The following email was received from James Hilborn, Guelph, Ontario on 20 Jan 2003:

My wife has a leather wallet containing ledgers and other papers, belonging to a Samuel T. Chadwick of Simcoe. Her uncle obtained it at a flea market a number of years ago; he is now deceased, so we don't know details. We are curious to know more about who he was. Can you help?

The earliest date of correspondence in the wallet is 1852. It appears to be a record of his expenses in buying and furnishing his house in Simcoe. We know from the records he had at least three daughters: Ellen, Emma and Sarah. We can't find any record of his spouse or other children. We believe he was a hay farmer.

We have a promissory note from Newlands Hayes of Ingersoll (1872).

Part of the wallet is an alphabetical list of names and numbers (i.e. "School Tax - No. 97).

Following this is a ledger of accounts with different people. Also, listings of such things as bushels of buckwheat, barley, clover, peas, potatoes, hay and cows.  The ledger goes from 1868 to 1877 after which there are no more listings.

Other documents include:

• a receipt for hay (Fairbanks' patent hay scales), the weigh master (J. Norrier)
• a note (dated Feb. 10, 1871) for $8 "for future of daughters".  signed H. A. Douglass. The note has a circular mark of A. J. Donly with a three leaf clover in the middle.
• a receipt on letterhead from the Canada Air Line Railway dated March 30, 1871 (D. Morrison - contractor) indicating that Mr. Chadwick had 19, 260 pounds of hay in February 1871 for a total of $77.04 and in March, 22,960 pounds of hay for $91.84.  This was signed by G. B. McIntosh.
• Waterford Nurseries (Ontario) brochure dated 10 Jul 1876 listing varieties of fruit trees.
• 11 prayer cards -- no affiliation
• a paper doll
• a tiny cross stitch of a church that someone made for him
• a piece of leather
• a clipping from the Simcoe paper dated 1863 on how to measure an acre