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Statement of Account, 1902
John Hamilton, Buntingford
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Life is full of ephemera - everyday things we take for granted and throw away when we have finished with them. As such they rarely survive but if they do they can fill in details of your ancestors everyday life.
Everyday receipts, such as this one, rarely survive,
With all the fuss about credit card debt it is easy to forget that credit is nothing new, and if you were deemed credit-worthy there was no difficulty in buying goods "on tick" and running up an account for months without incurring any interest charges. This account shows that Mr J. Smith was a customer of John Hamilton, Engineer & General Smith, Iron & Tin Plate Worker of Buntingford. He purchased a 3pint enamelled saucepan on 4th July, 1902, for 2 shillings and 3 pence, and a galvanised bath for 3 shillings and 8 pence later the same month. By 31st December his debt amounted to 13 shillings and 5 pence and John Hamilton submitted the bill, which was settled on 30th January, 1903.
Such documents, when they survive, provide information about the trader, the goods he sold and their prices, and also give a clue to the lifestyle of the purchaser.
The 1890 Kelly's Directory for Hertfordshire lists John Hamilton as an ironmonger in Buntingford. In 1902 he was described as a machinist and ironmonger.
His address in the 1901 census was High Street, Aspenden, Buntingford.