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Jacob Bump Upper Store Daybook, November 1836–April 1837

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Jacob Bump Upper Store Daybook, November 1836–April 1837

Source Note

Jacob Bump Upper Store, Daybook, , Geauga Co., OH, 12 Nov. 1836–27 Apr. 1837; handwriting of , , , , and unidentified scribes; notation in handwriting of ; 173 pages; CCLA.

Footnotes

  1. Jacob Bump evidently had three stores in Kirtland at this time, and these were referred to respectively as the “upper,” “middle,” and “lower” stores. Internal evidence in this daybook refers to the middle and lower stores, making this the record for the upper store. (See Jacob Bump Upper Store Daybook, 127, 193, 195, 199; and Invoice, Jacob Bump to William Smith, 22 Nov. 1836.)

Historical Introduction

For nearly a hundred years, the daybook featured here was thought to be associated with the store operated by in , Ohio. This identification comes primarily from a provenance note located on the front cover pastedown written by Charles Fry in 1928 in which he identified the record book as the “daybook used in the N.K. Whitney Store, Kirtland, Ohio.” However, after handwriting identification and additional research, the Joseph Smith Papers staff have concluded that the daybook was misidentified and mistakenly connected to Whitney. Whitney was an impressive and detailed record keeper who carefully preserved many records from his time in and . However, there do not appear to be ties to Whitney’s Kirtland store in this record book; the handwriting of the clerks who kept Whitney's store records is not found in this daybook. Instead of being kept for the Whitney store, this daybook appears to have been used by in connection with a series of stores he operated in Kirtland in 1836 and 1837. Internal references in the daybook as well as Kirtland-era contemporaneous sources identify that Bump operated three stores referred to as the “upper store,” “middle store” and “lower store.” Because it contains references to charges on the books at the middle and lower stores, the daybook featured here appears to be the daybook for Bump’s upper store.
Handwriting in the daybook further supports the identification of this record book as created by and belonging to a store. One of the more prominent scribes in the daybook begins on page 15, spanning entries on the page from to , and from to . This handwriting matches two extant 1836 invoices from Bump to and is likely the handwriting of Bump. , who formed a business partnership with Bump in 1836, inscribed portions of the daybook, beginning with the entry on page 117 and continuing sporadically to the end of the record. The handwriting of a third scribe begins on page 15 and matches the handwriting of , who, according to , had a business affiliation with Bump.
The daybook featured here contains chronological transactions for the store from 12 November 1836 to 27 April 1837. These transactions were recorded by as well as clerks who worked for him, such as , , and . A marginal notation on page 122 is in the handwriting of . The daybook contains pagination from page 15 to page 202. Most of the pagination appears to be contemporaneous, but some sections may have been inscribed later. The daybook has been re-bound, possibly more than once, and several pages are no longer extant; these include pages 1–14, 23–24, 29–30, 35–36, 39–40, 47–48, and 99–102. Clerks made a pagination error and skipped pages 103 and 141. The daybook also often includes several lines of dittos in the left-hand column. These appear to be an extension of the corresponding ledger page number but may be related to some other recordkeeping metric. Due to damage, the daybook has undergone significant conservation work, with some pages laminated and others encased in Japanese paper to stabilize torn or otherwise fragile pages. The featured book is the only known surviving daybook from the Jacob Bump stores in . However, there would have been other records, such as daybooks and possibly ledgers for the other two stores as well as other loose store records.
The daybook appears to have been repurposed and includes mathematical calculations and other notations from the mid- to late 1800s. It was given to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ) in 1928 and has been in continuous custody of the Community of Christ from that time.

Footnotes

  1. A 22 November 1836 invoice of Jacob Bump to William Smith contains notations on bill balances from the “upper store” for $340.37, and the “middle store” for hardware totaling $24.15. An entry on page 127 of the daybook includes a notation transferring an account balance “On Middle Store Book.” On page 199 of the daybook, a note for an Edmund Pettingill entry reads: “charged on Book at the Lower Store.” Similarly, a 24 March 1837 entry for Wilford Woodruff’s purchases on page 193 incorporates “his bill trimings at the lower Store.” (Invoice, Jacob Bump to William Smith, 22 Nov. 1836.)

  2. Invoice, Jacob Bump to William Smith, 29 Oct. 1836; Invoice, Jacob Bump to William Smith, ca. Nov. 1836.

  3. Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Final Record V, 499 [Boyington v. Bump, Hyde and Bosley]; Hyde, Orson Hyde, 75.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book V. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Hyde, Myrtle Stevens. Orson Hyde: The Olive Branch of Israel. Salt Lake City: Agreka Books, 2000.

  4. See David Harvey Redfield, Petition, 15 May 1839, in Mormon Redress Petitions, CHL; Woodruff, Journal, 21 Apr. 1837; and “Sudden Death,” Weekly Sutter Banner (Yuba City, CA), 3 Jan. 1879, [3].

    Mormon Redress Petitions, 1839–1845. CHL. MS 2703.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Weekly Sutter Banner. Yuba City, CA. 1867–1876; 1879–.

  5. On page 195 the daybook includes an entry with JS that reads: “To this amt to balance J. Bumps account against the Steam Mill kept on his Books at three Stores (3 Books).” Marginal notes in the daybook refer to loose records in the form of accounts kept “in [a] drawer.” (See Jacob Bump Upper Store Daybook, 129, 148, 151.)

  6. The book shows significant wear, including deep grooves on the back boards where other documents were cut on top of it.

  7. See provenance note written by Charles Fry on the inside cover of the daybook.

Wednesday December 8th 1836
<​8​> A. Lyman Dr
To 3 framing chissels 3/ 1.13
[To] 1 box Bule 7/ 0.88 2.01
<​195​> Isaac Glidden Dr
To 1 Box blacking 1/ 0.13
[To] balance on flannel 16/ 2.00 $3.14 <​$2.13​>
<​14​> Dr
To 1 stick of $0.06 0.06
Thirsday D 9th 1836
<​71​> Lorenzo Wells Dr
To 1 yd 4/6 0.56
[To] 1 [yard] canvas 2/6 0.31
[To] 1 han[d] Saw file 1/ 0.13 1.00
<​42​> Dr
To 2 Sheets Sand Paper $0.03 0.06
by Ms. Clark
<​72​> Samuel Phelps Dr
To 2 yd yellow flannel 5/ 1.00 <​1.25​>
[To] 2½ [yard] bark [dark]? callico 1/9 <​1/8​> 0.52
[To] 3 [yard] light [callico] 1/9 0.66
[To] 1 p[ai]r Gloves 3/6 0.4[page torn]
[To] 1 Spole [spool] thread $0.08 [page torn]
[To] 1 Stick Silke Brade 1/ [page torn]
<​84​>
To 2 Shalls [shawls] [page torn]
[To] 1 doz [page torn]
<​162​> [page torn]
<​12[page torn]​>
[remainder of page missing] [p. 69]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Jacob Bump Upper Store Daybook, November 1836–April 1837
ID #
20898
Total Pages
176
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Harvey RedfieldSEN Note: we should change his standard/general name to David Harvey Redfield. In OH/MO records, he’s usually referred to as Harvey, D. Harvey, or D. H. In IL, he is often referred to as David H. Redfield.
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. Overwrite in unidentified handwriting.

  2. David Harvey Redfield handwriting ends; first unidentified scribe begins.

  3. First unidentified scribe handwriting ends; David Harvey Redfield begins.

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