As a businessman, kept detailed records. Only a fraction of these have survived for the that he ran in , Ohio, under the firm name One of the surviving business records is an account book kept in 1834. Whitney used this book to track the debts he owed for goods he bought for his store from wholesale merchants in . Most of the purchases recorded in the book were made in October 1833; the latest two date to fall 1834. The account book has a page for each mercantile firm with which he did business, listing the initial debt, interest accrued, payments made, and any letters or other information sent or received. Graphite notations at the bottom of the pages indicate that Whitney successfully settled most of these debts.