Series 4: Pierrepont Stores, 1835-1895, inclusive

The sub-series holds documents relating to waterfront property ownership, rights and development; correspondence regarding the management of the Pierrepont Stores; and information regarding the lease of the Stores to Empire Warehouse Co. and the 1888 sale to Brooklyn Wharf and Warehouse Co. The sub-series holds invoices and other financial transaction records documenting the cost of operations, especially repairs, of the Stores. Architectural plans for the Stores are in the sub-series. Overall, the sub-series documents the Pierreponts's engagement with the development of the wharf and, by the late nineteenth century, their willingness to sell their interests.

The journals of the Pierrepont Stores record the warehouse's business transactions. Organized chronologically by month and year, the entries include account number, date, client name, cost of storage, labor, perquisites, and transportation around the docks on barges known as lighters, along with the total cost of the transaction. The journals also document "bills rendered during the month," "collections during the month," and "disbursements for the month," which often record in greater detail the extent of labor and storage provided. These volumes are particularly useful for research of the financial history of the Pierrepont Stores.

The ledgers of the Pierrepont Stores hold the summaries of monthly business. Organized by account, these three volumes detail the monthly balance of the Stores and the income earned in Storage as well as in Labor. Also included are records of "Bills Payable," monthly totals of particular client's bills, and the cost of tools and furniture, as well as repairs, perquisites, and general expenses. The ledgers indicate which accounts for which period are attributable to Ford and Co. The ledgers are particularly useful to any research of the financial history of the Pierrepont Stores or nineteenth century freight shipping in Brooklyn.

These ledgers hold more specific information regarding the stores of particular clients. Each ledger includes a separate index of customer account names, also indicating the name of their associated vessel or vessels. The ledgers are ordered alphabetically according to client, and entries list the date, cargo stored, cost to client, to whom or where the cargo was delivered, and additional notes regarding care of the cargo. The majority of the cargo listed within these ledgers was sugar and molasses, a specialty of the Stores.

Eleven volumes covering the periods 1858-1883 and 1885-1888 replicate the information found in the Storage Ledgers. Especially interesting is that these volumes also list the origin of each ship. The volumes are indexed by ship and entries list the client, ship, and cargo. In addition, entries record port of origin, date of departure from that port, ports of call (much of this information is conveyed in symbols), duty charged, and receipt numbers, which do not appear to coincide with the receipt books of Sub-series 6. Individual records occasionally include detailed notes of instruction regarding the care of the cargo. Cancelled orders and ships returned in "distress" are also noted, as are transfers to other ships, which are recorded in red ink.

The "Cargo Received" Ledgers are especially notable in tracking increasingly diverse imports. The records show the growing demand for, and importance of, imports from colonial provinces in India and Asia, including Calcutta and Manila. The most common cargoes appear to be sugar and molasses; other frequent items include hemp, shellac, and hides, as well as spices and textiles.

Each of fifteen order books lists the date of order, the date of the ship's arrival, cargo, client, account number, duty paid, and where or to whom the cargo was sent and when. Entries sometimes included further instructions for the handling of cargo. These volumes are most interesting in the fact that they allow for the tracing of a shipment from its arrival at the docks to its departure from the Pierrepont Stores, even listing the lighter that transported the cargo around the docks.

The sub-series includes various forms of receipts, acknowledgements, and records of dockage and storage services. The bulk includes sixteen books of acknowledgements of goods delivered to a ship, cart, or other location. There are three books of accounts recording dockage stays and related charges, one book of what appears to be storage accounts, and three books of letterpress copies of receipts.

The cash book entries reflect monthly tallies of the Pierrepont Stores' finances and include listings of services rendered, items purchased, and payroll costs.

Each of these seven volumes details the daily costs and earnings of the Pierrepont Stores. Entries list clients, cargo, services rendered, and amount charged for those services.

These four volumes are organized weekly and list employees alphabetically. The books list the entire payroll by individual employee, including dates worked, hours worked per day and per week, total pay of the employee, and the total payroll cost for the week. Notes regarding payment and advances are also noted within the ledgers.

The one volume that makes up this sub-series is a record of bills paid to the Pierrepont Stores between 1883 and 1886. Entries, arranged chronologically, include client name, cargo, ship, charge, and the date of payment.

These two volumes hold copies of outgoing business correspondence regarding the Pierrepont Stores. The bulk of this correspondence is directed to clients regarding their orders.