Volume 20 Issue 1, Spring 2013
Part 1: In the Mid-1700s, a Young Man Begins an Account Book
When he started making entries in his first ledger in 1739, John Case was a twenty year old bachelor. Beginning his own account book signaled that he was striking out on his own and that his earnings would no longer be recorded as part of the accounts of his father, John Case Sr. Whether or not he was also establishing a separate domicile is a matter for conjecture. The law at that time frowned upon single men living alone and specified a fine of twenty shillings a week for living outside his parental home unless, of course, he was someone’s apprentice or servant. The law did allow a single man to set up his own household if he was a public official and/or had a servant, and if he had the permission of the admitted inhabitants of his town.
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