Grenell Family Papers
Content Description
This collection consists of two ledger books recording transactions at a grocery business presumably employing a member of the Grenell family in Rochester in 1858-1860. The two ledgers provide a detailed register of sales starting on May 20, 1858 and ending July 25, 1860. The scale of the transactions suggests the business engaged in both wholesale and retail trade. The collection also includes an account book and a letter, which confirm the creators of this collection as Francis Springsteen, Cornelia Ireland Grenelle and Eliza Grenelle.
[Originally, the provenance of this collection was unclear. The original description included the following information: Unfortunately, no business or creator name can be found in the books; they come from the former home of Albert Grenell, a member of the long-established Grenell family of Rock City Falls, New York (Saratoga County). While family tradition holds that there are Rochester connections - confirmed by the identities of the customers in these ledgers - the exact identity of the family members who lived and operated this business in Rochester have proved impossible to determine. See the biographical/historical note, below, for a discussion of the most likely origin of these ledgers.]
Dates
- Creation: May 20, 1858-1882
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use in any current or future manifestations must be obtained in writing from the Rochester Public Library Local History and Genealogy Division.
Biographical / Historical
The materials in this collection were found amongst papers of the Grenell family of Rock City Falls, Saratoga County, New York. Alvah Denison Grenell was born in Greenfield, N. Y. in 1799. He moved to Milton, N. Y. at an unknown date; in 1863 he is recorded as living near Rock City Falls. With his wife Eliza (Keeler), he had 8 children. Their daughter, Cornelia Ireland Grenell (born 1830), married Francis Eugene Springsteen of Wheatland (born 1825) in 1856. The couple moved to Rochester by 1858; the 1860 Rochester City Directory records Francis as a bookkeeper. Francis passed away in 1866; Cornelia Ireland would go on to remarry twice more before her passing in 1920. The first remarriage, with Orra Hughson of Milton, N.Y., happened in 1884. He passed away in 1885, and Cornelia married again, to Joshua Burns West, of Rochester, in 1888. He passed away in 1900, while Cornelia lived on until 1920; she is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.
The grocery ledgers come from a store where Francis worked. Unfortunately, the store is never named, and Francis does not appear in the Rochester City Directory until 1860. It also needs to be noted that the Grenell family's name is also spelled Grenelle and Grinell in various records, making the family difficult to track.
Extent
0.15 Cubic Feet (2 ledger books, 1 account book, 1 letter.)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection consists of 3 volumes and 1 letter.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Wendy Candiano, 2021 and 2022.
Bibliography
Ancestry.com. Hyde genealogy, or, The descendants in the female as well as the male lines [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Walworth, Reuben H.,. Hyde genealogy, or, The descendants in the female as well as the male lines : from William Hyde of Norwich, with their places of residences, and dates of births, marriages, &c., and other particulars of them and their families and ancestry. Albany: J. Munsell, 1864.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79764262/frances-eugene-springsteen : accessed 08 December 2021), memorial page for Frances Eugene “Frank” Springsteen (4 Mar 1825–7 Aug 1866), Find a Grave Memorial ID 79764262, citing Oatka Cemetery, Scottsville, Monroe County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Pat Snyder (contributor 46784936) .
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8254307/cornelia-ireland-west : accessed 08 December 2021), memorial page for Cornelia Ireland Grenelle West (29 Apr 1830–5 Aug 1920), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8254307, citing Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Pat Snyder (contributor 46784936) .
Condition Description
The ledger books are in overall fair condition. The text blocks are sound and relatively clean. The cases show significant wear and damage to the hinges and spine, but are intact. The account book is in good condition, as is the letter.
- Title
- A Guide to the Grenell Family Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Brandon Fess
- Date
- 2021-12-08
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Local History & Genealogy Division Repository
115 South Ave.
Rochester 14604 USA
585-428-8370
585-428-8353 (Fax)
lochistref@libraryweb.org