Account of John Roraboc (aka John Roraback) in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr.

John Roraback

Storke (1879: p. 422) identifies John Roraback as of German origin and an early settler of the Town of Scipio, Cayuga Co., New York. Roraback later removed to "Crooked Lake," an historical name for Keuka Lake based on its forked shape. The family surname suffered from a variety of phonetic spellings. The Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr. shows the name as John Roraboc. Other variants were "Roorbach," "Rorabaugh," "Roerbach," and "Roreback."

Census and Tax Data

John Roraback may have settled briefly in the Town of Aurelius, Cayuga Co., New York before 1800 because he appears there in the Tax Assessment Rolls of 1800.

Jno Roreback; Assessment Year: 1800; Assessment Place: Aurelius, Cayuga, New York, USA; Residence Year: 1800; Residence Place: New York, USA; Transcription:  'Roreback, Jno.  [Description] Barn and Farm  [Real Estate] $100  [Personal Estate] $46  [Total Amount] $146  [State Tax] $0.15  [County Tax] $0.10'

-- New York (State), Comptroller's Office. Tax Assessment Rolls of Real and Personal Estates, 1799–1804. Series B0950 (26 reels). Microfilm. New York State Archives, Albany, New York. [From Ancestry.com]

John's real estate, valued at $100, probably represented a fairly small property because other farms in the town had values two to five times (or more) higher.  The quoted tax record does not identify where in the Town of Aurelius John was located, the entries being in alphabetical order. Part of Aurelius was taken off as the Town of Fleming (Cayuga County) in 1823 so John may have been located in either of today's towns.

The 1800 federal census for the Town of Scipio shows the family of a "John Roorbach," believed to be the same person as the man who paid taxes that year in Aurelius. This must be the year that John settled in Scipio, as referenced by Storke. The census data reveal that John and his wife had three additional young males and four additional young females in their household. Both John and his wife are listed as between 26 and 44 years old.

A "John Rorabaugh" appears in the 1810 federal census for Scipio. He and his wife were listed as 45 or more years old. Their births thus would have occurred no later than 1765. Two boys and two girls appear in John's household in this census. It may be that three of the four children appearing in the previous census as age 10 or older had, if living, established their own households by 1810.

Consistent with Storke's reference to John Roraback removing from Scipio to "Crooked Lake," a "John Roerbach" appears in the 1820 federal census for the Town of Milo (later incorporated in Yates County), Ontario Co., New York. Milo abuts the eastern shore of Keuka Lake. John's household in 1820 included four males and three females in addition to John and his wife. Some of these household members may have included one or more of John's married children with spouses.

John Roraback's Death

John died on 19 January 1829 in Yates Co., New York. At the time of his death, his wife was listed as Ann Margaret Roraback with the implication that he had been married more than once. Names of heirs in the written record are somewhat confusing. Children John, Adam, and Nancy are listed as heirs at law. Betsey and Peggy appear to be children of a first marriage and their respective spouses were Alexander McConnell and James McConnell. Two other children, Jacob and Polly, are listed as children of Ann Margaret Roraback, but not as heirs, so may have been deceased or stepchildren of John Roraback.

Name: John Roraback; Event Type: Death; Event Date: 19 Jan 1829; Spouse's Name: Ann Margaret Roraback; Digital Folder Number: 004696957; Image Number: 00805

-- New York, Yates County, Swann Vital Records Collection, 1723-2009," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ8B-XSTR : 12 March 2018), John Roraback, 19 Jan 1829; citing Death, , Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society and Oliver Museum and Underwood Museum, Yates.

Images of John Roraback's (aka Roraboc) Account in Jacob Post, Sr.'s Tannery Ledger

Debit Page (2A Top) for John Roraboc's (aka Roraback) Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Credit Page (2B Top) for John Roraboc's (aka Roraback) Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Transcription of John Roraback's (aka Roraboc) Account

John Roraboc [Roraback]		Debit			John Roraboc [Roraback]		Credit
Date	Description	₤	S	d	Date	Description	₤	S	d
October 8, 1810	To Sundries	8	2	4	January 4, 1811	By Sundries	5	14	2
November 21, 1811	To Leather	2	14	0	November 21, 1811	By Sundries	1	9	2
October 6, 1812	To ½ Side of uperleather [upper leather] And	0	14	0	November 21, 1811	By Sundries	1	4	0
	½ Side of Soalleather [sole leather]	1	0	6	December 16, 1812	By two hids [hides] wt 161 lb	3	4	5
December 16, 1812	To ½ Side of uperleather [upper leather] And ½ Side of Soalleather [sole leather]	1	9	6	November 4, 1813	By Cash	4	12	7
September 17, 1813	To one Side of Soalleather [sole leather] – wt 22 lb	2	4	0
	Total =	16	4	4		Total =	16	4	4
November 4, 1813	To ½ Side of Soalleather [sole leather] wt 5¾ lb	0	11	6
November 10, 1813	To one Side of uperleather [upper leather]	1	12	0	February 14, 1814	By Cash	2	3	6
	Total =	2	3	6		Total =	2	3	6

John Roraback's (aka Roraboc) Purchases and Credits

Jacob Post, Sr.'s Tannery Ledger was put into use in November 1811 after being drafted by Dr. Jacob Bogart. John Roraback's account must have existed in earlier account books of Jacob Post, Sr. because a balance of 8 pounds 2 shillings and 4 pence dating from October 1810 was brought forward to the new ledger. A credit of 5 pounds 14 shillings and 2 pence in John's favor dating from January 1811 was brought forward as well.

John Roraback purchased leather from Jacob Post, Sr. during the fall of the year in each of 1811, 1812, and 1813. This would indicate that John worked with leather during the winter season when field work was done until the subsequent spring. Most of the leather purchased was of the classes called "upper leather" and "sole leather," presumably based on their respective suitable characteristics (thickness and stiffness) for making the upper parts and soles of boots and shoes. John spent roughly ₤2 each year for leather.

John offset his purchases in November 1811 by providing Jacob Post, Sr. with "sundries." We can't know what the sundries were, but they may well have consisted of green hides or farm products such as grain, fruits, or vegetables. The following year, it was in fact two hides that John applied to his credit account with Jacob. John paid cash in November 1813 to settle his account in full before proceeding on the same day to get another winter's worth of leather. These debits were settled by cash in February 1814.

We can see that John Roraback was an honorable man who settled his accounts. The fact that John bought no more leather after late winter 1814 may indicate that 1814 was the year in which he removed to Milo, Ontario Co. (later Yates Co.), New York near Keuka Lake where he was censused in 1820.