A storekeeper’s bill from Daniel Gaskins for rum, brandy, whiskey, shot and corn that John Fornes bought on credit, all entered under June 24, 1839. The total came to $15.35. Gaskins swore to the account before Nathan Whitford, Justice of the Peace, on October 18, 1840, and on the back he signed a receipt dated January 4, 1841, for payment in full from James Roach, special administrator of John Fornes. T. B. Gardner witnessed the receipt.
Account of D. Gaskins against John Fornes, with receipt from James Roach, special administrator – 1839–1841
Transcription notes: spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the original. Words in [square brackets] are editorial notes; [?] marks an uncertain reading and [illegible] marks words that could not be read.
John Fornes
Bot of [Bought of] D. Gaskins
1839
June 24 To 1 Gall [gallon] Rum 8/- [8 shillings] 10 Shot 7/6 [7 shillings 6 pence] – 1 55
” ” 1 lb [?] Shot 1/- 1 do [ditto] 1/- 6 bush [bushels] Corn 9/- [?] – 5 60
” ” Rum 1/- 6 Bush Corn 56/- Brandy 2/- – 5 90
” ” Brandy 2/6 Whiskey 7/- Shot 1/6 – 1 10
” ” 2 Gall Whiskey 6/- – 1 20
[Total] $15 35
Sworn to before me this 18 Day October 1840 [the words “this” and “me” are corrected above the line]
Nathan Whitford J.P. [Justice of the Peace]
[Struck through:] Received from
[Back:]
Received from James Roach Speshal [Special] administrator of John Fornes Decd. fifteen dollars and thirty five cents in full off [of] the within account
January 4th 1841
Tes [Test, witness] T. B. Gardner
Daniel Gaskins
About the original
Prices are given in shillings and pence and carried out in dollars and cents at ten cents to the shilling. The second line is hard to read: the price of the six bushels of corn looks like “9/-” (9 shillings a bushel), which would match the $5.60 carried out, but the figure is not clear. The line amounts add up to the $15.35 total.
“Shot” was lead shot for a gun. The same date for every entry may mean the account was written up on that day from a running tab rather than that everything was bought at once.
Source: Account of D. Gaskins against John Fornes, with receipt from James Roach, special administrator. Roach Family Papers (#346), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, Box 1, Folder b (Inventories, Wills, and Estates, 1783–1868). Collection guide. Digitized folder: ECU Digital Collections, 0346-b1-fb.
Images courtesy of East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. View in ECU Digital Collections: 35978.
Part of the Roach Family Papers collection on East Carolina Roots.
