John Middagh account book
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
This collection consists of one item: the account book of John Middagh, hatter and merchant of Brooklyn. The account book contains the autograph signatures of Middagh's business associates in both Brooklyn and New York City, with their notations for dates of payment, amounts, and items or services purchased by Middagh for the period, 1773-1810. It also records the collection of Middagh's taxes. Many prominent early Brooklynites set their hands to this book, including John Jacob Astor (1763-1848) and his agents.
Biographical / Historical
John Middagh, hatter and merchant of Brooklyn, was active in the fur trade. His house was located at the corner of Fulton and Henry streets, and may be seen in the paintings of Brooklyn Village made by Francis Guy, ca. 1820, as the property of his widow, Sarah Middagh. According to Henry R. Stiles' A History of the City of Brooklyn (1867), Sarah Middagh died in 1837 at the age of 92. Middagh's shop faced Fulton Street, and his barn, located at the corner of Henry Street and Poplar, was adopted as a meeting house for Brooklyn's small Episcopalian congregation in 1784.
Arrangement
The collection holds only one item in one folder.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of one item: the account book of John Middagh, hatter and merchant of Brooklyn. The account book contains the autograph signatures of Middagh's business associates in both Brooklyn and New York City, with their notations for dates of payment, amounts, and items or services purchased by Middagh for the period, 1773-1810. It also records the collection of Middagh's taxes. Many prominent early Brooklynites set their hands to this book, including John Jacob Astor (1763-1848) and his agents.
The book is hardcover, with leather boards and metal clasp. The front cover has become detached. The binding and pages are in fair condition.
This finding aid contains names as they appear in the book. Note that the order of entries in the account book is not strictly chronological. Many names appear more than once in the book. Some names have been omitted due to illegibility. Researchers should be aware that the spellings used below conform to their appearance in the book and may vary from those found in other sources.
List of signers in the account book, as they appear:
William Backhouse, Abraham Willson, Alexander Mercer, Aert Middagh, Arie Lagrange, Ephraim Ludlow, James Rose, G. Hasting, John Portrous, Hayman Levy, Solomon Levy, John Seathley, O. Reid, Josiah Applegate, Peleg Back, Denis McGahagan, Thomas Wilkinson, Joel Bunce, Henry Mitchell, James Tillary, David Titus, Abraham Stoothoff, John Rapalje, John Lefferts, Sarah Astor, Alexander Fraser, Samuel Burtis, John Hicks, Thomas Ash, William Ash, Isaac H. Levy, Teunis Schenk Jr., John Jacob Astor, John C. Middleton, Robert Boyd, Jameson Cox, Abraham Parlee, William Rigby, Charles DeBevoise, Samuel Stratten, Sleight and Boerum, Cornelius Heeney, Jacob Bedell, William Laight, L. Keating, John Moore, J. Davis, Alexander Bleecker, [--] Waldron, James Smith, Charles Smith, Christopher Bruckner, James Willson, A. Williams, William Wilson, David Pearson, Elias Smith Jr., Henry Troup, John Murray, James Cuyler, Joshua Pell Jr., George Smith, Eli Chadwick, John Greene, Mobray Smith, William Carpenter, William W. Todd, Augustin Betts, Charles Doughty, Michael Hann, John Rees, Michael Rawley, James M. Willson, Fowler Woolsey, James Mills, Derick Amerman, Jon A. Pell, James Leverich, J. Harrison, Marvel Richardson, Isaac Nichols, Benjamin Demilt, William Grigg, Samuel Smith, Benjamin Tyler, Theodosius Hunt, Caleb S. Riggs, George W. Strong, John Garrison, Jeremiah Lott, Benjamin Bennit, William Jones, Nathaniel Akerley, Enoch Sizer, Benjamin Lyon, Richard Coddington, Daniel Dunscombe, George DePeyster, Solomon Taylor, John Collins, James Pettit, Abel Conkling, John Moon, Samuel Engler, John C. Middleton, [--] B. Duyckinck, Simeon Pettit, Duncan Sickels, Thomas Denton, Obadiah Wells, Thomas Willets, Samuel Albertson, Jacob Hicks, Volkert Sprong, Thomas Fowler, John Cornell, Francis Coimiel, John Coimiel, Kenneth McKenzie, Joseph Colwell, John Chapman, John Woglomy, Robert Robertson, Henry J. Remsen, Thomas Fullard, David A. Robinson, Abiel Titus, Thomas Rudyard, Isaac Belknap, Charles Oswald, Isaac Griffen or Griffin, Daniel Denton, J. Harmer, Jona Landon, Peleg Sims, Daniel Stange, Eliezer Wood, Losee Van Nostrand, Mabbat H. Browe, Jeffrey O. Tillotson, Henry Stanton, William V. G. Post, Abijah Abbot, Hugh McDougall, Daniel Lyon, John Titus, Jacob Sharpe, Adam Darling, Nathan Beckwith.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
The material is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); John Middagh account book, 1974.027, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The source of the account book is unknown.
Other Finding Aids
The original finding aid written in 2005 by Jonathan Montgomery included an alphabetical index of names appearing in the account book. A copy of that index is kept with the collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The account book was described in a detailed finding aid in 2005 by Jonathan W. Montgomery. A summary description based on Montgomery's finding aid was input to a collection management system, Archivists' Toolkit, by Larry Weimer in 2012.
