Manuscript Group 152, John Ralston (d. 1819), Merchant Record books, 1782-1815
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Manuscript Group 152, John Ralston (d. 1819), Merchant
Record books, 1782-1815, 3 linear feet / 24 volumes
Call Number: MG 152
Twenty-four daybooks and ledgers of a Mendham merchant and mill owner, including records of the firms of Ralston and McCarter, and Ralston and Nesbitt. The records pertain to Ralston’s wide-ranging activities as a general-store owner, exporter, and mill owner. In partnership with Hugh Nesbitt, Ralston carried on an extensive business centered in Mendham and New York and shipping goods to Georgia, and to the Spanish port of Cadiz. Three of the volumes contain stationer’s labels for “Valentine Nutter, Bookseller and Stationer” in New York, and “P. A. Johnson, Book-seller, Stationer & Binder, Morristown, New Jersey.” John Ralston came to the United States from Ireland. Originally settling in Philadelphia, he moved to Mendham in 1785. He became a merchant and landowner, purchasing 114 acres of land with a grist mill and sawmill in 1786. His partner, Hugh Nesbitt, was the brother of Thomas Nesbitt, who came to the United States from Ireland in 1784. Hugh Nesbitt, Thomas Nesbitt’s son, married Ralston’s daughter in 1818.
Gift of Mrs. E. J. Rood, 1927.
Manuscript Group 130, Thomas Nesbitt (1760-1819) Record books
See the records/papers of other merchants.
See the records/papers of other saw mills.
See the records/papers of other grist mills.
