Household Accounts, 1770-1797

Containers:

Volume 1

Creator:

Rush, Benjamin, 1746-1813

Extent:

1 Volumes

Scope and content:

Contains primarily Benjamin Rush's records of his expenses, including tax and bond payments, rental property fees, classes and dance lessons for family members, as well as money lent or advanced, accounts paid, cash received, and income from boarders. Rush noted the wide variety of areas where his money was spent, from postage and travel, to clothing and shoes, to household provisions and stores, along with medicines purchased. In addition, Rush created accounts for servants when they arrived, and noted their wages and any increased wages, advances, or loans; cloth, clothing, and shoes provided; with occasional notes on their personal and work habits and work history, and when they exited his service or married. Several of the comments have been redacted, along with a few pages of the account book. Finally, Rush made a few brief commonplace notes randomly in the volume, providing a "style sheet" for description of pulses, outlining a few prescriptions for patients, describing the weather, listing inventories of his furniture and linens, recording a few recipes, and in 1783, noting the news of possible peace with England.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Josiah Charles Trent Collection, 1956

Physical description:

259 pages

Subjects:

Finance, Personal -- Pennsylvania -- History -- 18th century
Households -- Pennsylvania -- History -- 18th century
Home economics -- Pennsylvania -- Accounting
Unskilled labor -- Pennsylvania
Rental housing -- Pennsylvania -- 18th century
Taxation -- Pennsylvania.
Account books

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