Account of Charles L. Fiester in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr.

Charles L. Fiester

Charles L. Fiester was the son of Godfrey Fiester and Mary Magdelena Kepner. He was born in Muncy Creek, Lycoming Co., Pennsylvania on 10 June 1799. How and when he came to the Town of Fleming (then part of the Town of Aurelius), Cayuga Co., New York is not known. Charles married Maria Peterson, a daughter of George Peterson and Mary Parcells, apparently ca. 1818, based on the birth of their first child, Isaac Corson Fiester, in 1820. Maria Peterson's parents and her grandparents, Cornelius Peterson and Hannah (Annatie) Parsell, were early settlers on the western shore of Owasco Lake in Lot 83 of the original Town of Aurelius.

Charles and Maria's location in 1820 is not certain. Charles does not appear in the 1820 census at Aurelius; however, a Charles "Fraster" and wife are censused at Fayette, Seneca Co., New York, the adjacent county to the west of Cayuga Co. The household next to Charles is John Gould, and Maria Peterson's aunt, Anna Peterson, is known to have married a John Gould. So, it is possible that Charles and Maria were in Seneca Co. for a time after their marriage before returning to Cayuga Co. Their first child, Isaac, who was born 11 December 1820, listed his birthplace as Cayuga Co.; therefore, his future parents' potential stay in Seneca Co. may have been brief. Charles made regular transactions in the Town of Fleming from 1824 until 1831 and was censused there in 1830.

Charles and Maria removed to Clarence, Erie Co., New York before 1840, then to Mount Morris, Livingston Co., New York ca. 1842. They remained at Mount Morris through 1865 but are buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Gainesville, Wyoming Co., New York. Maria's death in 1868 presumably was at Gainesville, implying that they removed there from Mount Morris between 1865 and 1868.

Besides Isaac, Charles and Maria had six other known children: Adelia Sophia, Maryette, Oscar, George, William, and Harriet A. Fiester.

Images of Charles L. Fiester's Account in Jacob Post, Sr.'s Tannery Ledger

Partial Debit Page (65A Top) for Charles L. Fiester's Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Partial Debit Page (65A Bottom) for Charles L. Fiester's Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Partial Debit Page (65B Bottom) for Charles L. Fiester's Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Partial Debit Page (1A Bottom) for Charles L. Fiester's Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Credit Page (65B Top) for Charles L. Fiester's Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Note that the first four images constitute the debit column for Charles L. Fiester's account, pieces of which appeared on three separate pages. The sole credit entries appear in the final image.

Transcription of Charles L. Fiester's Account

Charls [Charles] Fiester		Debit			Charls [Charles] Fiester		Credit
Date	Description	₤	S	d	Date	Description	₤	S	d
February 28, 1824	To two bushels of Buckweet [buckwheat]	0	8	0	1825	By Cash	0	12	0
January 24, 1825	To Cash	0	10	0		[Note: possibly days and months for employment]	dys		mo
	To one skin	1	0	0		[unknown units]		6
	To Cash paid at Auburn	0	1	6
	To one hog	0	8	0
March 1825	To ½ day drawing hay	0	4	0
	To 1 bar'l [barrel] of sider [cider]	0	8	0
April 24, 1825	To ½ bushel of flaksead [flaxseed]	0	3	0
April 30, 1825	To one bushel of Corn	0	3	3
May 1825	To one pare [pair] of Sues [shoes]	0	12	0
	To A peace [piece] of Leather	0	4	0
	To one bushel of tators [potatoes]	0	1	6
	To Cash at Talmans	0	0	6
June 1825	To 2 bushels of weet [wheat]	0	16	0
	To Veal wt 33 lb	0	8	0
September 1825	To two bushels of weet [wheat]	0	10	0
	To Cash	0	8	0
	To 6 bushels of taters [potatoes]	0	12	0
	Subtotal =	6	17	3
	Corrected Subtotal =	6	17	9
	[Note change to decimals]	$	c	--
April 1826	dwo [due?] on Settlement	3	44
April 25, 1826	To Cash lent	1	0
May 31, 1826	To ½ Side of uper [upper]	1	12
	To seven skins	12	0
June 12, 1826	By Cash lent	2	50	0
	By fower [flour?]	1	50	0
	three days Cr. the bus [business?]	2	25
September 9, 1826	To ½ bushel of inging [Indian? = cornmeal] meal	0	25
	To 1 pare [pair] of Sues [shoes]	1	37	0
	To tanning one skin	1	0	0
	To one pare [pair] of traps [?]	0	18
	To wf [?] Leather	3	0	0
			12
	To solt [salt?] Tan bark	0	25	0
	Subtotal =	29	88
	Corrected Subtotal =	29	98
	[Note change to ₤.s.d.]	₤	S	d
November 1827	To Cash	0	8	0
	To Leather	0	10	0
	To Cash	0	16	0
	To Leather	0	2	0
	To Cash paid to baker	0	1	3
November 7, 1827	To one side of soaleather [sole leather] wt 12#	1	4	0
December 14, 1827	To one Side of uper [upper]	1	4	0
September 29, 1831	To two skins	0	8	0
	To Cash	0	10	0
	To 10 bushels of taters [potatoes]	0	10	0
	To Cash	2	0	0
	Subtotal [not recorded in ledger] =	7	13	3
	Total ₤.s.d [not recorded in ledger] =	14	11	0
	Total $ c =	29	88

Charles L. Fiester's Purchases and Credits

The account of Charles L. Fiester at the tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. is somewhat puzzling. Essentially no repayment of Charles's debts appear in the Tannery Ledger over the 7-year period between 1824 and 1831, with the exception of 12 shillings cash paid to Jacob in 1825. However, all the debits except those of 1831 are are struck through in the ledger, indicating that settlement had been made in some fashion. The total debits amounted to ₤14.11s.0d plus $29.88 in decimal currency.

One possible method for Charles to settle his debt would have been to work for Jacob Post, Sr. A notation in the credit column of Charles's account ("dys  mo") possibly indicates such employment, but no actual tally of work is entered therein. There is a cryptic number "6" - whose meaning is not clear - entered between the potential days and months columns. One piece of evidence that supports Charles working for Jacob is the fact that Charles is listed at Mount Morris in the 1850 federal census and 1855 state census as a Tanner and Currier. A "currier" is a specialist in finishing tanned leather. It may be that Charles learned this trade with Jacob.

Another bit of evidence that Charles may have worked for Jacob is the fact that many of his debits were for commodities such as potatoes, grain, and veal, as well as cash, not just products of the tannery. Advancing cash in the absence of the prospect of repayment would not have been a good business practice for Jacob. Charles's potential labor would provide the assurance of the debt being settled. As for products of the tannery, Charles procured several pairs of shoes and purchased skins and leather. He also had a skin tanned.