Guide to the Andrew Leake (d. ca. 1768), Merchant Account Book 1756-1766 MG 118
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 52 Park Place Newark, New Jersey 07102 Contact: NJHS Library (973) 596-8500 x249 library@jerseyhistory.org https://www.jerseyhistory.org © 2006 All rights reserved. The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher Inventory prepared by Kim Charlton as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. January 2006. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English. Biographical NoteAndrew Leake, a younger son with few prospects for property ownership, immigrated from either Scotland or England to New Jersey around 1753. In 1758 and 1759 he bought land in Somerset County near the junction of the Lamington River and the North Branch of the Raritan River and in Bridgewater Township. Around 1760 he married Susan Demun (or Dumont), probably the daughter of Peter Demun, Jr., and together they had at least five children: Morgan, Susan, Catherine, Andrew, and Peter (b. 1770). Leake became a large property owner and by 1760 owned and operated mills (probably grist mills), a general store, and a cooperage in Bromley (now Burnt Mills), Somerset County. Around this time period he also built mills (later known as Stillwell’s, Kennedy’s, and Reger’s Mills) and another store six miles away in what he probably named New Bromley, Hunterdon County (near present day Lamington). In 1763, however, Leake tried to sell the two sets of mills and general stores along with his land and residence in Bromley with the intention of moving to New York. The following year, he again offered the Bromley property for sale, this time at public vendue. The sales, however, seem to have been unsuccessful, and in 1765 Leake became insolvent with the result that a year later his assignees, William Axtill, John Taylor, James M’Evers, and Cornelius Low, Jr., sold off his real and personal property. In 1767 or 1768, Leake left New Jersey and either headed for New York or Saint Thomas in the West Indies, where he soon died, family tradition has it, of yellow fever. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThe records consist of an account used by Andrew Leake to track his business at the Bromley general store from the years 1756-1766. The accounts, containing both a debit and credit side, are by customer, and record the date, purchase, and price. Customers bought such goods as rum, salt, pepper, molasses, wheat, stockings, buckles, and nails either by cash, barter, or by working off their debts through such tasks as working at the mills and carting. The accounts from the years 1756-1758 are located in the front of the book, while the accounts from the years 1759-1766 start from the other end. There is an index located in the rear of the account book. In the middle of the volume, at the break in the store accounts, are a number of “memoranda” tracking the flow of “pork received…for cash and book debt and shop goods” from the years 1760-1764 and for “work done by the coopers” in 1760. The account book also contains writing (in pencil), consisting of doodles and miscellaneous notes, by a subsequent owner. The daybook dates from 1767-1781 and contains chronological entries of jobs performed. This volume also contains a few scattered account entries in its front and rear. The account book dates from 1767-1782 and contains accounts for King’s customers. The pages of the volume are numbered, however, the names are not indexed. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions on this collection. Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff. Use RestrictionsResearchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission. The New Jersey Historical Society complies with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationPreferred CitationThis collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 118, Andrew Leake (d. ca. 1768), Merchant Account Book, The New Jersey Historical Society. Acquisition InformationThis volume was donated by William S. Hunt of Newark in 1938 (accession number M2729). It was part of a much larger donation which also included four record books of Jacob Fine, a shoemaker from Raritan, Somerset County (MG 102). For a list of all items donated by Mr. Hunt, see The Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. 56, 1938, pg. 241. Return to the Table of Contents Bibliography“Department of Notes and Queries: Leake-Dumont-Demun,” Somerset County Historical Quarterly 1915 (Vol. IV), pgs. 75-78. “The Sites of ‘Bromley’ and ‘New Bromley,’” Somerset County Historical Quarterly 1912 (Vol. I), pgs. 232-233. Manuscript Group 1433, Abraham Van Doren Honeyman (1849-1936) Genealogical Collection, The New Jersey Historical Society. Return to the Table of Contents Container List
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