ABSTRACT
I Have often been asked by accountants who not only take a deep interest in their profession as it is practiced to-day, but love to hear something of its distant past, to write an account of the early days of the profession in this country y its beginning over forty years ago, the quality and character of the men connected with it, the nature and extent of the work they did, and of course any odd or interesting personal experiences I met with during that early period. This request has been made of me I presume because I am supposed to be the oldest practicing accountant in the States, practicing I mean in a public capacity. On this point, however, I cannot make any positive statement. 1 have, therefore, written this account rather “by request” than for any other purpose, and I trust it may be of interest to some readers and probably in certain respects instructive.
