Scope and arrangement
The collection comprises two volumes belonging to John Bellamy: a book of arithmetic exercises written by his tutor, with Bellamy's answers, 1788; and John Bellamy's ledger of accounts for carpentry and other work done locally, 1791-1832. The amounts are calculated in pounds sterling, changing to dollars roughly after 1800. Payment is often in kind, including agricultural products, dry goods, fish, shoes, timber, and weaving. Blank space under credit accounts was often used for the accounts of another individual.
The arithmetic exercise book, bound in wrappers, contains John Bellamy's ownership note and the note "Farewell, John," dated 1788 February 13. The exercises, progressing from basic calculations to word problems, are generally mercantile and agricultural in nature. One problem mentions the distance from Kittery Ferry to Falmouth; another, computing time, refers to the age of a 19-year-old in minutes, with the problem below it referring to the present year of 1788.
His ledger of accounts, lacking its cover and without an index, records debits and credits for members of many Kittery families, including the Haley, Weeks, Gunnison, Cutts, Gerrish, and Billings families, as well as some for his own parents. Charges for woodworking and general labor include furniture-making and repairs, coffin-making, work on houses and ships, hauling timber, planting, hiring out his team of oxen, and working with his sons John and Charles.