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F. G. Williams & Co. Account Book, October 1833–November 1835

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F. G. Williams & Co. Account Book, October 1833–November 1835

Source Note

, Account Book, , Geauga Co., OH, Oct. 1833–Nov. 1835; handwriting of , , and JS; thirty-four pages; CHL.
Receipts and expenditures for the F. G. Williams & Co. printing firm in , Ohio, were inscribed in a narrow, commercially produced account book with boards covered in marbled paper. The book was originally used as a financial record book for F. G. Williams & Co. beginning in January 1834; twenty-five pages were inscribed with business records dating from October 1833 to May 1835. After a new arrangement was reached in May, a further twelve pages were inscribed with business records for the firm until November 1835. After the firm of F. G. Williams & Co. was dissolved, used the book to record his personal financial accounts from 1838 to 1839. In January 1849, Patience Simonds Cowdery, the wife of Warren A. Cowdery, inverted the book and used 167 pages to record diary entries from 1849 to 1851. Accounts from 1850–1851 were recorded on several of the pages originally containing business records for the firm of F. G. Williams & Co.; these later entries have been omitted from the featured transcript.

Historical Introduction

The printing firm of was organized in September 1833. When the was dissolved in April 1834, and received the printing firm as their and continued to operate the in , Ohio, until June 1836.
Although the firm was involved in many important church printing endeavors, most of its business records have not survived. One of the few extant records is an account book, which does not appear to be comprehensive. It contains the firm’s receipts and expenditures from October 1833 to November 1835. No one clerk appears to have been solely responsible for keeping this account, as it contains entries written by most of the men involved in the United Firm in . Much of the income recorded in the account book came from subscriptions to the church’s newspapers The Evening and the Morning Star and Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Additionally, the account book records not only specific business expenses for the printing firm but also entries related to other events occurring in 1834 and 1835. Because money was scarce, funds from the firm were used to pay for other needs like travel expenses or litigation. The book records ongoing financial difficulties for the firm in 1835, ultimately leading to its dissolution.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes, 11 Sept. 1833.

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 23 Apr. 1834 [D&C 104:1, 29–30]; “Notice,” Messenger and Advocate, June 1836, 2:329; see also “Notice,” Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:364.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  3. [3]

    The Evening and the Morning Star was printed from June 1832 to July 1833 in Independence, Missouri, and from December 1833 to September 1834 in Kirtland. The Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate was printed in Kirtland from October 1834 to September 1837. In January 1835, F. G. Williams & Co. began reprinting all issues of The Evening and the Morning Star, with editorial changes, under the shortened name Evening and Morning Star. (Introduction to F. G. Williams & Co.; Masthead, The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832, [8]; Masthead, The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1833, 112; “Prospectus,” Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1837, 3:571.)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

Expenditures
Jan. 1835
first for Grammar for office 0.56¼
[first] for lumber timber for office 5.00
2 for at s for Wheat, 3 bush[els], for and 2 [bush]Wheat for 5.00
<​for wood for & office​> <​1.00​>
3 for glue & mattns for Office 0.47
5 to this amount to apply on ’s note to for Tallow 8.00
[5] for broom for 0.25
[5] for glue & Matons for office 0.24¼
[5] for hauling lumber for office 1.37½
7 for ’s family expenses 1.00
8 for for medicine 2.00
9 for postage 0.33¼
[9] for Candle wicking for office 0.15
12 for this to for the office 1.37½
13 for for pistols <​p J Smith jr​> 4.00
14 for for pistols 0.08
[14] for ’s hired girl 1.00
of J. Smith Jr. Dr [Debit] To Cash for Self P[ai]d to 10.00
Cr[edit] By Cash Borrowed <​p J. Smith jr​> <​to pay for his pistols​> 20.00 17.00
16 for halling wood for 1.00
17 for wafers for office 0.16½
[17] for Mirror for [office] 0.62½
[17] for Contributions for Candle sticks for School room 0.31¼
18 for postage 0.25
19 for ’s family expense 2.00
[19] for 3 boys for 1.00
To cash p[e]r self 1.86 1.90
20 for 3.00
[20] for ex office expenses 0.12½
21 For repairing printing office pr pr Com[pany] 88.37½
22 to this amunt to previously borrowed 1.00
23 22 to this amt for Tallow for office 4.00
[23] for postage 0.37½
24 for iron for frisket 0.50
[24] to this amont to 100.00
[24] to this amount to Joseph Smith Jr. 40.00
<​306.43​>
[p. 16]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
F. G. Williams & Co. Account Book, October 1833–November 1835
ID #
4105
Total Pages
45
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Oliver Cowdery
  • Frederick G. Williams

Footnotes

  1. new scribe logo

    Oliver Cowdery handwriting ends; Frederick G. Williams begins.

  2. new scribe logo

    Second insertion in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery.

  3. new scribe logo

    Frederick G. Williams handwriting ends; Oliver Cowdery begins.

  4. new scribe logo

    Oliver Cowdery handwriting ends; Frederick G. Williams begins.

  5. new scribe logo

    Frederick G. Williams handwriting ends; Oliver Cowdery begins.

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