Guide to the Thomas Nesbitt (1760-1819), Merchant Record Books 1787-1826 MG 130
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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 © 2005 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 NoteThomas Nesbitt (1760-1819) emigrated from County Armagh, Ireland to the United States in 1784 probably with his brother Hugh Nesbitt. He eventually settled in New Jersey, moving progressively west over the years from Springfield, Scotch Plains, and Plainfield, then probably part of Essex County (now in Union County) to Millstone, Mount Pleasant, Raritan Bridge, and finally Somerville, in Somerset County. He married, had at least one son, Hugh, and operated a general store in Somerville and probably other towns in New Jersey (it is unclear how many stores he had because of changing town names and borders). On January 27, 1818, Hugh Nesbitt (d. 1827), Thomas’s son, married Mary Ann Ralston, the daughter of John and Margaret Ralston, also from County Armagh, Ireland. John Ralston, who lived in Mendham, New Jersey (part of which was later called Ralston), was a merchant and the partner of Hugh Nesbitt, Thomas’s brother. Hugh (d. 1827) joined his father’s business in Somerville until Thomas Nesbitt’s death in 1819, at which time he moved with his family to Mendham where he became a farmer and businessman. Hugh and Mary Ann Nesbitt had three children before Hugh’s death in 1827. Their only son was named after Mary Ann’s father, John Ralston Nesbitt. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThe Thomas Nesbitt Records consist of twenty-one volumes of daybooks, account books, and a notebook, used in Nesbitt’s general store. The record books date from 1787-1826 and document the purchase or barter of dry and wet goods, such as butter, molasses, handkerchiefs, buttons, rum, and spirits. The volumes are arranged by record type and then by date. The collection contains sixteen daybooks, dating from 1787-1826, and labeled with the various town headings of Springfield, Scotch Plains, Plainfield, Millstone, Mount Pleasant, Raritan Bridge, Somerville, and Mendham. The series of daybook entries from the last town, Mendham, date from 1821-1826, and are probably from either Thomas Nesbitt’s brother, Hugh Nesbitt, who ran a store in Mendham, or from his son, also named Hugh, who lived there. The daybook entries are chronological and record customer name, purchase, and price. The collection contains four account books, dating from 1788-1816. Two of the volumes were labeled as “Ledger C” and “Ledger F,” while two have missing covers and are therefore unlabelled. The volumes all refer to other ledgers, for example “Ledger E.” The accounts are by customer and contain debit and credit sides, the former of which includes date, item purchased, and price, while the latter includes date, and how the debt was paid, for example “by cash,” “by bushels of corn,” or “by work at a wagon.” Each of the account books contains an index. The remaining item in the collection is a small notebook containing a list of boarders, a recipe for dying fabric or yarn blue, and an “account of work at the sawmill.” The notebook dates from 1810-1813. 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 Related MaterialManuscript Group 152, John Ralston (d. 1819) Records Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationPreferred CitationThis collection should be cited as:Manuscript Group 130, Thomas Nesbitt (1760-1819), Merchant Record books, The New Jersey Historical Society. Acquisition InformationGift of Mrs. E. J. Rood, 1927. Return to the Table of Contents BibliographyHopler, Martha G., et al.Cyclopedia of New Jersey Biography Memorial and Biographical The Mendhams (Mendham Township Committee: Brookside New Jersey, 1964), pgs. 83-89. Return to the Table of Contents Container List
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