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The following handwritten information was found in the overleaf pages of a leather bound book published in 1779.
The titled of the book was:
“Account of the Gospel Labours and Christian Experiences of a Faithful Minister of Christ”
by “John Churchman, Late of Nottingham in Pennsylvania, deceased”.
Published in “Philadelphia”
“Printed by Joseph Crukshank on the North Side of Market Street Between Second and Third Streets. MDCCLXXIX”
The Roman numerals give a date of 1779.
The book details the life of Churchman, his travels up and down the east coast of America, and to Europe. He appears to have been a Quaker and he reports on numerous meetings of Friends. For those interested, a complete transcription of this book appears on the Internet. It is listed in the Earlham School of Religion Digital Quaker Collection:
http://esr.earlham.edu/dqc/biblio.html
Click on the titled of the book to reach a transcription.
I was given the book by the late Dr. William K. Buchanan of Summit County, Ohio, prior to his death in 2005.
Dr. Buchanan and myself have ancestral roots in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is my understanding that the book was owned by individuals living in the county. Given the difficulty of travel to this region of Pennsylvania prior to the completion of the National Road in 1818-1819, this would have been a treasured possession of the family. I suspect that the book was owned by the family prior to their move to Washington County from the eastern shores of Pennsylvania.
The individuals mentioned in the overleafs are not my family. Rather, I am posting this material to assist researchers in the various family lines listed in the book, and to honor the memory of Dr. Buchanan.
I believe that the information written in the book was contemporaneous to the events. Thus, the book can be considered primary source material for research purposes.
I do not have additional information regarding the history of the book and its passage down the family to Dr. Buchanan.
Now for the notations written into the book.
Written in pencil on the inside front cover page:
“1907
1821"
With a result of “86” being reported. I can only speculate that someone’s age was being calculated.
Written in ink on the first overleaf page:
“Jane Armitage, her Book, given to her by her Father the 28th day of the 6th Month of 1780”.
Written in ink on the second overleaf page:
“Mary McAdams was born the 9 day of the tenth month in the year of our Lord 1785.”
“Elizabeth McAdams was born the 13 of the first month in the year of our Lord 88"
“Hannah McAdams was born the 10 day of the tenth month in the year of our Lord 1789"
Written below these entries in a darker ink were the names:
“Isaac Mitchell
Isaac Mitchell
Isaac Mitchell
Mary
Mary Mitchell
John McAdams
Jane McAdams”
Written in ink on the blank page behind the title page:
“Mary Duvall was Born March the 12 one thousand eight hundred and thirteen.
Hannah Duvall was Born February the 16 one thousand eight hundred and fifteen.
Eliza Duvall was Born February the 16th 1817.
Jane Duvall was Born March the 14th 1819.
Abigal Duvall was Born July the 14th 1821.
John Duvall was Born January the 1st 1824.
Mariah Duvall was Born December the 22th 1826.”
Written in ink on the top of first page of text was the name:
“Lewis”
There is no other handwriting in the text itself until one reaches the back overleaf page.
Written in light pencil across the back overleaf page:
“Miss Anna Duvall burial [unreadable word]”
Written twice in ink upside down on the same page is the word “angradum”. The handwriting is sharp and excellent. The meaning of this term is uncertain. It may be a religious reference. The term “Angra Mainyu” refers to the destructive spirit in the Zoroastrian philosophy of religion. One might speculate that the word was written down while listening to a sermon or lecture.
Also on the same overleaf page, but written from the top down, is what appears to be an accounting of crops, harvest, or hired labor. The notation seems to indicate that the old British Pound Sterling currency was in use: Pounds, Schillings, and Pence. [There were 20 Schillings per Pound, and 12 Pence per Schilling.] Note that towards the end of the entry, the author uses US currency:
“to 5 bushils of my 3 S .. pir Bus.
to 6 1/2 bushils at 20 & 6 pence pir Bus.
to 1 Day & one half plowing 1 50
to 1 Days plowing with Shovil
plow 75 to 2 days work myself
at 3 Schillings pir Day to 1 Days
drawing father. 1 dollar to 24 lb of
flower at 1 3/4 cent per lb.
26 to hauling of plank drawn from”
In the above material, the spelling was quite poor by today’s standards:
“per” was spelled “pir”
“bushel” was spelled “Bushil”
“shovel” was spelled “Shovil”
“flour” was spelled “flower”
I assume that the abbreviation “Bus.” means bushel.
It is not unexpected to find cash amounts recorded in British Pounds. The payment amounts in some land deeds as late as 1800 were expressed in Pound Sterling in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It took decades for US currency to become in common circulation in Washington County. In fact, access to currency continued to be a problem for the local population up to the time of the Civil War when the US Government finally started printing and circulating its own paper currency.
Below the details for the labor and harvest work were some columns of number:
“200
216
150
080
100
030"
The above column was “X” out and another column was written below:
“200
216
150
075
080
100
030
025"
With a sum of “$8.76 cts” indicated below the column. This is, indeed, the correct sum for the column. Below that entry is another entry of “8.37 1/2” but with no indication as to its meaning.
Finally, written in pencil on the inside back over, possibly in a child’s handwriting:
“John R. Duvall” [Note, the middle initial might have been a K.]
“Washington Co. Pa.” [The writing for this line was very light pencil.]
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