Charles Titus Ledger

Titus Mill - Upham

No table was ready for the hungry family unless the molasses dish, which was actually a glass pitcher with a slide opening in the cover, was given its place of honour at every meal. The molasses was generously spread on buckwheat pancakes as well as on thick slices of homemade bread.

It appears molasses was also used generously back in the1880's as the entries in the Charles Titus Ledger recorded the regular purchasing of gallons of molasses by many households.

Some other entries gave the information that:

  • Willard Carson paid 16 cents for two figs of tobacco.

  • Hugh McLaren purchased a lamp chimney, wick and matches for 18 cents.

  • William Clancy needed new braces that cost him 22 cents.

  • John Sullivan Jr. bought a tea pot and 1/2 pound of tea for 77 cents.

  • Ruffus Peters  purchased a bottle of penecca for 15 cents and a halter for 90 cents as well as two barrels of Star flour for $12.50.

  • During the month of August, 1889, Michael Cusack paid 10 cents for three slates and another three cents for a bottle of ink.

  • On Dec. 21, 1891, William Reid purchased pepper, cream of tartar, mustard, flannel and a Royal Reader that cost 45 cents and a Canadian History book for 45 cents.

    The buying of yards of linen, glaze cotton, fine cotton, print, elastic, overall, ticking, flannel and buttons by the dozen, probably kept the lady of the house extremely busy in the never ending task to clothe the family.

    During October, 1889, the echo of the hammer could probably be heard as Gilbert Tays used his purchase of 30 pounds of shingle nails and 6,000 shingles. High on another hill, Sandy Steele was busy with 24 pounds of shingle nails and 6,000 shingles.

    The Charles Titus, Titus Mill - Upham, 500-page ledger of December 10, 1888 to February 10, 1892 can be viewed at the Kings County Museum, Hampton, New Brunswick, Canada.

    A key to a missing piece of someone's family puzzle could be on the back cover of this ledger as the names, Hugh Crowe, Instantru, Elk Co., Box 44, Pa. and Joseph Maxwell, c/o Glen Hazel, Elk Co., Pa., were written there.

    While reading the ledger, one realizes the general store provided families for miles around with the necessities of survival. Ledgers also provide the family researcher another window to peek through to gain glimpses of the everyday life of ancestors.

    Another interesting 1880's ledger at the Kings County Museum is of Thomas Linton's Blacksmith Shop at Milkish Bridge.

    When visiting a research institution, inquire about the ledgers in their holdings.

    By the way on August 24, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. Faye Pearson will be conducting a scavenger hunt for information at Trinity Cemetery, Springfield, Kings County, NB. She will focus on the Kellier and Stanley families in her presentation.


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  • Query 1098
    Hayes - Walsh
    : Edward Hayes (1806) and his wife Margaret Walsh (1818) lived in Saint John, in Portland Ward. Any information would be appreciated.
    DOREEN HAYES, 14604 93 Ave., Edmonton, Alta., T5R 5G6.
    E-mail to louh@shaw.ca.

  • Query 1099
    Baxter - Mulligan
    : I am looking for the family and descendants of John J. Baxter and Jennie (Jane) Mulligan of Saint John. Their sons William and George Otto, born in the 1880's, were brought up by Baxter relatives in the Saint John area.
    DAVID SOULE, 10 Churchill Road, South Portland, Maine, 04106, USA
    E-mail david.soule@maine.edu.

  • Query 1100
    Kincaid - Crawford
    : James Kincaid (1856) and his wife Agnes (1858) were both born in Saint John. Their children were, Earle, Ethel, Roy, and Clarence. I am a descendant of Ethel who married Charles Crawford. Can anyone provide information on the Kincaid family?
  • <>Contact JACK WALLER
    Suite 203 15 Langbrae drive
    Halifax, N.S.
    B3M 3W5
    E-mail jacques-ken@ns.sympatico.ca


  • Query 1101
    Taylor - Fields
    : David Taylor was born in Hampstead, Queens, New Brunswick, circa 1877. In Falmouth, Maine, a child, Marshall Taylor, was born to him and Grace Fields. David Taylor died in a train accident, as an employee, in the early 1900's. He may possibly be the son of James and Margaret Taylor. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
    CLARANCE W. TAYLOR JR., 314 Suncrest Blvd., Savannah, Ga., 31410, USA.  
  • E-mail cpa3psy@msn.com.

  • Query 1102
    Jenkins
    : My Dad (William Jenkins)  and two siblings came to Canada as home children. His sister, Minnie Katherine Jenkins, came in July of 1905. Her last known address was, Evansdale, Kings County, New Brunswick, during the First World War when she was listed as next of kin on my Dad's military pay records. We are trying to find out if she married, relocated or died in New Brunswick.
  • UPDATE:  Minnie married a man named D. A. Stetson and in 1933 was living in Orleans, VT., USA. We can find no trace  of her after that. Now we are seeking information on whether or not she had any children and, if so, where they are.
  • LORRAINE JENKINS BISNER, 6809 Gregory Drive, Biloxi, MS, 39532, USA. 
  • E-mail bisnere@bellsouth.net.

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