Inventory of the Samuel and Bethel Morris Account Book , 1819-1835 #Mss. Acc. 2009.142

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred Citation

Samuel and Bethel Morris Account Book, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information

The materials were acquired by Special Collections Research Center on 03/31/2009.

Processing Information

Accessioned and processed by Ute Schechter in April 2009

Information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: <a href="http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Samuel Morris">http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Samuel Morris</a>.

Scope and Contents

The following description was provided by the seller:"Account book, 1819-1835, in which the Connecticut textile entrepreneurs Samuel and Bethel Morris, possibly of Danbury, Fairfield County, detailed their transactions with named male and female textile workers who labored in their own homes, participating in a cottage industry managed by the Morrises."The Morrises oversaw an impressive network of named textile workers laboring in specified area villages like Haystown, Longridge, Newfield, Oxford, "Redding" and Stonyhill (the Morrises generally appended towns of residence to worker's names). ...These workers executed specified amounts of named stages in production, including washing, carding, and oiling wood; spinning and dying yarn; weaving specified yard goods, and making named articles of clothing (e.g., pantallons and stockings - all by reported dates for specified amounts of money. Typical entries include name of worker, his/her town, kind of work performed, type and color of textile product made, and rate paid..."For these services the Morrises sometimes paid specified amounts of cash, but they usually paid in reported amounts of barter goods, such as named grains, foodstuffs, meat, raw wool, dyestuff, oil, soap, hats, hatboxes, lumber and wood, footwear, clothing..."Some more frequently mentioned surnames of workers are Barnum, Dibble, Benedict, Dunning, and Hoyt. 168 pp.

Index Terms

Geographic Name:

Connecticut--Economic conditions--19th century.

Topical Term:

Account books.
Cottage industries--United States.
Textile industry--United States--History--19th century.
Textile industry--United States.
Weaving--Connecticut.