Cardboard box held pieces of history to be mined for years to come
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Papers from the past: A mouse may have nibbled around the edge of some of the town’s papers but they still retain a charm and history not extant in the computerized records that replaced them.
Old, old historic papers, legal and otherwise, reached out to me this week. I'd like to share a few with Enterprise readers.
Many years ago, when the town of Guilderland was just starting to computerize records, I reached my desk one morning to find a cardboard box on the floor beside it
It had a note attached: "The contents of these papers have all been put on the computer. I was told that the papers could now be disposed of. But I thought you might like to see them.”
Of course I'd like to see them!
They were town papers of 1845 to 1877. Peter Shaver was supervisor of the town in 1845, Wendell Vine from 1852 to 1853, George Y. Johnson from 1854 to 1856, and Henry P. Hilton from 1857 to 1859.
The papers included mortgages and chattels, selling of lands and items such as buckwheat fields, animals, wagons, and more.
One yellowed page noted that on April 7, 1845, Henry Grote bought one two-horse sleigh for $23.50, one set of two-horse harnesses for $10.37, one dray for $3.50, one grain cradle for $2.50, three pitchforks for $20.40, one crow iron for $1.63, and five empty casks and one Bay Rigging for $7 and cash.
He paid George Keenholts $63.39. The Town Clerk was Israel Walker; he must have figured that out!
On Aug. 7, 1852, Benjamin Wands bought from Issac Veeder, "22 bushels of rye, one horse wagon, one black mare, all the buckwheat that is down on the ground and potatoes that are on the ground, and the hay in the barn, and all other goods and chattel being in possession of Isaac Veeder.”
Wands paid $120 Lawful Money on the first of April 1853.
Samuel L. Hoag of Guilderland sold to Franklin Hoag of Saratoga, one black four-year-old colt for $100, one light buggy “waggon" for $90, one traveling trunk and a set of Horse Silver Mounts for $25. The total was $221.00 and paid on April 3, 1852.
It seems as though someone was getting ready for a trip?
Another dog-eared aged sheet tells that Henry P. Hilton, town supervisor from 1857 to 1859, had transacted with Westinghouse & Co. for "a thrasher and the wagon to convey it" in October of 1877.
The mortgage for it was written by William J. Capron, town clerk of Guilderland at that time, in the amount of $131.00 to be paid by March 1878. Hilton was married to Catherine Sperbeck. He owned a 100-acre farm on the corner of Gardner Road and Frederick Road in Guilderland Center.
It appears that those selling horse and "waggons" at that time were as busy as auto dealerships today.