James Coggeshall Easton (1803-1861) was the son of Mary Ann “Nancy” Spooner and Captain James Coggeshall Easton (1772-1851) of Newport, Rhode Island. James C. Easton worked in Newport as a merchant and craftsmen. The core of his business was making and mending shoes and boots, but that was supplemented with a range of goods for sale including various vegetables, butter, oil, leather, seaweed, and sand. He also provided services such as plowing, carting, mending clothes, and the leasing of horses and carts for day labor. He married Eliza Franklin (1804-1871) and had the following children: William Henry (1834-1910), Ann Frances (1835-1928), Elizabeth C. (1838-1919) and Albert I. (1851-1893). James C. Easton died on February 18, 1861, and is buried at Island Cemetery in Newport. William H. Easton (1834-1910) was the son of James C. and Eliza Easton and also worked in Newport. He worked as a pork packer and sausage manufacturer. He opened a firm with George W. T. Tilley (1838-1898), named William H. Easton & Company, which was located on West Broadway in Newport. Tilley married Elizabeth C. Easton (1838-1919), the brother of William H., and was a member of the firm until his sudden death in 1898.
This collection consists of business records compiled by various members of the Easton family of Newport, Rhode Island. The first item is an account book that belonged to James C. Easton, which detail his daily transactions as a busy Newport merchant and shows the demand for his goods. There is also a list of “new books,” with prices, towards the end of the account book. It is unclear whether they were for sale or part of a lending library. The second item (in folder 1) includes a small account book and receipts from the pork packing firm of William H. Easton & Co. The account book was maintained by George W. T. Tilley and contains recipes for curing hams and making bologna. Lastly, receipts made out to Easton & Tilley from 1871-1872 are also found within this collection. It is not apparent which Easton or Tilley family member these receipts concern.
This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Easton family accounts and business records, RLC.Ms.031, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection is arranged in chronological order.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Chase Kimball, 1989 Oct 27 B.
Prior to processing in 2013, this collection was classified as mCL65N/Ea79 with the title, “[Ledger] James C. Easton – June 1, 1835-Nov 9, 1860.” Also, the ledger was conserved at an unknown date and digitized in 2013 by the John Carter Brown Library as part of the Rhode Island History Project.
James C. Easton account book of Newport, R.I. also available digitally at Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/accountbookofnew01east).