Account of Peter Herring (aka Peter Reed Harring) in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr.

Peter Reed Harring (aka Herring)

An account bearing the name "Peter Herring" appears in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr. Investigation reveals that this man most probably was Peter Reed Harring, son of Daniel D. Harring and Mary D. Reed who are buried in Fleming Hill (Rural) Cemetery. Daniel Harring (spelled Herring in this record) appears in the 1800 federal census for the Town of Aurelius, Cayuga Co., New York with his wife, three young males, and five young females in his household. The family appears again in 1810 (under Daniel D. Haring) with the same number of children in the household. Daniel D. Harring died in 1813. Before his death, he was among a group who withdrew from what would become the First Presbyterian Church of Springport to found the First Presbyterian Church of Auburn (Storke, 1879: p. 370).

Peter Reed Harring was born 6 June 1801 in Aurelius. His was baptized on 2 August 1801 at the Reformed Dutch Church of Owasco (as Peter Reed Herring).

Name: Peter Reed Herring; Gender: Male; Christening Date: 02 Aug 1801; Christening Place: DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH, OWASCO, CAYUGA, NEW YORK; Birth Date: 06 Jun 1801; Father's Name: Daniel Herring; Mother's Name: Mary Reed; Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C50632-1; System Origin: New_York-ODM; GS Film number: 17834

-- "New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDP6-Q56 : 11 February 2018), Peter Reed Herring, 06 Jun 1801; citing , reference ; FHL microfilm 17,834.

 Mary Harring (as Herring) was censused as head of household at Aurelius in 1820. Peter presumably was part of his mother's household, which included a male between 16 and 25 years of age. The Town of Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York was taken off Aurelius in 1823, and Peter (as Herring) appears there as a head of household in the 1830 federal census. His household included a female of 60-69 years of age, probably his mother, Mary, who lived until 1854.

A Peter R. Harring of the correct age, with wife Permelia Squires, is found in census data for Dover, Lenawee Co., Michigan beginning in 1845 and continuing through 1860. Peter was listed as a Carpenter in 1850. He died in 1862 and is buried at Osseo, Hillsdale Co., Michigan in East Hill Cemetery.

Images of Peter Reed Harring's (aka Herring) Account in Jacob Post, Sr.'s Tannery Ledger

Debit Page (2A Bottom) for Peter Herring's (aka Harring) Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Credit Page (2B Bottom) for Peter Herring's (aka Harring) Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Note that Peter's debits appear in two different places on the debit page image, separated by two other brief accounts. Jacob Post, Sr. probably was returning to the front part of his ledger to find unused space after filling the rest of the tannery ledger over the years since he began it in 1811.

Transcription of Peter Reed Harring's (aka Herring) Account

Peter Herring [Harring]		Debit			Peter Herring [Harring]		Credit
Date	Description	₤	S	d	Date	Description	₤	S	d
May 5, 1827	To two Skins	0	16	0	No Date	Credit By one hide wt 40 lb	0	16	0
December 6, 1827	To Leather	1	9	6
January 4, 1828	To ½ Side of uper [upper] got Peter Read	0	13	0
	To one Saf [calf?] skin got by Peter Read	0	14	0
April 20, 1828	To 6 bushels of weet [wheat] To one Sheap [sheep] Skin	0	4	0
	To one Side of Soalleather [sole leather] wt 11¼ lb	1	2	6
	Subtotal [not shown] =	4	19	0		Subtotal [not shown] =	0	16	0
December 1, 1828	To one Skin	1	0	0
	To 2/1 [½] Side of Soleather [sole leather] wt 6½ lb	0	13	0
	And ½ Side of uper [upper] got by Lukes [Lukas]	0	13	0
	Total [not shown] =	7	5	0		Total [not shown] =	0	16	0

Peter Reed Harring's (aka Herring) Purchases and Credits

Peter bought leather over a period of less than 2 years in 1827-1828. He would have been in his late 20s and living in Fleming, probably on his mother's property. Where Peter lived in the Town of Fleming is not clear but may have been in the vicinity of Fleming village given his father's burial at Fleming Hill (Rural) Cemetery. He did not live in the immediate vicinity of Jacob Post, Sr.'s tannery near Owasco Lake but appeared in the 1830 census several pages away from the Posts and Petersons  who lived along the western shore.

Peter's purchases were mainly of various types of leather, both sole leather and upper leather. In addition, he bought two unspecified skins, a sheepskin, and 6 bushels of wheat. The value of the wheat is somewhat unclear. Jacob made an entry of 4 shillings after the the sheepskin and entered nothing after the wheat. One or the other or both may have cost 4 shillings. Another entry concerns an item that appears as "Saf skin," as near as can be made out. Possibly it was for calfskin.

A "Peter Read" picked up several of the items for Peter Harring. This surname likely should have been spelled Reed, the maiden name of Peter Reed Harring's mother, given that "Peter Read" appears to have been a relative living in his household. Another leather purchase was picked up by "Lukes," probably Lucas, surname unknown but presumably a member of Peter Harring's household.

Peter Harring had only one undated credit entry shown, a hide weighing 40 pounds and valued at 16 shillings. This credit was against debits summing to 7 pounds 5 shillings. Peter appears to have owed Jacob a net of 6 pounds 9 shillings. There is no record of how, or if, Peter paid the balance of his account. Nevertheless, Jacob X'd out the account, indicative of payment in some fashion.