Background on Roger Williams
During the early decades of the nineteenth century, Roger Williams ran a ferry in West Springfield, Mass., carrying passengers and freight across the Connecticut River.
Scope of collection
The Williams ledger is a combination daybook and account book, recording several dozen transactions of a Connecticut River ferryman, centered on the years around the War of 1812. Most of the entries are brief records of trips carrying individuals or freight across the river, however a few provide indications of other economic activity, including framing and joining, making a coffin, fixing sleds, and cidering.
The approximate location of the ferry is inferred from one entry datelined West Springfield, but also from several account names that can be traced with some confidence to that town, including Enoch and Justin Ashley, Luke Parsons, Rowley Leonard, Silas Chapin, Chauncey Morgan, Moses Bliss, Peresh Hitchcock, and Moses Ely and his sons Willard and John. A few entries, such as those for Rhoda Ashley and Jared Noble, come from residents of adjacent Westfield.
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Acquired from Dan Casavant, November 2008.
Processing Information
Processed by Dex Haven, February 2009.
Language:
EnglishCopyright and Use (More information )
Cite as: Roger Williams Account Book (MS 619 bd). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Search terms
Subjects
- Ferries--Massachusetts--Connecticut River.
- West Springfield (Mass.).
Contributors
- Williams, Roger [main entry]
- Williams, Roger.
Genres and formats
- Account books.
- Daybooks.
