Description

In 1996 a merchant's ledger, coveringthe period between 1824 and1826, came to light in West PrinceCounty. The volume, a merchant'saccount book, is incomplete and withoutits back cover. Its pages start at1024, the first entry being Monday,June 14, 1824. The last entries are onpage 1549 - April 8, 1826. The ledgercovers daily transactions in an unidentifiedmerchant's store. Internal evidence- the people and places mentioned- indicates that this was theenterprise that later became the centerof James Yeo's shipbuilding empire atPort Hill. The time was the crucialperiod in western Prince EdwardIsland history when settlers werearriving in substantial numbers andshipbuilding was beginning its halfcentury of dominance of the Islandeconomy. Because it covers an erawhere sources are scant, and becauseit illuminates some hitherto unexploredareas of Island history, a shortdescription of this document may be ofinterest to historians and genealogists.