Historical Society Acquires

Miller Family Documents and Artifacts

In April, the Historical Society purchased a large number of business ledgers, documents, and letters from the Isabelle Miller estate auction.

The purchase was made through the Society’s Deaccession Fund, a restricted fund dedicated to the acquisition and care of the Society’s museum and archives collections.

The bulk of the items are from the Miller Pharmacy. The Miller family operated the pharmacy for two generations. In addition to business ledgers, pharmacy bottles, and a poisons register, the collection includes the 1854 pharmacy inventory prepared when the Millers purchased the business.

The family letters span the years 1848 to 1910 and offer a glimpse into day-to-day life in Peterborough. The letters include ordinary occurrences like a late frost and historic events like the Peterborough troops mustering to leave for the Civil War and Frederick Douglass’ trip through the region in 1865.

Historical Society volunteers Teresa Steer, Janet Shea, Steve Lord, Ann Lord, and Anne-Marie Irwin are organizing the materials to make them accessible to researchers.

 June 2002
 

BACK