Guide to the Joseph Lindsley (1777-1849), Blacksmith Account Book1812-1850 MG 293

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Restrictions
Access Points
Administrative Information
Bibliography

Container List

Documents


Guide to the Joseph Lindsley (1777-1849), Blacksmith Account Book
1812-1850
MG 293
The New Jersey Historical Society
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 Jeff MacMillan, August 2000, 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. April 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.


Descriptive Summary

Creator: Lindsley, Joseph, 1777-1849.
Title: Joseph Lindsley (1777-1849), Blacksmith

Account Book

Dates: 1812-1850
Abstract: Financial records kept by Joseph Lindsley (1777-1849), a blacksmith based in Jefferson Township, Morris County, New Jersey. William H. Ford, Curtis and Lizzie Ogden.
Quantity: .025 linear feet
Collection Number: MG 293

Biographical Note

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.

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Scope and Content Note

The records consist of an account book dating from 1812-1850 which details Joseph Lindsley’s 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 Linsley’s 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. Lindsley’s business interests extended beyond Morris County.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff.

Use Restrictions

Researchers 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.

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Access Points

The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.
Subject Names:
Lindsley, Joseph, 1777-1849.
Subject Topics:
Blacksmiths–New Jersey.
Businesses–New Jersey.
Iron tools–New Jersey.
Subject Places:
Jefferson Township (N.J.)
Morris County (N.J.)
Document Types:
Account Books.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 293, Joseph Lindsley (1777-1849), Blacksmith

Account book, The New Jersey Historical Society.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased in 1957.

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Bibliography

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.

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Container List

Documents

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Account Book 1812-1850

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