Putnam County Account Book Fragment
This handwritten fragment of an account book from Putnam County, Tennessee, is dated from September 1874 to 1879. It lists the sale and payments for a wide range of goods, including foods, powder, sewing supplies, horseshoes and nails, buttons, suspenders, bars of lead, tools, and feed. Of note is several entries for “jeans,” likely referring to general work clothes. The entries are not dated in chronological order.
Dates
- 1874 September-1879
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested 5 days in advance. See www.lib.utk.edu/special for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants. Please see www.lib.utk.edu/special for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Abstract
This handwritten fragment of an account book from Putnam County, Tennessee, is dated from September 1874 to 1879. It lists the sale and payments for a wide range of goods, including foods, powder, sewing supplies, horseshoes and nails, buttons, suspenders, bars of lead, tools, and feed. Of note is several entries for “jeans,” likely referring to general work clothes.
Biographical / Historical
The creator of this ledger is unknown, but two of the people listed inside are Crawford and Braxton Bohanan (or Bohannon), cousins from the same large family in Putnam County, Tennessee. They were both still young men at the time, but were listed as farmers on censuses around the time of this ledger. Putnam County would not be connected by railroad until 1890, so goods needed to be transported by river and by horse. While there is only a fragment left of this ledger, it contains an interesting look into what people were purchasing in rural Tennessee in the 1870s.
Arrangement
This collection consists of a single folder.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was purchased by Special Collections in 1987.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository