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Munson Family Account Book

A description of their account book at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: LMD
Date: 24 November 2009

Biographical History

Israel Munson (1737-1806) was a blacksmith in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a member of the influential New England Munson family, descended from Captain Thomas Munson (1612-1685) of New Haven. The elder Israel had two sons, Israel (1767-1844) and Isaac (1771-1835). His son Israel attended Yale and became a rich Boston merchant. In 1814, he bought a farm in Wallingford, Vermont for his brother Isaac, who moved there with his family. Isaac had eight children, including one named after his father and/or brother. This younger Israel Munson (1808-1887) also became a blacksmith and remained in Wallingford, Vermont. The younger Israel's family farmhouse still exists today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its Greek Revival architecture.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Munson Family Account Book consists of a ledger kept by Israel Munson (1737-1806) of New Haven, Connecticut and his grandson Israel Munson (1808-1887) of Wallingford, Vermont. The books contain names of customers, lists of items or services purchased, prices, and dates of payment. The elder Israel's accounts span the years 1798 to 1809 and take up the bulk of the book. The younger Israel's accounts span 1836 to 1847 and consist of only a dozen or so pages.

Arrangement of the Collection

Single item.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center holds records from several other blacksmiths, including the Morse Family Account Books and the Blacksmith Shop Collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Munson family.
Munson, Israel, 1737-1806.
Munson, Israel, 1808-1887.

Subjects

Blacksmithing -- Connecticut -- 19th century.
Blacksmithing -- Vermont -- 19th century.

Places

Wallingford (Vt.) -- History.
New Haven (Conn.) -- History.

Genres and Forms

Account books.

Occupations

Blacksmiths.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Munson Family Account Book,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchased, 1969.

Table of Contents

Financial records

Inventory