Manuscript Group 293, Joseph Lindsley (1777-1849), Blacksmith Account book, 1812-1850
Archives Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs
Manuscript Group 293, Joseph
Lindsley (1777-1849), Blacksmith
Account book, 1812-1850, 0.2 linear feet / 1 volume
Call Number: MG 293
Processed as part of the “Farm to City” project funded
by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Financial records kept by Joseph Lindsley
(1777-1849), a blacksmith based in Jefferson Township, Morris County, New
Jersey.
Purchase, 1957.
Joseph Lindsley was born near Dover, Morris County, New Jersey on December 31, 1777.
The son of Samuel Lindsly (fl. 1760-1827), a Revolutionary soldier who was wounded at
Elizabethtown, September 1777, Joseph Lindsley was a blacksmith based in Jefferson
Township, Morris County. The birthplaces of his children and the account book in this
collection suggest that he moved and worked around Morris, Warren, and Sussex counties
during his life. He married twice, though little is known of his first wife who died
leaving him one son. On March 7, 1807 he married his second wife, Sarah Adams (1785-1854),
with whom he had a family of six: Phebe Ann (1808-1869), Ephraim (1811-1884), Thomas Adams
(1812-1871), Silas Young (1816-1900), Stephen Adams (1819-1897), and James Dickerson (fl.
1823-1861). Jospeh Lindsley died on July 22, 1849, near Branchville, Sussex County, New
Jersey.
Sources:
Abstract of Wills Vol. 13: 1814-1817. New Jersey Archives: First Series Vol. 42.
Lindly, John M. The History of the Lindley-Lindsley-Lindsley Families in America:
1639-1930. Winfield, Iowa, 1930.
This collection was purchased in 1957.
The records consist of an account book dating from 1812-1850 which details Joseph
Lindsleys business transactions. The first portion of the account book is indexed
and each entry includes the name of the client, date, goods or service provided, and
method of payment. The entries document the variety of work performed by a blacksmith and
include such tasks as the production and setting of horseshoes, the production of iron
tools (knives, axes, etc.), and the mending of metal items. Other transactions include the
sale of food products and labor. The account book is only partially filled, with later
entries (1843-1850) written in a different hand. Considering the final entries in the book
occurred after Joseph Linsleys death in July 1849, it may be safe to assume that
another individual, perhaps his son Silas Young who lived on a farm near Branchville at
the time, took over the business and use of the book. An interleaved receipt dated May 11,
1837 from John Bell of Branchville, suggests Mr. Lindsleys business interests
extended beyond Morris County.
See other blacksmith’s
records/papers.
Processed by Jeff McMillan, August 2000
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