Account of Jasiah Chatfield (Josiah Chatfield) in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr.

Josiah Chatfield

Early Settler of Fleming, Cayuga County, New York

Josiah Chatfield was among the early settlers of the Town of Aurelius, Cayuga County, New York in that portion of Aurelius that later was taken off as the Town of Fleming. Josiah is believed to have been the first to settle in what is now the hamlet of Fleming Hill in 1798. Storke (1879) states that Josiah settled where the widow of Hugh Van Nest lived at the time of his writing (1). Examination of the 1875 map of Fleming shows that this location was the northwest corner of the intersection of present-day State Route 34 and Dublin Road, more or less across 34 from the present Fleming Fire Station No. 2.

Josiah's parents were David Chatfield and Lydia Westover, with his birth occurring in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts on 1 October 1768 and his death occurring on 9 March 1831 at Fleming. Josiah was twice married, first to Anna (or Amy) Brahman and second to Lydia Ingraham, leaving a total of 18 children (2).

Tannery Ledger Entry

The Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr. contains a single debit entry for Josiah Chatfield dated November 1828. The entry spells Josiah's first name as "Jasiah," but there can be little doubt as to whom the entry refers. Josiah appears to have brought an unspecified skin to Jacob for tanning for the grand sum of 8 shillings.

Image of Josiah Chatfield's Account in Jacob Post, Sr.'s Ledger

Debit Page (3A) for Josiah Chatfield's Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Transcription of Josiah Chatfield's Account

Jasiah Chatfield (Josiah Chatfield)		Debit
Date	Description	£	s	d
November 1828	To tanning one skin	0	8	0
NOTE: Amount in pounds, shillings, and pence: 12 pence (d) = 1 shilling (s), 20 shillings (s) = 1 pound (£)

Josiah Chatfield's Purchases and Credits

No credit column exists for Josiah's 1828 transaction. He presumably paid for tanning the unidentified skin at the time of the debit entry, obviating the need for a subsequent credit entry in the tannery ledger. The name Chatfield appears in one other place in the ledger, however. An unidentified Chatfield, perhaps Josiah, made a payment on the account of "Limen Lummes," believed to be Lyman Loomis, in 1817. Lyman's account with Jacob Post, Sr. was maintained over a number of years. Chatfield may have owed Lyman Loomis money and settled up by making a payment on Loomis's account at the tannery.

According to Storke (1879), the Chatfield family had all removed from the Town of Fleming by the time of his writing (1).

Sources

(1) Storke, Elliott G. History of Cayuga County, New York: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, 1789-1879. Syracuse, New York, D. Mason, 1879

https://archive.org/details/historyofcayugac00stor/page/378/mode/2up

(2) Josiah Chatfield, Find a Grave Memorial, Fleming Rural Cemetery

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67077103/josiah-chatfield

Account of An Unidentified Ingram or Ingraham (possibly) in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr.

Unidentified Ingram or Ingraham (possibly)

A single entry in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr. occurs under an illegible name that might be interpreted as Ingram or Ingraham. Other interpretations are possible thanks to Jacob's less than perfect penmanship! If Ingram is indeed the name on the ledger entry, the 1820 federal census for Aurelius, Cayuga Co., New York (out of a portion of which the Town of Fleming was erected in March 1823) reveals four persons named "Ingram":  Jonathan, David, Dwight, and Curtis. David Ingram was the eldest at 45 or greater years of age. Dwight and Curtis were 16-25 years old and Jonathan was 26-44 years old. These well could have been father and sons on separate farms. The 1830 federal census for Fleming shows Curtis with the spelling "Ingraham" and also lists a Seymour Ingraham. Additional Ingrahams were present in the adjacent Town of Scipio, Cayuga Co., New York in 1820:  Jabez and Jesse. A Joshua Ingham also was censused in Scipio in 1820. The identity of the possible Ingram in the Tannery Ledger likely will remain unknown, but the above names raise some possibilities.

Image of Unidentified Ingram's or Ingraham's (possibly) Account in Jacob Post, Sr.'s Tannery Ledger

Debit Page (2A) for Unidentified Ingram's or Ingraham's (possibly) Account at the Tannery of Jacob Post, Sr. - Fleming, Cayuga Co., New York

Transcription of Unidentified Ingram's or Ingraham's (possibly) Account

Ingram or Ingraham [possibly]		Debit
Date	Description	₤	S	d
November 30, 1827	To Leather	2	14	0

Unidentified Ingram or Ingraham (possibly) Purchases and Credits

The entry in the Tannery Ledger of Jacob Post, Sr. consists of a single debit of 2 pounds 14 shillings 0 pence for unspecified leather on November 30, 1827. This would have been a fairly large purchase with the sum being representative of at least two whole sides of leather based on prices elsewhere in the ledger. There is no balancing credit entry, but the account at some point was X'd out and so presumably had been paid or written off.