Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-11-24
BIT OF LIFE IN 1859
l,rpHEN GOULD, HIS BOOK OF
L,couNTs IN LAWFUL MONEY!"

:, Chronicles Of Soldier Of Three
Wars Who Sleeps in an Old GuiIford
c,metery-Published by His Great
e,,ndsOn. John Gould Of Ohio.
,mong The rubbish of an old garnet,
siberia of banished and out-of-
E. and out-of-use belongings OF
80 house, II was found-a quaint
NJ hook, scarce SKI inches. and not
y thick. with rawhide cover evil
II, once II part of the hide of n pig.
L. hound together with thongs of the
ms material. and the cover flaps
.tned with clasp of brass. The
I,res are brown with age, but the
a,np IS very clear and legibe. To
II. Could tribe II is of great worth:
! ia the tribes at large it may be
/, interest This little book gives an
,.i,h, into the life and doings of my
LII grandfather, stephen Gould.
Innepr and soldier of three wars.
IN title page records In bold hand.
1ssnhen Gould, His Book of Ac-
limits in Lawful Money and Is dated
Irarester Massachusetts Bay. 1859.
,nnugh the book one gets glimpses OF
E%onjal customs before the revolution.
M scraps of family history. and the
l,jnes Of kin and neighbor. The en-
IT. are not in regular order as to
In but all through the book the
Ling is wonderfully clear and legi-
II If not always spelled in the best
|, modern Kings English. The ink
/, At the blacklist. showing that their
E,Ne brew was Of true fast color.
There are some things noted in the
|O,k that could not be ,reckoned In
|sWful money! for we find. "Worces-
n Mass, Jan. 5, 1853. Stephen
Enid was married to Esther Wilder.
T. Thursday''-by whom, or how is
|y mentioned, A few pages beyond
n find, noted down with other items:
|Srah born Tuesday, Feb. End,
|;sl," and then follow with notable
|smlarity the births of other children,
|svan in all. Interesting to me was
I'M note of grandfather's birth: oct.
hi III Thomas born Thursday
The first business transaction is
|aed warwick, 1850. John Moore
|qtter (debtor) to Stephen Gould for
II DAYS reaping rye, and for the
|ame took six bush. rye in full Diff
Ernces over credits sometimes arose.
End old accounts were twice brought
|, for payment, for we find that in
|ys he settled with one Jonathan
liver and passed accounts" and this
L the final entry: Then reconed
rckoned) all dealings with Jonathan
LIVER and balanced all accounts from
N beginning of the world to the pres
hi time, including this date; to
|ihich both men affixed their names.
That the said Stephen was more
ban farmer, and was skilled in the
|8rp of the sick, is evidenced by the
blowing entry: ITO nursing Timothy.
pp of Nathan Waterhouse. weeks
Ind 5 days at three shillings per
Ftek AS. and by credit to same, |
|alfull porrige pot. 9s., 1 old scythe Is.
h Bal. due yet. As. D."
In l772 this entry is noted This
|hy Thomas and stephen went 10
hole (schooD for tou (two) months
|gOleing"
Some months later on is this item.
Better (debtor) to Daniel Smith Tor
|soling my tou boys Isl" and on the
|ame page we find that he paid Or.
Emon stephens Ell, IS. for three visits
|ni Sunday medisuns (medicines) to
life and child. In connection with
|ther sickness, that of his mother, we
1te. ITO pounds white sugar at rs.
b per pound, A cts, and 3 qts.
handy Is. per qt.' showing that
alues have been greatly reversed
sHCe then.
On another page this strange entry
lpears: "Guilford, VT, March /, lts4.
Peter Aldrich and Jonathan Davis ola
make forseful entry upon the premises
If Stephen Gould and took peas
lTiece) of land formily owned by
&per Hill. Now stands on the prem
hes Stephen Gould (his hand Wrlte).
That he was a humanitarian appears
from this record: April s. then Steph-
IN Gould took John escott OF
mother wilder to live with me. the
aid John is years old this present
fear of our Lord. A. d."
For some years the accounts appear
entered in Worcester, Mass, ana
ater on in Sutton, then. at the close
i the revolution, they are dated Gull
5rd, Vt. Evidently at that time ne
Fent to the latter place and became
ltizen of that little republic. six mics
quare, for republic it was by special
harter of King George himself, ana
r forty years, beginning in 1905, II
vas Independent of the colonies, maze
s own laws, had parliament Oh
hree members elected by the people
selected it's taxes, had a seat OF gov,
snment an aristocracy, an established
Ihurch, and to show it's loyalty to the