Southeastern Massachusetts

(MASSACHUSETTS). (COLONIAL ACCOUNTS). DEAN, SETH. Account Book of a Rafter, Timber Cutter, Shop Keeper. 1759-1769. 42 pp. 8vo. No cover, ink, hand sewn. Name index in center. Some pages loose, some loose receipts, edges tattered. Fair & legible. $1,150.00

Account book of Seth Dean, a pre-Revolutionary era rafter and merchant in the area of Raynham and Taunton, Mass. Raynham was incorporated as a town on April 2, 1731 and the Dean family is counted among the founding families of the town. Ship building was part of Raynham's early economy and Dean may have been involved in this by cutting and rafting timbers. The timbers were floated across the Taunton River to the approximate site of the staging areas and then dragged up the banks to the ships by oxen. The small schooners were sailed down river to Berkley or Fall River for the final fittings

Seth Dean was probably born about 1738 of of Seth and Mary (Williams) Dean. Dean dealt in timber, mentions a “shop”, and also does odd jobs. In his accounts he wrote; “Ben Shaw cr. May 1761 to Raftin one day from Perkins down to titicut 1-2-6”. He also transports goods by various means; “barels of syder”, cords of wood, bushels of corn and other foodstuffs. His entries are more anecdotal than is common in most account books. One note says “before the house was burnt Jacob Barney dr to 23 axes at thirty shillings a pease comes to 34-10-0 I told Sister Sophia I would pay Jacob Barney for the mending her side sadel & he & I never rekend he went away & I have sum things of him”. Another says “ Thomas Perkins January 1760 to fifteen tun of plank logs at thirty five shilings a tun comes to a 11 dolars & 30 old tener£ 26-5-0 and to a 171 foot of plank at herays mills sum of them were slab plank & poor I think they were worth old tenor4-000.” Many names of early inhabitants of the area appear in the index. Some names include: Sophia Dean, Benjamin & Silvester Bowers, Daniel Washburn, Timothy Perkins, Abial Dean, Jonathan King, Amaria Hall and many others. Early period information for the area.