

 

.4         cash account, Oct. 21, 1804, with note “My part to pay that we sent to Holland…”; mentions sable, fox, hair, cat skins.

 

.5         one side: miscellaneous notes about muffs and tippets, dated 1805-1807;

            Other side: more miscellaneous notes about muffs, tippets, rabbit, and a note about a settled account, 1806-1807

 

.6         receipted bill, Samuel Stearns paid James Simmons, for cart wheels, Watertown, Feb. 25, 1806

 

.7         “minutes of receipts from Green,” 1806-1807

 

.8         “returned muffs & tippets to Thos. Stearns,” 1809[?], mentions pole cats, sable throats, black genet

 

.9         receipted bill, Mrs. A. Hastings paid Jacob Stearns, signed by James Stearns, for textiles, buttons, thread, May 17, 1806;

            On back: notes about payments

 

.10       bill for mugs and tippets, mentioning sable and pole cat, Nov. 1, 1806[?] (no names)

 

.11       bill to S. Stearns & J. Swan, from Benj. W. Lamb, Boston, Dec. 13, 1806, for elk[?] skins

 

.12       receipted bill, Samuel Stearns paid Jacob Stearns, signed by James Stearns, for buttons, linen, thread, July 21, 1807

 

.13       “account of muffs & tippets returned to Th. Stearns,” July 14, 1809, mentioned pole cat, sable, brown bear, genet

 

.14       account of Mrs. J. Mahan with Thos. Stearns, Waltham, January 19, 1810, listing “muffs & tippets to sell or return”; mentions elk, sable, pole cat, bear, mock sable

 

.15       bill to Samuel Stearns from Josiah Warren, for shoes and boots, 1810

 

.16       “James Stearns in a/c with Thomas Stearns,” 1810-1811, for muffs and tippets

 

.17       account of Nathaniel Brown with Thomas Stearns, Waltham, Nov. 16, 1810, for bear tippets

 

.18       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Phineahas B. Hovey for corn, molasses, rum, etc., 1811

 

.19       part of account of Thomas Stearns with James Stearns, 1811, with charges for robe, thread, bobbins, silks, etc. (bottom of page is torn off)

 

.20       account of Mrs. Mahan with Thomas Stearns, for muffs and tippets of elk, pole cat, sable, Sept. 21, 1811

 

.21       account of James Stearns with Thomas Stearns, for muffs and tippets of elk and mock sable

 

.22       account of Mrs. Mahan with James Stearns, for muffs and tippets of black genet, bear, and sable, Sept. 21, 1811

 

.23       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Boardman & Farrell for thread, bonnets, ribbon, 1812-1813

 

.24       one side: Thomas Stearns, Waltham, received of Francis Bowman, Feb. 15, 1813: walnut, oak, logs;

            Other side: note to Thomas, signed Stearns, Sat., Feb. 20, about purchasing and dressing sable skins

 

.25       bill to Thomas Stearns from Bartlett & Smith, Aug. 28, 1813, for nutgalls, black lead, etc. [see also 98x67.20]

 

.26       account of John Mahan with unknown person, for muffs and tippets of bear, and dressing bear skins, Oct. 11, 1813

 

.27       Thomas Stearns received bear muffs and tippets from James Stearns, Boston, March 26, 1814,

 

.28       bill to Thomas Stearns from Samuel Lemist, for handkerchiefs, hose, textiles, lace, May-August 1820

 

.29       memo about meadow, pond, swamp, wood lot, barley field, hog pasture, peach orchard, garden, etc., no date

 

.30       memo list names (including women) and dollar amounts, no date

 

.31       note from Joshua Kendall, Cambridge, Jan. 20, 1797, to Thomas Stearns, “please to pay Samuel Stearns, Jr.”

 

.32       letter, Abijah Chever & Co., Portland, March 21, 1808, to Friend Stearns, about poor market for furs; includes an account of amount of furs on hand, including mock sable, genet, pole cat, elk, sable, bear  [see also 74x262 and note there about additional Chever materials]

 

.33       letter, James Stearns, Boston, Oct. 14, 1803[?], to Thomas Stearns, Waltham, inquiring about availability of muffs and tippets

 

.34       part of a letter to Thomas Stearns, about selling furs, muffs, tippets; includes note about Mahan’s account with James Stearns, Dec. 26, 1809

 

.35       short business letter from James Stearns, Boston, April 11, 1810, to T. Stearns, Waltham, “should like to have you take away the muffs & tippets as they begin to smell offensive”

 

.36       letter, James Stearns, Boston, Dec. 3, 1810, to Thomas Stearns, Waltham, about purchasing shagbarks and raisins; sable tippets; please return handkerchief

 

.37       short letter, James Stearns, Boston, Jan. 21, 1812, to Thomas Stearns, Waltham, requesting muffs and tippets made of certain furs

 

 

 

 

Folder 2: Stearns family papers, 1809, 1822 (miscellaneous accession numbers)

 

acc. 74x262     account of Thomas Stearns with A. Chever & Co., Portland, July 14, 1809, for muffs and tippets  [see also 76x94.32, 98x67.3, where the name is spelled Cheever, 98x67.11]

 

acc, 77x437.2  bill, Samuel Stearns bought shingles and nails from Jeremiah Fowle, Watertown, Sept. 2, 1805

[this is presumed to be the same Samuel Stearns as is part of this Stearns family papers]

 

acc. 05x53.3    receipted bill Mr. Stearns paid Sarah Dunbar for lining and binding bonnets and hats and doing other work on hats, 1821-1822;

 

acc. 05x53.4    receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Jacob Stearns for textiles, thread, pins, etc., Boston, November 14, 1809

 

Folder 3: Thomas Stearns papers, 1803-1819 (acc. 98x67.1-.25)

           

Summary: bills and receipts, many mentioning skins and furs (also dyes and hardware); also letters of administration issued to William Stearns of Paris, [Maine], and Thomas Stearns of Boston, for the estate of Samuel Stearns, late of Waltham

 

.1         bill, James T. Loring, Boston, to Thomas Stearns, for nut galls, etc., 1803

 

.2         accounts with Ambrose Morell, 1804, for a variety of skins (cat, raccoon, fox, sable, etc.), plus board for David, meals, tallow, lime, brushes, etc.  [see also 98x67.32 and .40]

 

.3         account of Thomas Stearns with Abijah Cheever and with Chever & Mahan of Portland, 1804-1805, for furs, muffs, tippets

 

.4-5      bills to Thomas Stearns from Charles Sigourney, 1805, for cats and lining

 

.6         receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Henry Bass & Co., Boston, May 21, 1806, for sables       

 

.7         bill to Thomas Stearns, from estate of Charles Sigourney, executor Henry Sigourney, Boston, June 18, 1806, for cat and rabbit skins and lining

 

.8         account of Thomas Stearns with Cook & Ayers, 1806, for lime, linseed oil, molasses, rum, nail, etc.

 

.9         receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Abr. Bazin, for brads, hinges, pulleys, latches, etc., payment received Feb. 14, 1807 by B. B. Appleton

 

.10       account of Thomas Stearns with Samuel Gore & Son, 1806-1807, for purchases of colors, brushes, sandpaper, leatherage

 

.11       receipted, Chever & Mahan of Portland receipted payment from Thomas Stearns of Waltham, Boston, Oct. 22, 1807

 

.12       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid James Brown for shingles, Lexington, Dec. 9, 1807

 

.13       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Nathaniel Brown, Waltham, Aug. 25, 1809, for salt, nutmeg, molasses, cheese, etc.

 

.14       account of James Stearns with Thomas Stearns, Dec. 20, 1809, for muffs and tippets of bear, pole cat, sable, and mock sable, “the above to sell or return”

 

.15       “Shubael Pattison’s bill, August 28th, 1810, for sable skins,” sent to Stearns & Salan[?]

 

.16       John Mahan’s account with Thomas Stearns for muffs and tippets, 1811-1812

 

.17       bill, Thomas Stearns bought of Josiah Bryant, Lexington, June 17, 1812, for blacksmith work, hardware, and farrier work

           

            .18-.19             bills, Thomas Stearns bought of Isaac Parker, Boston, Dec. 1812, for elk and pole cat skins and lining

 

            .20       bill, Thomas Stearns bought of Bartlett & Smith, Boston, June 12, 1813, alum, verdigris, nutgalls, etc.  [see also 76x94.25]

 

            .21       account with James Stearns, Waltham, Oct. 7, 1813, for muffs and tippets and trimming of bear, sable, mock sable, and pole cat

 

            .22       bill, Samuel Stearns bought of Wheeler & Gay, 1813-1815, barrels and other cooperage work

 

            .23       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Thomas Thaxter (also spelled Thackster) for cat skins, Boston, Sept. 15, 1815, money received by John Deblois

 

            .24       Massachusetts probate document, appointing William Stearns, yeoman of Paris, Oxford County, and Thomas Stearns, merchant of Boston, executors of estate of Samuel Stearns, gentleman of Waltham, May 30, 1817

 

            .25       order for attachment of goods or estates of Enoch Wiswall of Watertown and Joseph Wiswall & Pierce, on behalf of estate of Samuel Stearns, July 7, 1817

 

 

 

Folder 4: Thomas Stearns papers, 1820-1829 (acc. 98x67.26-.56)

 

Summary: bills and receipts, some of which mention skins and furs, but others are bills for hats and various household goods, especially food and textiles

 

.26       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Jacob Stearns, Boston, March 1, 1820, for stove and funnel

 

.27       account of Susannah Wright with William Stearns and Thomas Stearns, administrators of estate of Samuel Stearns, April 12, 1820, for feather bed and 2 pillows

 

.28       receipted bill, H. Stearns paid Jno. Jones, Boston, Oct. 21, 1820, for lamp; endorsed on back: Baldwin & Jones [see also .31 below]

 

.29-30  receipted bills, Thomas Stearns paid W. & E. Coverly, for banding, galloon, buckles, Boston, 1820-1821 [see also .37-38 below]

 

.31       receipted bill, Mr. Stearns paid Jno. B. Jones for lace and buttons, 1821, payment received by Jno. Jas. Low; endorsed on back: Baldwin & Jones  [see also .28 above]

 

.32       account with Ambrose Morell, Boston, 1820-1821, for caps, gloves, and various kinds of furs [see also 98x67.2 and .40]

 

.33       short letter, Charles L. Folsom, Exeter, Nov. 15, 1821, to Mr. J. Stearns & Son, Marlboro Street, Boston, if have not yet sent the hat he requested, please give it to Mr. Gordon, bearer of this note

 

.34       receipted bill, Messrs. Thomas Stearns & Co. paid Ballard & Wright for advertisements for hats and “boy wanted,” 1820-1821

 

.35       Henry Burnett promises to pay Thomas Stearns, Boston, May 1, 1821, also signed by William Page

 

.36       receipted bill, Mr. Stearns paid Whitney & Haskell, Boston, June 1821, for textiles

 

.37-38  receipted bills, Messrs. Thomas Stearns & Co. paid W. & E. Coverly for pongee, galloon, buckles, 1821 [see also .29-.30 above]

 

.39       “Messrs. Thomas Stearns & Co. in acct. with William Barry,” 1820-1821, for a variety of textiles, trims, furs; with credit given for hats and bonnets

 

.40       account with Ambrose Morell, 1820-1821, for gloves, furs, etc.  [see also 98x67.2 and .32]

 

.41       “Accompt furs & caps & gloves sold,” Boston, 1820-1822

 

.42       receipt, Thomas Perkins acknowledges payment from Thomas Stearns, Boston, April 18, 1822

 

.43       receipted bill, Messrs. Thomas Stearns & Co. paid Eli Robbins [also spelled Robins], Lexington, April 23, 1822, for various kinds of caps [see also .52 below; see also 86x60.2]

 

.44       “Levi Warner’s acct. sales rendered him,” 1822, for gloves, “glove shoes”

 

.45       bill, Thomas Stearns bought of Payson & Fenno, Boston, 1822-1823, for beef, tongue, pork, lard, etc.

 

.46       bill, Thomas Stearns bought of Eli Forbes, 1819-1823, for beef, mutton, lard, etc., includes purchases for “estate”

 

.47       letter, Henry Burnett, Boston, June 21, 1824, to Thomas Stearns, Cornhill, Boston, is sending his bed and other goods to cover a debt, to be delivered by Mr. Brewer of Bartlett & Brewer; Burnett is planning a trip to London which he hopes will prove profitable

 

.48       short letter, Abraham Holland[?], Aug. 23, 1824, to Thomas Stearns, Boston, “inq. At the store Horace Stearns, Cornhill,” Thomas’ brother William has returned to Maine without paying Holland; what arrangements has William made for this payment?

 

.49       account of Horace Stearns with Thos. & A. Buffin, 1822-1823, for hats

 

.50-.51             receipted bills, H. Stearns paid John P. Hall, Jr., Boston, 1824, for nutgalls, antimony, alum, etc.

 

.52       “furs rec’d. on sales of Eli Robins,” 1824-1825 [see also .43 above; name also spelled Robbins; see also 86x60.2]

 

.53       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Cooper Gould & Robbins, 1826, for furs(?)

 

.54       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Simon B. Draper, 1828, for ribbon, wadding, textiles, etc.

 

.55       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Aaron Ferris [or Fearrin], for food items, 1829

 

.56       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid John T. K, Porter, 1827, for razors, tea, pencils, needles, tea trays, shoe brushes, Lafayette print, comb and brush, etc.

 

 

Folder 5: Thomas Stearns papers, 1830-1836, 1854 (acc. 98x67.57-.77)

 

Summary: bills and receipts for various household goods, especially food, but also textiles and other goods; also letter of administration issued to Sarah Stearns for estate of her late husband Thomas Stearns (1836); account from sale of Thomas Stearns’ estate (acc. 98x67.75); and a document ordering an attachment on the estate of Joseph H. Smith of Wayne, Maine, on behalf of a debt owed to Elijah Stearns of Wayne (1854)

 

.57       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Abraham H. Bird, 1831, for wood and boards

 

.58       bill, Thomas Stearns bought of H. H. Willard, 1831, pins, lace, buttons, textiles, sewing supplies, hose, etc. [see also .67 below]

 

.59       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Jonathan Champney, 1832, for a variety of food items  [see also .61-62, .66,  below; .69-.70 are from John Champney, Jr.]

 

.60       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid J. Fogg, Boston, 1832, for stove

 

.61-.62             receipted bills, Thomas Stearns paid Jonathan Champney, 1833, for a variety of food items  [see also .59 above, and notes there]

 

.63       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Henry Welsh, 1832 [date on back: 1835], for stove parts, iron pot, mending lamp, wash kettle, etc.

 

.64       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid E. Alexander, 1833, for beef, steak, etc.

 

.65       receipted bill, Mrs. Stearns paid J. W. Blanchard, for trunk, chairs, bedstead, looking glass, grate, knives, forks, brass head dogs, shovel and tongs, etc., paid Feb. 20, 1834

 

.66       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Jonathan Champney, 1834, for a variety of food items  [see also .59 above, and notes there]

 

.67       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid H.  H. Willard, 1834, for ribbons, textiles, etc. [see also .58 above]

 

.68       bill, Thomas Stearns bought of J. H. Bartlett & Co., Boston, 1834, for oak and pine wood

 

.69-.70             receipted bills, Thomas Stearns paid John Champney, Jr., 1835-1836, for a variety of food items  [see also .73 below, and .59 above, and notes there]

 

.71       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid David W. Jones, 1836, for textiles, hose, lace collars, edging, etc.

 

.72       Massachusetts probate document, appointing Sarah Stearns, widow of Boston, executor of estate of Thomas Stearns, gentleman of Boston, April 11, 1836

 

.73       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid John Champney, Jr., 1836, for a variety of food items  [see also .59 above, and notes there]

 

.74       court document ordering Sarah Stearns to sell the personal estate of Thomas Stearns, April 25, 1836

 

.75       “Estate of T. Stearns,” account of sales, May 6, 1836, listing items sold, by room (cellar, shed, yard, dining room, entry, upper entry, 5 chambers, attic, some sort of parlor (only item sold from there was a field bedstead), kitchen

 

.76       “Sarah Stearns cash acct. from [illegible] May, 1836,” including cash paid for furniture, medicine, what appear to be moving expenses, etc.

 

.77       bill to Joseph H. Smith from Elijah Stearns, for labor and use of sleigh, March 1854, affixed to order of attachment issued by State of Maine, ordering Smith to pay Stearns’ bill, April 7, 1854, with notes about actions taken

 

 

Folder 6: Thomas Stearns papers, no date or date not legible (acc. 98x67.78-.81)

 

.78       “Thomas Stearns to William Parry, dr., to the following goods delivered to Horace [Stearns?] and not returned & paid,” listing skins, paper, hats, etc.

 

.79       “last accompt of stock corrected of firm Thos. Stearns & Co.,” store inventory: hats, skins, plumes, gloves, etc.

 

.80       “memorandum of stock in store, no. 23 Cornhill, at the end of the first year after the connection with James,” store inventory: flannel, tippets, muffs, notes, unpaid accounts, etc.

 

.81       receipted bill, Thomas Stearns paid Robinson & Wiggin, Boston, 18[illegible], for coffee, tea, sugar

 

 

Folder 7: AT Stearns: account book, 1820-1825 (acc. 86x60.1a-b)

 

Day book: detailed financial records of this hat making company, noting sales of hats, gloves, umbrellas, trimmings, mittens; uses both red and black ink, presumably to separate debits and credits; also records other expenses in running the business, such as purchase of coal and setting of window glass; the transactions are rather detailed

 

laid inside the front cover is a small notebook, written in pencil, with memoranda about notes and shares, dated 1823; mentions Perry, Bartlett, James, a woolen factory

 

Stenciled on front cover: Memorandum – AT Stearns

 

 

Folder 8: Thomas Stearns & Co.: day book, 1820-1821, and account of caps and work and cash and merchandise with E. Robbins, 1828-1840 (acc. 86x60.2)

 

Two volumes which have been sewn together; the 1820-1821 account book lists the sales of goods, including hats, bonnets, socks and textiles; the transactions do not record much detail (for example: “to 12 hats,” but no details about the kind of hats sold)

 

Although the second volume, the accounts of caps and work, lists the name E. [Eli] Robbins on the cover, in fact the volume also records the names of others who made and mended caps for the company.  Separate accounts are listed for several women, including Nancy Chandler, Maria Magoun, Sophia Magoun, Frances Hawkes, Mrs. D. B. Newman, Mehitabel Hunnewell, Mrs. Sophia M. Stearns [probably Sophia Magoun], Lucy A. Freeman, and Sarah Hawkes.  These accounts are dated 1827-1829.  The last 2 leaves of this volume are dated 1840, New York, 355 ½ Hudson Street, and record making cloth caps, particularly for children, and purchases of materials for making caps.  These accounts have no name associated with them.

 

 

Folder 9: Thomas Stearns & Co.: manufacturing book, 1833-1838 (acc. 86x60.3)

 

A record of the goods produced by employees, listed under the employees’ names.  Many of the employees are listed by first initial only and surname, but they are apparently the same as the women mentioned in acc. 86x60.2 (see above).  Additional names appear in this volume.  Various styles of hats and caps are mentioned, such as duke, jockey, skull, flat tops, or foraging, plus some that are mentioned as being fur or cloth caps.  Also mentions muffs.

 

Stenciled on front cover: T. Stearns.  Written in pencil inside front cover: This book accts. of all work, caps after I left E. Robbins.

 

 

Folder 10: Horace Stearns: sales record, 1846, and list of insurance policies (acc. 86x60.4)

 

Loose pages listing sales (muffs, gloves, caps, neck ties, etc.) for the year 1846, and a list of insurance policies for shop, house, and furniture.  The sales were conducted at 137 Hanover St., where Horace Stearns was living, and therefore the records are presumed to be his, although his name does not appear.
Index to acc. 76x94.1-.37, part of Col. 496

 

Ball, Naham .30                                          

Bartlett & Smith .25                                      

Boardman & Farwell .23                                    

Bowen, A.  .1                                             

Bowman, Francis .24                                      

Brown, Nathaniel .17

 

Chever, Abijah, & Co. .32

Cheever, Mr.  .4

Clark, Thomas .31

 

Davis, Amasa .2

Davis, C. .30

Davis, Nath. .2

Dix, H.B. .35

 

Everett, C.  .23

 

Farwell (of Boardman & Farwell) .23

Fay, S. P.  .30

 

Green  .7

 

H., Samuel  .37  [i.e. Hastings?]

Harrick, Mary .30

Harrington, Mr.  .2

Hastings, Mrs. A.  .9

Hastings, E. .35

Hastings, Samuel  .9, .36

Hovey, Phinehas B. .18

 

Joshua  .4

 

Kendall, Joshua .31

 

L & A  .4

Lamb, Benj. W.     .11

[Lawrence,] Easter (i.e. Esther?) & Hannah  .30

[Lawrence,] Hannah .30

Lawrence, G.   .30

Lawrence, J.  .30

Lawrence, James .30

Lawrence, Jonas  .30

Lawrence, P.  .30

[Lawrence,] Sarah .30

Lemist., Samuel .28

Lucy  .36

 

Mahan  .20, .34, .35

Mahan, J.  .14, .22

Mahan, John  .26

Maynard, Jonathan  .9

Morrell  .4

 

Nancy  .5

 

Perkins, Mrs.  .14

Perry, Mrs.  .22

Phinehas  .15

Pierce, I. [or J.] .30

Pierce, S.(?)  .30

Pomroy & Leavitt  .3

 

Sanderson, Isaac .30

Sanderson, Samuel  .20

Sigourney, Mr.  .4

Simmons, James .6

Smith (of Bartlett & Smith) .25

Stearns   .24, .32

Stearns, Horace .1

Stearns, Jacob .9, .12

Stearns, James  .9, .12, .16, .19, .21, .22, .27, .33-37

Stearns, S.  .11, .30

Stearns, Samuel  .2, .6, .12, .15

Stearns, Sam. (jr.) .31

Stearns, Thomas   .8, .13-14, .16-21, .23-25, .27-28, .31, .33-37

Swan., J.   .11

 

Tobin, James  .4

 

W., Mr.  .36

Warren, J.   .30

Warren, Josiah .15

Wellington, J.  .30

Wellington, Wm.  .30

Whitney, J.(?) .30