1815-1855 - Five related ciphering and accounting books from south central Pennsylvania

Adams and York Counties, Pennsylvania, 1855. String. Very good. This group consists of five homemade books of varying sizes; the smallest is 7¾" x12", the largest 8½" x 14". One ciphering book and one account book belonged to William Pickering. One ciphering book belonged to Jacob Pickering. One ciphering book belonged to David Hykes, and one account book belonged to John Dore. The earliest entry, 1815, is in William Pickering's ciphering book; the latest, 1858, is in David Hykes's ciphering book. Genealogical records show Pickering, Dore, and Hykes family members lived in Adams County, Pennsylvania, which is where the books were purchased. Pickering and (truncated) Hykes surnames appear in Dore's account books. Genealogical records show other names from Adams and York Counties in both account books.



Ciphering Books:



William Pickering's ciphering book is dated 1815. It contains sections found in most ciphering books including long division, compound division, simple reductions, the rule of threes, simple and compound interest, time measurement, weights, etc. It also includes dry measure, liquid measure, cloth measure, as well as English and Federal money. There are many "Promiscuous Questions," i.e., random, word problems requiring combinations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to solve.



Jacob Pickering's ciphering book is undated. In addition to basic ciphering book topics, it includes sections on equations, barter, loss and gain, fellowship (partnerships), currency exchange (British, Federal, Pennsylvania, and Virginia), fractional multiplication and division, reduction of decimals, and square roots. Several loose leaves of penmanship practice are laid in.



David Hykes's ciphering book contains topics common to most basic cipher books. several pages in his book were completed by boys named Daniel and Samuel. It has many pages of penmanship practice including some that have been laid in. There are two pages of blank promissory notes and receipt forms datelined Berlin and Rossville, 1858, that appear to have been made as penmanship practice.



Account Books:



William Pickering's account book begins in 1818, and most entries are from the 1820s and 1830s plus a few from the 1840s. The entries are for sales of corn, oats, wheat, rye, flour, beef, and whiskey. Many are for spinning and weaving and the resulting sale of linen, flannel, woolens, pantaloons, and shirting. There are also entries for chimney building, washing, masonry, and horse shoeing.



John Dorn's account book begins in 1826, and most entries are from the 1820s and 1830s; a few are from the 1840s. The entries are for hauling coal, lime, hay, sand, stone, gravel, logs, shingles, oats, etc. Others are for mowing, building chimneys and ovens, plastering, plowing, butchering, laying hearths, and the sale of potatoes, flour beef, apples, and cider. Several laid-in sheets list customer purchases.
. Ciphering books were prepared as part of the mathematical training of well-off American students, usually boys. Most, like this one, contain examples of the Numeration, Addition, Subtraction, Compound Multiplication, Reduction, Compound Reduction, Rule of Three, Indirect Proportion, Vulgar Fractions, Compound Proportions, The Double Rule of Three, Time, Land Measure, etc. These are all present in Pickering's and Dore's ciphering book as are other exercises suggesting that there was also preparing mercantile trade: Currency Exchange, Avoirdupois Weight, Troy Weight, Long Measure, Cloth Measure, Dry Measure, Barter, Fellowship, etc.



As suggested by online genealogical records, to include Ancestry.com and Find-a-Grave, these ciphering and account books were likely prepared in Adams County, Pennsylvania between the 1810s and 1840s and provide a snapshot of the reckoning skills required by and the business of yeoman-farmers.



(For more information about ciphering books, see Ashley K. Doer's master's thesis: Cipher Books in the Southern Historical Collection. University of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, 2006.)



Additional research into the relationships between the book owners would prove rewarding.
. (Inventory #: 010261)