Records Merrifield's cabinetmaking activities from May 1831 to February 1843. He made all sorts of cabinet, bed, and case furniture, including: French bedsteads, cherry dining tables, pier tables, breakfast tables, pine tables, desks with drawers and slate, coffins, cot bedsteads, curly maple bedsteads, mahogany bureaus, tester frames, night stools, and butler trays. He also put up and trimmed blinds, made and installed cornices, repaired old furniture, and bought and sold various kinds of cabinet woods, veneer, varnishes, etc. Among Merrifield's customers were members of the New York General Assembly. He was often called upon to change locks in their desks and records the number of the desk in each instance. Also included are five letters sent to Merrifield that provide further bits of information about his life. Another letter, addressed to his wife, is from a relative traveling in Paris. The volume was later used by family members residing on a farm in Nassay. Accounts for the 1840s and 1850s document agricultural activities, including the pasturing of cows and buying and selling farm produce. There are several references to Jersey corn. A weather diary was kept in the volume from 1889 to 1902. Family activites were also noted. James Merrifield used the volume in 1902 to record his financial transactions.
