Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Hallett Swift Account Book, Ms1988-106, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Hallett Swift Account Book was purchased by Special Collections in 1988.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Hallett Swift Account Book commenced and was completed in May 2011. The item had originally been accessioned and cataloged as "Massachusetts Day Book." It was also known as "New Bedford, Massachusetts Day Book."

Biographical Note

Hallett Swift, son of Ezra and Lucy Swift, was born in Wareham (Plymouth County), Massachusetts on September 14, 1802. Swift married Mary Elizabeth Peckham (born 1810) on February 6, 1832. The couple remained in the Wareham area and had seven children (Francis, Henry, Sarah, Lucy, Hallet, Harriet, and David). Various sources indicate that Swift was a ship captain. The 1850 census lists Hallet Swift as a 48-year-old sailor, living in Wareham with 40-year-old wife Mary and four Swift children, all born in Massachusetts. The 1860 census lists a 50-year-old Sarah A. B. Rothburn operating a boarding house in Wareham. Also within the household are Sarah Hattie, and Hallett Swift, presumably her children.

Swift died on June 19, 1886, and is buried in Centre Cemetery, Wareham.

Source: "Capt Hallett Swift," Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102790606/hallett-swift , accessed Dec. 14, 2022.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a single account book, apparently maintained by Hallett Swift, of Wareham, Massachusetts. The ledger details sales of produce (consisting largely of corn and potatoes) and other goods. Included are the names of buyers, dates of purchases, goods purchased and prices paid. The entries also detail credits in the form of cash, goods, labor, and services. The ledger also contains an account of expenses incurred in traveling to Ohio, apparently to settle affairs of the estate of Swift's brother-in-law, Robinson E. Peckham (1807-1839). The latter part of the volume has been used as a recipe book, in which are glued more than 200 recipes, mostly for desserts, clipped from newspapers. Also included are several handwritten recipes.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Account books
• History of Food and Drink

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Hallett Swift Account Book by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).