Friday, May 7, 2010

Ledger Turned into Scrapbook, Mudgett or William C. Durgin family of Dixmont Maine


1830s/1860s ledger from the family of William C. and Sophronia L. (Mudgett) Durgin, of Dixmont, Maine.   It was turned into a scrapbook, probably by the Durgin daughters, whose names, Mary, Jennie and Cora, appear in it.

The ledger measures about 7-1/4" long by 6" wide, by about 1/4" thick. 

The girls pasted over pages in the front and back of the ledger, with  doodlings, drawings and scribbles throughout. The first ledger page I can read is dated 1834.  Since I see the name John Mudgett in various places, I'm assuming the ledger originated with the Mudgett family.  

Perhaps William C. Durgin moved onto the property when he married Sophronia and made some entries in the ledger after he was married.  It's also possible that the girls found the ledger discarded by a member of the Mudgett family and that it was never actually used by William.


From online research, I found that William C. Durgin was born  in 1828 in Frankfort, Waldo County, Maine, the son of Joseph and Susan (Chase) Durgin.   

His wife was Sophronia L. Mudgett, born in 1823 in Dixmont, the daughter of Edmund and Lydia (Emery) Mudgett.  Their children were William, Mary, Charles, Cora and Jennie.

Names in the ledger are hard to make out, but I think they include the following, in alphabetical order; some appear multiple times:
  • American Friendship
  • John Bickford
  • Gideon Brag or Gideon Bragg
  • Hiram Bragg
  • H. Butman
  • Cora E. Durgin
  • David Durgin
  • Jennie Durgin
  • Mary Durgin
  • Emery
  • William Garland
  • Galen Knowlton
  • John Morrill
  • David Morrison
  • John Mudgett
  • Peabody
  • Lemuel Peabody
  • Randall
  • Simpson
  • David Simpson
  • George Simpson
  • Tasker or Tarker.









If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or information on any of the people mentioned in the ledger, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

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