Guide to the Arithmetic Exercise Book of Gilbert S. Davison 1829-1830 MG 698

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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



Guide to the Arithmetic Exercise Book of Gilbert S. Davison
1829-1830
MG 698
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
© 2004 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Inventory prepared by Laura Ruttum as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Finding aid encoded by Danielle Kovacs. February 2004. 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: Gilbert S. Davison
Title: Gilbert S. Davison Arithmetic Exercise Book
Dates: 1829-1830
Abstract: Consists of an exercise book, generally known as a ciphering book, used by Gilbert Sutphen Davison for his arithmetic exercises.
Quantity: 1 volume
Collection Number: MG 698

Biographical Note

Gilbert Sutphen Davison kept this exercise book during the school year of 1829 to 1830. Little is known about Gilbert S. Davison, however, it is known that he married Ida Barclay of Middlesex County on December 14, 1841. After she passed away in 1847, Davison married Gerusha Isham in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, on March 15, 1851.

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Scope and Content Note

This collection consists an exercise book, generally known as a ciphering book, used by Gilbert Sutphen Davison for his arithmetic exercises. It was begun on March 18, 1829 and completed sometime after March 16, 1830. Each exercise contains the rules to be applied to each type of problem, followed by numerous examples and exercises, primarily in the form of word problems.

The concepts covered included: Loss and Gain, Fellowship, Exchange, Decimal Fractions and Vulgar Fractions. The problems under “Fellowship” consist of percentages, and are applied to joint stocks and interest rate calculations; “Exchange” deals with exchange rates in domestic and international trade (including problems converting from sterling to pounds to dollars, as well as trade between England, Ireland, the Islands of the British West Indies, and the United States); “Decimal Fractions” are what are currently referred to as decimals, and include rules for converting numbers from “vulgar fraction(s) to its equivalent decimal fraction;” and finally, “Vulgar Fractions” are currently referred to only as “fractions.”

The exercise problems, and the rules themselves, treat simple mathematics primarily as a tool for business and trade, as evidenced in the following quotes, “Loss and Gain instructs merchants and traders, so as to estimate their goods in buying and selling, as to know what they gain or lose in dealing,” and “Fellowship is a rule, by which merchants etc. trading in company with a joint stock, are enabled to ascertain each person’s particular share of the gain or loss, in proportion to his share in the joint stock.”

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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:
Davison, Gilbert S. (Gilbert Sutphen), fl. 1829-1851.
Subject Topics:
Education–United States–History–Sources.
Subject Places:
New Jersey–History–1775-1865.
Document Types:
Exercise books.
Subject Occupations
Students–New Jersey.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 698, Gilbert S. Davison Arithmetic Exercise Book, The New Jersey Historical Society.

Acquisition Information

This collection was a gift of E.L. Eldredge in 1968.

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