The widow of an avid historian, who was a member of one of the first five original families to settle in Port Hope, Ontario in the late 1700s, has donated a collection of historic ledgers to the Port Hope Archives.
The ledgers had been passed down through the same family, since they first landed in Port Hope.
Helen Anne Haskill’s late husband, Sanford Watt Haskill was the last family member to inherit the 13 ledgers. Four of the ledgers date back to the 1800s, and the remainder are from the early 1900s.
Lori Stephenson-Brittain, caretaker of the local history room, told Northumberland News, “The Haskill family donated the oldest complete existing business ledgers in Ontario, and the fact we know the provenance passed down the generations makes this donation even more special.”
Mrs. Haskill said, “One of the most fascinating pieces is the completely intact whisky ledger. 1801 reads the oldest entry, making it the oldest record in Ontario (a Nova Scotia ledger beats it by one year), otherwise it would be considered the oldest in Canada. It tells the most fascinating tales of history throughout. It even speaks of the soldiers sleeping in the fields outside the taverns in 1812.”
This collection is being transcribed for the public to view.
Read more on the story in the Northumberland News.
Thanks to Catharine T. for the tip.
