Archive Record
Metadata
Object ID number |
1990.07 |
Title |
Bossen Store Ledgers |
Date |
about 1904-1916 |
Scope & Content |
Three ledgers from Peter Bossen's store. Each consists of handwritten records from the store in a bound book. 1990.007.001 is a store register from February 5, 1904 through June 30, 1916. It contains listings of outgoing checks and includes names, dates, and amounts. Included with collection are three loose papers found in the store register. They include a receipt dated November 1, 1911 and two voided checks; dated March 29, 1912 and May 21, 1912. 1990.007.002 is a check register dated June 20, 1911 through February 18, 1915. This check register coordinates with 1990.007.001 on pages 4-187 and matches pages 82-126 of the store register. 1990.07.003 is a register of accounts. No date is included. It lists residents, their purchases and costs. |
Orgnaizational or Biographical History |
The building that housed P.E. Bossen's Store was originally built on 1042 Main Street South Windsor c. 1890 by Benjamin Skinner and was moved to 819-821 Main Street South Windsor by D.J. Foster. (There are discrepancies about the exact dates of when the building was built and moved.) The building also included three out buildings--an ice barn, storage building, and a horse barn that before it was moved served as a Baptist Church. The original general store was started by D.J. Foster. Horace Parmelee later took over. Peter Bossen rented the store from the Parmelee family from 1904 through 1908 then began making payments to be applied to a mortgage in May of 1908. Bossen ran the store until his death in 1962 when his son Robert took over. The store was an important part of Main Street. In addition to the store, the building was also the site of the original East Windsor Hill Post Office until 1959. The stone in front of the building is said to be from a tanner's wheel, possibly from Foster's tannery or Skinner's. Robert ran the store until June 14, 1974 when he closed the business, it is said, before state regulations required modern conveniences and inflation prices rose. It then became the Inspiration House, a publishing house run by Robert's wife Bette and Winston C. Abbott. The building sold in 1985 to the Shepard Corp and currently (as of 2015) houses a gift shop. Peter E. Bossen (1878-1962) owned and operated the store from 1904-1962. He was married to Frances Vitert (1881-1973). They had a son Robert (1910-2006) and two daughters, Katherine M Boynton (1905-1992) and Christine E Blackmore (1916-1966). Robert married Bette Eaton in 1940 and had three children. |
Creator |
Bossen, Peter |
Collection |
Bossen Store Ledgers |
People |
Bossen, Peter Elias, 1878-1962 Bossen, Robert Parmelee, Calvin Zena, 1829-1906 Parmelee, Horace E. |
Subjects |
Account books |
Search Terms |
819-821 Main Street Account Books Commerce (CT) Grocery Store Ledgers South Windsor |
Year Range from |
1904 |
Year Range to |
1916 |
Child Records |
1990.07.001 1990.07.002 1990.07.003 |