Nathaniel Haskill Whiskey Ledger, 1801-1823
One of the Oldest Business Ledgers Known to Exist in Canada
The Haskills are considered one of Port Hope’s founding families. Nathaniel and Abigail (Sawyer) Haskill made their way with seven children from Lancaster, Massachusetts-it is thought that the eldest sons may have driven a herd of cattle through Niagara and around the north shore of Lake Ontario to the newly opened Township. The Haskills eventually settled on Lot 16, Broken Front and Lot 16, Concession 1.
The Haskill Whiskey ledger is an invaluable source of information on an important early industry of Port Hope and Hope Township, which was distilling. The ledger’s earliest entries date the family’s whiskey distilling business to 1801. Another distillery is believed to have been built by Elias Smith in 1802, in the area of Robertson and Queen Streets. The first tavern in the Port Hope area was built by blacksmith James Hawkins, who had arrived in Port Hope in 1801, and was in operation by 1803. Hawkins was a customer of the Haskill’s- in July 1807 the Haskill ledger shows that Hawkins purchased a total of 41 gallons of whiskey at 5 shillings per gallon.
The ledger provides the names of over one-hundred of the business’s customers, as well as their purchases and items they sold for credit. The following are some of the items that were traded to Haskill for whiskey:
Pairs of shoes (11 shillings)
Leather (2 shillings/foot)
Bushel of Rye, Wheat, Barley (5 shillings/bushel)
Plough Irons
Cow/Steer (1 pound 10 shillings-4 pounds)
Day of Work (5 shillings)
Apple Trees (9 pence each)
Vinegar (7 pence/quart)
Barrel of salt (1 pound 15 shillings- 2 pounds)
Horse Bridle (8 shillings 6 pence)
Haskill was selling more than whiskey to his customers- he also notes selling guns, bushels of grains, apples, leather, sheepskins, and shingle nails. In this time period, and in a new settlement, it was more common to be trading and bartering for goods than paying with cash money. Haskill would have been a good position to be a trader due to his large client base- in a time period when there were only around 300 people in total living throughout the whole township, there were approximately 100 customers listed in the whiskey ledger. Some of those customers were likely even purchasing whiskey to do their own trading for other goods.
Alphabetical List of Names Found in the Ledger:
Abbe,Nathaniel
Abbe,Isaac
Baldwin,Robert
Bates,Roger
Bates,James
Beal,Nehemiah
Bedford Sr.,Jonathan
Bedford,Jonathan
Beebe ,Elihu
Beebe,William
Bennett,Festus
Bens,Isaac
Blancher,Aliyah
Borland,William
Bowen,Isaac
Britton,Jeremiah
Brown,John
Brown,Doctor
Burn,John
Burnham,John
C. Low,John
Caldwell,Joseph
Callendar,Asa
Carpenter,William
Carr,David
Carr,Norris
Cazens ,Joshua
Clerk,Robert
Cole,Thoda
Conel,Eliphalet
Crippen,Samuel
Culver Boswell,Joel
Cunningham,James
Daily,Cornelius
Davis,George
DeBoes,James
DeGroat,Cornelius
Denilegar,Nathan
Farley,John
Fenton,Erastus
Flanagan,James
Fletcher,Alexander
Franklin,Elisha
Freeze,Abraham
Gage,Robert
Gifford,Ephraim
Gifford,Samuel
Gifford,Gardiner
Gifford,Humphrey
Gillett,James
Goodfellow,Moses
Goodman,Miles
Goodyear,Edward
Grant,Reuben
Hagerman,John
Harris,Myndert
Harris,Joseph
Hartwell ,John
Hartwell ,Thomas
Hartwell ,Ebenezer
Haullenbeck,Nathaniel
Hawkins,James
Hayward,Paul
Herren,Joseph
Higley,Elijah
Hills,David
Hills,Moses
Hills,Aaron
Hills,Calvin
Huntington,William
Hurlburt,Jonathan
Kimball,Jared
Lee,William
Lee,William
Lightheart,Francis
Loist,Andrew
Lovekin,Richard
Lovell,John
Marsh ,William
Martin,John
McKelvy,Edward
McKyes,Daniel
Mols,Stephen
Odel,Jacob
Odell,John
Olmstead,Charles
Parsons,Chatwell
Payne,John
Richards,Simon
Rofs,Wait
Rousou,Charlow
Smades,Joel
Smades,Luke
Smith Jr.,Elias
Smith,Ebenezer
Soper ,Leonard
Soper,Pelatiah
Stephens,James
Stephens,Adam
Stoner,Peter
Vincent,Tiebart
Vincent,Tiebart
Walton,Joseph
Ward,Thomas
Willer,Asa
Willet,Samuel
Wilson,John
Wilson,Benjamin
Wood,John
Young,James
Young,Abraham
The Haskills are considered one of Port Hope’s founding families. Nathaniel and Abigail (Sawyer) Haskill made their way with seven children from Lancaster, Massachusetts-it is thought that the eldest sons may have driven a herd of cattle through Niagara and around the north shore of Lake Ontario to the newly opened Township. The Haskills eventually settled on Lot 16, Broken Front and Lot 16, Concession 1.
The Haskill Whiskey ledger is an invaluable source of information on an important early industry of Port Hope and Hope Township, which was distilling. The ledger’s earliest entries date the family’s whiskey distilling business to 1801. Another distillery is believed to have been built by Elias Smith in 1802, in the area of Robertson and Queen Streets. The first tavern in the Port Hope area was built by blacksmith James Hawkins, who had arrived in Port Hope in 1801, and was in operation by 1803. Hawkins was a customer of the Haskill’s- in July 1807 the Haskill ledger shows that Hawkins purchased a total of 41 gallons of whiskey at 5 shillings per gallon.
The ledger provides the names of over one-hundred of the business’s customers, as well as their purchases and items they sold for credit. The following are some of the items that were traded to Haskill for whiskey:
Pairs of shoes (11 shillings)
Leather (2 shillings/foot)
Bushel of Rye, Wheat, Barley (5 shillings/bushel)
Plough Irons
Cow/Steer (1 pound 10 shillings-4 pounds)
Day of Work (5 shillings)
Apple Trees (9 pence each)
Vinegar (7 pence/quart)
Barrel of salt (1 pound 15 shillings- 2 pounds)
Horse Bridle (8 shillings 6 pence)
Haskill was selling more than whiskey to his customers- he also notes selling guns, bushels of grains, apples, leather, sheepskins, and shingle nails. In this time period, and in a new settlement, it was more common to be trading and bartering for goods than paying with cash money. Haskill would have been a good position to be a trader due to his large client base- in a time period when there were only around 300 people in total living throughout the whole township, there were approximately 100 customers listed in the whiskey ledger. Some of those customers were likely even purchasing whiskey to do their own trading for other goods.
Alphabetical List of Names Found in the Ledger:
Abbe,Nathaniel
Abbe,Isaac
Baldwin,Robert
Bates,Roger
Bates,James
Beal,Nehemiah
Bedford Sr.,Jonathan
Bedford,Jonathan
Beebe ,Elihu
Beebe,William
Bennett,Festus
Bens,Isaac
Blancher,Aliyah
Borland,William
Bowen,Isaac
Britton,Jeremiah
Brown,John
Brown,Doctor
Burn,John
Burnham,John
C. Low,John
Caldwell,Joseph
Callendar,Asa
Carpenter,William
Carr,David
Carr,Norris
Cazens ,Joshua
Clerk,Robert
Cole,Thoda
Conel,Eliphalet
Crippen,Samuel
Culver Boswell,Joel
Cunningham,James
Daily,Cornelius
Davis,George
DeBoes,James
DeGroat,Cornelius
Denilegar,Nathan
Farley,John
Fenton,Erastus
Flanagan,James
Fletcher,Alexander
Franklin,Elisha
Freeze,Abraham
Gage,Robert
Gifford,Ephraim
Gifford,Samuel
Gifford,Gardiner
Gifford,Humphrey
Gillett,James
Goodfellow,Moses
Goodman,Miles
Goodyear,Edward
Grant,Reuben
Hagerman,John
Harris,Myndert
Harris,Joseph
Hartwell ,John
Hartwell ,Thomas
Hartwell ,Ebenezer
Haullenbeck,Nathaniel
Hawkins,James
Hayward,Paul
Herren,Joseph
Higley,Elijah
Hills,David
Hills,Moses
Hills,Aaron
Hills,Calvin
Huntington,William
Hurlburt,Jonathan
Kimball,Jared
Lee,William
Lee,William
Lightheart,Francis
Loist,Andrew
Lovekin,Richard
Lovell,John
Marsh ,William
Martin,John
McKelvy,Edward
McKyes,Daniel
Mols,Stephen
Odel,Jacob
Odell,John
Olmstead,Charles
Parsons,Chatwell
Payne,John
Richards,Simon
Rofs,Wait
Rousou,Charlow
Smades,Joel
Smades,Luke
Smith Jr.,Elias
Smith,Ebenezer
Soper ,Leonard
Soper,Pelatiah
Stephens,James
Stephens,Adam
Stoner,Peter
Vincent,Tiebart
Vincent,Tiebart
Walton,Joseph
Ward,Thomas
Willer,Asa
Willet,Samuel
Wilson,John
Wilson,Benjamin
Wood,John
Young,James
Young,Abraham
