Saturday, January 21, 2017

Cadwallader Colden Jr DayBook of 1767-1768 - Transcription Project - HELP NEEDED!

Joel Campbell (the subject of this blog site) was living in Hanover Precinct, Ulster County in 1767. Within this precinct sat the Colden estate known as Coldengham.  Cadwallader Colden Jr. had a new stone home built for his family in 1767. It is believed that he operated a store out of a building close to that property in the same year.

Colden Home as it looked in early 20th century.

Colden (or his clerks) kept a log of sales (and purchases) at that store from August 1767 to November 1768. That "DayBook" is preserved in the New-York Historical Society.

Joel Campbell was about thirty-two years old. Cadwallader Colden was forty-five.  Joel's father, Samuel Campbell Sr., was about sixty-seven.  Joel's brothers who are mentioned in the DayBook were Daniel (35), Jonathan (28), and Reuben (24). A sister is also referred to, but her name is not given.

More details of Joel's purchases at this store are given in my book.

The Transcription Project

The DayBook contains over 450 pages and over 4000 unique store "visits." It is a trove of genealogical information. I have received permission from the New-York Historical Society to transcribe and share the contents. Clearly I can not do this by myself.  So I am asking friends of history and genealogy to participate in this project. All you need is a computer connected to the internet.

If you are interested in helping out, I will need your e-mail address to send you custom links to the batches to be transcribed. The best way to contact me to join the Joel Campbell Group on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/JoelCampbell/), "friend me," then send me a private message via facebook that contains your e-mail address. I hope you will become part of the effort!

Colden Home Ruins today.