Scope of collection
This small account book contains 142 pages of Joseph D. Norton and Son's (Leonard Norton) accounts. The Nortons were wood turners, manufacturers of ladders, and general wood workers in the Loudville section of Westhampton, Massachusetts according to the 1888 Gazetteer of Hampshire County. There were seven mills in Loudville in 1870 when Pine Island Lake was formed to control the water in the river.
The Nortons' accounts are primarily with Westhampton and Northampton lumber and furniture dealers. The final eight pages of the book include columns depicting log footage bought from Westhampton farmers: ash, maple, cherry, apple, and bass.
The bulk of the accounts are with S.M. Smith Co., probably Silas Smith furniture sellers at the corner of Court and Gothic Streets in Northampton, Massachusetts. Other frequent accounts are with E.H. Lyman, Medad Pomeroy, and Charles Loud & Co.
The Nortons usually sold bureaus, secretaries, wash stands, tables of all kinds, scores of turned furniture legs, and lumber. They also repaired furniture. They paid out money for varnish, stain, shellac, tacks, hinges, "guilt fraims", casters, chairs, coffins, glass, furniture hardware, and upholstery cloth. On the paid out side are also records documenting employee payment; employees were paid in cash or sometimes with shoes or clothing bought for them. Flour, tow, sugar, and coffee purchases are also listed here. On occasional pages employee lost work days are recorded.
Frequently-named customers and businesses include: Smith and Prindle, Northampton; Wells and Hibbard; Hayre and Sargent; Spalding and Stockwell; Charles N. Loud, lumber dealer, Westhampton; William E. Lyman, lumber dealer, Westhampton; Spencer Bridgeman; Smith and Clark; Stoddard and Lathrop; King Brothers, Westhampton; Wilson and Edwards; Elijah Torrey, carpenter, joiner, Westhampton; Fish and Luman; Albert C. Juvet, carpenter, joiner, Westhampton; Elihiu Strong; Medad Pomeroy; Silas Smith; and S.M. Smith Co., S.M. Smith, furniture dealers, Court at Gothic St., Northampton, Mass.
