Finding Aid: Hindes and Kincey Account Books, 1831-1833, 1895-1901, PC.AB.69

[Identification of item], Private Collections: Account Books, PC.AB.69, Hindes-Kincey Account Books, 1831-1833 and 1895-1901, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC, USA.

These account books record transactions of a store located in Jones County. The business, known as Hindes and Kincey, was active from 1831 to 1833. Both cash and barter systems were in use. Hogs, oysters, and labor at the cotton gin appear to have been the items most often traded.

Food staples available at the store included coffee, tea, pork, bacon, eggs, sugar, salt, vinegar, molasses, and a few spices. Tobacco and spirits were sold also. Medicines were limited to camphor, copperas, castor oil, and British oil. Calico, gingham, shirting, osnaburg, duck, silk, silk braid, shoe thread, and spool cotton were available for making clothing and accessories. Ready-made items included chip hats, wool hats, and cloaks. Plows, seed, fishhooks, and pen knives enabled locals to find sustenance from the land and water.

A second business was active from 1895 to 1901. Owned and operated by G. W. Harrison, this enterprise offered a mix of blacksmith and wheelwright skills to people living in Jones and Craven counties. In addition to shoeing horses and mules, Harrison produced farm implements, created spokes for wheels, and repaired wagons. Volume 69.1 includes an 1893 inventory of equipment and tools, presumably owned by Harrison.

According to notations appearing on page 127, the ledger (Vol. 69.1) surfaced in March 1922. Presumably, A. H. Jones (approximately 1882-1963) or his wife, Edna [Edney] Jones (approximately 1891-1949), recorded the couple's names and the initials of their five sons who had been born by that time. In addition, the writer noted the age of the book in the margin. This family can be found in the 1920 Census and subsequent Censuses, with Aaron Herbert Jones or some variation of that name listed as head of the household. The family's documentation here appears to be unrelated to the any of the accounts or transactions noted.

A sampling of customers' names from 1831 to 1833 is available in the State Archives Search Room finding aids.

The ledger is arranged by name, then date. The day book is arranged by date, then name, in the order in which transactions occurred. The blacksmith's and wheelwright's accounts are recorded at the end of each volume, wherever blank pages occur. They are arranged by date, then name, in transaction order.

William Hindes (approximately 1804-1844?) and Stephen Kincey (approximately 1805-1833) operated a general store located at Trent Bridge [later Pollocksville] in Jones County, N.C. The two men's names appear on consecutive lines of the 1830 Census, where both are described as single males between the ages of 20 and 30 living in Craven County. On the next consecutive line appears the name of William Hollister (1777-1843), a well-known merchant and ship owner in New Bern. A year later, Hollister sold four lots with buildings at Trent Bridge to Hindes and Kincey. It appears that the buildings may have provided a site for the business, since the account books show transactions within ten days of this land purchase. On 8 November 1831, William Hindes contributed $409.20 to operate the store while Stephen Kincey provided $331.62. In addition, Kincey reported expenses of $82.52 traveling to and from New York, presumably to purchase inventory or make business contacts. William Hollister's account books reveal that Hollister continued to trade with the two men, both individually and collectively. Stephen Kincey might have been motivated to move to Jones County to be close to his bride and her family. On 23 March 1831, Kincey agreed to marry Hannah Foscue (1807-), daughter of plantation owner Simon Foscue, Jr.(1780-1830) of Jones County. The deed protected the lands Hannah inherited from her father and stipulated that lands would revert to Hannah's nearest of kin upon her death or the death of her husband, if later. Although the marriage record is incomplete, subsequent family papers show that Hannah married twice: first to Kincey and after his death, to James B. Laroque (approximately 1784-). Presumably, the business dissolved after Kincey's death. Hindes might have moved to nearby Trenton. A gravestone bearing his name is in the Trenton Municipal Cemetery and the dates appear to fit the information that exists. The account books provide evidence of a second business which existed from 1895 to 1901. Although there were several George Harrisons living in North Carolina throughout the 1800s, the only one living in Jones or Craven counties as of the 1900 enumeration was George Washington Harrison (1849-1925). He appears to have been the owner of this business which began in Trenton in Jones County, N.C. Later, the business was located in Caer Creek in Craven County, N.C. Caer Creek may have been a variant spelling for Core Creek, which in time became Cove Creek. Cove Creek gave its name to a settlement later called Cove City. This town is situated only nine miles northeast of Trenton, so it seems to be a plausible choice for the second location of Harrison's business. In 1880, the Census described Harrison as a cooper. At that time he was a single man. He and his widowed mother lived in the household of John Harrison, a cousin who was a blacksmith. It seems likely that George acquired some blacksmithing skills from John. Apparently, George also had considerable woodworking skills, for in a later Census he was listed as a carpenter. The account books reveal that he worked on a variety of tools and parts, including guns, saws, hoes, hooks, pipes, latches, tires, wheels, axles and wagon tongues. One transaction notes a repair on a baby buggy.Edith [Edey] Morenda [Marinda, Marindon] Heath Harrison (1858-1918) is listed as George's wife in the 1900 and 1910 Censuses. According to those two documents, the couple had five children, with the first one being born in 1883. This suggests that their marriage took place in the early 1880s.

Collection Contents

Hinds, _____

Kincy, _____

Harrison, G. W.

Hinds and Kincy

G. W. Harrison

Account books

General stores--North Carolina--Jones County

Grocery trade--North Carolina--Pollocksville

Retail trade--North Carolina--Pollocksville

Blacksmiths

Merchants

Stores, Mercantile

Consumer Goods

Caer Creek (N.C.)

Core Creek (Jones County and Craven County, N.C.)

Cove City (N.C.)

Cove Creek (Jones County and Craven County, N.C.)

Craven County (N.C.)

Jones County (N.C.)

Pollocksville (N.C.)

Trenton (N.C.)

Trent Bridge (Pollocksville) (N.C.)

Blacksmithing--North Carolina--Cove City

Blacksmithing--North Carolina--Trenton

Grocers--North Carolina--Pollocksville

Wheelwrights--North Carolina--Cove City

Wheelwrights--North Carolina--Trenton

Unknown

Processed by Lea Walker, August 2014
Finding aid by Lea Walker, August 2014