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Cook Almy Ledgers

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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

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Almy

Cook Almy (1765-1861) was the son of John Almy (1720-1808) and Hannah Cook Almy (1738-1765), both of whom were descendants of English colonists and enslavers who settled on Wampanoag lands (Rhode Island) in the mid 17th century. Cook Almy married Charlotte Cook (1773-1835) in 1795 and later Ruth Dennis (1790-1865). He lived on a homestead farm in Puncatest Neck in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and managed a variety of business endeavours in Tiverton and Little Compton. He had eight children, including Samuel Elam, John, Welcome Arnold, Isaac Cook, Eliza, Clarinda, Deborah, and Hannah Davis.

This collection consists of three ledgers and a daybook kept by Cook Almy (1765-1861), a white farmer based in Puncatest Neck in Tiverton, Rhode Island, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Almy's homestead farm was situated on the traditional lands of the Wampanoag (Wôpanâak) people, and many of the customers and employees documented in the ledgers are Wampanoag and/or African American.

The ledger entries pertain to the employment of workers who were involved in the operation of a grist mill, masonry and stone sales, lumbering, and spinning and weaving, as well as to Almy's activities as a landlord, raising livestock for sustenance, and selling corn, barley, and other grains. They also record his barters and trades with local pottery makers, coopers, leatherworkers, trunk makers, weavers, and other craftspeople. The ledgers contain dozens of interleaved receipts, business letters, documents, and notes related to Almy's business endeavours in New Bedford (Massachusetts), Little Compton, Providence, and Newport. There are also some notes about family genealogy written in the front of the journals.

Surnames that appear frequently as customers or employees include Abraham, Almy, Barker, Brooks, Brown, Burden/Borden, Cook, Coombs, Cornell, Cory, Elisha, Fish, Lake, Lawton, Manchester, Prince, Seabury, Shaw, Slocum, Tripp, Wilcox, Whitridge, and Wood. During this time period, many African Americans and Wampanoag people intermarried, and a number of these surnames are associated with multiethnic Indigenous families in the region.

Some names appearing in the ledgers that match those listed in Tiverton census records as people of color include Huldah Almy (a long-term employee), Peter Barker, Benjamin Cook, and Abraham Cook. The name David Lake also appears numerous times and is likely the carpenter David Lake (1761-1850) who resided in Tiverton and worked for Paul Cuffe, an African American and Wampanoag merchant and shipbuilder.

The three ledgers were purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books in 2021 (AM 2022-053). The daybook was a gift of Dan Casavant in 2022 (AM 2023-011).

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in November 2021. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in November 2021, incorporating some description provided by the dealer. Finding aid updated by Kelly Bolding in August 2022 to include the 2022 accession.

No materials were removed from the collection during 2021 processing.

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Author
Kelly Bolding
Finding Aid Date
2021
Sponsor
Processing of this collection was sponsored by the Delafield fund.
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

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Collection Inventory

Cook Almy Ledger, 1795-1808. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Materials Viewable Online
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Cook Almy Ledger, 1808-1814. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

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Cook Almy Ledger, 1815-1836. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

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Cook Almy Daybook, 1800-1805. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Materials Viewable Online
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