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(VERMONT).  John D. Smith's (Merchant/General Store) Blotter October 11, 1851 to December 24, 1852. Waterbury, Vermont. 12 x 15 in. 426 pp. Contemp. marbled boards, calf spine. Browned pages, bright ink. $625.00

 

     John D[owner] Smith (1827-1873) was a purveyor of general merchandise in Waterbury, Vermont. Some of the unusual items he sold are the following: Filing saw, Nutmeg, Brass, Woolen yarn, Codfish, Whalebones, Almanac, Flat Screws, Walking Shoes, Candles, Sulphur.

     He married Mary Jane Camp in Stowe, she being the daughter of Riverius Camp the pioneer merchant of Stowe.  They came to Waterbury Center in the early 1840's. He held the office of town clerk from 1851 until his death in 1873. Smith was also justice of the peace and lister and represented Waterbury in the legislature in 1856 and '57. He was a practical land surveyor and did general conveyancing, advised the people in matters of law, and settled a large number of estates. He was a very extensive reader who possessed a large library which was considered one of the few really good private libraries in the town. "In politics he commenced an old line Whig and entered the Republican ranks at its formation." [refs: History of Waterbury, Vermont, 1763-1915, edited by Theodore Graham Lewis and Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889 edited by William Adams].

     The book is kept chronologically and shows the customer's name, a brief description of their purchase, and the amount paid. Smith probably kept a general store, since items sold ranged from fish, to lamp oil, to shoes, buttons, nails, mittens, paper, postage stamps, cloth, thread and so on. Several hundred area resident's names are represented as customers. By 1870, the census lists Smith as postmaster of the town.