Solomon Juneau Ledger
There are few times in an archivist’s career when they can say that the story of how an object was donated is almost as interesting as the history of the piece itself. Acquiring what we refer to as the Solomon Juneau account ledger is one of those experiences.
On a quiet Saturday morning while working in the Research Library, a gentleman walked into the library with an old book in his hands. He proceeded to tell me that he had bought it at a garage sale for the amazing price of $1.00, and thought that since it was obviously old, it should be part of our collections. After turning a few pages of the book, I could tell it was an account ledger filled with the names of some of Milwaukee’s earliest settlers. Closer examination revealed even more tantalizing account information about the building of the schooner , Solomon Juneau, by George Barber for Solomon Juneau in 1837. It appeared to be an account book of one of Milwaukee’s earliest traders and settlers, Solomon Juneau.
It is believed that the ledger was probably kept by Juneau or one of his clerks. The early entries around 1834 deal with the Indian trade and the accounts of individuals employed by Juneau in that capacity. Trading activities at Rock River, the type and pricing of goods, and annual wages paid to individuals are also included in this significant piece of early Milwaukee history.
There is a second piece of history in this ledger which remains even more of a mystery. The ledger apparently was used by some small business during the period 1868-1872 and kept entries in German. The references do not mention any identifiable individuals as far as we can tell. How this ledger ended up with another individual for use in accounting, and then to a garage sale remains mysteries as yet to be solved.
