The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur,
Delaware 19735
Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF
THE COLLECTION
Creator: Marr, William N. (William
Neal), 1820-1864
Title: Bills and receipts
Dates: 1842-1865
Call No.: Col. 681
Acc. No.: 70x55.10-.112
Quantity:
Location: 18 B 2
BIOGRAPHICAL
STATEMENT
William Neal Marr lived in Great Falls, New
Hampshire. (The town was later renamed
Somersworth, and Berwick, Maine, is across the river from it.) He was born in 1820, the son of Keziah Neal
and Oliver Marr. In 1847, he married
Elizabeth Craigie Nowell. They had two
children, daughter Helene (who died while an infant, in 1850), and son Henry
Nowell Marr (1853-1940). William Marr
died in 1864. In the 1850 census, he was listed as a trader,
living in Great Falls. In the 1860
census, the family was listed as living in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and Marr
was a salesman.
SCOPE AND
CONTENT
The papers consist almost entirely of bills sent to
William N. Marr, his estate, and his wife, from merchants in Boston,
Massachusetts, Great Falls, New Hampshire, or Berwick, Maine. Some of the bills have printed billheads, but
none are illustrated. As well, there is
a mortgage deed in which John Foss of New Hampshire sells property in South
Berwick, Maine, to Marr. Marr bought a
wide variety of goods, including a child’s coffin, Italian grave stones, a
parlor stove, spoons and forks, window shades, tea, plates, clothes line,
shovels, furniture (including some pieces for children), and many other sorts
of household goods (but next to no food and clothing are represented in these
bills). A good many of the bills are for
building materials (lumber, brick, lime, etc.), hardware, labor, wallpaper,
marble shelves, and other items for a house which Marr had built in Great Falls
in 1854. (Apparently, he later rented
this house when he moved his family to the Boston area.)
ORGANIZATION
The bills are in accession number order; most are in
chronological order, except some bills from 1859 are found near the beginning
of the collection.
LANGUAGE OF
MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS
ON ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Purchased from N. D. Scotti.
ACCESS POINTS
Topics:
House construction - New
Hampshire.
Dwellings - Maintenance and repair - New Hampshire.
House furnishings - 19th century.
Furniture - Prices - 19th century.
Children’s furniture.
Sepulchral monuments - Prices.
Coffins - Prices.
Building materials – Prices – 19th century.
Household supplies – Prices – 19th century.
Receipts (Acknowledgments).
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 18 B 2
All accession numbers begin with 70x55.
All bills were addressed to William N. Marr, unless
otherwise noted.
Most bills were marked paid.
Folder 1 of 1:
.10 receipt: Oliver Marr paid Edward Evans
for sawing clapboards; payment was made by William N. Marr, 1842.
.11 mortgage deed: John B. Foss to William N.
Marr: Foss (a yeoman of Durham, N.H.) sold property in South Berwick, York
County, Maine, to Marr, May 1, 1850;
Printed form
.12 bill: from S. W. Waldron, Boston, Nov.
25, 1859: soap[?], plates;
Printed billhead:
importer of crockery, china and glass ware, dealer in paper hangings, looking
glasses, solar lamps and Britannia ware; billhead has been altered: & Son
has been crossed out
.13 bill, from F.O. Dewey, Boston, Nov. 26,
1859: for shades, goblets, and something else;
Printed billhead: dealer
in glass, Britannia and Japanned ware, [etc.]
.14 bill, from Marden & Hartshorn,
Boston, Dec. 16, 1859: for Putnams Fixtures, and tassels;
Printed billhead: window
shades, cord, tassels, lace and muslin curtains, gilt cornices, bands, paper
hangings, &c.
.15 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
April 22, 1859: for a long list of goods, including boots, castors, child’s
crib, tea tray, tumblers, soup plates, coffee and tea, feather duster, butter
knife, umbrella stand, etc.; credit was given for returning a piano stool and
matting
.16 receipt:
Marr paid B.F. & D.T. Hill for making coffin and box for child, Jan. 3,
1850
.17 receipt:
Marr paid Henry H. Bracy for two miniatures, June[?] 3, 1850
.18 receipt:
Marr paid F.Y. & C.A. Rollins for strips and piece of joist, June 4, 1850
.19 receipt:
Marr paid Joh Emery for a set of Italian grave stones, July 25, 1850
.20 receipt:
Marr paid [unclear] Fredick[?] for carpeting[?], July 7, 1851
.21 bill
from C.B.[?] Pinkman[?] for 6 maple cane chairs, July 10, 1851
.22 receipt:
Marr paid [illegible] Rollins, Great Falls, for a washstand, July 12, 1851
.23 bill
from John S. Hayes, Great Falls, Nov. 21, 1851: parlor stove, Russia pipe,
sheet iron
.24 bill
from Albert Wakefield, Great Falls, Feb. 21, 1853: one gold fob chain and a
gold key
.25 bill from E. H. Tibbets, May 1853-Nov. 5,
1856: for sand, brick, boards, lime, water, stone, door steps, shingles
.26 receipt: Marr paid Hiram W. Hayes, Great
Falls, Oct. 19, 1853, for laying cellar wall and blowing[?] in cellar
.27 bill
from Jones, Dodge & Chesley, Oct. 31, 1853: for clapboards
.28 receipt:
Marr paid John & Barnard Knight for work done, Great Falls, Nov. 8, 1853.
.29 receipt:
Marr paid Paul Stone for feet of underpinning[?], S. Berwick, Nov. 11, 1853
.30 receipt:
Marr paid unnamed person for two oil casks, Salmon Falls, Nov. 23, 1853
.31 bill
from Jones, Dodge & Chesley, for clapboards and shingles, Oct.-Nov. 1853
.32 bill
from Asa Knox, Great Falls, Dec. 15, 1853, for unspecified labor
.33 bill
from John Martin, Dec. 1853-July 21, 1854, for lime and laths
.34 bill from James Twombly, Dec. 1853-Feb.
1854, for boards, planning and sawing, stock, hard pine floor boards, and
damage to a circular saw;
On back: note about
paying Rollins for lumber
.35 bill
from Samuel D. Whitehouse, Dec. 1853, for bricks of various kinds
.36 receipt:
Marr paid George Hobbs for work on dwelling house, Dec. 15, 1853
.37 bill
from Jet[?] Lord[?], Great Falls, Dec. 17, 1853, for copper boiler and boiler
door
.38 bill
from Andrew Wentworth, Dec. 19, 1853, for laying brick
.39 bill for surveying of boards, done by
Stephen Willard, signed Thomas B. Littlefield, Wells Depot, Jan. 27, 1854;
With penciled note that
Willard had been paid
.40 receipt: Marr paid F. G. Nason, South
Berwick, Feb. 4, 1854; goods or services not mentioned
.41 bill
from F. A. Rollins, April 5, 1854, for hemlock plank and for sawing
.42 bill
from Jones, Dodge & Chesley, for laths, and trucking them, April 11, 1854
.43 bill
from Andrew Wentworth, May-June, no year, for days of work;
On back: receipt: B. F.
Lewis, Berwick, Sept. 23, 1855, was paid by S. Wentworth for schooling Sarah
Wentworth
.44 receipt: Marr paid E. Holcomb for a panel
door, June 8, 1854
.45 receipt: Marr paid John Lougee, Great
Falls, June 13, 1854, for window sash and pairs of side lights, and for setting
glass
.46 receipt: Marr paid John Tucky, June 22,
1854, for one thousand laths
.47 bill from Charles Sanborn[?],June-Sept.
1854, for red paint, zinc dryer, putty, etc.;
On back: note about
French yellow and dryer, Oct. 11, 1854
.48 bill from Littlefield & Blaisdell,
June-August, 1854, for planning boards and for laths
.49 bill from A. Q. Wendell, Portsmouth, Aug.
7, 1854, for locks, knobs, latches, wardrobe hooks, brass hooks, etc.
.50 bill from J. F. Shores, Jr., Aug. 1854,
for rolls of paper [presumably wallpaper]
.51 bill from Franklin J. Rollins, Sept.-Nov.
1854, for newell, banisters, straight rail, ramp & twist, quarter turn,
ease off with head, bolts, work of putting up rail - done by Robinson
.52 receipt: John P. Osgood was paid for
painting, Sept. 18, 1854
.53 receipt: E. Holcomb was paid for work,
stone; Sept. 28, 1854
.54 receipt: Joseph Wiggin was paid for
painting, Oct. 1854
.55 receipt: E.J. Lane, Dover, N.H., Oct. 6,
1854, was paid for rolls of paper and yards of border;
Printed billhead: dealer
in school and miscellaneous books, blank books, periodicals, stationery, fancy
articles, and room papers
.56 receipt: Jones & Chesley were paid
for 5000 shingles, Oct. 1854-Feb. 1855
.57 bill
from Jones & Chesley, Oct. 1854, for 5000 shingles
.58 receipt:
Rufus Woodward, Great Falls, Oct. 25, 1854, was paid for days of work
.59 receipt: Jacob Horn, Great Falls, Oct.
28, 1854, was paid for work of hauling stone and unspecified work of two men
and a pair of oxen; credit was given for bricks
.60 receipt: E. Holcomb was paid for digging
and stoning a cellar and for labor of a man, Otc. 28, 1854
.61 receipt: John Emery, Great Falls, Nov.
18, 1854, was paid for marble shelf and brackets, and a soapstone something;
the goods were charged to A. Wimpfheir[?] & Bro.
[in .65, the named
appears to be Wimpheimer]
.62 bill from John S. Hayes, Great Falls,
Dec. 5, 1854, for nails, lead, thimble, oven mouth[?], pulleys, screws,
sandpaper, brads, butts
.63 bill from B.F. & D.T. Hill, Great
Falls, Jan. 1854-March 28, 1855: for window frames, pine lumber, sawing, doors,
etc.
.64 bill
from Jones & Chesley, no date, for pine planks, also trucking and loading;
On
back: calculations
.65 bill from Joseph Wiggins, Great Falls,
July 3, 1855, for painting blinds, labor on fence, and for paint; payment was
made by Wimpheimer
.66 bill from Tibbets & Co., Oct. 25,
1855, for clapboards and linseed oil
.67 bill from Littlefield & Blaisdell,
for sets of blinds and hanging them, gate hinges, iron rods for fence, setting
post, drilling holes, work on bank steps, stock for one flight, rolling slat,
making 2 steps; repair work to a gate was deducted; Mr. Wimpheiser is mentioned
.68 receipt:
E. H. Tibbets was paid, Great Falls, Nov. 5, 1856
.69 bill from Shearer & Paine, June 1856
[although written 1857]-August 1857: for a long list of goods, including
boarding M. J. Brockway and Mrs. Rice, forks and spoons, slat, mustard spoon,
nappie, tea, tacks, butter knife, collars, boots, hat tree, knives, etc.
.70 bill from Bassett & Pierce, Boston,
Aug. 31, 1857, for whte plates, sugar and creamer, dishes, baker, nappie, etc.
Printed billhead:
importers of china, glass, crockery ware & paper hangings
.71 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
Sept. 1, 1857-Feb. 1858: for boarding Mrs. C. Rice, butter knives, tea and
coffee, mattress, furniture, crockery ware, spittoon, coal shovel, pine sink,
teapoy, foot bath, gunny cloth, boots, etc.
.72 bill from Joseph Wiggins, Rollinsford,
Oct. 26, 1857, for days of work, paint, varnish can coach varnish, lights of
glass; with note about how the bill was paid
.73 bill from J. A. Burleigh, Jr., Oct.-Nov.
1857, recording work done by others: Hiram Wentworth whitewashed, mended
plastering, and pointed cellar; Lothrop & Co. supplied wallpaper; Joseph
Wiggins painted; Tibbetts & Co. supplied pipe for drains and knobs for mop
boards; J. S. Hayes soldered tin conductors for funnel thimble; Sanborn painted
piazza roof; A. Jenkins supplied weather strips; N. Warren & H. W. Hayes
dug and stoned a well; A. Gilpatrick & Son supplied a pump; N. Warren
leveled the yard; also mentioned are credits given for crockery, furniture, and
rent
.74 receipt: Nathaniel Warren was paid by
J.A. Burleigh, Jr., for leveling Marr’s yard;
Warren signed with his
mark;
.75 bill from J.E. Daniels & Co., Boston,
1858: for French set fruit [presumably a set of furniture in French style, made
of fruitwood];
Printed billhead:
manufacturers of cottage chamber furniture, … sets of solid chestnut and black
walnut, … [etc., with lists of different kinds of furniture, also
refrigerators]
.76 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
Feb. 1858-April 1859: for boarding Mrs.
Rice, a rocking horse, shoes and boots, summer coat, coffee and tea pots,
bakers, window curtain and curtain fixture, willow carriage, spoon holder, pine
table, bar room chairs, pine sink, plates, tea tray, piano stool, knives and
forks, a chamber set, coal hod, etc., etc.
.77 bill from Richards, Alden & Co.,
Boston, August 12, 1858, for extra fine carpet;
Printed billhead:
importers and dealers in carpetings
.78 bill from J.A. Burleigh, Jr., Nat
1858-Feb. 1859, for payments to others: to N. W. Turner for gas fittings; to
Jessup for repairing something in cellar; to J. Lougee for setting glass; to
Great Falls Mfg. Co. for gas fittings (list of goods); to A. Gilpatrick &
Son for repairing soft water pump and pipe; to Andrew Wentworth for balance due
on note; with credit given for house rent
.79 receipt: John Lougee paid by J. A.
Burleigh,Jr., for setting glass, Nov. 2, 1858
.80 bill from S.W. Waldron & Son, Boston,
Dec. 28, 1858 [or 1859]: for lanterns;
Printed billhead:
importer of crockery, china and glass ware, dealer in paper hangings, looking
glasses, solar lamps and Britannia ware;
.81 bill from B.F. Adams, Boston, Jan. 19,
1860, for cottage time[?];
Printed billhead: gum
elastic suspenders, buttons …, silver plate ware, hooks and eyes, pins,
American pocket-cutlery, clocks, buck mittens and gloves, sewing silk, threads,
&c.
.82 bill from William B. Phelps, Boston, Feb.
21, 1860: for bedstead;
Printed billhead:
furniture and upholstery goods
.83 bill from J. C. Pitman, Great Falls,
March 3, 1860: for black walnut coffin, outside box, and funeral attendance
.84 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
Aug. 30, 1860-Feb. 1861: for a long list of goods, including stove shovel,
kerosene lamps, set of castors, coal sifter, side lights, nappies, white cup
plates, wood pail, saleratus, toy bureau, Paris clock, 3 sweep sofa, marble
bureau, molasses pitcher, matting, etc.
.85 receipt: J. W. Whitehose was paid for
bricks, Great Falls, Nov. 19, 1860
.86 bill from H. Wentworth, Nov. 21, 1860,
for days of work, casks of lime, bushel of hair, trucking
.87 receipt: Marr paid William Hansen, Great
Falls, Feb. 25, 1861, for Hiram Wentworth’s bill for stock and work pointing
cellar in his [apparently Hansen’s] house on Grand St.
.88 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
March 6, 1861-Feb. 1862: for a long list of goods, including wood bowls, knife
box, socks, goblets, child’s chaise, painted toilet set, marble top chestnut
chamber set, palm leaf mat, Aldrich hat, bottle of pickles, etc.
.89 bill from Hiram Wentworth, Somersworth,
Nov. 15, 1861, for days of plastering, lime, hair, etc.
.90 bill from Tibbets & Brother, Great
Falls, N.H., Oct.-Nov. 1861, for varnish, spirits, nails, screws, butts,
latches, door handle, etc.;
Printed billhead:
dealers in hardware, well chain, iron & steel, steel springs, [and a long
list of other goods, including paints, tools, grass seed, Colt’s revolvers,
guns, etc.]
.91 bill from Enos Harris, G. Falls, Nov. 23,
1861, for hemlock and pine boards and planks, trucking boards, nails, for
paying John Lougee for setting glass, for window springs, sticks of timber for
barn, for paying F.A. Lord for stove used to keep plastering from freezing
.92 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
Feb. 19-Dec. 29, 1862: for a long list of goods, including B.W. [black walnut] N.Y. parlor
chairs, center table, damask lounge, tin grater, cups and saucers, mill files,
castor bottles, silk gimp, boy’s something, window shades, eggs, child’s
rocker, monkey wrench, etc.
.93 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
Feb. 20, 1862: for parlor chairs, center table, damask lounge, rocker;
Printed billhead
.94 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
June 11, 1862: for lolling sofa, black walnut center table, rocker and nurse
chair, Gre. [Grecian?] chairs, extension table, pink sink, pine bureau and
glass, bedstead, chamber set, matting;
Printed billhead
.95 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
June 20, 1862: for black walnut French parlor chairs, lounge easy chair, small
center table, matting, sofa;
Printed billhead
.96 bill from Allen & Noble, Boston, Aug.
20, 1862, for lime[?];
Printed billhead:
importers of hard ware and cutlery, … house trimmings, nails, lead, zinc,
&c., sand paper, glue, casters, locks, screws & hinges
.97 bill, from F.O. Dewey, Boston, Nov. 25,
1862: for tea pot, and something else;
Printed billhead:
importer and dealer in earthen, glass and Britannia ware, [and various kinds of
lamps and lanterns]
.98 bill from New England Carpet Company,
Boston, Dec. 12, 1862, for stair carpet;
Printed billhead
.99 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston,
Jan. 1, 1863, settled Feb. 3, 1863: for boy’s something, B.W. [black walnut[
Ottoman H.C., burlap, bowls, nappies, etc.
.100 bill from Pavillion Carpet Rooms, Boston, Jan.
8, 1863, for yards of super;
Printed billhead
.101 bill from Shearer & Paine, Boston, July
1-Nov. 7, 1863, for a long list of goods including meal bags, jar of pickles,
child’s shoes, window shades, child’s cane seat diner, dinner tickets, steel
spade, toy chairs, hair cloth, excelsior, towel stand, office chair, floor
brush, carpet sweeper, neck tie, clothes line, bottles of rosemary, etc.
.102 memorandum of goods sold, M.D.L. Dinsmore,
Aug. 1, 1863, for French lolling sofa with carved top, in hair cloth; brace arm
nurse chair, carved top, in hair cloth; inside gilt looking glass, fall leaf
extension table; with notes about shipping; signed L. G. Fairbank
.103 bill from Fernald & Drew, Boston, Dec.
22, 1863, for walnut extension table;
Printed billhead:
manufactures of black walnut and chestnut diner, centre, and extension tables’
[bill overprinted to show new address]
.104 bill from Berkley House, Boston, Aug. 6,
1863, for 4 weeks board, charged to Shearer & Paine;
Printed billhead
.105 bill from Otis H. Weed & Co., Boston,
May 7, 1864, for carpet sweeper (with discount);
Printed billhead:
manufacturers of the Patent Rubber Band Carpet Sweepers, steel spring beds and
clothes wringers
.106 bill from Alfred T. Joy, Portsmouth, N.H.,
Aug. 28, 1864, for coffin with plate, satin lining, handles, and box; payment
made by Thomas S. Nowell;
Printed billhead: dealer
in feathers, glasses, house and ship furniture, coffins, caskets, &c., also
finisher and polisher of ships’ cabins
.107a letter from W.H. Farrar, Great Falls, Nov.
19, 1864, to Mrs. Marr: has not gotten to Boston to see her; purchased ladder
for housel had set of steps made (see enclosed bill); built the back steps at
his own expense
.107b bill from W. H. Farrar, Great Falls, Nov. 25,
no year: for boards, posts, nails, labor – this was bill enclosed with .107a
.108 bill to Mrs. Marr, from W.H. Farrar, Great
Falls, N.H., Nov. 19, 1864, for a ladder;
Printed billhead: dealer
in groceries, provisions, farmer’s produce, crockery & glass ware
.109 bill to Mrs. Marr from E.A. Stevens, March
1, 1865, for a Victor Stove
.110 bill to Mrs. E. T. [sic] Marr, from Silas
Philbrick, July 1865, for pair of grave stones, extra letters; with U.S.
Internal Revenue stamp
.111 bill to Mrs. Marr, from Silas Philbrick,
Aug. 29, 1865, for repairing head stone and setting in socket, and engraving
verse letters
.112 bill to W.M. Marr, from D. Lothrop &
Co., no place, Sept.-Oct., no year: for rolls of paper, yards of border, pint
of alcohol