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Title: Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Author: Dow, George Francis
Language: English
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* * * * *
EVERY DAY LIFE IN THE
MASSACHUSETTS BAY
COLONY
EVERY DAY LIFE
IN THE
MASSACHUSETTS BAY
COLONY
BY
GEORGE FRANCIS DOW
[Illustration: Massachusetts Bay Colony Seal, 1675]
ARNO PRESS
A New York Times Company
New York / 1977
First Published in Boston, 1935
Reissued in 1967, by Benjamin Blom, Inc.
Reprint Edition 1977 by Arno Press Inc.
LC# 77-82079
ISBN 0-405-09125-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
PREFACE
A picture of some phases of life in the early days of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony is presented in the following pages;
lightly sketched, as much of the detail has become dim or has
disappeared with the passage of years, it never having been placed
on record even among the traditions. For why keep an exact record of
doings with which every one is familiar? It follows that many of the
every day happenings, the manners and customs of daily life--much of
the intimate detail of existence in the Colony, in the seventeenth
century, have been lost forever.
Few realize how modern are the furnishings and comforts of our
present-day houses and how different was the home life of our
ancestors. Chairs were unknown in ordinary English households until
a generation or so before the sailing of the _Mayflower_. Hats were
worn at meals and the use of table forks did not become general
until the last of the 1600s. Food was placed in the mouth with the
knife or the fingers. Washing the hands and face was not considered
essential on rising from bed in the morning and few of the laboring
classes in any country in Europe washed their faces every day.
This is a collection of source materials, somewhat digested, rather
than a comprehensive, well-balanced narrative of daily life in the
Colony--an impossible task at this late day. Moreover, the exact
limitations of the Colonial Period have not been observed too
closely as it has seemed desirable to include some material from
newspapers and other later sources.
CONTENTS
I. THE VOYAGE TO NEW ENGLAND 3
II. THEIR EARLY SHELTERS AND LATER DWELLINGS 13
III. HOW THEY FURNISHED THEIR HOUSES 28
IV. COUNTERPANES AND COVERLETS 53
V. CONCERNING THEIR APPAREL 60
VI. PEWTER IN THE EARLY DAYS 84
VII. THE FARMHOUSE AND THE FARMER 91
VIII. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 101
IX. SPORTS AND GAMES 110
X. TRADES AND MANUFACTURES 120
XI. CONCERNING SHIPPING AND TRADE 143
XII. FROM WAMPUM TO PAPER MONEY 166
XIII. HERB TEA AND THE DOCTOR 174
XIV. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS 199
APPENDIX
A. SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY BUILDING AGREEMENTS (1658-1688) 227
B. REV. SAMUEL SKELTON'S ACCOMPTE (1629-1630) 239
C. AN ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTORY OF THE CONTENTS OF
THE SHOP OF CAPT. JOSEPH WELD OF ROXBURY,
1646-7 242
D. INVENTORY OF GOODS IN THE SHOP OF CAPT. BOZONE
ALLEN OF BOSTON, 1652 244
E. MANUFACTURES AND OTHER PRODUCTS LISTED IN THE
RATES ON IMPORTS AND EXPORTS ESTABLISHED BY THE
HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT, JUNE 24, 1660 246
F. INVENTORY OF GOODS IN THE WAREHOUSE OF WILLIAM
PAINE OF BOSTON, MERCHANT, 1660 258
G. INVENTORY OF GOODS IN THE SHOP OF EDWARD WHARTON
OF SALEM, 1678 262
H. INVENTORY OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SHOP AND HOUSE
OF CAPT. GEORGE CORWIN OF SALEM, 1685 270
INDEX 284
EVERY DAY LIFE IN THE
MASSACHUSETTS BAY
COLONY
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
CHAPTER I
THE VOYAGE TO MASSACHUSETTS
"Before you come," wrote Rev. Francis Higginson, the first minister
at Salem, "be careful to be strongly instructed what things are
fittest to bring with you for your more comfortable passage at sea,
as also for your husbandry occasions when you come to the land.
For when you are once parted with England you shall meete neither
markets nor fayres to buy what you want. Therefore be sure to
furnish yourselves with things fitting to be had before you come:
as meale for bread, malt for drinke, woolen and linnen cloath, and
leather for shoes, and all manner of carpenters tools, and a great
deale of iron and steele to make nails, and locks for houses, and
furniture for ploughs and carts, and glasse for windows, and many
other things which were better for you to think of there than to
want them here."[1] Elsewhere the good pastor set down "A catalogue
of such needfull things as every Planter doth or ought to provide to
go to New England" in which he enumerated the necessary victuals per
person for the first year, viz.:
[1] Rev. Francis Higginson, _New-Englands Plantation_, London, 1630.
"8 Bushels of meale, 2 Bushels of pease, 2 Bushels of Otemeale,
1 Gallon of Aquavitae, 1 Gallon of Oyle, 2 Gallons of Vinegar, 1
Firkin of Butter; also Cheese, Bacon, Sugar, Pepper, Cloves, Mace,
Cinnamon, Nutmegs and Fruit."
The household implements listed were: "1 Iron pot, 1 Kettel, 1
Frying pan, 1 Gridiron, 2 Skellets, 1 Spit, Wooden Platters, Dishes,
Spoons and Trenchers."
Mr. Higginson listed in detail the food supplies required per
person for a year, including a good variety of spices; and also the
clothing for a man, which included a Monmouth cap, a suit of canvas,
a suit of freize, a suit of cloth, four pairs of shoes, three shirts
and three falling bands, a pair of blankets, a coarse rug and seven
ells of canvas with which to make a bed and bolster. The settler
must also bring with him a complete armor, with a long piece, sword,
bandoleer and ammunition, tools for cultivating the soil and for
working wood, and also household implements--a limited equipment,
comparable with the kit packed by the scout or mining prospector of
more recent times.
On looking backward over the span of three centuries, Time lends
an enchantment to these Puritan forefathers of present-day
Massachusetts. Worshiping descendants have placed halos about their
heads and the hardships of life during the early years have been
magnified to the extent that these independent-minded Englishmen
have become types of suffering fortitude--martyrs to the noble cause
of free religion and self-government. That is a long tale, however,
carrying with it many qualifications, and cannot be enlarged upon
here. In what follows, it should always be borne in mind that aside
from the Dutch at New Amsterdam and the small colony of Swedes
on the Delaware, it was English stock that settled the American
colonies and that these men and women brought with them a background
of generations of English life. Their standards of living, manner of
working their trades and natural aptitude for barter and commerce
were all modeled upon English life and customs. It was only
natural that this should be so. The ships crossed the Atlantic at
comparatively frequent intervals and their holds came filled with
all kinds of necessities and luxuries required by English standards
of living--foodstuffs, fabrics and implements which the shops of
London, Plymouth or Bristol could supply and which could not be
produced by the American settlements. To obtain these refinements of
life the colonists required only money or merchandise. Lumber, raw
or manufactured, salted fish, beaver and peltry, plantation-built
vessels and other products of the colonies, could be easily
converted into the comforts of English life for sale in the shops
across the Atlantic.
The Rev. Francis Higginson came over in the _Talbot_, a ship of
three hundred tons burden, which was armed with nineteen guns
and carried a crew of thirty men. She brought over one hundred
passengers. Sailing with her was the ship _George_ of three hundred
tons, in which came fifty-two passengers and a stock of cattle,
twelve mares, thirty cows and some goats. From the original records
of the Massachusetts Bay Company in New England we learn what
food supplies were shipped on board the _Talbot_ for the American
voyage. The amount was supposed to be sufficient for one hundred and
thirty-five men for three months. As a matter of fact, the voyage
from Gravesend to the anchorage in Salem harbor occupied sixty-eight
days.
The ship carried 22 hogsheads of salted beef, 12,000 of bread
(biscuits), 40 bushels of peas, 20 barrels of oatmeal, 450 pounds
of salt fish, 10 firkins of butter and 1,200 pounds of cheese. To
wash down this food they took on board 6 tons of water, 45 tons of
beer, 20 gallons of brandy, 20 gallons of Spanish wine (Malaga and
Canary), 2 tierces of beer vinegar and 20 gallons of olive oil.[2]
During the voyage two died of smallpox, including a blasphemous
seaman. A child died of consumption and a dog fell overboard and
could not be recovered. The rest came through and reached Salem
harbor in a good state of health.
[2] _Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society_, Vol. III, p.
12.
The Massachusetts Bay Company seems to have maintained a "company
store," in the modern phrase, at which the colonists might obtain
clothing, fabrics, foodstuffs and supplies of all sorts. When
Governor Endecott came over in 1628, the Company sent extra clothing
sufficient for one hundred men including three hundred suits of
clothes, four hundred shirts and four hundred pairs of shoes. Two
hundred of the suits of clothes consisted of doublet and hose made
up of leather, lined with oiled skin leather, and fastened with
hooks and eyes. The other suits were made up of Hampshire kerseys,
the doublets lined with linen and the hose with skins. There were
a hundred waistcoats of green cotton bound about with red tape, a
hundred Monmouth caps, at two shillings each, five hundred red knit
caps, milled, at five pence each, and one hundred black hats, lined
in the brows with leather. This store supplied the natural wear and
tear of headgear among the hundred men. The stock contained four
hundred pairs of knit stockings, ten dozen pairs of Norwich garters,
three hundred plain falling bands, two hundred handkerchiefs and
a stock of sheer linen with which to made up other handkerchiefs.
Scotch ticking was supplied for beds and bolsters, with wool to put
therein. The blankets were of Welsh cotton and fifty rugs were sent
over to place over the blankets, while mats were supplied "to lye
vnder 50 bedds aboard shippe."[3]
[3] _Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society_, Vol. III, p.
6.
During the ten years that followed the settlement of the
Massachusetts Bay, a continuous flow of emigration from England
crossed the Atlantic in all kinds of available sailing craft.[4]
The passage usually cost £5 per person and this included provisions
provided by the ship such as "salt Beefe, Porke, salt Fish, Butter,
Cheese, Pease, Pottage, Water-grewell, and such kinde of Victualls,
with good Biskets, and sixe-shilling Beere; yet it will be necessary
to carry some comfortable refreshing of fresh victuall. As first,
for such as have ability, some Conserves, and good Clarret Wine
to burne at Sea; Or you may have it by some of your Vintners or
Wine-Coopers burned here, & put into Vessels, which will keepe much
better than other burnt Wine, it is a very comfortable thing for the
stomacke; or such as are Sea-sicke: Sallat-oyle likewise, Prunes are
good to be stewed: Sugar for many things: White Biskets, and Egs,
and Bacon, Rice, Poultry, and some weather-sheepe to Kill aboard
the Ship: and fine flowre-baked meates, will keepe about a weeke or
nine days at Sea. Iuyce of Lemons well put up, is good either to
prevent or curre the Scurvy.[5] Here it must not be forgotten to
carry small Skillets or Pipkins, and small frying-panns, to dresse
their victualls in at Sea. For bedding, so it be easie, and cleanly,
and warme, it is no matter how old or coarse it be for the use of
the Sea: and so likewise for Apparrell, the oldest cloathes be the
fittest, with a long coarse coate to keepe better things from the
pitched ropes and plankes. Whosoever shall put to Sea in a stoute
and well-conditioned ship, having an honest Master, and loving
Seamen, shall not neede to feare, but he shall finde as good content
at Sea, as at Land.[6]
[4] Between 1630 and 1643,198 ships brought over 21,200
passengers.--Edward Johnson, _Wonder Working Providence_, London,
1654.
John Josselyn, coming to New England in 1638, mentions in his
journal of the voyage sighting or speaking thirteen vessels between
the Scilly Isles and the New England coast.
[5] Anti-scorbutics were very necessary for the long voyage. John
Josselyn during his first voyage (1638) writes that a young man, a
servant to one of the passengers, "was whipt naked at the Cap-stern,
with a Cat with Nine tails, for filching 9 great Lemmons out of the
Chirurgeons Cabbin, which he eat rinds and all in less than an hours
time."
[6] William Wood, _New-Englands Prospect_, London, 1634.
The _Mayflower_ shipped 15,000 brown biscuit and 5,000 white, that
is, hard bread, i.e. crackers; also smoked or half-cooked bacon, as
it came from the smokehouse, which was much liked with the biscuit
and when fried was considered a delicacy. Haberdyne (dried salted
codfish) was also a staple article of diet; also smoked herring.
Potatoes were practically unknown at that time and the store of
cabbages, turnips, onions, parsnips, etc., soon ran short and gave
way to boiled mush, oatmeal, pease puddings, etc. Their beer was
carried in iron-bound casks.
When passengers came aboard vessels bound for New England in those
early days, how did they stow themselves and their possessions?
The _Mayflower_ had a length of about 110 feet and measured about
244 tons. It was originally intended that she should carry ninety
passengers, men, women and children, but when the _Speedwell_ put
back, twelve of her passengers were taken aboard, and two boys were
born during the voyage. The ship also carried a crew of twenty to
twenty-five men, and officers and petty officers, about sixteen
in number, would bring the total of those aboard to one hundred
and forty or more. Goats, pigs, and poultry occupied pens on the
upper or spar deck and in the boats carried there. Small sleeping
cabins were provided for the ship's officers and the more important
passengers; most of the company slept in narrow bunks, in hammocks,
and on pallet beds of canvas filled with straw, placed on the deck
beneath the hammocks. The crew bunked in the forecastle. The chests
and personal possessions of the passengers were stowed below on the
lower deck where the food, water and ship's stores were kept. On the
_Arbella_, Governor Winthrop's ship, the male passengers lodged on
the gundeck and four men were "ordered to keep that room clean."
The ship _Whale_, in 1632, brought thirty passengers, including
Mr. Wilson and Mr. Dummer, all in good health, and seventy cows
of which they lost but two. The ship _Regard_ of Barnstaple, 200
tons, arrived in 1634, brought twenty passengers and about fifty
cattle. The ship _Society_ of Boston, N. E., 220 tons, with a crew
of thirty-three men, arrived in 1663, with seventy-seven passengers.
A notable example of fortitude is found in the voyage of the sloop
_Sparrow Hawk_, that sailed from London in 1626 for Virginia and
having been blown off her course was wrecked on Cape Cod.
She was only forty feet in length, had a breadth of beam of twelve
feet and ten inches, and a depth of nine feet, seven and one-half
inches. Bradford in his _History_ records that she carried "many
passengers in her and sundrie goods ... the cheefe amongst these
people was one Mr. Fells and Mr. Sibsie, which had many servants
belonging unto them, many of them being Irish. Some others ther were
y^t had a servante or 2 a piece; but y^e most were servants, and
such as were ingaged to the former persons, who also had y^e most
goods ... they had been 6 weeks at sea, and had no water, nor beere,
nor any woode left, but had burnt up all their emptie caske."[7] And
this happened in the month of December!
[7] William Bradford, _History of Plymouth Plantation_, Boston,
1856.
In those days cooking on shore was done in an open fireplace. On
shipboard, the larger vessels were provided with an open "hearth"
made of cast iron sometimes weighing five hundred pounds and over.
More commonly a hearth of bricks was laid on deck, over which stood
an iron tripod from which the kettles hung. More crudely still a
bed of sand filled a wooden frame and on this the fire was built,
commonly of charcoal. On the ship _Arbella_, in which came Governor
John Winthrop and his company, in 1630, the "cookroom" was near a
hatchway opening into the hold. The captain, his officers and the
principal men among the passengers dined in the "round house,"
a cabin in the stern over the high quarter-deck. Lady Arbella
Johnson and the gentlewomen aboard dined in the great cabin on the
quarter-deck. The passengers ate their food wherever convenient on
the main deck or in good weather, on the spar deck above. Years
later, a new ship lying at anchor in Boston harbor was struck by
lightning which "melted the top of the iron spindle of the vane of
the mainmast" and passing through the long boat, which lay on the
deck, killed two men and injured two others as "they were eating
together off the Hen-Coop, near the Main Mast."
The ship supplied each passenger with a simple ration of food
distributed by the quartermasters, which each family or self
arranged group of passengers cooked at a common hearth as
opportunity and the weather permitted. Of necessity much food was
served cold and beer was the principal drink. John Josselyn, Gent.,
who visited New England in 1638, records "the common proportion of
Victualls for the Sea to a Mess, being 4 men, is as followeth:
"Two pieces of Beef, of 3 pound and ¼ _per_ piece.
"Four pound of _Bread_.
"One pint ¼ of _Pease_.
"Four Gallons of _Bear_, with _Mustard_ and _Vinegar_ for three
flesh dayes in the week.
"For four fish dayes, to each Mess _per_ day, two pieces of _Codd_
or _Habberdine_, making three pieces of fish.
"One quarter of a pound of _Butter_.
"Four pound of _Bread_.
"Three quarters of a pound of _Cheese_.
"_Bear_ is before.
"_Oatmeal per_ day, for 50 men, Gallon 1. and so proportionable for
more or fewer.
"Thus you see the ship's provision, is _Beef_ or _Porke_, _Fish_,
_Butter_, _Cheese_, _Pease_, _Pottage_, _Water gruel_, _Bisket_, and
six-shilling _Bear_.
"For private fresh provision, you may carry with you (in case
you, or any of yours should be sick at Sea) Conserves of _Roses_,
_Clove-Gilliflowers_, _Wormwood_, _Green-Ginger_, _Burnt-Wine_,
_English Spirits_, _Prunes_ to stew, _Raisons_ of the _Sun_,
_Currence_, _Sugar_, _Nutmeg_, _Mace_, _Cinnamon_, _Pepper_ and
_Ginger_, _White Bisket_, or _Spanish Rusk_, Eggs, Rice, _Juice_
of _Lemmons_, well put up to cure, or prevent the Scurvy. Small
_Skillets_, _Pipkins_, _Porrengers_, and small _Frying pans_.
"To prevent or take away Sea sickness, Conserve of _Wormwood_ is
very proper."[8]
[8] John Josselyn, _Two Voyages to New England_, London, 1675.
The settler also must take with him a supply of food to answer his
needs on reaching Massachusetts, and it was advised that enough for
the space of a year might be required in which case each person
should be certain to have in store 8 bushels of meal, 2 bushels
pease, 2 bushels oatmeal, 1 gallon brandy, 1 gallon oil and 2
gallons vinegar. Sugar could be had in New England as the Colonial
vessels were bringing it from the West Indies in the way of trade,
but spices, necessary to the English diet, must be brought from
England.
John Josselyn, writing in 1638, listed the following articles as
necessary equipment for every family coming to New England, viz.:
Bellows £0 2 0
Scoop 0 9
Great pail 0 10
Casting shovel 0 10
A sack 2 4
Lanthorn 1 3
Tobacco pipes
5 broad howes 10 0
5 narrow howes 6 8
5 felling axes 7 6
2 hand saws 10 0
1 whip saw 10 0
1 file and wrest 10
2 hammers 2 0
2 augers 1 0
Wheels for a cart 14 0
Wheel barrow 6 0
Canoe 3 0 0
Short oak ladder 0 10
Plough 3 9
Axle tree 0 8
Cart 10 0
3 shovels 4 6
2 spades 3 0
2 broad axes 7 4
6 chisels 3 0
3 gimblets 0 6
2 hatchets 3 6
2 frows 3 0
2 hand bills 3 4
Nails of all sorts 2 0 0
3 locks and 3 pr. fetters 5 10
2 curry combs 0 11
Brand for beasts 0 6
Hand vise 2 6
100 wt. spikes nails and
pins (120) 2 5 0
2 pick axes 0 3 0
Chain and lock for
a boat 2 2
Coulter (10 pound) 3 4
Pitch fork 1 4
Household implements for a family of six persons, viz.:
Plough share 2 11
1 iron pot 0 7 0
1 great copper kettle 2 0 0
1 small kettle 10 0
1 lesser kettle 6 0
1 large frying pan 2 6
1 small frying pan 1 8
1 brass mortar 0 3 0
1 spit 2 0
1 grid iron 1 0
2 skillets 5 0
Platters, dishes and
spoons of wood 4 0
The above prices are estimated costs in England and the freight on
the same would be reckoned at the rate of half a ton per person.
The vessels which carried the great emigration to New England
between 1630 and 1640 were of small tonnage and the passenger
accommodations on board were limited in space and barren of creature
comforts. Small wonder that the health of many of the first
settlers, shaken by the passage at sea, paid toll to the severity of
the New England climate--the biting cold of the winter and the heat
of the summer days to which they were unaccustomed.
"It was not because the Country was unhealthful, but because their
bodies were corrupted with sea-diet, which was naught, their Beefe
and Porke being tainted, their Butter and Cheese corrupted, their
Fish rotten, and voyage long, by reason of crosse Windes, so
that winter approaching before they could get warme houses, and
the searching sharpnes of that purer Climate, creeping in at the
crannies of their crazed bodies, caused death and sickness."[9]
[9] Wood, _New-Englands Prospect_, London, 1634.
The ship _Talbot_, on which Mr. Higginson sailed, brought over
one hundred passengers and thirty seamen. She measured nearly
eighty-six feet in length and had a depth of hold of eleven feet.
By present-day measurement she was about two hundred tons burden.
The space between decks, where the passengers slept and spent much
time during the dreary voyage, was so low that a tall man could not
stand erect, and whenever a severe storm arose, so that the ports
and hatches must be kept closed, the air below deck in time must
have become intolerable. Such a storm arose when the _Talbot_ was
thirty-three days out and "ye wind blew mightily, ye sea roared and
ye waves tossed us horribly; besides it was fearfull darke and ye
mariners made us afraid with their running here and there and lowd
crying one to another to pull at this and y^t rope."
These small emigrant ships of the seventeenth century, besides men,
women and children, brought over much livestock housed in temporary
pens and shelters built amidships. The long boat or pinnace was also
carried on board, all of which left little room for movement about
the deck. But these three hundred tons ships were traveling palaces
when compared with some of the smaller craft that boldly ventured
across the Atlantic. Barks, ketches, pinks and other small vessels
of less than fifty tons burden were common. In 1635, a "small
Norsey bark" of twenty-five tons reached Boston. She was bound for
Connecticut, but a stormy voyage had forced her to seek safety in
Boston harbor. This vessel, little over thirty feet in length,
brought over fourteen passengers, including two women, with their
household goods.
CHAPTER II
THEIR EARLY SHELTERS AND LATER DWELLINGS
There is a widespread misconception that the colonists on reaching
Massachusetts proceeded immediately to build log houses in which
to live. Historians have described these log houses as chinked
with moss and clay and as having earth floors, precisely the type
of house built on the frontier and in the logging camps at a much
later period. A well-known picture of Leyden Street, at Plymouth,
shows a double row of log houses reaching up the hillside, which
the Pilgrims are supposed to have constructed. In point of fact, no
contemporary evidence has been found that supports the present-day
theory. The early accounts of what took place in the days following
the settlement along the coast are full of interesting details
relating to day-by-day happenings but nowhere do we find allusion
to a log house such as modern historians assume existed at that
time. This unique form of construction, however, had been used in
Scandinavia since the Middle Ages and also in parts of Germany, but
never did it appear in England. It also is well established that the
North American Indians knew nothing of this method of construction,
even the Iroquois tribe who built a "long house," so-called.
The Swedes and Finns who settled in Delaware in 1638 introduced the
log house built of logs with notched ends, with which they were
familiar in their homeland. What more natural? Jasper Dankers and
Peter Sluyter, Dutch travelers, made a tour of the American colonies
in 1679-1680, and while passing through New Jersey, describe the
house of Jacob Hendricks, near the town of Burlington, as follows:
"The house, although not much larger than where we were the last
night, was somewhat better and tighter, being made according to
the Swedish mode, and as they usually build their houses here,
which are block-houses, being nothing less than entire trees, split
through the middle, or squared out of the rough, and placed in the
form of a square, upon each other, as high as they wish to have the
house; the ends of these timbers are let into each other, about a
foot from the ends, half of one into half of the other, the whole
structure is thus made without a nail or a spike. The ceiling
and roof do not exhibit much finer work, except amongst the most
careful people, who have the ceiling planked and a glass window.
The doors are wide enough, but very low, so that you have to stoop
in entering. These houses are quite tight and warm: but the chimney
is placed in a corner. My comrade and myself had some deer skins,
spread upon the floor to lie on, and we were, therefore, quite well
off and could get some rest."[10]
[10] _Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society_, Vol. I.
These travelers also spent a night at a Quaker's house near where a
gristmill had been erected on a creek above the falls at what is now
Trenton.
"Here we had to lodge: and although we were too tired to eat, we had
to remain sitting upright the whole night, not being able to find
room enough to lie upon the ground. We had a fire, however, but the
dwellings are so wretchedly constructed, that if you are not close
to the fire, as almost to burn yourself, you cannot keep warm, for
the wind blows through them everywhere. Most of the English and many
others, have their houses made of nothing but clapboards, as they
call them there, in this manner: they first make a wooden frame, the
same as they do in Westphalia, but not so strong, they then split
the boards of clapboard, so that they are like cooper's pipe-staves,
except they are not bent. These are made very thin, with a large
knife, so that the thickest edge is about a little finger thick, and
the other is made sharp, like the edge of a knife. They are about
five or six feet long, and are nailed on the outside of the frame,
with the ends lapped over each other. They are not usually laid so
close together, as to prevent you from sticking a finger between
them, in consequence either of their not being well joined, or the
boards being crooked. When it is cold and windy, the best people
plaster them with clay. Such are most all the English houses in the
country."[11]
[11] _Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society_, Vol. I.
The only type of log construction in use in New England in the early
days existed in garrison houses built as a protection against the
Indians. In every instance the logs were carefully hewed square,
to make a close fit against each other, and never notched at the
ends, sometimes halved at the corners of the structure, but usually
dove-tailed into each other at the ends in medieval military manner.
Several of these garrison houses still exist and although afterwards
used as dwellings, at first they were built as forts.
What happened at the Plymouth Colony after the _Mayflower_ came
to anchor? The wind blew very hard for two days and the next day,
Saturday, December 23, 1620, as many as could went ashore: "felled
and carried timber, to provide themselves stuff for building,"
and the following Monday "we went on shore, some to fell timber,
some to saw, some to rive, and some to carry; so no man rested all
that day."[12] Bradford writes "that they builte a forte with good
timber" which Isaac de Rasieres described in 1627 as "a large square
house, made of thick sawn planks, stayed with oak beams." The oldest
existing houses in the Plymouth Colony are built in the same manner
and some half dozen or more seventeenth-century plank houses may yet
be seen north of Boston. Moreover, when the ship _Fortune_ sailed
from Plymouth in the summer of 1621, the larger part of her lading
consisted of "clapboards and wainscott," showing clearly that the
colonists soon after landing had dug saw pits and produced boards in
quantity suitable for the construction of houses and for exportation.
[12] _Mourt's Relation_, Boston, 1841.
The first settlers in the Massachusetts Bay brought with them
mechanics of all kinds, well equipped with tools, and it is
altogether probable that these workmen plied their trades on this
side of the Atlantic exactly as they had been taught through long
centuries of apprenticeship in England. The houses of that early
period, still remaining, all resemble similar English structures.
Upon arrival, however, the need for shelter was imperative, and
all sorts of rude expedients were adopted. Deacon Bartholomew
Green, the printer of the _Boston News-Letter_, related that when
his father arrived at Boston in 1630, "for lack of housing he was
wont to find shelter at night in an empty cask," and during the
following winter many of the poorer sort still continued to live in
tents through lack of better housing. When Roger Clap arrived at
Charlestown in 1630 he "found some Wigwams and one House ... in the
meantime before they could build at Boston, they lived many of them
in tents and Wigwams."
John Winthrop, in his _Journal_, writes that "the poorer sort of
people (who lay long in tents) were much afflicted with scurvy and
many died, especially at Boston and Charlestown." He also makes
several references to English wigwams. In September, 1630, one
Fitch, of Watertown, had his wigwam burned down with all his goods
and two months later John Firman, also of Watertown, lost his
English wigwam.
Edward Johnson, in his _Wonder-Working Providence_, mentions the
rude shelters of the first settlers. "They kept off the short
showers from their lodgings, but the long rains penetrated through
to their disturbance in the night season, yet in those poor wigwams
they sang Psalms, praise and pray their God till they can provide
them homes which ordinarily was not wont to be with many till the
earth by the Lord's blessing brought forth bread to feed them, their
wives and little ones."
The Rev. Francis Higginson, in his _New-Englands Plantation_,
printed in 1630, describes the wigwams built by the Indians living
at Salem as "verie little and homely, but made with small poles
prick't into the ground and so bended and fastened at the tops and
on the side, they are matted with boughes and covered with sedge and
old mats." It seems likely that when the English built themselves
"English wigwams," they copied the small structures built by the
Indians, especially as mats suitable for covering might be obtained
from the Indians by barter, and old pieces of sailcloth doubtless
might be obtained from the shipping stores. It seems unlikely that
an Englishman living in one of these structures during the winter
season would be content to allow the smoke from his fire to find
its way out through a hole in the roof in the Indian fashion. It
is more likely that a fireplace, built of stones or bricks, would
be constructed at one end of an "English wigwam." A door in hewed
frame, with wooden hinges, probably was installed as a suitable
substitute for the Indian mat lifted upon entering. The floors in
these English wigwams undoubtedly would be covered with rushes or
straw, following the custom in English cottages at that time.
Edward Johnson, the town clerk of Woburn, writing in 1652, relates
of the first settlers that "after they have thus found out a place
of aboad, they burrow themselves in the Earth for their first
shelter under some Hill-side, casting the Earth aloft up on Timber:
they make a smoaky fire against the Earth at the highest side, and
thus these poore servants of Christ provide shelter for themselves,
their Wives and little ones."
Alonzo Lewis, the historian of Lynn, writing a century ago, states
that some of the first settlers in that town made shelters for
themselves and families by digging caves into the hillsides. On
the bank of the Connecticut River above Hartford, is the Loomis
Institute, on the grounds of which is the site where the men from
Dorchester, Mass., in 1635, constructed their first dwellings, which
were dug into the river bank. The bank itself composed three walls
of the shelter and the front was a framing of boards with a door and
a window. The roof was thatched with river sedge. The last of these
long abandoned dugouts was filled in as recently as 1926.
At Concord, Mass., the early settlers dug cellars in the earth which
they spanned with wooden spars and then covered with turf. A more
detailed description of such shelters is found in a report made in
1650, by the Secretary of the Province of New Netherlands:
"Those in New Netherlands and especially in New England who have no
means to build farmhouses at first, according to their wishes, dig
a square pit in the ground, cellar fashion, 6 or 7 feet deep, as
long and as broad as they think proper, case the earth inside with
wood all round the wall, and line the wood with bark of trees or
something else to prevent the caving in of the earth, floor this
cellar with plank and wainscott it overhead for a ceiling, raise a
roof of spars clear up and cover the spars with the bark or green
sods, so that they can live dry and warm in these houses with their
entire families for two, three or four years, it being understood
that partitions are run through those cellars which are adapted
to the size of the family. The wealthy and principal men of New
England, in the beginning of the Colonies, commenced their first
dwelling houses in this fashion."[13]
[13] _Documentary History of New York_ (_1850_), Vol. I.
The frequent references to the English wigwam seem to indicate
that some such temporary construction was usual among many of the
colonists at the outset. Settlers were living at Salem as early
as 1626 and Endecott, with a considerable immigration, arrived in
1628. Marblehead, just across the harbor, was settled early and yet
when John Goyt came there in 1637, he "first built a wigwam and
lived thar till he got a house."[14] The rude buildings also put
up by planters at Salem must have been looked upon at the time as
temporary structures for they had all disappeared before 1661.[15]
[14] _Essex Co. (Mass.) Quarterly Court Records_, Vol. VI, p. 363.
[15] _Essex County Deeds_, Book V, leaf 107.
When Governor Winthrop arrived at Charlestown in 1630 with the first
great emigration, he found a house or two and several wigwams--rude
shelters patterned after the huts built by the Indians--and until
houses could be erected in Boston many lived in tents and wigwams,
"their meeting-place being abroad under a Tree."
In the summer of 1623, Bradford mentions the "building of great
houses in pleasant situations," and when a fire broke out in
November of the following year it began in "a shed yt was joyned to
ye end of ye storehouse, which was wattled up with bowes." It will
be seen that this shed was not crudely built of logs or slabs but
that its walls were wattled and perhaps also daubed with clay, in
precisely the same manner with which these colonists were familiar
in their former homes across the sea. An original outer wall in the
old Fairbanks house at Dedham, Massachusetts, still has its "wattle
and daub" constructed in 1637.
Thomas Dudley writing to the Countess of Lincoln, in March, 1631,
relates: "Wee have ordered that noe man shall build his chimney
with wood nor cover his house with thatch, which was readily
assented unto, for that divers houses have been burned since our
arrival (the fire always beginning in the wooden chimneys) and some
English wigwams which have taken fire in the roofes with thatch or
boughs."[16] It was Dudley who was taken to task by the Governor in
May, 1632, "for bestowing so much cost on wainscotting his house and
otherwise adorning it," as it was not a good example for others in
the beginning of a plantation. Dudley replied that he had done it
for warmth and that it was but clapboards nailed to the walls. A few
months later this house caught fire "the hearth of the Hall chimney
burning all night upon the principal beam."
[16] _Force's Tracts_, Washington, 1838.
In 1631, John Winthrop entered in his _Journal_ that the chimney
of Mr. Sharp's house in Boston took fire "the splinters being not
clayed at the top" and from it the thatch caught fire and the house
was burnt down.
The first meetinghouse built in Salem had a "catted" chimney, that
is, the chimney was built with sticks laid cobhouse fashion and the
whole daubed with clay inside and out.
Thatch as a roof covering was in common use in the early days.
Notwithstanding the Great and General Court forbade its use, it
still persisted as necessity arose. At the outset, towns along the
coastline set aside certain parts of thatch banks in the marshes,
as a supply for thatching houses. Rye straw also was much used. The
roofs of these thatched houses were not boarded as the thatch was
fastened to slats. Dorchester built a meetinghouse in 1632 with a
thatched roof.
The earliest frame houses were covered with weather-boarding and
this before long was covered with clapboards. The walls inside were
sheathed up with boards moulded at the edges in an ornamental manner
and the intervening space was filled with clay and chopped straw,
and later with imperfect bricks. This was done for warmth, and was
known as "nogging," following the English practice. When roofs were
not thatched, they were covered with shingles split from the log by
means of a "frow" and afterwards hand-shaved. The window openings
were small and were closed by hinged casements, just as the houses
in England were equipped at that time. Generally, the casement sash
was wood, but sometimes iron was used, as was common in England.
The glass was usually diamond-shaped, set in lead "cames." Emigrants
to Massachusetts were instructed by the Company to bring ample
supplies of glass for windows, but the supply ran short and in the
poorer cottages and wigwams, oiled paper was in common use. This was
an excellent substitute and supplied a surprisingly large amount of
light.
A brickyard was in operation in Salem as early as 1629, and
everywhere along the coast clay was found and made up into bricks.
Chimneys were built upon a huge stone foundation. The brick work
began at the first floor level and the bricks were laid in puddled
clay up to about the ridge line where lime was used as the chimney
top became exposed to the weather.
It has been claimed and denied that bricks used in the construction
of certain old houses were brought from overseas. In general
the claims may be disregarded. It is certain, however, that the
Massachusetts Company at the outset sent over ten thousand bricks,
stowed in the ballast with five chauldrons of sea coals for the use
of the blacksmiths. At the same time came iron and steel, nails, red
lead, salt and sailcloth. Even fourteen hundred weight of plaster of
paris, appears in the list, priced at eighteen shillings per hundred
weight.
The home of the average New Englander in the late seventeenth
century was a wooden dwelling of two stories built around a brick
chimney containing large fireplaces. In Rhode Island and in parts
of Connecticut, where shale abounded, the chimney was built of
stone and not infrequently the house, in whole or at one end, was
also so constructed. The roofs of these houses were covered with
wooden shingles usually split from pine logs and shaved smooth by
hand on a shingle horse. The outside walls of the well made house
were covered with clapboards, also smoothed on the shingle horse.
For many years these clapboards were made from oak, but as this
wood has a tendency to warp and pull itself free from fastenings,
by the year 1700, its use for that purpose had very generally been
replaced by pine. Outbuildings and the poorer class of dwellings
were not covered with clapboards or only the part next the road, for
the New Englander believes in "putting his best foot forward." Such
buildings were covered with "weatherboards" or plain boarding that
lapped at the lower edge.
The windows in these houses were filled by casement sash containing
glass set in lead cames. The glass was usually diamond shaped, but
sometimes four by six inch lights were used. This glass was imported
from England and came packed in cribs, but much of it came in sheets
already leaded and was cut to size by "glaziers" upon demand. Early
in the eighteenth century sliding-sash windows were introduced,
probably about 1710, but it was a long time before existing
casements were entirely given up. One Saturday afternoon in July,
1714, lightning struck the house of Colonel Vetch in Boston. He had
bought the dwelling not long before and Judge Sewall records in his
diary that at the time of the storm "the Work of Transformation was
not finished" to make the building fit for the occupancy of Madam
Vetch. The lightning played various tricks with the house, doing
considerable damage, and among other details the Judge mentions
that it "lifted up the Sash Window and broke one of the squares" of
glass.[17] Colonel Vetch was presumably a man of substance for he
afterwards became Governor of Nova Scotia, and he is likely to have
"transformed" his recently purchased house into the latest fashion
of lighting.
[17] _Mass. Historical Society Colls._ (5th ser.), Vol. 7, p. 10.
On the other hand, Judge Sewall, the Chief Justice of the highest
court in the Province, had casements in his Boston house at a time,
ten years later, when his daughter Hannah died, for he records in
his _Diary_ that "Boston will not have her put into the Cellar [it
was in August when she died]; so she is only remov'd into the best
Room. And because the Casements were opened for Coolness, Boston
would watch all night." This entry in the ancient diary not only
preserves the fact that the Judge's house had casement windows,
but it also makes allusion to the old-time custom of watching with
the dead body and the interest that the town of Boston had in the
bereavement of the Judge.
In 1722, Benjamin Franklin in his Boston newspaper, was satirizing
the extravagancies of New England housewives in "new Glazing their
Houses with new fashion'd square Glass." Diamond glass had seen its
day, however, and forty years later "Windows set in lead, suitable
for Hot-Beds" were advertised in the newspapers, a sure sign of
discarded sash. On the other hand, a hardware shop was advertising
"sheet and diamond glass" as late as 1766, probably to meet the
demands for repairing old casements.
The exterior of these early houses was seldom painted, in fact it
was well into the nineteenth century before the outside of houses in
country towns were usually painted. A diarist who rode into Boston
in 1804 comments on the dingy appearance of the houses and the
general lack of paint and about the same time a Salem man met with
success in business, whereupon he painted his house with the result
that his associates rather sneeringly remarked: "Sam is feeling his
oats; he's begun to paint his house."
The paint first used on the exteriors of New England houses was
usually of a dark red color called, both then and now, "Indian red."
Red ochre was used and commonly was mixed with fish oil. The Indians
had "paint mines" where they had found red earth and doubtless these
"mines" were utilized, particularly in adjacent locations. One of
these paint mines was located near what is now Augusta, Maine, and
in that part of New England formerly existed, long before the coming
of the European, an Indian race that used this red earth so freely
that by ethnologists it has been termed the "red paint culture."
So runs the present-day tradition of Indian red in New England. In
point of fact, however, red earth was brought from the East Indies
long before the settlement of the American Colonies, hence the name
"India red," by which it was advertised in the Boston newspapers in
the mid-eighteenth century. In 1766, John Gore, "at his Shop at the
Sign of the Painter's Arms in Queen Street," Boston, advertised a
stock of oils, paints, brushes, etc., just imported from London. He
had linseed oil by the barrel or smaller quantity, boiled oil, nut
oil, turpentine oil and turpentine varnish. Among his white colors,
were Spanish white and French halk,--whatever that may be. Red was
a color that was in demand for he carried red head, Spanish brown,
India red, purple red, Venetian red, Vermillian, drop hake, carmine,
umber and rose pink. Under yellows, he listed King's yellow,
Princess yellow, Naples yellow, spruce yellow, stone yellow, English
ochre, Orpiment-pale and deep, Dutch pink and brown pink. The blues
were ultramarine, ultramarine ashes, Prussian blue of various sorts,
calcined smalt, strowing ditto, verditer blue and powder blue.
Gore also sold crayons in sets and canvas for portrait painting in
half-length cloths, kit-kat and three-quarters length. He carried
"Colours prepared for House and Ship Painting," best London crown
glass for pictures and "Water Colours ready prepared in Shells."[18]
[18] _Boston News-Letter_, Jan. 23, 1766.
Two years later he advertised chariot glasses, genteel
looking-glasses and Wilton carpets and also announced that he did
coach and carpet painting in the best and cheapest manner.
At how early a date was paint used on the exterior of a New England
house? Who can solve the problem? Undoubtedly it was on a house
owned by some merchant having a direct contact with England. It is
an established fact that the Andrews house, built in 1707-1710, in
the country town of Topsfield, Mass., was painted Indian red at the
time it was built, or soon after, but only on the trim--the window
frames, corner boards, etc. The clapboards and weather-boarding at
the easterly end, remained unpainted until long years after.
The inside finish of town houses owned by well-to-do people,
probably was painted at a comparatively early date, at least, one
or two rooms in a house. "A large Fashionable Dwelling-House" in
Boston, "about 1¼ miles from Charlestown ferry" was advertised to
be sold in 1734. It had eight "fire rooms"--that is, rooms with
fireplaces. The entries and two of the rooms were "beautifully
Wainscotted and laid in oil" and four were "handsomely Painted."
In 1753, George Tilley, a Boston shop keeper, advertised his house
for sale. It contained "eight rooms, seven of them fire-rooms,
with a Number of convenient Closets and a good Cellar, four of
the said Rooms is cornish'd, and the House is handsomely painted
throughout; one of the Rooms is painted Green, another Blue, one
Cedar and one Marble; the other four a Lead colour, the Garrets are
handsomely plaistered; the House has twenty Sash-Windows to it and
is pleasantly situated on Pleasant Street, near the Hay-Market."[19]
[19] _Boston News-Letter_, Sept. 13, 1753.
But such glory did not exist in other parts of the same town and
certainly not in the country. Rufus Choate, the lawyer, was born
in a house in Essex, Mass., built in 1725 by an ancestor who was
popularly called "Governor Choate." He was a man in comfortable
circumstances and built for himself a house of ten rooms having
good panelling in four of them. None of the finish on this house
was painted until well after 1825 or a century after it was built.
This paint has now been removed and the old white pine finish is
revealed in all its natural beauty of varying shades of reddish
brown, effectively contrasting with the whitewashed walls. Natural
wood finish, laid in oil, was quite the common thing in the ordinary
New England dwelling, until after the people had recovered from the
financial exhaustion of the Revolution.
The plastered walls were usually whitewashed which was quite in
keeping with the Puritan character that covered with limewash
the beautiful mural decorations of the English churches at the
time of the Commonwealth. Families of wealth covered their walls
with hangings brought from England. Peter Sergeant died in 1714,
possessed of a "suit of Imagery Tapestry hangings" in his cedar
room. This house was one of the finest in the town of Boston
and afterwards became the Province House,--the residence of the
Governors of the Province. Another room in this house was also
furnished with hangings. Arras hangings were advertised from time
to time in the Boston newspapers and in 1736, Boydell, the printer
of the _Boston Gazette_, advertised a house in which one chamber in
the first story was "hung with Scotch Tapestry, the other with Green
cheny." The large brick house of the late Isaac Gridley, situated
near Fort Hill, in Boston, was sold in 1771. It contained thirteen
rooms and three of the lower rooms were "genteelly furnished with
Tapestry Hangings."
A three-story house was built in Boston about 1715 by William
Clark, a wealthy merchant and member of the governor's council.
His death in 1742, was attributed by some, to the loss of forty
sail of vessels in the French War. In this house afterwards lived
Sir Henry Frankland, Collector of the Port, who fell in love with
Agnes Surriage, the beautiful sixteen-year-old maid-of-all-work at
the Fountain Inn in Marblehead. Her romantic story is well-known.
This house differed but little from the dozen or so of its type
to be found in Boston at the time, save in its rich and elaborate
decoration of the north parlor, at the right of the entrance hall.
Here, the walls were divided into panels by fluted pilasters
supporting an elaborate cornice, the whole heavily gilded, and each
of the panels was embellished with a landscape or other decoration
painted in oils. Painted arabesques and heraldic devices covered all
other flat surfaces and the floor was laid in a mosaic of various
colored woods. Every inch of the surface of this parlor was the
product of the imagination and skill of the painter, gilder or
carver. But while this magnificence actually existed in New England,
by no means was it typically representative of its culture or
artistic development. It merely exhibited the pride of wealth and
was largely the product of European craftsmen.
The heavy strap hinges on the doors of the earlier houses and
buildings were probably wrought by hand at the forge of the nearest
blacksmith, but most of the hardware and iron work was imported
from England. Before 1650 there was a slitting mill at the Saugus
Iron Works, but the principal product of this forge was cast iron
manufactures, such as pots and kettles. At a later date, Parliament,
at the instigation of the English manufacturers, prohibited by law
the setting up of slitting mills and trip hammers, and it naturally
followed that the manufactured iron and brass required by the
Colonies was brought overseas from Birmingham and Sheffield.
A word or two as to the varying types of house hardware may not be
amiss at this time. At the outset wooden hinges and heavy strap
hinges of wrought iron were in common use. These hinges were hung
on gudgeons and their points varied in design but the spear-shaped
point was most common. In the best houses, at an early date and
continuing until the beginning of the eighteenth century, might be
found the so-called "cock's head" hinge, an ornamental survival
from Roman times. The butterfly hinge was also in use at that
time--usually on cupboards and furniture doors. The =H= and =HL=
hinges came into use in New England in the early 1700's and lasted
until after the Revolution. These hinges were cut out of heavy sheet
iron and were made in factories in England. This type of hinge was
superseded by the cast-iron butt, still in use, which was invented
in England in 1775, and adopted very generally in the United States
at the close of the Revolution.
In some old houses that have been restored and in many modern
constructions done in the manner of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, the door hinges in painted rooms have been picked out in
black making them most conspicuous. This is a modern conceit--an
invention of the modern architect. It was not done in the old days,
a fact easily established by carefully scraping through the various
coats of paint on an old house. Our great-great-grandmothers had
no itching desire for contrasts of that sort. They knew nothing of
highboys, grandfather's clocks, low daddys, Lady Washington chairs,
courting mirrors, fiddle back chairs or donkey-eared spindle backs.
These names are inventions of collectors or antique dealers striving
for the picturesque. The highboy, it is true, antedates the others,
but in the early days this piece of furniture was called a high
chest of drawers and the lowboy was called a low chest. Recently
the common =HL= hinge has been described as the "Holy Land" hinge;
certainly not referring to the English colonies where there were
fully as many sinners as saints.
Wooden latches were used on both outside and inside doors in early
days and the wooden latch persisted in the back country until
comparatively recent times. The iron thumb latch was made by the
country blacksmith but more and more it came to be imported from
England. The earliest type has spear-point handles. The rounded end
comes in after 1700 and is common about 1750. The Norfolk latch,
in brass and iron, comes in after the Revolution and was replaced
by the common cast-iron thumb latch, invented by Blake in 1840. In
examining old hinges and all kinds of hardware always have in mind
that the machine-made pointed screw was not invented until 1846.
A feature of this hardware trade with England, which is of much
interest, is the catalogues that were sent over by the manufacturers
in Birmingham. About the year 1770 they began to send out drawings
of different pieces of hardware, tools, etc., and this soon
developed into sheets of engravings on copper which were bound into
books and sent to customers at a distance who then could visualize
the goods and order accordingly; size, list price and discount were
indicated. Seldom was there a title-page or even a label to indicate
a source, but the handmade paper bears its watermark and generally
the date when it was made. These catalogues are now difficult to
find and the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington, esteems
them so highly that a descriptive catalogue of its collection has
been published. Probably the largest collection of these catalogues
in America is in the library of the Essex Institute at Salem.
CHAPTER III
HOW THEY FURNISHED THEIR HOUSES
It is a lamentable fact that the present generation possesses
little accurate information on the every day life and surroundings
of the early settlers in Massachusetts. Some of the finer pieces
of furniture have been preserved together with a few portraits and
pieces of silver and here and there an article of costume of special
beauty or unusual association. The newly settled country had no
artists to paint pictures of household interiors in the manner of
the Dutch painters and the diarists and letter writers of that time
when they used a quill pen, devoted little thought to the homely
happenings of the household or to the costume and furniture with
which every one was familiar. Judge Samuel Sewall's diary[20] throws
much light on New England life two centuries and more ago, but many
are the questions we would like to ask. In August, 1702, he rode to
Newbury to attend the funeral of his sister Mehitable and returned
home by way of Andover where he found that the keeper of the
ordinary was sick and so went to Mr. Woodman's daughters "and there
din'd on Pork and Beans; afterward had Fowls rosted and dress'd very
well." It would be interesting if we could know more about that
dinner. Did the Judge eat in the same room in which the fowls were
"rosted" and was the table furnished with woodenware or pewter,
or both? Had the Woodmans begun to use two-tined forks or did the
Judge hold the meat in one hand while he cut it up and conveyed it
to his mouth with the knife? Was a roasting jack fastened over the
fireplace? Was the dinner served on a table-board? Did all stand
while "a blessing" was asked? What was served for dessert? Did the
Judge wash his hands at the washbench in the kitchen and if not,
where did he find the washbasin? What pictures were on the parlor
walls and was there a bedstead in the corner and if so, how was it
furnished and how made? A bedstead known to have been used in a
New England house of 1702 is almost unknown today. If the Judge had
only devoted five minutes, while writing up his diary, to a close
description of that bedstead and its furnishings he would have
settled many existing doubts.
[20] _Mass. Historical Society Colls._ (5th ser.), Vols. 5-7.
It seems entirely reasonable that a distinguished guest in the house
would not be required in the morning to go to the washbench in the
kitchen and use the family basin. The dignity of Judge Sewall and
the delicacy of Madam Belcher would rebel at the thought of an
exhibition of disheveled attire before the serving maid and the
numerous children of the family. In the humblest home, on occasion,
it would be a simple matter to place in the chamber of a guest, on a
table or even on a chair, a basin and a jug of water with a towel.
In the journal of the travels of Dr. Alexander Hamilton of
Annapolis, Md., who rode through New England in 1744, may be found
the description of the furnishings of a chamber in an inn. Doctor
Hamilton was accompanied by a negro servant and on a Sunday morning
at Marblehead he asked for his portmanteau. "I was told by my man
Dromo that it was in his room. I had the curiosity to go and see
what kind of a room his room was, and upon a reconnoitre found it a
most spacious one, furnished _a la mode de Cabaret_, with tables,
chairs, a fine feather-bed with quilted counterpane, white calico
canopy, or tester, and curtains, every way adapted for a gentleman
of his degree and complexion."
Of course 1744 is many years after the period when oak furniture was
commonly in use; yet Reid's tavern, "at the sign of the Dragon," in
the fishing village of Marblehead, could not have been the resort of
fashion or wealth and if a negro slave was given so well furnished a
chamber what may have been the furnishings of the chamber occupied
by Doctor Hamilton?
In a farmer's family, in the early days, it was undoubtedly the
habit to wash faces and hands in a small tub or keeler on the
washbench in the kitchen. In suitable weather it is altogether
likely the men of the family may have washed out of doors, beside
the back door, in a bucket of water freshly drawn from the well
or brought from the spring. The farm hands, on coming in from the
fields, for dinner, or at night, always "washed up" at a bench out
of doors and this custom persisted until well into the nineteenth
century. My mother, when young, for a time lived on a farm (about
1850) and several times I have heard her describe the farm hand who
came to the back door one noon, and looking at his hands remarked,
"I guess they are clean enough," and so went into his dinner,
without washing.
Henry W. Erving of Hartford, Conn., writes: "A couple of years ago I
made a pilgrimage to my great-grandfather's former home in Westford,
Conn., in company with a kinsman over eighty years old--the last of
his generation. It was a very comfortable house, with four rooms and
a leanto, with a stone chimney. My great-grandfather lived there as
early as 1750. My cousin called my attention to the old well near
the door where, by the curb, there was a large stone hollowed out
like a trough. He said the 'men folks' as they came from the field,
would fill that trough with a bucket or two of water from which
they would 'souse' themselves thoroughly, thus not disturbing the
goodwife. And of course in the rustic neighborhoods the old customs
existed long after they were abandoned in the larger villages and
towns.
"You will hardly believe, when I say it, but I distinctly remember
as a very small boy, going to a house in this same primitive town of
Westford where we were invited to dinner. The only drinking vessel
on the table was one of the quart Staffordshire mugs (would that I
had that mug in my collection today) which was filled with water,
milk or cider, I have really forgotten which, and passed around the
table at the demand of any thirsty one. The family consisted of
a man and his wife, an ancient grandmother, and several children
with not too clean faces. I couldn't refuse the mug when urged upon
me and selecting a place on the brim at the right of the handle,
I drank, when one of the children exclaimed, 'See, mar! He's got
granny's place.' Of course that practice in this instance was
possibly nearly a century out of period."
One of the standard examples of American humor is the picture of the
_Mayflower_ loaded to the cross-trees with the chairs, chests and
cradles that devout New Englanders now own and claim were brought
over on that memorable voyage. It is so easy to attribute age and
romantic history to a treasured family relic that it has become
possible for a museum in the city of New York to exhibit a punch
bowl of Staffordshire ware, as a veritable relic of the _Mayflower_.
The bowl could not possibly have been made before 1780-1790. There
is another piece of Staffordshire treasured in the china closet
of a New England family, which the owner is certain was formerly
possessed by an ancestress who died years before the Revolution.
Well authenticated family tradition vouches for the fact which
cannot be disputed. Yet, the observer will soon discover a steamboat
pictured on one side of the pitcher and what is more interesting,
the stars and stripes are flying from the masthead and the canton of
the flag contains fifteen stars.
It is undoubtedly true that some pieces of furniture were brought
over from England by the first settlers and the tradition connected
with such pieces can be authenticated by an examination of the
chair or chest showing that it is made of English and not American
oak. While most family possessions, for convenience in shipment,
came over in bales or bundles, covered with canvas in the true
European manner, a custom followed by emigrants of a later day,
yet, many articles of fine clothing and the treasured belongings of
the better-equipped families came over neatly stowed in chests and
cupboards and some of those chests have survived.
It is all a matter of common sense reasoning which can be backed
up by an examination of early records and also the furniture
itself. Why pay a considerable value in money to transport, in an
overcrowded ship, utilitarian pieces of furniture, that could be
made in the newly settled colony, by workmen who were going over in
the same ship? Timber could be had here for the cutting and until
sufficient time had elapsed to permit the making of chairs, beds and
other required furniture, one could sit on rudely made stools and
boxes and sleep on pallet beds made up on the floor just as many of
them would be obliged to sleep while on board ship.
Some estimate of the culture of the New England people during the
seventeenth century and of their appreciation of the refinements of
life may be reached with a degree of accuracy through a study of
the carefully itemized inventories of their estates made at time of
death. During that period the Royal Governor from overseas, with
his little court of officials and followers, had not introduced
London fashions and furnishings to the extent that existed in the
eighteenth century. Moreover, the wealth of the colonies had not
grown to the point where the refinements of life were not only
esteemed but demanded by loving spouses and by those who had taken
ship for England or the Continent and there had observed how other
people lived.
Among the early settlements made in the Colony of the Massachusetts
Bay was one at Agawam, now the town of Ipswich. The news had reached
Boston that the French were pushing their settlements westward along
the coast, bringing with them "divers priests and Jesuits," which
so alarmed the Governor and the Assistants that it was decided to
forestall the French and hasten the planting of new towns north
of Boston. The first move was to send the Governor's son John,
with twelve others, to establish themselves at Agawam. There were
no roads and so they sailed along the coast in a shallop and took
possession of the town site in March, 1633. Their families and other
settlers soon followed and the increase of population was such that
in August, 1634, the Court of Assistants decreed that the place be
called Ipswich, after old Ipswich in England, "in acknowledgment of
the great honor and kindness done to our people, who took shipping
there."
Three months later, in November, 1634, one John Dillingham arrived
in Ipswich and the selectmen granted him six acres of land on which
to build a house. He was from Leicestershire and with his wife and
daughter had come over in the fleet with Winthrop in 1630, and
remained in Boston until he removed to Ipswich. Life in the frontier
settlement was too severe for him and he died during the next
winter. On July 14, 1636, his widow, Sarah, made her "last will and
testament" being in "perfect memory though my body be weake & sick"
and a few days later she too was dead, leaving her orphaned daughter
to be cared for by Richard Saltonstall and John Appleton, under the
direction of the Quarterly Court. And this was not at all difficult
for John Dillingham had left a "goodly estate," for the times. This
Dillingham home has been selected for analysis because it is one
of the earliest estates in the Colony of which we have exact and
detailed information, a number of documents relating to it having
been preserved among the miscellaneous papers in the Massachusetts
State Archives.[21] Moreover, it shows the furnishings and equipment
of a settler living in a town of only two years growth from the
wilderness.
[21] _Mass. Historical Society Colls._ (5th ser.), Vols. 5-7.
The Dillingham homestead consisted of a house of two rooms and
outbuildings with thirty acres of upland, sixty acres of meadow,
i.e., grass land, and six acres of planting ground near the house,
of which four acres were planted with corn. Apple trees and other
fruits were fenced off in the garden. For livestock there was
a mare, three cows, two steers, two heifers, four calves, and
four pigs. There was an indentured servant, Thomas Downs, to
help cultivate the land and care for the stock, and a maid, Ann
Towle, who not only helped with the housework but also worked in
the fields. "She hath been a faithful servant," wrote Richard
Saltonstall, executor of the estate, "and though she was discharged
by her mistress a little before her time was out, yet it may be
borne by the estate, considering her diligence." Ann had come over
in the ship _Susan and Ellen_, which arrived in April, 1635. Her
passage cost £5.
The Dillinghams occupied a good social position in the youthful
settlement but their two-room house did not contain any really
fine furniture. The parlor was also used as a bedroom, a practice
which was common everywhere in the seventeenth century. It had two
bedsteads valued at £1. 6. 8.; a cupboard, 10s.; a sea chest, 10s.;
two "joyned Chaires," 5s.; a round table, 7s.; a deske, 4s.; and
a band box, 2s. There was also a large nest of boxes valued £2.
and a small nest of boxes worth only three shillings. The feather
beds, boulsters, and pillows on each bed were valued at about
twice as much as a bedstead and the coverlets averaged about £1.
a piece. There were flaxen sheets for Mrs. Dillingham's bed and
coarse sheets for the beds of the maid and the indentured servant. A
warming pan bears silent testimony to the cold of the winter season.
Another bedstead valued at only three shillings may have been in
the garret and occupied by Ann Towle, the maid. A chest stood in
the kitchen--more generally spoken of at that time as "the hall,"
in accordance with the English usage--and two boxes, probably used
for storage and also for seats. That was all the furniture listed in
the kitchen that was considered of any value. The tables, stools,
benches, shelving, or other furnishings seemingly necessary to
housekeeping at that time either did not exist or were so crude in
construction as to have little or no value in estimating the estate.
We find five cushions, however, valued at fifteen shillings.
Mrs. Dillingham died possessed of a few really fine
furnishings--possibly treasured ancestral pieces--for she bequeathed
a silver bowl to the wife of Richard Saltonstall, and to the wife
of John Appleton she gave a silver porringer. It would be extremely
interesting today to know what has become of these two pieces of
Colonial silver. No other silver is mentioned but on shelving in the
kitchen rested 40½ pounds of pewter valued at £2. 14. 0. As a pewter
plate of the time weighs nearly two pounds and a platter much more
the supply of pewter for the table was not large. Wooden plates,
trenchers, and bowls are not mentioned, but there were twenty-five
pewter saucers, six porringers, seven spoons, and five shillings
worth of knives. As for table forks, they were practically unknown
in the Colony at that time. Governor Winthrop brought over a fork
in 1630, carefully preserved in a case, which is supposed to be the
first and only table fork in the Colony in the earliest days of the
settlements. Knives, spoons, and fingers, with plenty of napery, met
the demands of table manners in the seventeenth century.
The large fireplace in the kitchen had its usual equipment of
pot-hooks, fire shovel and tongs, gridiron, trivet, and bellows,
and beside it was an old dark lantern valued at only two shillings.
There were iron pots, kettles, skillets and ladles; a brass pot and
a mortar. There was a frying-pan with a hole in it and in a box were
kept "bullets, hinges and other smale things." Two beer vessels were
listed; a case of bottles, two jugs, three pans, a tray, and two
baskets. Such was the simple equipment of the Dillingham kitchen.
There were plenty of table-cloths and napkins but no curtains at
any of the windows. If a broom were used it probably was made of
birch twigs bound together around a long handle. Candlesticks do
not appear in the inventory and the only store of food mentioned
(aside from twenty-one new cheeses valued at £2. 16. 0.) was seven
bushels of rye, two firkins and a half of butter, a half bushel of
malt, six pounds of raisins, and some spice. Our ancestors had a
highly developed appreciation of the value of condiments. In a Salem
inventory at a somewhat later date appear salt, pepper, ginger,
cloves, mace, cinnamon, nutmegs, and allspice.
Mrs. Dillingham's wearing apparel unfortunately is not listed item
by item, but given a total value of £5. 8. 4. Her linen amounted
to an almost equal sum. Some of her deceased husband's clothing is
included in the inventory, such as a coat with silver buttons, a
red waistcoat, a suit of serge and a black suit of serge unmade, a
jacket of cloth, and an old suit and cloak. Little Sara Dillingham,
the orphaned child, when sent to school to goodwife Symonds was
supplied with "a stuffe petticoat & waskote" and four "shifts with
shewes"; also a gown that cost £2. 10s. Perhaps after a time she may
have been able to read and fully appreciate the books formerly in
her loving father's chest. They were: "Perkins works in 3 volumes,
Seaven Treatises bound in 2 volumes, the Spowse Royall, the bruised
reade, & a little new testiment."
Six years later, in 1642, there died in the same town, Richard
Lumpkin, who had emigrated from Boxted, in Essex, and became an
influential citizen in the new town in the new county of Essex. He
was elected a representative to the Great and General Court and was
deacon of the Ipswich church at the time of his death. He left an
estate valued at £300. In the hall of his house stood a long table,
with two forms and a stool beside it, having a total value of only
fifteen shillings. The hall also contained three chairs and six
cushions valued at four shillings. That was all the furniture in the
room that was of any value. There were books, however, valued at £2.
10. 0., a musket and a fowling piece and other small furnishings.
In the parlor was a table with six joined stools, three chairs and
eight cushions, a bedstead, and a trundle bed with curtains, and a
chest, the latter valued at only four shillings. In the chamber over
the parlor was a bedstead with its trundle bed, a table valued at
three shillings, four chests and two boxes; not a chair or stool is
named in connection with the room. The kitchen was in the leanto and
while it contained a good supply of brass and iron pots and kettles
and also pewter dishes, the table, bench, stools and wooden plates,
etc., that must have been in the room were of so little value that
they do not appear in the inventory.
It is when we meet with joined and wainscot chests and court,
livery, and standing cupboards that we find pieces that may have
been brought from overseas. When Mr. Thomas Millard of Newbury
(note the title of honor), died in 1653, he possessed a wainscot
cupboard, table, chairs and stools. He also left behind him three
silver spoons, a silver cup, and a silver salt seller, and among the
kitchen utensils were tinned pudding pans, a brazen chaffing dish
and a lanthorn and lamp made of latin ware.
The widow of the Rev. Jose Glover married, in 1641, Henry Dunster,
President of Harvard College. Among the furnishings of her house
were "eleven featherbeds or downe ... one of them haveing philop and
Cheny curtaines in graine with a deep silke fringe on the vallance,
and a smaller on the Curtaines, and a Coverlett sutable to it, made
of Red Kersie, and laced with a greene lace, round the sides and
2 downe the middle, also ... an outlandish quilt, also to another
a blue serdge suite very rich and costly, curtaines and valances
laced, and fringe, and a blue Rug to the bed, also a greene sute in
the same manner, also another red wrought suite, with a sheet and
all things Compleate, also a Canopie bed, with Curtenes, a Chest of
Drawers of part of this Chest was filled with rich lenen a dammeske
suite seuerall diepere suits a fine hollen[d] suit with a stech:
with abundance of flaxen linen for Common use, in another parte of
the chest of drawers tape, tafety for Chaire and Stooles ... also
29 siluer spones a very faire salt with 3 full knops on the top of
it[22] 3 other siluer salts of lesser sorts a great siluer trunke
with 4 knop to stand on the table and with suger: 6 porrengers, one
small one: 3 bere boules 4 wine cups a siluer grate with a Couer on
it: 6 siluer trencher plates: also blankets and Coverletts and Rugs
euery[way] Compleat to furnish so many beds."[23]
[22] This large salt is now owned by Harvard College.
[23] _Old-Time New England_, July, 1934.
By way of contrast let us glance at the inventory of the possessions
of William Googe of Lynn, who died in 1646, ten years after Mrs.
Dillingham had willed that her body be "decently buyried" and her
child "religiously educated if God give it life." Googe left a house
and twelve acres of land and the total value of his possessions
amounted to but £28. 11. 7, with debts of £4. 9. 7. He left a
widow and three small children, and though dying in very lowly
circumstances he may have known better times, for John Mascoll, the
servant of Mr. Googe of Lynn, was fined in 1643, for neglecting the
watch. The title of honor, "Mr.," was used but sparingly in those
early days and usually indicated a degree of social standing in the
community.
Googe had been a soldier, for among his personal belongings at death
were a sword and belt, a musket and bandoleers, and also gunpowder.
One cow and four hogs comprised his entire livestock, and five
bushels of wheat, ten bushels of Indian corn, and flax in the bundle
lay in the garret of his house, which was frugally furnished with
a chest, a chair, an old chair, a stool, and a trunk. The family
probably slept on pallet beds made up on the floor, for bedding
is listed but no bedsteads. They had a frying pan, a gridiron, a
skillet, a posnet, an earthen pot, six spoons, and the following
woodenware, viz.: "3 wood trayes & 3 wood boules & 3 wood dishes,
1s. 9d.; one runlitt, 1s.; paieles & tubs, 3s." Two bags valued at
two shillings bring to a close the list of the earthly possessions
of William Googe of Lynn. When the inventory was brought into court
it very properly gave the goods to the widow "for the bringing up of
her three small children." So reads the record.
Doubtless there were many families in the Colony little better
conditioned, judging from the relatively small number of estates
settled through the courts when compared with the deaths and
estimated population.
Googe's house and twelve acres of land were valued at only £8. This
must have been a very simple, thatch-roofed house of not more than
two rooms, comparable with the outlying farmhouse of Jacob Perkins
that was burned in Ipswich in 1668. And thereby hangs a tale. Master
Perkins and his wife had gone to town one summer afternoon leaving
the house in charge of Mehitable Brabrooke, a sixteen-year-old
serving maid. We will let the ancient document in the court files
relate what happened.
"About 2 or 3 aclocke in the afternoone she was taking tobacco in a
pipe and went out of the house with her pipe and gott upon the oven
on the outside & backside of the house (to looke if there were any
hogs in the corne) and she layed her right hand upon the thatch of
the house (to stay herselfe) and with her left hand knocked out her
pipe over her right arme upon the thatch on the eaves of the house
(not thinking there had been any fire in the pipe) and imediately
went downe into the corne feild to drive out the hogs she saw in it,
and as she was going toward the railes of the feild ... she looked
back, and saw a smoke upon her Mistress' house in the place where
she had knocked out her pipe at which shee was much frighted."[24]
[24] _Essex County Quarterly Court Records_, Vol. IV, pp. 56-57.
The wife of a neighbor came running to the assistance of Mehitable
and afterwards testified that when she reached the house she looked
into both fireplaces and saw no appearance of fire, only a few
brands nearly dead under a great kettle hanging in the chimney. She
also looked up into the chamber through the floor boards that lay
very open on the side where the smoke was.
Could photographs more vividly picture the scene? The thatch-roofed
farmhouse had two rooms on the ground floor and a chimney with
two fireplaces. An oven was built on the backside probably having
an opening inside the kitchen fireplace in the usual manner. The
house was of but one story judging from the low roof that the maid
was able to reach when standing on the oven, and the floor of the
chamber in the loft had wide cracks between the boards so that it
was possible to look through from below and see the under side of
the roof. In similar homes lived many a family in the early days in
comparative comfort.
As for the careless Mehitable, she was brought before the Quarterly
Court on suspicion of wilfully setting the house on fire; a serious
offence, which as late as 1821, was the cause of the execution in
Salem of a sixteen-year-old boy. Among those who deposed at her
trial was a young man who said that as he and she were going into
the meadow, before the fire, to make hay, she told him that her
mistress was angry with her, but she had "fitted her now" for she
had put a great toad into her kettle of milk. As it turned out
the Court ordered Mehitable to be severely whipped and to pay £40
damages to her master Jacob Perkins. It now seems incredible that a
serving maid of 1668 could ever get together so large a sum of money.
The settlers in the New England Colonies, unless persons of wealth
or possessed of large families, during the early years lived
generally in houses having but one room and an entry-way on the
ground floor. Above would be a chamber--sometimes only a garret.
As the family increased in size and became more prosperous another
room would be added to the house on the other side of the entry and
chimney, making the structure a so-called two-room house. Still
later, with the need for more room, a leanto would be built on the
back of the house, thereby supplying three additional rooms on the
ground floor with a kitchen in the middle. The earlier kitchen
would then become a living-room or "sitting room"--in the New
England phrase. This earlier kitchen was usually called "the hall"
during the seventeenth century and in it centered the life of the
family. It was the room where the food was cooked and eaten. There
the family sat and there the indoor work was carried on. A loom
sometimes occupied considerable space near a window and frequently
a bed was made up in a corner, on which the father of the family
slept, and there sometimes also he died.
The principal feature of this common room was its huge fireplace
in which hung pots and kettles suspended by means of pot chains
and trammels from the hardwood trammel-bar or lug-pole that rested
on wooden cross bars and so bisected the wide flue in the chimney.
These large fireplaces in the early days were sometimes called
"chimneys" in the vernacular of the time. They were generally as
wide as eight feet and a ten foot opening is not unknown.
This cavernous opening was spanned by a wooden lintel--a stick of
timber sometimes sixteen inches or more square, and when exposed
to a roaring fire, piled high with logs, this became an element of
danger, the charring wood smoldering all night and setting fire
to the house. The trammel-bar in the flue also caught fire not
infrequently and gave way, allowing the pots and kettles to fall to
the hearth, bringing disaster to the dinner or to the curdling milk
and sometimes to those seated near. A trammel stick in the house of
Captain Denney gave way from this cause and a large kettle filled
with wort[25] fell down and spilt the boiling liquid over four of
his children who were sitting or lying on the hearth, some of them
asleep, "which scalded them in so terrible a manner, that one died
presently after, and another's life is dispaired of" continues the
record.
[25] Beer in the making.
"Here is good living for those who love good fires," wrote Higginson
in his _New-Englands Plantation_, and under the spell of the
glowing flames, the bare, whitewashed walls, the brown timbers and
floor boards of the ceiling, the dress of pewter, and the simple
furnishings of the room, enriched by the shadows, became a place
full of cheer--a place where privation and homesickness might be
forgotten in the glow of the bright firelight. On cold nights the
short bench inside the fireplace was a chosen place and the settle,
a long seat made of boards with a high back to keep off the draft,
was drawn before the fire and here sat the older members of the
family.
The larger kettles hanging in the fireplace, were of brass and
copper and some of them were of prodigious size. Hot water was
always to be had and these kettles also served for the daily
cooking, the cheese-making, soap-boiling, and candle-dipping.
Much of the food of the average New Englander until comparatively
recent times consisted of corn-meal, boiled meats and vegetables and
stews. Every well-equipped household had its spits for roasting and
many had gridirons, but the usual diet of the average family was
"hasty pudding"--cornmeal mush and milk--varied by boiled meat or
fish served in the center of a large pewter platter and surrounded
by boiled vegetables. Baked beans and stewed beans appeared on the
table several times every week in the year. Indian bannock, made
by mixing corn meal with water and spreading it an inch thick on a
small board placed at an incline before the fire and so baked, was a
common form of bread. When mixed with rye meal it became brown bread
and was baked in the brick oven with the beans and peas.
The brick oven was a feature of every chimney. Sometimes in early
days it was built partly outside the house but so far as known
the opening was always in the kitchen fireplace. To reach it the
housewife must stoop below the oaken lintel and stand inside the
fireplace, taking care that her woolen skirts did not come near the
flames. To heat it for a baking, a fire was built inside, usually
with specially prepared pine or birch wood that had been split and
seasoned out of doors for a short time and then housed. The fire
and ashes were then taken out by means of a peel--a long-handled,
flat-bladed shovel made for the purpose--and when dusted out with a
broom made of hemlock twigs it was ready for the brown bread, beans,
peas, Indian pudding, pies, and rye drop cakes which were made with
rye meal, eggs and milk and baked directly on the bricks in the
bottom of the oven.
Between the years of 1635 and 1655, court records and inventories
of estates in the Massachusetts Bay Colony mention the following
articles of food:
Bacon, beef, butter, cheese, eggs, fowls, lamb, milk, mutton, pork,
suet, veal, wild game, and cod, herring, mackerel, salmon and
sturgeon.
Barley, beans, Indian beans, bran, cabbages, carrots, chaff, corn,
English corn, Indian corn, hops, Indian meal, rye meal, oatmeal,
oats, parsnips, peas, pumpions, rye, squashes, turnips and wheat.
Apples, berries, fruit, honey, raisins, sugar and vinegar.
Biscuit, blewlman, bread, cake, malt, salad oil, porridge, rye malt,
yeast, salt and many kinds of spices.
Much of this food was raised on the farm and nearly every family
had its garden. Such articles of food as were imported were usually
obtained at the shops in the larger towns by barter, as money was
scarce. In 1651, a farmer came through the woods to Salem in his
cart bringing twelve bushels of rye. He stopped at a shop owned
by George Corwin and from the daybook kept at the time and still
carefully preserved, we learn that among other necessaries he
carried home sugar for the goodwife, and for the children a doll and
a bird whistle.
In the early years domestic animals were too valuable to be killed
for meat but game was plentiful and was roasted by being trussed on
iron spits resting on curved brackets on the backs of the andirons.
This, of course, required constant turning to expose the roast on
all sides in order to cook it evenly--a task frequently delegated to
a child. A skillet would be placed beneath to catch the drippings.
Sometimes a bird was suspended before the fire by a twisted cord
that would slowly unwind and partly wind again, requiring some
one in frequent attendance to twist the cord. Families of wealth
possessed a "jack" to turn the spit. This was a mechanism fastened
over the fireplace and connected with the spit by means of a pulley
and cord. A heavy weight suspended by a cord which slowly unwound,
supplied the power that turned the spit.
In "the hall," usually upon open shelves, but sometimes upon a
dresser, was displayed the pride of the housewife--the dress of
pewter and latten ware. "China dishes," imported by the East India
Company or made in Holland, were used sparingly during the early
years of the colonies. There was much earthenware and stoneware
bottles and jugs, but it was wooden ware and pewter that were
commonly used. When Lionel Chute died in 1645 he bequeathed his
silver spoon to his son James.[26] It was the only piece of silver
in the house. Of pewter he died possessed of fourteen dishes "small
and great," eleven pewter salts, saucers and porringers, two pewter
candlesticks and a pewter bottle. The widow Rebecca Bacon who died
in Salem in 1655, left an estate of £195. 8. 6., which included a
well-furnished house. She had brass pots, skillets, candlesticks,
skimmers, a little brass pan, and an excellent supply of pewter
including "3 large pewter platters, 3 a size lesse, 3 more a size
lesse, 3 more a size lesse," having a total value of £1.16. She
also had a pewter basin, six large pewter plates, and six lesser,
nineteen pewter saucers, two fruit dishes, an old basin and a
great plate, two candlesticks, one large salt and a small one, two
porringers, a great flagon, one lesser, one quart, two pints and a
half pint; and an old porringer. She also left "1 silver duble salt,
6 silver spoones, wine cup & a dram cup of silver."
[26] _Probate Records of Essex County, Mass._, Vol. I, p. 47.
Giles Badger of Newbury left to his young widow, a glass bowl,
beaker, and jug valued at three shillings; three silver spoons
valued at £1, and a good assortment of pewter, including "a salt
seller, a tunell and a great dowruff." The household was also
furnished with six wooden dishes and two wooden platters. In other
inventories appear unusual items such as a pewter brim basin,
pewter cullenders, pewter beer cups, pans, and mustard pots. Pewter
tankards were common. There were new and old fashioned candlesticks.
Pewter salts came in three sizes and the saucers were both small
and large. In 1693, best London pewter plates cost the Boston
shopkeepers 9½ pence per pound in quantity.
The seventeenth century "hall" must have had little spare room for
its daily occupants, for in addition to its table and chairs, its
settle, stools and washbench, the long ago inventories disclose
such chattels as powdering tubs in which the salted meats were
kept, the churn, barrels containing a great variety of things,
keelers and buckets, bucking tubs for washing, and the various
implements used in spinning and weaving, washing and ironing,
cooking and brewing, and the making of butter and cheese. In the
chimney hung hams and bacon and suspended from the ceiling were
strings of dried apples and hands of seed corn.
It is claimed by some that the floors were sanded. That certainly
was true at a later period but there are strong elements of doubt
as to the prevalence of this custom during the seventeenth century.
Sand, however, was used freely with home-made soft soap, to scrub
the floors which were always kept white and clean, and whenever
an early house is restored or taken down sand is always found,
sometimes in considerable quantity, where it has sifted down through
the cracks between the floor boards. The downstairs rooms had
double floors but the chamber floors were made of one thickness of
boards with here and there a knothole and frequently with cracks
between the boards through which the dust and dirt from above
must have sifted down upon the heads of those seated at dinner or
engaged in their daily tasks in the rooms below. Not only does the
structural evidence show this to be true but a number of instances
occur among the papers in Court files, where witnesses have deposed
as to what they had seen and heard through the cracks in chamber
floors. A grandson of Governor Endecott once fell a victim of two
gossiping sixteen-year-old girls who had spent some time on their
knees peeping through the cracks in a chamber floor. Capt. Richard
More, the last survivor of the company on the _Mayflower_, late in
life kept a tavern in Salem. He was spied upon in this manner and
eventually brought before the justices of the Quarterly Court to
answer for his evasion of the law set forth and maintained at that
time.
The parlor, called "the foreroom" at a later time, was the room
where guests of station were received. The best bed hung with
curtains and valance and covered with a rug, stood in a corner. In
those days rugs were not used on floors but as bed furnishings.
Even the baby's cradle had its rug. Carpets, likewise, were too fine
for wooden floors and were used as table covers. Of bedsteads there
were many kinds--high and low, canopy, close, corded, half-headed,
joined, side, standing, inlaid, and wainscot, and slipped under
the higher bedsteads during the daytime, were trundle or "truckle"
beds in which the children slept at night. Lionel Chute, the
schoolmaster, had an "old darnkell coverlet" on his bed while some
of his neighbors possessed branched and embroidered coverlets and
several had coverlets made of tapestry.
Among the better families the parlor and chamber windows had
curtains hung from rods or cords. In the parlor stood chests in
which were stored the family clothing and bedding, for closets did
not exist in the seventeenth century house. There were great chests
and small chests, long boarded and great boarded chests, chests
with a drawer, carved chests, wainscot chests, trunks, and boxes. A
few stools and chairs, a looking-glass, a small table, and perhaps
a cupboard completed the furnishings of the well-supplied parlor.
In Capt. George Corwin's best room there were chairs with leather
bottoms and straw bottoms, a clock valued at £2, a screen having
five leaves, a napkin press, and a "Scriture or Spice box." White
calico curtains hung at his chamber windows and the maid had a
"Calico Cuberd cloth" in her room. Parlor walls were whitewashed and
bare of ornament. The first families owned a portrait or two in oils
and here and there a map in unglazed frame decorated a wall. The
Puritan character did not warm to the fine arts and austere living
was the aim if not always the achievement of the time.
The chambers in the second story must have been curiously furnished
rooms, containing a huddle of stores of all descriptions. Henry
Short, the town clerk of Newbury, died in 1673 leaving a goodly
estate valued at nearly £2,000.[27] He owned a negro slave and his
house was large and well furnished. There was an old parlor and a
new parlor containing beds, chests, chairs, trunks, and boxes. In
the chamber over the new parlor there was a good feather-bed and
bed clothing but no bedstead. Wool and yarn were stored in this
room together with boxes, tubs, some feathers, and miscellaneous
"lumber"--the phrase of the period for odds and ends. The chamber
over the kitchen, a comfortable room of course, in winter, had its
bed and bedding, also "5 hogsheds, 6 barrels, 5 Iron hoopes, a
pair of stockcards, meale trough & other lumber, a parcell of old
Iron, a pike, a bed cord & other cordage." Small wonder in such a
clutter that the rooms frequently had other tenantry than the human
occupants.
[27] _Probate Records of Essex County, Mass._, Vol. II, p. 348.
When Jasper Dankers arrived in Boston in 1680, the captain of the
packet took him to his sister's house where he lodged. "We were
taken to a fine large chamber," he writes, "but we were hardly in
bed before we were shockingly bitten. I did not know the cause,
but was not able to sleep.... My comrade who was very sleepy, fell
asleep at first. He tumbled about very much; but I did not sleep
any the whole night. In the morning we saw how it was, and were
astonished we should find such a room with such a lady."[28]
[28] Dankers, _Journal of a Voyage to New York_, Brooklyn, 1867.
Early in the eighteenth century the walls of rooms in some
Massachusetts houses began to be covered with "painted paper"
hangings imported from England. These _papier paints_ were first
introduced into England, from France, about 1634, and probably were
brought into New England by Governor Andros and his followers.
Michael Perry, a Boston bookseller, who died in 1700, had in his
stock "7 quires of painted paper and three reams of painted paper."
His successor, Daniel Henchman, dealt in painted papers as appears
from his account books commencing in 1712. In 1713 two quires of
painted paper cost four shillings, and two quires of blue paper,
three shillings. In 1714, Isaac Thomas of Pembroke paid £2. 10. 0
for "6 Rowls Paint'd Pap'r & 2 Q'r Paper."
When Peter Sergeant of Boston died in 1714, the inventory of his
estate disclosed "one large gilt looking glass, in the cedar room,
£5. One suit of Imagery Tapestry hanging, £20. One suit of red china
£5." Two years later the house was purchased by the Provincial
Government for a governor's residence and in 1741 we find the
Provincial Treasurer paying Daniel Henchman £5. 8. 0. for four
rolls of painted paper and shortly another bill was presented for
"New Tacking the paper hanging above in the chamber & new papering
one roome below stairs."
In 1734, John Maverick, shopkeeper, bought of Henchman, four quires
and five sheets of painted paper for £1. 3. 9. In 1736, Colonel
Estes Hatch bought 10 rolls painted paper for £16. 5. 0. which
was probably used in his mansion in Dorchester, bought after the
Revolution by Colonel James Swan.
The painted paper of the eighteenth century was sold at first in
sheets, 22 by 32 inches, called elephant size. Later these were
pasted together to make 12 yard lengths. In the earlier stages of
manufacture the designs were colored by hand. Stencils of pasteboard
were used, and in the last half of the eighteenth century blocks
of pear and sycamore wood were used, as in calico printing. One
who painted coats of arms and other things pertaining to heraldry,
as well as one who painted or stained linen cloth, was known as a
"painter stainer." So, also, those who stained colored or stamped
paper for hangings were known as "paper stainers."
When Thomas Hancock built his house on Beacon Hill he desired
painted paper for some of his rooms. Extracts from his letter to
John Rowe, stationer, London, explain his wants:
"Sir: Inclosed you have the Dimensions of a Room for a shaded
Hanging to be Done after the same Pattern I have sent per Capt.
Tanner. The pattern is all that was left of a Room lately come
over here, and it takes much in ye Town and will be the only
paper-hanging for sale here which am of opinion may Answer well....
If they can make it more beautiful by adding more Birds flying here
and there, with some Landskips at the Bottom, Should like it well.
Let the Ground be the same colour of the Pattern. At the top and
bottom was a narrow Border of about 2 inches wide which would have
to mine....
"A hanging done much handsomer sent over three or four years
previous was made by Dunbar in Aldermanbury....
"In other of these Hangings are great variety of different Sorts
of Birds, Peacocks, Macoys, Squirrill, Monkys, Fruit and Flowers,
etc.... I think they are handsomer and better than Painted hangings
done in Oyle so I beg your particular Care in procuring this for
me and that the patterns may be taken care off and Return'd with
my Goods."--_Letter of Thomas Hancock to John Rowe, Stationer, in
London_, Jan. 23, 1737/8.
In the eighteenth-century Boston newspapers may be found numerous
items showing the use of wall paper and the fact that it frequently
was imported from England. But while it is true that it could be
purchased in the shops in Boston it does not follow that rooms in
every house were papered. Nor is it likely that the rooms of houses
in the country had papered walls save when the owner was a wealthy
man. London fashions would first be found transplanted into the
seaport towns and later would be adopted by the country. Undoubtedly
the home of the Governor, or of some well-to-do sea captain, was
the first house to be so decorated. On September 22, 1762, died
Daniel Starr of Boston, "who has been for many years employed in
Papering Rooms." This item appears in the news items of the _Boston
News-Letter_. Eight years later the same newspaper prints the
following advertisement:
"George Killcup, jun. Informs the Gentlemen and Ladies in Town and
Country That he Paints Carpets & other Articles, and Paper Rooms in
the neatest manner. He will take English or West India Goods as Pay.
"Said Killcup is ready to pay those he is indebted to, in Painting
or Papering Rooms."--_Boston News-Letter_, March 17, 1768.
"Roll Paper for Rooms," with "most sorts of Stationary Ware" were
advertised for sale by John Parker, over against the shop of Mr.
Dolbeare, Brazier, at the Head of the Town Dock, Boston.--_Boston
News-Letter_, June 3-10, 1736.
J. Boydell, the printer of the _Boston Gazette_, advertised in
November, 1736, a house in Boston, to be sold, in which two chambers
in the first story were "hung with Scotch Tapestry, the other Green
Cheny."
John Phillips, bookseller, advertised "Stampt Paper in Rolls for to
Paper Rooms," in the October 26, 1730, issue of the _New England
Journal_.
"Sundry sorts of Painted Paper for Rooms" were to be sold at
public vendue at the Exchange Tavern in King Street, with other
importations.--_New-England Journal_, August 29, 1738.
"Flowered Paper, or Paper Hangings for Rooms, to be Sold; Inquire of
the Printer."--_Boston Gazette_, February 2, 1742.
"Beautiful Arras-Hangings for a Room" to be sold at
vendue.[29]--_Boston News-Letter_, August 22, 1745.
[29] Watkins, "Early Use of Paper Hangings in Boston" (_Old-Time New
England_, Jan., 1922).
Against the earlier background of whitewashed walls hung few
decorations. Between 1635 and 1681 there were 960 estates probated
in Essex County, Massachusetts. The county had several seaport towns
and its inhabitants were more prosperous than many other parts of
the Colony. In the inventories of these 960 estates, pictures are
listed but eight times and maps were found in but three homes.
William Hollingsworth, the shipbuilder and merchant of Salem,
possessed seven framed pictures. They are the only _framed_ pictures
mentioned. Hilliard Veren of Salem, who died in 1668, had three
pictures in his hall chamber and Robert Gray of the same town had
in his parlor a large looking-glass with some earthen dishes and
a picture, the whole valued at £2. The Rev. Nathaniel Rogers of
Ipswich, had two pictures in his parlor and Thomas Wells of Ipswich,
bequeathed to his son Thomas, the new pictures of the King and Queen
and the one of the "five sencces." He also possessed maps and paper
pictures.
Fifty years later John Smibert, the portrait painter, had his shop
"at his House in Queen Street, between the Town House and the Orange
Tree, Boston," where he sold "all sorts of Colours, dry or ground
with Oyls and Brushes, Fans of several sorts, the best Mezotints,
Italian, French, Dutch and English Prints, in Frames and Glasses or
without, by Wholesale or Retail, at Reasonable Rates." About the
same time the "Royal Waxwork" was to be seen at the House of Mr.
Thomas Brooks, shopkeeper, near the Draw Bridge, and Thomas White,
the engraver, was living in a house not far away.
Here are a few advertisements from early newspapers bearing on
furnishing the house:
BED HANGINGS. To be sold by Mrs. Susanna Condy, near the Old North
Meeting House, a fine Fustian Suit of Curtains, with a Cornish and
Base Mouldings of a beautiful Figure, drawn in London, on Frame full
already worked; as also enough of the same for half a dozen Chairs.
N.B. The Bed may be had by itself.--_Boston Gazette_, May 24-31,
1736.
BED-SCREWS. Mr. _John Barnard_ of Boston, having some time since
Lent a Pair of large Bed-screws. These are desiring the Borrower
to return them again to the owner, as he desires to Borrow again,
to avoid the Curse due to the Wicked, that Borrow but never
Pay.--_Boston News-Letter_, Oct. 22-29, 1716.
BEDSTEAD. A Coach-head Bed and Bedstead with its Curtains and
Vallents, &c, as it stands, being a blew China. To be disposed off.
Inquire of the Printer.--_Boston Gazette_, June 16-23, 1735.
CANOPIE BEDS. A Couple of very good Cannopie Beds lately come from
England to be Sold on reasonable terms, by Rupert Lord Upholsterer
and to be seen at Mr. Ramies House in Corn-Hill the next door to the
Post-office, Boston.--_Boston News-Letter_, Jan. 4-11, 1713-14.
MOHAIR BED. To be Sold reasonably for ready money, or on good
Security, a yellow Mohair Bed lined with a Persian of the same
Colour, and six Chairs of the same Mohair, little the worse for
wear. Inquire of J. Boydell.--_Boston Gazette_, Oct. 17-24, 1737.
PRESS BED. A Very good Press-Case for a Bed, to be Sold. Enquire of
the Printer.--_Boston News-Letter_, Oct. 28-Nov. 4, 1736.
CARPETS. Just imported from London, in the last ships and to be
sold at Mr. Blanchard's in New Boston West End; a large assortment
of fine Carpets for Rooms, very cheap for ready Cash.--_Boston
Gazette_, Jan. 22, 1759.
PUBLICK VENDUE. At 5'o'Clock in the Afternoon will be sold by T.
Fleet, at the Heart and Crown, in Cornhill,--Bedding, Several Suits
of Curtains and Bedsteads, a fine new Silk Damask Quilt and Quilted
Cushions of the same, Black Walnut Chest of Drawers and Desk,
Brass Candlesticks, Iron Dogs, sundry Suits of wearing apparel for
men, new Castor Hats, China Ware, Rummolds, Druggets....--_Boston
News-Letter_, May 18-25, 1732.
HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS. This Afternoon at 3 o'clock will be Sold
by Publick Vendue, by Daniel Goffe, at the Dwelling House of Mr.
Jonathan Barnard, over against the Town-House in Cornhill, sundry
sorts of Household Goods, consisting of Beds, Bedding, a Couch,
Chairs, handsome Japan'd Tea Tables, Walnut and Mahogany Tables,
Chest of Drawers, Peer Glasses, Sconces, Glass Arms, China Ware,
Metzotinto and other Prints, several valuable large Pieces of
Paintings, one handsome large Carpet 9 Foot 6 Inches by 6 Foot
6 Inches, a fashionable yellow Camblet Bed lin'd with Satten, a
great easy Chair and Window Curtains, suitable for a Room, a Field
Bedstead and Bed, the covering a Blew Harrateen, Kitchen Furniture,
as Pewter of the best sort, Copper, Brass and Iron, a parcel of
Books and some Shop Goods.--_Boston News-Letter_, May 8-15, 1735.
FURNITURE AT AUCTION. To be sold by Auction, Household Furniture of
the late Mr. Pyam Blowers, including: Fine Sconce Glasses, large
Looking Glasses, Leather Bottom Chairs, sundry Mehogany and other
Tables, a good Couch Squab and Pillow, a very handsome Yellow Damask
Bed, an Easy Chair, a neat case of Drawers, ... two Silver watches,
sundry sorts of good China Ware, etc.--_Boston News-Letter_, May
17-24, 1739.
FURNITURE AT AUCTION. To be Sold by Publick Vendue on Monday next
at 3 o'Clock, Afternoon, at the House of Charles Paxton, Esq., the
following Goods, viz.: A fashionable crimson Damask Furniture with
Counterpain and two Sets of Window Curtains, and Vallans of the
same Damask. Eight Walnut Tree Chairs, stuft Back and Seats covered
with the same Damask, Eight crimson China Cases for ditto, one easy
Chair and Cushion, same Damask, and Case for ditto. Twelve Walnut
Tree chairs, India Backs, finest Cane, and sundry other valuable
Household Furniture.--_Boston News-Letter_, Jan. 9, 1746.
FURNITURE. To be Sold, a crimson Harrateen Coach-Bed, Bedstead, and
Feather-bed, six small chairs, and one two-arm Chair, with crimson
Harrateen Seats, a Table, and two small Pictures, Enquire of the
Printer.--_Boston News-Letter_, June 25, 1747.
HAND BOARDS. Lately arrived from London, & are to be Sold by
Giles Dulake Tidmarsh at his Warehouse No. 4 on the Long Wharfe,
Five Dutch Tea Tables, as Hand Boards and Looking Glasses, new
Fashion.--_Boston Gazette_, Nov. 19-26, 1722.
[Illustration: LEONARD HOUSE, RAYNHAM, MASS.
This shows typical front-gabled roof and two-story porch
Tradition relates that King Philip's head was deposited in this
house in 1676
Printed from the original wood block engraved in 1838]
CHAPTER IV
COUNTERPANES AND COVERLETS
In the early days our forefathers were dependent upon the open
fireplace and during the winter season everyone must wear thick
clothing and provide an ample supply of warm coverings for the beds.
Those were the days of warming pans and heated bricks taken to bed
by both children and grown-ups, and of feather beds, comforters and
patchwork quilts.
Bed coverings in the olden times, and even in our day, have a
variety of names with distinctions sometimes difficult to classify.
Sometimes they are counterpanes, and again coverlets. A _comforter_
suggests warmth and comfort not only for the bed but for the neck.
The _bed cover_ is universal as is the _quilt_.
The patchwork quilt was formerly one of the most familiar and
necessary articles of household furnishing and its origin
reaches backward into the dim and unknown past. It was brought
to the Massachusetts Bay by the first settlers. In cottage and
castle it was known in the days of King John, and down through
the generations its making supplied occupation and amusement to
countless women whose life interests centered in their homes and
household furnishings. Its manufacture may well be styled one of the
household arts, for artistic indeed are the bold conceptions of many
of the designs; while the piecing and the patching provide ample
opportunity for needlework of the finest character.
In the early days the English spelled quilt with a final
_e_--quilte--as did the French. It is a cover or coverlet made
by stitching together two thicknesses of a fabric with some soft
substance between them. This applies to bed covers and also to
quilted petticoats so commonly worn in the old days.
What is a coverlet? Originally, any covering for a bed; now,
specifically, the outer covering. The word comes from the French
_couvre-lit_--a bed covering. The handwoven coverlets of many
beautiful designs, in blue and white and red and brown, are well
known and formerly were woven everywhere.
The _counter-pane_, formerly a bed cover, now describes a light
coverlet woven of cotton with raised figures. The word is a
corruption of _counterpoint_, in allusion to the panes or squares
of which bed covers are often composed. The counterpane was never
quilted.
The _bedspread_ and the _bed cover_ may be considered as one and
the same--the uppermost covering of a bed and accordingly of an
ornamental character in general. The _comforter_ was a thickly
quilted bed cover made of several thicknesses of sheet cotton or
wool prepared for the purpose. This was too thick to be quilted so
it was knotted at regular intervals to prevent the interlining from
slipping out of place. Frequently it was called a "comfort."
There is one other name that was applied to a bed covering in the
Colonial times but which is never heard today in that connection. In
the days immediately following the settlement many a New England bed
was covered with a _rug_. When William Clarke of Salem died in 1647,
in the parlor of his house was a bed with a green rug covering it
which was valued by the appraisers at fourteen shillings. The term
was commonly in use at the time, in fact, as commonly as the word
coverlet. In the probate of Essex County, Massachusetts, estates
between the years 1635 and 1674, coverlets are mentioned one hundred
and forty-two times and rugs one hundred and fifty-seven times while
quilts are listed only four times. These early bed rugs were usually
thick woolen coverings with a shaggy nap.
A never-failing source of accurate information as to the furnishings
and equipment of the New England household in the olden time is the
probate records--specifically, the inventory of the property taken
in connection with the settlement of the estate. For many years
it was the well-nigh universal custom to list, room by room, the
contents of a house and from these painstaking inventories it now
becomes possible to reconstruct in mental picture the interiors
of those homes where lived and died our Puritan ancestors. In
connection with the present subject we learn from these inventories
that it was quite the usual habit to set up a bed in the parlor and
we also learn of the existence of different kinds of rugs used in
the bed furnishings--cotton rugs, English rugs, Irish rugs, cradle
rugs, etc. There were worsted coverlets, tapestry coverlets and
embroidered coverlets. A darnacle coverlet is listed in 1665; but as
darnacle curtains appear in the same inventory it is safe to assume
that darnacle is the name of some long-forgotten fabric. But what is
a "branched coverlet?" Mrs. Thomas Newhall of Lynn possessed in 1674
a green rug and a branched coverlet.
Capt. George Corwin of Salem who died in 1684, had a calico
counterpane in the red chamber in his house. In the corner chamber
was a green counterpane and in the kitchen chamber was a sad colored
counterpane, two coverlets, and a quilt of colored and flowered
calico.
Let us have a look at a few of these wills and inventories. In 1640,
the widow Bethia Cartwright of Salem, bequeathed to her sister, then
living in England, her bed, bolster, blanket and coverlet. It is an
open question if the value of the property equalled the probable
cost of transporting it to that loving sister in distant England.
Mrs. Joanna Cummings of Salem, at her death in 1644, among many
other items possessed a feather bed, flock bolster and a green rug,
jointly valued at £2. 5. 0.
In the "hall" of John Goffe's house, in Newbury, in 1641, were found
"3 bedsteeds, £1; 1 pr. curtains with 3 rods, 18s.; 1 green rugg,
£1. 6.; 2 blankets, 15 s.; 1 bed, bolster and 4 pillows, £4. 10.; 1
coverlet, 10s.; and 1 bed matt, 2s."
The next year William Howard, afterwards the first town clerk of
Topsfield, was one of the appraisers of the estate of Samuel Smith
of Enon, the name by which Wenham was then known. In one of the
chambers he found a "bed, blancits & coverlet" which he valued at
£7. 8. Rather a valuable bed, or, may it have been the coverlet?
In connection with "cobbard clothes" at £1. he lists a "carpitt"
at 15s; and this carpet, curiously enough, he did not find on the
floor but on a table. Joanna Cummings owned a "carpet & table" that
were valued at 7s. 8d. Joseph Metcalf of Ipswich had "a table &
old carpett" worth £1. In the parlor of Governor Endecott's house
in Boston were found a "Table, Carpet & 3 stools," valued at 50s.
William Bacon's "carpets & qushens" were worth £1. 10s. and in the
inventory of the estate of Rev. Ezekiel Rogers of Rowley, appears
the following: "a presse and a litle Table with ther Carpets, £1.
10s."
John Whittingham lived in Ipswich and died in 1648. In the parlor
of his house was found a "Joyne Table with Five chairs & one ould
Carpet, 10s.; one cupboard and Cloth, 10s.; 2 paire Cobirons, 15s.;
two window Curtains and curtaine rods, 6s.; one case of Bottles,
5s.; Books, £6. 5s.; Eleven Cushions, £1. 10s.; one Still, 5s.;"
and perhaps most important of all--"one fetherbed, one flockbed,
two boulsters, one pillow, one p. blankets, one Rugge, Curtains
& valients and bedsted, £12." In the chamber over the parlor was
another bedstead well supplied with furnishings, including two
quilts, a blue coverlet and a trundle bed. This upstairs chamber had
wall hangings which were valued at £2. 10s. and in the room were six
trunks, a chest and a box, containing stores of bed linen, table
cloths, napkins, hose yarn, silver plate and eleven spoons. Two
chairs, four stools, a screen, two pairs of cobirons and a pair of
tongs completed the furnishings of the room. It almost stands open
before us. And those wall hangings valued at £2. 10s.!
Another parlor chamber in a house in Newbury, in which had lived the
minister, the Rev. James Noyes, was more meagerly furnished. Here
the appraisers found "2 boxes, 4 hogsheads, a musket and a gun and
two swords, £2.; a bolster and a quilt & two blankets and a parsell
of Cotton wooll, £3. 10s."
Just one more inventory--the estate of William Clarke who died in
1647 in Salem. The parlor contained a half-headed bedstead with
curtains and vallance which was furnished with a feather bed and
bolster, a straw bed and flock bolster, white blankets, sheets,
and a green rug. In a corner of this parlor stood another bedstead
having a mat, canvas flock bed, sheets, old blankets and a red rug,
and in the chamber over the kitchen was a low bedstead with a flock
bed and bolster, a blanket, a rug and an old quilt.
Here are two kinds of bedsteads mentioned in this house, but there
were other kinds in frequent use at the time: high beds and side
beds, canopy bedsteads, half-headed, joined, cabin, corded, close,
press, standing, truckle and trundle bedsteads and what is strange
indeed, not a single example of these early bedsteads has been
preserved. All have been worn out or destroyed--supplanted by a
newer fashion--and we today can only imagine their various forms and
decorations.
In the New England vernacular, materials for quilts were "skurse"
in the olden times. The settlers, of course, brought all their
furnishings from England and a few years elapsed before wool and
flax were produced here in any quantity. Meanwhile all fabrics were
imported and paid for by shipments of salt fish, furs, lumber, corn,
etc. A brisk trade soon sprang up with the West Indies and Spain and
cotton was brought into the New England ports. Some of the fabrics
in common use before 1650 have names that sound strangely in our
ears. Darnacle has been mentioned. There were baize for jackets,
calico for dresses, linsey woolsey for heavy skirts, serge for
various articles of clothing, coifing stuff for caps, linen for
forehead bands and many other uses, dimity for bed hangings and
petticoats, and a fabric known as "barber's stuff." In time some of
these materials became available for quilt making and at a still
later time the handwoven, home-dyed fabrics were used and some of
these were rudely decorated with tied and dipped patterns or stamped
and stencilled designs.
It should always be kept in mind, however, that geographical
location largely enters into the production and character of the
quilt, and the family that was "well-off" of course would be
supplied more abundantly with furnishings and be less dependent upon
homely makeshifts and the daily practice of household economy. Those
living in the seaport towns, where most of the shops were found,
would be likely to follow the simplest course of fashion and buy
from the stock just imported from England or Holland. The hand loom
was found everywhere but more generally in the country. Weaving
was a trade for men and so practiced, but many a farmhouse had its
loom and every country home its spinning wheel. In the larger towns
the dame of social position or comfortable means would devote her
spare moments to needlework and embroidery, while in the country the
housewives would make pieced quilts or patch the clothing of their
numerous children.
It naturally follows, that the handwoven coverlet, should be a
product of the country rather than the town and usually of the
countryside farthest removed from the influences of the shop and
of English goods. Even today it is still woven in the remote
settlements of Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and judging from
existing examples the vogue of the handwoven coverlet was greater
in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the Middle West than in
New England although many fine examples were produced here. The
manufacture of the patchwork quilt as a domestic art also seems to
have reached its highest development in the Middle West during the
first half of the nineteenth century.
The patchwork quilt of New England is known as the "pieced quilt"
when made in the Middle West and more correctly so, for _to
piece_ means to join together separate pieces of like material
into sections or blocks that in turn are united to form the top
of the quilt. The pieces usually are of uniform shape and size
and contrasting colors are blended to form the design--usually a
geometric pattern. These pieces are sewed "over and over" on the
wrong side. To _patch_ means to mend or adorn by adding a patch or
by laying over a separate piece of cloth. The French word _applique_
well describes the patched or laid-on work where the design is cut
out and applied or sewed on, in fact, "sewed-on quilts" and "laid
quilts" are old terms. This type of quilt is found in New England
but infrequently as compared with the "pieced quilt," here commonly
known as the "patchwork quilt."
In early times the pieces were nearly always of a woolen fabric,
the brighter colored cloth being saved for the more central
portions of the design. Every scrap and remnant of material left
from the making of garments was saved and the best pieces of
worn-out garments were carefully cut out and made into quilt pieces.
The historian of the Saco Valley, Maine, relates that a scarlet
broadcloth cloak formerly worn by a Lord Mayor of London and brought
to Massachusetts by a member of the Merritt family of Salisbury,
Mass., after many adventures ended its days as small bits of vivid
color in a patchwork quilt made in Maine. Portions of discarded
military uniforms, of flannel shirts and well-worn petticoats were
utilized and frequently an old blanket would be used for lining.
CHAPTER V
CONCERNING THEIR APPAREL
In 1630 there were differences in dress even more so than at the
present time. The simple, coarse clothing of the yeoman and the
worker in the various trades was far removed from the dress of the
merchant and the magistrate. Leather clothing was very generally
worn by laborers and servants as deerskins were cheap and leather
had been in common use for jerkins and breeches in Old England, so
naturally it was worn here. Stockings were made of a variety of
materials and most shoes had wooden heels.
Higher in the social scale men wore doublets and full breeches and
clothed themselves as well as their estates permitted--sometimes
even better than they could well afford. Sleeves were slashed.
Falling bands at the neck were common and a deep linen collar
appears in portraits of the period. A beaver or felt hat with
steeple crown was worn, and gloves, sometimes elegantly embroidered,
were essential. The accepted idea of Puritan dress should be revised
and the Victorian standard of sentimental simplicity be discarded.
There was great variety of fabrics available in the shops of London
and Bristol as will be noted in the list at the end of this chapter,
and as wealth permitted probably much of this material eventually
found its way to the shelves of the shopkeepers in Boston and other
of the larger seaport towns.
The following list of clothing each man should provide himself with
on sailing for New England in 1629, when the Rev. Francis Higginson
came over, is so specific that we can easily visualize the male
company that arrived at Salem that year.
NOTE. As several excellent books are available that treat
exclusively of costume in the colonies, it has not seemed
necessary to elaborate on the subject in these pages. The
following notes however, are thought to be of interest.
4 peares of shoes.
4 peares of stockings.
1 peare Norwich gaiters.
4 shirts
2 suits dublet and hose of leather
lyn'd with oy'd skin leather, ye
hose & dublett with hooks &
eyes.
1 suit of Nordon dussens or hampshire
kersies lyn'd the hose with
skins, dublets with lynen of gilford
or gedlyman kerseys.
4 bands
2 handkerchiefs
1 wastecoat of greene cotton bound
about with red tape
1 leather girdle
1 Monmouth cap
1 black hatt lyned in the brows with
lether
5 Red Knitt capps mill'd about 5d.
apiece
2 peares of gloves
1 Mandillion [mantle or great
coat] lyned with cotton
1 peare of breeches and waistcoat
1 leather sute of Dublett & breeches
of oyled leather
1 peare of leather breeches and
drawers to weare with both
there other sutes.
Fine clothing surrounded itself with fine furnishings, according
to the standards of the period, and as the wealth of the Colony
increased with the successful exportation of fish, lumber, beaver,
and peltry, it supplied them with all kinds of luxuries and
refinements. The ships were crossing frequently and the Colony kept
pace with the mother country much as the country follows the city at
the present time.
In the town of Ipswich, lived Madam Rebecka Symonds, writing in
her sixtieth year to her son in London to send her a fashionable
"lawn whiske," for her neckwear. In due time he replied that the
"fashionable Lawn whiske is not now worn, either by Gentil or
simple, young or old. Instead where of I have bought a shape and
ruffles, which is now the ware of the gravest as well as the young
ones. Such as goe not with naked necks ware a black wifle over it.
Therefore, I have not only Bought a plaine one y't you sent for, but
also a Luster one, such as are most in fashion."
The dutiful son also purchased for his mother's wear a feather fan;
but he writes to her "I should also have found in my heart, to have
let it alone, because none but very grave persons (and of them very
few) use it. Now 'tis grown almost as obsolete as Russets, and more
rare to be seen than a yellow Hood." When the feather fan reached
Ipswich it was found to have a silver handle and with it came "two
tortois fans, 200 needles, 5 yds. sky calico, silver gimp, a black
sarindin cloak, damson leather skin, two women's Ivorie Knives,
etc."[30]
[30] Waters, _Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony_, Ipswich,
1905.
Human nature and human frailities were much the same in the
seventeenth century as at the present time, and before long, the
magistrates considered it desirable to curb the extravagancies
of dress that followed the London mode; and to induce a spirit
of economy more fitting to the poverty of a new settlement. The
ministers controlled the lawmaking body and sumptuary laws were
enacted which are enlightening. Because of "newe and immodest
fashions" the wearing of silver, gold and silk laces, girdles and
hat bands was prohibited. It was the fashion at that time to slash
the sleeves so that a fabric of another color worn beneath would
show in an ornamental manner through the slash. The ministers
decreed that neither man nor woman should wear clothing with more
than one slash on each sleeve and another on the back. "Cutt-works,
inbroidered or needle worke capps, bands & rayles," were
forbidden.[31] Ruffs and beaver hats were prohibited, as was long
hair. Binding or small edging laces might be used, but the making or
selling of bone lace was penalized at the rate of five shillings per
yard.
[31] _Records of the Mass. Bay Colony_, Vol. I, p. 126.
But this didn't change human nature and although from time to time
offenders were taken into court and punished, the wearing of fine
clothing fashioned after the London mode continued and a few years
later the ministers tried their hand again. Any kind of lace was
anathema and "no garment shalbee made with short sleeves, whereby
the nakedness of the arme may bee discovered." On the other hand,
large sleeves were forbidden, so the maids and goodwives of the time
must have been somewhat at a loss to know how lawfully to fashion
their clothes.
The minister at Ipswich grew so ill-tempered over the ungodly state
of the women in his town that he vented his spleen as follows:
"When I hear a nugiperous Gentledame inquire what dress the Queen
is in this week, what the nudius tertian of the Court, I look at
her as the very gizzard of a trifle, the product of a quarter of a
cypher, the epitome of nothing, fitter to be kickt, if she were of a
kickable substance than either honoured or humoured."[32]
[32] Ward, _The Simple Cobler of Aggawam_, London, 1647.
The minister in the adjoining town, Rowley, actually cut off his
nephew from his inheritance because he wore his hair long in the
prevailing fashion. Later in the century the offense of wearing
long hair was forgotten in the unspeakable sin of wearing wigs. The
Great and General Court again took a hand and in 1675 condemned
"the practise of men's wearing their own or other's hair made into
periwigs." Judge Sewall in his _Diary_ alludes to the custom. In
1685 three persons were admitted to the Old South Church in Boston.
"Two wore periwigs," comments the Judge.
"1708, Aug. 20, Mr. Chievar died. The Wellfare of the Province was
much upon his Spirit. He abominated Periwigs."[33]
[33] _Sewall's Diary_, Vol. II, p. 231.
The Great and General Court at one time ordered that no person
should smoke tobacco in public under a penalty of two shillings
and six pence, nor in his own house with a relative or friend. But
everybody smoked who wanted to, even the maids, and the repressive
legislation in time met the usual fate of similar efforts to
restrain individual liberty and manners.
It is sweet to fancy Priscilla at her spinning wheel wearing the
coif and nun-like garb of the Puritan maiden of the poet and the
artist. But the inventories of estate in the early years of the
Colony, as well as at a later time, furnish evidence of a different
character. The variety of fabrics listed is amazing and holds
its own with the modern department store. There are most of the
well-known fabrics of today, such as calico, cambric, challis,
flannel, lawn, linen, plush, serge, silk, velvet, and many others;
and there are also names that sound strangely in modern ears, viz.:
cheney, darnex, dowlas, genting, inckle, lockrum, ossembrike,
pennistone, perpetuana, sempiternum, stammell, and water paragon.
As for dress--the women wore bonnets, caps, silk hoods, coifs,
forehead cloths, ruffs, and whisks. Gowns, cloaks, mantles, and
muffs are mentioned frequently; as are many kinds of lace and
even fans and veils. Shawls and scarfs were not unknown and there
were gold, silver, and enamelled rings. Women possessed masks, and
stomachers were not uncommon. Tortoise shell combs appear; all
well-to-do persons wore gloves, and as for shoes--there were shoes
with French heels, fall shoes, and those with silver buckles. Even
shoe strings appear in the inventories. There were silver, pewter,
and steel buttons and those of gympe, thread, and silk.
Laboring men wore leather and coarse fabrics and for others there
were suits, doublets, waistcoats and breeches. Trousers are
mentioned; also a cane and periwigs. Of caps and hats there were a
number of kinds--felt, castor, demi-castor, and even straw. Capt.
George Corwin, a Salem merchant, owned a cloth coat trimmed with
silver lace, a velvet coat, a tabby doublet, an old-fashioned
Dutch satin doublet, four cloaks of various kinds, two pairs of
golden topped gloves, one embroidered pair, and a pair with black
fringe. He also took his walks abroad wearing silk stockings, with
a hat encircled by a silver band and carrying a silver-headed cane
or a plate hilt rapier, according to fashion. He possessed two
silver watches. Who shall say that the men and women of the New
England colonies did not dress well and live well in the early days
according to their means?[34]
[34] In the inventory of the estate of Henry Landis of Boston,
Shopkeeper, deceased, taken, Dec. 17, 1651, appears his clothing,
viz.:
1 suite of fine broad cloth £1.10.0
1 French serge suite, 18.0
1 Stuffe Cassoke & 1 pr breeches, 16.0
1 French serge Cassocke £1. 0.0
1 pr red drawers, 5.0
1 wascoate 5.0
1 pr cotton breeches 2.0
5 pr stockings & a hoode 12.0
1 hatte 2.6
--_Suffolk Co. Probate Rds._, Vol. II, p. 127.
In the late 1600's, and until comparatively recent times, working
men very generally wore frocks, a custom in dress that dates
back into the centuries. It was an almost universal custom for
farmers and those employed in the mechanic trades to wear a
frock. The farmer generally looked upon the frock as an outer
garment--something to put on in colder weather or to slip on to
protect underclothing or to conceal an untidy appearance. It was a
garment to take off on coming into the house or to put on when going
to the village or to market.
Carters or truckmen also habitually wore frocks. Drake, in his
"Landmarks of Boston," describes the old-time trucks, not to exceed
eighteen feet in length, with their loads of hogsheads of molasses
and other heavy merchandise balanced on the one axle and the two
horses harnessed tandem, the head horse led by the truckman. With
the disappearance of these ponderous vehicles also went "that
distinctive body of men, the 'Boston Truckmen,' who once formed
a leading and attractive feature of our public processions, with
their white frocks and black hats, mounted with their magnificent
truck-horses. Hardy and athletic, it would be hard to find their
equals on either side of the water. The long jiggers now used are
scarcely less objectionable than the old trucks." Drake wrote this
only seventy-five years ago but the "jiggers" of his time have now
almost entirely disappeared.
The frock was a loose garment slipped on over the head and in
length usually reached halfway between the knees and the feet. The
opening in front reached from the neckband nearly to the waist and
was closed by buttons, though sometimes a gathering string was
used. The bottom was cut up eight or ten inches, on the sides, to
permit greater freedom in walking. There were long frocks and short
frocks, the latter being generally worn indoors. The frocks worn in
workshops by mechanics were short.
One early source of information exists in the advertisements of
runaway servants to be found in the eighteenth-century Boston
newspapers. During the quarter-century following 1725, the _Boston
News-Letter_ printed thirty-seven advertisements asking for the
detention of white male servants, twenty-one of whom ran away during
the cold-weather months. Of the latter, six wore frocks or carried
frocks in their bundle of clothing. It is fair to assume that some
of these men may have taken with them only their best clothing and
left working garments behind, hence the small number of frocks
specifically mentioned. This possibly may have been the fact in
the instance of an Irish servant, aged twenty-six, who ran away in
December, 1741, from his master, James Hunt of York, Maine. He wore
a broadcloth coat and jacket of a cinnamon color, a pair of orange
colored plush breeches and a good beaver hat. The reward for his
detention was £3.
John Davis, a servant of Mr. Okenden of Boston, absented himself
from service in March, 1728, and among other clothing he took with
him a brown fustian frock, and a pair of striped ticking breeches.
Frocks and "trouzers" were part of the personal effects of William
Davison, a tailor, in King Street, Boston, that were advertised for
sale at public vendue in November, 1729.
Charles Daly, an Irish boy, who ran away from his master in Boston,
in December, 1732, wore a fustian frock and another Irish servant
who ran away from a brigantine at Boston four years later, wore a
new frock and trowsers.
An Irish servant of Captain Luce of Boston, a cooper by trade, took
with him when he disappeared in December, 1737, a frock and a pair
of "trowsers." Ten years later a negro servant who ran away from the
North End of Boston, took with him a new ozen-brig frock.
The settlers came provided with English-made shoes it is likely of
a quality similar to those provided by John Hewsen in 1629, the
contract reading: "To make eight pair of welt-neat's leather shoes,
crossed on the outside with a seam, to be substantial, good over
leather of the best, and two soles, the inner sole of good neat's
leather, and the outer of tallowed backs."[35] In 1651, the stock of
Robert Turner of Boston, shoemaker, was inventoried as follows: 23
pairs of children's shoes at 9d. per pair; 29 pairs of No. 11, at
4/4; of No. 12, at 4/8; of No. 13, at 4/10 per pair; 20 dozen wooden
heels at 8d. per dozen; 14 pairs boots at 14/ per pair.
[35] _Records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony_, Boston, 1853, Vol.
I, p. 27.
In 1672, a committee of the town of Boston, considering that people
in low circumstances "will wear no other shoes or boots generally
but of the newest fashion and highest price" proposed that a law
should be enacted that no shoemaker shall sell to any inhabitant,
shoes of 11 or 12 sizes above five shillings a pair and so in
proportion as to other sizes.[36]
[36] Felt, _The Customs of New England_, Boston, 1853.
During the first half century following the arrival of the settlers,
red colored stockings were much worn in New England and russet and
green colored stockings were also in fashion. Stockings made of wash
leather were worn. In 1675 cloth stockings sold at 14/ to 18/ a
dozen pairs. In 1675 John Usher of Boston wrote to his principal in
London: "Your stirrups and turn-down stockings are not salable here."
The Massachusetts Bay Company sent over in its stock, in 1629, a
hundred black hats made of wool and lined in the brim with leather
and at the same time came one hundred Monmouth caps, so-called from
the place where they were manufactured, and valued at two shillings
each. With them came five hundred red knit caps, milled, at five
pence each. Beaver hats were also worn at that time and in 1634
prohibited by order of the General Court. In 1651, a shopkeeper in
Boston, sold black hats at 14s. 16s. and 5s.; colored hats brought
10s. and others, 8s.; children's were 3/6; black castors, 14s. and
coarse felt hats, 3s. each.
In 1675 a Bostonian wrote to a friend in London, that the local
market for sugar-loaf or high-crowned hats was dull.
The Monmouth or military cocked hat, for men, began to come into
fashion about 1670, with an average width of brim of six inches.
Their inconvenient width led to the practice of having one flap
fastened to the side of the crown, either before or behind, and
then to having two flaps alike secured. During the reign of Queen
Anne, the brim was caught up in three flaps, and so the triangularly
cocked hat became the fashion.[37]
[37] Felt, _The Customs of New England_, Boston, 1853.
Doublets were made of leather, usually red in color, and fastened
with hooks and eyes. They were large on the shoulders, having
much cutwork showing the linen shirt beneath. Toward the end of
the century their popularity waned and they were succeeded by the
waistcoat. The jerkin was made of leather and also various kinds
of cloth and sometimes is mentioned in inventories. It was worn by
laboring men.
SNOW SHOES were used after a great storm; "which our People do much
use now, that never did before."--_Boston News-Letter_, Jan. 29-Feb.
5, 1704/5.
STOLEN or carried privately away out of the house of Capt. John
Bonner in Cow Lane, near Fort Hill, Boston, sometime before the late
Sickness of his late Wife, or about the time of her decease, which
was the Month of January last: the following Particulars, viz.: Of
his Wife's Wearing apparel three Silk Gowns, one changable colour,
a second flowr'd and the third stript; Three other Gowns, one where
of a double gown, one side silk stuff the other russel, a second
double Gown of silk-stuff and Petticoat of the same, the third a
black Crape Gown and Petticoat of the same; Four other Petticoats,
one changable colour'd silk, a second black flowr'd silk, a third
plain black silk, the fourth a flowr'd Sarge, one Lutstring Hood and
Scarff, three laced Headdresses and one plain, three laced Caps, two
laced Handkerchiefs, three under Caps laced, three white Aprons,
three pair of laced Sleves, two white Muslin Hoods, one Amber
Necklace, one Muff...."--_Boston News-Letter_, Mar. 5-12, 1710/11.
GLOVES. Mens Topt fine Kid Gloves, and womans at 3s. 6d. per Pair,
fine Glaz'd Lamb and Mittens at 2s. 6d. per Pair, and Rough Lamb
for Men and Women at 2s. 6d. per Pair, and further Incouragement to
any that buys in Quantity: To be Sold by Mr Daniel Stevens lately
come from England, At his House in Pudding-Lane, Boston.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Sept. 3-10, 1711.
MAN'S MUFF. Any Person that took up a Man's Muffe, dropt on the
Lord's Day between the Old Meeting House & the South, are desired
to bring it to the Post Office in Boston, and they shall be
Rewarded.--_Boston News-Letter_, Jan. 9-16, 1715/16.
VENETIAN SILKS. Imported from London in the Last Ship, and to be
Sold by Mr. A. Faneuil, Merchant, at his Warehouse in King-Street,
Boston, flowered Venetian Silks of the newest Fashion, in Pieces
that contain enough for a suit for a woman.--_Boston Gazette_, Feb.
8-15, 1719/20.
WIGG. Taken from the Shop of Powers Marriot, Barber, in Boston,
either on the 2d or 3d of August Instant, a light Flaxen Natural
Wigg; parted from the Forehead to the Crown, the narrow Ribband
is of a Red Pink Colour, the Caul is in Rows of Green, Red and
White. Whoever will give Information of the said Wigg, so as it be
restor'd again, they shall have Twenty Shillings Reward.--_Boston
News-Letter_, July 31-Aug. 7, 1729.
PUBLIC VENDUE. To be Sold, at Publick Vendue, by William Nichols
at the Royal Exchange Tavern, in King Street, Boston, on This Day,
beginning (if the Company attend) precisely at 4 o'clock Afternoon,
a Variety of Merchandize; which may be seen till the Sale begins,
viz:
A curious and compleat double Sett of Burnt China, Broad Cloths,
Druggets, Shalloons, Cottons and long Ells, Buckrams, Scots Cloths,
Dowlas, Garlixs, Hollands, Chints, Patches, Qualities, FINE NUNS
THREADS, Garterings, Mens and Womens fine Hose, Mens superfine Silk
Hose, fine Shirt Buttons, Womens superfine Mittens, yellow, blue and
Tabby, a sattin Coverlid, curiously embroidered with Gold Lincey
for Curtains, &c., some Household Goods, such as Case of Draws,
Tables, Paints, Maps, Alabaster Effigies, China, &c. Sundry suits
of Mens Apparel, new and second hand; sundry very good Watches,
Shoes, Boots, Green Tea, Chocolate, and many other Things.--_Boston
News-Letter_, May 18-25, 1738.
WOMEN'S SHOES. To be Sold, at the House of Joseph Henderson in
Winter-Street, Boston. Women's flower'd Silk, Russell & Mourning
Shoes, Cloggs and Pattoons, Lace & Eagins.--_Boston News-Letter_,
Oct. 15-22, 1741.
FABRICS, ETC. To be Sold At Robert Jenkins's on the North-Side
of the Town House in King-Street, Boston,--India Damasks, China
Taffeties, fine India Patches, Chinces and Callicoes, fine
Cambricks, Bag and Sheeting Hollands, Huckabuck and Damask Table
Cloths, with other Linnens of all Sorts, fine Plushes of divers
Colours, Scarlet and other Broad Cloths, Shalloons, figured
Fustians, Ratteens, Whitneys, Duffles, Camblets, Callamancoes,
Floretta's, with a Variety of Haberdashery and Millinary Wares;
Gold and Silver Lace, Crapes, and Sundrys for Mourning; Caps,
Stockings and Gloves of all Sorts, Ozenbrigs, English Sole Leather,
Hogsheads of Earthen Ware, Casks of Red Herrings, Cloaths Flaskets,
China Baskets and Voiders, white Lead & Sieve Bottoms, and Sundry
other Goods.--_Boston News-Letter_, Oct. 29-Nov. 5, 1741.
LEATHER BREECHES. Philip Freeman, lately from London, makes and
sells super-fine black Leather Breeches and Jackets, not to be
discerned from the best super-fine Cloth; likewise makes Buff and
Cloth Colour after the neetest Manner, also makes all sorts of
Gloves by wholesale and retale. The said Freeman lives in Prison
Lane, near the Town House in Boston.--_Boston Gazette_, June 21,
1743.
EMBROIDERED PETTICOAT. On the 11th of Nov. last, was stolen out
of the yard of Mr. Joseph Coit, Joiner in Boston, living in Cross
street, a Woman's Fustian Petticoat, with a large work'd Embroder'd
Border, being Deer, Sheep, Houses, Forrest, &c., so worked. Whoever
has taken the said Petticoat, and will return it to the owner
thereof, or to the Printer, shall have 40s. old Tenor Reward and no
Question ask'd.--_Boston Gazette_, Dec. 19, 1749.
LEATHER STOCKINGS. Made and Sold by Philip Freeman, at the Blew
Glove next the Cornfields in Union Street; Leather Stockings of
different Colours, viz. Black, Cloth colour'd, and Yellow made after
the neatest manner.--_Boston Gazette_, June 25, 1754.
FABRICS USED IN THE EARLY DAYS
The fabrics included in the following list all appear in probate
inventories, court records, or in newspaper advertisements.
_Alamode._ A thin, light, glossy black silk. Used for hoods (1676);
for hat bands and covered with black crape (1702).
_Alepine_, _Alapeen_, _Allapine_. A mixed stuff either of wool and
silk or mohair and cotton.
_Algiers Cloth._ Essex Co. (Mass.), Court Records (1680).
_Attabanies_, Silk. Boston Gazette, June 29, 1729.
_Baize, Bays._ A coarse woolen stuff, having a long nap, formerly,
when made of finer and lighter texture, used as material for
clothing. Used for a waistcoat (1634). Pepys owned a cloak of
Colchester bayze (1667). Red bays was used for underpetticoats
(1732). First introduced into England about 1561.
_Barber's Stuff._ 1¾ yards, 5/. Essex Co. (Mass.) Probate (1654).
_Barley Corns, Dresden._ Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757; Boston
News-Letter, July 16, 1761.
BARRATINE. A woven fabric. A black barratine mantua and petticoat
(1689). Barratees (sic) from Frankfort (1745).
_Barronet_, Silk, query, Barrantine.
BEARSKIN. A shaggy kind of woolen cloth used for overcoats.
_Belgrades_, Silk. Boston News-Letter, Mar. 28, 1723.
_Bendoarines_, Striped. Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
BENGAL. Piece goods (apparently of different kinds) exported from
Bengal in the seventeenth century. Bengal stripes, striped ginghams,
originally from Bengal were afterwards manufactured at Paisley,
Scotland. "Bengalls and Painted Callicoes used for Hanging of Rooms"
(1680). There are two sorts, fine striped and plain (1696). Thin
slight stuff, made of silk and hair, for women's apparel (1755).
_Berlins_, Double. Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Bezoarines, Tobine._ Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Birds' Eyes._ A fabric marked as with birds' eyes. A yellow
birds-eye hood (1665). Olive colored birds' eye silk (1689).
_Bombasine_, _Bombazeen_, _Bombase_. A twilled or corded dress
material, composed of silk and worsted; sometimes of cotton and
worsted or worsted alone. In black, much used for mourning. A
doublet of white bombasyne (1572). Pepys owned a black bombazin suit
(1666).
_Bream._ 4 yards 4/. Essex Co. (Mass.) Probate (1674).
_Bredaws_, Silk. Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Broglios_, Changeable. Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Buckrum._ At first a fine linen or cotton fabric; later stiffened
with gum or paste. A cross of blue buckrum for the rood (1475).
Vestments of blue buckam (1552). Our gallants wear fine laces upon
buckram (1665).
_Burdett._ A cotton fabric. A blue burdit mantua and petticoat
(1710).
_Cabbis._ A coarse cheap serge. A carpet of cadys for the table
(1536). A blue saddlecloth bound with green and white caddis (1691).
The varigated cloaths of the Highlanders (1755).
_Calamanco_, _Callimancoe_. A woolen stuff of Flanders, glossy on
the surface, and woven with a satin twill and checkered in the
warp, so that the checks are seen on one side only; much used in
the eighteenth century. Calamanco breeches (1605), diamond buttoned
callamanco hose (1639). His waistcoat of striped calamanco (1693). A
gay calamanco waistcoat (1710). A tawny yellow jerkin turned up with
red calamanco (1760).
_Calico._ Originally a general name for all kinds of cotton cloth
imported from Callicut, India, and from the East. Painted calicuts
they call calmendar (1678). Pepys bought calico for naval flags
(1666). Dressed in white cotton or calico (1740).
_Cambletteens._ Boston News-Letter, Dec. 18, 1760.
_Camlet._ Originally made of silk and camel's hair, hence the name,
but later of silk and wool. Red chamlett (1413). His camlet breeches
(1625). Rich gold or silver chamlets (1634). Watering the grograms
and chambletts (1644). Pepy owned a camelott riding coat (1662).
Camlet was also made with a wavy or watered surface. Water Chamolet
of an azure color (1624). A watered camlet gown (1719).
_Camleteen._ An imitation camlet. Made of fine worsted (1730).
_Cantaloon._ A woolen stuff manufactured in the eighteenth century
in the west of England. Trusses of cantaloons or serges (1711).
Cantaloons from Bristol (1748).
_Canvas._ (1) Strong or coarse unbleached cotton cloth made of hemp
or flax, formerly used for clothing. A coverlet lined with canvas
(1537). (2) The thin canvas that serves women for a ground unto
their cushions or purse work (1611). Working canvas for cushions
(1753). St. Peter's Canvas.
_Carpet._ Originally a thick fabric, commonly of wool, used to cover
tables, beds, etc. Lay carpets about the bed (1513). A carpet of
green cloth for a little folding table (1527). A table wanting a
carpet (1642). A green carpet for the communion table (1702).
_Carsey_, see _Kersey_.
_Castor._ Generally a hat, either of beaver fur or resembling it.
_Challis._ A fine silk and worsted fabric, very pliable and without
gloss, used for dresses, introduced at Norwich, England, about 1632.
_Checks._ A fabric woven or printed in a pattern forming small
squares, i.e., check Kersey. Hungarian checks.
_Cheercoones._ Boston Gazette, June 23, 1729.
_Cheese Cloth._
_Chello._ A fabric imported from India in the eighteenth century.
_Cheney_, _Cheyney_. A worsted or woolen stuff. My red bed of
Phillipp and Cheyney (1650). Colchester cheanyes (1668).
_Cherry derries._ Boston News-Letter, Dec. 18, 1760.
_Coifing Stuff._ 3 yards, 3/4. Essex Co. (Mass.) Probate (1661).
_Copper plate._ A closely woven cotton fabric on which patterns,
landscapes, pictorial representations have been printed from
engraved copper plates; much in fashion during the eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries.
_Dakaple_, see _Dornick_.
_Darnacle_, see _Dornick_.
_Darnex_, see _Dornick_.
_Dianetts._ Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Diaper._ Since the fifteenth century a linen fabric (sometimes
with cotton) woven with lines crossing diamond-wise with the spaces
variously filled with lines, a dot or a leaf. A boad cloth of dyaper
(1502), a vestment of linen dyoper (1553), a suit of diaper for his
table (1624).
_Dimity._ A stout cotton fabric, woven with raised stripes or fancy
figures, for bed hangings, etc. A vestment of white demyt (1440),
a hundred camels loaden with silks, dimmeties, etc. (1632). A book
wrapt up in sea green Dimmity (1636). A half bedstead with dimity
and fine shade of worstead works (1710). His waistcoat was white
dimity (1743).
_Dimothy_, see _Dimity_.
_Dornick_, _Darnix_, _Darnacle_. A silk, worsted, woolen or partly
woolen fabric, used for hangings, carpets, vestments, etc. Two old
cushions of white and red dornix and a hanging of dornix (1527),
dornicks for the master's bed chamber (1626), a darnock carpet
(1672).
_Dowlas._ A coarse linen much used in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, originally made in Brittany. Where the said linen cloth
called dowlas and lockrum is made (1536). Dowlas for saffron bags
(1640). Dowlas from Hamborough (1696).
_Draft._ Silk and worsted. 1 piece orange colored worsted draft, £2.
5. 0. Essex Co. (Mass.) Probate (1678). 24 yards flowered silk draft
at 2/. per yard. Essex Co. (Mass.) Probate (1678).
_Drugget._ Formerly a fabric of all wool or mixed with silk or
linen, used for wearing apparel. A pair of druggett courtings
(1580). A drugget suit lined with green (1675). In drugget dressed,
of thirteen pence a yard (1721).
_Ducape._ A plain-wove stout silk fabric of soft texture sometime
woven with a stripe. Its manufacture was introduced into England by
French refugees in 1685. Women's hoods made of ducape (1688).
_Duffel_, _Duffle_. A coarse woolen cloth having a thick nap or
frieze, originally made at Duffel near Antwerp. This fabric is also
called "shag," and by the early traders "trucking cloth." Indian
goods such as duffels, shirts, etc. (1695). A duffel blanket (1699).
A light duffel cloak with silver frogs (1759). Duffel great coats
(1791).
_Durant_, _Durance_. A woolen stuff sometimes called "everlasting,"
a variety of tammy. Both tammy and durant were hot pressed and
glazed.
_Duroy._ A coarse woolen fabric formerly manufactured in the west of
England, similar to tammy. Wearing a grey duroy coat and waistcoat
(1722). Curley duroy.
_Erminettas._ Boston Gazette, May 26, 1755.
_Everlasting._ Another name for durant, a material used in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for the dress of sergeants and
catchpoles. In later times a strong twilled woolen stuff, also
called "lasting," and much used for women's shoes.
_Farandine._ A cloth of silk and wool or hair, invented about 1630
by one Ferrand. Pepys mentions her new ferrandine waistcoat (1663).
I must wear black farandine the whole year (1668). Peach colored
farandine (1685).
_Frieze._ A coarse woolen cloth, with a nap, usually on one side
only. A gown of green frieze (1418). A home-spun frieze cloth
(1611). His waistcoat of red frieze (1627). An old calash lined with
green frieze (1765).
_Fugere._ Red satin fuger (1465). Cover of a field bed of fuger
satin yellow and red (1596). A petticoat of fuger satin laid with
silver and gold lace and spangled (1638).
_Fustian._ A coarse cloth made of cotton and flax. His clothing was
black fustian with bends in the sleeves (1450). White fustian for
socks for the Queen (1502). Blankets of fustian (1558). Then shall
the yeoman take fustian and cast it upon the bed and the sheet
likewise ... then lay on the other sheet ... then lay on the over
fustian above (1494).
_Galloway._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1681).
_Garlits_, _Garliz_, _Garlix_. Linens made in Gorlitz, Prussian
Silesia. There are several kinds in shades of blue-white and brown.
_Ghenting._ A kind of linen, originally made in Ghent, Flanders.
Used for handkerchiefs, etc.
_Grisette_, _Grizet_. An inferior dress fabric, formerly the common
garb of working girls in France. His doublet was a griset-coat
(1700).
_Grogam_, _Grosgrane_. A coarse fabric of silk, of mohair and wool,
or these mixed with silk; often stiffened with gum. Used for aprons,
cloaks, coats, doublets, gowns and petticoats. My watered grogram
gown (1649). Grograms from Lille (1672).
_Haircloth._ Cloth made of hair and used for tents, towels, and in
drying malt, hops, etc. Every piece of haircloth (1500). Coal sacks
made of hair-cloth (1764).
_Hamald_, _Hamel_, _Hammells_. Homemade fabrics. Narrow hammells.
Boston Gazette, June 30, 1735.
_Harrateen._ A linen fabric used for curtains, bed hangings, etc.
Field bedsteads with crimson harrateen furniture (1711). Harrateen,
Cheney, flowered cotton and checks (1748). For curtains, the best
are linen check harrateen (1825).
_Holland._ A linen fabric, originally made in Holland. When
unbleached called brown holland. A shift of fine holland (1450).
Women cover their head with a coyfe of fine holland linen cloth
(1617). Fine holland handkerchiefs (1660).
_Humanes_ at 18 d. per yard. Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1661).
_Huswives_, _Housewife's Cloth_. A middle grade of linen cloth,
between coarse and fine, for family uses. Howsewife's cloth (1571).
Neither carded wool, flax, or huswives cloth (1625).
_Inkle_, _Incle_, _Incle Manchester_. A narrow linen tape, used for
shoe ties, apron strings, etc. A parcel of paper bound about with
red incle (1686).
_Jeans._ A twilled cotton cloth, a kind of fustian. Jean for my
Lady's stockings (1621). White jean (1766).
_Kenting._ A kind of fine linen cloth originally made in Kent.
Canvas and Kentings (1657). Neckcloths, a sort that come from
Hamborough, made of Kenting thread (1696).
_Kersey._ A coarse, narrow cloth, woven from long wool and usually
ribbed. His stockings were Kersie to the calf and t'other knit
(1607). Trowsers made of Kersey (1664), black Kersie stockings
(1602). Thy Kersie doublet (1714). Kerseys were originally made in
England. Her stockings were of Kersey green as tight as any silk
(1724). Kerseys were used for petticoats and men's clothing.
_Lawn_, _Lane_. A kind of fine linen, resembling cambric. Used for
handkerchiefs, aprons, etc. A coyfe made of a plyte of lawne (1483).
A thin vail of calico lawne (1634), a lawn called Nacar (1578).
_Lemanees._ Boston Gazette, May 26, 1755.
_Linds._ A linen cloth. Kinds of linne or huswife-cloth brought
about by peddlers (1641).
_Linsey_, _Lincey_. In early use a coarse linen fabric. In later
use--Linsey-woolsey. Clothes of linsey (1436). Blue linsey (1583).
_Linsey-woodsey_, _Lindsey-woolsey_. A fabric woven from a mixture
of wool and flax, later a dress material of coarse inferior wool,
woven on a cotton warp. Everyone makes Linsey-woolsey for their
own wearing (New York, 1670). A lindsey-woolsey coat (1749). A
linsey-woolsey petticoat (1777).
_Lockram_, _Lockrum_. A linen fabric of various qualities, for
wearing apparel and household use. Lockram for sheets and smocks and
shirts (1520). Linings of ten penny lockram (1592). His lockram band
sewed to his Linnen shirt (1616). A lockram coife and a blue gown
(1632).
_Lutestring._ A glossy silk fabric. Good black narrow Luto-Strings
and Alamode silks (1686). A flowing Negligee of white Lutestring
(1767). A pale blue lutestring domino (1768).
_Lungee_, _Lungi_. A cotton fabric from India. Later a richly
colored fabric of silk and cotton. Wrapped a lunge about his middle
(1698). A Bengal lungy or Buggess cloth (1779). Silk lungees. Boston
Gazette, June 23, 1729.
_Manchester._ Cotton fabrics made in Manchester, England. Manchester
cottons and Manchester rugges otherwise named Frices (1552). Linen,
woolen and other goods called Manchester wares (1704). A very showy
striped pink and white Manchester (1777).
_Mantua._ A silk fabric made in Italy. Best broad Italian colored
Mantuas at 6/9 per yard (1709). A scarlet-flowered damask Mantua
petticoat (1760).
_Medrinacks_, _Medrinix_. A coarse canvas used by tailors to stiffen
doublets and collars. A sail cloth, i.e., pole-davie.
_Missenets._ Boston News-Letter, Dec. 18, 1760.
_Mockado._ A kind of cloth much used for clothing in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. Tuft mockado was decorated with small
tufts of wool. It was first made in Flanders and at Norwich,
England, by Flemish refugees. A farmer with his russet frock and
mockado sleeves (1596). Crimson mochadoes to make sleeves (1617). A
rich mockado doublet (1638).
_Molecy._ 2 yards, 12 s. Essex Co. (Mass.) Probate (1672).
_Nankeen._ A cotton cloth originally made at Nankin, China, from
a yellow variety of cotton and afterwards made at Manchester and
elsewhere of ordinary cotton and dyed yellow. Make his breeches of
nankeen (1755). His nankeen small clothes were tied with 16 strings
at each knee (1774).
_Niccanee._ A cotton fabric formerly imported from India. Mentioned
in the London Gazette in 1712.
_Nilla._ A cotton fabric from India. There are two sorts, striped
and plain, by the buyers called Bengals ... used for Gowns and
Pettycoats (1696).
_Noyals_, _Noyles_, _Nowells_. A canvas fabric made at Noyal,
France. Noyals canvas (1662). Vitry and noyals canvas (1721).
_Osnaburg Oznabrig_, _Ossembrike_. A coarse linen cloth formerly
made at Osnabruck, Germany. Ossenbrudge for a towell to the Lye
tabyll (1555). A pair of Oznabrigs trowsers (1732).
_Pack Cloth._ A stout, coarse cloth used for packing. Packed up in a
bundle of pack cloth (1698).
_Padusoy_, _Padaway_. A strong corded or gross-grain silk fabric,
much worn by both sexes in the eighteenth century. _Padusay_ was a
kind of serge made in Padua and imported into England since 1633 or
earlier. A pink plain poudesoy (1734). A laced paduasoy suit (1672).
A petticoat lined with muddy-colored pattissway (1704). A glossy
paduasoy (1730). A fine laced silk waistcoat of blue paduasoy (1741).
_Palmeretts._ Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Pantolanes._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1661).
_Pantossam._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1661).
_Paragon._ A kind of double camlet used for dress and upholstery
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 12 yards of water
paragon at 5/8 and 5 yards of French green paragon at 25/10 (1618).
Hangings for a room of green paragon (1678). Black paragon for a
gown (1678).
_Parisnet_, Black and White. Boston News-Letter, Dec. 18, 1760.
_Patch._ A kind of highly glazed printed cotton, usually in
bright-colored floral designs, used for window draperies and bed
hangings. Advertised in Boston News-Letter, June 24, 1742. English
and India patches. Boston News-Letter, Dec. 18, 1760.
_Pealong_, White English. Boston Gazette, Mar. 30, 1734.
_Pellony._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1680).
_Penistone_, _Penniston_. A coarse woolen cloth made at Penistone,
Co. Yorkshire, England, used for garments, linings, etc. Clothes
called pennystone or forest whites (1552). Red peniston for
petticoats (1616).
_Pentado._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1680).
_Perpetuana._ A durable woolen fabric manufactured in England from
the sixteenth century, similar to _everlasting_, _durance_, etc. The
sober perpetuana-suited Puritan (1606). A counterpane for the yellow
perpetuana bed (1648).
_Philip._ A kind of worsted or woolen stuff of common quality. 12
yards of philip and cheney for a coat for Mrs. Howard (1633). My red
bed of Phillip and China (1650).
_Pocking Cloth._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1674).
_Poldavy_, _Poledavis_. A coarse canvas or sacking, originally woven
in Brittany, and formerly much used for sailcloth. A canvas of the
best poldavie (1613). Pole-Davies for sails (1642).
_Pompeydones._ Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Poplin._ A fabric with a silk warp and worsted weft, having a
corded surface. Lined with light colored silk poplin (1737).
_Porstotana._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1680).
_Prunella_, _Prenella_. A strong stuff, originally silk, afterwards
worsted, used for clergymen's gowns, and later for the uppers of
women's shoes. Plain black skirts of prunella (1670).
_Rash._ A smooth-surfaced fabric made of silk (_silk rash_) or
worsted (_cloth rash_). A cloak of cloth rash (1592). My silk rash
gown (1597). He had a cloak of rash or else fine cloth (1622).
_Ratteen_, _Rating_. A thick twilled woolen cloth, usually friezed
or with a curled nap, but sometimes dressed; a friezed or drugget. A
cloak lined with a scarlet Ratteen (1685). A ratteen coat I brought
from Dublin (1755). A brown ratteen much worn (1785).
_Romal._ A silk or cotton square or handkerchief sometimes with a
pattern. 12 pieces of Romals or Sea Handkerchiefs (1683). There are
three sorts, silk Romals, Romals Garrub and cotton Romals (1696).
_Russel._ A woolen fabric formerly used for clothing, especially in
the sixteenth century, in various colors; black, green, red, grey,
etc. A woman's kertyl of Russell worsted (1552). A black russel
petticoat (1703).
_Sagathy_, _Sagatheco_. A slight woolen stuff, a kind of serge
or ratteen, sometimes mixed with a little silk. A brown colored
sagathea waistcoat and breeches (1711).
_Sarsenet_, _Sarcenet_. (Saracen cloth). A very fine and soft silk
material made both plain and twilled, in various colors. Curtains
of russet sarsenet fringed with silk (1497). A doublet lined with
sarcenet (1542). Some new fashion petticoats of sarcenett (1662). A
scarlet coat lined with green sarcenet (1687).
_Satinette_, _Satinet_. An imitation of satin woven in silk or silk
and cotton. A cloth-colored silk sattinet gown and petticoat (1703).
A thin satin chiefly used by the ladies for summer nightgowns, &c.
and usually striped (1728).
_Satinisco._ An inferior quality of satin. His means afford him
mock-velvet or satinisco (1615). Also there were stuffs called
perpetuano, satinisco, bombicino, Italicino, etc. (1661).
_Say._ Cloth of a fine texture resembling serge; in the sixteenth
century sometimes partly of silk and subsequently entirely of wool.
A kirtle of silky say (1519). A long worn short cloak lined with say
(1659). Say is a very light crossed stuff, all wool, much used for
linings, and by the Quakers for aprons, for which purpose it usually
is dyed green (1728). It was also used for curtains and petticoats.
_Scotch Cloth._ A texture resembling lawn, but cheaper, said to
have been made of nettle fibre. A sort of sleasey soft cloth ...
much used for linens for beds and for window curtains (1696).
_Sempiternum._ A woolen cloth made in the seventeenth century and
similar to perpetuana. See _Everlasting_.
_Shag._ A cloth having a velvet nap on one side, usually of worsted,
but sometimes of silk. Crimson shag for winter clothes (1623). A
cushion of red shag (1725).
_Shalloon._ A closely woven woolen material used for linings.
Instead of shalloon for lining men's coats, sometimes use a glazed
calico (1678).
_Sleazy._ An abbreviated form of silesia. A linen that took its name
from Silesia in Hamborough, and not because it wore sleasy (1696). A
piece of Slesey (1706).
_Soosey._ A mixed, striped fabric of silk and cotton made in India.
Pelongs, ginghams and sooseys (1725).
_Stammel._ A coarse woolen cloth, or linsey-woolsey, usually
dyed red. In summer, a scarlet petticoat made of stammel or
linsey-woolsey (1542). His table with stammel, or some other carpet
was neatly covered (1665). The shade of red with which this cloth
was usually dyed was called stammel color.
_Swanskin_, _Swanikins_. A fine, thick flannel, so called on account
of its extraordinary whiteness. The swan-skin coverlet and cambrick
sheets (1610).
_Tabby._ Named for a quarter of Bagdad where the stuff was woven. A
general term for a silk taffeta, applied originally to the striped
patterns, but afterwards applied also to silks of uniform color
waved or watered. The bride and bridegroom were both clothed in
white tabby (1654). A child's mantle of a sky-colored tabby (1696).
A pale blue watered tabby (1760). Rich Morrello Tabbies. (Boston
Gazette, March 25, 1734).
_Tabling._ Material for table cloths; table linen, Diaper for
tabling (1640). 12 yards tabling at 2/6 per yard. Essex Co. (Mass.)
Probate (1678).
_Tamarine._ A kind of woolen cloth. A piece of ash-colored wooley
Tamarine striped with black (1691).
_Tammy._ A fine worsted cloth of good quality, often with a glazed
finish. All other kersies, bayes, tammies, sayes, rashes, etc.
(1665). A sort of worsted-stuff which lies cockled (1730). Her dress
a light drab lined with blue tammy (1758). A red tammy petticoat
(1678). Strain it off through a tammy (1769).
_Tandem._ A kind of linen, classed among Silesia linens. Yard wide
tandems for sale (1755). Quadruple tandems (1783).
_Thick Sets._ A stout, twilled cotton cloth with a short very close
nap: a kind of fustian. A Manchester thickset on his back (1756).
_Ticklenburg._ Named for a town in Westphalia. A kind of coarse
linen, generally very uneven, almost twice as strong as osnaburgs,
much sold in England. About 1800 the name was always stamped on the
cloth.
_Tiffany._ A kind of thin transparent silk; also a transparent gauze
muslin, cobweb lawn. Shewed their naked arms through false sleeves
of tiffany (1645). Black tiffany for mourning (1685).
_Tow Cloth._ A coarse cloth made from tow, i.e., the short fibres of
flax combed out by the hetchell, and made into bags or very coarse
clothing. Ropes also were made of tow.
_Tobine._ Probably a variant of tabby. With lustre shine in simple
lutestring or tobine (1755). Lutestring tobines which commonly are
striped with flowers in the warp and sometimes between the tobine
stripes, with brocaded sprigs (1799). A stout twilled silk (1858).
_Trading Cloth_, see _Duffell_.
_Turynetts._ Boston Gazette, Aug. 22, 1757.
_Venetians._ A closely woven cloth having a fine twilled surface,
used as a suiting or dress material.
_Villaranes._ Essex Co. (Mass.) Court Records (1661).
_Vitry_, _Vittery_. A kind of light durable canvas. Vandolose
[vandelas] or vitrie canvas the ell, 10s. (1612). Narrow vandales or
vittry canvas (1640).
_Water Paragon_, see _Paragon_.
_Witney_, _Whitney_. A heavy, loose woolen cloth with a nap made up
into blankets at Witney, Co. Oxford, England. Also, formerly, a
cloth or coating made there. True Witney broadcloth, with its shag
unshorn (1716). Fine Whitneys at 53 s. a yard, coarse Whitneys at 28
s. (1737).
In the Inventory of the Estate of Henry Landis of Boston,
shopkeeper, taken Dec. 17, 1651, the following fabrics are listed,
viz.:
Black Turky tamet, Green Italiano
Turkie mohaire Say
Green English Tamett Red Calico
Cotton cloth Red Serge
Kersey Cheny
Yellow cotton Double Cheny
Linsie woolsey Red satinesco
English mohaire Olive serge
Mixed Italiano Holland
Grey ditto Tufted Holland
Broadcloth Fine Holland
Green cotton cloth Nuns Holland
Course Yorkshire Kersey Broad dowlas
Tamy Cheny Dowlas
Padway serge Broad lining
Adretto Lockrum
Hair Camelion White Calico
Castelano 1 pr dimity drawers
Herico Italiano 1 pr girls bodys
White serge Addevetto
Perpetuano 2 childs waistcoats at 9 d.
Best ditto 9 tawney bonnets at 16 d.
Mixed serge 46 pr ear wiers at 4 d.
Cloth 17 calico neck cloths at 12 d.
Kersey 2 gro tin buttons at 2/6.
Italiano 9 yds silk galoon at 2½ d.
Sad hair coloured Italiano Breeches bottons
Taunton serge Silk breast buttons
Mixed stuff Hair buttons
Green mixed serge Great silk buttons
Herico Kersey A great variety of silk and bone lace
Green Tamy 1 black satin cap, 3/.
--_Suffolk Co. Probate Records_, Vol. II, p. 127.
CHAPTER VI
PEWTER IN THE EARLY DAYS
In the spring of 1629, when the Secretary of the Company of the
Massachusetts Bay in New England was preparing a memorandum of
materials to be obtained "to send for Newe England" in the ships
that sailed on April 25th of that year, among the fabrics and food
stuffs, the seed grain, potatoes, tame turkeys, and copper kettles
of French making without bars of iron about them, were listed
brass ladles and spoons and "pewter botles of pyntes & qrts." The
little fleet reached Naumkeck (now Salem) on June 30th, and on its
return voyage, a month later, Master Thomas Graves, the "Engynere,"
expert in mines, fortifications, and surveys, who had come over
with Governor Endecott the previous year, sent home a report to
the Company in which he listed "such needefull things as every
Planter doth or ought to provide to go to New-England," including
victuals for a whole year, apparel, arms, tools, spices, and various
household implements, among which appear "wooden platters, dishes,
spoons and trenchers," with no mention of pewter. The records of the
Company make mention of carpenters, shoemakers, plasterers, vine
planters, and men skillful in making pitch, salt, etc., but nowhere
does the trade of the pewterer appear.
Pewter did not come into general use among the more prosperous
farmers in England until about the middle of the sixteenth century
and then only as a salt--a dish of honor, or three or four pieces
for use on more formal occasions. It was the wooden trencher that
was commonest in use in all middle-class families until well
after the year 1700, and this was true both in New England and
Old England. In homes where the shilling was made to go as far as
possible, the wooden trencher, like the homespun coat, lingered
in use for a century later. At least one family in Essex County,
Massachusetts, was still using its wooden plates of an earlier
period as late as 1876, when the menfolk left home to work for two
or three days in the early fall on the thatch banks beside Plum
Island river. And this happened in a comfortably situated, but
thrifty, family. The rough usage given the common tableware in the
crude camp by the marshes had taught the housewife the desirability
of bringing down from the chest in the attic, at least once a year,
the discarded wooden plates used in her childhood.
Pewter appears early in the Massachusetts Colony in connection
with the settlement of estates of deceased persons. By means of
the detailed inventories taken at such times, it is possible to
reconstruct with unquestioned accuracy the manner in which the homes
of the early settlers were furnished, and by means of this evidence
it is possible to show that the hardships and crudities of the first
years were soon replaced by the usual comforts of the English home
of similar station at the same time. The ships were crossing the
Atlantic frequently and bringing from London, Plymouth or Bristol,
to the new settlements, all manner of goods required for sale in the
shops that had been set up in Boston, Salem and elsewhere.
In 1635 the widow Sarah Dillingham died at Ipswich, leaving a
considerable estate. Among the bequests were a silver bowl and a
silver porringer, and the inventory shows 40½ pounds of pewter
valued at £2.14.0.
In 1640, Bethia Cartwright of Salem bequeathed to her sister, Mary
Norton, three pewter platters and a double saltcellar and to a
nephew she gave six spoons and a porringer.
In 1643, Joseph, the eldest son of Robert Massey of Ipswich, was
bequeathed by his father, four pewter platters and one silver spoon.
Benjamin, another son, was to receive four pewter platters and two
silver spoons, and Mary, a daughter, received the same number as did
Joseph.
In 1645, Lionell Chute died in Ipswich. His silver spoon he
bequeathed to his son James. It was the only piece of silver in
the house. Of pewter, he had possessed fourteen dishes, "small and
great," eleven pewter salts, saucers and porringers, two pewter
candlesticks and a pewter bottle.
The widow, Mary Hersome of Wenham, possessed in 1646 one pewter
platter and two spoons. The same year Michael Carthrick of Ipswich
possessed ten pewter dishes, two quart pots, one pint pot, one
beaker, a little pewter cup, one chamber pot and a salt. In 1647,
William Clarke, a prosperous Salem merchant, died possessed of an
interesting list of furniture; six silver spoons and two small
pieces of plate; and the following pewter which was kept in the
kitchen--twenty platters, two great plates and ten little ones, one
great pewter pot, one flagon, one pottle, one quart, three pints,
four ale quarts, one pint, six beer cups, four wine cups, four
candlesticks, five chamber pots, two lamps, one tunnel, six saucers
and miscellaneous old pewter, the whole valued at £7. The household
also was supplied with "China dishes" valued at twelve shillings.
John Lowell of Newbury, in 1647, possessed three pewter butter
dishes. John Fairfield of Wenham, the same year, had two pewter
fruit dishes and two saucers; also four porringers, a double salt,
one candlestick and six spoons, all of pewter. His fellow-townsman,
Christopher Yongs, a weaver, who died the same year, possessed one
bason, a drinking pot, three platters, three old saucers, a salt and
an old porringer, all of pewter and valued at only ten shillings.
There were also alchemy spoons, trenchers and dishes and a pipkin
valued at one shilling and sixpence.
When Giles Badger of Newbury died in 1647 he left to his young
widow a glass bowl, beaker and jug, valued at three shillings;
three silver spoons valued at £1, and a good assortment of pewter,
including "a salt seller, a tunnell, a great dowruff" and valued
at one shilling. The household was also furnished with six wooden
dishes and two wooden platters. The inventory of the estate
of Matthew Whipple of Ipswich totalled £287.2.1, and included
eighty-five pieces of pewter, weighing 147 pounds and valued at
£16.9.16. In addition, there were four pewter candlesticks valued
at ten shillings; two pewter salts, five shillings; two pewter
potts, one cup and a bottle, four shillings and sixpence; one pewter
flagon, seven shillings; twenty-one "brass alchimic spoones" at four
shillings and four pence each; and nine pewter spoons at eighteen
pence per dozen. The inventory also discloses one silver bowl and
two silver spoons valued at £3.3.0; six dozen wooden trenchers,
valued at three shillings; also trays, a platter, two bowles, four
dishes, and "one earthen salt."
The widow Rebecca Bacon died in Salem in 1655, leaving an estate of
£195.8.6 and a well-furnished house. She had brass pots, skillets,
candlesticks, skimmers, a little brass pan, and an excellent supply
of pewter, including "3 large pewter platters, 3 a size lesse, 3
more a size lesse, 3 more a size lesse, £1.16; 1 pewter bason,
5s; 6 large pewter plates & 6 lesser, 9s; 19 Pewter saucers & 2
fruite dishes, 11s, 6d; 1 old Pewter bason & great plate, 3s; 2
pewter candlesticks, 4s; 1 large pewter salt & a smal one; 2 pewter
porringers, 3s.6d; 1 great pewter flagon; 1 lesser, 1 quart, 2 pints
& a halfe pint, 13s; 2 old chamber pots & an old porringer, 3s." She
also died possessed of "1 duble salt silver, 6 silver spones, 1 wine
cup & a dram cup of silver, both £6."
The Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, when he died in 1656, was possessed
of an unusually well-equipped kitchen, supplied with much brass
and ironware and the following pewter, viz.: "on one shelfe, one
charger, 5 pewter platters and a bason and a salt seller, £1.10.0;
on another shelfe, 9 pewter platters, small & great, 13 shillings;
one old flagon and 4 pewter drinking pots, 10 shillings." No pewter
plates or wooden trenchers are listed.
In other estates appear some unusual items, such as: a pewter brim
basin, pewter cullenders, pewter beer cups, pewter pans, pewter bed
pans, and a mustard pot.
The trade of the pewterer does not seem to have been followed by
many men in New England during the seventeenth century. The vessels
were bringing shipments from London and moreover, the bronze moulds
used in making the ware were costly. Pewter melted easily and
frequently required repairing, and it was here that the itinerant
tinker or second-rate pewterer found employment. The handles of
pewter spoons broke easily, and a spoon mould was a part of the
equipment of every tinker. The earliest mention we have noted of
the pewterer practising his trade in New England is one Richard
Graves of Salem. He was presented at a Quarterly Court on February
28, 1642-43 for "opression in his trade of pewtering" and acquitted
of the charge. Then he was accused of neglecting to tend the ferry
carefully, so it would seem that pewtering occupied only part of
his time. This he acknowledged, but said that he had not been put
to it by the Court and also that it was necessary to leave the
ferry when he went to mill, a quite apparent fact. He seems to have
been a somewhat reckless fellow in his dealings with neighbors, for
he was accused of taking fence rails from Christopher Young's lot
and admonished by the Court. At the same session he was fined for
stealing wood from Thomas Edwards and for evil speeches to him,
calling him "a base fellow, & yt one might Runn a half pike in his
bellie & never touch his hart."
Graves came to Massachusetts in the "Abigail," arriving in July,
1635. He settled at Salem and was a proprietor there in 1637.
Sometimes he is styled "husbandman." He got into trouble with the
authorities very soon, and in December, 1638, was sentenced to sit
in the stocks for beating Peter Busgutt in his own house. Peter made
sport of the Court at the time of the trial, and in consequence was
ordered to be whipped, this time by the constable. In 1641 Graves
was brought into court again and William Allen testified that "he
herd Rich Graves kissed Goody Gent twice." Richard confessed that it
was true, and for this unseemly conduct he was sentenced to be fined
or whipped. The records do not disclose his individual preference
as to the penalty eventually inflicted. In 1645 he was in Boston
in connection with some brazen moulds that were in dispute. A Mr.
Hill and Mr. Knott were concerned in the affair, and very likely
the moulds were for pewterers' use. On another occasion a few years
later, when Graves went to Boston, he got drunk at Charlestown, and
in consequence was mulct by the Quarterly court. Only a month later
he was complained of for playing at shuffleboard, a wicked game of
chance, at the tavern kept by Mr. Gedney in Salem, but this time he
escaped the vengeance of the law, for the case against him was not
proved. He was still pursuing his trade of pewterer in 1655 when
he so styled himself in a deed to John Putnam, and sometime between
that date and 1669 he passed out of reach of the courts to that
bourne from which no pewterers ever return.
Mention has been made of the fact that London-made pewter was
brought into New England at frequent intervals to supply the natural
demand. An invoice of pewter shipped from London in 1693 has
recently come to light in the Massachusetts Archives, and is here
printed as being of interest not only as showing the market prices
for pewter, but also the kind of utensils in demand at that time.
This particular shipment of pewter was a part of a consignment made
by John Caxy of London to Joseph Mallenson, his agent in Boston.
It consisted of a great variety of clothing, fabrics, hardware,
implements, kitchen utensils and pewter. The part of the invoice
that comprised the shipment of pewter follows, viz.:
One Drume Fatt No. 2 Containing
12 Pottle Tankards at 3s 10d ps £2. 6.0
12 Quart ditto at 3s 1.16.0
24 Midle ditto at 2/6 3. 0.0
24 Small ditto at 2/ 2. 8.0
12 doz: Large Poringers at 9s 6d p doz 5.14.0
12 doz: Small ditto at 8/ 4.16.0
3 pr New-fashon'd Candlesticks at 4s 12.0
3 pr ditto at 3s 9.0
2 pr Round ditto at 2s 10d 5.8
a Fatt Cost 7.0
One Drume Fatt No. 3 quantity
18 Large Chamber Potts at 2/10s ps 2.11.0
30 Middle ditto at 2s 8d 3.10.0
40 small ditto at 2s 3.10.0
12 doz Alcamy Spoons at 2/9 4. 0.0
24 doz Powder ditto at 2/3d p doz 2.14.0
12 Large Salts at 2s 2 ps 1. 6.0
24 Middle ditto at 20d ps 2. 0.0
48 Small ditto at 12d ps 2. 8.0
18 Basons qt 32 at 12d 1.12.6
2 doz: Sawcers at 9s p doz 18.0
4 doz Small ditto at 7s p doz 1. 8.0
2 Pottle Wine Measure Potts at 5/6 11.0
6 Quart ditto Potts at 2/8 16.0
6 Pint ditto Potts at 22d ps 11.0
6 halfe Pint ditto at 14d 7.0
6 Quartern ditto Potts at 9d p ps 4.6
a Fatt Cost 7s 7.0
One halfe Barell Fatt No 4 cont more pewter
78 dishes qt 265 at 9d½ 10. 9.9½
A Fatt Cost 3s 6 3. 6
----------
£76. 2.5½
CHAPTER VII
THE FARMHOUSE AND THE FARMER
The farmers in the early days had few conveniences and comforts
and were largely dependent for the supply of their wants upon the
products of their farms. But little food was purchased. At the
outset domestic animals were too valuable to be killed for food but
deer and other wild game were plentiful. When this no longer became
necessary and an animal was killed by a farmer, it was the custom to
lend pieces of the meat to the neighbors, to be repaid in kind when
animals were killed by them. In this way the fresh meat supply was
kept up for a long time by the killing of one animal. Other parts
of the meat were salted and kept for a number of months before all
was eaten. Nearly every family had a beef and a pork barrel (called
a "powdering tub"), from which most of the meat used in summer was
taken. Meat was not found upon the table every day.
The chimney in the farmhouse was of great size, occupying relatively
a large amount of the space inside the house. The kitchen fireplace
usually was large enough to accommodate logs four feet in length,
oftentimes even larger. In making a fire a backlog, a foot or
more in diameter, was placed against the back of the fireplace; a
forestick was then placed across the andirons in front, and wood
piled between, producing a hot fire, and giving the kitchen a very
cheerful appearance. Large stones were sometimes used instead of a
backlog, and an iron bar was laid on the andirons in front of the
forestick. Ample ventilation was had by the constant current of air
that passed up the chimney.
In sitting before an open fire it was often complained that while
one was roasted in front he was frozen in the back and this led to
the use in nearly every family of a long seat made of boards called
a "settle," with a high back to keep off the wind from behind,
which, when placed before the fire, was usually occupied by the
older members of the family.
At night, any fire that remained was carefully covered with ashes
and was expected to keep until morning to kindle for the next day.
This was called "raking up the fire," and calculation was made to
have enough fire to cover up every night, so it need not be lost.
If the fire didn't keep over, some one would go with a fire pan to
a neighbor, if one lived near, and borrow some fire. But if this
was inconvenient, resort was then had to the tinder box. Tinder
was made by charring cotton or linen rags. The box containing this
was usually kept in a niche made in the side of the fireplace,
by leaving out a couple of bricks. By striking fire with flint
and steel, the tinder was ignited. Homemade matches, which had
been dipped in melted brimstone, were set on fire by touching the
burning tinder and in this way a fire was obtained. Sometimes fire
was kindled by flashing powder in the pan of a flint-lock musket,
thereby setting paper on fire. Friction matches did not come into
use until about 1832.
The cooking was done over and before the open fire. Boiling was
done by suspending kettles from pot hooks which were upon the crane
and of different lengths to accommodate the height of the fire. An
adjustable hook which was called a "trammel" was not infrequently
used. Meat was roasted by passing through it an iron rod called a
spit and this was rested on brackets on the back of the andirons in
front of the fire and by repeated turning and exposing on all sides,
the meat was evenly cooked. Another method was to suspend the meat
or poultry by a line before the fire. By twisting the line hard
it would slowly unwind. Of course some one had to be in frequent
attendance to twist the cords and usually it was a child. A dish
placed underneath caught the drippings from the roast. Sometimes
the line would burn off, and have to be replaced before the cooking
could be completed.
Potatoes and eggs were roasted in the ashes by wrapping them in wet
leaves or paper, and then covering with hot coals. In half an hour
or so the potatoes would be well cooked.
At first bread and other things were baked in a Dutch oven. It was
a shallow cast-iron kettle with long legs and a cover of the same
material, having a raised edge. The cover was filled with live
coals, and then the oven was suspended from a pot hook or stood
in the hot coals. It was used for both baking and frying. Indian
bannock, made from corn meal mixed with water and spread about an
inch thick on a board or wooden trencher, was baked before the fire
by setting it on an incline against a sad-iron or skillet, the top a
couple of inches back from the bottom, and when baked and made into
milk toast it was considered a dish fit to be "set before a king"!
The brick oven was in the chimney of nearly every well-built house.
The opening was inside the fireplace and was closed by a wooden
door. In heating the oven dry pine wood, which had been spilt and
seasoned out of doors for a short time and then housed, was a
necessity for the best results. The oven was considered hot enough
for a baking when the black was burned off the roof and the whole
inside had assumed a uniform light color. The coals and ashes inside
the oven were then removed with a "peel," a long-handled iron
shovel made for the purpose. The bottom of the oven was then swept
clean with a broom made of hemlock or other boughs. The process of
removing the fire and getting it ready for use was called "clearing
the oven."
The food to be cooked was then put in the oven: brown bread made
from rye and Indian meal, drop cakes made with milk and eggs and
wheat flour, which were placed directly upon the bricks and when
baked and eaten hot with butter, were considered a great luxury.
Beans, meats, potatoes, pies, and many other things were cooked in
the brick oven at the same time.
Families in good circumstances, made it a rule to heat the oven
daily, but Saturday was generally reserved for the week's baking.
The skins of animals killed on the farm were tanned by some local
tanner and a year or more was required by the old process, but it
produced an excellent quality of leather.
The utmost economy was practiced. Nearly all the young people and
some of the older ones went barefoot during the summer. In going to
meeting on Sunday the girls and young women often walked a number
of miles. They wore heavy shoes or went barefooted, carrying their
light shoes in their hands to save wear until near the meeting house.
In the early years following the settlement, all clothing or
materials were brought from overseas but in time, flax and wool were
produced on many farms, and the women of the family were capable of
taking the wool as it came from the sheep, cleansing, carding and
spinning it into yarn, and then weaving it into cloth, from which
they cut and made the clothes for the family. The carding was done
with hand cards similar to those used for carding cattle, only a
little larger and of finer mesh. The carded rolls were spun into
yarn upon the hand wheel. Five skeins was considered a good day's
work.
The yarn was woven into cloth on the hand loom, which was a
ponderous affair and occupied a great deal of room. Not every family
possessed a loom, but there were weavers in every locality. The yarn
which went lengthwise of the cloth had to be drawn into the harness
by hand; that which went the other way came from the shuttle. The
yarn which was in the shuttle was wound upon short quills, which
were pieces of elder three inches in length with the pitch punched
out, and these quills were wound on a wheel called a "quill wheel"
which made a great deal of noise. This work was usually done by
children or some helper, while the woman of the house was weaving.
Weaving was hard work and five or six yards was considered a good
day's work. Cotton was sometimes bought and worked in about the same
manner as wool. When the yarn was to be knitted, it was generally
colored before using. The dye pot was of earthenware and had its
place in the chimney corner just inside the fireplace. It was
covered with a piece of board or plank on which the children often
sat. The dye was made of indigo dissolved in urine. Into this the
yarn was put and remained until it was colored. When the yarn was
wrung out, or the contents disturbed, the odor that arose had no
resemblance to the balmy breezes from "Araby the blest."
The cloth for men's wear was called "fulled cloth." After it was
woven it was taken to the clothier, where it was fulled, dyed,
sheared, and pressed. That worn by women was simply dyed and
pressed, and was called pressed cloth. Baize without any filling or
napping was woven for women's use.
Flax was grown on the farm. It was pulled in the fall and placed
upon the ground, where it remained a number of months until the
woody portion was rotted and the fiber became pliable. When at
the right stage it was broken by a clumsy implement called a
"flax brake," which rid the fiber of the woody parts. It was then
"swingled," which was done by beating it with a wooden paddle called
a "swingling knife," which prepared it for the comb or "hatchel"
made of nail rods. Its teeth were pointed and about six inches
longer, seven rows with twelve in each row. The combing took out the
short and broken pieces which was called tow and spun into wrapping
twine, small ropes and bagging. When the flax had been combed
sufficiently it was put upon the distaff and spun.
The linen wheel was about twenty inches in diameter and was operated
by the foot resting upon a treadle. The wheel had two grooves in
the circumference, one to receive a band to drive "the fliers,"
the other to drive the spool with a quicker motion to take up the
threads. The thread when spun and woven into cloth, was made up
into shirts, sheets, table covers, dresses, handkerchiefs, strainer
cloths, etc. Ropes used about the farm were often home-made of linen
and tow. In the summer men wore tow and linen clothes. A cloth made
of cotton and linen was called fustian.
Cider mills were found on a great many farms where the apples, which
were mostly natural fruit, were made into cider. This was a common
drink and found a place upon the table three times a day with each
meal, and was carried into the fields to quench thirst forenoon
and afternoon. The men of those days assumed to be unable to labor
without a liberal supply of cider, as water seldom agreed with them.
The drawing and putting the cider upon the table usually fell to
the younger members of the family and was generally considered an
irksome task. In some cases it was made the rule that the one who
got up the latest in the morning should draw the cider for the day.
Cider which had been drawn for a little time and had become warm
was not considered fit to drink. Any that remained in the mug was
emptied into a barrel kept for the purpose in the cellar and was
soon converted into vinegar. In this way the family supply was made
and kept up, and it generally was of the best quality.
When David Cummings of Topsfield died in 1761, he provided by will
that his wife Sarah should be supplied annually with five barrels of
cider, in fact, it was common among farmers to so provide for their
widows, together with a horse to ride to meeting, and a certain
number of bushels of vegetables, corn, rye, etc., etc.
The tallow candle was used for light in the evening. When this was
supplemented by a blazing fire in the fireplace it gave the room a
cheerful appearance. Most of the candles were "dips," although a few
were run in moulds made for the purpose. All the tallow that came
from the animals killed on the farm was carefully saved and tried
out and rendered by heating. The liquid thus obtained was put in
pans to cool and when enough had been accumulated it was placed in
a large kettle and melted. The candle wicking was made of cotton,
and was bought at the shops in town. It came in balls. The wicking
was cut twice the length of the candle and doubled over a stick made
for the purpose and then twisted together. These sticks were two
feet in length and half an inch in diameter. Six wicks were placed
upon each stick, and as many used as would hold all the candles to
be made at one time. Two sticks six or eight feet in length, often
old rake handles, were used for supports. These were placed upon
two chairs and about eighteen inches apart. On these the sticks
were placed with the wicks hanging down. By taking a couple of the
sticks in the hands the wicks were placed in the hot tallow until
they were soaked. When all had been thus treated dipping began. Each
time a little tallow adhered, which was allowed to cool, care being
taken not to allow the dips to remain in the hot tallow long enough
to melt off what had already cooled. While the dipping was going on
the candles were suspended where a draft of air would pass over
and cause them to cool quickly. Care was also taken not to have the
candles touch each other.
The dipping continued until the candles were large enough for use.
If the tallow in the kettle became too cool to work well, some
boiling water was put in which went to the bottom and kept the
tallow above warm enough to work. The tallow candle made a dim,
disagreeable light, as it smoked considerably and required constant
snuffing or cutting off of the burnt portions of the wick. Snuffers
were used for this purpose, in which the portions of the wick cut
off were retained, and this was emptied from time to time as the
receptacle became filled.
Nearly every family made the soft soap used in washing clothes and
floors. Ashes were carefully saved and stored in a dry place. In
the spring the mash tub, holding sixty or seventy gallons, was set
up, and on the bottom a row of bricks were set on edge. On them a
framework was placed which was covered with hemlock boughs or straw,
over which a porous cloth was placed. The tub was then filled with
ashes. If any doubt existed as to the strength of the lye, thus
produced, a little lime was put in. Boiling water was then poured on
in small quantities, at frequent intervals and this was allowed to
settle. When no more water would be taken it was left to stand an
hour or more, when the first lye was drawn off. If an egg dropped
into the lye floated, all was well and good luck with the soap was
certain.
Ashes from any wood except pine and beech were considered good
and used with confidence. Grease that had accumulated during the
year and been saved for this purpose was then placed in a kettle
with some of the lye, and when boiled, if it did not separate when
cooled, soft soap was the result. Most farmers' wives dreaded soap
making. It was one of the hardest day's work of the year. Usually it
was made a point to have the soap making precede the spring cleaning.
Men generally rode horseback to meeting and elsewhere, and when a
woman went along she rode behind on a pillion, which was a small
cushion attached to the rear of the saddle with a narrow board
suspended from the cushion--a support for the women's feet. To
assist in mounting and dismounting horse blocks were used at the
meetinghouse and in other public places. Small articles were carried
in saddle-bags, balanced one on each side of the horse. Grain was
carried to mill laid across the horse's back, half in each end of
the sack.
In the early days baked pumpkin and milk was a favorite dish. A
hard-shelled pumpkin had a hole cut in the stem end large enough to
admit the hand. The seeds and inside tissue were carefully removed,
the piece cut out was replaced, and the pumpkin was then put in a
hot oven. When cooked it was filled with new milk and the contents
eaten with a spoon. When emptied the shells were often used as
receptacles for balls of yarn, remnants of cloth and other small
articles.
Bean porridge was another dish that was popular. In cold weather it
was often made in large quantities and considered to grow better
with age. Hence the old saying:
"Bean porridge hot;
Bean porridge cold;
Bean porridge in the pot,
Nine days old."
While iron shovels were brought in from England and in a limited way
were made by local blacksmiths, most shovels used by farmers were
made of oak, the edges shod with iron. Hay and manure forks were
made of iron by the blacksmith. They were heavy, had large tines
that bent easily, and were almost always loose in the handle. It
took a great deal of strength to use them. Hoes were made by the
blacksmiths, who also made axes, scythes, knives, etc.
When help was wanted on the farm, the son of some neighbor who was
not as well off, or who had not enough work to profitably employ
all his sons, could be hired. He became one of the family, took
an active interest in his employer's business, and in not a few
instances married his daughter, and later with his wife succeeded
to the ownership of the farm. If help was wanted in the house, some
girl in the neighborhood was willing to accept the place. She was
strong and ready, capable and honest, and in the absence of her
mistress was able to take the lead. She was not looked upon as a
servant, and often established herself permanently by becoming the
life partner of the son.
Clocks were seldom found in the farmhouse. Noon marks and sundials
answered the needs of the family and when the day was cloudy, one
must "guess." Because so many had no means of telling the time, it
was customary to make appointments for "early candlelight."
It was usual with most families to gather roots and herbs to be used
for medicinal purposes. Catnip, pennyroyal, sage, thoroughwort,
spearmint, tansy, elderblows, wormwood, and other plants were saved
to be used in case of sickness. Gold thread or yellow root was saved
and was a remedy for canker in the mouth. Many of the old women who
had reared families of children were skilful in the use of these
remedies, and were sent for in case of sickness, and would prescribe
teas made from some of these herbs, which were cut when in bloom and
tied in small bundles and suspended from the rafters on the garret
to dry, causing a pleasant aromatic smell in the upper part of the
house.
The well was usually at some distance from the farmhouse and often
located in an exposed and wind-swept position requiring much daily
travel over a snowy and slippery path in winter and through mud and
wet at other times. Convenience in the location of the well was in
too many cases overlooked. From the well all the water used for
domestic purposes was brought into the house in buckets. The water
in the well was usually drawn by means of a well-sweep.
In some towns the selectmen were chosen by "pricking." A number of
names were written upon a sheet of paper. This was passed around
and each man pricked a hole against the names of his choice. The
one having the most pin holes was chosen first selectman, the next
highest the second, and the next the third.
When a couple concluded to marry they made known their intention to
the town clerk, who posted a notice of their intended marriage in
the meetinghouse. This was called "being published." By law this
notice must be published three Sabbaths before the ceremony was
performed, so that any one who knew of any reason why such marriage
should not take place might appear and make objection. In addition
to the posting, the town clerk would rise in the meeting and read
the intention to marry.
Each landowner not only maintained his own fences around cultivated
fields, but also gave of his labor in building long ranges of
fencing about the common pasture lands in proportion to his interest
in the land. A law was enacted as early as 1633 requiring the
fencing of corn fields.
The earliest fences were usually made of five rails and must be up
by early in April when the cattle and hogs were turned out to roam
at large. The New England farmer, clearing his land for cultivation,
soon devised another form of fence where stones were plentiful and
by piling up these stones into walls divided off his fields and
gave them substantial protection. The well-built stone wall must
have a foundation of small stones laid in a trench to prevent its
being thrown by the frost and when carefully built it would last
for generations. Meanwhile the adjoining field had been cleared
of stones and made useful for cultivation. Hedge fences were also
in frequent use as in parts of England whence the settlers had
emigrated.
The roads outside the villages were seldom fenced. In fact, the
early roads were little more than ill-defined paths winding their
way across pastures and cultivated fields and whenever a dividing
farm was reached, there would be a gate or bars to be opened and
closed by the traveler.
CHAPTER VIII
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
When the first considerable emigration ceased about the year
1640, of the 25,000 settlers then living in the Colony, probably
ninety-five per cent were small farmers or workmen engaged in the
manual trades, together with many indentured servants who had come
over under the terms of a contract whereby they were bonded to
serve their masters for a term of years--usually five or seven. The
remaining five per cent of the population was composed of those
governing the colony--the stockholders in the Company, so to speak;
ministers enough to supply the spiritual needs of each town and
settlement, however small; a few of social position and comparative
wealth; one lawyer; and a sprinkling of shopkeepers and small
merchants living in the seaport towns. Here and there a physician
or chirurgeon might be found, but the physical welfare of the
smaller towns was usually cared for by some ancient housewife with
a knowledge of herbs and simples. Sometimes it was the minister who
practiced two professions and cared for the bodies as well as the
souls of his congregation.
The founders of the colony in the Massachusetts Bay, and most of
those who immediately followed them, were men who did not conform to
the ritual and government of the Established Church in England. They
were followers of John Calvin whose Geneva Bible was widely read
in England and whose teachings had profoundly influenced English
thought and manners. Calvin taught a great simplicity of life and
a personal application of the teachings found in the Bible. In the
Commonwealth that he set up in Geneva, the daily life and actions
of its citizens were as closely guarded as if in a nursery for
children. All frivolous amusements were forbidden; a curfew was
established; and all were constrained to save souls and to labor for
material development. There was a minute supervision of dress and
personal conduct, and a literal construction of Bible mandates was
carried so far that children were actually put to death for striking
their parents.
Calvin's theology was based on the belief that all men were born
sinners and since Adam's fall, by the will of God, predestined
from birth to hell and everlasting torment, unless, happily, one
of the elect and so foreordained to be saved. In this belief the
Puritans found life endurable because they considered themselves of
the elect; and in cases of doubt, the individual found comfortable
assurance in the belief that although certain of his neighbors were
going to hell _he_ was one of the elect. It naturally followed that
the imagination of the Puritans was concentrated on questions of
religion.
The teachings of Calvin spread rapidly in England and among his
followers there came about an austerity of religious life and a
great simplicity in dress and manners.
It is true that most of the settlers of Massachusetts were poor in
purse and with many of them mere existence was a struggle for a long
time. But the growth of wealth in the Colony, although it brought
with it more luxury in living and better dwellings, did not add much
to the refinement of the people. It was the influence and example
of the royal governors and a more frequent commercial intercourse
with England and the Continental peoples that brought about a desire
for a richer dress and an introduction of some of the refinements
of life. This by no means met the approval of the Puritan ministers
who frequently inveighed against "Professors of Religion who fashion
themselves according to the World." The Rev. Cotton Mather, the
leading minister in Boston and the industrious author of over
four hundred published sermons and similar works, again and again
exhorted against stage plays and infamous games of cards and dice.
"It is a matter of Lamentation that even such things as these should
be heard of in New England," he exclaimed. "And others spend their
time in reading vain Romances," he continued. "It is meer loss of
time."
With such a background and burdened with such a far-reaching
antagonism toward the finer things of life, that help to lighten the
burden of existence and beautify the way, it is small wonder that
the esthetics found little fertile soil in New England; and much of
this prejudice and state of mind lingered among the old families in
the more remote and orthodox communities, until recent times.
The New England Puritans only allowed themselves one full holiday
in the course of the year and that was Thanksgiving Day, a time
for feasting. To be sure, there was Fast Day, in the spring,
which gave freedom from work; but that was a day for a sermon
at the meetinghouse, for long faces and a supposed bit of self
denial--somewhere. The celebration of Christmas was not observed
by the true New England Puritan until the middle of the nineteenth
century.
A number of sermons preached by Rev. Samuel Moodey, an eccentric
minister at York, Maine, for nearly half a century, were printed
and among them: "The Doleful State of the Damned, especially such
as go to hell from under the Gospel." This sermon was followed by
its antidote, entitled: "The Gospel Way of Escaping the Doleful
State of the Damned." Another of his sermons was upon "Judas the
Traitor, Hung up in Chains." Parson Moodey's son, Joseph, followed
him in the pulpit at York. He was known as "Handkerchief Moodey,"
as he fell into a melancholy; thought he had sinned greatly; and
after a time wore a handkerchief over his face whenever he appeared
in public. In the pulpit he would turn his back to the congregation
and read the sermon, but whenever he faced his people it would
be with handkerchief-covered features. Think what must have been
the influence of two such men on the life and opinions of a town
covering a period of two generations!
During the late seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth,
the books usually found in the average New England family were
the Bible, the Psalm Book, an almanac, the New England Primer, a
sermon or two and perhaps a copy of Michael Wigglesworth's terrific
poem--"The Day of Doom." The latter was first printed in 1662 in
an edition of 1800 copies not one of which has survived. Every
copy was read and re-read until nothing remained but fragments of
leaves. Seven editions of this poem were printed between 1662 and
1715 and few copies of any edition now exist. The book expressed
the quintesscence of Calvinism. Here is stanza 205, expressing the
terror of those doomed to hell:
"They wring their hands, their caitiff-hands,
and gnash their teeth for terrour:
They cry, they roar, for anguish sore
and gnaw their tongues for horrour.
But get away without delay,
Christ pities not your cry:
Depart to Hell, there may you yell,
and roar Eternally."
Pastor Higginson of Salem wrote enthusiastically of the natural
abundance of the grass that "groweth verie wildly with a great
stalke" as high as a man's face and as for Indian corn--the planting
of thirteen gallons of seed had produced an increase of fifty-two
hogsheads or three hundred and fifty bushels, London measure, to be
sold or trusted to the Indians in exchange for beaver worth above
£300. Who would not share the hardships and dangers of the frontier
colony for opportunity of such rich gain?
But the housewives in the far-away English homes were more
interested in the growth of the vegetable gardens in the virgin
soil, and of these he wrote: "Our turnips, parsnips and carrots
are here both bigger and sweeter than is ordinary to be found in
England. Here are stores of pumpions, cucumbers, and other things
of that nature I know not. Plentie of strawberries in their time,
and pennyroyall, winter saverie, carvell and water-cresses, also
leeks and onions are ordinary." Great lobsters abounded weighing
from sixteen to twenty-five pounds and much store of bass, herring,
sturgeon, haddock, eels, and oysters. In the forests were several
kinds of deer; also partridges, turkeys, and great flocks of
pigeons, with wild geese, ducks, and other sea fowl in such
abundance "that a great part of the Planters have eaten nothing but
roast-meate of divers Fowles which they have killed."
These were some of the attractive natural features of the new colony
in the Massachusetts Bay, as recounted by the Salem minister. Of
the hardships he makes small mention, for his aim was to induce
emigration. There was much sickness, however, and many deaths.
Higginson himself lived only a year after reaching Salem. The
breaking up of virgin soil always brings on malaria and fever.
Dudley wrote "that there is not an house where there is not one
dead, and in some houses many. The naturall causes seem to bee in
the want of warm lodgings, and good dyet to which Englishmen are
habittuated, at home; and in the suddain increase of heate which
they endure that are landed here in somer ... those of Plymouth who
landed in winter dyed of the Scirvy, as did our poorer sort whose
howses and bedding kept them not sufficiently warm, nor their dyet
sufficient in heart." Thomas Dudley wrote this in March, 1631. He
explained that he was writing upon his knee by the fireside in the
living-room, having as yet no table nor other room in which to write
during the sharp winter. In this room his family must resort "though
they break good manners, and make mee many times forget what I would
say, and say what I would not."
But these hardships and inconveniences of living which the New
England colonists met and overcame differ but little from those
experienced in every new settlement. They have been paralleled
again and again wherever Englishmen or Americans have wandered.
In a few years after the coming of the ships much of the
rawness and discomfort must have disappeared, certainly in the
early settlements, and comparative comfort must have existed
in most homes. If we could now lift the roof of the average
seventeenth-century house in New England it is certain that we
should find disclosed not only comfortable conditions of living but
in many instances a degree of luxury with fine furnishings that is
appreciated by few at the present time.
Of the early days following the settlement Roger Clap, who lived at
Dorchester, afterwards wrote as follows:
"It was not accounted a strange thing in those days to drink water,
and to eat Samp or Homine without Butter or Milk. Indeed it would
have been a strang thing to see a piece of Roast Beef, Mutton or
Veal; though it was not long before there was Roast Goat. After the
first Winter, we were very Healthy: though some of us had no great
Store of Corn. The Indians did sometimes bring Corn, and Trade with
us for Clothing and Knives; and once I had a Peck of Corn, or there
abouts, for a little Puppy-Dog. Frostfish, Muscles and Clams were a
Relief to Many."
When Governor Winthrop landed at Salem in June, 1630, he supped on
a good venison pasty and good beer, while most of those who came
with him went ashore on Cape Anne side (now Beverly) and gathered
strawberries. That was a fine beginning, but when winter set in many
of them were "forced to cut their bread thin for a long season"
and then it was that they fully realized that "the Ditch betweene
England and their now place of abode was so wide.... Those that were
sent over servants, having itching desires for novelties, found a
reddier way to make an end of their Master's provision, then they
could finde means to get more; They that came over their own men
had but little left to feed on, and most began to repent when their
strong Beere and full cups ran as small as water in a large Land....
They made shift [however] to rub out the Winter's cold by the
Fireside, having fuell enough growing at their very doores, turning
down many a drop from the Bottell, and burning Tobacco with all the
ease they could."[38]
[38] Edward Johnson, _Wonder Working Providence_, London, 1654.
Lacking bread they lived on fish, mussels and clams. The rivers
supplied bass, shad, alewives, frost fish and smelts in their
season, also salmon, and corn meal could be bartered for with the
Indians and shortly raised from seed.
"Let no man make a jest at Pumpkins, for with this fruit the Lord
was pleased to feed his people to their good content, till Corne
and Cattell were increased," wrote Johnson. Later (by 1650) the
goodwives served "apples, pears and quince tarts instead of their
former Pumpkin Pies," and by that time wheat bread was no dainty.
Society in the Massachusetts Bay in the seventeenth century
was divided into several groups. First came the merchant class
which also included the ministers and those possessed of wealth.
Edward Randolph reported to the Lords of Trade in 1676, that in
Massachusetts there were about thirty merchants worth from £10,000.
to £20,000. "Most have considerable estates and a very great
trade." Next came the freemen and the skilled mechanics. This class
furnished the town officials and constituted the backbone of the
colony. Then came the unskilled laborer and a step lower was the
indentured servant. The merchant lived well and wore fine clothing
forbidden to his more humble neighbors. The status of the servant
may well be shown by the deposition presented in Court at Salem
in 1657 by an apprentice to a stone-mason in the town of Newbury,
Massachusetts, who testified that it was a long while before "he
could eate his master's food, viz. meate and milk, or drink beer,
saying that he did not know that it was good, because he was not
used to eat such victualls, but to eate bread and water porridge and
to drink water."[39]
[39] _Essex County Quarterly Court Records_, Vol. II, p. 28.
It has been stated frequently that in the olden times in New
England every one was obliged to go to church. The size of the
meetinghouses, the isolated locations of many of the houses, the
necessary care of the numerous young children, and the interesting
side-lights on the manners of the time which may be found in the
court papers, all go to show that the statement must not be taken
literally. Absence from meeting, breaking the Sabbath, carrying a
burden on the Lord's Day, condemning the church, condemning the
ministry, scandalous falling out on the Lord's Day, slandering the
church, and other misdemeanors of a similar character were frequent.
Drunkenness was very common in the old days. "We observed it a
common fault in our young people that they gave themselves to drink
hot waters immoderately," wrote Edward Johnson. Every family kept
on hand a supply of liquor and wine, and cider was considered a
necessity of daily living in the country, where it was served with
each meal and also carried into the fields by the workers. It was
stored in barrels in the cellar and the task of drawing the cider
and putting on the table usually fell to the younger members of the
family. A man would often provide in his will for the comfort of
his loving wife by setting aside for occupancy during her life, one
half of his house, with a carefully specified number of bushels of
rye, potatoes, turnips and other vegetables; the use of a horse with
which to ride to meeting or elsewhere; and lastly, the direction
that annually she be provided with a certain number of barrels of
cider--sometimes as many as eight.
Rev. Edward Holyoke, the President of Harvard College, was in the
habit of laying in each year thirty or more barrels of cider as he
had to provide for much entertaining. Late in the winter he would
draw off part of his stock and into each barrel he would pour a
bottle of spirit and a month later some of this blend would be
bottled for use on special occasions.
What was their conduct not only in their homes but in their
relations with their neighbors? Did they live peaceably and work
together in building up the settlements? Did they set up in the
wilderness domestic relations exactly like those they had abandoned
overseas? It was a raw frontier country to which they came and it is
apparent that at the outset they felt themselves to be transplanted
Englishmen. So far as possible they lived the lives to which they
had been accustomed and they engrafted in their new homes the
manners and customs of the generations behind them. Most of them
fully recognized, however, that they were not to return; that they
had cut loose from the old home ties and it was not long before
the necessities and limitations of frontier life brought about
changed conditions in every direction. Politically, religiously
and socially, they were in a different relation than formerly in
the English parish life. Many of them, especially those somewhat
removed from the immediate supervision of magistrate and minister,
before long seem to have shown a tendency to follow the natural
bent of the frontiersman toward independent thought and action.
Their political leaders made laws restricting daily life and action
and their religious leaders laid down rules for belief and conduct,
that soon were repellent to many. Civil and clerical records are
filled with instances showing an evasion of and even contempt for
the laws and rules laid down by the leaders of their own choosing.
Some of it doubtless was in the blood of the men who had come in
search of a certain individual freedom of action, but much of it may
be attributed to frontier conditions and primitive living. There
were many indentured servants, and rough fishermen and sailors have
always been unruly. Simple houses of but few rooms accommodating
large families are not conducive to gentle speech or modesty of
manner nor to a strict morality. The craving for landholding and
the poorly defined and easily removed bounds naturally led to ill
feeling, assault, defamation, and slander.
CHAPTER IX
SPORTS AND GAMES
This is a subject on which there is little recorded information to
be found. Undoubtedly the background of English life, restrained
by Calvinistic severity, was continued by the children and youth
among the settlers. This must have been among the commonplaces of
daily life and of so little importance to the future that no one
considered it worthy of recording. It is impossible to think of
child life without its natural outlet of sports and games--throw
ball, football, running, swimming, etc., and we know that dolls and
toys for children were for sale in the shops of Boston and Salem as
early as 1651.
The Indians indulged in similar sports and played "hubbub," a game
resembling dice, with much shouting of "hub, hub, hub," accompanied
by slapping of breasts and thighs.
The innocent games of childhood may be taken for granted and their
English origins may be studied in Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes of
the People of England_. It was gambling, and tavern amusements that
the magistrates endeavored to control.
In 1646 complaints having been made to the General Court of
disorders occasioned "by the use of Games of Shuffle-board and
Bowling, in and about Houses of Common entertainment, whereby much
precious time is spent unprofitably, and much waste of Wine and Beer
occasioned"; the Court prohibited shuffle-board and bowling, "or
any other Play or Game, in or about any such House" under penalty
of twenty shillings for the Keeper of the house and five shillings
for every person who "played at the said Game." As we now read this
ancient law the waste of precious time and the undue amount of wine
and beer consumed would seem to be the principal occasion for the
anxiety of the Court, for the game of bowls is excellent exercise
and innocent enough; shuffle-board, however, may well be looked upon
with sour eyes. It required a highly polished board, or table,
sometimes a floor thirty feet in length, marked with transverse
lines, on which a coin or weight was driven by a blow with the hand.
It bore some resemblance to tenpins, the object being to score
points attained by sliding the coin to rest on or over a line at
the farther end of the board. The game induced wagers and thereby a
waste of substance and even in Old England was unlawful at various
times, but difficult to suppress.
Massachusetts magistrates also enacted a law at the 1640 session,
prohibiting any play or game for money or anything of value and
forbade dancing in taverns upon any occasion, under penalty of five
shillings for each offence. The observance of Christmas or any like
day, "either by forbearing labor, feasting, or any other way" was
also prohibited under penalty of five shillings for each person
so offending. This action was occasioned by "disorders arising in
several places within this jurisdiction by reason of some still
observing such Festivals, as were superstitiously kept in other
Countries, to the great dishonour of God and offence of others."
Strange as it may now seem, the non-observance of Christmas existed
in orthodox communities, especially in the country towns, until well
up to the time of the Civil War.
The magistrates having learned that it was a "custome too frequent
in many places, to expend time in unlawful Games, as Cards, Dice,
&c." at the same court decreed a fine of five shillings imposed on
all so offending. Twenty-four years later the penalty was mightily
increased to five pounds, one half to go to the Treasurer of the
Colony and the other half to the informer. This was because of the
increase of "the great sin of Gaming within this Jurisdiction, to
the great dishonour of God, the corrupting of youth, and expending
of much precious time and estate."[40]
[40] _Laws and Liberties of the Massachusetts Colony_, Cambridge,
1672.
All this legislation seems to have been directed against indulgence
in gaiety and human weakness in and about a public tavern. What
took place within the home was another matter although the orthodox
Puritan continued to frown upon card playing and dancing until very
recently. But cards and gambling were common at all times among the
merchants and governing class as well as among the laborers and this
was especially true in the seaport towns where sailors congregated
and where there was more or less contact with the Southern colonies
and with foreign lands. In 1720 playing cards cost a shilling a
pack at James Lyndell's shop in Boston and a few years later David
Gardiner was advertising Bibles, Prayer Books, account books,
playing cards, and a great variety of other goods. Card tables
appeared in inventories of estates, and were offered for sale by the
cabinet makers.
At an early date horses became a prime article of trade with the
West Indies, where they were used in the sugar cane crushing mills,
and wherever horses are bred, questions of speed must naturally
arise and therefore trials of speed and racing in the public eye.
This was a corrupting influence in the opinion of the
Magistrates--"that variety of Horse racing, for money, or moneys
worth, thereby occasing much misspence of precious time, and the
drawing of many persons from the duty of their particular Callings,
with the hazard of their Limbs and Lives." It therefore became
unlawful "to practice in that Kind, within four miles of any Town,
or in any Highway, the offenders, if caught, to pay twenty shillings
each, the informer to receive one half."
But public opinion at a later date changed somewhat and here are a
few items gleaned from Boston newspapers that demonstrate the fact
that human nature two centuries ago was much the same as at the
present time.
HORSE RACE. This is to give Notice that at Cambridge on Wednesday
the 21st day of September next, will be Run for, a Twenty Pound
Plate, by any Horse, Mare or Gelding not exceeding Fourteen and
a half hands high, carrying 11 Stone Weight, and any Person or
Persons shall be welcome to Run his Horse &c. entering the same
with Mr. _Pattoun_ at the Green Dragon in Boston, any of the six
Days preceding the Day of Running, & paying Twenty Shillings
Entrance.--_Boston News-Letter_, Aug. 22-29, 1715.
A horse race was advertised to take place at Rumley Marsh
(Chelsea), on a £10 wager.--_Boston News-Letter_, Nov. 11-18, 1717.
HORSE RACE. On the 2d of June next at 4 in the afternoon, A Silver
Punch Bowl Value Ten Pounds will be run for on Cambridge Heath,
Three Miles by any Horse, Mare or Gelding 13 hands 3 inches High,
none to exceed 14, carrying Nine Stone Weight, if any Horse is 14
hands high to carry Ten stone weight; The Horses that put in for
the Plate are to Enter at the Post-Office in Boston on the 1st
of June between the Hours of 8 & 12 in the morning, and pay down
Twenty Shillings. The winning Horse to pay the charge of this
Advertisement.--_Boston News-Letter_, May 15-22, 1721.
PIG RUN. On the same day that the silver Punch Bowl is run for on
Cambridge Common by horses, "There will be a Pig Run for by Boys, at
9 in the morning. The Boy who takes the Pig and fairly holds it by
the Tail, wins the Prize."--_Boston Gazette_, May 22-29, 1721.
HORSE RACE. This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen and others,
that there is to be Thirty Pounds in money Run for on Thursday the
13th of May next at 9 o'clock, by Six Horses, Mares, or Geldings,
Two miles between Menotomy & Cambridge, to carry 9 Stone weight,
the Standard to be 14 hands high, all exceeding to carry weight for
inches. Each one that Runs to have their Number from 1 to 6, to be
drawn, and to run by 2 together only as the Lots are drawn, the 3
first Horses to run a second heat, and the first of them to have the
Money, allowing the 2d, 5£. if he saves his Distance, which shall be
100 yards from coming in.
Each Person to enter & pay 5£. to Mr. Philip Musgrave, Postmaster of
Boston, 15 days before they Run.--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 19-26, 1725.
HOG RACE. On Monday, the 27th Instant between 2 & 3 a Clock in
the afternoon, a Race will be run (for a considerable Wager) on
the Plains at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, between a Hog and a
Horse.--_Boston Gazette_, Aug. 30-Sept. 6, 1725.
We hear from New-Hampshire, that on Monday the 27th of Sept. last,
there was a Race Run, for a considerable sum of money, between a Hog
and a Horse, the former of which had the advantage most part of the
way, which the party that were for the Horse, it is thought, caused
the Hog to be frighten'd, so that with much ado the Horse got the
advantage.--_Boston Gazette_, Sept. 27-Oct. 4, 1725.
BEAR BAITING. On Thursday next the 2d of June, at 3 o'clock P.M., in
Staniford's Street, near the Bowling Green, will be Baited a Bear,
by John Coleson; where all Gentlemen and others that would divert
themselves may repair.--_Boston Gazette_, May 23-30, 1726.
HORSE FAIR. This is to give Notice of a Horse Fair which is to be
at Mr. John Brown's, Innholder at Hampton Falls, about seven miles
to the Eastward of Newbury Ferry, upon the 20th and 21st days of
April next; at which time 'tis expected that there will be brought
thither some Hundreds of Horses, to be sold or otherwise traded
for.--_Boston News-Letter_, Mar. 23-30, 1732.
For many years it was necessary for Massachusetts men to defend
their families from marauding Indians and the French, and military
trainings were held at regular intervals. In May, 1639, a thousand
men took part at a training in Boston and in the fall of that year
there were twelve hundred. Such occasions provided opportunity for
feasting and drinking--perhaps we should say drunkenness--but as the
years went by the prayers and singing of psalms gave way to days
of public enjoyment and not infrequently to boisterous license.
Governor Bradford wrote that the water of Plymouth was wholesome
though not, of course, as wholesome as good beer and wine. Even so!
New England Puritans hated Christmas, a day for Popish revelry. On
Christmas Day in 1621, those who had recently arrived at Plymouth
in the ship _Fortune_ entertained themselves with pitching the bar
and playing stoolball, but at noon Governor Bradford appeared and
ordered them to stop "gameing or revelling in the street."[41] On
Christmas Day, 1685, Judge Sewall wrote in his Diary, "Carts come
to town and shops open as usual. Some somehow observe the day, but
are vexed I believe that the Body of the People Prophane it, and
blessed be God no authority yet to compel them to keep it."
[41] Bradford, _History of Plymouth Plantation_, Boston, 1853.
Commencement Day at Harvard was also a day for diversion and vied in
importance in the public eye with election day and training days.
By the year 1700 billiard tables might be found in many of the
larger taverns and sometimes a ninepin alley. In 1721, Thomas Amory
of Boston was shipping billiard tables to his correspondents in the
Southern ports.
There was a bowling green in Boston as early as 1700. It was located
at what is now Bowdoin Square and a bronze tablet now marks the
spot. Here are advertisements from Boston newspapers.
BOWLING GREEN. This is to give Notice, that the Bowling Green,
formerly belonging to _Mr. James Ivers_ in Cambridge Street, Boston,
does now belong to _Mr. Daniel Stevens_ at the British Coffee House
in Queen Street, Boston, which Green will be open'd, on Monday next
the Third Day of this Instant May, where all Gentlemen, Merchants,
and others, that have a mind to Recreate themselves, shall be
accommodated by the said _Stevens_.--_Boston News-Letter_, Apr.
26-May 3, 1714.
BOWLING GREEN. Hanover Bowling Green, at the Western Part of the
Town of Boston, is now open and in good order for the Reception of
all Gentlemen who are disposed to Recreate themselves with that
Healthful Exercise.--_Boston Gazette_, June 10-17, 1734.
CHARLESTOWN FROLICK. The Set Company that went upon a Frolick
to Mrs. Whyers at Charlestown, on Tuesday Night being the 12th
of September, is desired to meet at the aforesaid House of Mrs.
Whyers, on the 19th of this Instant, then and there to pay the Just
Reckoning that was then due to the House. And likewise to pay the
honest Fidler for his trouble and wearing out of his strings, for
he gathered but 12 d. among the whole Company that night.--_Boston
Gazette_, Sept. 11-18, 1727.
CONCERT OF MUSIC. On Thursday the 30th of this instant December,
there will be performed a Concert of Musick on sundry Instruments
at Mr. Pelham's great Room being the House of the late Doctor
Noyes near the Sun Tavern. Tickets to be delivered at the place of
performance at Five Shillings each, the Concert to begin exactly at
six a Clock, and no Tickets will be delivered after Five the Day of
performance. N.B. There will be no admittance after Six.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Dec. 16-23, 1731.
POPE'S NIGHT, THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER. There being many complaints made
by divers of his Majesty's good subjects in the town of Boston, that
in the night between the 5th and 6th days of November, from year to
year, for some years past, sundry persons with sticks, clubs and
other weapons have assembled themselves together and disfigured
themselves by blacking their faces, dressing themselves in a very
unusual manner, and otherwise disfiguring themselves as well as
insulting the Inhabitants in their houses, by demanding money of
them, and threatening them in Case of Refusal: which Doings being
very disorderly, and contrary to the good and wholesome laws, the
Justices of the Peace in said town have concluded to take effectual
methods to prevent or punish such irregularities for the future,
and would particularly caution and warn all Persons to forbear such
Proceedings hereafter.--_Boston Gazette_, Oct. 28, 1746.
POPE'S NIGHT CELEBRATION. Friday last was carried about town the
Devil, Pope and Pretender; as also the Effigies of a certain English
Admiral, hung upon a gibbet, with a wooden sword on the right side,
and one of steel run through the body; upon the front of the stage
was written in capitals,
Come hither brave Boys, be jolly and sing,
Here's Death and Confusion to Admiral B--g.
--_Boston Gazette_, Nov. 8, 1756.
FIRE WORKS. On the evening of the day when the Royal Commission
appointing William Shirley, Governor of the Province of
Massachusetts Bay, was published in the Council Chamber, "there was
several fine Fire-Works displayed from the Top of the Town-House
and other Places; but unluckily one of the Serpents fell into the
Town House Lanthorn where all the Fire-Works lay, and set them
all off at once, which made a pretty Diversion; several Gentlemen
were in the Lanthorn, and some of them were a little scorcht,
but no other Damage done, except breaking a few of the Lanthorn
Windows."--_Boston Gazette_, Aug. 10-17, 1741.
FLYING MAN. This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen and Ladies, that
_John Childs_ has flewn off of most of the highest steeples in Old
England, and off of the monument by the Duke of Cumberlands' Desire,
and does intend this Day, and two Days following, to fly off of Dr.
Cutler's Church, where he hopes to give full Satisfaction to all
spectators.--_Boston Gazette_, Sept. 12, 1757.
The next issue of the newspaper states that he performed the feat
"to the satisfaction of a great Number of Spectators. It is supposed
from the steeple to the place where the Rope was fix'd was about
700 Feet upon a slope, and that he was about 16 or 18 seconds
performing each Time. As These Performances led many People from
their Business, he is forbid flying any more in the Town."
CURRANTS. Any Person that has a mind to take a walk in the Garden at
the Bottom of the Common, to eat Currants, shall be Kindly Welcome
for Six Pence a piece.--_Boston News-Letter_, July 10-17, 1735.
Jacob Bailey, a country boy born in 1731 of humble parentage in
Rowley, Mass., was inspired by the local minister to obtain a
college education, and after graduating at Harvard, he taught
school, eventually obtained a license to preach, and finally went
to England where he took orders in the Anglican Church. Bailey had
a gift for versification and while teaching school in the country
town of Kingston, N.H., his muse led him to describe a corn husking,
a favorite frolic in country towns until very recent times, an
occasion when the finding of an ear of red corn entitled the finder
to kiss the girls. He begins:
"The season was cheerful, the weather was bright,
When a number assembled to frolic all night."
* * * * *
At Aunt Nabby's, "where kisses and drams set the virgins on flame,"
horseplay soon developed. Ears of corn were thrown, especially
at loving couples, the girls were tumbled about on the husks and
practical jokes found their victims. When supper was ready
"Like crows round a carcass each one took his place
* * * * *
"The girls in a huddle stand snickering by
Till Jenny and Kate have fingered the pie."
* * * * *
And after supper the "scenes of vile lewdness" abashed the country
schoolmaster:
"The chairs in wild order flew quite round the room:
Some threatened with fire brands, some branished a broom,
While others, resolved to increase the uproar,
Lay tussling the girls in wide heaps on the floor."
* * * * *
"Quite sick of confusion, dear Dolly and I
Retired from the hubbub new pleasures to try."
Bailey's closing comment is illuminating; "from many of these
indecent frolics which I have seen in these parts, I must conclude
that rustics are not more innocent than citizens,"[42] and we may
rest assured that country manners and customs south of the Merrimack
River were no different from those north of it.
[42] R. P. Baker, "The Poetry of Jacob Bailey" (_The New England
Quarterly_, Jan., 1929).
In country towns much of the population was thinly distributed and
it was impossible for the housewife to run in next door for a few
moments' idle chat. Frequently the nearest house was a half-mile
or more distant and the feminine desire for social diversion was
sadly curbed by the constant demands of farm labor for horses that
otherwise might have been used in the chaise or wagon. The weekly
gathering at the meetinghouse was always looked forward to with some
anticipation by both old and young and the sacredness of the day
did not prevent discreet conversation on purely secular topics. But
the day when farmer Perkins raised the frame of his barn was made a
social event in the full meaning of the word and when the "raising"
of the meetinghouse took place, it certainly was a gala day, for in
town meeting it was voted to buy a barrel of rum and twelve barrels
of cider, with sugar, beef, pork, and brown and white bread in
proportion with which to refresh the gathering. Eighty-seven pounds
of cheese were eaten and the town paid one shilling and six pence
for the mugs that were broken--let us hope purely by accident. But
"raisings" occurred at infrequent intervals. Each fall, however,
there were corn huskings in various parts of the town and afterwards
always plenty to eat for the jolly workers. The women were invited
to apple bees and sometimes there were spinning parties. Every
winter brought its singing school in the district schoolhouse and
spelling matches sometimes brought together the fathers and mothers
of the district as well as their sons and daughters. But the
quilting party was always welcomed by the women with the keenest
relish. It was their personal affair. They were free for a time from
the noisy interruptions of the children and the men were not in the
way although sometimes invited to a supper. As the quilted pattern
advanced over the surface "the women gossiped of neighborhood
affairs, the minister, the storekeeper's latest purchases, of their
dairies, and webs and linens and wools, keeping time with busy
fingers to the tales they told."
CHAPTER X
TRADES AND MANUFACTURES
In the new settlements on the Massachusetts Bay, one of the prime
necessities was men skilled in the various trades, "an ingenious
Carpenter, a cunning Joyner, a handie Cooper, such a one as can make
strong ware for the use of the countrie, and a good brickmaker, a
Tyler, and a Smith, a Leather dresser, a Gardner, and a Taylor; one
that hath good skill in the trade of fishing, is of special use, and
so is a good Fowler."[43] The Company had sent over men to govern
and ministers to care for spiritual affairs and many of those who
came were skilled husbandmen.
[43] Wood, _New Englands Prospect_, London, 1634.
Many of the smaller towns found themselves without men skilled
in the mechanic trades and this was particularly the case with
blacksmiths, a very essential trade in every community. This led to
grants by towns of land and buildings as inducement for smiths to
settle and work their trade. Carpenters were found everywhere, and
brickmakers naturally gravitated to deposits of clay while the other
craftsmen became distributed in accordance with the law of supply
and demand, each taking on apprentices as had been customary in
their old homes in England.
The principal productions available for commerce were fish, lumber,
furs and foodstuffs, but the building of shipping and the importance
of the carrying trade must not be overlooked. In the way of domestic
manufactures the sawmill came first. The earliest were built on or
near the Piscataqua River, but wherever water power was available
they soon were set up replacing the laborious saw pits. As the
woodlands were cut off the sawmills moved farther up the stream
or logs were brought to the mill-sites by floating down with the
current. The best of the tall trees were marked with the King's
broad arrow and reserved for masts for the royal navy and mast ships
sailed for England from Portsmouth, N.H., at frequent intervals.
The shipbuilding industry required iron and shortly an iron works
was set up at Saugus, where bog iron from the neighboring swamps
and meadows was smelted. The enterprise was financed in London
and largely worked by Scotch prisoners sent over after the defeat
at Dunbar, but the quality of the product proved unsatisfactory,
save in the way of casting pots and kettles, and before long the
enterprise got into financial difficulties and was abandoned.
The high cost of imported iron forced the colonists to fashion wood
to serve their needs not only for agricultural implements but for
nearly all the utensils used in the household. Massachusetts staves
and hoops were important articles of export to the sugar islands in
the West Indies.
The raising of flax and the manufacture of linen were attempted
early to supply domestic needs in country households. Families in
seaport towns very generally bought their fabrics in the local shops
which imported their stocks from London or Bristol.
In 1642 it was estimated there were a thousand sheep in
Massachusetts and it was not long before the colony was sending wool
to France and Spain in exchange for wines, fruits and other luxuries.
The history of early American manufactures has been told in Edward
H. Knight's _American Mechanical Dictionary_, 3 volumes, Boston,
1876, and William B. Weeden's _Economic and Social History of
New England_ (1620-1789), 2 volumes, Boston, 1894, makes easily
available an immense amount of research. In the following pages are
printed gleanings from Boston newspapers and court records that
supplement these works and have the readable flavor of their period.
ANVILS. Samuel Bissel, anvil smith, lately come from England,
living at New-Port on Rhode Island, makes all sorts of Blacksmiths
and Gold-smiths' anvils, Brick-irons and stakes and new Faces old
ones, at reasonable Rates, and may be spoke with or wrote to, at
his House or Shop near the Topsaile Street in said Town.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Mar. 4-11, 1716-17.
APOTHECARY. William Woodcocke of Salem, apothecary, was licensed to
still strong water and sell at retail.--_Essex Co. Court Records_,
Mar. 25, 1662.
AQUÆDUCTS. For the Public Good, aquæducts made & sold by Rowland
Houghton which Instrument being properly applyed to the outside of
a Pump Tree, prevents said Pump from freezing tho' scituate in the
most bleak Place & sharpest Season.
Said Houghton has lately improv'd on his New Theodolate, by
which the Art of Surveying is rendered more plain & easy than
heretofore.--_Boston Gazette_, Jan. 17-24, 1737.
ASSAYER. If any Persons desire to know the true value of ores,
minerals or metals, of what kind soever, may have them justly
essay'd on reasonable terms, by Robert Baden, at Mrs. Jackson's,
Founder, at the Brazen Head in Cornhill, Boston.--_Boston Gazette_,
Sept. 27-Oct. 4, 1736.
BAKER. "John Webster the Baker was admonished for brewing and
tipleinge."--_Essex Co. Court Records_, June 30, 1640. James
Underwood, a baker, was living in Salem in 1655 and Obadiah Wood,
baker, was in Ipswich, before 1649.
BAKER. Any Persons wanting good brown Bisket fit either for the
Fishery or for Shipping Off, may be supplyed by _Lately Gee_ at the
Sign of the Bakers Arms in Hannover Street, at the following Rates,
_viz._ If Wheat be at 6 _s_, per Bushel, then Bread at 22 _s_ per
Hundred, if at 7 _s_, then 25 _s_, and if at 8 _s_, then Bread at
28 _s_, and so proportionable either for money or Good Wheat at the
Prices above said.--_New England Courant_, Sept. 10-17, 1722.
Whereas in the Courant of the 17th Instant, an Advertisement was
publish'd by _Lately Gee_ of Boston, Baker, offering brown Bisket at
lower Prices than usual. These are to give Notice, That Bread of the
same Courseness with the said _Gee's_, and with the same Quantity
of Bran remaining in it, may be had for the same Prices at other
Bakers in Town; but they being willing to avoid the Curse of the
Common Sailors, those employ'd in the Fishery, etc., generally make
their Bread better, and sell it for a better Price.--_New England
Courant_, Sept. 17-24, 1722.
BARBER'S UNION IN 1724. Boston, Dec. 7, on Tuesday the first
of this Instant in the Evening, Thirty-two Principal Barbers
of this Place, assembled at the Golden Ball, with a Trumpeter
attending them, to debate some important Articles relating to their
occupations; where it was propos'd, that they should raise their
Shaving from 8 to 10 _s._ per Quarter, and that they should advance
5 _s_, on the Price of making common Wiggs and 10 _s._ on their Tye
ones. It was also propos'd, that no one of their Faculty should
shave or dress Wiggs, on Sunday Mornings for the future, on Penalty
of forfeiting 10 Pounds for every such Offence: From whence it may
fairly be concluded, that in times past such a Practice has been too
common among them.--_New England Courant_, Nov. 3O-Dec. 7, 1724.
BARBER'S SHOP. To be Sold by Publick Vendue at the Sun Tavern in
Boston, on Tuesday next the 30th Instant at 4 of the Clock, P.M.
Sundry Goods belonging to the Estate of James Wright, Barber,
deceased, viz: Wiggs, Hair on the Pipes, Sash Lights and Shutters
fitting for a Barber's Shop, and also sundry other Goods.--_Boston
Gazette_, Oct. 20-27, 1729.
BARBER'S SHOP. To be Let in a pleasant Country Town on the Post Road
to Portsmouth, a Barber's Shop with proper Implements or Utensils
for that Business, where there is enough to keep two Hands employ'd.
Inquire of the Publisher.--_Boston Gazette_, May 7-14, 1739.
BELLOWS MAKER. Joseph Clough near the Charlestown Ferry in Boston,
makes and mends all sorts of Bellows for Furnaces, Refiners,
Blacksmiths, Braziers and Goldsmiths; and also Makes and Mends all
sorts of House Bellows after the best Manner; where all Gentlemen,
and others, in Town and Country may be served at very reasonable
Rates.--_Boston Gazette_, Dec. 15, 1741.
BELLS. This is to give notice to all Persons that have occasion for
a Bell or Bells in Churches or Meeting-houses, that in New York they
may be supplyed with New Bells, or if they have any old Bell broke
they may have it new cast at a reasonable Price, and warranted good
for Twelve Months, that if it Crack or Break it shall be new Cast
for nothing: And all New Bells shall be made of better mettal than
any other that comes out of Europe for Churches or Meeting-houses.
All Persons that have Occasion may apply themselves to Joseph
Phillips who is now building a Furnace for that purpose, and hath
already agreed with some Persons, and is ready to do the same with
any that are disposed.--_Boston News-Letter_, June 10-17, 1717.
BELL FOUNDER. John Whitear, of Fairfield [Conn.], Bell-Founder,
makes and sells all sorts of Bells from the lowest size to Two
Thousand Weight.--_Boston Gazette_, May 29-June 5, 1738.
BLACKSMITH'S WORK. This is to give Notice, that there is one
William Bryant, Blacksmith, that now keeps a shop adjoining to the
Presbyterian Meeting House in Long Lane, Boston, who makes and
mends Glaziers' Vises, Cloathers' Screws, and worsted Combs, and
makes, grinds and setts Cloathers' Shears; he also makes and mends
Smiths' Vises, Ship Carpenters', Blockmakers', Tanners', Glovers'
and Coopers' Tools, Braziers' and Tinsmens' Shears, and makes House
work, with many other things too tedious to mention here. He will
make and engage his work to any of his Employers according to the
value of them.--_Boston News-Letter_, July 6-13, 1732.
BLACKSMITH AND LOCKSMITH. Made and Sold by Robert Hendrey, on
Scarlet's Wharff in Boston, Horse Shoeer, Spinning Wheel Irons after
the best Manner, at _Ten Shillings_, old Tenor per sett: Also all
sorts of Locks are made and mended by the said Hendrey, who keeps
a Man that served his Time to the Lock Smith's Business.--_Boston
Gazette_, Dec. 10, 1751.
Four months later he also advertised "fine White-Smiths Work;
Also Spades and the best sort of Steel Shod Shovels made very
reasonably."--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 21, 1752.
BOARDING SCHOOL. Any Gentlemen (Members of the Church of England)
that are desirous of having their Sons Educated after the Method
of Westminster School, may be further inform'd by applying to J.
Boydell. Conditions, To find their own Bed, Bedding, etc. and to
bring as Entrance, one pair of Sheets, six Towels, six Napkins,
one Silver Spoon value 10 s. Sterling, one Knife, Fork, and Pewter
Porringer; which Entrance on their leaving the School is not to be
returned. None to be admitted but such as can read well and write;
nor the Number of six to be exceeded.--_Boston Gazette_, Oct. 24-31,
1737.
BOOKKEEPER. Mr. _Brown Tymms_ Living at Mr. _Edward Oakes_
Shopkeeper in Newbury Street, at the South End in Boston, keeps
Merchants & Shopkeepers Books, also writes Bills, Bonds, Leases,
Licenses, Charter-parties, &c., for any Person that may have
Occasion, at reasonable Rates. And likewise teacheth Young Men
Arithmetick and Merchants Accounts.--_Boston News-Letter_, Feb.
17-24, 1717-18.
BRAZIER AND IRONMONGER. The late Mr. _Edward Jackson's_ Stock in
Trade, consisting of a great variety of Articles in the Braziery and
Ironmongery Way, in larger or smaller Lots as will best accommodate
Customers.--Lead, Shot, bloomery, brittle, refined and Guinea
Iron, Hollow Ware, best heart and clubb German Steel, best London
Steel in half Faggots, Blowers' best Wool Combs, Iron Hearths for
Ships, a Copper Furnace for ditto, Cannon shot, Iron Backs, Deck,
Sheathing and Drawing Nails, Newcastle Coals, &c. &c. Enquire at the
House where the Deceased's Family dwells, or at his Shop.--_Boston
Gazette_, Sept. 12, 1757.
BRAZIERS AND PEWTERERS. A Good Set of Sundry Sorts of Braziers and
Pewterers' Molds, and other Tools, as good as New, belonging to the
Estate of Mr. Thomas Thacher, deceased, To be sold by Oxenbridge
Thacher at his Shop near the Town Pump, Boston. And also almost all
sorts of Brass, Pewter and Iron Ware, viz. Nails, Locks, Hinges,
Pots, Kettles, &c....--_Boston News-Letter_, Sept. 17-24, 1724.
BRAZIERS' WARES. William Coffin, at the Ostrich, near the
Draw-Bridge, makes and sells Mill Brasses, Chambers for Pumps,
Brass Cocks of all Sizes, Knockers for Doors, Brasses for Chaises
and Sadlers, Brass Doggs of all Sorts, Candlesticks, Shovels and
Tongs, small Bells, and all sorts of Founders ware. Also, all sorts
of Braziers and Pewterers ware, small Stills and worms, and all
Sorts of Plumbers work; likewise Buys old copper, Brass, Pewter, and
Lead.--_Boston News-Letter_, Feb. 17-24, 1736-7.
BRAZIERS' SHOP. Thomas Russell, Brazier, near the Draw-Bridge in
Boston, Makes, Mends, and New-Tins, all sorts of Braziery ware,
viz. Kettles, Skillets, Frying-Pans, Kettle-Pots, Sauce Pans, Tea
Kettles, Warming Pans, Wash Basins, Skimmers, Ladles, Copper Pots,
Copper Funnels, Brass Scales, Gun Ladles, &c. makes all sorts of
Lead Work for Ships, Tobacco Cannisters, Ink Stands, &c. and buys
old Brass, Copper, Pewter, Lead and Iron.--_Boston News-Letter_,
Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 1740.
BRAZIERS' WARES. To be sold by Publick Vendue this Afternoon, at 3
o'Clock, at the House of the late Mr. Stephen Apthorpe, Brazier,
deceas'd, Codlines, Match, Warming-Pans, Frying-Pans, Kettle-Potts,
Brass-Kettles, Pewter Plates, Dishes, Spoons, &c. Locks of several
Sorts, Jacks, Knives of several sorts, Hinges of several sorts,
Snuff Boxes, Buttons, Trowells, Shod Shovels, Fire Shovel and Tongs,
Lanthorn Leaves, Brass Candlesticks, Chaffin-Dishes, Horn-Combs and
Wire with a great Variety of other Articles.--_Boston News-Letter_,
May 31, 1750.
Mary Jackson, at the Brazen-Head, Cornhill, Boston, advertised by
Wholesale and Retail, Brass Kettles and Skillets, etc. "N. B., Said
Mary makes and sells Tea-Kettles, and Coffee-Pots, Copper Drinking
Pots, Brass and Copper Sauce-Pans, Stew-Pans, and Baking-Pans,
Kettle-Pots and Fish-Kettles."--_Boston News-Letter_, June 21, 1750.
BUCKRAM. Any Person that has occasion to have any Linnen Cloth made
into Buckram, or to buy Buckram ready made, or Callendring any Silk,
Watering, Dying or Scouring: they may apply themselves to Samuel
Hall, lately from London, and Thomas Webber near the New North
Brick Meeting House, or at their Work-house near the Bowling-Green,
Boston.--_Boston News-Letter_, June 25-July 2, 1722.
BUTCHER. Humphrey Griffin, a butcher by trade, was living at Ipswich
as early as 1641.--_Essex Co. Court Records_, Sept., 1658.
CABINET MAKER. Edward Browne, cabinet maker, was living in
Ipswich as early as 1637 and at his death in 1659 left in his shop
unfinished chairs, spinning wheels, etc.--_Essex Co. Court Records_,
Nov., 1659.
CABINET MAKER. Mr. John Davis, Cabinet-Maker in Summer-Street, has
for sale extraordinary good English Glew, by Wholesale or Retail, at
the cheapest Rate, for ready Cash.--_Boston News-Letter_, Apr. 8-15,
1736.
CALICO PRINTER. Francis Gray, Callicoe Printer, from Holland; Prints
all sorts of Callicoes of several Colours to hold Washing, at his
House in Roxbury near the Meeting-House.--_Boston Gazette_, June
16-23, 1735.
CARD MAKER. Francis Smith of Boston, cardmaker, probably came with
Winthrop in 1630.
CARD MAKER. Imported in the _Wilmington_, and to be sold in School
street, by Joseph Palmer, cardmaker from London, at his House next
above the French Meeting House viz. Broad cloths, the best steel
Wire, Exeter Fish Hooks, Buckles, Mettal & Horse Hair Buttons,
Tinplate Ware of several sorts, and other Goods; also the best
Wool and Cotton Cards are there made (as good as any brought from
England) by the said Palmer, and sold by Wholesale or Retail. N.
S. The said Palmer wants a servant Maid, and a Negro boy.--_Boston
Gazette_, Nov. 25, 1746.
CHANDLER AND SOAPBOILER. To be sold by _Edward Langdon_, in Fleet
Street, near the Old North Meeting House, A Quantity of Hard Soap
by the Box, soft Soap by the Barrel, and good old Candles both
Mould and Dipt, fit for Shipping or Families, also Mould Candles of
Bayberry Wax, all by the Box or by Retail.--_Boston Gazette_, July
24, 1750.
SPERMA-CETI CANDLES. To be sold on Minot's T. by James Clemens,
Sperma Ceti Candles, exceeding all others for Beauty, Sweetness of
Scent when extinguished; Duration, being more than double Tallow
Candles of equal size; Dimensions of Flame, nearly four Times more,
emitting a soft easy expanding Light, bringing the Object close to
the Sight, rather than causing the Eye to trace after them, as all
Tallow-Candles do, from a constant Dimness which they produce.--One
of these Candles serves the Use and Purpose of three Tallow Ones,
and upon the whole are much pleasanter and cheaper.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Mar. 30, 1748.
CHAPMAN OR PEDDLER. "On Thursday last Dyed at Boston, James Gray,
That used to go up and down the Country selling of Books, who left a
considerable Estate behind him."--_Boston News-Letter_, Apr. 9-16,
1705.
CHOCOLATE MILL. Salem, Sept. 3. By a Gentleman of this Town is
this Day bro't to perfection, an Engine to Grind Cocoa; it is a
Contrivance that cost much less than any commonly used; and will
effect all that which the Chocolate Grinders do with their Mills and
Stones without any or with very Inconsiderable Labour; and it may
be depended on for Truth, that it will in less than six Hours bring
one Hundred weight of Nuts to a consistance fit for the Mold. And
the Chocolate made by it, is finer and better, the Oyly Spirit of
the Nut being almost altogether preserved, and there is little or no
need of Fire in the making.--_Boston Gazette_, Sept. 5-12, 1737.
COFFIN FURNITURE. To be sold by Arthur Savage Tomorrow Evening at
his Vendue Room, about 50 Sett of neat Polished Coffin Furniture,
consisting of Breast-plates, Angels, Flowers, Posts, etc.--_Boston
Gazette_, May 29, 1758.
COOPER. John Henry Dyer, Cooper, lately arriv'd from London, living
on Mr. Henshaw's Wharffe, near the South Market House in Boston;
makes all sorts of Cooper's Ware, after the best manner, as Rum
Hogsheads, Barrels, Caggs, little Tubs and Trays, as cheap and good
as any in the Town.--_Boston Gazette_, July 30, 1751.
CURRIER. The Trade of a Currier is very much wanted in _Middletown_
the Metropolis of Connecticut: any Prudent person that is Master
of that Trade may get a pretty Estate in a few Years.--_Boston
Gazette_, Nov. 6, 1758.
DYER. Alexander Fleming, Dyer, lately from Great Britain, has set
up said Business in Boston, in a House of Mr. Arthen's near Dr.
Gardner's in Marlborough Street, on the same side of the Way, who
can dye all sorts of Colours, after the best Manner and Cheapest
Rate, viz. Scarletts, Crimsons, Pinks, Purples, Straws, Wine
Colours, Sea-Greens, Saxon ditto, common Blues, shearing, dressing
and watering of clothes: Also he can dye linnen Yarn either red,
blue, green, yellow or cloth colours, and all Colours on silks, and
cleaning of Cloths.--_Boston Gazette_, May 14, 1754.
DUTCH TILES. Several sorts of Neat Dutch Tiles, to be set in
chimneys, to be sold by Mr. Richard Draper; at the lower end of
Cornhill, Boston.--_Boston News-Letter_, May 6-13, 1725.
DUTCH TILES. To be sold at Capt. Stephen Richard's in Queen Street,
Boston. All sorts of Dutch Tyles, viz. Scripture (round and square),
Landskips of divers sorts, sea monsters, horsemen, soldiers,
diamonds, etc., and sets of brushes; London quart bottles; and a
chest of Delph ware.--_Boston Gazette_, Feb. 6-13, 1738.
EARTHEN WARE. To be sold by Capt. Arthur Savage at the White
House near Mr. Coleman's Church, Boston, Earthen Ware and Glasses
per the Hogshead, fine Holland Tiles, Earthen and Stone Ware
in Parcels, likewise the long London Tobacco Pipes, all very
Reasonable.--_Boston News-Letter_, Apr. 23-30, 1716.
FELLMONGER. Edmond Farrington of Lynn, fellmonger [dealer in hides]
arrived in Massachusetts in 1635.
FIRE ENGINE. To be sold, a Large and extraordinary good Copper
Fire-Engine, newly fixed, that works well, and will be of excellent
Use in Time of Fire, in any populous Place. Enquire of Mr. James
Read, Blockmaker, near Oliver's Bridge in Boston.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Feb. 19-26, 1735-6.
GLAZIERS' DIAMONDS. To be sold by Gershom Flagg, in Hanover Street
near the Orange Tree, viz. Spanish Whiten, and choice Diamonds fit
for Glazier's use, English Sole Pieces for Shoes and Boots, fine
Jelly Glasses and Crewits of double Flint, all sorts of Coffin Gear,
silvered, plain and lackered, and sundry other Articles.--_Boston
Gazette_, Aug. 6, 1745.
GLASS was being manufactured in Salem as early as 1639, the main
product being bottles and beads used in barter with the Indians. The
glass made was a dark-colored brownish-black.
CROWN GLASS. To be sold by Alexander Middleton at Warehouse Number
3, in Butlers' Row, Crown Glass in Cases uncut, Ditto in Chests
cut in Squares, ordinary ditto cut in squares per the Chest, Bar
& Sheet Lead, white & brown Earthen ware, Glass Bottles, Quarts &
Pints, bottled Ale in Hampers, ... Pipes, glaz'd and ordinary ditto.
And best Sunderland Coal on board the ship _Betty_, William Foster,
Commander, lying at the North side of the Long Wharff.--_Boston
Gazette_, June 4-11, 1739.
GLASS MAKING. Tuesday last a ship arrived here from Holland, with
about 300 Germans, Men, Women & Children, some of whom are going
to settle at Germantown, (a Part of Braintree) and the others in
the Eastern Parts of this Province.--Among the Artificers come
over in this ship, there are Numbers of Men skilled in making
of Glass, of various sorts, and a House proper for carrying on
that useful manufacture, will be erected at Germantown as soon as
possible.--_Boston Gazette_, Sept. 26, 1752.
GLASS MANUFACTORY AT GERMANTOWN. Notice is hereby given, That
for the future none will be admitted to see the new manufactory
at Germantown [Braintree], unless they pay at least one shilling
lawfull money; and they are desired not to ask above three or four
Questions, and not to be offended if they have not a satisfactory
answer to all or any of them.
_Note._--The manufactory has received considerable Damage, and
been very much retarded by the great Number of People which are
constantly resorting to the House.--_Boston Gazette_, Sept. 4, 1753.
KNOT GLASS. To be sold by Arthur Savage, To-morrow Evening, at his
Vendue-Room on the North side of the Town Dock. Twelve Crates of
Knot Glass of various sizes, large and small Looking Glasses, ...
Leather Breeches, Desks, Tables, etc. Also, a Camera Obscura with
Prints.--_Boston Gazette_, Jan. 24, 1757.
WINDOW GLASS. To be sold by Jonathan Bradish in Charlestown near the
Sign of the Buck, sundry sorts of Window Glass, viz., 8 by 10, 8 by
6, 7 by 9, etc. Also Painters' Colours and Linseed oyl.--_Boston
Gazette_, Nov. 12, 1751.
GLOVER. To be sold by the Maker, Ph. Freeman, who arrived in the
last Ship from London, at Mr. Irish's in Bridge's Lane near Mr.
Welsteed's Meeting-House, A Large Parcel of Gloves of all Sorts,
viz. Men's and Women's Buck and Doe, Kid and Lamb, for Mourning and
all other Sorts.--_Boston News-Letter_, Sept. 30-Oct. 7, 1742.
GLOVE MAKER. Just Imported and Sold by Philip Freeman, Norway Doe
Gloves, and Makes and Sells Winter Gloves, for Men and Women: and
lines Gloves with Fur, after the best Manner.--_Boston Gazette_,
Nov. 26, 1754.
GUNSMITH. To be sold by John Pim of Boston, Gunsmith, at the Sign
of the Cross Guns, in Anne-Street near the Draw Bridge, at very
Reasonable Rates, sundry sorts of choice Arms lately arrived
from London, viz. Handy Muskets, Buccaneer-Guns, Fowling pieces,
Hunting Guns, Carabines, several sorts of Pistols, Brass and Iron,
fashionable Swords, &c.--_Boston News-Letter_, July 4-11, 1720.
GUNSMITH. Newly imported, and sold by Samuel Miller, Gunsmith, at
the Sign of the cross Guns near the Draw-Bridge, Boston: Neat Fire
Arms of all sorts, Pistols, Swords, Hangers, Cutlasses, Flasks for
Horsemen, Firelocks, &c.--_Boston Gazette_, May 11, 1742.
HALBERTS. A Set of Halberts for a foot Company to be sold on
reasonable Terms, by Nicholas Boone Bookseller, to be seen at his
House near School-House Lane, Boston.--_Boston News-Letter_, Apr.
22-29, 1706. "A Set of New-Halbards" were offered for sale in the
June 3-10, 1706, issue.
HAND ENGINES. Hand Engines made after the best manner, fitted
with Brass Clappers, very useful in all Families, convenient for
extinguishing Fire in Chimneys, or in any Room in a House; Also very
proper for Coasters to carry to sea to wet the Sails in small Winds
to preserve them from Mildews; said Engine throws Water with ease 40
Feet perpendicular. Sold by Rowland Houghton, on the North side of
the Town House at 25s. each.--_Boston Gazette_, June 10-17, 1734.
HATS. Daniel Jones, at the _Hat & Helmit_, South-End, Boston, ...
makes and sells Beaver, Beaveret, and Castor-Hats: and has also a
good Assortment of English Castor and Beaveret Hats, English and
Felt ditto; Hat Linings and Trimmings of all sorts: Red Wool, Coney
Wool, Camels Hair: Logwood by the 100 Wt. by Wholesale or Retail,
cheap for Cash or Treasurer's Notes.--_Boston Gazette_, Dec. 10,
1759.
HOUR GLASSES. All sorts of Hour-Glasses to be made or mended on
Reasonable terms, by _James Maxwell_, at his House in Water Street,
near the Town House in Boston.--_Boston News-Letter_, Sept. 17-24,
1716.
IRON MONGER. To be sold by _John Winslow_, at his Warehouse, in
Newbury-Street, near Summer Street: Best refined and blommery Iron,
Ploughshare Moulds, Anchor Palms, Coohorns, Swivel Guns, Ten Inch
Mortars and Shells, 6, 4, & 3 pound Swivel and Grape Shot.--_Boston
Gazette_, Apr. 25, 1757.
IRON HEARTH. On the 11th Instant, early in the Morning, a Fire broke
out at _Mr. Pierpont's_ House near the Fortification, occasioned by
the Heat of the Iron Hearth of one of the newly invented Fireplaces,
whereby the Floor was set on Fire; the People being in Bed,
perceived a great Smoke, got up, and happily discover'd and timely
distinguished [_sic_] the Fire.--_Boston Gazette_, Dec. 22, 1747.
IRON FOUNDRY. Any Person that has occasion for Forge Hammers,
anvils, or Plates, Smiths' Anvils, Clothiers' Plates, Chimney Backs,
Potts, Kettles, Skillets, Cart Boxes, Chaise Boxes, Dog-Irons, or
any other Cast Iron Ware, may be provided with them by Richard
Clarke, at his Furnace in the Gore, giving speedy Notice (of the
Sizes and Quantity they want) to him there, or to Oliver, Clarke,
and Lee, at their Warehouse in King Street, Boston; where they may
be supplied with Swivel Guns.--_Boston Gazette_, July 13-20, 1741.
JEWELLER. This is to inform the Publick, That Mr. _James Boyer_,
Jeweller, from London, living at Mr. Eustone's, a Dancing Master in
King Street, Boston, setts all manner of Stones in Rings, &c. and
performes every thing belonging to that Trade. N.B. Said Mr. Boyer
is lately recovered of a fit of Sickness.--_New England Courant_,
Dec. 31-Jan. 7, 1722-3.
JOYNER. Richard Lambert of Salem, the joyner, was living there as
early as 1637, and four years later was fined for drinking and also
sat in the stocks for two hours.--_Essex Co. Court Records_, Feb.,
1641.
LINEN PRINTER. The Printer hereof Prints Linens, Callicoes, Silks,
&c. in good Figures, very lively and durable Colours, and without
the offensive smell which commonly attends the Linens Printed
here.--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 18-25, 1720.
LINEN PRINTER AND DYER. John Hickey, linen-printer and dyer, from
Dublin, is now settled in this town, at the linen manufactory, where
he follows the business of blue and white printing, and silk or
cloth dying; and takes all manner of spots out of silk or cloths,
cleans gold and silver lace, and scarlet cloth, dyes linnen and
cotton of a blue or London red, and all manner of country stuffs,
worsteds, camlets, tammies, or leather; he dyes blacks so as they
shall be sound and clean as any other colour; also dyes ribbons
and makes them up again as well as ever, and English thick sets
after they have been worn or faded, and blue yarn for one shilling
a pound. N.B. as there has been several who have imposed upon this
country in telling that they were printers; I engage myself that
if my colours be not as good and as lasting as any that comes from
Europe, to satisfy my employers with all charges or damages that
shall be justly laid against me.
All the above articles done with expedition at the most reasonable
price, by JOHN HICKEY.--_Boston Gazette_, (sup.) May 7, 1759.
LINEN MANUFACTORY. The Massachusetts General Court at its session
held in the summer of 1753, passed an "Act for granting the sum of
Fifteen Hundred Pounds To encourage the Manufacture of Linnen,"
providing for a tax on every "Coach, Chariot, Chaise, Calash
and Chair" for the term of five years, the Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, the President of Harvard College, and the settled
ministers in the Province, being excepted from its provision, at the
following rates: each Coach, ten shillings annually, Chariot, five
shillings, Chaise, three shillings, Calash, two shillings, Chair,
two shillings. The several sums received from Time to Time were to
be paid to a committee of ten appointed by the Act, "to be applied
to the purchasing a Piece of Land, and building or purchasing a
convenient House within the Town of _Boston_, for carrying on the
Business of Spinning, Weaving, and other necessary Parts of the
Linnen Manufacture." This legislation was instituted because of "the
great Decay of Trade and Business the Number of Poor is greatly
increased, and the Burden of supporting them lies heavy on many of
the Towns within this Province, and many Persons, especially Women
and Children are destitute of Employment."--_Boston Gazette_, Aug.
7, 1753.
LIME KILN. To be Sold a good Penny-worth; A good Lime-Kiln, a
Lime-House, a good Well, a Wharf, and a piece of Ground, being near
the Bowling-green, Boston; Inquire of Mr. Walter Browne at the Sign
of the Blue Anchor in King-Street, Boston, and know further.
N. B. There is very good Lime-juice to be sold by the aforesaid
Browne at his House.--_Boston News-Letter_, Mar. 28-Apr. 4, 1723.
STONE LIME. To be sold by the Hogshead or Bushel, the best
eastward Stone Lime, by John Blowers of Boston, Mason, in School
Street.--_Boston Gazette_, Mar. 31, 1747.
LINEN MANUFACTURE. Publick Notice is hereby given, That sundry
Looms for Weaving of Linnen, of all Sorts, are set up at the
Linnen-Manufacture House in the Common below Thomas Hancocks' Esq;
where all Persons may have their Yarn wove in the best and Cheapest
Manner, and with the utmost Dispatch. At the same Place, money will
be given for all Sorts of Linnen Yarn.
And whereas the setting up and establishing the Linnen Manufacture
is undoubtedly of the utmost Importance to this Province: It is
propos'd by a Number of Gentlemen, very soon to open several
Spinning-Schools in this Town, where children may be taught Gratis.
And it is to be hop'd, that all Well-wishers to their Country
will send their children, that are suitable for such Schools, to
learn the useful and necessary Art of Spinning; and that they
will give all other proper Countenance and Encouragement to this
Undertaking.--_Boston News-Letter_, Dec. 13, 1750.
LOCKSMITH. This is to inform my Customers, that I have remov'd from
Middle-street, to the Bottom of Cross street, where I continue to
mend all sorts of Locks, also to fit Keys to Locks, mend all sorts
of Kettles, as Brass, Copper, Pewter, &c. at a very reasonable Rate,
by _Reuben Cookson_.--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 23, 1754 (_sup._)
MAHOGANY AND OTHER WOODS. To be Sold behind Numb. 4, on the Long
Wharffe, Lignumvitee, Box wood, Ebony, Mohogany Plank, Sweet Wood
Bark, and wild Cinnamon Bark.--_Boston Gazette_, Aug. 22-29, 1737.
MAHOGANY. To be sold at publick Vendue at the Exchange Tavern, on
Thursday, the first of December next, at three o'clock Afternoon; 50
Pieces of fine Mahogany in 10 Lots, No. 1 to 10, being 5 Pieces in a
Lot, to be seen at the Long Wharffe before the Sale begins.--_Boston
Gazette_, Nov. 21-28, 1737.
MILITARY EQUIPMENT. On Thursday the 6 of February at three of the
clock Afternoon, will be sold by Publick Vendue at the Exchange
Tavern, about one hundred Canvice & Ticken Tents, Poles, Mallets,
and Pins to them, about five hundred Pick-Axes, fifty Axes and
Hatchets, about eight hundred Tomhawks or small Hatchets, about
three hundred Spades and Bills, a parcell of Shovels, Wheelbarrows,
Handbarrow's, Baskets of Speaks and Nails, all to be put and sold
in Lots, and to be seen at the place of sale the Morning before the
Sale begins: Also a very fine Negro Woman.--_Boston Gazette_, Jan.
27-Feb. 3, 1728-9.
MILITARY EQUIPMENT. Extract from the _Act for Regulating the
Militia_:--"Every listed Soldier, and other Householder shall be
always provided with a wellfixt Firelock Musket, of Musket or
Bastard-Musket bore, the Barrel not less than three Foot and an half
long, or other good Fire Arms to the satisfaction of the Commission
Officers of the Company; a Cartouch Box: one Pound of good Powder:
Twenty Bullets fit for his Gun, and twelve Flynts; a good Sword or
Cutlass; a Worm, & priming Wire, fit for his Gun, on Penalty of six
Shillings...."--_Boston News-Letter_, Feb. 7-14, 1733-4.
BREECH-LOADING GUN. Made by John Cookson, and to be Sold by him
at his House in Boston: a handy Gun of 9 Pound and a half Weight;
having a Place convenient to hold 9 Bullets, and Powder for 9
Charges and 9 Primings; the said Gun will fire 9 Times distinctly,
as quick, or slow as you please, with one turn with the Handle of
the said Gun, it doth charge the Gun with Powder and Bullet, and
doth prime and shut the pan, and cock the Gun. All these Motions are
performed immediately at once, by one turn with the said Handle.
Note, there is Nothing put into the Muzzle of the Gun as we charge
other Guns.--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 12, 1756.
MATHEMATICAL BALANCEMAKER. Jonathan Dakin, Mathematical Balance
maker, at the Sign of the Hand & Beam, opposite to Dr. _Colman's_
Meeting House, makes all sorts of scale Beams, and likewise mends
all that can be mended; where all Gentlemen may be supplied with
Beams ready adjusted and scaled, as the Law directs.--_Boston
Gazette_, Nov. 12, 1745.
MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENTS. Stephen Greenleaf, Mathematical
Instrument-Maker, in _Queen Street_, Boston, opposite to the
Prison, Makes and Mends all Sorts of Mathematical Instruments,
as Theodolites, Spirit Levels, Semi circles, Circumferences, and
Protractors, Horizontal and Equinoctial Sun Dials, Azimuth and
Amplitude Compasses, Eliptical and Triangular Compasses, and all
sorts of common Compasses, drawing Pens and Portagraions, Pensil
Cases, and parallel Rulers, Squares and Bevils, Free Masons Jewels,
with sundry other articles too tedious to mention.
N.B. He sets Load Stones on Silver or Brass, after the best
manner.--_Boston Gazette_, June 18, 1745.
MUSICIAN. Thomas Androus, "the scholar musician, was there with his
music," at John Androus house in Ipswich, in the summer of 1656, at
a merriment.--_Essex Co. Court Records_, April, 1657.
MUSTARD MAKER. John Ingram, the Original Flower of Mustard
Maker, from Lisbon, now living at the House of Mrs. Townsend,
near Oliver's-Dock, Boston, Prepares Flower of Mustard to such
Perfection, by a Method unknown to any Person but himself, that it
retains its Strength, Flavour and Colour Seven Years; being mix'd
with hot or cold water, in a Minute's Time it makes the strongest
Mustard ever eat, not in the least Bitter, yet of a delicate and
delightful Flavour, and gives a most surprizing grateful Taste to
Beef, Pork, Lamb, Fish, Sallad, or other Sauces. It is approved of
by divers eminent Physicians as the only Remedy in the Universe
in all nervous Disorders, sweetens all the Juices, and rectifies
the whole Mass of Blood to Admiration. If close stopt it will keep
its Strength and Virtue Seven years in any Climate. Merchants and
Captains of Ships shall have good Allowance to sell again.--_Boston
Gazette_, Sept. 19, 1752.
NAILMAKING. Any Gentleman that hath a mind to set up the nailing
Business, which may be done to very great Advantage in this Country,
may by inquiring of the Printer be informed of a Man that will carry
it on to Perfection for him.--_Boston Gazette_, Mar. 2, 1742.
NEEDLE MAKER. Simon Smith, Needle maker from London, is removed from
the Rainbow and Dove in Marlborough Street, now in Union Street
near the Corn fields; continues to make and sell all sorts of white
Chapple Needles, and all other sorts round and square.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Apr. 15-22, 1742.
_Oil Lamp._ A New England vessel having "30 Tons of Lamp Oyl" on board
was captured by French and Indians in Newfoundland.--_News-Letter_,
Oct. 2-9, 1704.
OIL LAMP. Best Refin'd Sperma-Ceti Oil for Lamps, to be sold next
Door to the _Salutation_, near the North Battery.--_Boston Gazette_,
July 17, 1758.
PAPER MILL. Whereas some Gentlemen design to set up a Paper-Mill
in New England, if a supply can be had to carry on that Business:
These are therefore to give Notice, that James Franklin, Printer in
Queen Street, Boston, buys Linen Rags, either coarse or fine, at a
Peny a Pound.--_New England Courant_, June 1-8, 1724.
PAPER MAKER. This is to give Notice, That Richard Fry, Stationer,
Bookseller, Paper-maker, and Rag Merchant, from the City of London,
keeps at Mr. Thomas Fleet's Printer at the Heart and Crown in
Cornhill, Boston; where the said Fry is ready to accommodate all
Gentlemen, Merchants, and Tradesmen, with sets of Accompt-Books,
after the neatest manner; and whereas, it has been the common Method
of the most curious merchants in Boston, to Procure their Books from
London, this is to acquaint those Gentlemen, that I the said Fry,
will sell all sorts of Accompt-Books, done after the most accurate
manner, for 20 per cent. cheaper than they can have them from London.
I return the Publick Thanks for following the Directions of my
former advertisement for gathering of Rags, and hope they will
continue the like Method; having received seven thousand weight and
upwards already.
For the pleasing entertainment of the Polite part of Mankind, I have
Printed the most Beautiful Poems of Mr. Stephen Duck, the famous
Wiltshire Poet; It is a full demonstration to me that the People of
New England, have a fine taste for Good Sense & Polite Learning,
having already sold 1200 of these Poems, Richard Fry.--_Boston
Gazette_, May 1-8, 1732.
PEWTERER. This is to give notice, that a Journeyman Pewterer, who
is a good workman in Hollow-ware, may have constant work, and good
Wages, if they will go to New York, and apply themselves to Mr.
_David Lyell_, or they may write to him and know further.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Aug. 23-30, 1714.
POTASH WORK set up at Charlestown Ferry in Boston, at the House of
John Russell, Ferryman, 6d. in money paid per Bushell to any that
have ashes to spare.--_Boston News-Letter_, Nov. 27-Dec. 4, 1704.
POTTERY. John Pride owned a pottery in Salem as early as 1641.
William Vincent owned a pottery there in 1681. At a later date
several potteries existed at what is now the town of Peabody.
POTTERY AT CHARLESTOWN. John Webber, a potter, at Charlestown, was
injured by the explosion of a cannon while celebrating the marriage
of the Princess Royal.--_Boston News-Letter_, May 16-23, 1734.
EARTHEN WARE. To be sold on reasonable Terms, A Dwelling-House
& Land in Charlestown, near the Swing-Bridge, with a House &
Kiln for the making of Earthen Ware; as also a Warehouse and
other Conveniences necessary for that Business, Inquire of the
Printer.--_Boston News-Letter_, Nov. 1, 1744.
POTTERY. Made and Sold reasonably by _Thomas Symmes_ and Company at
_Charlestown_ near the Swing Bridge, blue and white stone Ware of
forty different sorts; also red and yellow ware of divers sorts,
either by Wholesale or Retale.--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 16, 1745.
POTTER'S KILN. To be sold by publick Vendue on Tuesday the 16th
Currant, two o'Clock Afternoon, at the Three Crane Tavern at
Charlestown, a Dwelling House, Potter's Kiln House and Kiln in
Wapping Street in Charlestown aforesaid, any Person minding to
purchase the same before said Time may inquire of Michael Brigden or
Grace Parker.--_Boston Gazette_, Dec. 9, 1746.
POWDER MAKER. Any Gentlemen, Merchants or others, that have any
damnifyed Powder, or dust of Powder, either to sell, or to be
made of New, They may repair with the same unto Walter Evenden,
Powder-maker, at his House in Dorchester, who will either buy it or
make it of New for them, on reasonable terms.--_Boston News-Letter_,
Nov. 25-Dec. 2, 1706.
PRINTED FABRICS. The Printer hereof Prints Linens, Callicoes, Silks,
etc., in good Figures, very lively and durable Colours, and without
the offensive Smell which commonly attends the Linens printed
here.--_Boston Gazette_, April 18-25, 1720.
The Printer hereof having dispers'd advertisements of his Printing
Callicoes, etc. a certain Person in Charlestown, to rob him of the
Benefit of said advertisements and impose upon strangers, calls
himself by the Name of Franklin, having agreed with one in Queen
Street, Boston, to take in his work. These are to desire him to be
satisfyed with his proper Name, or he will be proceeded against
according to Law.--_Boston Gazette_, May 2-9, 1720.
PUMPS. Pumps erected or altered after a new and Easy Method, whereby
they will deliver more Water, and with less strength, not being
apt to loose water, not at all liable to Freeze, tho' fixed in the
most Bleak Places; by the Directions of Rowland Houghton.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Sept. 14-21, 1732.
ROASTING JACKS. To be sold by John Jackson, Jack-maker, at his shop,
being the corner shop at the Draw bridge, in Boston, all sorts of
Jacks, reasonably, and makes, mends and Cleans all sorts of Jacks;
also makes & mends Locks, Keys, and Ironing Boxes, at a reasonable
rate.--_Boston Gazette_, May 2-9, 1737.
SCALES. All Sorts of Weights and Skales of the best sort for
weighing Money or other Merchandize. Made and Sold by Caleb Ray,
Chief Skale-maker of New England; or Skales to be new strung
and mended; at the sign of the Skales and Weights in the Alley
near to Governours Dock in Boston, at reasonable Rates.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Apr. 26-May 3, 1708.
SCALES AND BALANCES. Jonathan Dakin, Mathematical Balance-maker,
at the sign of the Hand & Beam opposite to Dr. Colman's Meeting
House, Makes all Sorts of Scale Beams, and likewise mends all that
can be mended; where all Gentlemen may be supplied with Beams ready
adjusted and sealed as the Law directs.--_Boston Gazette_, Nov. 26,
1745.
SHOEMAKER. Francis Dowse, a shoemaker, was in the employ of George
Burden of Boston, in 1640.
SLITTING MILL AND IRON FORGE. To be Sold a good Penniworth, a
Slitting Mill compleatly finished and furnished, scituated in the
middle of near 20 Forges in the Compass of 12 Miles, with a well
built Forge with Two Fires, and conveniency for a third; together
with a well built and well accustomed Grist Mill, all standing
on one Dam; on as constant a stream as this Land affords; with
accommodations for other Water Works; A good Dwelling House, Coal
House, and above 6 Acres of Land, and a good Orchard upon it, said
Works stand on Namasket River in Middleborough, 13 Miles from
Plymouth, and 10 from Taunton. All finely scituated for a Country
Seat; and now Lets for 379 Pounds per Annum. Any Person or Persons
minded to purchase the same, may inquire of the Rev. Mr. Peter
Thacher of Middleborough aforesaid, or of the Printer hereof, and
know further.
N.B. The Reason of this Sale is because the Person wants the money
for it, and intending to leave off that Business.--_Boston Gazette_,
May 11, 1742.
STAMPED LINEN. These are to Inform the Publick, that I the
Subscriber propose to come once more to Boston; if any Person or
Persons have old sheets or Linnen to stamp, they are desired to
leave them at the House of _James Nichol_ in School Street, next
door to the French Meeting House; and if they send them in four
Weeks from this Date, they shall have them in March next without
fail. As Witness my Hand, _Sarah Hunt_.--_Boston Gazette_, Dec. 22,
1747.
STOVES. New-fashion Fire-Places or Stoves from Philadelphia, to be
sold by _Thomas Wade_.--_Boston News-Letter_, Jan. 31, 1745.
JUST PUBLISHED. An account of the new-invented Pennsylvania
Fire-Place: Wherein their construction and manner of operation is
particularly explained; their Advantages above every other method
of warming Rooms demonstrated; And all objections that have been
raised against the Use of them, answered and obviated. Sold by
_C. Harrison_, over against The Brazen-Head in Cornhill.--_Boston
News-Letter_, Feb. 7, 1745.
TAILOR. William Jones, a tailor, had one half of his fine remitted
at Salem Court.--_Essex Co. Court Records_, December, 1642.
Daniel Gaines of Lynn, aged 11 years, was apprenticed for 8 years
to Luke Potter of Concord to learn the "skill and mistery" of a
tailor.--_Essex Co. Court Records_, March, 1649. John Bourne, a
tailor, was making clothes in Gloucester, in 1652. John Annable of
Ipswich, tailor, was living there as early as 1641.
WATER ENGINE. There is newly erected in the Town of Boston, by
Messieurs John and Thomas Hill, a Water-Engine at their Still-house,
by the Advice and Direction of Mr. Rowland Houghton, drawn by a
Horse, which delivers a large quantity of Water twelve Feet above
the Ground. This being the first of the kind in these Parts, we
thought taking Notice of it might be of Publick Service, inasmuch
as a great deal of Labour is saved thereby.--_Boston Gazette_, Jan.
15-22, 1733.
WHEELWRIGHT. John Robinson, a wheelwright, was living in Ipswich as
early as 1635, only two years after the settlement of the town.
CHAPTER XI
CONCERNING SHIPPING AND TRADE
New England, with its many rivers and indented coastline, until
recent years, has been a breeding place for sailors and a location
for shipbuilding. During the first century following the settlement,
the larger part of the population lived near the coast, and as roads
between towns were poor, it naturally followed that craft of small
tonnage were constantly employed for transport on the ocean and the
navigable rivers, and as no extent of rich soil was found awaiting
cultivation, many settlers, of necessity, turned to fishing and to
trade. A ship carpenter was brought over to Plymouth, in 1624, who
"quickly builte them 2 very good and strong shalops ... and a great
and strong lighter, and had ... timber for 2 catches" framed when
he fell sick of a fever and soon died.[44] These shallops were used
in opening a fur trade among the Indians on the Kennebec River that
eventually discharged the indebtedness of the Pilgrims to the London
adventurers.
[44] William Bradford, _History of Plymouth Plantation_, Boston,
1912.
Six shipwrights were sent over by the Company of the Massachusetts
Bay, in the spring of 1629, together with a considerable stock
of ship stores, such as pitch, tar, cordage and sail cloth.[45]
Doubtless these men were employed at the outset in housing the
settlers and in building small fishing boats, as the first vessel
of any size in the Bay, of which there is record, is Governor
Winthrop's trading bark, _The Blessing of the Bay_, of thirty tons,
built mainly of locust, which went to sea, August 31, 1631, on a
voyage to the eastward and afterwards traded with the Dutch at New
Amsterdam.[46]
[45] _Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society_, Vol. III,
p. 90.
[46] _Winthrop's Journal_, New York, 1908.
In January, 1633, Emanuel Downing wrote to the Council for New
England that he had made enquiries of Mr. Winthrop respecting
the ship carpenters employed in New England and found that the
plantation was able to build ships of any burden. Their most
competent shipwright was William Stephens, who had built in England,
the _Royal Merchant_, a ship of six hundred tons.
The General Court, in 1639, exempted ship carpenters and fishermen
(during the fishing season) from compulsory military training.[47]
Two years later the Court was informed that some shipwrights were
scanting their work and an order was adopted providing for a survey
of all ship construction as was usual in England at that time.[48]
[47] _Massachusetts Bay Records_, Boston, 1853.
[48] _Ibid._
The coasting trade led to the building of small shallops and sloops
and the need for firewood in Boston and Charlestown brought about
the building of sloops, broad of beam, intended especially for that
trade. Fishing craft and wood sloops were soon being built all
along the coast. As early as 1634, one merchant in Marblehead owned
eight fishing craft, and Portsmouth, N. H., had six great shallops,
five fishing boats, with sails and anchors, and thirteen skiffs, in
the trade as early as 1635. Richard Hollingsworth, in 1637, had a
shipyard at Salem Neck and in 1641, built "a prodigious ship of 300
Tons."
The number of New England vessels used in foreign trading during
the seventeenth century was considerable and the mainstay of the
trade was the fishing business. Off-shore fishing in the early
days was carried on in shallops--capacious, open boats carrying
several pairs of oars and also fitted with masts and sails. They
were sometimes decked over, in whole or in part, and usually carried
one mast with a lug sail. Many of these small craft were built in
the winter time by the fishermen and their sons, as a fisherman is
always more or less of a boatbuilder by virtue of his calling. The
lumber for the boat would be cut in the common woods and got out, a
little at a time, and the boat when built would actually cost its
owner little more than the outlay for certain necessary fittings.
These boats might be framed-in anywhere--on the beach in front
of the fisherman's cottage; in his dooryard or in the woods, some
distance from the shore, to which the hull would be dragged by
oxen, on sledges of timber. The first vessels sent to "the banks,"
from Massachusetts, for deep-water fishing, were "a ship and other
vessels," rig unknown.[49] That was in 1645.
[49] _Winthrop's Journal_, New York, 1908.
By 1665 there were three hundred New England vessels trading with
Barbadoes, Virginia, Madeira, Acadia, etc., and 1,300 smaller
craft were fishing at Cape Sable. Cod and mackerel were caught and
salted. The best fish were sent to Malaga and the Canaries, the
second sort to the Portugal Islands, and the worst to the Barbadoes
there to be used in the diet of the negro slaves. At that time,
the principal commodities produced in the Massachusetts Bay were
fish and pipe-staves, masts, fir-boards, pitch, tar, pork, beef,
and horses and corn which were sent to Virginia, Barbadoes, &c.
Tobacco and sugar were taken in payment and shipped to England.
Excellent masts were shipped from the Piscataqua River, and many
pipe-staves. There were more than twenty sawmills located on that
river and "much good timber was spoilt," reported an agent of Lord
Arlington, the Secretary of State.[50] New England masts, 33 to 35
inches in diameter, at that time cost the Navy Commissioners from
£95 to £115 per mast. The agent also reported that Boston, the chief
town, was "built on a peninsula in the bottom of a bay, which is a
good harbour and full of fish. The houses are generally wooden, the
streets crooked, and neither days, months, seasons, churches, nor
inns are known by their English names."
[50] _Calendar of State Papers, Am. and W. I._ (1661-1668), 347.
During the middle years of the seventeenth century the waters of
the West Indies were covered with privateers commissioned to prey
upon Spanish commerce. Not only did the home government issue
these commissions but every Colonial governor as well, and not
infrequently it was difficult to separate privateering from piracy.
John Quelch, who was hanged in Boston for piracy, in 1704, preyed
upon Portuguese commerce as he supposed in safety and not until he
returned to Marblehead did he learn of the treaty of peace that
made him a pirate. In 1653, Thomas Harding captured a rich prize
sailing from Barbadoes and in consequence was tried in Boston for
piracy, but saved his neck when he was able to prove that the vessel
was Dutch and not Spanish.
The town of Newport, R. I., frequently profited from the visits
of known pirates, as in 1688, when Peterson, in a "barkalonga" of
ten guns and seventy men, refitted at Newport and no bill could be
obtained against him from the grand jury, as they were neighbors and
friends of many of the men on board. Two Salem ketches also traded
with him and a master of one brought into "Martin's Vineyard," a
prize that Peterson, "the pirate, had taken in the West Indies."[51]
Andrew Belcher, a well-known Boston merchant, and master of the ship
_Swan_, paid Peterson £57, in money and provisions, for hides and
elephants' teeth, taken from his plunder.
[51] _Massachusetts Archives_, XXXV, folio 61.
The ill-defined connection between privateering and piracy was fully
recognized in those days and characterized publicly by the clergy.
In 1704 when Rev. Cotton Mather preached his "Brief Discourse
occasioned by a Tragical Spectacle in a Number of Miserables under
Sentence of Death for Piracy," he remarked that "the Privateering
Stroke so easily degenerates into the Piratical; and the
Privateering Trade is usually carried on with an Unchristian Temper,
and proves an Inlet unto so much Debauchery and Iniquity."
Another strong influence that led to insecurity on the high seas
and eventually to outright piracy was the operation of the English
Navigation Acts. European nations were in agreement that the
possession of colonies meant the exclusive control of their trade
and manufactures.
In 1696, Col. Charles Lidgett, a New England merchant, in "Some
Considerations Offered to the Board of Trade," wrote that "all
the American Colonies are generally esteemed according to the
Conveniency and benefit they bring to England, their Mother."[52]
Lord Chatham wrote, "The British Colonists in North America have no
right to manufacture so much as a nail for a horse shoe," and Lord
Sheffield went further and said, "The only use of American Colonies,
is the monopoly of their consumption, and the carriage of their
produce."[53]
[52] _Cal. State Papers, Am. and W. I._ (1696-1697), 84.
[53] Viscount Bury, _Exodus of the Western Nations_, London, 1865.
English merchants naturally wished to sell at high prices and to buy
colonial raw materials as low as possible and as they were unable to
provide a market for all that was produced, the Colonies were at a
disadvantage in both buying and selling. By the Acts of Navigation
certain "enumerated articles" could be marketed only in England.
Lumber, salt provisions, grain, rum and other non-enumerated
articles might be sold within certain limits but must be transported
in English or plantation-built vessels of which the owners and
three-fourths of the mariners were British subjects. Freight rates
also advanced, as other nations, notably the Dutch, had previously
enjoyed a good share of the carrying trade.
The first Navigation Act was passed in 1645. It was renewed and its
provisions enlarged in 1651, 1660, 1663 and later. Before long it
was found that these attempts to monopolize the colonial markets
resulted in a natural resistance and smuggling began and also an
extensive trade with privateers and pirates who brought into all the
smaller ports of New England captured merchandise that was sold at
prices below the usual market values. Matters went from bad to worse
and servants of the Crown frequently combined with the colonists to
evade the obnoxious laws. Even the Royal Governors connived at what
was going on. This was particularly true in the Colonies south of
New England.
There were pirates and pirates. Some were letters-of-marque and
illegitimate traders and enjoyed the protection of merchants and
officials on shore, while others were outlaws. In 1690, Governor
Bradstreet of the Massachusetts Colony was complaining of the great
damage done to shipping by "French Privateers and Pirates," and
four years later, Frontenac, the Governor of Canada, was asking for
a frigate to cruise about the St. Lawrence against the New England
"_corsaires and filibusters_." There is no doubt these French
privateers were a considerable menace to New England shipping and
that there was need for privately armed vessels to protect the
coast, a task not easy or desirable; so why should one scrutinize
too closely semi-piratical captures made by so useful friends?
The profits of piracy and the irregular trade practiced at that time
were large, and twenty-nine hundred per cent profit in illicit trade
was not unusual, so there is little wonder that adventurous men took
chances and honest letters-of-marque sometimes seized upon whatever
crossed their course. The pirate, the privateer and the armed
merchantman often blended the one into the other.[54]
[54] Dow and Edmonds, _Pirates of the New England Coast_, Salem,
1923.
Edward Randolph landed in Boston on June 10, 1676, and during the
next week the following vessels arrived: "a Bostoner, 100 tons,
Clutterbuck, master, from Nantes, laden with 50 butts of brandy and
French commodities; a pink, of Boston, from France, of 70 tons,
with 12 tun of brandy, wine, etc.; a Scotsman, 130 tons, from the
Canaries, with 80 pipes of Canary; a Bostoner, 80 tons, from the
Canaries, with 50 pipes of Canary, and a ketch of Southampton, from
Canary, with wine."[55] He reported to Secretary Coventry that the
fishermen had made good voyages notwithstanding the war with the
Indians. He estimated that the fish exported amounted to about
£50,000 yearly with profitable returns in barter on masts and timber
for shipping sent to Barbadoes and other of the Carib Islands. The
Bay of Campeachy supplied about 1,000 tons of logwood annually.
The maritime towns were well stored with sailors, fishermen and
carpenters, and yearly several ships of good burthen were built,
besides ketches and barques. In 1676 thirty vessels had been ordered
set on the stocks by merchants in England, but the Indian War had
prevented building the full number. However, twelve were in process
of construction at Boston, Charlestown, Salisbury and other places,
some of which were upwards of 160 tons burthen.
[55] _Cal. State Papers, Am. and W. I._ (1675-1676), 408.
In October he wrote that there were about thirty merchants in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine estimated worth from £10,000
to £20,000. Local commodities consisted of naval stores, cattle and
provisions, exported to Virginia, Maryland and the West Indies--(to
the latter were also sent "houses ready framed"), to Spain,
Portugal, the Straits and England. Tobacco, sugar, indigo, cotton,
wool, ginger, logwood, fustic, cocoa and rum were imported and again
exported. "They trade with most parts of Europe from which they
import direct all kinds of merchandise, so that little is left for
English merchants to import," wrote Randolph. "Some ships have been
sent to Guinea, Madagascar, etc., and some to Scanderoon; there are
built in the Colony, 730 ships varying from 6 to 250 tons, by thirty
master shipbuilders." Duties were imposed on provisions and wines
imported, and on ships, but there was no custom on exports, except
on horses.[56]
[56] _Cal. State Papers, Am. and W. I._ (1675-1676), 466.
In April, 1675, William Harris wrote from Boston that "The merchants
seem to be rich men, and their houses [are] as handsomely furnished
as most in London. In exchange of fish, pipe-staves, wool and
tobacco, they have from Spain, Portugal, and the islands, the
commodities of those islands; their wool they carry to France and
bring thence linen; to England they bring beaver, moose, and deer
skins, sugar and logwood, and carry hence cloth and ironwares; to
Barbadoes, in exchange for horses, beef, pork, butter, cheese,
flour, peas, biscuit, they have sugar and indigo; when they trade
with Jamaica; as they do sometimes, they bring home pieces of eight,
plate, and pigs of silver.... As to cloth, there are made here
Linsey woolseys, and other of cotton and wool, and some all sheep's
wool, but the better sort of linen is brought from England; they
have many woolcombers, and some make tammeys, but for their private
use. Salt they get from Tortudas, not far from Barbadoes. It is sold
at 10s. the hogshead, and is clear and white as alum, very sharp and
much stronger than ordinary bay salt."[57]
[57] _Ibid._, 221-222.
Governor Simon Bradstreet wrote in 1680, in answer to an enquiry
from the Lords of the Privy Council: "There may bee near twenty
English merchants within our Government bred up to that calling, and
neere as many others that do trade and merchandize more or less;
but Foreign merchants of other Nations Wee have none ... there are
two or three [merchants] in our Corporation that may bee worth
sixteen or eighteen thousand pound a piece, some few others worth
eight or ten Thousand pounds a piece, a third sort worth four or
five thousand pounds a piece.... Hee is accounted a rich man in the
Country that is worth one thousand or Fifteen hundred pounds. There
are about one hundred or one hundred and twenty Ships, Sloopes,
Katches and other Vessells that trade to and from hence yearly of
our own or English built, most of them belonging to the Colony, wee
have eight or ten ships of one hundred tons or upwards, three or
four of two hundred tons or more, and about Forty or Fifty Fishing
Katches of betwixt twenty and Forty tons; Six or eight English ships
do usually come hither yearly belonging to the Kingdom of England,
bringing commodities of all sorts from thence.
"The obstructions wee [encounter] within our trade are the generall
decay of any profitable trade in the places wee mostly trade unto.
Vizt. to all his Majesties plantations in America, where wee send
our horses, beasts, timber, provisions, mackeril, fish, etc. For the
commodities of those places which are spent here or transported into
England wee finde those markets many times so overlaid and clogged
with the like comoditys from England, Ireland and other places,
that many of our commodities are sold at cheaper rates many times
then they were worth at home. 2dly The Algeir men of warr infesting
the seas in Europe have taken some of our Ships and men which is a
discouragement to our trade and Navigation. 3dly the French at Nova
Scotia or Acadia (as they call it) do interrupt our Fishers in those
parts and Sr. Edmond Andros, Governor of New-Yorke for his highness
the Duke of Yorke, doth the like betwixt the French and Pemaquid
requiring duty to bee paid to them by all our Vessells that fish in
those Seas, otherwise threatening to make prizes of them, which hath
been alwaies Formerly free For his Majesties Subjects for Fishing
ever since wee came hither. The double custom which our merchants
pay for Sugar, Indigo, Cotton Wool, Tobacco, etc. First at the
places from whence they fetch these commodities, the greatest part
whereof is transported from hence to England, where they pay the
full custome again.
"Wee impose no rates or dutys upon Goods exported they being
generally the produce of the Country got with hard labour and sold
at low prices ... and but one penny pr pound upon Goods imported,
when they come into the Merchant's hands, which is the taxe wee
have set upon houses, Lands, cattle and other estate of the Country
yearly."[58]
[58] _3 Collections_ (_Mass. Hist. Society_), Vol. VIII, pp. 336-339.
By this time the Colonists were all comfortably housed according to
the standards of the period and were producing all the foodstuffs
needed and more. Wines and spirit were imported in considerable
quantity to give variety to the native beer and cider. Much butter
and cheese were brought from abroad and also luxuries such as
spices, chocolate, raisins of the sun, almonds, figs, oranges,
etc. Our English ancestors were gross eaters and drinkers. Mulled
and spiced wines were drunk in the absence of tea and coffee, and
highly-seasoned dishes were popular. The absence of a variety of
root-crops made it necessary to pickle meat and pepper and spice
were used to a considerable extent. There was a very comfortable and
varied diet among the merchant and governing class but the farmers
and common people lived much on salt pork, beans, fish and boiled
foods. As for clothing--home industry, of course, provided a certain
amount but as yet the loom was not in common use. Between 1665
and 1675 over three hundred estates were settled in Essex County,
Massachusetts, with only nine looms listed in the inventories.
Eighty-three of these homes, however, possessed spinning
wheels--cotton, linen and wool--for every good wife and child could
knit stockings, mittens and tippets. Among those who died during
this ten years were two tailors, five shoemakers, a cloth worker and
eight weavers.[59]
[59] _Probate Records Essex Co., Mass._, Salem, 1917.
Much clothing was brought from overseas, particularly for the town
dwellers. John Hull, the mintmaster, records in his diary in June,
1657, that three ships arrived from London bringing supplies of
clothing, "for, as yet," he writes, "our chief supply, in respect
of clothes, is from England." He owned a number of vessels and
his little ketches were constantly on the go between Boston and
the Barbadoes and thence to Bilboa, London or Bristol. He shipped
salted fish, logwood, tobacco, furs and plantation products and
received iron in bars, salt, wines and fruits from Spain, while from
England came dress goods, lead, shot, etc. His serges he wanted "sad
coloured," none above 42 shillings, nor under 30 shillings. He also
instructed one of his captains to load "dowlass and good nowell
convass [which was used for sails], Dutch duffalls, red penystones
and flanils, no such scalet cloth as you brought me before." He
looked askance at calicoes. Another time he called for duffalls,
white, striped or blue, with red and blue stockings, none above 16
shillings and under if possible. He wanted no "kersey" that cost
above 46 pence per yard and the black stuff, either of "hair or
wosted," must be cheap.
A cousin once advised him to ship a cargo of pipe-staves, hoops
and fish to the Canaries, but he declined the venture and wrote in
reply that he "would more and more affect and imbrace opportunity of
getting out rather than running into the businesses of this world
Speacially forraigne trafficque as desirous to be more thoghtfull
of Lanching into that vast ocian of Eternity whither we must all
shortly bee carried yt soe I might bee in a prepared posture for my
Lord's Comeing."[60]
[60] Hull, _Letter Book_ (American Antiquarian Society).
His sea captains were carefully instructed "to see to the worship of
God every day in the vessel and to the santification of the Lord's
day and suppression of all prophaness that the Lord may delight to
be with you and his blessing be upon you which is the hearty prayer
of youre frind and own^r." The sailors were not all to this way of
thinking, however, but Mintmaster Hull rode with the ruling party
which saw to it that the Quarterly Courts were kept busy measuring
out the metes and bounds. In the journal of the voyage over kept by
the Reverend Higginson in 1629, he records a visitation of avenging
Providence; a just retribution inflicted upon the ungodly. He
writes, "this day a notorious wicked fellow yt was given to swearing
and boasting of his former wickednes and mocked at y^e daies of
fast, railing & jesting ag^t puritans, this fellow fell sicke of ye
[small] pocks and dyed."
It is interesting to discover at how early a date it was possible to
purchase in the shops in New England, the manufactured products of
Old England. It is known that George Corwin set up a shop in Salem,
for the sale of fabrics and hardware, as early as 1651, or only
twenty-five years after the first immigration. His shop was well
stocked and at the outset he was selling such luxuries as children's
toys. Undoubtedly stocks of manufactured goods were on sale in the
Colony years before this time. In the matter of house hardware
Corwin sold a considerable variety of locks. He carried stock locks
of several sizes, spring locks with screws, single and double chest
locks, warded outside chest locks, outside box locks, plain cupboard
locks and small and large padlocks--by no means a poor assortment
for a small shop tucked into a corner in the American wilderness.
This shop, a few years later, was supplying the town with such
articles as combs, white haft knives, barbers' scissors, flour
boxes, carving tools, carpenter's tools of all kinds, door latches,
curry combs and brushes for horses, and a great variety of earthen
and woodenware. Its shelves held broadcloth, red cloth rash,
perpetuana, red cotton, sad colored rugs, green rugs, green Tammy,
blue calico, crape, curley duroy, prunella, silk barronet, peniston,
Persian silk, worsted faradeen, camblet, St. Peter's canvas, hall
cloth, vittery, blue linen, noyles, together with a great variety
of hose, stomachers, ribbons, tape, fileting, silk and gimp laces,
needles, pins, thread, buttons, etc., etc.[61]
[61] Corwin MSS. (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.).
The invoice of an importation made into Boston in 1690, contains
such items as brass curtain rings, dressing glasses, square
monument candlesticks, iron spring candlesticks, brass extinguishers
and save-alls, tin lanterns, pocket nutmeg graters, bread graters,
wooden rat traps with springs and a great variety of woodenware. It
seems strange that New England should import from across seas wooden
plates and bowls, yet here they are:
9 doz. best Maple Trenchers @ 30/ per dozen
1 doz. Porridge Dishes at 11/4.
Here also are carved spoons, beer taps, hair sieves, sucking bottles
and milk trays.[62]
[62] John Caxy v. Joseph Mallenson, _Mass. Archives_.
From the returns of outward and inward entries at the Colonial
ports, the records of which are now preserved in the Public Record
Office in London, much may be learned concerning early shipping
and trade in the Massachusetts Bay. Let us take, for example, the
last six months in the year 1714, covering the outward entries
of shipping at the port of Boston. During that time there were
236 clearances not including, of course, fishermen and coasting
craft. The rig is not stated in the first part of the register but
between Sept. 21st and December 31st there were cleared 49 ships,
18 brigantines, 64 sloops, two barques, one snow, one pink, and a
"ship or snow" of 40 tons. Not a schooner is mentioned. The largest
ship measured 210 tons and the smallest was the _Grayhound_ of
London, a British-built vessel of 33 tons, carrying a crew of five
men and a cargo of dyewood, turpentine, whale oil, barrel staves and
sugar. With the exception of five ships hailing from London, every
vessel cleared was "plantation built," that is, it had been built
in one of the American colonies. Of the 236 entries, 147 of the
vessels hailed from Boston; 18 were owned in London; six in Bristol;
four came from the West Indies; and the rest hailed from New York,
Virginia, Maryland, and other colonies. Most of them were small
craft averaging from thirty to sixty tons burthen.[63]
[63] Public Record Office, C.O. 5: 848-851 (copies at Essex
Institute).
The _Hopewell_, of North Carolina, five tons, and a crew of two men,
was loaded with rum and salt.
The _Swallow_, of Boston, 20 tons, and three men, sailed for
Annapolis Royal with a cargo of tobacco, pitch, molasses, rum, pork,
and English goods for the garrison.
The sloop _Success_, owned in New York, 20 tons, with four men,
sailed for home carrying four hhds. rum, pewter ware, a cart,
chairs, boxes, etc.
The sloop _Pelican_ of Boston, 25 tons, with four men, sailed for
Virginia, loaded with 42 bbls. salt, three hhds. rum, iron pots, etc.
The sloop _Sea Flower_ of Boston, 40 tons, with six men, entered
out, the 3d day of November, carrying bread, butter, beer, onions,
and peas for the logwood cutters in the Bay of Campeachy.
The brigantine _William and Susanna_, owned in Salem, 40 tons, and
eight men, sailed for Virginia, carrying rum, lime juice, salt,
earthen ware, etc.
The sloop _Branch_ of Boston, 50 tons, with six men, sailed for
South Carolina, carrying rum, blubber, onions, etc.
The brigantine _Speedwell_ of Boston, 60 tons, with seven men,
cleared for Surinam, carrying 10 pipes of wine and twenty horses.
The ship _Brunswick_ of Boston, 65 tons, two guns and ten men,
sailed for Barbadoes, carrying 37 hhds. fish, 50 boxes candles, and
15 boxes of soap.
The ship _Mary Ann_ of London, 80 tons, with four guns and ten men,
entered out, bound for Lisbon, carrying 240 quintals of salted fish,
"which is the whole cargo," states the register.
The ship _Bedmunster_ of Bristol, 100 tons, with ten men, returned
home with 18½ tons of logwood, 507 bbls. tar, 307 bbls. pitch, 7
bbls. whale oil, and 40½ bbls. cranberries.
The ship _Amity_ of London, 130 tons, six guns and fourteen men,
returned with a cargo of 20 hhds. sugar, 5 bags of cotton, 168 tons,
9 cwt. 1 qr. and 14 lbs. logwood, 10 bbls. pitch, pimento, wines,
furs and staves.
The largest ship to clear was the _Sophia_ of Boston, 310 tons,
built in New Hampshire, armed with 18 guns and carrying a crew of
twenty men. She sailed for Barbadoes carrying fish, corn, candles
and lumber.
Among the more unusual articles of merchandise enumerated in the
cargo lists are "2 cases of returned pictures," shipped to London;
pots and frying pans, to Maryland; apples, cider, Indian meal, and
six sheep, shipped to Newfoundland; 230 barrels of cider shipped to
Philadelphia; and rum, cider, iron and brass, saddles and bridles,
etc. to North Carolina. Bricks, shingles, iron and woodenware, hops,
pickled sturgeon, beeswax, rice, furs, washed leather, linens and
calicoes are mentioned.
The West India trade called for lumber, horses, rum, food, and
luxuries; and supplied sugar and molasses. Salt fish and pickled
sturgeon were sent to Spain, Portugal and the Western Islands--Roman
Catholic countries. The important dyewood trade in the Bay of
Campeachy required foodstuffs; and the coasting trade with the
Southern colonies called for manufactured goods of all sorts and
supplied in return tobacco, pitch, turpentine and tar, which were
used in the New England shipyards and also reshipped to England.
The fisheries in Newfoundland called for foodstuffs and London and
Bristol supplied markets for dyewoods, naval stores, furs, whale
oil, sugar, manufactured lumber, and wines brought from Portugal and
the Western Islands.
During the months of April, May and June, in the year 1717, there
were twenty-seven inward entries at the Salem customhouse. All
but three were plantation built. Seventeen were owned in Salem;
two hailed from London; two from Liverpool, and one from Bristol.
There were eight ships, four brigantines, twelve sloops and three
schooners. The first of these schooners to enter was the schooner
_Fisher_, 30 tons, Timothy Orne, master, registered at the Salem
customhouse, Oct. 27, 1715. This is the earliest authentic record
of a schooner I have ever found. Those vessels having the largest
tonnage were the ship _Patience and Judith_, 100 tons, owned in
London, England, and carrying six guns and a crew of fourteen men,
entering from the Isle of May, with a cargo of 140 tons of salt;
and, second, the ship _Friendship_, Capt. Samuel Crow, 100 tons,
owned in Salem, carrying two guns and a crew of ten men, also
entering from the Isle of May with 90 tons of salt. Ten out of the
twenty-seven entries brought in salt for the Salem fisheries.
Rum and lignumvitae wood came from the West Indies, and wheat,
corn, beans, flour, flax, hides, pork and lard came from Maryland,
Virginia and North Carolina. The ships from English ports brought
European goods.
During the last three months of 1754, eighty-seven vessels cleared
outward at the Salem customhouse and sixty-eight were schooners.
The largest tonnage was the snow _Aurora_ of Salem, 130 tons, built
at Newbury that year, sailing for Liverpool with a cargo of 15,000
staves and 40 tons of pine timber. Of the ten European clearances,
seven were for Bilboa, with salted fish; thirty-three cleared for
ports in the West Indies; forty for southern colonies; and two for
Newfoundland. The principal cargoes were salted fish, manufactured
lumber, rum, sugar, molasses, salt, horses, sheep, and salted meats.
Nearly all clearing for Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas carried
cargoes of wooden, earthen and iron wares, probably manufactured in
Salem or its immediate vicinity. Twenty-six thousand bricks were
shipped to the West Indies and 20 bales of hay to South Carolina.
The two schooners clearing for Halifax were loaded with "dead meat,"
probably intended for the garrison.
During the first three months of the year 1762, fifty-three vessels
cleared from Salem, bound for foreign ports and the southern
colonies; thirty-four were schooners. The largest vessel was the
ship _Antelope_, 150 tons, a prize, registered at Salem in 1761 and
owned by Richard Derby. She cleared for Guadaloupe with lumber,
fish, train oil, and Fyall wines. There were nineteen clearances
for Guadaloupe during those three winter months. Listed with the
staples were the following curious items, viz.: 7½ tons prize soap,
illegally imported, shipped to Guadaloupe; and 12,000 feet of oars,
shipped to St. Christophers. There is a surprising diversity of
ownership among these fifty-three vessels. No large shipowner had a
considerable interest. Richard Derby of Salem owned three vessels;
Robert Hooper of Marblehead, two; Jeremiah Lee of Marblehead, two;
Nathaniel Ellery of Gloucester, owned two and the rest were owned by
men who cleared only one vessel.
The ships, that plied between English and American ports, at more
or less regular intervals during the eighteenth century, not only
brought an exchange of merchandise, but also carried passengers.
Officials connected with the government--the customs service and
the military establishment, with a sprinkling of clergymen and
scholars, were crossing on nearly every ship and the New England
merchant sailing to London to buy a new stock of goods for his shop
and the Englishman who came to the colonies bringing adventures of
goods in great variety, all helped to maintain the service. In the
year 1737, the Boston newspapers mention by name eighteen persons
who had arrived by ship or were about departing. On January 31st,
John Banister, late in business with his uncle Samuel Banister, at
Marblehead, advertised in the _Gazette_ that he designed speedily
to embark for Great Britain and requested a settlement of all
accounts. John Jeykill, the collector of the Port of Boston,
arrived from London, April 18th, in Captain Shepardson; early in
May, Thomas Phillips of Boston, merchant, advertised that he would
sell his household furniture by vendue, as he intended speedily
for London, and a week later Major Martin and family arrived from
Antequa, in the West Indies. He proposed to reside in Boston for a
few years. Toward the last of the month, the Lieutenant-Governor of
New Hampshire sailed from Portsmouth, bound for England, and about
the middle of June, the Rev. Doctor McSparrow and lady arrived in
Boston. As late in the year as December 20th, Edmund Quincy, Esq.,
the agent of the Province at the Court of Great Britain, was sailing
for London, in Captain Homans, with several other unnamed gentlemen.
Very little is known at the present time concerning the intimate
details of life on board ship in the early times and especially as
to the accommodations provided for passengers. On the vessels that
brought over emigrants in any number, the living conditions must
have been well-nigh intolerable because of crowding many people into
limited space and also by reason of a meagre equipment and lack of
necessary conveniences. During the period of the German emigration
and that from northern Ireland in the mid-eighteenth century, there
was frequently a high mortality during the voyage and sometimes,
when it was of unusual length, the supply of food and water ran
short and there was terrible suffering. Doubtless some attempt
was made to separate the sexes and the families but from time to
time cases are found in the court records in which depositions or
testimony clearly show that living conditions on board ship in the
early days were decidedly of a miscellaneous character.
It isn't necessary to delve into the very remote past in order to
discover casual social relations between the sexes on board ship. In
1888, I went the length of Cape Breton and while sailing up the Bras
d'Or lakes on the steamer that plied regularly during the summer, I
came on deck early one morning to see the sun rise and then began an
exploration of the boat. On the lower deck I suddenly came upon some
twenty or more barefooted and half-clothed men and women lying in a
long row, side by side, stretched out on mattresses placed on the
deck. They were probably waitresses, cooks, stewards, and the like,
but may have been second-class passengers. However that may be, they
were unconscious of the presence of any passer-by and slept quietly
together like so many puppies.
In the olden time it is known that in the more regular passenger
service the main cabin was parted off at night by means of curtains.
Small cabins or staterooms were also built and especially on
the larger ships. It is impossible to imagine that it could be
otherwise, when the official station or wealth of the passenger is
considered.
The captain's cabin had its steward and there the food and service
were undoubtedly better than that provided forward where all slept
in canvas hammocks slung from hooks in the deck timbers overhead,
or lay upon pallet beds on the deck. Here they served themselves
from the ship's galley. The foul odors below deck and the unsanitary
conditions are part of the lore of the sea. "Ship feaver" was well
known to all physicians practicing in seaport towns. In those days
the cooking was done in an open fireplace. So, too, on shipboard
there was provided an open "hearth" made of cast iron and weighing
from four to eight hundred pounds. This was fastened to the deck
and its "chimney" was screened by a "smoke sail." A smaller "hearth"
was in the captain's cabin and supplied all the heat below. It must
have been bitterly cold on board ship during a winter crossing.
The coals in these "hearths" were a menace to safety and required
constant attention.
A communication printed in the _Boston News-Letter_ describes
an escape from fire on board one of these English packets. The
writer, a good New England puritan, first declares his suspicion
that a certain military gentleman, a fellow passenger from Boston,
had brought on board a fair lady who was not his wife. The couple
occupied a small cabin, partitioned off from the main cabin, which
had a curtained window looking into it. There were other curtains
about. As the Boston shopkeeper sat near the "hearth," musing over
his suspicions, a sudden lurch of the vessel brought a carelessly
placed curtain swinging into the coals on the "hearth" and in an
instant it was aflame. The shopkeeper shouted "Fire! Fire!" which
brought the major's inamorata to her cabin window and an instant
later she rushed into the main cabin with a certain necessary
receptacle in her hands. One splash and the worst was over. The
charred curtain was soon torn from its fastenings and the fire
stamped out on the cabin floor.
In 1760, Jacob Bailey, a native of Rowley, Mass., and a graduate
of Harvard College, having prepared for the ministry and been
licensed to preach, determined to obtain orders in the Church of
England and so, through the intervention of friends, took passage
from Boston for London in the ship _Hind_, carrying twenty guns,
which sailed in company with six other vessels. Mr. Bailey kept a
diary of the voyage and his description of the accommodations which
the ship supplied, the life on board, and the men with whom he was
brought in contact, is a surprisingly vivid picture of strange and
uncouth conditions attending passenger service to England in the
mid-eighteenth century. The ship lay at anchor in the harbor and Mr.
Bailey went out to her in a small boat.
"The wind was blowing strong, and it was some time before we could
get on board ship. At length, with difficulty, I clambered up the
side and found myself in the midst of a most horrid confusion. The
deck was crowded full of men, and the boatswain's shrill whistle,
with the swearing and hallooing of the petty officers, almost
stunned my ears. I could find no retreat from this dismal hubbub,
but was obliged to continue jostling among the crowd above an hour
before I could find anybody at leisure to direct me. At last, Mr.
Letterman, the Captain's steward, an honest Prussian, perceiving
my disorder, introduced me through the steerage to the lieutenant.
I found him sitting in the great cabin. He appeared to be a young
man, scarce twenty years of age, and had in his countenance some
indications of mildness. Upon my entrance he assumed a most
important look and with a big voice demanded to know my request.
I informed him that I was a passenger on board the _Hind_, by
permission of Capt. Bond, and desired that he would be civil enough
to direct me to the place of my destination. He replied in this
laconic style: 'Sir, I will take care to speak to one of my mates.'
This was all the notice, at present. But happily, on my return from
the cabin, I found my chest and bedding carefully stowed away in the
steerage. In the meantime the ship was unmoored and we fell gently
down to Nantasket....
"I observed a young gentleman walking at a distance, with a pensive
air in his countenance. Coming near him, in a courteous manner
he invited me down between decks to a place he called his berth.
I thanked him for his kindness and readily followed him down a
ladder into a dark and dismal region, where the fumes of pitch,
bilge water, and other kinds of nastiness almost suffocated me
in a minute. We had not proceeded far before we entered a small
apartment, hung round with damp and greasy canvas, which made, on
every hand, a most gloomy and frightful appearance. In the middle
stood a table of pine, varnished over with nasty slime, furnished
with a bottle of rum and an old tin mug with a hundred and fifty
bruises and several holes, through which the liquor poured in as
many streams. This was quickly filled with toddy and as speedily
emptied by two or three companions who presently joined us in this
doleful retreat. Not all the scenes of horror about us could
afford me much dismay till I received the news that this detestable
apartment was allotted by the captain to be the place of my
habitation during the voyage!
"Our company continually increased, when the most shocking oaths and
curses resounded from every corner, some loading their neighbors
with bitter execrations, while others uttered imprecations too awful
to be recorded. The persons present were: first, the captain's
clerk, the young fellow who gave me the invitation. I found him a
person of considerable reading and observation who had fled his
native country on account of a young lady to whom he was engaged.
Second, was one John Tuzz, a midshipman and one of my messmates, a
good-natured, honest fellow, apt to blunder in his conversation and
given to extravagant profaneness. Third, one Butler, a minister's
son, who lived near Worcester, in England. He was a descendant from
Butler, the author of _Hudibras_, and appeared to be a man of fine
sense and considerable breeding, yet, upon occasion, was extremely
profane and immodest, yet nobody seemed a greater admirer of
delicacy in women than himself. My fourth companion was one Spear,
one of the mates, a most obliging ingenious young gentleman, who was
most tender of me in my cruel sickness. Fifth: one of our company
this evening was the carpenter of the ship who looked like a country
farmer, drank excessively, swore roundly, and talked extravagantly.
Sixth: was one Shephard, an Irish midshipman, the greatest champion
of profaneness that ever fell under my notice. I scarce ever knew
him to open his mouth without roaring out a tumultuous volley of
stormy oaths and imprecations. After we had passed away an hour
or two together, Mr. Lisle, the lieutenant of marines, joined our
company. He was about fifty years of age, of gigantic stature, and
quickly distinguished himself by the quantities of liquor he poured
down his throat. He also was very profane.
"About nine o'clock the company began to think of supper, when a
boy was called into the room. Nothing in human shape did I ever see
before so loathsome and nasty. He had on his body a fragment only
of a check shirt, his bosom was all naked and greasy, over his
shoulders hung a bundle of woolen rags which reached in strings
almost down to his feet, and the whole composition was curiously
adorned with little shining animals. The boy no sooner made his
appearance than one of our society accosted him in this gentle
language. 'Go you ---- rascal, and see whether lobscouse is ready.'
Upon this the fellow began to mutter and scratch his head, but
after two or three hearty curses, went for the galley and presently
returned with an elegant dish which he placed on the table. It was
a composition of beef and onions, bread and potatoes, minced and
stewed together, then served up with its broth in a wooden tub, the
half of a quarter cask. The table was furnished with two pewter
plates, the half of one was melted away, and the other, full of
holes, was more weather-beaten than the sides of the ship; one knife
with a bone handle, one fork with a broken tine, half a metal spoon
and another, taken at Quebec, with part of the bowl cut off. When
supper was ended, the company continued their exercise of drinking,
swearing and carousing, till half an hour after two, when some of
these obliging gentlemen made a motion for my taking some repose.
Accordingly, a row of greasy canvas bags, hanging overhead by the
beams, were unlashed. Into one of them it was proposed that I should
get, in order to sleep, but it was with the utmost difficulty I
prevented myself from falling over on the other side....
"The next day, towards evening, several passengers came on board,
viz: Mr. Barons, late Collector, Major Grant, Mr. Barons' footman,
and Mrs. Cruthers, the purser's wife, a native of New England. After
some considerable dispute, I had my lodgings fixed in Mr. Pearson's
berth, where Master Robant, Mr. Baron's man, and I, agreed to lie
together in one large hammock."[64]
[64] Rev. W. A. Bartlett, _The Frontier Missionary_, Boston, 1853.
Such were the accommodations of the petty officers' mess on board a
twenty-gun ship of 1760 in the New England service.
In October, 1774, Miss Janet Schaw set sail from the Firth of Forth,
Scotland, in the brig _Jamaica Packet_, of eighty tons burden, built
in Massachusetts two years before. With her sailed a girl friend,
two young nephews, her brother and her maid. They arrived on board
in the evening and turned in at once. In Miss Schaw's journal of the
voyage, now in the British Museum, we read:
"Our Bed chamber, which is dignified with the title of _state room_,
[there were only two staterooms: the captain occupied the other] is
about five foot wide and six long; on one side is a bed fitted up
for Fanny and on the opposite side one for me. Poor Fanny's is so
very narrow, that she is forced to be tied on, or as the Sea term
is _lashed in_, to prevent her falling over. On the floor below
us lies our Abigail. As she has the breadth of both our Beds and
excellent Bedding, I think she has got a most envyable Berth, but
this is far from her opinion, and she has done nothing but grumble
about her accommodations." The two had been asleep about an hour
when her brother came to the stateroom and let down "the half door"
to enquire after their healths. His "Cott" swung from the ceiling
of the cabin of the brig and the two boys slept on a mattress on
the deck beneath the hammock. The hencoop was located on deck just
over his head and in the morning the rooster and hens kept up such a
pecking that it was impossible for him to sleep. The brig was making
a northerly course in a heavy sea and Fanny and the maid were both
seasick and lying flat on their backs in their five by six foot
cubicle, dimensions probably somewhat underestimated by Miss Schaw,
although later she records that "we sit in bed till we dress, and
get into it whenever we begin to undress."
In the cabin, in which Schaw hung his "cott," was a small cast-iron
stove and here, too, was the case containing the Captain's gin,
which he frequently opened and the odor of which set their stomachs
topsy-turvy and sent poor Fanny to her bed, and Schaw flying on deck
for fresh air. This cabin was furnished with joint stools, chests,
table, and even an elbow chair which Miss Schaw had lashed to a
mooring near the fireside.
A few days after sailing the brig ran into a storm and the water
finding its way into the cabin almost reached the beds in the
stateroom--(which was located beside the companion stair)--forcing
the maid to "peg in with the boys who could easily let her share
with them." The gale also washed away most of their private store
of provisions so they were forced to depend upon the ship's stores
which consisted mainly of neck-beef, several barrels of New England
pork, then on its third voyage across the Atlantic, oatmeal,
stinking herrings and excellent potatoes. Lobscouse was a favorite
dish made from salt beef that had been hung by a string over the
side of the ship till tolerably fresh and then cut up in little
pieces and stewed for some time with potatoes, onions and peppers.
They also varied their diet by "chowder, scratch-platter and
stir-about."[65]
[65] _Journal of a Lady of Quality_, New Haven, 1921.
Just forward of the cabin was the steerage filled with immigrants
of all ages. Their beds were made up on the deck where they lay
alongside of each other and in this low-studded space they existed
when the hatches were battened down in stormy weather. "They have
only for a grown person per week, one pound neck beef, or spoilt
pork, two pounds oat meal, with a small quantity of bisket, not only
mouldy, but absolutely crumbled down with damp, wet and rottenness.
The half is only allowed a child, so that if they had not potatoes,
it is impossible they could live out the voyage. They have no drink,
but a very small proportion of brakish bad water."
It is quite plain that eighteenth-century trans-Atlantic voyaging
was full of discomfort to the average traveler, and to the
unfortunate in the steerage a fearful adventure.
CHAPTER XII
FROM WAMPUM TO PAPER MONEY
The early settlers of New England had little coinage for circulation
and were driven to the necessity of using the produce of the soil
and the live stock from their pastures as their media of exchange.
Peltry also was one of the first and for many years the principal
article of currency. It was offered in great abundance by the
Indians who were very ready to barter it for beads, knives, hatchets
and blankets and especially for powder, shot, guns and "strong
water."
In most of the Colonies the wampum of the Indians also was
extensively used and frequently was paid into the treasury in
payment of taxes. So, also, were cattle and corn as is shown
by numerous enactments of the Great and General Court of the
Massachusetts Bay. Musket balls were also current and were made
legal tender by order of the Court which decreed "that musket
bullets of a full bore shall pass current for a farthing a piece
provided that no man be compelled to take more than 12 pence at a
time of them." In Virginia, tobacco was used for currency and "from
100 to 150 pounds of it bought many a man a good wife."
The Indian wampum was perhaps the most convenient currency
available. It is described by Roger Williams who, perhaps, had a
better knowledge of it than most of the early colonists. He says:
"It is of two kinds which the Indians make of the stem or the stock
of the periwinkle after all the shell is broken off. [The periwinkle
is a mollusc, more common south of Cape Cod than along the shores
of Massachusetts Bay.] Of this kind, six of the small beads, which
they make with holes to string upon their bracelet, are current
with the English for a penny. The other kind is black, inclined
to a blue shade, which is made of the shell of a fish [that is, a
mollusc] which some of the English call henspoquahoc [now known as
the hen-clam or quahaug] and of this description three are equal to
an English penny. One fathom of this stringed money is worth five
shillings."
To show the intimate relation of this Indian money to our early
history, it appears that even Harvard College accepted it for
tuition fees and otherwise; for in 1641 a trading company, chartered
to deal with the Indians in furs and wampum, was required to relieve
the College of its super-abundance of this odd currency and redeem
it, "provided they were not obliged to take more than £25 of it
at any one time." The thrifty Dutch at New Amsterdam, however,
took advantage of the scarcity of legitimate currency and the
corresponding demand for wampum and established factories where they
made it in such vast quantities that the market was broken and the
value of wampum rapidly decreased.
The great source of metallic currency for New England in those
earliest days was the West India Islands and much silver brought
from there was later coined into "pine tree" shillings and
sixpences. Governor Winthrop, in 1639, tells of a "small bark from
the West Indies, one Capt. Jackson in her, with a commission from
the Westminister Company to take prizes from the Spanish. He brought
much wealth in money, plate, indigo and sugar." But metallic money
became so scarce that by 1640 there was but little in the colonies
and the greatest difficulty existed in making payments for goods or
the wages of servants. In one instance, in Rowley, "the master was
forced to sell a pair of his oxen to pay his servant's wages and so
told the servant he could keep him no longer, not knowing how to pay
him the next year. The servant answered him that he would [continue
to] serve him for more of his cattle. But how shall I do, said the
master, when all my cattle are gone? The servant replied, why, then
you shall serve me and you shall then have your cattle again."
Various attempts were made to establish values to certain coins,
more or less ficticious, but this failed to relieve the situation
and finally, to obtain a more stable basis the Massachusetts
General Court adopted a currency of its own and the "pine tree"
money appeared, shortly preceded by the more rude and more easily
counterfeited New England shillings and sixpences, that bore on
one side the letters "N. E." within a small circle and on the other
side the denomination in Roman numerals. These primitive coins were
made between 1650 and 1652 and were superseded by the true oak and
pine tree pieces after that date. The simple irregular form of the
"N. E." coins rendered them an easy prey to the counterfeiter and
the clipper, and the design of the newer coins, covering the whole
surface of the planchet, was a protection against both dangers. The
"N. E." shilling is now a rare coin and likewise the sixpence, while
the threepence is rarer still, but two or three genuine examples
being known to exist.
There are two distinct forms of the so-called "pine tree" currency,
the one bearing on the obverse a representation of a tree resembling
an oak, or as some say, a willow; the other with the true pine-tree.
It is thought that the ruder pieces bearing the oak tree design
were the first coined and that the more perfect pine tree money
was issued later. At any rate both "oak" and "pine tree" pieces,
shillings, sixpences and threepences, all bear the same date, 1652.
But this money was issued continuously until 1686 without a change
of the date, it is said, to avoid interference from the English
government, the coining of money by the colonists being a distinct
violation of the royal prerogative. By the retention of the original
date it was thought to deceive the authorities at home into the
belief that the violation of the laws ceased as it began, in 1652.
In 1652, however, a two-penny piece was minted bearing the oak tree
design and hence it is natural to suppose that the pieces bearing
the true pine tree design were the last coined and not issued until
after 1662.
One of the traditions connected with the pine or oak tree money
is the story that Sir Thomas Temple, who was a real friend of the
colonists, in 1662, showed some of the pieces to the King at the
council table in London, when King Charles demanded upon what
authority these colonists had coined money anyway and sought to have
orders sent to prohibit any further issues. "But," responded Sir
Thomas, "this tree is the oak which saved your majesty's life and
which your loyal subjects would perpetuate." Sir Thomas of course
referred to the episode of Boscobel in which Charles II escaped
his enemies by hiding in the branches of an oak. This it is said
so pleased the King that he dropped the subject and the coining of
"pine tree" money proceeded merrily, as before, for twenty-five
years longer.
The master of the mint was John Hull who lived in Boston where
Pemberton Square now opens from Tremont Street and where later was
the famous garden and residence of Gardner Green, Esq. The mint
house, sixteen feet square and ten feet high, was built on land
belonging to Hull in the rear of his house. Robert Sanderson, a
friend of Hull, was associated with him in making the "pine tree"
money. It is not known how they divided their profit, but they
received one shilling sixpence for each twenty shillings coined,
and as it is estimated that "pine tree" money to the amount of five
millions of dollars in value was made during the thirty-four years
it was issued, the commissions received must have been very large
and the statement that the dowry, said to have been £30,000, given
to Hull's daughter at her marriage, appears reasonable. That the
girl, plump as she is reported to have been, actually weighed down
the dowry in shillings, is, of course, absurd as that amount in
silver would weigh over 6,000 pounds rating a silver £ as weighing 4
oz. at that time.
Hawthorne's description of what is said to have taken place on that
occasion is too vivid a picture to be overlooked. He relates that
Captain John Hull was appointed to manufacture the pine tree money
and had about one shilling out of every twenty to pay him for the
trouble of making them. Hereupon all the old silver in the colony
was handed over to Captain John Hull. The battered silver cans and
tankards, I suppose, and silver buckles and broken spoons, and
silver hilts of swords that figured at court--all such articles were
doubtless thrown into the melting pot together.
The magistrates soon began to suspect that the mint-master would
have the best of the bargain and they offered him a large sum of
money if he would but give up that twentieth shilling which he was
continually dropping into his own pocket. But Captain Hull declared
himself perfectly satisfied with the shilling. And well he might be,
for so diligently did he labor that in a few years, his pockets,
his money bags, and his strong box were overflowing with pine tree
shillings.
Then Samuel Sewall, afterwards the famous Judge Sewall of the days
of witchcraft fame, came a courting to Hull's daughter. Betsy was
a fine and hearty damsel and having always fed heartily on pumpkin
pies, doughnuts, Indian puddings and other Puritan dainties, she was
as round and plump as a pudding herself.
"Yes, you may take her," said Captain Hull, to her lover, young
Sewall, "and you'll find her a heavy burden enough." Hawthorne
describes the wedding and the costumes of the contracting parties
and their friends, and Captain Hull he "supposes," rather improbably
one would think, however, "dressed in a plum colored coat all the
buttons of which were made of pine tree shillings. The buttons of
his waistcoat were of sixpences and the knees of his small clothes
were buttoned with silver three-pences ... and as to Betsy herself,
she was blushing with all her might, and looked like a full-blown
peony or a great red apple."
When the marriage ceremony was over, at a whispered word from
Captain Hull, a large pair of scales was lugged into the room, such
as wholesale merchants use for weighing bulky commodities, and
quite a bulky commodity was now to be weighed in them. "Daughter
Betsy," said the mint-master, "get into one side of these scales."
Miss Betsy--or Mrs. Sewall as we must now call her--did as she was
bid and again the servants tugged, this time bringing in a huge
iron-bound oaken chest which being opened proved to be full to the
brim with bright pine tree shillings fresh from the mint. At Captain
Hull's command the servants heaped double handfuls of shillings into
one side of the scales, while Betsy remained in the other. Jingle,
jingle, went the shillings as handful after handful was thrown
in, till, plump and ponderous as she was, they fairly weighed the
young lady from the floor. "There, son Sewall," cried the honest
mint-master, resuming his seat, "take these shillings for my
daughter's portion. Use her kindly and thank Heaven for her. It's
not every wife that's worth her weight in silver."
However interesting the story may be of the plump girl sitting in
one pan of the scales as shillings were thrown into the other, as
depicted in Hawthorne's version of the affair, we must be permitted
to consider that time has cast a halo around the mint-master's
daughter and increased both her avoirdupois and her dowry.
Massachusetts was the only New England colony to coin silver but
close upon the date of the issue of the first "pine tree" money
came the Maryland shilling, sixpence, groat and penny, the last in
copper. These bear no date but appeared about 1659, the dies having
been made in England.
Numerous coins were later made in the colonies, either intended for
regular circulation or as tokens privately issued, among which are
the Granby coppers--rude half-pennies--made in 1737 by one John
Higley, the blacksmith, at Granby, Conn. They were made of soft
copper which was dug at Granby and are never found in very good
condition.
The word dollar is the English form of the German word thaler, and
the origin of the thaler is as follows: In the year 1519, Count
Schlick of Bohemia issued silver coins weighing one ounce each and
worth 113 cents. They were coined at Joachimsthal, that is, James's
Valley or dale, hence they became known as "Joachimsthalers," soon
shortened to thalers. Through trade with the Dutch these coins came
into England in the sixteenth century and are referred to sometimes
as "dalers."
But the dollar came to the American continent not through the Dutch
or English but through the Spanish. This was due to the extent of
the Spanish Empire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and
also to the great quantities of silver which Spain drew from her
mines in Mexico and South America. The Spanish coin was, strictly
speaking, a peso, better known as a piece of eight, because it was
equal to eight reals (royals). As it was of the same value, the name
dollar was given to the piece of eight about the year 1690.
The most famous Spanish dollar was known as the pillar dollar,
because it had on one side two pillars, representing the pillars
of Hercules, the classical name for the Straits of Gibralter, and
this Spanish dollar was common in America at the time of the War of
Independence.
In 1690 the treasury of the colony was so nearly exhausted that the
Great and General Court decided to issue promises to pay, the first
paper money minted by any Colony. The values were ten shillings, one
pound and five pounds. The occasion for this issue was primarily the
expenses of Governor Phips's expedition against Quebec, which was
thriftily expected to more than pay costs. The French and Indians,
however, were too strong for Sir William, and the colonial treasury
was faced with costs to the amount of £50,000, instead of the
anticipated loot. These "Colony" or "Charter bills" obtained a wide
circulation and were called in annually and redeemed and reissued as
need arose, but after a few years, confidence in them decreased and
before long they passed at a discount as great as 30 per cent.
In 1722, Massachusetts tried to relieve the scarcity of small change
by issuing five hundred pounds worth of tokens of the value of one,
two and three pence. They were printed on parchment to make them
more durable but apparently were not a success as there were no more
printed.
As the years went by, monetary conditions became more and more
unstable, and in 1740 an attempt was made to establish a bank in
the hope of placing the currency on a firmer basis. The fight lay
between a silver bank with bullion behind its notes and a land bank
issuing notes guaranteed by mortgages and manufactured articles.
These notes were to come due in twenty years and at that time the
holders instead of receiving coin might be forced to take their pay
in cast iron, bayberry wax, leather, cordwood, or other articles
of trade that might be difficult to dispose of. One of these notes
preserved in the cabinets of the Massachusetts Historical Society
has written on its back, in old-time handwriting, "A Land Bank bill
reserved as a specimen of ye mad humour among many of ye people of
ye Province, 1740."
Money matters now went from bad to worse. The value of silver was
called tenor. In 1740 silver was worth six shillings, eight pence
per ounce and in 1746 seven shillings, sixpence, and the buying
value of bills varied from year to year.
"Imagine having to keep in mind the relative values of bills of old
tenor, with silver at 6/8, or middle tenor; or new tenor firsts at
6/8, but passing current at 7/8; or new tenor seconds, all of which
were laboring under fluctuating but constantly increasing rates of
depreciation, while there were also to be remembered Connecticut
bills of new tenor at 8/. and Rhode Island bills at 6/9 an ounce,
and also £110,000 worth of private bills of the issue of 1733, which
were worth a third more than the Colony bills, and also £120,000 in
notes issued in 1740, "on a silver basis," to stifle the land bank
and equivalent to cash, and in addition "public bills of the four
promises at 29/. an ounce," whatever that means, and you will not
wonder that there was confusion worse confounded."[66]
[66] Malcolm Storer, "Pine Tree Shillings and other Colonial Money,"
in _Old-Time New England_, October, 1929.
In 1749 Parliament voted to reimburse Massachusetts to the amount of
nearly one million dollars, for expenses incurred in the expedition
against Louisburg and this money was used to redeem outstanding
paper bills at the rate of ten in paper to one in cash. The next
year old tenor ceased to be lawful money amid general rejoicing and
much doggerel verse.
"Now old tenor fare you well,
No man such tattered bills will tell,
Now dollars pass and are made free,
It is the year of jubilee."
CHAPTER XIII
HERB TEA AND THE DOCTOR
At a meeting of the Massachusetts Bay Company held in London on
March 5, 1628-29, it was proposed that the Company "Intertayne a
surgeon for the plantation" and one Abraham Pratt was sent over
soon after. He lived in Roxbury, Charlestown and Cambridge. While
returning to England with his wife in the fall of 1644, their ship
was wrecked on the coast of Spain and both were drowned. At the same
meeting the Company selected a barber-surgeon, Robert Morley, to
go to New England and practice his calling on "aney of the Company
that are planters or there servants." In those days a barber-surgeon
employed himself in pulling teeth, bleeding and cupping.
Earlier than this, however, Doctor Samuel Fuller had come over
in the _Mayflower_ and was of the greatest service to the sickly
foundation at Plymouth. When John Endecott's wife lay dying at
Naumkeak (Salem), in 1629, Doctor Fuller was hastily sent for, and
the next year he was called to Matapan (Dorchester) where he "let
some twenty of these people blood: [and] had conference with them
till I was weary."[67] A month later he was at Charlestown writing
"I here but lose time and long to be at home, I can do them no good,
for I want drugs, and things fitting to work with." Three years
later he was dead of an infectious fever.
[67] _Bradford's Letter Book_ (1 Mass. Hist. Colls., Vol. III).
A large portion of the physicians in the early days of the Colony
were Puritan ministers who had studied medicine in England in
anticipation of removal to New England, as a hasty preparation for
such necessities as might arise. Each practised in his own flock and
Cotton Mather in his _Magnalia_ (Book III, Chap. 26), speaks of this
union of the two professions as an "Angelical Conjunction." When
Rev. Michael Wigglesworth died in 1705, his weeping parishioners in
the town of Malden, erected a stone to mark his grave and on it may
still be read the words
"Here lies intered in silent grave below
Maulden's physician for soul and body two."
In colonial times there was little regulation of medical practice,
although an ineffective law was passed in 1649. Any one might come
into a town and announce himself as a physician and if able to
cure patients of their maladies, his success was assured. Several
unfortunate failures, however, would seriously effect his standing.
As a natural result quacks appeared and disappeared in all the
larger towns.
In the seventeenth century, and later, there were two classes of
medical practitioners of which one prescribed vegetable substances
only, together with a free use of the lancet, and followed the
teachings of Galen, the Greek physician. The other school followed
the doctrines of Paracelsus and prescribed for the most part mineral
preparations, and oftentimes were styled "chemists." Of course there
was bitter rivalry between the two schools, each maintaining so far
as possible, a superstitious mystery concerning their profession.
There were few regular graduates from any recognized medical school.
Until after the Revolution most practitioners gained their scanty
store of medical knowledge by studying with some family physician
and in the homely school of experience. Dr. William Douglas, a young
Scotchman, began to practice in Boston in 1716. In 1721 he wrote "we
abound with Practitioners, though no other graduate than myself.
We have fourteen Apothecary shops in Boston. All our Practitioners
dispense their own medicines.... In general the physical practise in
our colonies is so perniciously bad that excepting in surgery and
in some very acute cases, it is better to let nature under a proper
regimen take her course than to trust to the honesty and sagacity
of the practitioner. Our American practitioners are so rash and
officious that the saying in Ecclesiasticus may with much propriety
be applied to them, 'He that sinneth before his Maker let him fall
into the hands of the physician.'"[68]
[68] 4 Mass. Hist. Colls., II, 164.
Governor John Winthrop was versed in medicine and his son, John,
Jr., and his grandson Wait Winthrop, both were proficient in the
profession. With Winthrop came Richard Palgrave and William Gager,
both physicians, and two years later arrived Giles Firman, Jr.,
whose father was "a godly man, an apothecary of Sudbury in England."
Giles, Jr., studied at the University of Cambridge and later settled
at Ipswich, Mass., where he practiced medicine, but found it "a
meene helpe" and later studied theology and eventually was ordained
rector of Shalford, co. Essex, England.
Toward the end of the century there were two physicians practicing
in Boston, Dr. Thomas Oakes and Dr. Benjamin Bullivant, of whom
Dunton, the London bookseller gossiped in his "Letters Written from
New England."[69]
[69] _Prince Society Publications_, IV, Boston, 1867.
Of Oakes he wrote that--
"His wise and safe Prescriptions have expell'd more Diseases
and rescu'd Languishing Patients from the Jaws of Death, than
Mountebanks and Quack-Salvers have sent to those dark Regions."
Concerning Dr. Bullivant he commented that--
"His Skill in Pharmacy was such, as rendered him the most compleat
Pharmacopean, not only in all Boston, but in all New England ... to
the Poor he always prescribes cheap, but wholesome Medicines, not
curing them of a Consumption in their Bodies, and sending it into
their Purses; nor yet directing them to the East Indies to look for
Drugs, when they may have far better out of their Gardens."
Doctor John Clarke, said to have been a younger son of a good family
in the north of England, with a collegiate education, and late of
London, was granted a four-hundred acre farm in the town of Newbury,
in January, 1638, and September 28th, following, the town also
granted that
"Mr. Clarke in respect of his calling should be freed and exempted
from all public rates either for the country or the towne so long as
he shall remayne with us and exercise his calling among us."
He exercised his calling in Newbury until 1647, when he removed to
Ipswich and two or three years later settled in Boston where he died
in 1664. Soon after removing to Boston he invented a stove "for the
saving of firewood & warming of howses," which the Great and General
Court confirmed for a term of three years. Nothing further is known
of this invention and the fireplace persisted until recent times.
When Doctor Clark removed from Newbury he was followed by Dr.
William Snelling who seems to have been a merry fellow in times of
drinking healths. On an occasion during the winter of 1651 he drank
to his friends in the following toast,--
"I'll pledge my friends,
And for my foes,
A plague for their heels
And a pox for their toes,"
which e'er long led to sorrowful acknowledgment of his weakness
before the Quarterly Court at Salem, and a fine of ten shillings for
cursing. This doubtless helped sustain the dignity of the Court and
strengthened virtue among the good men of the town of Newbury at
times when ribald mirth prevailed.
Dr. John Perkins who practised in Boston during the first half of
the eighteenth century, is said to have gone to London for two
year's study but his medical notebooks show that in his Boston
practise he prescribed for scrofula, syrup made of sow bugs
drowned in white wine. Castile soap boiled in strong beer he used
as a remedy for a "heavy load at the Stomac." For numb palsy he
prescribed "a bath of absinthe in _urina hominis_, used hot,"
and his cure for a nervous weakness of the eyes was "shaving the
head." He noted that "Widow Alcock [died] of a hot bread supper.
Jus. Billings did so of eating Brown Bread for breakfast, a Thing
he never used before," and Reverend McGee's wife died by eating a
supper of roast chickens at 13 days after childbirth and drinking
strong beer flip on it. "Wonderful that in learned and elevated
situations among ye great, should be such ignorance."
"Samuel Bent, Goldsmith, tender constitution and lax nerves, upon a
change of a linnen for a woolen cap to sleep in was affected with a
running of Bloody Water from ye nose, which staunched when he wore
linnen.
"Nathaniel Parkman's Daughter, scrophulously affected, had a blow
on the Head, on which the scrophula immediately left her and Chorea
St. Viti succeeded and followed her every Spring till she turned
consumptive and died."[70]
[70] Sprague, "Some Aspects of Medicine in Boston" (_Old-Time New
England_, Vol. XIII, p. 14.)
Doctor Perkins was quite modern in some of his theories. He entered
in his notebook--
"Exercise is good [for pains in the stomach] in young girls and
others that use a sedentary life. So Sarah Bergers was cured by
learning country dances.
"Wheat, ye Shoemaker, was cured [of hemorrhoids] by taking to ye
portering with a wheelbarrow."
Doctor Ball of Northboro had a medicine called, "Receipt for the
Scratches. One Quart fishworms, washed clean; one pound hog's lard
stewed together, filtered through a strainer and add one-half pint
oil of turpentine; one-half pint good brandy. Simmer it well and it
is fit for use."[71]
[71] _Ibid._
Obstetrics at that period was also a jolly pastime, as the doctor
and his volunteer assistants were regaled by a special brew known as
"groaning beer" and by freshly baked "groaning cakes."
In Salem lived Zerobabel Endecott, son of Governor John Endecott,
who practiced the healing art and who left behind him a remarkable
collection of medical recipes from which we include selections
illustrating the practice of the physician in colonial days. His
brother John, afterwards Governor of Connecticut, also seems to have
had some medical training as appears from a bill preserved in the
Massachusetts Archives, where under date of 1668, he charged five
shillings for "a Vomit and atendans" on one John Clark, "weak and
sike by reason of a scurvy and a dropsy." Doctor Zerobabel died in
1684 and bequeathed to his son John, who also was a physician and
who died in England, "al my Instruments and books both of phisicke
and chirurgery." The inventory of the estate shows "a case of
lances, 2 Rasors, a box of Instruments, 10 bookes in folio, 16 in
quarto, a saw with six Instruments for a chirurgion and a chest of
bookes & writings."
Other Salem physicians were George Emery who settled in the town in
1636 and sat on the gallows with a rope around his neck, in 1668,
for an unnatural crime; Rev. John Fiske, a graduate of Cambridge,
who had studied divinity and also physic, and came to Salem in
1637; and Daniel Weld, who was chief surgeon during the Narraganset
campaign in King Philip's War; Col. Batholomew Gedney, who left at
his death drugs and instruments inventoried at £60; Dr. John Barton,
who died of yellow fever; Dr. John Swinnerton, made famous by
Hawthorne's romance, and others followed.
William Salmon, in his "Compendium of Physick," published in
London in 1671, estimates the necessary qualifications of the
seventeenth-century physician as follows: "He that would be an
accomplished physician, ought to be furnished with three things,
1. honesty and a good conscience; 2. a substantial, real, and
well-grounded understanding through the whole Art of Medicine; 3.
with all such Instruments and Necessaries which are ordinarily made
use of in the performance of any medical operation," and these
instruments are listed as follows:
"The Parascuological Instruments, wherewith medicines are prepared,
whether Galenical or Chymical, are chiefly these: A brass Kettle; an
Alembick; a Circulatory; a Sieve; a Gourd; a Balneum Mariae; Tongs;
a Cauldron; a File; a Hippocras Bag; an Iron Mortar; a Pestle;
a Pitcher; a Marble; a glass Mortar and Pestle; a Seperator; a
Funnel; a Seirce; a Press; a Tile; a pair of Sheers; Vials; Boxes;
Crucibles; Gally-pots; Corks; Spoons; Strainers; Retorts; Receivers;
Bags; Spatulas; Weights and Scales; together with a Pair of
Goldsmiths Bellows; and convenient Furnaces fitted for any operation.
"The Chyrurgical Instruments with which the Artist ought to be
furnished, are chiefly these: A Plaister Box; an Uvula Spoon; a
Levatory; a Director; a pair of Forceps; a Spatula Lingua; an
Incision Knife; a pair of Scizzors; a Flame; a small Razour; a
stitching Quill; three square Needles; with a Case of good Launcets;
and a Salvatory; letting all be kept very sharp, clean and bright."
* * * * *
The following medical recipes are copied from a manuscript left by
Dr. Zerobabel Endecott of Salem and formerly in the possession of
the late Dr. Frederick Lewis Gay of Brookline.
_For y^e Bloudy Flux_
Stone horses Liuers[72] dried in an ouen being heat for houshould
bread, made into powder & giuen a spoonfull at a time in milk.
[72] "Fox Lungs for the mending of human lungs hardly able to
respire, and Bone of a Stag's Heart" are mentioned in the English
Dispensatory (Quincy), London, 1742.
_For a Spraine_
Take stronge bere este & honye, of equall quantyty & boyle them to
the Consistanty of honye & so apply it hott to ye place greeued.
_For Extreme Thirst & Vomiting in a Malignant Feauer_
Take salt of wormwood [scruple]i and a spoonfull of the Juce of
Lemonds mix them in a spoon & giue it the patient
_For Stone in the Kidnes and Blader Or To Prouent It_
Take wild Carret seeds & boyle in Ale & drinke Dose [dram]ii euery
Night.
_An Other_
Take 3 Drops of oyle of Fenill once a day.
_For ye Dropsie Often Prou^d & Espetially Vpon One Man, Other Meanes
Vsed By Men of Skill Fayled This Was Affectuall_
Tak good store of Elder roots wash them & make them very Cleane then
splitt & steepe them in strong ale wort & Lett them stand together
while ye Ale is working then when it is 2 days old drinke of it
morning Noone & at night till health be obtained Lett there be as
many of ye Roots as Can well be steeped in the Ale The flowers are
of the same vse & more powerfull
_An Other_
Take Rie flower make past with water Role it thin and with ye greene
Leaues of Sage & a Littl Rosemary fill it as pye bake it very dry
beat altogether & take halfe a spoonefull at a time in a wine
Cupfull of your beere
_For a Sore Throte[73] or Kings Euell_
[73] _Quinsey._ First bleed, and purge with _Dincassia_, after vomit
with _Vinum Antimonii_; rub the tongue with the juyce of Crabfish
and Housleek, taking a little inwardly; ... ashes of burnt Crabs,
of Swallows, and Tincture of Corals, are excellent in the bastard
Quinsey; the ashes of an owl (feathers and all) blown into the
throat, opens and breaks the Imposthume wonderfully.--_Compendium of
Physick_ (_Salmon_), London, 1671.
Take Guaiacom sliced [oz]iij ye Bark of Guaiacom [oz]i infuse in
6 quarts of fair water on hott ashes 24 hours then boyle it ouer
a gentill fire till a third part be wasted then add of Epithimum
Pollepodium ana [oz]ii fumitory borrage & buglose Roots flowers of
Rosmary Prim Rose Cow slips Violets & sweet fenill seeds of Each
[oz]fs boyle it till a quart be wasted then add Sena [oz]iij boyl
it a Litle & straine it & Clarifie it with whits of Eggs sweeten it
with Sugar
Giue 2 or 3 spoonfulls euery morning to a child more to a groune
Person; enough to give 2 or 3 Lous stooles in a daye for 8 days
together this aLone haue Cured the Kings Euill
_For Paine in ye Eare_[74]
[74] _Deafness and Slow Hearing._ The juyce of Radishes, fat of
a mole, eele, or Serpent, juyce of an Onyon soaked in Sperrit of
Wine and roasted, essences of a mans or Bullocks gall, are all
very excellent. In difficulty of hearing, distilled Boyes Urine is
good; but better is the Oyl of Carawayes.--_Compendium of Physick_
(_Salmon_), London, 1671.
Take a mithredate & put it in into the eare with a Litle wooll &
Keep it warme
_For a Cough_[75]
[75] _Cup Moss._ This with some other Mosses of like kind, have
been mightily in vogue amongst the good Women for their Children's
Coughs; but they have not obtained in official nor extemporaneous
Prescriptions. They are said to be infallible in that which
is commonly called the _Chin-Cough_.--_English Dispensatory_
(_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Take eggs boyle them till they bee hard hold them in your hand one
at a time as hott as you Can suffer it & with ye heat & strength
of your hand press out the oyle, take a quantity of this oyle & a
Little powder of Alloes & fine Sugar make it into a surrup take a
Litle of this surrup as often as need Require this is Comended by G:
as if non Could Equall it
_A Balsam or Liquer That Will Heal Sores as For New in Man or Beast_
Tak very strong wort 3 gallons being all ye first of a boushell of
good malt then tak of Comfry roots & Elder roots of each 2 handfuls
the Leaues of Crud tobacko a handful Lett the Roots be brused &
boyled till halfe be wasted Put it into a Vessel & Keep for Vse Put
into it 3 li of hony before you take it of the fire, if it be a
deepe sore tent it, if an open sore wett a Duble Clout & Lay on the
sore Dress it always warme
_For ye Sciatica or Paine in ye Back or Side_[76]
[76] Burning "Spunck," an excrescence growing out of black birch, in
two or three places on the thigh of a patient, helps sciatica.--_New
England's Rarities_ (_Josselyn_), London, 1672.
Tak Fetherfew & steepe it in beer & drink first at morning & Last at
night
_A Powder for ye Dissines of ye Head Falling Sicknes[77] & Hart
Qualms That Haue Bin Oft Vsed_
[77] _Falling-Sickness._ In Children. Ashes of the dung of black
Cow [dram]i. given to a new born Infant, doth not only preserve
from the Epilepsia, but also cure it. In those of ripe Age. The
livers of 40 water-Frogs brought into a powder, and given at five
times (in Spirit of Rosemary or Lavender) morning and evening, will
cure, the sick not eating nor drinking two hours before nor after
it.--_Compendium of Physick_ (_Salmon_), London, 1671.
_Peacock's Dung_ is reckoned a specific in _Epilepsias_, and its
use is commended in _Vertigo_.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_),
London, 1742.
Whit amber [dram]ii Diarrhodian [dram]ii Seeds of Peony [scruple]ii
miselto [dram]i the fillings of a Deadmans skull [scruple]i[78]
mak all into a very fine Powder & tak of it as much as will Ly on a
shilling 2 or 3 nights together befor the new & befor the full moon
take it in Saxony or bettony water
[78] _Salt of Mans Skull._ The skull of a dead man, calcine it,
and extract the Salts as that of Tartar. It is a real cure for the
Falling-Sickness, Vertigo, Lethargy, Numbness, and all capital
diseases, in which it is a wonderful prevalent.--_Compendium of
Physick_ (_Salmon_), London, 1671.
It is to be feared that this has obtained a place in medicine, more
from a whimsical Philosophy, than any other account.... _A dead
Man's Hand._ This is supposed, from some superstitious Conceits
amongst Common People, to be of great Efficacy in dispersing
_scrophulous Tumours_. The part, forsooth, is to be rubbed with
the dead Hand for some time. And Report furnishes us with many
Instances of Cures done hereby; some of which may not improbably be
true, both as the Imagination in the Patient contributes much to
such Efficacies, and because the Sensation which stroaking in that
manner gives, is somewhat surprizing, and occasions a shuddering
Chilness upon the Part touched; which may in many cases put the
Fibres in such Contractions, as to loosen, shake off, and dislodge
the obstructed matter; in which consists the Cure.--_English
Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
_Mummy._ This is the Flesh of Carcases which have been embalm'd. But
altho it yet retains a place in medicinal catalogues, it is quite
out of vse in Prescription.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_),
London, 1742.
_For Rumatick Paines & To Coole Ye Liuer_
Tak the Conserue of the frut of Sweet brier as much as a good
nutmage morning & Evening
_For Vometing & Looseness in Men Women & Children_
Take an Egg break a Little hole in one end of it & put owt ye white
then put in about 1/2 spoonfull of baye salt then fill vp the egg
with strong Rom or spirits of wine & sett it in hott ashes & Lett
it boyle till ye egg be dry then take it & eat it fasting & fast an
hour after it or drink a Litle distilled waters of mint & fenill
which waters mixed together & drank will help in most ordinary Cases
_For a Person That is Distrated If It Be A Woman_[79]
[79] _Goose-Dung._ The Excrements of most Birds are accounted hot,
nitrous, and penetrating; for this reason they pass for inciders
and Detergents, and are particularly reckon'd good in Distempers
of the Head; but they are now almost quite laid aside in Practice.
_Elk's Hoof_ is also esteemed of mighty Efficacy in Distempers of
the Head. Naturalists tell us that the Creature itself first gave
to Mankind a Hint of its Medicinal Virtues; for they say, whenever
it ails anything in the Head, it lies in such a Posture as to keep
one of the tips of a Hoof in its Ear; which after some time effects
a Cure. But this I leave to be credited by those of more faith than
myself.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
_An Hysteric Emulsion._ Take Assafoetida 2 drams, dissolve cold
in a mortar with a pound and half of Black-Cherry-water, and
strain for Vse. This is tolerable, for its stinking Scent, but
to few; yet where it can be got down, it is very prevalent in
checking the inordinate Orgasm of the Spirits, and preventing those
Convulsions and Frenzies of Mind which arise therefrom; it may be
drank in the quantity of 2 ounces, according to the Urgency of the
Symptoms.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Tak milk of a Nurce that giues suck to a male Child & also take a
hee Catt & Cut of one of his Ears or a peece of it & Lett it blede
into the milk & then Lett the sick woman Drink it doe this three
Times
_For a Bruse In Any Part Of The Body_
Take of honey a Spoonfull & yest or barme or the emptings of strong
beer twice as much warm them & mix them together & apply it to the
place greeued admireable effects haue bin wroght by this means it
hath seldom fayled in Casses very Difficult in any part of ye boddy
though ye bones haue semed to be brused though it hath ben in head &
in broken bones it easeth paine & vnites the bones sodainly
_For Ye [J]andis_[80]
[80] _Hog-Lice Wine. Take Hog-Lice_ (i.e. Wood lice or Sow bugs),
half a pound, put them alive into two pound of White Port Wine, and
after some Days Infusion strain and press out very hard, then put
in Saffron, 2 drams, Salt of Steel, a dram, and Salt of Amber, 2
scruples, and ater 3 or 4 Days strain and filter for Use. This is an
admirable Medecine against the Jaundice, Dropsy, or any cachectic
Habit.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Take ye Juce of Planten and Camomell 3 or 4 spoonfuls in warme
Posset ale morning & Euening it helps in few days
Mir Turmarik & safron made into fine powder & drank twice or 3 times
a day in Possett ale is Excelent good Dose [scruple]i or Lett the
sik Person drink their own Vrin twice a day or ye Volatile fat of
Vrin [ ] morning & Euening in Posset ale
_To Eas Paines in Feauers_[81]
[81] _Plaister of Spinders._ Venice Turpentine [dram]iii, melt it;
then adde live Spiders No. XXX mix them with a Pestle till the
Turpentine be of an Ash colour, and the Spiders appear not; then
heat it, and adde of small Spiders No. XL. Stir them again, adding
powder of Asphaltum, and white Sal Armoniack, [dram]iii. grinde
them till the matter be cold and very black; keep it 14 dayes, then
soften it at the fire, and with your hands dipt in oyl, make it up.
Make Plaisters thereof, and cover them with leaf-silver or gold, and
lay them to the pulses of both wrists an hour before the fit of a
Feaver or Ague comes, leave them on nine days, then at the same hour
cast them into running water; by this means the Pliaster cures all
Feavers or Agues.--_Compendium of Physick_ (_Salmon_), London, 1671.
_Herring in Pickle_ is often prescribed in a Cataplasm to the Feet
in Feavers; because it is reckoned to draw the Humours downward
and thereby relieve the Head.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_),
London, 1742.
Tak Cardamoms or Graines of Paradice [dram]i Nutmegs [dram]ss
Safron [scruple]ij Sugar [dram]ii mak it to fine Pouder & giue
at any time as much as will Ly on a shilling at a time my pill is
better if the boddy be Loos
_For Ye Colik or Flux in Ye Belly_[82]
[82] _Flux of the Belly. Burnt Harts' Horn_ is reckoned a Sweetner
and is much used in Decoction against Diarrhoeas; and Fluxes of
the Belly. _Shavings of Hartshorn_ is much more in esteem amongst
_Family Doctresses_, than in the shops; but what most gives it a
Title to this Place, is that _Jelly_ which it is easily boiled into
in common water, and is accounted very nourishing and strengthening.
_Shavings of Ivory_ is much of the same nature as the former, and
boils in the same manner into a _Jelly_.
_Goat's Blood._ This is in a few Compositions under the same
Intention as the former; but it is not at all known in common
Prescription; and is deservedly almost forgot.--_English
Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
1 the powder of Wolues guts
2 the powder of Bores Stones
3 oyle of Wormwood a drop or 2 into the Nauell
4 3 drops of oyle of Fenill & 2 drops of oyle of mints in
Conserue of Roses or Conserue of single mallows, if ye Paine be
extream Vse it a gaine, & if need Require aply somthing hott to
the belly
_For Sharpe & Dificult Trauel in Women with Child By J C_
Take a Lock of Vergins haire on any Part of ye head, of half the Age
of ye Woman in trauill Cut it very smale to fine Pouder then take 12
Ants Eggs dried in an ouen after ye bread is drawne or other wise
make them dry & make them to pouder with the haire, giue this with
a quarter of a pint of Red Cows milk or for want of it giue it in
strong ale wort[83]
[83] Beaver's cods are much used for wind in the stomach and
belly, particularly of pregnant women.--_New England's Rarities_
(_Josselyn_), London, 1672.
_A Wonderfull Balsam For Fistulos & Vlsers_
Take Borax [dram]ij put it into a strong stone botle of 2 quarts;
stop it Close with a good Corke & then Couer it with sealing wax
very Close & sett it into the bottom of a well or Cold Spring the
Space of three yeeres then take it out [when it will] al be turned
to a balsam whare with you may dress Sores
_To Stench Bleeding[84] in a Wound_
[84] _Bleeding at Nose._ If the flux be violent, open a vein on the
same side, and cause the sick to smell to a dried Toad, or Spiders
tyed up in a ragg; ... the fumes of Horns and Hair is very good, and
the powder of Toads to be blowed up the Nose; ... in extremity, put
teats made of Swines-dung up the nostrils.--_Compendium of Physick_
(_Salmon_), London, 1671.
_Cow's Dung._ This seems to be of a hot penetrating Nature; and is
experienc'd to do good in Erysipelous Swellings. This Cataplasm
is also highly commended by some in the _Gout_. _Pigeon's Dung_
is sometimes ordered in Cataplasms, to be applied to the soles of
the Feet in malignant Fevers and Deliriums. _Hog's Dung._ Is also
used by the Country People to stop Bleeding at the Nose; by being
externally applied cold to the Nostrils.--_English Dispensatory_
(_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Take a peec of Salt Beef & Rost it in the hott Ashes then make it
Cleane & put it into the wound & the blood will stop imediatly
_For To Make a Man Vomit Presently That Is Sick at His Stomack_
Take white Copperes [dram]i in powder in a Litle Beere or Water & it
will Cause one to vomit presently
_For Ye Plurisie_[85]
[85] _Pleurisy. Stone-Horse Dung_, seems to owe its present
Credit in medicine to the modern Practice. It is certainly of great
Efficacy in _Pleurisies_, _Inflammations_, and _Obstructions_
of the _Breast_. In all these Intentions it is now very much
prescribed.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Take the Leaues of wild mallows & boyl them in Oyle & being taken
out bray them in a morter & put them into a peece of Lining Cloth
& applie it to the greue and presently it will Cause the paine to
Cease Don Alexis
_For the Plurisies_
Take an Apple that is of a Sweete sente & taste in it a hole taking
out the Core so that the hole goeth not thorow & put into the hole
3 or 4 graines of Frankincense of the male Kind Otherwise Called
olibanum then Couer againe the saide hole with the Little Pece of
Apple that you tooke of first & rost it apon the Embers so that it
burne not but that it may waxe tender then take it from the fire and
breake it into fower parts with all the frankencense in it & so giue
the patient it to eate it will by & by make the Impostume to break &
heale him
_For the Shingles_
Take howse leeke Catts blod[86] and Creame mixed together & oynt the
place warme or take the moss that groweth in a well & Catts blod
mixed & so aply it warme to the plase whare the shingles be
[86] _Goat's Blood_ is mentioned in the English Dispensatory of 1742
as "deservedly almost forgot."
_For the Goute_[87]
[87] _Quintessence of Vipers._ Fat Snakes, Adders or Vipers in June,
cast away their heads, bowels and gall, cut them into bits, and dry
them in a warm Balneo; then put them into a bolt head with Alcohol
of Wine, so much as may overtop them eight fingers breadth; seal
the glass Hermetically, and digest for twenty days in Balneo, then
decant, etc., etc.
This quintessence is of wonderfull virtue for purifying the blood,
flesh and skin, and taking away all diseases therein; it cures
the falling-sickness, strengthens the brain, sight and hearing,
preserveth from gray hairs, and renovates the whole body, making it
become youthful and pleasant; it hindereth miscarriage, provokes
sweat, is good against the Plague, and all malign Feavers; it
cureth the Gout, Consumption, and French Pox, and ought to be
esteemed of the Sons of Men as a Jewel. Dose [dram]i. morning and
night.--_Compendium of Physick_ (_Salmon_), London, 1671.
Take any number of Vipers, open and cleanse them from all Worms and
Excrements, and the Females from their Eggs: Take out their Hearts
and Livers; dry them in the shade separately from their Bodies,
etc., etc.--_English Dispensatory_ (_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Take Ligmamuita [oz]xvi Sarssaparilla [oz]viii fennel Seeds [oz]vi
Boyle them in 2 Gallonds of water in a Pott Close Stopped till halfe
be Consumed then put it vp in a glasse Botle well Stopped & Every
morning take Sumthing Less than a gill & so in the Euening
Then take those Jngredients & Boyle it ouer againe in 2 or 3
Gallonds of water more & So Keepe it for your Continiall Drinking at
any time During the time of your Jllnes Proued Very Affectial apon a
man at Dunkerck
_Oyl of Roses_[88]
[88] _Paracelsus His Perfume._ Cow-dung, and distill it in Balneo,
and the water thereof will have the smell of Ambergrease. It is
a most excellent Perfume, abates the Heat of Feavers, and cures
all inward inflammations. Dose [dram]i.--_Compendium of Physick_
(_Salmon_), London, 1671.
Take Roses and Jnfuse them in good olliue oyle in a glasse in the
heat of the sun for sartaine Days while the oyl smeles like Roses;
oyl of Hipericon is made after the same manner
_For a Fractur of the Scull_
After the Scull is Layed open + and the Bones taken out By a Leuetur
or Cut By a trapan then fitt a pece of Parchment of the same Bignes
that the fractur is and oynt it with mell Rosarie or huny of Roses
and also the Edges of ye Bone & so put it in gently on apon the Dura
mater that Ciuers the Braines and apon that a good Plegen of tow &
a good bolster on that & so Continue that dressing while it is all
most well & the bone hes Cast of & then finish the Cure with Arseaus
his Linement; your parchment must haue a third fastened in the middle
_For Cutts or Sores_
Take the Scine of Salt Beefe & so Laye it to the Cutt or sore
_For To Heale or Dry Vp a Sore_
Take Sallet oyle and Read Lead and boyle it well together and dipe
peces of Lining Cloath in it Keep them for use
_For The Ague_
Take the Drye shell of a Turtell beat smale & boyled in water while
2 thirds of the water be consumed & drinke of it 2 or 3 times when
the Ague Cometh
_Probatum Easte January the 10 1681_
The Greene Oyntment that m^s Feeld did Vse to make[89]
[89] _Sympathetick Oyntment._ Boars grease, brains of a Boar, powder
of washed Earth worms, red Sanders, Mummy, Bloodstone, a. [oz]i,
moss of a dead mans Skul not buried [dram]i, make an Oyntment, S.A.
All wounds are cured by this Oyntment, (provided the nerves and
arteries be not hurt) thus: Anoint the weapon that made the wound
daily once, if there be need, and the wounds be great; otherwise
it will be sufficient to annoint it every other day. Where note.
1. that the weapon be kept in clean linnen, and in a temperate
heat, lest the Patient be hurt; for if the dust fall, or it be
cold, the sick will be much tormented. 2. that if it be a stab, the
weapon be anointed towards the point descending. 3. if you want the
weapon, take blood from the wound upon a stick, and use as if it
were the weapon; thus the Tooth ach is cured by pricking the Gums,
and anointing the instrument.--_Compendium of Physick_ (_Salmon_),
London, 1671.
_Earth Worms._ These are often used in Compositions for cooling
and Cleansing the Viscera. They are good in _Inflammations_ and
_Tubercles_ of the Lungs and in Affections of the _Reins_ and
Urinary Passages. _Syrup of Snails._ Take Garden-snails early in the
morning, while the dew is upon them, a pound; take off their shells,
slit them, and with half a pound of fine Sugar put into a Bag hang
them in a Cellar, and the Syrup will melt, and drop through, which
Keep for Use. This is not kept in the shop, but is worth making for
young Children inclining to Hectics and Consumptions. A Syrup of
Earth-worms may be made in the same manner for the like Intentions.
_Frog's Spawn._ This another Cooler, but it is an insipid Phlegm,
and good for nothing more than common Rainwater; and will not
Keep long without mothering and stinking.--_English Dispensatory_
(_Quincy_), London, 1742.
Jt Cureth all Spraines and Aches Cramps and Scaldings and Cutts
healeth all wounds it doth suple molyfy Ripen & Disolues all Kind of
tumors hot and Cold and it will heale olde Rotten Sores and bites of
Venemos Beasts itch and mangenes and stench bloud it Easeth Swelling
and paines of the head and throate Eyes and Eares Gout and Seattica
and all outward Greefes
Take baye Leaues, Wormwood, Sage, Rue, Cammemoyle, mellelote,
groundsell, Violets, Plantaine, oake buds or Leaues [ ] Suckbery
Pursline, Lettuc, Red colworts, Saint Johns wort, mallows, mullin,
Jsop, Sorrell and Comfrye, yarrow, and Dead Nettles, and Mint,
mugwort, Rose leaues, gather them all in the heat of the Daye, pick
them Cleene but wash them not, Beat them well then take Sheepe
Suett three Pound Picke it Cleene and Shrid it Smale Pound them all
well together, then take 2 quarts of Sallet oyle then work them all
together with your hand till it be a Like then put it in an Earthen
Pott and Couer it Close and Lett it Stand 14 Dayes in a Coule Place
then Sett it ouer a Softe fire and Lett it Boyle 14 howers Stiring
it well then put into it 4 ounces of oyle of Spicke then Straine it
through a Corse Cloath & put it into [ ] Pott and Couer it Cloase
and Keepe it for your vse
_For Ye Toothe Ache_[90]
[90] _Tooth Ache._ Picking the gums with the bill of an osprey
is good for the tooth-ache. Scarifying the gums with a thorn
from a dog-fish's back is also a cure.--_New Englands Rarities_
(_Josselyn_), London, 1672.
Take a Litle Pece of opium as big as a great pinnes head & put it
into the hollow place of the Akeing Tooth & it will giue preasant
Ease, often tryed by me apon many People & neuer fayled
Zerobabel Endecott
* * * * *
Who would know the virtues of the herbs and simples that grew in the
gardens of the Massachusetts Bay? Many herbals have been compiled
and printed, none more enticing than Nicholas Culpepper's "English
Herbals," more truly entitled "The English Physician Enlarged," and
first published in 1653. It had an enormous sale. Since that year
twenty-one different editions have served their day, the last having
been printed at Exeter, N.H., as late as 1824.
Culpepper, the son of a clergyman, was born in London in 1616 and
died when only thirty-eight years old. In that short time, however,
he gained fame as a writer on astrology and medicine. At first
apprenticed to an apothecary, he later set up for himself as a
physician and acquired a high reputation among his patients.
In his catalogue of the simples he premises a few words to the
reader, viz.: "Let a due time be observed (cases of necessity
excepted) in gathering all Simples: for which take these few Rules.
All Roots are of most virtue when the Sap is down in them, viz.
towards the latter end of the summer, or beginning of the spring,
for happily in Winter many of them cannot be found: you may hang up
many of them a drying, by drawing a string through them, and so keep
them a whole year.
"Herbs are to be gathered when they are fullest of juyce, before
they run up to seeds; and if you gather them in a hot sunshine-day,
they will not be so subject to putrifie: the best way to dry them,
is in the Sun, according to Dr. _Reason_, though not according to
Dr. _Tradition_: Such Herbs as remain green all the year, or are
very full of juyce, it were a folly to dry at all, but gather them
only for present use, as Houseleek, Scurvy-grass, etc.
"Let flowers be gathered when they are in their prime, in a
sunshine-day, and dryed in the sun. Let seeds be perfectly ripe
before they be gathered.
"Let them be kept in a dry place: for any moysture though it be but
a moist ayr, corrupts them, which if perceived in time, the beames
of the Sun will refresh them again."
* * * * *
_Ageratum_ dryes the brain, helps the green sickness, and profit
such as have a cold or weak Liver: outwardly applyed, it takes away
the hardnesse of the matrix, and fills hollow ulcers with flesh.
_Anemone._ The juyce snuffed up the nose purgeth the head, it
clenseth filthy ulcers, encreaseth milk in Nurses, and outwardly by
oyntments helps Leprosies.
_Asphodel or Daffodil._ I know no physicall use of the roots,
probably there is: for I do not believe God created anything of no
use.
_Balm_, outwardly mixed with salt and applied to the neck, helps the
Kings Evil, biting of mad dogs and such as cannot hold their necks
as they should do; inwardly it is an excellent remedy for a cold,
cheers the heart, takes away sorrow, and produces mirth.
_Basil_ gives speedy deliverance to women in travail.
_Bedstraw._ Stancheth blood: boyled in oyl is good to annoynt a
weary traveller: inwardly it provokes lust.
_Borrage_, cheers the heart and drooping spirits, helps swooning and
heart qualms.
_Briony_, both white and black, they purg the flegm and watry
humors, but they trouble the stomack much, they are very good for
dropsies: the white is most in use, and is admirable good for
the fits of the mother; both of them externally used, take away
Freckles, Sun-burning, and Morphew from the face, and clense filthy
ulcers: It is a churlish purge, and being let alone, can do no harm.
_Buglosse._ Continual eating of it makes the body invincible against
the poyson of Serpents, Toads, Spiders, etc. The rich may make the
Flowers into a conserve, and the herb into a syrup: the poor may
keep it dry: both may keep it as a Jewell.
_Burdoc or Clot-bur_, helps such as spit blood and matter, bruised
and mixed with salt and applyed to the place, helps the biting of
mad dogs. It expels wind, easeth paines of the teeth, strengthens
the back ... being taken inwardly.
_Celondine._ The root is manifestly hot and dry, clensing and
scouring, proper for such as have the yellow Jaundice, it opens the
obstructions of the liver, being boiled in White Wine, and if chewed
in the mouth it helps the tooth-ach.
_Chamomel_ is as gallant a medicine against the stone in the bladder
as grows upon the earth. It expels wind, belchings, used in bathes
it helps pains in the sides, gripings and gnawings in the belly.
_Chick-weed_ is cold and moist without any binding, aswages swelling
and comforts the sinews much, and therfore is good for such as are
shrunk up, it helps mangy hands and legs, outwardly applyed in a
pultis.
_Cinkfoyl or Five-fingered grass._ The root boyled in vinegar is
good against the Shingles, and appeaseth the rage of any fretting
sores.
_Colts-foot._ Admirable for coughs. It is often used taken in a
Tobacco-pipe, being cut and mixed with a little oyl of annis seeds.
_Columbines_ help sore throats and are of a drying, binding quality.
_Comfry_ is excellent for all wounds both internal and externall,
for spitting of blood, Ruptures or Burstness, pains in the Back and
helpeth Hemorrhoyds. The way to use them is to boyle them in water
and drink the decoction.
_Cottonweed._ Boyled in Ly, it keeps the head from Nits and Lice;
being laid among Cloaths, it Keeps them safe from Moths; taken in a
Tobacco-pipe it helps Coughs of the Lungues, and vehement headaches.
_Dill._ It breeds milk in Nurses, staies vomiting, easeth hiccoughs,
aswageth swellings, provoks urin, helps such as are troubled with
the fits of the mother, and digests raw humors.
_Dittany_, brings away dead children, hastens womens travail, the
very smell of it drives away venemous beasts; it's an admirable
remedy against wounds made with poysoned weapons; it draws out
splinters, broken bones, etc.
_Fennel._ Encreaseth milk in Nurses, provokes urine, easeth pains in
the Reins, breaks wind, provokes the Terms.
_Fleabane._ Helps the bitings of venemous beasts. It being burnt,
the smoke of it kills all Gnats and Fleas in the chamber. It is
dangerous for women with child.
_Flower-de-luce_ or _water flag_, binds, strengthens, stops fluxes
of the belly, a drachm being taken in red wine every morning.
_Fumitory_ helps such as are itchy and scabbed, helps Rickets,
madness, and quartain agues.
_Gentian_, some call Bald-money, is a notable counter-poyson, it
opens obstructions, helps the bitings of venemous beasts, and mad
dogs, helps digestion, and cleanseth the body of raw humors.
_Golden Rod_ clenseth the Reins, brings away the Gravel; an
admirable herb for wounded people to take inwardly, stops Blood, etc.
_Groundsel_ helps the Cholick, and pains and gripings in the belly.
I hold it to be a wholsom and harmless purge. Outwardly it easeth
womens breasts that are swollen & inflamed, (or as themselves say)
have gotten an ague in their breasts.
_Hellebore._ The root of white Hellebore, or sneezwort, being grated
& snuffed up the nose, causeth sneezing, Kills Rats and Mice, being
mixed with their meat. Doctor Bright commends it for such as are mad
through melancholly. If you use it for sneezing, let your head and
neck be wrapped hot for fear of catching cold.
_Henbane._ Stupifies the senses and therefore not to be taken
inwardly; outwardly applyed to the temple it provokes sleep.
_Hops._ The young sprouts clense the Blood and cleer the skin,
helps scabs and itch. They are usually boyled and taken as they eat
Sparagus or they may be made into a conserve.
_Horehound_ clenseth the breast and lungs, helps old coughs, easeth
hard labour in child-bearing, brings away the after-birth.
_Hysop._ Helps Coughs, shortness of Breath, Wheezing, Kills worms in
the body, helps sore throats and noise in the ears.
_Knotgrasse_ helps spitting of blood, stops all fluxes of blood,
gonorrhaea or running of Reins, and is an excellent remedy for hogs
that will not eat their meat.
_Lavender._ The temples and forehead bathed with the juyce of it, as
also the smell of the herb helps swoonings.
_Lavender cotton_ resists poyson, kills worms.
_Lettice._ Cools the inflamation of the stomack commonly called
heart-burning, provokes sleep, resists drunkenesse and takes away
the ill effects of it, cools the blood, and breeds milk. It is far
wholsommer eaten boyled than raw.
_Liverwort_ is excellent for inflamations of the Liver and yellow
jaundice.
_Lovage_ cleers the sight, takes away redness and Freckles from the
Face.
_Lungwort_ helps infirmities of the lungs, coughs and shortness of
breath.
_Mallows._ They are profitable in the stingings of Bees, Wasps, etc.
Inwardly they resist poyson and provoke to stool....
_Man Drakes._ Fit for no vulgar use, but only to be used in cooling
oyntments.
_Marigolds._ The leaves loosen the belly and the juyce held in the
mouth helps the toothach.
_Marshmallowes_ are meanly hot, of a digestion softening nature,
ease pains, help bloody fluxes, the stone and gravell; being bruised
and well boiled in milk, and the milk drunk is a gallant remedy for
the gripings of the belly, and the bloddy flux.
_Mint._ Provokes hunger, is wholesome for the stomack, stays
vomiting, helps sore heads in children. Hinders conception and
is naught for wounded people, they say by reason of an antipathy
between it and Iron.
_Mugwort_, an herb appropriate to the foeminine sex; it brings down
the terms, brings away birth and afterbirth, easeth pains in the
matrix.
_Mullin._ Stops fluxes and cures hoarsenesse and such as are
broken winded; the leaves worn in the shooes provokes the Terms,
(especially in such Virgins as never had them) but they must be worn
next their feet.
_Nettles._ The juyce stops bleeding; they provoke lust exceedingly;
help that troublesome cough that women call Chin-cough. Boyl them in
white wine.
_Onions_, are extreamly hurtfull for cholerick people, they breed
but little nourishment, and that little is naught; they are bad
meat, yet good physick for flegmatick people, they are opening and
provoke urine, and the terms, if cold be the cause obstructing;
bruised and outwardly applyed they cure the bitings of mad dogs;
roasted and applied they help Boils, and Aposthumes; raw they take
the fire out of burnings; but ordinarily eaten, they cause headach,
spoil the sight, dul the senses and fill the body full of wind.
_Orpine_ for Quinsie in the throat, for which disease it is inferior
to none.
_Penyroyal._ Strengthens women's backs, provokes the Terms, staies
vomiting, strengthens the brain (yea the very smell of it), breaks
wind, and helps the Vertigo.
_Pimpernal_, male and foemale. They are of such drawing quality that
they draw thorns and splinters out of the flesh, amend the sight,
and clense Ulcers.
_Plantain._ A little bit of the root being eaten, instantly staies
pains in the head, even to admirations.
_Purslain._ Cools hot stomacks, admirable for one that hath his
teeth on edge by eating sowr apples, helps inward inflamations.
_Reubarb._ It gently purgeth Choller from the stomack & liver, opens
stoppings, withstands the Dropsie, and Hypocondriack Melancholly. If
your body be any strong you may take two drams of it at a time being
sliced thin and steeped all night in white Wine, in the morning
strain it out and drink the white Wine.
_Rosemary._ Helps stuffings in the head, helps the memory, expels
wind.
_Rue, or Herb of Grace._ Consumes the seed and is an enemy to
generation, helps difficulty of breathing. It strengthens the heart
exceedingly. There is no better herb than this in Pestilential times.
_Sage._ It staies abortion, it causeth fruitfullness, it is singular
good for the brain, helps stitches and pains in the sides.
_St. Johns Wort._ It is as gallant a wound-herb as any is, either
given inwardly or outwardly applied to the wound. It helps the
Falling sickness. Palsie, Cramps and Aches in the joynts.
_Savory._ Winter savory and summer savory both expell wind
gallantly, and that (they say) is the reason why they are boyled
with Pease and Beans and other such windy things; 'tis a good
fashion and pitty it should be left.
_Senna._ It cheers the sences, opens obstructions, takes away
dulness of the sight, preserves youth, helps deafness (if purging
will help it), resists resolution of the Nerves, scabs, itch and
falling sickness. The windiness of it is corrected with a little
Ginger.
_Solomon's Seal._ Stamped and boyled in Wine it speedily helps
(being drunk, I mean, for it will not do the deed by looking upon
it) all broken bones, it is of an incredible virtue that way; it
quickly takes away the black and blew marks of blows, being bruised
and applyed to the place.
_Sorrel_ cutteth tough humors, cools the brain, liver and stomack,
and provokes apetite.
_Southern-wood or Boy's love_, is hot and dry in the third degree,
resists poyson, kills worms, provokes lust; outwardly in plaisters
it dissolves cold swellings, makes hair grow; take not above half a
drachm at a time in powder.
_Spinage._ I never read any physicall virtues of it.
_Spleenwort_ is excellent good for melancholy people, helps the
stranguary and breaks the Stone in the bladder. Boyl it and drink
the decoction; but because a little boyling will carry away the
strength of it in vapours, let it boyl but very little, and let it
stand close stopped till it be cold before you strain it out; this
is the generall rule for all Simples of this nature.
_Spurge._ Better let alone that taken inwardly; hair anoynted
with the juyce of it will fall off: it kills fish, being mixed
with anything they will eat, outwardly it takes away Freckles and
sunburning.
_Sweet-Majorum_ is an excellent remedy for cold diseases in the
brain, being only smelled to; it helps such as are given to much
sighing, and easeth pains in the belly....
_Tansie._ The very smell of it staies abortion or miscarriages in
women. The root eaten, is a singular remedy for the Gout; the rich
may bestow the cost to preserve it.
_Toad-flax_ clenses the Reins and Bladder, outwardly it takes away
yellowness and deformity of the skin.
_Toads-stools._ Whether these be roots or not it matters not much;
for my part I know little need of them, either in food or Physick.
_Tyme._ Helps coughs and shortness of breath, brings away dead
children and the after birth, helps Sciatica, repels wind in any
part of the Body, resisteth fearfullness and melancholy.
_Valerian_, white and red, comforts the heart and stirs up lust.
_Vervain._ A great clenser. Made into an oyntment it is a soveraign
remedy for old headache. It clears the skin and causeth a lovely
color.
_Wake-Robins_ or _Cuckow-pints_. I know no great good they doe
inwardly taken, unlesse to play the rogue withall, or make sport;
outwardly applyed they take off Scurf, Morphew, or Freckles from the
face, cleer the skin, and cease the pain of the Gout.
_Water-Lilies._ The roots stop lust. I never dived so deep to find
any other virtue.
_Wood Bettony_ helps the falling sickness, and all headaches comming
of cold, procures apetite, helps sour belchings, helps cramps
and convulsions, helps the Gout, Kills worms, helps bruises, and
cleanseth women after their labor.
_Wormwood_ helps weakness of the stomack, clenses choller, kills
worms, helps surfets, cleers the sight, clenses the Blood, and
secures cloaths from moths.
_Yarrow._ An healing herb for wounds. Some say the juice snuffed up
the nose, causeth it to bleed, whence it was called Nose-bleed.
CHAPTER XIV
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
The men who controlled the affairs of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
at the time of its founding, determined not only that the churches,
but that the government of the commonwealth they were creating,
should be based strictly upon the teachings of the Bible. The
charter provided that the Governor, Deputy Governor and Assistants
might hold courts "for the better ordering of affairs," and so for
the first ten years, the Court of Assistants, as it was styled,
exercised the entire judicial powers of the colony. Its members were
known as the magistrates. During this period but few laws or orders
were passed. When complaints were made, the court, upon a hearing,
determined whether the conduct of the accused had been such as in
their opinion to deserve punishment, and if it had been, then what
punishment should be inflicted. This was done without any regard to
English precedents. There was no defined criminal code, and what
constituted a crime and what its punishment, was entirely within the
discretion of the court. If in doubt as to what should be considered
an offence, the Bible was looked to for guidance. The General Court
itself, from time to time, when in doubt, propounded questions to
the ministers or elders, which they answered in writing, much as the
Attorney General or the Supreme Judicial Court at the present day
may advise.
But the people soon became alarmed at the extent of personal
discretion exercised by the magistrates and so, in 1635, the
freemen demanded a code of written laws and a committee composed
of magistrates and ministers was appointed to draw up the same. It
does not appear that much was accomplished although Winthrop records
that Mr. Cotton of the committee, reported "a copy of Moses his
judicials, compiled in an exact method, which was taken into further
consideration till the next general court." The "judicials,"
however, never were adopted. In 1639 another committee was directed
to peruse all the "models" which had been or should be presented,
"draw them up into one body," and send copies to the several towns.
This was done. In October, 1641, action was taken which led to a
definite and acceptable result. Rev. Nathaniel Ward of Ipswich,
who had been educated for the law and had practiced in the courts
of England, was requested to furnish a copy of the liberties, etc.
and nineteen transcriptions were sent to the several towns in the
Colony. Two months later at the session of the General Court, this
body of laws was voted to stand in force.
This code, known as "the Body of Liberties," comprised about one
hundred laws, civil and criminal. The civil laws were far in
advance of the laws of England at that time, and in substance were
incorporated in every subsequent codification of the laws of the
Colony. Some of them are in force today, and others form the basis
of existing laws. The criminal laws were taken principally from the
Mosaic code and although many of them may seem harsh and cruel yet,
as a whole, they were much milder than the criminal laws of England
at that time. No reference was made to the common law of England.
All legislation in regard to offences was based upon the Bible, and
marginal references to book, chapter and verse were supplied to
guide future action. This Code served its intended purpose well and
remained in force until the arrival of the Province charter in 1692
save during the short period of the Andros administration.
The judiciary system of the Colony therefore provided for the
following courts:
First, the Great and General Court which possessed legislative
powers and limited appellate authority from the Court of Assistants.
Second, the Court of Assistants--a Supreme Court or Court of Appeals
that had exclusive jurisdiction in all criminal cases extending "to
life, limb, or banishment," jurisdiction in civil cases in which the
damages amounted to more than £100., and appellate jurisdiction from
the County Quarterly Courts.
Third, County or Inferior Quarterly Courts that had jurisdiction
in all cases and matters not reserved to the Court of Assistants
or conferred upon commissioners of small causes. These courts also
laid out highways, licensed ordinarys, saw that an able ministry was
supported, and had general control of probate matters, and in 1664
were authorized to admit freemen.
The juries were made judges of the law and the fact and when upon
a trial there was insufficient evidence to convict, juries were
authorized to find that there were strong grounds of suspicion, and
accordingly sentence afterwards was given by the Court. In order to
facilitate court proceedings an excellent law was passed in 1656
which authorized the fining of a person 20 shillings an hour for any
time occupied in his plea in excess of one hour.
John Winthrop with his company arrived at Salem in June, 1630,
and ten weeks later the first court in the Colony was held at
Charlestown. The maintenance of the ministry was the first concern,
to be followed by an order regulating the wages of carpenters,
bricklayers, thatchers and other building trades. Thomas Morton
at "Merry Mount" was not forgotten for he was to be sent for "by
processe," and a memorandum is entered to obtain for the next Court
an estimate "of the charges that the Governor hathe beene att in
entertaineing several publique persons since his landing in Newe
England."
At the second meeting of the Court of Assistants, three of the
magistrates were fined a noble apiece for being late at Court and
three weeks later Sir Richard Saltonstall, because of absence, was
fined four bushels of malt. It was at this Court that Thomas Morton
was ordered "sett into the bilbowes" and afterwards sent prisoner
into England by the ship called the _Gifte_. His goods were ordered
seized and his house burnt to the ground "in the sight of the
Indians for their satisfaction, for many wrongs he hath done them
from time to time." Several towns were christened the names by which
they are still known, and those who had ventured to plant themselves
at Aggawam, now Ipswich, were commanded "forthwith to come away."
Aside from Morton's offences at Mount Wollaston, nothing of a
criminal nature seems to have been brought to the attention of the
Court until its third session on September 28th. To be sure the
Governor had been consulted by the magistrates of the Colony at
Plymouth concerning the fate of one John Billington of Plymouth who
had murdered his companion John New-Comin. Billington was hanged,
and "so the land was purged from blood."
Unless murder may have been committed at an earlier date by a member
of some crew of unruly fishermen along the coast, this was the first
murder committed in the English settlements about the Massachusetts
Bay. But unfortunately it was not the last. Walter Bagnell's murder
in 1632 was followed by that of John Hobbey and Mary Schooley in
1637, and the next year Dorothy, the wife of John Talbie, was hanged
for the "unnatural and untimely death of her daughter Difficult
Talby." The daughter's christian name at once suggests unending
possibilities.
In the winter of 1646 a case of infanticide was discovered in
Boston. A daughter of Richard Martin had come up from Casco Bay to
enter into service. She concealed her condition well and only when
accused by a prying midwife was search made and the fact discovered.
She was brought before a jury and caused to touch the face of the
murdered infant, whereupon the blood came fresh into it. She then
confessed. Governor Winthrop relates that at her death, one morning
in March, "after she was turned off and had hung a space, she spake,
and asked what they did mean to do. Then some stepped up, and turned
the knot of the rope backward, and then she soon died."
This curious "ordeal of touch" had also been applied the previous
year at Agamenticus on the Maine Coast when the wife of one Cornish,
whose bruised body had been found in the river, with her suspected
paramour, was subjected to this supreme test. It is recorded that
the body bled freely when they approached which caused her to
confess not only murder but adultery, both of which crimes were
punishable by death. She was hanged.
Probably the last instance in Massachusetts when this "ordeal of
touch" was inflicted, occurred in a little old meetinghouse in the
parish of West Boxford, in Essex County, one July day in the year
1769. The previous December, Jonathan Ames had married Ruth, the
eldest daughter of the widow Ruth Perley. He took his bride to the
house of his parents, some five miles distant, and lived there. As
in some instances since that time, the mother-in-law soon proved to
be not in full sympathy with the young bride living under her roof.
In May a child was born and a few days after the young mother died
under circumstances which caused suspicion in the neighborhood. The
body was hastily buried, none of the neighbors were invited to be
present, and soon, about the parish, were flying rumors, which a
month later crystalized into a direct accusation and a coroner's
inquest. It was held in the meetinghouse that formerly stood in the
sandy pasture near the old cemetery. The Salem newspaper records
that the building was "much thronged by a promiscuous multitude of
people."
The court opened with prayer, the coroners then gave the jury
"their solemn charge" and then the entire company proceeded, "with
decency and good order," over the winding roadway up the hill to the
burying ground, where for five weeks had lain the body of the young
bride. During the exhumation the crowd surged around the grave so
eagerly that they were only held in check by the promise that all
should have an opportunity to inspect the remains. The autopsy at
the meetinghouse resulted in a report from the jury that Ruth Ames
"came to her death by Felony (that is to say by poison) given to her
by a Person or Persons to us unknown which murder is against the
Peace of our said Lord the King, his Crown and Dignity." When it was
found that no sufficient evidence could be adduced to hold either
the husband of the murdered girl, or his mother, then was demanded
an exhibition of that almost forgotten "ordeal of touch." The body
was laid upon a table with a sheet over it and Jonathan and his
mother were invited to prove their innocence by this gruesome test.
The superstition required the suspected party to touch the neck of
the deceased with the index finger of the left hand. Blood would
immediately follow the touch of the guilty hand, the whiteness
of the sheet of course making it plainly visible. Both mother and
son refused to accept the ordeal. Whether or no they believed in
the superstition, we never shall learn. Fear may have held them
motionless before the accusing eyes. Certainly the nervous tension
at such a time must have been very great.
The _Gazette_ states that the examination gave great occasion to
conclude that they were concerned in the poisoning, and a week after
the inquest they were arrested and confined in the ancient jail in
Salem where the persons accused of witchcraft were imprisoned many
years before. They were indicted and brought to trial. John Adams,
afterwards President of the United States, then thirty-four years
of age, was counsel for the accused. Jonathan Ames turned King's
evidence against his mother. It was midnight before the counsel
began their arguments and two of the three judges were explicit in
summing up the evidence, that there was "a violent presumption"
of guilt, but at nine o'clock in the morning the jury came in and
rendered a verdict of "not guilty." May the result be attributed
to John Adams's eloquence and logic or to the vagaries of our jury
system?
But we are a long way from the third session of the Court of
Assistants held September 28, 1630. Not until this time did the
law begin to reach out for its victims. John Goulworth was ordered
whipped and afterwards set in the stocks for felony, not named. One
other was whipped for a like offence and two Salem men, one of whom
has given us an honored line of descendants, were sentenced to sit
in the stocks for four hours, for being accessory thereunto. Richard
Clough's stock of strong water was ordered seized upon, because of
his selling a great quantity thereof to servants, thereby causing
much disorder. No person was to permit any Indian to use a gun
under a penalty of £10. Indian corn must not be sold or traded with
Indians or sent away without the limits of the Patent. Thomas Gray
was enjoined to remove himself out of the Patent before the end of
March, and the oath was administered to John Woodbury, the newly
elected constable from Salem.
At the next session William Clark, who had been brought to book
at a previous Court for overcharging Mr. Baker for cloth, now
was prohibited cohabitation and frequent keeping company with
Mrs. Freeman and accordingly was placed under bonds for a future
appearance. Three years later this offender became one of the twelve
who went to Agawam and founded the present town of Ipswich, and ten
years later still another William Clark of Ipswich was sentenced to
be whipped "for spying into the chamber of his master and mistress
and reporting what he saw."
November 30, 1630, Sir Richard Saltonstall was fined £5, for
whipping two persons without the presence of another assistant, as
required by law; while Bartholomew Hill was whipped for stealing a
loaf of bread, and John Baker suffered the same penalty for shooting
at wild fowl on the Sabbath Day. And so continues the record of
intermingled punishment and legislation.
The struggling communities that had planted themselves along the
shores of the Massachusetts Bay largely had refused to conform to
the rules and ordinances of the English Church. If the records of
the Quarterly Courts are studied it will be seen that the settlers
also failed to obey the rules and laws laid down by the magistrates
of their own choosing. To be sure there were large numbers of
indentured servants and the rough fishermen along the coastline have
always been unruly. Much also may be attributed to the primitive
and congested life in the new settlements. Simple houses of but few
rooms and accommodating large families, surely are not conducive to
gentle speech or modesty of manners nor to a strict morality. The
craving desire for land holding, and the poorly defined and easily
removed bounds naturally led to frequent actions for trespass,
assault, defamation, slander and debt. The magistrates exercised
unusual care in watching over the religious welfare of the people
and in providing for the ministry. It has been stated frequently
that in the olden times everyone went to church. The size of the
meetinghouses, the isolated location of many of the houses, the
necessary care of the numerous young children, and the interesting
side lights on the manners of the times which appear in the court
papers, all go to prove that the statement must not be taken
literally. Absence from meeting, breaking the Sabbath, carrying a
burden on the Lord's Day, condemning the church, condemning the
ministry, scandalous falling out on the Lord's Day, slandering the
church, and other misdemeanors of a similar character were frequent.
A number of years before the Quakers appeared in the Colony it
was no unusual matter for some one to disturb the congregation by
public speeches either in opposition to the minister or to some one
present. Zaccheus Gould, a very large landholder, in Topsfield, in
the time of the singing the psalm one Sabbath afternoon sat himself
down upon the end of the table about which the minister and the
chief of the people sat, with his hat on his head and his back
toward all the rest of them that sat about the table and although
spoken to altered not his posture; and the following Sabbath after
the congregation was dismissed he haranged the people and ended by
calling goodman Cummings a "proud, probmatical, base, beggarly, pick
thank fellow." Of course the matter was ventilated in the Salem
Court.
At the February 29, 1648, session of the Salem Court eight cases
were tried. A Gloucester man was fined for cursing, saying, "There
are the brethren, the divil scald them." Four servants were fined
for breaking the Sabbath by hunting and killing a raccoon in the
time of the public exercise to the disturbance of the congregation.
If the animal had taken to the deep woods instead of staying near
the meetinghouse the servants might have had their fun without
paying for it. A Marblehead man was fined for sailing his boat
loaded with hay from Gloucester harbor, on the Lord's Day, when the
people were going to the morning exercise. Nicholas Pinion, who
worked at the Saugus Iron works, was presented for absence from
meeting four Lord's Days together, spending his time drinking, and
profanely; and Nicholas Russell of the same locality was fined for
spending a great part of one Lord's day with Pinion in drinking
strong water and cursing and swearing. He also had been spending
much time with Pinion's wife, causing jealousy in the family; and
the lady in question, having broken her bond for good behavior, was
ordered to be severely whipped. The other cases were for swearing,
in which the above named lady was included; for being disguised with
drink; and for living from his wife. And so the Court ended.
A curious instance of Sabbath breaking occurred at Hampton in
1646. Aquila Chase and his wife and David Wheeler were presented
at Ipswich Court for gathering peas on the Sabbath. They were
admonished. The family tradition has it that Aquila returned from
sea that morning and his wife, wishing to supply a delicacy for
dinner, fell into grave error in thus pandering to his unsanctified
appetite.
While we are discussing matters relating to the Sabbath and to
the church it may be well to allude to the ministry. It has been
shown that the first concern of the Court of Assistants was a
provision for the housing and care of the ministry. Much the larger
number were godly men actuated by a sincere desire to serve their
people and to preserve their souls. But many of them were men, not
saints, and so possessed of men's passions and weaknesses. While
all exercised more or less influence over the communities in which
they lived, yet the tangible result must have been negative in some
instances. Take for example the small inland town of Topsfield,
settled about 1639. Rev. William Knight rendered mission service
for a short time early in the 40's and a dozen years later Rev.
William Perkins moved into town from Gloucester. He had been one
of the twelve who settled the town of Ipswich in 1633; afterwards
he lived at Weymouth where he was selectman, representative to the
General Court, captain of the local military company and also a
member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He also was
schoolmaster in 1650 and the next year appears at Gloucester as
minister, from which place he soon drifted into Court. Cross suits
for defamation and slander were soon followed by the presentment of
Mrs. Holgrave for unbecoming speeches against Mr. Perkins, saying
"if it were not for the law, shee would never come to the meeting,
the teacher was so dead ... affirming that the teacher was fitter
to be a ladys chamberman, than to be in the pulpit."
Mr. Perkins removed to Topsfield in 1656. The next year he tried
to collect his salary by legal process and again in 1660. Three
years later a church was organized and their first minister was
settled. He was a Scotchman--Rev. Thomas Gilbert. Soon Mr. Perkins
was summoned to Salem Court where Edward Richards declared in court
before Mr. Perkins' face, that the latter being asked whither he
was going, said, to hell, for aught he knew. Of course Mr. Perkins
denied the testimony. Later in the same year he was fined for
excessive drinking, it appearing that he stopped at the Malden
ordinary and called for sack. But goody Hill told him that he had
had too much already and Master Perkins replied, "If you think I am
drunk let me see if I can not goe," and he went tottering about the
kitchen and said the house was so full of pots and kettles that he
could hardly go.
But what of Mr. Gilbert. Three years after his settlement Mr.
Perkins appeared in Court and presented a complaint in twenty-seven
particulars "that in public prayers and sermons, at several times
he uttered speeches of a high nature reproachful and scandalous to
the King's majestie & his government." He was summoned into Court
and bound over in £1000 to the next General Court where eventually
he was solemnly admonished publicly in open court by the Honored
Governor. With twenty-seven particulars, could a Scotchman restrain
his tongue? Mr. Gilbert could not, and shortly Mr. Perkins brought
two complaints of defamation of character. Mr. Gilbert also soon
developed a love of wine for it appears by the court papers that one
sacrament day, when the wine had been brought from the meetinghouse
and poured into the golden cup, Mr. Gilbert drank most of it with
the usual result, for he sank down in his chair, forgot to give
thanks, and sang a Psalm with lisping utterance. He was late at
the afternoon service, so that many went away before he came and
Thomas Baker testified "I perceived that he was distempered in his
head, for he did repeat many things many times over; in his prayer
he lisped and when he had done to prayer, he went to singing &
read the Psalm so that it could not be well understood and when he
had done singing he went to prayer again, and when he had done he
was going to sing again, but being desired to forbear used these
expressions: I bless God I find a great deal of comfort in it; and
coming out of the pulpit he said to the people I give you notice I
will preach among you no more." His faithful wife testified that
his conduct was due to a distemper that came upon him sometimes
when fasting and in rainy weather. The following April he was again
before the Court charged with many reproachful and reviling speeches
for which he was found guilty and sharply admonished and plainly
told "that if he shall find himself unable to demean himself more
soberly and christianly, as became his office, they do think it
more convenient for him to surcease from the exercise of any public
employment." The stubborn Scot refused to submit and affixing a
defiant paper to the meetinghouse door he deserted his office for
three successive Sabbaths, when his exasperated people petitioned
the Court to be freed from such "an intollerable burden" and so the
relation ceased but not until further suits and counter suits had
been tried for defamation, slander, and threatened assault.
His successor was Rev. Jeremiah Hobart, a Harvard graduate, who
preached for a while at Beverly and found difficulty in collecting
his salary. He remained at Topsfield eight years and during that
time became a familiar figure at the County Courts, because of
non-payment of salary, for cursing and swearing, and for a damaging
suit for slander exhibiting much testimony discreditable to him.
Even his brother ministers and the churches were not free from his
reproachful and scandalous speeches so he at last was dismissed and
two years later was followed by a godly man, Rev. Joseph Capen of
Dorchester, who enjoyed a peaceful pastorate of nearly forty years.
The severe penalties of the English legal code were much modified
in the Bay Colony but public executions continued until the middle
of the nineteenth century and were usually more or less a public
holiday. The condemned was taken in a cart through the streets
to the gallows. Not infrequently a sermon was preached by some
minister on the Sunday previous to the execution and speeches from
the gallows always thrilled the crowd. The execution of pirates drew
many people from some distance. Several Rhode Island murderers were
executed and afterwards hung in chains. The gibbeting of the bodies
of executed persons does not seem to have been general.[91]
[91] Robert Hunt, a lime seller of Boston, differing with a man,
drew a sword and made two or three passes at him, upon which the man
seized the sword and broke it and went for a warrant to apprehend
Hunt who at once shut himself up in his house with a loaded gun and
two pistols beside him. When the officers appeared he fired out of
the window several times and wounded two boys but at last was taken
and committed to prison where three days later he committed suicide
by hanging "with an old single Garter." The same afternoon his body
"was carried thro' the Town in a Cart, and buried near the Gallows,
having a stake first drove thro' it."--_Boston Gazette_, Apr. 18,
1749.
While executions by burning took place in Europe, and Salem is
sometimes accused of having burned witches at the stake, there are
but two instances, so far as known, when this extreme penalty was
inflicted in Massachusetts. The first occurred in 1681 when Maria,
the negro servant of Joshua Lamb of Roxbury willfully set fire to
her master's house, and was sentenced by the Court to be burned
alive. The same year Jack, a negro servant, while searching for
food set fire to the house of Lieut. William Clark of Northampton.
He was condemned to be hanged and then his body was burnt to ashes
in the same fire with Maria, the negress. The second instance of
inflicting the penalty of burning alive occurred at Cambridge in the
fall of 1755, when Phillis, a negro slave of Capt. John Codman of
Charlestown, was so executed. She poisoned her master to death by
using arsenic. A male slave Mark, who was an accomplice was hanged
and the body afterwards suspended in chains beside the Charlestown
highway where it remained for nearly twenty years,[92] Why was
the woman deemed more culpable than the man in such instances of
poisoning? The old English law so provided and at a later date,
under Henry VIII, poisoners were boiled alive in oil. The last
execution in Massachusetts for the crime of arson occurred on Salem
Neck in 1821 when Stephen Merrill Clark, a Newburyport lad, fifteen
years of age, paid the penalty. He had set fire to a barn in the
night time endangering a dwelling house.
[92] Thursday last, in the Afternoon, _Mark_, a Negro Man, and
_Phillis_, a Negro Woman, both Servants of the late Capt. _John
Codman_, were executed at _Cambridge_, for poisoning their said
Master, as mentioned in this Paper some Weeks ago. The Fellow was
hanged, and the Woman burned at a Stake about Ten Yards distant from
the Gallows. They both confessed themselves guilty of the Crime for
which they suffered, acknowledged the Justice of their Sentence, and
died very penitent. After Execution, the Body of _Mark_ was brought
down to _Charlestown_ Common, and hanged in Chains, on a Gibbet
erected there for that Purpose.--_Boston Evening-Post_, Sept. 22,
1755.
Ten years before the adoption of the "Body of Liberties," adultery
became a capital crime in accordance with the Mosaic law. The
first case was one John Dawe, for enticing an Indian woman. He was
severely whipped, and at the next session of the General Court,
the death penalty was ordered for the future. When we consider the
freedom of manners of the time, the clothing worn by the women, the
limited sleeping accommodations and the ignorance of the servants,
it is remarkable that the penalty was inflicted in so few cases.
The records are full of cases of fornication, uncleanness, wanton
dalliance, unseemly behaviour, unchaste words, and living away from
wife, and the more so during the earlier years. Possibly, the juries
may have thought the penalty too severe and found the parties guilty
only, of "adulterous behavior," which happened in Boston in 1645.
This followed a case of the previous year where a young woman had
married an old man out of pique and then received the attentions of
a young man of eighteen. They both were hanged.
The Court Records of the County of Essex always must have a curious
interest because of the witchcraft cases. But the first execution
in Massachusetts for witchcraft did not take place in Salem, but
in Boston, in 1648, when Margaret Jones of Charlestown was hanged.
It was shown that she had a malignant touch, that she produced
deafness, practiced physic, and that her harmless medicines produced
violent effects. She foretold things which came to pass and lied at
her trial and railed at the jury. The midwives found that mysterious
excrescence upon her, and for all these crimes she was hanged, and
as a proof from Heaven of the justice of her taking off there was a
great tempest in Connecticut on the very hour she was executed.
But Essex County court records show several witchcraft cases during
the first twenty-five years following the settlement. In September,
1650, Henry Pease of Marblehead, deposed that he heard Peter Pitford
of Marblehead say that goodwife James was a witch and that he saw
her in a boat at sea in the likeness of a cat, and that his garden
fruits did not prosper so long as he lived near that woman, and
that said Pitford often called her "Jesable." Erasmus James, her
husband, promptly brought suit for slander, and at the next Court
another suit for defamation by which he received 50s. damages. The
court records show that this Jane James had previously made her
appearance, for in June, 1639, Mr. Anthony Thatcher complained that
she took things from his house. She and her husband were bound for
her good behavior and "the boys to be whipped by the Governor of
the Family where they had offended." Six years later, in September,
1645, John Bartoll said in open court that he could "prove Jane
James a common lyer, a theif & a false forsworn woman," and a
year later, in September, 1646, Thomas Bowen, and his wife, Mary,
testified that Jane James spoke to William Barber in Bowen's house
in Marblehead and Barber said, "get you out of doors you filthy old
Baud or else I will cuttle your hide, you old filthy baggage," & he
took up a firebrand but did not throw it at her. Peter Pitford's
accusation was not the only one for in the following year John
Gatchell said that Erasmus James's wife was an old witch and that he
had seen her going in a boat on the water toward Boston, when she
was in her yard at home. But Erasmus promptly brought suit in the
Salem court and recovered a verdict in his favor.
There are several other cases before 1655. In October, 1650, Thomas
Crauly of Hampton sued Ralph Hall for slander, for saying he had
called Robert Sawyer's wife a witch.
John Bradstreet, a young man of Rowley, was presented at Court in
1652 for having familiarity with the devil, witnesses testifying
that Bradstreet said that he read in a book of magic and that
he heard a voice asking him what work he had for him to do, and
Bradstreet answered "go make a bridge of sand over the sea, go
make a ladder of sand up to Heaven and go to God and come down no
more." There was much palaver but the Court showed common sense and
Bradstreet was ordered to be fined or whipped for telling a lie.
In 1653 Christopher Collins of Lynn brought suit against Enoch
Coldan for slander, for saying that Collins' wife was a witch and
calling her a witch. The judgment however was for the defendant.
Another accusation was promptly squelched in the fall of the same
year.
Edmond Marshall of Gloucester unwisely stated publicly that Mistress
Perkins, Goodey Evans, Goodey Dutch and Goodey Vincent were under
suspicion of being witches. Their husbands at once brought suit for
defamation of character and the verdict in each case was, that the
defendant should make public acknowledgment within fourteen days in
the meetinghouses at Salem, Ipswich and Gloucester.
To sentence a culprit to expiate his crime before the congregation
in the meetinghouse was a common thing. The publicity, in theory,
induced shame and thus served as a future deterrent. To sit in the
stocks and then make public acknowledgment before the congregation
was a favorite penalty. Sometimes the offender was ordered to stand
at the church door with a paper on his hat inscribed with the crime
he had committed. If for lying, a cleft stick might ornament his
tongue. Whipping was the most frequent penalty, closely followed by
the stocks, and after a time imprisonment became more common. The
bilboes were used only in the earliest period. The use of the stocks
and whipping post was discontinued in 1813 and not a single example
seems to have survived in either museum or attic. The pillory was in
use in State Street, Boston, as late as 1803, and two years before,
John Hawkins stood one hour in the pillory in what is now Washington
Street, Salem, and afterwards had one ear cropped--all for the
crime of forgery. Branding the hand or cheek was also inflicted,
and Hawthorne has made famous another form of branding, the wearing
prominently upon the clothing, an initial letter of a contrary
color, symbolizing the crime committed. This penalty was inflicted
upon a man at Springfield, as late as October 7, 1754, and the law
remained in force until February 17, 1785. As early as 1634 a Boston
drunkard was sentenced to wear a red D about his neck for a year.[93]
[93] At the Court of Assize, at Springfield, the 2d Tuesday of
September last, Daniel Bailey and Mary Rainer, of a Place adjoining
to Sheffield in that county, were convicted of Adultery, and were
sentenced to suffer the Penalty of the Law therefor, viz. to sit
on the Gallows with a Rope about their Necks, for the Space of an
Hour; to be whipt forty Stripes each, and to wear for ever after
a Capital A, two Inches long, and proportionable in bigness, cut
out in Cloth of a contrary Colour to their Cloaths, and sewed upon
their upper Garments, either upon the outside of the arm, or on the
back.--_Boston Evening-Post_, Oct. 9, 1752.
A case of incest in Deerfield: "the man was set upon the Gallows
with a Rope about his Neck for the space of one Hour, to be whipped
in his Way from thence to the Goal 30 stripes, and to wear a Capital
I of two Inches long, and proportionable Bigness on his upper
Garment for ever. Sentence against the Woman, for special Reasons,
we hear, is respited for the present."--_Boston Evening-Post_, Oct.
7, 1754.
At the Superior Court held in Cambridge last week, one Hannah Dudley
of Lincoln was convicted of repeatedly commiting Adultery and
Fornication with her own Mother's husband, an old Man of 76 years of
age. She was sentenced to be set upon the Gallows for the space of
one Hour, with a Rope about her Neck, and the other end cast over
the Gallows, and in the way from thence to the Common Goal, that she
be severely whipped 30 stripes, and that she for ever after wear a
Capital I of two inches long and proportionable bigness cut out in
Cloth of a different Colour to her Cloaths, and sewed upon her upper
Garment on the outside of her arm, or on her Back, in Open View. [No
further mention is made of the step-father.]--_Boston News-Letter_,
Aug. 16, 1759.
Massachusetts did not purge her laws from these ignominous
punishments until 1813 when whipping, branding, the stocks, the
pillory, cutting off ears, slitting noses, boring tongues, etc.,
were done away with.
There lived in Salem, nearly three centuries ago, a woman whose
story is told by Governor Winthrop and the records of the Quarterly
Courts. She was, in a sense, a forerunner of Anne Hutchinson and we
may fancy at heart a suffragette. Her story gives you an outline
picture of the manners of the times in a few details. Her name
was Mary Oliver and her criminal record begins in June, 1638.
Governor Winthrop relates: "Amongst the rest, there was a woman in
Salem, one Oliver, his wife, who had suffered somewhat in England
by refusing to bow at the name of Jesus, though otherwise she was
conformable to all their orders. She was (for ability of speech,
and appearance of zeal and devotion) far before Mrs. Hutchinson,
and so the fitter instrument to have done hurt, but that she was
poor and had little acquaintance. She took offence at this, that she
might not be admitted to the Lord's supper without giving public
satisfaction to the church of her faith, etc., and covenanting or
professing to walk with them according to the rule of the gospel; so
as upon the sacrament day she openly called for it, stood to plead
her right, though she were denied; and would not forbear, before
the magistrate, Mr. Endecott, did threaten to send the constable to
put her forth. This woman was brought to the Court for disturbing
the peace in the church, etc., and there she gave such premptory
answers, as she was committed till she should find surities for her
good behavior. After she had been in prison three or four days, she
made means to the Governor and submitted herself, and acknowledged
her fault in disturbing the church; whereupon he took her husband's
bond for her good behavior, and discharged her out of prison. But
he found, after, that she still held her former opinions, which
were very dangerous, as, (I) that the church is the head of the
people, both magistrates and ministers, met together and that these
have power to ordain ministers, etc. (II) That all that dwell in
the same town, and will profess their faith in Christ Jesus, ought
to be received to the sacraments there; and that she was persuaded
that, if Paul were at Salem, he would call all the inhabitants there
saints. (III) That excommunication is no other but when Christians
withdraw private communion from one that hath offended." September
24, 1639, this Mary Oliver was sentenced to prison in Boston
indefinitely for her speeches at the arrival of newcomers. She was
to be taken by the constables of Salem and Lynn to the prison in
Boston. Her husband Thomas Oliver was bound in £20 for his wife's
appearance at the next court in Boston.
Governor Winthrop continues: "About five years after, this woman was
adjudged to be whipped for reproaching the magistrates. She stood
without tying, and bore her punishment with a masculine spirit,
glorying in her suffering. But after (when she came to consider the
reproach, which would stick by her, etc.) she was much dejected
about it. She had a cleft stick put on her tongue half an hour for
reproaching the elders."
March 2, 1647-8, Mary Oliver was fined for working on the Sabbath
day in time of public exercise; also for abusing Capt. Hathorne,
uttering divers mutinous speeches, and denying the morality of
the Sabbath. She was sentenced to sit in the stocks one hour next
lecture day, if the weather be moderate; also for saying "You in New
England are thieves and Robbers" and for saying to Mr. Gutch that
she hoped to tear his flesh in pieces and all such as he was. For
this she was bound to good behavior, and refusing to give bond was
sent to Boston jail, and if she remained in the court's jurisdiction
was to answer to further complaints at the next Salem Court.
It appears from depositions that she went to Robert Gutch's house in
such gladness of spirit that he couldn't understand it, and she said
to some there, not members, "Lift up your heads, your redemption
draweth near," and when reminded what she already had been punished
for, she said that she came out of that with a scarf and a ring.
November 15, 1648, Mary Oliver for living from her husband, was
ordered to go to him before the next court, and in December she
brought suit against John Robinson for false imprisonment, taking
her in a violent manner and putting her in the stocks. She recovered
a judgment of 10s. damages. The following February Mary Oliver was
again presented at Court for living from her husband, and in July,
having been ordered to go to her husband in England by the next
ship, she was further enjoyned to go by the next opportunity on
penalty of 20 li.
November 13, 1649, Mary Oliver was presented for stealing goats, and
a month later she was presented for speaking against the Governor,
saying that he was unjust, corrupt and a wretch, and that he made
her pay for stealing two goats when there was no proof in the world
of it. She was sentenced to be whipped next lecture day at Salem, if
the weather be moderate, not exceeding twenty stripes. Capt. William
Hathorne and Mr. Emanuel Downing were to see the sentence executed.
At the same court George Ropes complained that Mary Oliver kept away
a spade of his and she was fined 5s.
February 28, 1649-50, Mary Oliver thus far had escaped the second
whipping, for at her request Mr. Batter asked that her sentence be
respited, which the Court granted "if she doe go into the Bay with
Joseph Hardy this day or when he goeth next into the Bay with his
vessell" otherwise she was to be called forth by Mr. Downing and
Capt. Hathorne and be punished. If she returned, the punishment was
to hold good.
The next day Mary Oliver's fine was remitted to the end that she use
it in transporting herself and children out of this jurisdiction
within three weeks. And there ended her turbulent career in the town
of Salem, so far as the Court records show.
Until comparatively recent times New England shipping sailed the
seas in frequent danger of attack by pirate vessels. Before the
town of Boston was settled, Capt. John Smith, "the Admiral of New
England," wrote: "As in all lands where there are many people,
there are some theeves, so in all Seas much frequented, there are
some Pyrats," and as early as the summer of 1632, one Dixey Bull
was plundering small trading vessels on the Maine coast and looting
the settlement at Pemaquid. Shipping, sailing to and from England,
was obliged to run the gauntlet of the Dutch and French privateers
and the so-called pirates sailing out of Flushing and Ostend made
several captures that affected the fortunes of the Boston traders.
In 1644, the Great and General Court sitting in Boston, granted a
commission to Capt. Thomas Bredcake to take Turkish pirates--the
Algerines--who were a constant danger to vessels trading with Spain.
John Hull, the mint-master who made the "pine tree shillings," had a
brother Edward, who went a-pirating in Long Island Sound and after
dividing the plunder made for England.
It was the treaty of peace between England and Spain, signed at
Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668, that contributed largely to the great
increase of piracy in the West Indies and along the New England
coast. The peace released a great many men who found themselves
unable to obtain employment in merchant ships and this was
particularly true in the West Indies where the colonial governors
had commissioned a large number of privateers. It was but a step
forward to continue that fine work without a commission after
the war was over and to the mind of the needy seaman there was
very little distinction between the lawfulness of one and the
unlawfulness of the other. The suppression of buccaneering in the
West Indies happened not long after and many of these adventurers
raised a black flag and preyed upon the ships of every nation. The
operation of the Navigation Acts also led to insecurity on the high
seas and eventually to outright piracy; and so it came about that
the pirate, the privateer, and the armed merchantman, often blended
the one into the other.
The first trial and execution of pirates in Boston took place in
1672. Rev. Cotton Mather, the pastor of the North Church, Boston, in
his "History of Some Criminals Executed in this Land," relates the
story of the seizure of the ship _Antonio_, off the Spanish coast.
She was owned in England and her crew quarrelled with the master
and at last rose and turned him adrift in the ship's longboat with
a small quantity of provisions. With him went some of the officers
of the ship. The mutineers, or pirates as they were characterized
at the time, then set sail for New England and on their arrival
in Boston they were sheltered and for a time concealed by Major
Nicholas Shapleigh, a merchant in Charlestown. He was also accused
of aiding them in their attempt to get away. Meanwhile, "by a
surprising providence of God, the Master, with his Afflicted Company
in the Long-boat, also arrived; all, Except one who Dyed of the
Barbarous Usage.
"The Countenance of the _Master_, who now become Terrible to
the Rebellious _Men_, though they had _Escaped the Sea_, yet
_Vengeance would not suffer them to Live a Shore_. At his Instance
and Complaint, they were Apprehended; and the Ringleaders of this
Murderous Pyracy, had sentence of Death Executed on them, in
_Boston_."
The three men who were executed were William Forrest, Alexander
Wilson, and John Smith. As for Major Shapleigh; he was fined five
hundred pounds, which amount was afterwards abated to three hundred
pounds because of "his estate not being able to beare it."
The extraordinary circumstances of this case probably induced the
General Court to draw up the law that was enacted on October 15,
1673. By it piracy became punishable by death according to the local
laws. Before then a kind of common law was in force in the Colony
based upon Biblical law as construed by the leading ministers.
Of course the laws of England were theoretically respected, but
Massachusetts, in the wilderness, separated from England by three
thousand miles of stormy water, in practice actually governed
herself and made her own laws.
In 1675, the Court of Assistants found John Rhoade and certain
Dutchmen guilty of piracy on the Maine coast and they were sentenced
to be hanged "presently after the lecture." Just then, King Philip
went on the warpath and all else, for the time, was forgotten in the
fearful danger of the emergency. Before long the condemned men were
released, some without conditions and others were banished from the
Colony. It is fair to say, however, that politics and commercial
greed were sadly mixed in this trial.
A bloody fight occurred at Tarpaulin Cove, near Woods Hole, in
October, 1689, between a pirate sloop and a vessel sent out from
Boston in pursuit. The pirate was taken and after trial the leader,
Capt. Thomas Pound, late pilot of the King's frigate _Rose_, then
at anchor in the harbor, Thomas Hawkins, a well-connected citizen
of Boston, Thomas Johnston of Boston, "a limping privateer," and
one Eleazer Buck, were sentenced to be hanged. When they were on
the gallows Governor Bradstreet reprieved all save Johnston--"Which
gave great disgust to the People; I fear it was ill done," wrote
Judge Sewall. The same day one William Coward was hanged for piracy
committed on the ketch _Elinor_, while at anchor at Nantasket Road.
The capture in Boston in 1699, of William Kidd, Joseph Bradish,
born in Cambridge; Tee Wetherly, James Gillam, and other men
concerned with the Madagascar pirates, created much excitement, but
these men were tried in England and gibbetted at Hope Point on the
Thames.
In June, 1704, a trial for piracy was held in the Old State House,
and the testimony and proceedings were afterwards published.
Captain John Quelch had sailed from Marblehead, the previous year,
in command of a brigantine commissioned as a privateer. Instead
of proceeding against the French off Newfoundland he had sailed
south and on the coast of Brazil had captured and plundered several
Portuguese vessels. While he was absent, a treaty of peace between
England and Portugal had been signed and when Quelch returned to
Marblehead harbor he learned that he had piratically taken various
vessels belonging to subjects of "Her Majesty's good Allie," the
King of Portugal. His arrest and trial followed and with six of
his ship's company he was sentenced to be hanged on a gallows set
up between high- and low-water mark off a point of land just below
Copp's hill. The condemned were guarded by forty musketeers and the
constables of the town and were preceded by the Provost Marshal and
his officers. Great crowds gathered to see the execution. Judge
Sewall in his diary comments on the great number of people on
Broughton's hill, as Copp's hill was called at that time.
"But when I came to see how the River was cover'd with People, I was
amazed: Some say there were 100 Boats. 150 Boats and Canoes, saith
Cousin Moodey of York. Mr. Cotton Mather came with Capt. Quelch
and six others for Execution from the Prison to Scarlet's Wharf,
and from thence in the Boat to the place of Execution about midway
between Hanson's [_sic_] point and Broughton's Warehouse. When the
scaffold was hoisted to a due height, the seven Malefactors went up:
Mr. Mather pray'd for them standing upon the Boat. Ropes were all
fasten'd to the Gallows (save King, who was Repriev'd). When the
scaffold was let to sink, there was such a Screech of the Women that
my wife heard it sitting in our Entry next the Orchard, and was much
surprised at it; yet the wind was sou-west. Our house is a full
mile from the place."
Capt. Samuel Bellamy, in the pirate ship _Whydah_, was wrecked
on Cape Cod near Wellfleet, the spring of 1717, and 142 men were
drowned. Six pirates who reached shore were tried in Boston and
sentenced to be hanged "at Charlestown Ferry within the flux and
reflux of the Sea." After the condemned were removed from the
courtroom the ministers of the town took them in hand and "bestowed
all possible '_Instructions_ upon the Condemned Criminals; often
_Pray'd_ with them; often _Preached_ to them; often _Examined_ them;
and _Exhorted_ them; and presented them with Books of Piety.'" At
the place of execution, Baker and Hoof appeared penitent and the
latter joined with Van Vorst in singing a Dutch psalm. John Brown,
on the contrary, broke out into furious expressions with many oaths
and then fell to reading prayers, "not very pertinently chosen,"
remarks the Rev. Cotton Mather. He then made a short speech, at
which many in the assembled crowd trembled, in which he advised
sailors to beware of wicked living and if they fell into the hands
of pirates, to have a care what countries they came into. Then the
scaffold fell and six twitching bodies, outlined against the sky,
ended the spectacle.
In 1724 the head of Capt. John Phillips, the pirate, was brought
into Boston in pickle. He had been killed by "forced men" who had
risen and taken the pirate ship. Only two of his company lived to
reach Boston for trial and execution, and one of them, John Rose
Archer, the quartermaster, was sentenced to be "hung up in Irons, to
be a spectacle, and so a Warning to others." The gibbet was erected
on Bird Island which was located about half-way between Governor's
Island and East Boston. In the Marshal's bill for expenses in
connection with the execution appears the following item:
"To Expenses for Victuals and Drink for the Sherifs, Officers and
Constables after the Executions att Mrs. Mary Gilberts her Bill
£3.15.8."
The enforcement of the English statute relating to piracy was
variously interpreted in the Colonial courts, and local enactments
sometimes superseded it in actual practice. Previous to 1700,
the statute required that men accused of piracy should be sent
to England to be tried before a High Court of Admiralty. Pound,
Hawkins, Bradish, Kidd, and other known pirates were accordingly
sent in irons to London for trial. But the difficulties and delays,
to say nothing of the expense, induced Parliament by an Act of 11
and 12 William III, to confer authority by which trials for piracy
might be held by Courts of Admiralty sitting in the Colonies. On the
other hand, the Massachusetts Court of Assistants in 1675 found John
Rhoades and others, guilty of piracy. This was in accordance with an
order adopted by the Great and General Court on October 15, 1673.
When Robert Munday was tried at Newport, R. I., in 1703, it was by a
jury in the ordinary criminal court, in open disregard of the King's
commission.
The Courts of Admiralty held in the Colonies were composed of
certain officials designated in the Royal commission, including
the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, the Judge of the Vice-Admiralty
for the Province, the Chief Justice, the Secretary, Members of the
Council, and the Collector of Customs. Counsel was assigned to the
accused to advise and to address the Court "upon any matter of
law," but the practice at that time was different from the present.
Accused persons in criminal cases were obliged to conduct their
own defence and their counsel were not permitted to cross-examine
witnesses, the legal theory at the time being that the facts in the
case would appear without the necessity of counsel; that the judge
could be trusted to see this properly done; and the jury would give
the prisoner the benefit of any reasonable doubt.
Trials occupied but a short time and executions generally took place
within a few days after the sentence of the Court was pronounced.
During the interval the local clergy labored with the condemned to
induce repentance, and all the terrors of hell were pictured early
and late. Usually, the prisoners were made the principal figures in
a Sunday spectacle and taken through the streets to the meetinghouse
of some prominent minister, there to be gazed at by a congregation
that crowded the building, while the reverend divine preached a
sermon suited to the occasion. This discourse was invariably
printed and avidly read by the townsfolk, so that few copies have
survived the wear and tear of the years. From these worn pamphlets
may be learned something of the lives and future of the prisoners as
reflected by the mental attitude of the attending ministers.
The day of execution having arrived, the condemned prisoners were
marched in procession through the crowded streets safely guarded
by musketeers and constables. The procession included prominent
officials and ministers and was preceded by the Marshal of the
Admiralty Court carrying "the Silver Oar," his emblem of authority.
This was usually about three feet long and during the trial was also
carried by him in the procession of judges to the courtroom where it
was placed on the table before the Court during the proceedings.
Time-honored custom, and the Act of Parliament as well, required
that the gallows should be erected "in such place upon the sea,
or within the ebbing or flowing thereof, as the President of the
Court ... shall appoint," and this necessitated the construction
of a scaffold or platform suspended from the framework of the
gallows by means of ropes and blocks. When an execution took place
on land, that is to say, on solid ground easily approached, it was
the custom at that time to carry the condemned in a cart under
the crossarm of the gallows and after the hangman's rope had been
adjusted around the neck and the signal had been given, the cart
would be driven away and the condemned person left dangling in the
air. In theory, the proper adjustment of the knot in the rope and
the short fall from the body of the cart when it was driven away,
would be sufficient to break the bones of the neck and also cause
strangulation; but in practice this did not always occur.
When pirates were executed on a gallows placed between "the ebb and
flow of the tide," the scaffold on which they stood was allowed
to fall by releasing the ropes holding it suspended in mid-air.
This was always the climax of the spectacle for which thousands of
spectators had gathered from far and near.
Not infrequently the judges of a Court of Admiralty had brought
before them for trial a pirate whose career had been more infamous
than the rest. A cruel and bloody-minded fellow fit only for a
halter,--and then the sentence to be hanged by the neck until dead
would be followed by another judgment, dooming the lifeless body
of the pirate to be hanged in chains from a gibbet placed on some
island or jutting point near a ship channel, there to hang "a sun
drying" as a warning to other sailormen of evil intent. In Boston
harbor there were formerly two islands--Bird Island and Nix's
Mate--on which pirates were gibbeted.[94] Bird Island long since
disappeared and ships now anchor where the gibbet formerly stood.
Nix's Mate was of such size that early in the eighteenth century
the selectmen of Boston advertised its rental for the pasturage of
cattle. Today every foot of its soil has been washed away and the
point of a granite monument alone marks the site of the island where
formerly a pirate hung in chains beside the swiftly flowing tides.
[94] On Tuesday the 12th Instant, about 3 p.m. were executed for
Piracy, Murder, etc., three of the Condemned Persons mentioned in
our Last viz. _William Fly_, Capt., _Samuel Cole_, Quarter-Master,
and _Henry Greenville_.... _Fly_ behaved himself very unbecoming
even to the last; ... Their Bodies were carried in a Boat to a small
Island call'd Nicks's-Mate, about 2 Leagues from the Town, where
the above said _Fly_ was hung up in Irons, as a spectacle for the
warning of others, especially sea-faring men; the other Two were
buried there.--_Boston News-Letter_, July 7-14, 1726.
What constitutes a crime? It all depends upon the minds of the
people and oftentimes upon the judges. Manners and crimes vary
with the centuries as do dress and speech. Here are some of the
crimes penalized by Essex County Courts before the year 1655, viz.:
eavesdropping, meddling, neglecting work, taking tobacco, scolding,
naughty speeches, profane dancing, kissing, making love without
consent of friends, uncharitableness to a poor man in distress, bad
grinding at mill, carelessness about fire, wearing great boots,
wearing broad bone lace and ribbons. Between 1656 and 1662 we find
others, viz.: abusing your mother-in-law, wicked speeches against
a son-in-law, confessing himself a Quaker, cruelty to animals,
drinking tobacco, _i.e._, smoking, kicking another in the street,
leaving children alone in the house, opprobrious speeches, pulling
hair, pushing his wife, riding behind two fellows at night (this
was a girl, Lydia by name), selling dear, and sleeping in meeting.
The next five years reveal the following, viz.: breaking the ninth
commandment, dangerous well, digging up the grave of the Sagamore of
Agawam, going naked into the meetinghouse, playing cards, rebellious
speeches to parents, reporting a scandalous lie, reproaching the
minister, selling strong water by small measure, and dissenting from
the rest of the jury.
With such minute supervision of the daily life of the colonists
it can readily be appreciated that it was an age for gossiping,
meddlesome interference with individual life and liberty and that
in the course of time nearly every one came before the courts as
complainant, defendant or witness. There were few amusements or
intellectual diversions and they could only dwell on the gossip and
small doings of their immediate surroundings. But all the while
there was underlying respect for law, religion and the rights of
others. The fundamental principles of human life were much the same
as at the present day, and men and women lived together then as now
and as they always will--with respect and love.
_Are the Times Improving?_
Edward Johnson's estimate in his _Wonder-working Providence_
supposes in 1643, a population in Massachusetts of about 15,000.
There were then 31 towns in the Bay Colony, of which 10 were within
the limits of the present Essex County. The population of these
10 towns was probably about 6,000. They were located for the most
part along the shore line. The same geographical area in 1915 had
a population of about 360,000, or exactly 60 times as great as the
population in 1643, 272 years before.
_1643_ _1915_
Population 6,000 360,000
Increase in 272 years--60 times as great.
In 1643, 1 person in 60 was a criminal.
In 1915, 1 person in 600 was a criminal.
10 times more crime in 1643 according to population.
Murder (4), manslaughter (6), assault to murder (2) 0 12
Arson 0 7
Robbery, breaking and entering, etc. 8 165
Assault of various kinds 10 86
Drunkenness 7 70
Illegal sale of liquor 0 74
Sexual crimes, including bastardy, streetwalking, etc. 6 71
Living from wife 14 0
Non-support and desertion 0 48
Profanity, reproachful speeches, evil speeches, etc. 13 2
Extortion, oppression, shortweight, etc. 7 5
Idle and disorderly 3 22
Slander and libel 1 3
Forgery 0 3
Lying and perjury 2 0
Breaking the Sabbath 5 1
Misc. Putting oxen in field, absence from watch, neglect of
a servant, etc. 25 --
Delinquency, cruelty to horse, adulterating drugs,
automobile cases, junk dealers fines, etc. -- 39
---- ----
Total 101 607
In 1643--7 were servants.
In 1915--251 were South European names and a large part
of the remainder were Irish.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Plate No.
_The Governor's "Fayre House," 1630 Colonial Village, Salem._ 1
_English Merchant Vessel of about 1620._ 2
_English Merchantman of 1655._ 3
_Dutch Ship of about 1620._ 4
_Governor John Endecott._ 5
_Colonial Village of 1630, at Salem, Mass._ 6
_English Wigwams._ 7
_Framework of English Wigwams._ 7
_Thatch-roofed Cottages._ 8
_Interior of an English Wigwam._ 8
_Front Entry and Stairs in the Governor's "Fayre House."_ 9
_Hall in the Governor's "Fayre House."_ 10
_Damme Garrison House, Dover, N. H._ 11
_Corner of McIntyre Garrison House, York, Me._ 12
_Corner of Bunker Garrison House, Durham, N. H._ 12
_Fairbanks House, Dedham, Mass._ 13
_Frame of the Fairbanks House, Dedham, Mass._ 14
_Frame of the Whipple-Matthews House, Hamilton, Mass._ 15
_Wattle and Daub in England._ 16
_Corwin-"Witch House," Salem, Mass._ 16
_Spencer-Pierce House, Newbury, Mass._ 17
_Parson Capen House, Topsfield, Mass._ 18
_Front Door of Parson Capen House._ 19
_Front Entry and Stairs Parson Capen House._ 20
_Overhang and Drops, Parson Capen House._ 21
_John Ward House, Salem, Mass._ 22
_Kitchen in John Ward House._ 22
_Jethro Coffin House, Nantucket, Mass._ 23
_Weatherboarding on Saxton House, Deerfield, Mass._ 24
_Harvard College in 1726._ 25
_Diamond-pane, Leaded Glass Sash._ 26
_Crown Glass Window Sash._ 26
_Framing Details, Moulthrop House, E. Haven, Conn._ 27
_Wooden Latch of about 1710._ 28
_Knocker, Latch and Bolt, Indian House, Deerfield._ 28
_Wrought-Iron Door Latches._ 29
_Parlor in John Ward House, Salem, Mass._ 30
_Kitchen in John Ward House, Salem, Mass._ 30
_Parlor in Parson Capen House, Topsfield, Mass._ 31
_Kitchen in Parson Capen House, Topsfield, Mass._ 31
_The Dash Churn._ 32
_Court Cupboard of about 1660._ 33
_Recessed Court Cupboard of about 1680._ 34
_Oaken Chest on Frame of about 1655._ 35
_Cane-Back Arm Chair, 1680-1690._ 36
_Banister-Back Chair of about 1720._ 37
_Leonard House, Raynham, Mass._ Page 52
_Quilting Party in the Olden Time._ 38
_Counterpane made from a Blanket Sheet._ 39
_Quilted Counterpane._ 40
_Counterpane with Crewel-Work Decoration._ 41
_John Winthrop, the Younger._ 42
_Rev. Richard Mather._ 43
_Doctor John Clarke._ 44
_Mrs. Elizabeth (Paddy) Wensley._ 45
_Mrs. Elizabeth (Clarke) Freake and Daughter Mary._ 46
_Margaret Gibbs._ 47
_Alice Mason._ 48
_David, Joanna and Abigail Mason._ 49
_Capt. Thomas Smith._ 50
_Major Thomas Savage._ 51
_Edward Rawson._ 52
_Rebecca Rawson._ 53
_Chief Justice Samuel Sewall._ 54
_Rev. Cotton Mather._ 55
_Nathan Fessenden and His Sister Caroline._ 56
_Wellcurb at the John Ward House, Salem._ 57
_The Sower._ 58
_Tracing Seed Corn._ 59
_A Farmyard Scene._ 60
_Horses and a Rail Fence._ 61
_Loading Hay on an Oxcart._ 62
_Gundalow Loaded with Salt Hay._ 63
_Brushing up the Hearth._ 64
_An Old Hand Loom._ 65
_Woman Smoking a Pipe._ 66
_Title-Page of "The Day of Doom."_ 67
_Relief Portrait of Rev. Grindall Rawson._ 68
_Gravestone of Mrs. Mary Rous, 1715._ 68
_Gravestone of William Dickson, 1692._ 69
_Gravestone of Capt. John Carter, 1692._ 69
_Fire Back Cast in 1660._ 70
_Price Sheet of Joseph Palmer._ 71
_Weights and Values of Coins._ 72
_Man using a Shingle Horse._ 73
_An Old Basket Maker._ 74
_Charcoal Burners Preparing a Kiln._ 75
_Spinning with the Wool Wheel._ 76
_Old-Time Hand Loom._ 77
_Prospect of the Harbor and Town of Boston, 1723._ 78
_View of Castle William and a Ship of War, 1729._ 79
_View of Boston Light and an Armed Sloop, 1729._ 80
_Ship "Bethel" of Boston, 1748._ 81
_New England Shilling, 1650._ 82
_Pine Tree Shilling, 1652._ 82
_Willow Tree and Oak Tree Shilling, 1662._ 82
_Massachusetts Paper Money of 1690._ 83
_Massachusetts Parchment Money of 1722._ 84
_Manufactory Bill of 1740._ 85
_Massachusetts Paper Money of 1744._ 86
_An Execution by Hanging._ 87
_Seth Hudson's Speech from the Pillory._ 88
_The Trial of Capt. John Quelch._ 89
_Sermon on Some Miserable Pirates._ 90
_John Bateman's House built in Boston in 1679._ Page 233
_Casement Window Frame and Sash._ Page 238
SECTION
OF
ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration: THE GOVERNOR'S "FAYRE HOUSE" IN THE 1630 COLONIAL
VILLAGE AT SALEM]
_Plate 1_
[Illustration: ENGLISH MERCHANT VESSEL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
From the model of an "English Merchantman of the size and date of
the _Mayflower_", built by R. C. Anderson for the Pilgrim Society,
Plymouth, Mass. Courtesy of the Marine Research Society]
_Plate 2_
[Illustration: AN ENGLISH MERCHANTMAN OF 1655
Showing the Rigging Plan. From Miller's _Complete Modellist_.
Courtesy of the Marine Research Society]
_Plate 3_
[Illustration: A DUTCH SHIP OF ABOUT 1620
From Furttenbach's _Architectura Navalis_, 1629. Courtesy of the
Marine Research Society]
_Plate 4_
[Illustration: GOVERNOR JOHN ENDECOTT 1558-1665 From the original
painting in the possession of William C. Endicott, jr.]
_Plate 5_
[Illustration: THE COLONIAL VILLAGE ERECTED IN 1930 AT SALEM,
MASSACHUSETTS]
_Plate 6_
[Illustration: ENGLISH WIGWAMS, FIRST TWO COVERED WITH BARK 1630
Colonial Village, Salem, Massachusetts]
[Illustration: FRAMEWORK OF THE ENGLISH WIGWAMS 1630 Colonial
Village, Salem, Massachusetts]
_Plate 7_
[Illustration: THATCH-ROOFED, ONE-ROOM COTTAGES; THE SQUARE OF THE
1630 COLONIAL VILLAGE SHOWING THE PILLORY AND STOCKS]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF AN ENGLISH WIGWAM 1630 Colonial Village,
Salem, Massachusetts]
_Plate 8_
[Illustration: FRONT ENTRY AND STAIRS IN THE GOVERNOR'S "FAYRE
HOUSE" 1630 Colonial Village, Salem, Massachusetts]
_Plate 9_
[Illustration: THE "HALL" IN THE GOVERNOR'S "FAYRE HOUSE" IN THE
1630 COLONIAL VILLAGE AT SALEM]
_Plate 10_
[Illustration: REAR VIEW OF WILLIAM DAMME GARRISON HOUSE, DOVER, N.
H.
Built before 1698 and now preserved on the grounds of the Woodman
Institute, Dover]
_Plate 11_
[Illustration: CORNER OF THE MCINTYRE GARRISON HOUSE, NEAR YORK, ME.
Built in 1640 to 1645, therefore contemporary with the earliest
possible Swedish buildings in the Delaware Valley, and possibly the
oldest log structure standing in the United States.
Courtesy of the Bucks County Historical Society.]
[Illustration: DOVETAILED LOGS AT THE CORNER OF THE BUNKER GARRISON
HOUSE DURHAM, N. H.
Built _ca._ 1690. From a photograph made in 1911]
_Plate 12_
[Illustration: THE FAIRBANKS HOUSE, DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
Built _ca._ 1637. Courtesy of the Walpole Society]
_Plate 13_
[Illustration: THE FRAME OF THE FAIRBANKS HOUSE
DEDHAM, MASS. BUILT _CA._ 1637
From Isham, _Early American Houses_, 1928. Courtesy of the Walpole
Society]
_Plate 14_
[Illustration: THE FRAME OF AN ORIGINAL LEANTO HOUSE--THE
WHIPPLE-MATTHEWS HOUSE, HAMILTON, MASS. BUILT _CA._ 1690
From Isham, _Early American Houses_, 1928. Courtesy of the Walpole
Society]
_Plate 15_
[Illustration: WATTLE AND DAUB IN ENGLAND
From Oliver, _Old Houses and Villages in East Anglia_.
Courtesy of the Walpole Society]
[Illustration: THE CORWIN-"WITCH HOUSE," SALEM. BUILT BEFORE 1678
From an old watercolor at the Essex Institute]
_Plate 16_
[Illustration: THE SPENCER-PIERCE HOUSE, NEWBURY, MASS.
Built about 1651. This house of the smaller English manor house
type, has the only original two-story porch and porch chamber now
existing in New England. Courtesy of the Essex Institute]
_Plate 17_
[Illustration: PARSON CAPEN HOUSE, TOPSFIELD, MASS.
Built in 1683]
_Plate 18_
[Illustration: PARSON CAPEN HOUSE, TOPSFIELD, MASS.
Front Door]
_Plate 19_
[Illustration: PARSON CAPEN HOUSE, TOPSFIELD, MASS.
Front entry and stairs]
_Plate 20_
[Illustration: PARSON CAPEN HOUSE, TOPSFIELD, MASS.
Overhang and one of the "drops"]
_Plate 21_
[Illustration: THE JOHN WARD HOUSE, SALEM. BUILT IN 1684
Showing overhanging second story, gable windows and casement sash]
[Illustration: JOHN WARD HOUSE, SALEM, MASS.
The kitchen showing roasting jack, settle, birch broom, hands of
seed corn, etc.]
_Plate 22_
[Illustration: THE JETHRO COFFIN HOUSE, NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS
Built in 1686. From a photograph made about 1880]
_Plate 23_
[Illustration: REAR OF THE SAXTON HOUSE, DEERFIELD, MASS.
Showing unpainted weatherboarding]
_Plate 24_
[Illustration: PROSPECT OF THE COLLEGES IN CAMBRIDGE IN 1726
From an engraving, after a drawing by William Burgis]
_Plate 25_
[Illustration: DIAMOND-PANE, LEADED GLASS, DOUBLE SASH
Period of 1675-1700; in museum of the Society for the Preservation
of New England Antiquities, Boston]
[Illustration: CROWN GLASS WINDOW SASH
Period of 1725-1750; in museum of the Society for the Preservation
of New England Antiquities, Boston]
_Plate 26_
[Illustration: FRAMING DETAILS OF THE MOULTHROP HOUSE, EAST HAVEN,
CONN.
Built before 1700. Showing methods of construction to be found
everywhere in New England
Drawing by J. Frederick Kelley]
_Plate 27_
[Illustration: WOODEN LATCH OF ABOUT 1710
Found in the French-Andrews House, Topsfield]
[Illustration: KNOCKER, LATCH AND BOLT ON THE DOOR OF THE "OLD
INDIAN HOUSE"
Built in 1698 at Deerfield, Mass.]
_Plate 28_
[Illustration: TYPES OF WROUGHT-IRON DOOR LATCHES
FIG. A FIG. B FIG. C
_Figure_ A. An inner door, wrought-iron latch that may have been
made by a local blacksmith. Outer door latches were of similar type
but larger. The lifts were made straight until about 1800 and the
thumb-press was not saucered until about the same time. There is
great individuality in the ornamentation, varying with the fancy of
the smith.
_Figure_ B. This latch was imported from England. It was cheap
and in common use between 1750 and 1820. The cusp, resembling the
outline of a lima bean, and the grasp, thumb piece and lift are
always flat.
_Figure_ C. The Norfolk latch appeared about 1800 and until about
1810 was made with a straight lift. The grasp is riveted to the
plate of sheet iron as is the end of the bar and after about 1825,
the catch. This latch was commonly used in the 1830's. After 1840
the cast-iron latch was generally adopted.]
_Plate 29_
[Illustration: JOHN WARD HOUSE, SALEM, MASS.
The Parlor]
[Illustration: JOHN WARD HOUSE, SALEM, MASS.
Corner of the kitchen showing dresser with its "dress of pewter,"
wash bench, meal chest, wooden ware, etc.]
_Plate 30_
[Illustration: PARLOR IN PARSON CAPEN HOUSE, TOPSFIELD, MASS.
Built 1683]
[Illustration: DRESSER IN THE KITCHEN OF THE PARSON CAPEN HOUSE,
TOPSFIELD, MASS.]
_Plate 31_
[Illustration: THE DASH CHURN
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 32_
[Illustration: AMERICAN COURT CUPBOARD. ABOUT 1660
Owned by Gregory Stone of Watertown and Cambridge Courtesy Concord
Antiquarian Society]
_Plate 33_
[Illustration: RECESSED COURT CUPBOARD OF AMERICAN OAK About 1680.
From the Dwight M. Prouty collection]
_Plate 34_
[Illustration: A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY OAKEN CHEST ON FRAME
Probably made about 1651-1655 for Samuel and Hannah Appleton of
Ipswich, Mass.]
_Plate 35_
[Illustration: CANE-BACK ARM CHAIR, 1680-1690
From the family of Hon. Peter Bulkley
Courtesy Concord Antiquarian Society]
_Plate 36_
[Illustration: BANISTER-BACK CHAIR, ABOUT 1720
Courtesy Concord Antiquarian Society]
_Plate 37_
[Illustration: A QUILTING BEE IN THE OLDEN TIME
From a drawing by H. W. Pierce]
_Plate 38_
[Illustration: COUNTERPANE MADE FROM A BLANKET SHEET
Embroidered in blue, greenish blue, red and yellow]
_Plate 39_
[Illustration: QUILTED COUNTERPANE MADE IN BEVERLY, MASS., BEFORE
THE REVOLUTION]
_Plate 40_
[Illustration: COUNTERPANE WITH PATTERN WORKED IN INDIGO BLUE ON A
HOMESPUN LINEN SHEET]
_Plate 41_
[Illustration: JOHN WINTHROP THE YOUNGER
1606-1676
Founder of Ipswich and Governor of Connecticut
From the original portrait in possession of Mrs. Robert Winthrop]
_Plate 42_
[Illustration: REV. RICHARD MATHER
1596-1669
From a wood engraving by John Foster made in 1669]
_Plate 43_
[Illustration: DOCTOR JOHN CLARKE
1601-1664
Practiced in Newbury, Ipswich and Boston
Courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society]
_Plate 44_
[Illustration: MRS. ELIZABETH (PADDY) WENSLEY
Painted in Boston about 1670-1675
Courtesy of the Pilgrim Society, Plymouth]
_Plate 45_
[Illustration: MRS. ELIZABETH (CLARKE) FREAKE AND DAUGHTER MARY
Painted in Boston in 1674
Courtesy of Mrs. William B. Scofield]
_Plate 46_
[Illustration: MARGARET GIBBS
Daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Sheaffe) Gibbs of Boston
Dated 1670. Courtesy of Mrs. Alexander Quarrier Smith]
_Plate 47_
[Illustration: ALICE MASON
Painted in 1670, aged two years
Daughter of Arthur and Joanna (Parker) Mason of Boston
Courtesy of the Adams Memorial]
_Plate 48_
[Illustration: DAVID, JOANNA AND ABIGAIL MASON
Children of Arthur and Joanna (Parker) Mason of Boston
Painted in 1670. Courtesy of Mr. Paul M. Hamlen]
_Plate 49_
[Illustration: CAPTAIN THOMAS SMITH
A self portrait
May have painted the portraits of Major Savage and Capt. George
Corwin
Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society]
_Plate 50_
[Illustration: MAJOR THOMAS SAVAGE
1640-1705
Born and died in Boston
Courtesy of Mr. Henry L. Shattuck]
_Plate 51_
[Illustration: EDWARD RAWSON
1615-1693
Secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. From the painting by an
unknown artist, now owned by the New England Historic Genealogical
Society]
_Plate 52_
[Illustration: REBECCA RAWSON
1656-1692
From the painting by an unknown artist, now owned by the New England
Historic Genealogical Society]
_Plate 53_
[Illustration: SAMUEL SEWALL
1652-1730
Chief Justice of the Superior Court in Massachusetts, 1718-1728
From an original painting in possession of the Massachusetts
Historical Society]
_Plate 54_
[Illustration: REV. COTTON MATHER
1663-1728
Pastor of the Second (North) Church, Boston, 1685-1728
From a mezzotint by Peter Pelham after a portrait painted in 1728]
_Plate 55_
[Illustration: NATHAN FESSENDEN AND HIS SISTER CAROLINE
From a photograph taken about 1885 in Lexington, Mass.
Showing costume of a much earlier date]
_Plate 56_
[Illustration: WELLCURB AT THE JOHN WARD HOUSE, SALEM, MASS.
Showing wellsweep, wooden bucket and girl dressed in the costume of
the late seventeenth century]
_Plate 57_
[Illustration: THE SOWER
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 58_
[Illustration: TRACING SEED CORN IN A FARMER'S BARN
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 59_
[Illustration: A FARMYARD SCENE AT DEERFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 60_
[Illustration: HORSES AND A RAIL FENCE
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 61_
[Illustration: LOADING HAY ON AN OXCART
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 62_
[Illustration: GUNDALOW LOADED WITH SALT HAY
From a photograph made by Miss Emma L. Coleman, about 1880, on
Parker River, Newbury, Mass.
Similar craft were early used in Boston harbor and with a stump mast
and lateen sail carried cargo up the Merrimack River]
_Plate 63_
[Illustration: BRUSHING UP THE HEARTH. NIMS HOUSE, DEERFIELD,
MASSACHUSETTS
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 64_
[Illustration: THE OLD HAND LOOM
Used a hundred years ago by Mrs. Jane Morrill Cummings
The harness and reeds are modern]
_Plate 65_
[Illustration: A BACK DOOR SCENE
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 66_
[Illustration: TITLE-PAGE OF "THE DAY OF DOOM"
From the original owned by the late John W. Farwell]
_Plate 67_
[Illustration: REV. GRINDALL RAWSON
Minister at Mendon, Mass. Born 1659, died 1715
Portrait cut on his gravestone]
[Illustration: GRAVESTONE OF MRS. MARY ROUS
CHARLESTOWN, MASS., 1715]
_Plate 68_
[Illustration: GRAVESTONE OF WILLIAM DICKSON, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., 1692]
[Illustration: GRAVESTONE OF CAPT. JOHN CARTER, WOBURN, MASS., 1692]
_Plate 69_
[Illustration: FIRE BACK CAST AT THE SAUGUS IRON WORKS IN 1660 FOR
THE PICKERING HOUSE, SALEM
The letters I A P stand for John Pickering and Alice his wife]
_Plate 70_
[Illustration: PRICE SHEET OF JOSEPH PALMER & CO., CHANDLERS
Engraved by Nathaniel Hurd]
_Plate 71_
[Illustration: WEIGHTS AND VALUES OF COINS
A table engraved by Nathaniel Hurd of Boston
Original engravings are owned by the American Antiquarian Society,
Worcester, and the Pocumtuck Valley Museum, Deerfield]
_Plate 72_
[Illustration: SHINGLE HORSE ON WHICH WERE SHAVED SHINGLES,
CLAPBOARDS AND BARREL STAVES
From a photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 73_
[Illustration: AN OLD BASKET MAKER
Dried apples hang on strings against the wall]
_Plate 74_
[Illustration: CHARCOAL BURNERS PREPARING A KILN
From a photograph made in 1884 by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 75_
[Illustration: SPINNING WITH THE WOOL WHEEL
Photograph by Miss Emma L. Coleman]
_Plate 76_
[Illustration: AN OLD-TIME NEW ENGLAND LOOM
Now in the museum of the Society for the Preservation of New England
Antiquities]
_Plate 77_
[Illustration: PROSPECT OF THE HARBOR AND TOWN OF BOSTON IN 1723
From an engraving (central part only) after a drawing by William
Burgis]
_Plate 78_
[Illustration: A VIEW OF CASTLE WILLIAM, BOSTON, ABOUT 1729
Showing a ship of war of the period, probably after a drawing by
William Burgis]
_Plate 79_
[Illustration: VIEW OF BOSTON LIGHT IN 1729 AND AN ARMED SLOOP
From the only known example of a mezzotint engraved in 1729 after a
drawing by William Burgis]
_Plate 80_
[Illustration: SHIP "BETHEL" OF BOSTON
_Owned by Josiah Quincy and Edward Jackson_
From an oil painting made about 1748, showing the vessel in two
positions
The earliest known painting of a New England ship. Now owned by the
Massachusetts Historical Society]
_Plate 81_
[Illustration: NEW ENGLAND SHILLING
Minted in 1650-1652. Obverse and reverse. From a coin in the cabinet
of the Massachusetts Historical Society]
[Illustration: PINE TREE SHILLING
Minted in 1652. Obverse and reverse. From a coin in the cabinet of
the Massachusetts Historical Society]
[Illustration:
WILLOW TREE SHILLING OAK TREE SHILLING
Minted in 1662 and soon after. From coins in the cabinet of the
Massachusetts Historical Society]
_Plate 82_
[Illustration: MASSACHUSETTS PAPER MONEY OF 1690
The first paper money issued by any colony
From an original in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical
Society]
_Plate 83_
[Illustration: MASSACHUSETTS PAPER MONEY PRINTED ON PARCHMENT IN 1722
From originals in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical
Society]
_Plate 84_
[Illustration: A MASSACHUSETTS MANUFACTORY BILL OF 1740
From an original in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical
Society]
_Plate 85_
[Illustration: MASSACHUSETTS PAPER MONEY OF 1744
From an original in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical
Society]
_Plate 86_
[Illustration: AN EARLY EXECUTION BY HANGING
The cart which brought to the gallows the condemned man and his
coffin is in the foreground, and behind it, on horseback, is the
sheriff]
_Plate 87_
[Illustration: SETH HUDSON'S SPEECH FROM THE PILLORY
Caricature engraved by Nathaniel Hurd]
_Plate 88_
[Illustration: Paper givng condemnation of Quelch and others]
_Plate 89_
[Illustration: ad page]
_Plate 90_
APPENDIX A
BUILDING AGREEMENTS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY MASSACHUSETTS
Few seventeenth-century agreements to erect buildings in
Massachusetts have been preserved. The following, with two
exceptions, have been gleaned from court records where originally
they were submitted as evidence in suits at law. They are of the
greatest interest in connection with present day restoration work
as they preserve detailed information of indisputable authority
in relation to early building construction in the Bay Colony. The
gable window, the second story jet, the stool window and casement
sash, the catted chimney and the treatment of the inner and outer
walls of the house have much curious interest at the present time.
These architectural features long since fell into disuse and only
here and there has a fragment survived. Two centuries ago the towns
in New England must have presented an appearance most picturesque
to our twentieth-century eyes. The dwellings seem to have been
studies in projecting angles, strangely embellished with pinnacles,
pendants and carved work. The unpainted and time-stained walls, the
small windows and elaborate chimney tops, the narrow and curiously
fenced ways, winding among the irregularly placed buildings,
all contributed to the quaintness of the picture. The following
agreements between builder and owner should help to solve some of
the debated problems of this bygone construction that now confront
those interested in the preservation and restoration of our early
New England dwellings.
CONTRACT TO BUILD THE FIRST MEETINGHOUSE IN MALDEN, NOVEMBER 11, 1658
Articles of agreement made and concluded ye 11th day of ye ninth
mo., 1658, betweene Job Lane of Malden, on the one partie,
carpenter, and William Brakenbury, Lieut. John Wayte, Ensigne J.
Sprague, and Thomas Green, Senior, Selectmen of Malden, on the
behalf of the towne on the other partie, as followeth:
Imprimis: The said Job Lane doth hereby covenant, promiss and agree
to build, erect and finish upp a good strong, Artificial meeting
House, of Thirty-three foot Square, sixteen foot stud between
joints, with dores, windows, pullpitt, seats, and all other things
whatsoever in all respects belonging thereto as hereafter is
expressed.
1. That all the sills, girts, mayne posts, plates, Beames and all
other principal Timbers shall be of good and sound white or Black
oake.
2. That all the walls be made upp on the outside with good
clapboards, well dressed, lapped and nayled. And the Inside to be
lathed all over and well struck with clay, and uppon it with lime
and hard up to the wall plate, and also the beame fellings as need
shalbe.
3. The roofe to be covered with boards and short shinglings with a
territt on the topp about six foot squar, to hang the bell in with
rayles about it: the floor to be made tite with planks.
4. The bell to be fitted upp in all respects and Hanged therein fitt
for use.
5. Thre dores in such places as the sayd Selectmen shal direct, viz:
east, west and south.
6. Six windows below the girt on thre sids, namely: east, west and
south; to contayne sixteen foot of glass in a window, with Leaves,
and two windows on the south side above the girt on each side of the
deske, to contayne six foot of glass A piece, and two windows under
each plate on the east, west and north sides fitt [to] conteine
eight foote of glass a peece.
7. The pullpitt and cover to be of wainscott to conteyne ffive or
six persons.
8. The deacon's seat allso of wainscott with door, and a table
joyned to it to fall downe, for the Lord's Supper.
9. The ffloor to be of strong Boards throughout and well nayled.
10. The House to be fitted with seats throughout, made with good
planks, with rayles on the topps, boards at the Backs, and timbers
at the ends.
11. The underpining to be of stone or brick, and pointed with lyme
on the outside.
12. The Allyes to be one from the deacon's seat, through the middle
of the house to the north end, and another cross the house ffrom
east to west sides, and one before the deacon's seat; as is drawne
on the back side of this paper.
13. And the said Job to provide all boards, Timber, nayles, Iron
work, glass, shingles, lime, hayre, laths, clapboards, bolts,
locks and all other things whatsoever needful and belonging to the
finyshing of the said house and to rayse and finish it up in all
respects before the twentie of September next ensuing, they allowing
help to rayse it.
And the sd Selectmen for themselves on behalfe of the town in
Consideracon of the said meeting house so finished, doe hereby
covenant, promise and agre to pay unto the sd Job Lane or his
Assigns the sume of one hundred and ffiffty pounds in corne,
cordwood and provisions, sound and merchantable att price currant
and fatt catle, on valuacon by Indifferent men unless themselves
agree the prices.
In manner following, that is to say, ffifftie pound befor ye first
of ye second mo. next ensuing, And ffifftie pounds befor the first
of ye last mo. which shall be in the year sixteen hundred 59, and
other ffifftie pounds before the first of ye second mo. which shall
be in the year one thousand six hundred and sixtie. And it is
further Agreed that when the sd. house is finished in case the sd.
Job shall find and judgeth to be woth ten pounds more, that it shall
be referred to Indifferent workmen to determine unless the sayd
Selectmen shall se just cause to pay the sd. ten pounds without such
valuacon.
In witness whereof the partys to these presents have Interchangeably
put their hands the day and year above written.
WILLIAM BRACKENBURY,
JOHN SPRAGUE,
JOH. WAYTE.
Witness,
JOSEPH HILLS,
GERSHOM HILLS.
NOTE. This contract for building the first meetinghouse in Malden is
copied from the _Bi-Centennial Book of Malden_, 1850, pages 123-125.
The original document then in existence has since disappeared. The
contract provides for the construction of a building of the type
almost universal in New England at that time, of which an example
still exists at Hingham--the "Ship Meeting House," so-called. The
square meetinghouse with hip roof surmounted by a "territ," and at
a somewhat later date supplied with "lucomb" (dormer) windows in
the roof, was the type of public building in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony that prevailed well into the eighteenth century, especially
in the country towns. The "territ" or belfry seems to have been
common, but only the larger towns were supplied with a bell. The
bell was rung from the central aisle, the bell rope coming down in
the center of the auditorium.
In the Malden meetinghouse, the "territ" was built as provided in
the contract, but for some now unknown reason the bell was not
hung in it but placed in a framework erected nearby, below a large
rock which thereby obtained its name--"Bell Rock," a name that has
continued until the present time.
Malden was able to afford the luxury of plastered walls surfaced
with lime, but the ceiling showed the joists and boarding. In
shingling the roof a distinction was made between long and short
shingles. The lower windows were made up with "leaves," _i.e._,
they were double casements, and each opening contained sixteen
feet of glass, thereby indicating sash about twenty-eight by forty
inches in size. The single casement windows placed high, just
under the coving, also were about the same size and undoubtedly
were fixed sash, _i.e._, were not hinged. Two smaller windows on
the south side, placed just above the girth, supplied additional
light on either side of the pulpit. The deacons' seat at that time
was located in front of the pulpit and faced the congregation. The
possible use of brick for the underpinning is a surprising feature,
especially in a country town. In fact, the use of underpinning at
that time seems to have been uncommon.
CONTRACT TO BUILD A MINISTER'S HOUSE AT MARLBOROUGH, MASS., IN 1661
This indenture made the fifth day of Aprill one thousand six hundred
and sixty one and between obadias Ward, Christopher Banyster and
Richard Barnes of the Towne of Marlborough on ye one party; And the
Inhabitants and all the Proprietors of the same Towne on ye other
party Witnesseth That ye said obadias Waed, Christopher Banyster and
Rich'd Barnes hath covenanted, promised and bargained to build a
fframe for the minister's house, every way like to ye fframe yt Jno
Ruddock hath built for himselfe in ye afores'd Town of Marlborough,
the house or fframe is to bee a Girt house thirty-seven foote Long,
eighteen foote wide and twelve foote (between Joynts) and a halfe,
the studs standing at such distance that A foure foote and a halfe
Claboard may reach three studs; and two ffloores of juice [_sic_]
and foure windows on the foreside and two windows at the west end
and two Gables on the foreside of ten foote wide; and eight foote
Sparr, with two small windows on the foreside of the Gables and they
are to ffell all the tinber and bring it in place and do all yt
belongs to the fframe only the Towne is to helpe raise the affores'd
fframe and all this worke is to bee done and ye fframe raised within
a ffortnight after Michll tyde; And this being done the Town of
Marlborough doth promise and engage to pay unto them the sd obadias
Ward, Christopher Banyster and Rich'rd Barnes the sume of ffifteene
Pounds in Corne within fourteen daies after the house is raised the
one halfe of it and the other halfe some time in March; the whole
paye is to be one third in Wheat and one third in Rie and the other
third in Indian Corn, the halfe in Wheat and Rie to be paid fourteen
daies after the house is up in Wheat and Rie and the other halfe in
Rie and Indian some time in March; wheat at four shillings and sixe
pence a bushell and is to be pd at Sudbury betweene Petter King's
and Serient Woods house in the streete.--_Marlborough, Mass., Town
Records._
CONTRACT FOR THE FRAME OF A BOSTON HOUSE, AUGUST 20, 1679
Articles of Agreement indented made and Concluded the twentieth day
of August Ano Domi One thousand six hundred Seventy and nine. And
in the thirty first yeare of the Reigne of King Charles the Second
over &c Betweene Robert Taft of Brantery, in New England housewright
on the one part and John Bateman of Boston in New England aforesd
shopkeeper on the other part are as followeth--
[Illustration: HOUSE BUILT FOR JOHN BATEMAN, IN 1679, AT WHAT IS
NOW THE CORNER OF NORTH AND BLACKSTONE STREETS, BOSTON
From a drawing by Lawrence Park]
Imps The sd Robert Taft for himselfe heires Execrs and Admrs doth
hereby covenant promiss and grant to and with the sd John Bateman
his Execr and assignees in manner and forme following (that is to
Say) that the sd Robert Taft his Execror assignees shal and will
erect set up and finish for the sd John Bateman his Execrs or
Assignes the frame of a new Tenemt or dwelling house to contain
thirty foot in length and twenty Seven foot or thereabout in breadth
according to the dimentions of the Cellar frame of the sd house two
Storey high besides the garrett and each roome seven foote high
betweene the Sumer and floare and to make the sd house to jet at
the first storey in the front Eighteen inches and to make and place
frame for the Cellar according to the present dimentions thereof
and place the same and to build three floares of Sumers and joise
and to make and place in the front of the sd house two gable ends
to range even with the Roof of the sd house and also two gable ends
on the backside to range as aforesd and to make and place in the
front of ye Second Storey two large casement windows and two windows
in the garett and in the end next the Mill Creeke three windows
Vizt one large Casement window in the low[er] Roome and one large
Casement window in the Second Storey and one window in the garrett
and on the backside one large Casement window in the low[er] Roome
two large Casement windows in the second Storey and two windows in
the garrett and to make & send to Boston the frame of the Cellar
within Six weeks next after the date hereof and to rayse the same
in place within one week then next following (provided the cills of
the sd Cellar be cleare) and to finish the frame of the sd house
on or before the first day of march next and rayse the same with
all possible Speed after it is brought to Boston. In Consideration
whereof the sd John Bateman for himself his 3 heires execr and Admrs
doth hereby covenant promis and grant to and with the sd Robert Taft
his Execr and assignes to pay for the transportation of the frame
of the sd cellar and house from Brantery the place where it is to
be framed to Boston and also to pay or cause to bee paid unto the
sd Robert Taft his Execr Admrs or Assignes the full and just sum of
thirty pounds Vizt one halfe part thereof in lawfull money of New
England and the other halfe part thereof in English goods at money
price and to pay the same in manner and forme following (that is to
Say) five pounds in money and five pounds in goods at the time of
Ensealing hereof and five pounds in money and five pounds in goods
when the frame of the Cellar is laid down and the floare of the
cellar is laid and five pounds in money and five pounds in goods
when the whole worke is compleated and in every respect finished in
matter and forme aforesd. And for the true performance hereof the sd
partys binde themselves their heires Execr and Admrs each unto the
other his Execr and Assignes in the penall Sume of fifty pounds of
lawfull money of New England well and truly to be paid by virtue of
these presents. In witness whereof the partys above-named to these
present Articles interchangeably have Set their hands and Seals the
day and yeare first above written.
JOHN BATEMAN. [Seal]
Signed Sealed & Delivd in presence of
John Hayward scr
Eliezer Moody Servt
Owned in Court p Bateman 27 April 1680 p Is Addington Cler
Vera Copia Attestd Is Addington Cler
--_Suffolk County Judicial Court Files, No. 1916._
NOTE. This contract provides for the frame of a house and not for
a complete building. But it is of unusual interest for it supplies
proof of the existence in Boston of a house having two gables on
each side of the roof, _i.e._, six gables on a rectangular building
twenty-seven by thirty feet in size.
Robert Taft, of Braintree, an ancestor of ex-President Taft,
delivered the frame, but before he had completed the work Bateman
entered into possession and set his carpenters at work to finish
the building. Taft brought suit to recover payment for the frame and
the Court gave a verdict in his favor, from which Bateman appealed.
From the testimony it appears that on the ground floor there were
two rooms, one of which was eleven by twenty-four feet, and a space
nine by eight feet had been left in which to build the chimney. The
"articles of agreement" required that Taft provide for fourteen
windows but he put up "six more than my Couanant was." Bateman, on
the other hand, claimed that the frame was "the weakest slenderest
and most dozed timber that hath been Seen ... most of the timber
Wany & on many of the Sumers the Bark left on to make it square and
wch Indeed was the Occasion of all this Trouble."
This house was built for a "shop keeper" and probably the long front
room on the ground floor was to be used for a shop. It was located
at what is now the southeasterly corner of North and Blackstone
streets, the canal to the mill pond being on the northerly end of
the house and the harbor behind it.
CONTRACT TO BUILD THE FIRST KING'S CHAPEL, BOSTON JULY 21, 1688
Memorandum it is agreed by and between John Holebrook of Weymouth
in the county of Suffolk, housewright, Stephen French of the same
place, housewright--and Jacob Nash of the same place housewright of
the one part and Anthony Hayward Esq of the other part as followeth
(that is to say) Imprimis the said John Holebrooke, Stephen French &
Jacob Nash doe Covenant pmise and agree to and with the said Anthony
Heywood his heires Admrs and Assins and Also in the consideracion
herein after mencioned that they the said John Holebrooke Stephen
French and Jacob Nash or some or one of them shall & will by or
before the last day of November now next ensueing Erect sett up and
build on such spott of Ground as the sd Anthony Heywood shall for
that end assigne of good sound timber well & workmanlike wrought one
frame of building of the Dimensions following (that is to say) in
length fifty four feet in breadth thirty six feet studd twenty feet
with five windows in the front five windows in the rear and two
windows at each end of such dimensions as are sett downe in a platt
of the same made by Mr. P. Wells Surveyor and the same frame shall
clapboard fill with brick & seale with lime and hair & white washing
and the roofe thereof with board & shingles make tight & stanch and
shall & will on the west end of the sd frame Erect, build & sett up
One Belfry of ten feet square twenty feet above ye roofe of the sd
frame and of sufficient strength for a bell of five hundred weight
and the said entire frame shall finish & complete with Masons and
smiths worke and sufficiently glaze all the sd windows with good
square glasse & iron casemts and the same building see completed and
finished as above is Covenanted & locked with sufficient locks to
the doors thereof shall deliver with the keys thereof in to the sd
Anthony Haywood In Consideracion whereof the said Anthony Haywood
doth cove't pmise & agree to pay or Cause to be paid unto the said
John Holebrooke Stephen French Jacob Nash the sume of two hundred &
Sixty pounds (that is to say) One hundred & thirty pounds thereof in
Goods & merchandize at the price for which same shall be then sold
for money Sixty five pounds in money & sixty five pounds in goods
perform'd as the said frame shall be raised and remaining Sixty five
pounds in money & sixty five pounds in Goods when the sd building
shall be finished as above is Covenanted. In witness whereof all the
sd partyes have hereunto to sett their hands and seales and Consent
that the same shall remaine in the hands ye sd Anthony Haywood this
one & twentieth day of June Anno Dme 1688.
JOHN HOLEBROOK
STEPH FRENCH
JACOB NASH
ANTHONY HAYWOOD
Sealed & delivered in the presence of
Benja Bullivant
Will White
Thaddeus Mackarty
--_Suffolk County Judicial Court Files, No. 2598._
NOTE. The foundations for the first Episcopal Chapel in America
were laid in Boston in October, 1688, following a long controversy
between the local authorities and the representatives of the King
and their followers. Little has been known as to the details of
the construction of this building. Judge Sewell records in his
Diary, under date of Oct. 16, 1688, "The ground-sills of ye Chh
are laid ye stone-foundation being finished." The records of the
Church preserve no information and any contemporaneous documents
seem to have disappeared with the exception of this contract for
the construction of the building which is now printed for the first
time. The exact size of the building heretofore has not been known.
Rev. Henry Wilder Foote in his _Annals of King's Chapel_, Boston,
1882, supplies no information although he states that the Chapel was
built at a cost of £284.16.0, an amount that probably represents
the total cost including furnishings. In the _Annual Report of the
Boston Cemetery Commissioners_ for 1902-3, an attempt is made to
show by a plan, partly based upon grants of land by the town, the
several enlargements of the Chapel made at various times. Here,
the size of the first building is shown to have been forty-six by
sixty-four feet, proportions quite at variance with the correct
size--thirty-six by fifty-four feet, as shown in the contract here
printed.
The windows, probably of generous proportions for the time, were
to be supplied with iron casements filled with "square glasse."
Iron casement sash probably were rare in Massachusetts at that
time. One is mentioned in the inventory of the estate of Edward
Wharton, of Salem, in 1678, valued at six shillings. Square glass
is most unusual. It probably was cut to size at special order as
diamond-shaped glass was in common use. In January, 1752, and
probably much later, "Diamond Glass, and 6 by 4" were still sold in
the shops in Boston. These glass windows were a source of constant
expense to the church wardens because of the popular dislike of the
townspeople and the antagonism of the Puritan small boy. The first
service was held in the Chapel, June 30, 1689. Four moths later
the church records show a payment of £5.10.0. "for mending church
windows." On November 5, 1691, was taken "A Colecktion for mendin ye
church winders" and a few days later £7.0.0. was paid out for the
work. The next March, six shillings was paid for "24 Squ: glas."
[Illustration: OLD THREE-LIGHT CASEMENT WINDOW FRAME IN GABLE, _ca._
1690 From Isham, _Early American Houses_, 1928. Courtesy of the
Walpole Society]
APPENDIX B
REV. SAMUEL SKELTON'S ACCOMPTE (1629-1630)
Rev. Samuel Skelton, the rector at Sempringham, England, came over
under appointment of the Massachusetts Bay Company to minister to
the spiritual needs of the little colony at Naumkeag, afterwards
named Salem. He sailed in the ship _George_ arriving in the summer
of 1629. During the voyage and until the end of the following year
the minister and his family were furnished with the following
supplies from the Massachusetts Bay Company storehouse.
Coppie of An Accompte of monies Mr. Skelton is Creditor viz.[95]
[95] _Suffolk County Court Files_, Vol. I.
li. s. d.
Ano. 1629 Imprimis p. so much wch. should haue bene}
paid him in England towards fitting him } 20-00-00
for ye voyadg. }
Item for Charges att Tillbury, Cowes,
& Plimoth, being wind bound 02-10-00
Item p. Twenty li. p. Annum for 3 years
is ye some of 60-00-00
Item for on bushell of wheat flower 00-15-00
Ite. for one bushell of oatmeale 00-10-00
Ite. for one holland & 2 ordenary Cheess 00-10-00
Ite. for xx li. of powder sugar att 01-03-09
Ite. for one Loafe Cont 7li. att 1s. 6d. 00-10-06
Ite. for one sugar Loafe Cont 5li. att
1s. 7d. p. li. 00-07-11
Ite. 6li. of pepper 00-12-00
Ite. Nutmeggs 4 oz. 00-01-08
Ite. one oz. of Clovs, & one oz. of mace 00-02-00
Ite. iij li. of starch 00-01-03
Ite. xij li. of Rice 00-06-00
Ite. vj li. of Vntryed suett 00-03-00
Ite. one gall. of aquavite 00-03-08
Ite. for one flitch of Bacon 00-14-00
Ite. Castle soape ix li. att 8d. p. li. 00-06-00
Ite. frute viz Rasons Corrants & pruens 00-14-00
Ite. Safron ij oz. 00-05-00
Ite. five qu. of stronge water 00-08-00
Ite. Almonds ij li. at 1s. 2d. 00-02-04
Ite. xv li. of tryed suett at 8d. p. li. 00-10-00
Ite. one gall. of Sallert oyle 00-06-00
Ite. vj li. of Candles 00-03-00
Ite. v geese & ix ducks 00-08-00
Ano. 1630 Ite. xij li. of Butter att 00-08-00
Ite. vj potts of Butter Cont. vij li. p. pott 01-08-00
Ite. ij Cheeses about x li. a pc. 00-11-08
Ite. half a firkin of butter of Mr. Gibbs 00-17-06
Ite. one Third prt. of a barrell of
wt. biskett 00-10-00
Ite. one pott of honey vij li. wat. att 00-07-10
Ite. one pott of butter att 00-03-00
Ite. x li. of Corrants att 00-05-00
Ite. [ ] Bacon 00-10-00
Ite. one doz. of Candles 00-08-00
Ite. ij Cheeses att vj d. p. li. 00-11-03
Ite. iij Cheeses att vij p. li. 00-17-09
Ite. one porkett 01-05-00
Ite. xij li. of tryed suett 00-08-00
Ite. vj. gees & xij ducks 00-14-00
Ite. vj. po: of powder suger about 20d. 00-10-00
Ite. v po: of powder suger 18d. 00-07-06
Ite. x li. of Loaf suger 01-00-00
Ite. Cloves & mace 00-01-00
Ite. ij oz. of Nutmeggs j s. & Sinamo. 16d. 00-02-04
Ite. workmens wadges for Cutting & bringing
home wood against winter about 03-00-00
---------
Suma to lis. 105-18-11
Mr. Skeltons account wth. the Companie
Mr. Skelton is D. pr. viz.
li. s. d.
[Per] 14 yards of Dutch serge Reed. att 02-05-09
It. 17 yards of ffustian att 01-07-00
It. 11 yards of wt. English ieans 00-13-09
It. 12 yards of Red p. petuana 01-16-00
It. 12 yards of Greene say 01-13-00
It. 12 yards of yellow say 01-13-00
It. 12 elns of lin [torn] men 00-14-00
It. 14 elns Nouess [torn] llain 01-17-04
It. 20 elns o[f loc] krum 01-05-10
It. 20 elns stript [linsey] woolsye 01-09-04
It. [ ] yards [torn] buckrum 00-05-03
It. one peece of Noridg serg 00-15-00
It. 20 elns of Lockerum 01-05-10
It. 15 yards of wt. fflannell 00-15-00
It. 20 elns of Course Canvas 01-04 [torn]
It. one pound of whalbone 0[torn]
---------
20-11-00
Item [per] so much pd. [per] Mr. Renell
prt. of Mr. Pearce his bill, the some of 08-00-00
Item [per] 9 li. of Iron att 3d. is 00-02-03
It. [per] one syth 00-03-00
It. [per] one fishing line 00-03-00
It. [per] 30 pound ocum 00-07-06
It. [per] 2000 Nails 6d. p. C. 00-10-00
It. [per] 600 Nails 10d. p. C. 00-05-05
It. [per] 1 Reame of paper 00-10-00
Item. borrowed of Cp. Endicot of ye Comp. 7
yrds. of bays att 2s. 6d. [per] yd. is 00-17-06
halfe a elne of ffustian att 00-00-10
It. 2 yards & half of yellow Carsey 3s. 4d. 00-08-04
Suma Totalis St. 031-19-05
Ite. 2 gall. of Metheglen 00-08-00
It. one Lether Jack 00-01-06
It. two Tubbs }
It. one wooden hand boule } 00-03-06
Ite. vinegar }
It. 3 peuter botles quarts }
It. one pinte peuter botle 00-00-10
Ite. one hatt 00-10-00
---------
33-03-03
rec. of Mr. Winthrop Governr.
Ite. 3 yrds. of Cambrick
6 yrds. & a h: of Loomeworke
2 Drinking hornes
8 pr. of shoes for men
6 pr. of gray stockings for men
6 pr. of stockings for women
6 pr. of stockings for children
10 yrds. of Carsey
Thred
2000 of pinnes
6 Alls
one webb of blew gartering
2 knots of Tape
APPENDIX C
AN ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTORY OF CONTENTS OF THE SHOP OF CAPT. JOSEPH
WELD OF ROXBURY, MADE FEBRUARY 4, 1646-7
48 yds. greene cotton at 22d.
85 yds. red cotton at 2/1.
1¾ yds. kersey at 5s.
11 yds. do at 3/2.
52 yds. yellow cotton at 22d.
8 yds. white cotton at 20d.
21 yds. red cloth at 7/9.
39 yds. broad cloth at 8/8.
21 yds. broad cloth at 9/7.
8 yds. do do at 15/4.
42 yds. greene tamie at 2/1.
5 yds. red do at 2/1.
3 yds. flannel at 2/2.
12 yds. scarlet broad cloth at 16/6.
41 yds. course at 3/2½.
24 yds. frize at 4/7.
31 yds. penniston at 2/7.
38 yds. do at 2/11.
44 yds. grey Kersey at 5/6.
66 yds. fustian at 1s.
15 yds. Holland at 5/9.
7 yds. do at 4/1½.
7 yds. Slezie lawne at 4/.
8 yds. blue linen at 1/4.
29 yds. lane at 6/9.
3 pr. bodies at 3/2.
11 belts @ 3/2.
15 do @ 3/.
23 bandeliers at 2/.
14 pr. Stockings at 1/6.
41 pr. do at 1/3.
15 pr. Jecs at 2/9.
10 doz. points at 2/.
61 combs at 3½d.
14 doz. thimbles at 1/9.
18 pr. pads at 6d.
1 spectacle case 1/.
26 gro. thread buttons at 9d.
29 primers at 2d.
8 lb. thread at 12/3.
10 pces. tape at 1/1.
5 gro. buttons at 2/.
5 gro. do at 1/.
6 doz. great buttons at 1/2.
17 silk buttons at 2/.
14 yds. lace at 2d.
64 yds. lace at 3½d.
3 pces. binding at 1/2.
80 yds. ribboning at 2½d.
21 doz. tape at 1/.
43 lb. ginger at 1/.
6 pr. slippers at 2/.
20 1b. whalebone at 10¾d.
17 1b. pepper at 2/1.
2 1b. worm seed at 8/.
5 1b. cinnamon at 8/4.
7 hat bands at 4d.
2 1b. nutmegs at 1/9.
½ lb. blue starch at 1/8.
Cloves, 10d.
3 yds. buckram at 1/2.
Pack needles and tainter hooks, 15/.
40 lb. sugar at 10d.
3 lb. powder at 2/2.
26 lb. raisins at 4d.
A barrell of fruit, £5.11.3.
4 lb. starch at 4d.
1 counter, £1.
4 pr. scales, 8s.
48 lb. Lead weights, 9s.
1 file of brass weights, 5s.
12 lb. yarn, £1.13.0.
A net 24 yards [no value].
2 sconces, a melting ladle, a hitchell, 8/.
--_Suffolk County Probate Records_, Vol. II, p. 52
Robert Turner of Boston, shoemaker, died in 1651. In his shop were
children's shoes at 9d. per pair, No. 7 shoes were valued at 3s.,
No. 10 at 4s., No. 11 at 4/4, No. 12 at 4/8, No. 13 at 4/10. Boots
were 14s. per pair, and wooden heels were 8d. per doz. He also sold
hats. Black hats were valued from 5 to 14 shillings, each; colored
hats from 5 to 10 shillings; black castors were 14s. each, black
coarse felts, 3s. each, children's colored, 3/6, and children's
black castor with band, 4s.--_Suffolk County Probate Records_, Vol.
II.
APPENDIX D
ABSTRACT OF AN INVENTORY OF THE GOODS OF CAPT. BOZONE ALLEN,
SHOPKEEPER, OF BOSTON, DECEASED, MADE SEPT. 22, 1652, BY EDWARD
HUTCHINSON AND JOSEPH ROCK
Broadcloth at 18s. per yard.
Red broadcloth at 15s.
Red ditto at 15s.
Tammy at 20d.
Grogram at 3s.
Silk mohair at 3/6.
Blue grogram or cheney at 3s.
Blue paragon at 3s.
Black satinisco (½ ell) 2s.
Calico at 15d.
Buckram at 14d.
Bengal tafety at 3s.
Silk grogram at 7/6.
Satinisco at 3/4.
Noridge stuff at 2/10.
Hair color satinisco at 3/3.
Colchester serge at 2/8.
Cotton cloth at 2/10.
3 Couerlids at 15s.
Packitt Lawn at 6/6.
4 papers Manchester at 5s.
1 pr. stockings at 4s.
10 pr. cotton gloves at 22d.
5 pr. ditto at 14d.
Tapes white & colored, 11s.
5 gr. briches clasps at 2/2.
2 packetts pins at 2s.
Small clasps, 3/8.
Dutch thread (per lb.) at 6s.
Feathers (per doz.) at 3s.
2 doz. Collars & belly pieces at 2/3
Stomachers at 12d.
7 gr. thread buttons at 7s.
8 masks at 8d.
7 gr. Chaine & other silk buttons at 34s.
7½ gr. flatt cassacke at 6s.
4 gr. small coat at 6/6.
4 gr. large cloak at 14s.
3 gr. silver buttons at 9s.
2 doz. gold cloake buttons at 3s.
7 doz. Jacks at 2s.
25 oz. Silver & silver & gold lace at 5/10.
34 yds. silver lace at 16d.
37 yds. silk & silver lace at 5d.
9 doz. silk lace at 20d.
Green ribbon (per doz.) at 9s.
22 yds. ditto at 3/4.
Silk & gold fringe (per yd.) at 15s.
344 yds. looped lace at 18d.
Colored silk (per oz.) at 2s.
30 yds. loom lace at 14d.
12 yds. ditto at 2/4.
10 yds. ditto at 22d.
17 yds. black galloon at 2½d.
Band strings (per lot) £2.0.0.
2 pr. eastailes (_sic_) at 5d.
1 doz. side hinges (per doz.) at 7s.
1 doz. lamb heads (per doz.) at 7s.
23 sm. Key rings & 10 large 4/10.
Latches (per doz.) at 8s.
1 smoothing iron, 2/8.
1 doz. steeles, 2/3.
8 padlocks at 5d.
Cupboard locks (per doz.) at 12s.
4 gimletts at 2d.
2 handsaws at 18d.
4 files at 6d.
22 hour glasses (per doz.) at 7/6.
4 bells at 13½d.
57 scales (per doz.) at 16d.
1 doz. wire candlesticks and 5 bigger, 6/4.
6 doz. taylor's thimbles at 8d.
5½ doz. waistband clasps at 20d.
14 pr. snuffers at 11d.
12 doz. neck buttons at 6/8.
Little glasses & twists & small ribbon, 1.02.06.
8 doz. sissers at 3/4.
13 pr. tobacco tongs (per doz.) at 3s.
4 doz. combs at 2/6.
A parcell paper, 11.0.0.
10 bush. pease at 4s.
Weights, scales & Counters & the graite, 3.5.0.
--_Suffolk (Co.) Judicial Court Files, No. 1389._
APPENDIX E
MANUFACTURES AND OTHER PRODUCTS LISTED IN THE RATES ON IMPORTS AND
EXPORTS ESTABLISHED BY THE HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT, JUNE 24, 1660[96]
[96] The list here printed, is in abstracted form in the order as
printed and does not include the rates imposed, deemed immaterial
for the present purpose. For complete data consult _The Statutes of
the Realm_, London, 1819, Vol. V, pp. 184-202.
IMPORTS OF MERCHANDISE
Andirons or Creepers of Lattin, of Iron
Anvills
Apples, the barrell conteyning 3 bushell
Aquavitæ
Argall, white & red, or powder
Arrows for trunkes
Aule blades
Auglers for carpenters
Axes or hatchets
Babies or Puppets for children
Babyes heads of earth
Toys for children
Baggs, with locks, and with steel rings without locks
Ballances, gold Ballances, ounce Ballances
Balls. Tennis balls, Washing balls
Bands. Flanders bands of bone lace
Cut worke of Flaunders
Barbers aprons of checkes, the piece not above tenn yards
Barlings, the hundred
Baskets, hand baskets or sports
Basons of Lattin
Bast, or straw hats knotted and plain
Bast ropes
Battry Bashrones or Kettles
Bayes of Florence
Beades, of Amber, Bone, Box, Corrall, Christal, Glass & Wood,
Jasper square
Beaupers, the peece conteyning xxv yards
Bells. Hawkes bells French making, Norembrough making, Horse bells,
Doggs bells, Morrice bells, Clapper bells
Bellows
Bitts for Bridles
Blacking or Lamp black
Blankets. Paris mantles coloured, and un-coloured
Boards. Barrell bords, Clapbords, Past boords for books, Pipe bords
or pipe holt, White boords for shoemakers
Bodkins
Boratoes or Bumbazines, narrow, broad, or of Silke
Bookes, unbound, the basket or maund
Bosses for Bridles
Botanoes, per piece
Bottles, of Earth or Stone, of Glass covered with Wicker, of Glass
with vices covered with leather, of Glass uncovered, of Wood,
sucking bottles
Boultell, Raines, and the baile
Bowe staves
Boxes. Fire or Tinder Boxes
Nest Boxes
Pepper Boxes
Spice Boxes
Round Boxes or French Boxes for Marmalade or Jelly
Sand Boxes
Sope Boxes
Touch Boxes covered with leather
do covered with velvet
do of Iron or other Metall guilt
Tobacco Boxes
Braceletts or Necklaces, Red or of Glass
Brass, Laver Cockes, Pile weights, Trumpets, Lamps
Bridles
Brouches, of Lattin or Copper
Brushes. Bearde brushes
of Heath course
of Heath fine or head brushes
of Hair, called head brushes
of Heath, called rubbing brushes
of Hair, called comb brushes
of hayre, called weavers' brushes
of hair, called rubbing brushes
Brimstone
Buckrams, of Germany, fine, of the East countrey, of French making,
Carricke buckrams
Buckles, for Girdles, for Girths
Buffins, Mocadoes & Lille Grograms, narrow and broad
Bugasines or Callico Buckrams
Bugle. Great, small or seed Bugle, Lace
Bullions for purses
Bulrushes
Burr for Milstones
Buskins of Leather
Bustians
Buttons, of Brasse, Steel, Copper, or Lattin, of Crystall, of
Glass, of Thred, of silke, of fine damaske, of Bugle, for
Handkirchers, of Hair Cabinets or Countores, large and small
Caddus or Cruel Ribbon
Camaletto, half silk, half haire
Candles of Tallow
Candle plates or Wallers of Brasse or Lattin
Candlesticks, of Brasse or Lattin or of wyre
Candleweeke
Callicoes, fine or course
Canes of wood
Capers
Capravens
Capp hookes or hooke ends
Capps, double turfed or Cockered Capps
for Children
Night Caps of Sattin, Velvet
Night Caps of Silke Knitt
Night Caps of Woollen
Night Caps of Linnen
Cards. Playing Cards, Wool cards
Carpetts, of Tonny, of Scotland, of Cornix, Brunswicke Carpets,
China of Cotten, course, Gentish, Turkey or Ventice, of Persia
Carrells
Cases for looking glasses guilt
for spectacles guilt
do unguilt
for Needles or Pin cases
for Needles French guilt
Casketts, of Iron, of Steele
Caveare
Cawles of Linnen for women, of Silke
Cesternes of Lattin
Chafing dishes of Brasse, Lattin, or Iron
Chaines for Keys or Purses, for Doggs
Chairs of Walnutt tree
Chamblett, unwatered or Mohaire, watered, half silke halfe haire
Cheese
Cherries
Chesse boards
Chess-men
Chests, of Iron, large & small
of Cipresse wood, the nest of 3
of Spruce or Danske, the nest of 3
painted
Chimney backs, small and large
China Pease
Chizells for Joyners
Citternes
Clapboord, the small, the great & the Ring
Claricords, the payre
Clokes of Felt
Cochaneile, Silvester or Campeache
Coles of Scotland
Coffers, covered with gilt Leather
covered with Velvett
with Iron barrs, the nest of 3
plaine, the nest
painted, the nest
Comashes out of Turkey
Combes, for wool, of bone, of box, lightwood combes, of horne for
Barbers, of Ivory, Horse Combes
Comfetts
Compasses, of Iron for Carpenters, of brasse for Ships
Copper, unwrought brickes or plates, round or square, chaines,
purles or plate
Copras, green
Cordage, tard or untard
Corke tackles, of Iron and Steele
Cork for Shoemakers
Corne, wheat, rye, beanes, barly, mault
Coverlets of Scotland
Counters of Lattin
Crosbows, of Lathes, Thred and Rackes
Cruses of Stone, without covers, & with
Cushons of Scotland
Cushon cloths, course, and of Tapestry
Cuttle bones
Daggs with fire lockes or Snap-lances
Daggers. Blades, for children, of bone for children, blacke with
velvet sheathes, gilt, with velvett sheathes
Deales, Meabro, Norway, Burgendorp, Spruce
Desks or stayes for bookes
for women to worke upon covered with wollen
Dialls of wood and bone
Dimitty
Doggs of earth
Dornix, with caddas, silke, woll, thred, and French making
Dudgeon
Durance or Duretty, with thred or silk
Druggs--a great variety listed including Bezor Stone of the East
India, Holliworsles, white and red Corall, Fox lungs, Guiny
pepper, Hornes of Harts or Staggs, Lapis Lazuli, mummia, Musk
Codds, Nutmegs, oyle of Scorpions, oyle Petrolium, Red Lead,
Sanguis draconis, Scorpions
Earthen Ware, Brickstones, Flaunders Tile to scower with, Gally
Tiles, Paving Tiles, Pann Tiles etc.
Elephants teeth
Emery stones
Fanns, for Corne, of Paper, for Women and Children, French making
Feathers for bedds, also Ostridge Feathers
Felt for Cloakes, French making
Fiddles for Children
Fire shovells
Figuretto, the yard
Files
Fish, Codd, Cole, Eeles, Haddockes, Herrings, Lamprells, Linge,
Newland, Salmon, Scale fish, Stock fish, cropling, lubfish
and titling, Whiting
Flannele
Flaskes, of horne, covered with leather, with velvett
Flax, Spruce Moscovy, undrest and wrought
Fleams to let blood
Flockes
Flutes, course
Freeze of Ireland
Frizado, the yard
Furrs, Armins the Timber, Badger, Bare skins, Beaver, Budge,
Calaber, Catts, Dokerers the Timber, Fitches the Timber,
Foxes, Foynes, Grays, Jennets, Letwis, Leopard, Lewzernes,
Martrones, Miniver, Minkes, Mole skins, Otter, Ounce, Sables,
Weazell, Wolfe, Wolverings
Fustians, Amsterdam Holland or Dutch
Barmillions
Cullen fustians
Holmes and Bevernex
Jeane
Millian
Naples, tript or velure plain
Wrought or Sparta velvett
Osbro or Augusta fustians
with silk
of Weazell
Gadza, without gold or silver, the yard stript with gold or silver
Gally dishes
Gantletts, the pair
Garters of silk, French
Gaules
Gimlets for vinters
Girdles, of cruell, or leather, of silk, of velvett, of woollen,
of counterfeite gold & silver
Glasse for Windows, Burgundy white and coloured
Normandy white and coloured
Renish, the weigh or webb
Muscovy glasse or slude
Drinking Glasses, of Venice, Flanders, Scotch and French, course
drinking glasses, Burning glasses, Balme glasses, Vialls, Water
glasses
Looking Glasses, Halfe penny ware, Penny ware, of Steele, small
and large, of Christall, small and Middle
Hower Glasses, of Flaunders making, course, of Venice making
Glass stone plates for spectacles, rough
Glass plates or sights for looking glasses unfiled
Glass pipes
Glew
Globes, small and large
Gloves, of Bridges or French making, of Canary, Millane or Venice
unwrought, of Vaudon, of silke knit, of Spanish plaine
Gold and Silver thred counterfeite
Bridges, gold & silver
Cap, gold & silver
Copper gold & silver upon quills & rolls or in skaine
Cullen gold & silver
French copper gold & silver
Lyons copper gold & silver double gilt
Gold & Silver thred right
Venice, Florence or Millane gold & silver
French and Paris gold & silver
Gold foile
Gold paper
Granies, French or Guiny
Graines or scarlet powder of Sevill in berries & granies of
Portugall or Rotta
Grindle stones
Grocery wares: Almonds, Anniseeds, Cloves, Currans, Dates,
Ginger, Licoras, Maces, Nutmegs, Pepper, Cinomom, Raisins
(great, and of the Sun), Raisins of Smirna, Figgs, Prunes,
Sugar (candy brown, candy white, Muscovadoes refined double
& single in loves, St. Thome & Panneils, white)
Grogrames, Turkey
Guns. Calervers, Muskets
Gunpowder. Serpentine, Corne powder
Halberds, guilt & unguilt
Hammers, with and without wooden handles, Horsemens hamers
Hankirchirs
Harness Roses
Harness, Corslets complete, Curatts, Morians or headpeeces graven,
ditto plaine
Harp strings or Catlings
Hatbands
Hatts, of beaver, wool or hair, of Bridges, Dutch felts or hatts
made of wool, Spanish or Portugall felts, of silke French making,
of straw, see Bast, of Venice, of wool or worsted trimd
Hawkes, Falcons, Goshawkes, Jerfalcons, Jerkins, Lanners,
Lannarets, Tassels of all Sorts
Hawkes hoods
Hair bottomes for sives
Haire, Camells, Elkes haire for saddles, Goates
Heath for brushes
Hemp, short drest, cullen & steel hemp, Spruce, Muscovia & all
rough hemp
Hides. Buffe hides, Cow hides of Barbary & Muscovia, Cow or horse
hides, India hides, Losh hides, Red or Muscovia tanned, coloured
& uncoloured
Hilts for swords or daggers
Honey
Hoopes of Iron for pipes or hogsheads, for Coopers
Hops
Horses or mares
Hose of Cruel made in Mantua
Jett
Jews Trumps
Inke for Printers
Imperlings blew or red
Ink horns
Incle, unwrought and wrought Rowles (36 yards)
Indico, of Turkey, of the West Indyes or rich Indico
Instruments for Barbers & chirurgeons, Bullet scrues, Incision
sheeres, Setts (the bundle), Paices or Tooth drawers, Plulicanes,
Trepans
Iron, Amis Spanish Spruce and Swedish
Backes for chimneys, small and large,
Bands for Kettles
Fire irons
Hoopes
Stones
Juice of Lemons (the pipe)
Ivory
Key knops
Knives, Almanie, Bohemia & other course knives, Butchers, Carving,
Collen knives, French knives, Glover's knives, Penknives, Sker
knives, Stock knives (gilt and ungilt)
Lace, bone lace of thred, Brittaine lace, Cruell lace, Gold &
Silver, Pomet, Purle or antlet, Silke bone
Ladles, Melting
Lapis magnata
Lattin, black & shaven
Leade oare
Leomons, Pickled
Lemon water
Leather, Bazill, Spanish or Cordivant, Hangings, Spruce or Dansk
leather, Leather for Maskes, Turkey & East India Cordivant
Leaves of Gold
Lewers for Hawkes
Lime for Dyers
Lines of Hambrough for ships
Lin-seed
Linnes blew or red
Linnen Cloth
Callicoes, fine or course
Cambricks, fine or course
Canvas, Dutch Barras & Hessens,
French or Normandy & lyne narrow browne or white,
French & line broad for tabling, Packing canvas guttings &
spruce canvas, poledavies, Spruce Elbing or Quinsbrow, Stript
or tufted canvas with thred, stript tufted or quilted canvas with
silke, stript canvas with copper, Vaudolose or Vittry canvas,
working canvas for cushions (narrow and broad)
Damask, Tabling of Holland, Towelling & napkening of Holland,
Tabling or Silesia
Diaper, Tabling of Holland and Silesia
Lawnes, Callico lawnes, French & Silesia lawnes
Flaunders, Holland cloth:--Flemish, Gentish, Islingham, Overisils,
Rowse, Brabrant, Embden, Freeze, Bag Holland, Browne Holland
Cowsseild cloth or platts
Drilling & pack duck
Elbing or Danske cloth double ploy
Hambrough & Silesia cloth broade & narrow
Hinderlands, Headlake & Muscovia linnen narrow
Irish cloth
Lockrums, Treager (great & narrow) or common dowlace, Broad dowlace
Ministers, the roll
Ozenbrigs, the roll
Soulthwitch
Polonia Ulsters, Hanovers, Lubecke, narrow Silesia, narrow Westphalia,
narrow Harford, plain napkening & narrow cloth from high Dutchland
& the East Countrey (brown and white)
Strawsbrough or Hambrough
Twill & Ticking of Scotland
Lockers or Chapes for Daggers
Lockes, Budgets or hanging lockes, small & large
Lutes, Cullen & Venice making
Lute strings, Catlings & Minikins
Litmus
Madder, Crop and all bale Madder, Fatt & Mull madder
Magnus
Maskes, of velvett & sattin
Match for Gunns
Matts of Russia
Medlers (the baskett)
Mallasses of Rameales
Messelanes (30 yds. to piece)
Metheglin
Methredate
Mocado ends
Morters & Pestells, brass
Muster seed
Mittens of Wadmul
Nailes. Chaire nailes, copper nailes, rose nailes, Sadlers nailes,
Head nailes, Harness nailes, spring nailes, Tenter hookes
Napkins of French making
Neats tongues, of Russia
Neckerchirs of Flanders making
Needles, Pack & sale needles
Nutmegs, pickled
Nutts, small & walnutts
Okeham
Oaker
Oares
Oyle, Rape & Linseed
Sivile, Marjorca, Minorca, Apuglia Province, and Portugall
Sallat oyle
Traine oyle of Greenland
Traine oyle of Newfoundland
Fish oyle
Ollives
Onions
Orchall
Oranges & Lemons (the hogshead)
Orsdew
Packthred
Panns, Dripping & frying pans, warming pans
Paper. Blew, Browne, Cap, Demy
Ordinary printing & copy paper
Painted paper (the ream)
Pressing paper, Rochell paper, Royall paper
Parchment
Past of Jeane
Peares or apples, dryed
Pease
Petticoates of silke
Penners
Percer bitts
Pike heads
Pikes, with and without heads
Pinns (the thousand)
Pincers & plyers
Pintadoes or Callecoe cubbard clothes
Pipe staves
Pipes, for Tabors, and for children
Pitch Pipes, small band, great band
Plaister of Paris
Plaine irons
Plankes of Ireland
Plate, silver white or ungilt, of silver parcell gilt, of silver
gilt
Plates, single & double white or blacke, Harnesse plates or
iron doubles
Playing Tables of walnut tree (the paire)
Pointe, of thread, of Capiton and of fine silke
Pomistones
Pomegarnets
Potatoes (the hundred weight)
Potts, of Earth or Stone, covered and uncovered
Gally pots
Melting potts for Goldsmiths
Of Iron, French, or Flemish making
Pullies, of Iron, of Brasse, of Wood
Punsons & Gravers for Goldsmiths
Quills, Goose
Quilts, of French making, of Callico, of Sattin or other Silke
Rackets
Rape of Grapes
Rape seed
Rashes, Bridges or Leyden Rashes, single & double, Cloth Rashes
Rattles for Children, and with Bells
Razers
Recorders (the set)
Ribbon, of Silke
Rice
Rosen
Rugs, Irish and Polish
Rims for Sives
Rings, for Keyes, for Curtaines, of Wyre, of Brass, Copper or St.
Martins gilt, of Haire
Sackcloth
Saddles of Steele
Safflora
Saffron
Salt, white or Spanish Salt, Bay or French Salt, Salt peter
Saws. Hand sawes, Tenant sawes, Whip sawes, Legg sawes
Says. Double Sayes or Flaunders Serges
Double Say or Serge
Mild sayes
Honnscot say
Scamoty (the yard)
Scissers
Sea holly rootes
Sea morse [horse] teeth
Serge, of Athens, of Florence
Sheares, for Shearmen, for glovers, for Seamesters, for Taylers,
Forceps,
Sheets of Callaber
Shumacke
Shruff or old Brass
Syder
Silke. Bridges silke, Ferret or Floret silke, Fillozell or Paris
silke
Granado. Silke black & colours
Naples. Silke, black & colours
Orgazine, Pole & Spanish, Raw China, Raw Silke, short and long,
Raw Morea, Satin Silke, Sleave Silke, Silke Nubbs or Husks,
Throwne silke
Skins. Buckskins (in the Haire & drest), Calves (of Ireland),
Cordivant (of Turkey, East Indies, or Scotland), Dog fish skins
for Fletchers, Fox skins, Gold skins, Goate skins, of Barbary
or the East Country, of Scotland or Ireland
Husse skins for Fletchers
Kidd skins, Portugall skins, Seale skins, Shamway skins, Sheep
skins, Spanish Civill or Cordivant skins, Spruce skins
Skeets for Whitsters
Slip (the Barrell)
Smalts
Snuffers
Soape, Castle or Venice, also Flemish
Spangles of Copper
Spectacles without cases
Spoones of Horne
Standishes, of wood, Brasse & covered with Leather, also Pocket
Standishes
Steele. Long steel, Wisp steel & gad steele
Stockings of Wadmol
Stone birds or Whistles
Stones. Blood stones, Cane stones, Dogg stones, Mill stones, Querne
stones (small and large), Slick stones
Sturgeon
Stuff of all sorts made or mixed with Wool
Succade wet or dry
Sword blades, of Venice, Turkey or other fine blades, Course
blades of Flaunders
Table bookes, course and fine
Tables, playing Tables of Wainscott
Tackes of Iron
Tallow
Tannets of Cruell
Tapistry, with Haire, Caddas, Silke, Gold or Silver & Wool
Tarras (the Barrell)
Tarr (small & great Band)
Tazells
Thimbles
Thred, Bridges, Crosbow, Lyons or Paris, Outnall, Peecing, Sisters,
whited browne
Thrums, of linnen or Fustian, also of Woolen
Tikes. Brizel Tikes & Turnall Tikes, also of Stoade
Tiking of the East countrey
Tincall
Tinfoyle
Tinglasse
Tinsell, copper, right Gold & silver
Tinshore
Tobacco, Spanish & Brazill in pudding or role
St. Christophers, Barbadoes, Virginia & Somer Islands
Tooles. Carving Tooles
Tow
Trayes of wood (the shocke)
Triacle, of Flaunders, of Jeane
Trenchers, white (commen sort)
and red or painted
Treene nailes
Trunnells
Tweezes of France
Twine of Hambrough
Twist for bandstrings
Vallances of Scotland
Verditer
Verders of Tapistry
Vellum for Table bookes
Violls
Vice harps
Vice tongues or hand vices
Viniger
Vizards
Wadmoll
Wainscott
Wax
Whale fins
Whetstones
Whipcorde
Whistles Cockes or Bellows
Whistles, Cockes or Birds of Stone
Woad, Islands or green woad, also Tholose
Worme seeds
Worsted, St. Omers narrow ½ worsted
Russells worsted or broad worsted
Wood. Boxwood for Combs, also Brazill or Farnumbuck wood
Braziletto or Gemeaco wood
Ebony
Fusticke
Lignum vitae
Plankes of Ireland
Red or Guiny wood
Speckled wood
Sweet wood of West India
Wool. Beaver wool, Cotton wool, Estridge wool, Irish wool, Lambs
wool, Polonia wool, Spanish wool, Spanish felt wool, Red wool
Wrests for Virginalls
Wyer. Dagger and quarter wyer, Iron wyer, Lattin wire, Steel wyre,
Strawsbrough wyre, Virginall wyre
Yarne, Cable, Camell or Mohaire, Cotton, Grograine, Irish, Raw
Linnen, Saile, Spruce or Muscovia, Scotch wollen or bay yarne
EXPORTS OF MERCHANDISE
Allabaster
Allom, English
Apothecary and Confectionary wares
Anvills
Apples
Apples called Pippins
Aquavitae
Ashes of English wood
Bacon
Baggs
Bandaleirs
Beefe
Beere
Beere Egar
Bell metall
Bellowes
Billetts
Birding pieces
Bird lime
Bodyes, stitched with Silke, also with Whalebone
Bridles
Brushes, English, of Heath
Buckweed
Buttons of Haire
Bays. Barnstaple course, Manchester or Barnstaple fine and other
single bayes, Double bayes, Minikin bayes
Cambodium
Candles
Canvas, English tufted, also Shropshire
Capps, Monmouth plain and trimmed, buttoned English, of wool blacke
Cards, Stocke, Tow, Woll
Playinge Cards
Cardboard
Carpets, Northern
Catlings or English Hatt makers strings
Cloke baggs
Coaches and Chariots
Coals. Sea Coles, the Chalder, New Castle measure, Sea Coles of
Wales or the West Country
Combes of wood, bone, or horn
Cobwebb Lawnes
Comfets
Cony haire or wool, blacke or white
Cordage, tard or untard
Coverletts, of wool & haire, of Caddice
Curricombes
Cushons of Yorkshire
Cottons, Northerne, Manchester, Tanton and Welch, also Welsh
plaines
Corne, Barley, Mault, Beanes, Oates, Pease, Wheate, Rye, Buck wheate
Darnix, of English making, also Coverlets
Dice
Dimitty
Doublets of Leather
Dust of Cloves and other Spices
Emery stones
Earthen Ware, Brickes & Tiles and also sorts of Earthen & Stone ware
made in England
Fennell seed
Figuretto, with silke or copper, narrow and broade
Filozelles, broad of silke
Fire lockes
Flannell
Flasks of Horne
Flax
Freezes
Fustians
Gartering of cruell
Garters of worsted
Girdles of Leather for men, & for children, of Norwich
Glasse for windowes, and bottles & other sorts
Glew
Gloves, plaine of Sheepe Kidd or Lambes leather
fringed & stitched with silke
furd with Cony wool
of Buckes leather
Goose quills
Grindlestones
Gunpowder
Haberdashers ware--Packthred, Inkle, Tape, Filleting, Buttons,
Hookes & Eyes, etc.
Haire, Harts haire, Horse haire, Oxe or Cowe haire
Hairecloth
Harts horne
Hatbands of Cruel
Hatchets
Hatts, Beavers & Demicasters, Felts, etc.
Hawkes hoods
Hempseed
Herrings
Holsters
Hops
Hornes, Blowing hornes (small), of Buckes, Inkhornes, Hornes with
Lanthornes, Oxe hornes, Powder hornes, of Rames, of Sheepe,
Shooing hornes, Stags hornes, Tips of hornes
Horselitters & Sedans
Horse tailes with haire
Horse collers
Hoopes for barrells
Iron wrought, viz., Axes, Adzes, Hoes, Armour, Bitts, Knives,
Lockes, fowling peeces, Muskets, Pistolls, Cissors, Stirrops,
Carpenters & Gravers tooles, Jack work, clock work, &
Ironmongers wares
Old Iron
Iron Ordnance
Irish Mantles
Knives, Shoemakers, paring knives, Sheffield knives, Cutting knives,
London knives
Lace of gold & silver, of velvet, Statute lace
Letherage or Lead
Lamprills
Loome work
Lime
Linnen, made of Hemp or Flax
Linseed
Linsey woolsey
Lists of cloth
Lead, cast and uncast
Musterd seed
Malasses or Rameales
Nailes
Nutts
Oatmeale
Oyle, Traine oyle
Oysters
Oker, yellow and red
Parchment
Paste board
Pilchers
Points of Leather
Purles of Broadcloth
Rape cakes
Rape seed
Rugs, Irish Ruggs for beds, and by the yard
Russetting for painters
Rashes, silk Rashes, broad and narrow
Ribbon
Saddles, and saddle trees
Sack cloth
Saffron
Salt peter
Sea morse [horse] teeth
Scabbords for swords
Shag, with thred
Shovells, shod and unshod
Shoes, Bootes and Slippers
Skins, Cony, Kid, Lambe, Otter, Sheepe & Lamb, Rabbit, Hare, Cats,
Fox, Swans, Dogs, Elke, Wolfe, Badgers, Squirrell
Soape
Spanish sattins, English making
Starch
Steel, Gad steele
Stockings, Irish, Kersey long & short, Leather, Silk, Wollen men
& children
Stones, Hilling stone, Slate
Stuffs, Perpetuanoes & Serges
Sugars, refined & made into loaves in this kingdom
Tapistry or Dornix Hangings made in England
Thred, Black, Brown, Blew
Thrums
Tiking
Tiffany, made of thred
Tobacco pipes
Tuff Taffates, broad and narrow, with thred
Tynn, unwrought and wrought, i.e. Pewter
Velure, single and double
Vingiger of wine
Virginalls, the payre
Watches
Wadmoll
Wast Coates, of Wadmoll, Cotton, Kerseys of Flannell, Worsted knit
and Wollen knit
Wax
Weld
Whalebone cut or wrought
Whale finns
Woad
Woad nets
Wood, Redwood, Gambray, Boxwood
Worsted, narrow and broade
Yarne, Grograine yarne
Wollen Cloths
Dorset & Somerset dozens rudge washed
Cardinalls, Pinwhites, Strayts, Statutes, Stockbridges, Tavestocks
Tauntons, Bridgewaters & Dunsters, Deven dozens
Ordinary Pennistons or Forrest Whites, Sorting Pennistones
Narrow Yorkshire Kerseys whites & reds, Hampshire ordinary Kersies,
Newbery whites and other Kersies, sorting Hampshire Kersies
Northern Dozens single sorting Pennistons
The new sort of Cloth called Spanish Cloth
Cloth Rashes, alias Cloth Serges
APPENDIX F
COPY OF THE INVENTORY OF THE ESTATE OF WM. PAINE OF BOSTON,
MERCHANT, APPRAISED BY HEN. SHRIMPTON, JOSHUA SCOTTOW AND JOHN
RICHARDS, AND ALLOWED IN COURT AT BOSTON, NOV. 14, 1660, UPON OATH
OF MR. JOHN PAINE, HIS SON
IN THE WAREHOUSE CHAMBER:
4 peeces white Trading cloath, 42li.;
39 yrds. blew trading cloath, 9li. 15s.;
5¼ [1/8] yrds. white trading cloath, 1li. 4s. 2d.;
4 Bales nowells, 2 Bales pantozells, 1 Bale fine sheeting, 2½ Bales
of broad, 4 peeces Kentings, half Bale napkening, 232li. 16s. 2d.;
2 Bales nowells Cont. 6 poanles, 43li. 6s. 8d.;
5 ps. villaranes cont., 70½, 35¼, 23, 11½ and 21¾ yrds. in all
162 yrds. at 21d. p., 14li. 3s. 6d.;
5 peeces Kenting, 44¼ yrds. at 2s. 3d. p., 4li. 19s. 6d.;
120 yrds. Humains, 123 yrds. Humanes, 123 yrds. Humanes, 99¼
Humanes, 342½ yrds. at 18d., 25li. 13s. 4½d.;
3 Ruggs, 6li. 15s.;
2 Barrells bate, 12li. powder, 9li.;
4 peeces searge, 16li.;
1 ps. carsey, 2O½ yrds., 4li. 2s.;
1 ps. more, No. 2, 5li.;
11 yrds. [5/8] of carsy at 5s. 6d. 3li. 4s.;
6¾ of carsey at 7s., 2li. 7s. 3d.;
6¾ of carsey at 4s., 15s.;
8 peeces wt. calleco at 14s., 5li. 12s.;
50½ yrds. broad dowlas at 2s., 5li. 1s.;
23½ dowlas at 21d. 2li. 1s.;
3[1/8] of locrum at 16d., 4s. 2d.;
12 of blew calleco at 18d., 18s.;
1 ps. blew calleco at 20s., 1li.;
4½ yrds. searge at 4s., 18s.;
4½ yrds. red broad cloth at 8s., 1li. 16s.;
3 yrds., 3 nailes broad cloath at 16s., 2li. 11s.;
8 yrds. ¾ red carsey at 6s., 2li. 10s. 3d.;
2¼ red at 3s. 6d., 7s. 10d.;
9¾ [1/8] peneston at 2s. 10d., 1li. 8s.;
12[3/8] Role cotton at 2s. 3d., 1li. 19s.;
8 pr. Irish stockens at 18d., 12s.;
8½ narrow blew linen at 13d. 9s. 2d.;
3¼ broade blew linen at 20d., 5s. 5d.;
23½ broad blew linen at 2s., 2li., 7s.;
2 pr. Stockens, 5s. 6d.;
5 pr. bodeys at 4s. 1li.;
1 groace of silver coat & other buttens with Riboning & lace,
30li. 16s. 11d.;
2 yrds. holland at 6s., 12s.;
17½ of east cloath, 8s.;
31 halfe linds at 14d., 1li. 16s. 2d.;
5 ham bourough linds at 2s., 10s.;
5 knottes of housing at 4d., 1s.;
5¼ vittery at 14d., 6s. 1d.;
10 parchmen skins, 1 trunk, 2O bookes,--of wax candle, 1li. 10s.;
58 reame of paper at 7s., 20li. 6s.;
4 baggs cotten wooll, 550li. at 5d., 11li. 9s. 2d.;
71li. hopps at 4d., 1li. 3s. 8d.;
200 hhs. salt at 1ls., 110li.;
Remant Ratling, 2s.;
pcell bookes, 2li.
IN THE LOWER ROOME:
2 Bailes nowells, 43li. 6s. 8d.;
1 bagg hopps, 1li. 13s. 4d.;
6li. rod Iron at 2s., 8li. 8s.;
2 Bushells wheat, 19s. 6d.;
silkware in 2 boxes, 31li. 14s.;
3 bate naile of Turky Gregrum, 10s.;
2 yrds. broad cheny & remnant of Satten, 7s.;
2li. 11 silk, 3li.;
1li. ½ fringe & muccado ends, 7s.;
2¾ soft wax, 2s.;
5½ Butts thread, 14s.;
13 yrds. old fashion lace, 2s.;
20 yrds. wt. callico, 22 laces, 2½ doz. poynts, 1li. 1s.;
8 doz. short laces, 2 doz. ¾ long, 18s.;
13 oz. coventry thred, 4s.;
1li. cource wt. thred, 6s.;
½li. whited Browne, 2s.;
3li. colloured thred, 9s.;
4li. black & browne, 2li. 2s.;
12 Hatts, 10 bands, 3li.;
20 browne holland, 2li. 10s.;
18½ yrds. Humanes, 18d., 1li. 7s. 9d.;
83¾ pantolanes, 4li. 3s. 9d.;
41¼ yrds. vittery at 14d., 2li. 10s. 6d.;
26½ poledavy at 18d., 1li. 19s. 9d.;
30¾ nowells at 16d., 2li. 1s.;
5¾ locrum at 18d., 8s. 7d.
36 locrum at 18d., 1li. 19s.;
8¾ [1/8] blew linen at 14d., 10s. 1d.;
30 yrds. sacking at 9d., 1li. 2s.;
221¼ yrds. Cotten cloath at 2s., 4d., 25li. 16s. 3d.;
8 yrds. greene Cotten at 14d., 9s. 4d.;
18 of wt. cotten at 1s., 18s.;
24 Irish, 12s.;
3 Remnants boulting, 2s.;
3li. suger, 3li. 15s.;
1 Tire for wheeles & old Iron, 3li.;
13 cart boxes & 3li. in Iron waite, 2li, 10s.;
Basketts, Rubstones, 15s.;
pcell of wt. salt, 12s. 6d.;
pcell of cards & old hops, 15s.;
a screw & 9 mose skins, 2li. 10s.;
pll. of old rope & line, 10s.;
pcell of Cotten wooll, 5s.;
Barrell of Oatmeale, 1li. 5s.;
2 Kettles, 3 spades, 1 pan & nailes, 2li. 5s.;
1 cutting saw, 6s.
IN THE CELLAR:
30 hhds. mallasses at 3li., 90li.;
5 barrells macrell, 1 halfe barrell, 7li. 5s.;
2 Iron bound hhds., 10s.
IN THE OTHER CELLAR:
3 hhds. Rum, 30li.;
pcells of sower wine, 3li.;
old cask, 10s.;
beaver, 49li., 22li. 1s.;
beaver, 160li. at 18d., 12li.
IN THE LENTOO HOUSE END:
30 tunn salt at 40s., 60li.;
4 sawes, 2li.;
boulting mill, beam board, 2li.
IN THE IRON HOUSE:
77½li. barr Iron at 20s., 47li. 10s.;
5¾li. cast backs at 15s., 4li. 6s. 3d.;
11½li. Andirons at 15s., 8li. 12s. 6d.;
9¾li. potts & Kettles, 12li. 3s. 9d.;
5 Iron skilletts, 13s. 6d.;
beames & scales, 1li. 10s.;
39½li. cast waites, 29li. 12s. 6d.;
857li. cotten wooll at 5d., 17li. 7s. 1d.;
377 of hopps at 4d., 6li. 5s. 3d.;
7 hhd. 3 butts suger, 65li.;
2 qt. fish, 1li. 4s.;
1 firkin butter, 1 soape, 2li.;
5 li. bate, 8li. barr Iron, 4li. 18s.
IN THE YARD:
28 tun. pact casks, 9li. 16s.;
7½ hhds. lime, 1li. 13s. 9d.;
6000 pipestaves at 4li., 24li.;
1400 boards, 5s. 6d., 3li. 17s.;
12000 Rotlin, 4li.
IN THE DWELLING HOUSE:
10½ yrds. sacking & canvas, 7s. 10d.;
2¼ cloth rash at 6, 13s. 6d.;
9 bate naile of dowlas at 2s., 17s. 10d.;
yrd. narrow taffety, 6s.;
4½ liver colloured searge, 18s.;
1 groace 4½ doz. hookes & eyes, 2s. 6d.;
2 yrds. blew Trads cloath, 10s.
AT MR. SCOTTOWES:
2 Bales nowalls, 43li. 6s. 8d.;
1 ps. pantossam, 5li.;
1 ps. sheeting, 6li. 2s. 6d.
AT MR. BROUGHTON'S:
3 butts 1 hhd. suger at 25s., 35li.;
140¼ hhd. salt at Ils Shoales, 70li. 2s. 6d.;
20 hhds. at Mr. Parker's, at 10s., 10li.;
1 hhd. Rum at Mr. Handsons, 10li.;
at Linn workes, 1 horse, 10li.;
at Capt. Johnsons, leather, 00;
at Mr. Buttolls, leather, 00;
at Capt. Clearkes, an Anchor, 1li. 10s.;
ADVENTURE in Thrumboll to England, 49 hhds. oyle, 5 M. 8 C. 81li.
Cotten neate, 12 qt. fish, 289li. 7s. 5d.;
TO JAMACO & p left in Jamaco before p Adam Westgage, 52li. 12s.
THE HOUSE MORE:
3 Satten dobletts, 1 taffety cloak, 4li.;
money, 5li. 11s. 9d.;
2 gold rings, 2li.;
1½ C. wt. suger at 4, 6li.;
¾ of cast ware at workes, 100li.;
¾ stock of sow Iron & coals, 450li.;
¾ of ye workes at hamersmith &
Brantree, 800li.;
DWELLING HOUSE, warehouses & appurtenances at Bostone, 400li.;
watertowne mill house, land & apprtenances, 150li.;
½ mill at exeter & halfe of the prvilidge of mill & land, 40li.
HOUSEHOLD STUFF & IS IN THE CELLAR UNDER YE HALL:
1 Iron Trivett & Tramell, 1 barr & 2 Cobbe Irons, 1 fire shovell,
1 Ketle, 2 brass pans, 1 Copper Kettle, 1 brass skillett, 1
flagon, 20 old dishes, 1 Iron pott, 1 spitt, 1 pr. bellowes,
skimer, 3li. 19s. 6d.
IN THE HALL:
1 pr. Iron Andirons, 1 pr. tonges, 11s. 6d. more;
one Cubord, 15s.;
1 Tabell & carpett, 2s., 4 leather, 2 other chairs, 1li. 5s.,
1 setle, 4 stooles, a cushion, 14s., 1 clock, 2li., 7li. 5s. 6d.
IN THE LITTLE ROOM:
1 Bedsteed & curtaine, one bed, one boulster, 1 rugg, 3 blanketts,
1 pr. sheets, 4 table cloath, 8 naptkins, 1 pewter dish & one
bason, one salt, 2 brass candlestickes, 1 ladle, 1 warming pan,
fire pan, 20s., 1 basket, 1 chaire, 1 cushion, 7li. 4s.
IN THE OTHER LITTLE ROOME:
One bedsteed, curtaines, fether bed, 3 blanketts, 1 coverled,
2 bolsters, 3 pillowes, a trundle bedsteed, a fether bed, pr.
of sheets, coverled, bolster, Tables & chaires, 8 Cushions,
1 Joint stoole, 3 pewter dishes, 1 salt, 1 Brass skillett,
1 skimmer, 1 pan, 1 seive, 1 Bible, 11li. 7s. 6d.
One silver Candlestick, 1 Tankard, one beere boale, 2 wine cupps,
one dram cupp, 6 spoones, 17li.;
1 brass scillett, 1 pewter dish & bason, 2 brass Candlesticks, Joynt
stooles, one Tramell, 1 Ketle, 1 sive, shovell, 1 back, 2 Cob
Irons & dripping pan, 1li. 15s.
IN THE CLOSETT:
13 pewter platters, 2 py plates, 6 smale plates, 5 saucers, 1
pewter & 2 brass candlesticks, 1 urin botle & 1 bed pan, 12
earthern dishes, 2 pudden pans, 5li. 10s. 6d.
IN THE HALL CHAMBER:
One bedsteed, Curtaines & vallens of red searge, 1 fether bed,
2 bolsters, 2 pillowes, 3 blanketts, 1 tapestry Cuverled, 10li.;
2 Cubberts, 2 Cubbert cloathes, 1 table, 4 red stooles, 2 red cloath
chaires with fringe, 3 leather chaires, 2li. 15s.;
1 great chaire, 7 pichers, 10s., one pr. brass Andirons, one back,
3s., 8li. 5s.;
6 cushions & 1 pc. of carpeting & old vallens at 1li. 4s.;
one Trunk, 8s.;
one chest, 8s., 2li.
WITHIN THE TRUNK & CHEST & IN THE HALL CHAMBER:
7 pr. sheetes, 4 diapr. table cloathes, 2 plaine, 9 pillow beers,
4 Cubbert cloathes, 2 napkins, 1 tapestry coverled, 2 darnick
carpetts, 2 pr. sheets, 7 damask naptkins, 2 short diaper table
cloathes, 3 pillow beers, 26 diaper naptkins, 14 plaine naptkins,
one red rugg, 21li. 18s.
IN THE GARRETT:
One Rugg, three blanketts, one flock bed, 1 Coverlett, one bolster,
one blankett, 3li. 7s.;
money, 123li. 14s.;
IN VESSELS, 200li.;
total, 4,239li. 11s. 5d.
DUE TO THE ESTATE:
In debts accotd. as certaine, 1,500li.;
as doubtfull, 700li.;
stand in the book yett acttd. of as utterly lost & desperatt, 836li.
6s. 2d.
DEBTS due from the estate, 1500li.
--_Essex County Quarterly Court Records_, Vol. II, pp. 271-274.
APPENDIX G
INVENTORY OF THE ESTATE OF EDWARD WHARTON OF SALEM, DECEASED, AND
WHAT GOODS WERE IN HIS POSSESSION, CONSIGNED TO HIM BY SEVERAL,
TAKEN 12:1:1677-8, BY HILLIARD VEREN, SR., JOHN HATHORNE AND JOHN
HIGGINSON, JR.
VALUED IN ENGLAND AS BY INVOYCE,--
1 plaine cloath cloake, 1li. 8s.;
1 boyes worsted cloake, 1li. 5s.;
1 heare camlett cloake, 2li. 18s.;
5 cloath cloakes, 28s. p., 7li.;
1 cloath cloake, 1li. 8s.;
1 fine cloath cloake, 1li. 15s.;
1 cloath cloake, 1li. 12s.;
6 cloath cloake, 28s. p., 8li. 8s.;
3 childs stuff coates at 9s., 1li. 7s.;
1 yeolow Tamy, 10s.;
1 ditto, 13s.;
1 boyes coate, 13s.;
1 doz. home made wooll hose, 1li. 14s.;
1 doz. ditto, 1li. 10s.;
8 pr. of youths ditto, 14s.;
10 pr. of woemens home made wooll stockens, 1li. 2s.;
7 pr. of sale wooll hoase, 10s. 6d.;
17 pr. of woemens & youths stockens, 14s. 10d.;
7 pr. of home made woemens 4 thrid, 3s. 2d. p., 4 pr. ditto sale 4
thrid, 3s. 4d. p., 1li. 10s. 10d.;
4 pr. youthes 4 thrid ditto, 3s. 4d. p., 3 pr. youthes ditto, 3s.,
1li. 2s. 4d.;
4 pr. of wooll home made hose, 14s.;
1 pr. mens worsted home made stockens 5s.;
8 pr. of home made worsted; 4 thrid, 1li. 14s.;
6 pr. sale ditto, 18s.;
2 pr. of fine home made, 10s.;
1 childs coate, 7s.;
1 greene say frock, 5s.;
9 childs wascoates, 5d. p., 3s. 9d.;
6 Ditto, 7d. p., 3s. 6d.;
5 Ditto, 9d. p., 3s. 9d.;
4 Ditto, 10d. p., 3s. 4d.;
2 Keasy ditto, 2s. 6d., 5s.;
1 ditto, 2s. 8d.;
2 ditto, 3s. p., 6s.;
6 childrens, 12d. p., 6s.;
4 woemens yeolow wascoate, 22d. p., 7s. 4d.;
1 Cloake of lite collrd. haire camlett, 3li. 7s.;
4 coates of the same camlett, 36s., p., 7li. 4s.;
1 cloath collrd. haire camlett cloake, 35s.;
2 worsted camlett cloakes, 34s., 3li., 8s.;
1 fine haire camlet cloake, 5li.;
2 trunks, 16s.;
3 ditto, 1li. 1s.;
1 ditto, 6s.;
2 dittoes, 5s. p., 10s.;
2 boxes or little red trunkes, s. 2d. p., 6s. 4d.;
1 ditto, 2s. 8d.;
3 silk say under pettecoates lite collrd, at 12s. 6d. p.,
1li. 17s. 6d.;
2 Ditto, 1li. 8s.;
cloath woemans wascoats, 8s.;
7 ditto, worth each 8s., 10s., 8s., 10s., 6s., 13s., 15s.;
1 cheny sad. Collrd. uper woemans coate, 7s.;
1 sad collrd. woemans searge coate, 17s., 6d.;
1 black fine searge upper pettecoate, 19s.;
1 stuff cloake for woeman, 10s.;
1 ditto for a girle, 7s.;
1 large worsted Rugg lite collrd, 1li. 14s.;
1 large sad collrd. ditto, worsted, 18s.;
1 ditto worsted sad colld, 1li.;
6 greene & blew plaine Rugge, 8s. p., 2li. 8s.;
1 sad callrd thrum Rugg, 11s. 6d.;
1 cabbin Rugg, 4s. 8d.;
1 Cource 8-4 Rugg, 10s.;
3 coverleds, ordinary, 6s., p., 18s.;
2 ditto at 5s., 10s.;
2 coverleds, large at 7s. 6d., p., 15s.;
1 smale one, 6s. 6d.;
1 red plaine rugg, 8s.;
1 peece wt. cotton, 19s.;
1 darnex carpett, 5s. 6d.;
1 ditto greene, 6s. 6d.;
4 pr. wt. drawers, 10s.;
6 peeces of searge at 40s., 12li.;
7 peeces narrow searge at 25s., 8li. 15s.;
1 peece padaway searge, 2li. 15s.;
13 yds. clarett collrd. Tamy at 19d. p., 1li. 1s. 1d.;
1 large draft lite collrd, 14s.;
1 2d sort, 12s.;
1 small ditto, 10s.;
1 doble 10 qtr. coverled, 1li. 4s.;
1 ditto, 9 qrts. 1li.;
2 dittos, 8 qrts., 15s. 6d., p. 1li. 11s.;
8 yrds. ¾ striped Tamarene at 18d. p, 13s. 1½d.;
12 yrds. ¾ Turky mohaire, 2s. 10d. p., 1li. 16s. 1½d.;
6 yrds. ¼ of striped stuffe at 22d. p, 11s. 5½d.;
9 yrds. striped camlett, 2s. 4d. p, 1li. 1s.;
1 peece oringe collrd worsted draft, 2li. 5s.;
4 yrds. Haire camlett, 3s. p, 2li. 2s.;
10 yrds. of ash collrd, silk moheare, 4s. p, 2li.;
6 yrds. ½ of ash collrd silk farrendine, 4s. 6d. p, 1li. 9s. 3d.;
12 yrds. ash collrd. haire camlett at 3s. p, 1li, 16s.;
1 peece sad collrd. stuff, mixt with Gold collrd, 2li. 10s.;
24 yrds. flowered silk draft, 2s. 2li. 8s.;
13 yrds. striped vest at 22d. p, 1li. 3s., 10d.;
18 yrds. Scotch Tabby at 16d. p, 1li. 4s.;
16 yrds., Scotch Tabby at 16s. p, 1li. 1s. 4d.;
10 yrds. Tiking at 15d. p, 12s., 6d.;
8 yrds. padaway at 2s. 6d. p, 1li.;
7 yrds. of Linsy at 12d. ½p, 7s. 6d.;
2 pr. boyes cotten drawers, at 2s. p, 4s.;
3 cotten wascoate at 2s. 10d. p, 8s. 6d.;
2 pr. blew drawers, 2s. 5d. p., 4s. 10d.;
1 boyes haire sad coll. camlett cloake, 2li. 15s.;
1 large flanders tike & bolster, 1li. 9s. 6d.;
30 yrds. of upper Tiking, at 18d. p, 2li. 5s.;
42 yrds. diaper at 15d. p, 2li. 12s. 6d.;
12 yrds. of Tabling, 2s. 6d. p, 1li. 10s.;
21 yrds. of diaper for napkins, 18d., p, 1li. 11s. 6d.;
2 pillow Tikins, at 2s. 2d., 4s. 4d.;
1 light coll. boyes cloake, 1li. 12s.;
2 yrds. ¼ of plush at 8s. p., 6s. 9d.;
20 tobaco boxes at 1d. ½ p, 2s. 6d.;
3 ditto at 20d. p. doz., 3¾d.;
4 brass roles for chalk lines, 5s. 6d. p. doz., 1s. 10d.;
8 ditto large at 6s. 6d., p. doz. 4s. 4d.;
8 chalk lines at 18d. p. doz., 1s.;
tinware, 4 Cullenders, 5s. 4d.;
6 ditto, 5s. 6d.;
2 doz. wood savealls, 3d. ½p, 7d.;
1 large kettle, 2s. 3d.;
1 next size, 2s.;
8 6 qrt. Ketles, 14d. p., 9s. 4d.;
3 gallon Kettles, 12d. p, 3s.;
5 3 qrt. Kettles, 9d. p., 3s. 9d.;
2 3 pt. Kittles, 7d. p. 1s. 9d.;
5 best savealls, 2s. 4d. p. doz., 11½d.;
11 second sort at 8d. p. doz., 7¼d.;
3 extinguishers, 8d. per doz., 2¾d.;
3 doble plate pans, 18d., p., 4s. 6d.;
a doble puden pan, 9d.;
2 midle sised lanthornes, 18d. p., 3s.;
4 band candlesticks, 5d. ½ p, 1s. 10d.;
5 tinder boxes & steele, 7d. p., 2s. 11d.;
4 writing candlesticks, 2d ½ p, 10d.;
2 pt. sace pans, 3s. 8d. p doz., 7d.;
3 bread or flower boxes, 3d. ½dp., 10½d.;
4 Casters, 2d p., 8d.;
1 peper box, 2d., 1 fish plate, 8d., 10d.;
6 smale bread graters, 8d. p doz., 4d.;
2 pts. at 3d. ¾ p., 1 funell, 4d., 2 covers, 8d. p., 2s. 3½d.;
3 brass savealls, 7d. p., 3 larger graters, 3d. ½ p., 2s. 7d.;
2 egg slices, 2d. ½ p., 5d.;
3 whip sawes & tillers, 5s. 6d. p., 16s. 6d.;
2 marking irons, 2s., 1 cloase stoole & pan, 8s. 9d., 10s. 9d.;
2 steele handsawes with screws, 3s. p., 6s.;
1 large steele hand saw, 2s. 2d.;
8 hand sawes at 14d. p., 9s. 4d.;
1 handsaw, 10d.;
2 faling Axes, 1s. 5d., 2s. 10d.;
8 bright smale Hamers, 6d. p. 4s.;
9 Rivited hamars at 10d. p., 7s. 6d.;
2 hamers, 4d. p, 8d.;
5 hamers, steele heads, 10s. p. doz., 4s. 2d.;
4 choppers at 15s. p. doz., 3s. 8d.;
2 mincing knives, 12d. p., 2s.;
7 small ditto, 13s. p doz., 7s. 7d.;
9 hatchetts, 12d. p., 9s.;
7 smale mincing knives, 9s. p doz., 5s. 9d.;
3 steele sawes & screwes, 3s. p., 9s.;
5 doz. 8 gimletts at 12d. p doz., 5s. 8d.;
27 pensills at 8d. p doz., 1s. 6d.;
10 percer bitts at 2d. p. 1s. 8d.;
1 large pincers to shooe horses, 1s.;
3 curry combs, 10d.;
2 large ditto, 6d. p, 1s.;
1 pr. spincers for shoomakers, 1s.;
5 pr. nippers, 4d. p, 1s. 8d.;
2 bundles of files, 20d. p. bundles, 3s. 4d.;
12 doz. of straite all blades, 5d. p. doz., 5s.;
7 doz. crooked blades at 5d. p doz., 2s. 11d.;
14 doz. of fire steeles at 6s. p grosse, 7s.;
21 pr. of spurrs at 7s. p doz., 12s. 3d.;
8 pr. dove tailes at 2½d. p, 1s. 8d.;
22 pr. sid hinges, 3d. p., 5s. 6d.;
6 pr. Esses at 8d. p, 4s.;
1 smooth Iron, 1s. 4d.;
3 doble spring lockes at 20d. p, 5s.;
1 single ditto, 9d.;
2 doz. trunk lockes at 6s. p doz., 12s.;
1 doz. of single ditto, 3s. p, 3s.;
½ doz. large ditto, 4s.;
2 ship scrapers, 2s.;
6 pr. Coll. yarne mens hose, 12s.;
6 pr. worsted ditto at 3s. 4d., 1li.;
12 pr. stockens, 7d. p. 7s.;
7 pr. ditto, 9d. p, 5s. 3d.;
6 pr. ditto 8d. p., 4s.;
6 pr. ditto at 5d. p., 2s., 6d.;
10 pr. ditto at 6d. p, 5s.;
6 pr. ditto at 13d. p., 6s. 6d., 5 pr. ditto at 18d. p, 7s. 6d.;
1 pr. fine woemens red worsted, 3s.;
2 pr. mens worsted, 3s.;
2 pr. mens worsted black & colld, & 1 pr. white, 7s. 6d.
VALUED HEARE AS MONEY IN N. ENGLAND:
2 linsy woolsey pettecoates, 6s. p., 12s.;
1 little boyes coate of camlett worsted, 6s.;
2 linsey woolsey & 1 pr. of fustian draws, 9s.;
1 pr. linen drawers, more, 3s.;
1 boyes coat, 4s.;
2 red childs blanketts bound wth. feret, 4s. p, 8s.;
1 smale childs camlet pettecoat, 3s.;
9 sashes at 12d., 9s.;
50 yrds. of Irish searge at 2s. 2d. p, 5li. 8s. 4d.;
10 yrds. ½ broad worsted camlett duble, 2s. 6d. p, 1li. 6s. 3d.;
16¼ yrds. narrow camlett, 1li. 12s. 6d.;
20¼ yrds. mixt stuff, very bad, 12d. p, 1li. 3d.;
14 yrds. new Coll. Stuff at 2s. p, 1li. 8s.;
1 ell of farrindine, 2s. 4d. p yd., 2s. 11d.;
6 yrds. coll. fustian, 14d. p. 7s.;
3 yrds. red perpetuana at 2s. 6d. p, 7s. 6d.;
6 yrds. ¼ greene say at 5s. p, 1li. 11s. 3d.;
42 mens & woemens shifts, 4s. 9d. p, 9li. 19s. 6d.;
12 youth & girls ditto, 3s. 6d. p. 2li. 2s.;
8 finer mens, woemens ditto, 6s. 6d. p, 2li. 12s.;
5 white dimity wascoates, 3s. 6d. p, 17s. 6d.;
1 yrd. ½ cambrick, 4s. 6d. p, 6s. 9d.;
2 ends of fine wt. callico, 20s. p, 2li.;
2 peeces broade white calico, 40s. p. 4li.;
2 peeces cource holland, cont. 69 yrds. 30d. p, 8li. 12s. 6d.;
5¼ yrds. fine dowlas at 2s. 6d. p, 13s. 1½d.;
7 yrds. cource dowlas at 20d. p, 12s. 6d.;
1 ell cource holland at 2s. 6d. p, 3s. 1½d.;
9 yrds. scimity, 6s., 2 peeces of dimity, 6s. p, 18s.;
1 callico table cloath, 7s. 6d.;
2 callico shirts, 6s. p, 12s.;
2 calico painted table cloathes, 8s. p, 16s.;
1 large ditto, 14s.;
in English money, 2li. 7s.;
New England money, 99li. 4s;
Spanish money, 1li. 16s,;
1 peece of gold, 20s., 3 rings, about 25s., 2li. 5s.;
a dram cupp, 6s.;
3 yds. fine greene say at 6s. p., 18s.;
3 cloath coates at 20s. p, 3li.;
1 cource gray youth coats, 10s.;
7 yrds. ½ of striped linen 16d. p, yrd., 10s.;
1 silk thrum Rugg, 2li.;
28 pr. plaine shooes, 4li. 4s.;
15 pr. fale shoes & 2 pr. woemens, 3s. 6d. p. 2li. 19s. 6d.;
9 straw hats, 2s. p, 18s.;
2 pr. fishing bootes at 14s. p., 1li. 8s.;
6li. of combed worsted at 2s. 6d. p, 15s.;
knives, 5s., 2 spoones, 6d.;
6¼li wt. suger at 8d. p, 4s. 4d.;
6 brushes, 18d., 1 pr. smale stilliards, 4s., 5s. 6d.;
8½ oz. pins, 10d., p. 7s. 1d.;
2 peeces ½ ferret, black Ribbond, 12d., p. 1li. 10s.;
5 gross & ½ thrid, buttens, 15d. p, 6s. 10½d.;
about 2 gross thrid laces at 9s. p, 18s.;
1 gross great buttens upon cards, 3s.;
2 doz. ½ tweezers, 3s. 6d. p doz. 8s. 9d.;
3 childs swathes, 8d. p., 2s.;
tape & filliting, 2s.;
10 oz. fine thred, 12d p., 10s.;
a little pcell of thrid of severall coll., 1s. 6d.;
13 pr. scissers, 4s., 1 gross thrid, wt. buttens, 18d., 5s 6d.;
19 yds. red Ferrett, 4d. p. yrd., 6s. 4d.;
blew tape, 4d., green cotten ribbon, 4d., silk, 18d., 1s. 8d.;
1 pr. bodies, 3s. 6d., 1 woemens worsted cap, 12d.;
6 pr. childs yarne gloves, 3s.;
11 yrds. green ferrett, 4d. p., 3s. 8d.;
6 doz. pack needles, 5s.;
soweing needles, 6d.;
4 oz. peper, 6d., 3 pr. spectacles, & 5 cases, 22d.;
16 yrds. yellow taffaty Ribbond, 3d. p. 4s.;
6 boxes of Lockeers pills & papers, 24 yrds. ½ silk galoone, 2s.
p. doz. 4s.;
16 country Ruggs & 2 cradle ditto waying 223li, at 14s. p. li,
13li.;
8 Bushells of pease at 3s. p, 1li. 4s.;
1 old sheete of cource canvas, 2s.;
1 old table, 6s., 1 brasse yoare, 20s.;
1 perpetuance under pettecoate, 9s.;
1 woemans Shamare lined, 16s.;
a womans Jerkin, 6s.;
1 pr. wooll cards, 1s.;
8 hand basketts, 12d. p. 8s.;
60 li. of sheeps woll., 6d. p bagg, 2s., 1li. 12s.;
2 sadles & stirrops, 1li. 4s.;
4 Iron plates or fenders, 3s. p., 12s.;
125li. of sheeps wooll at 6d. p, 3li. 2s. 6d.;
4 baggs, 2s. p, 8s.;
hops & bagg, 2s.;
3 smale skins, 8d. p. 2s.;
79 narrow brimd. hats, 2s. p., 7li, 18s.;
1 new, 10s.;
4 bands, 4s.;
1 boyes wt. caster, 3s.;
a large chest, 7s.;
2 tray makers adses, 3s.;
1 square & a broaken one, 1s. 6d.;
2 coop. axes, 30d. p, 5s.;
1 bill, 12d., 3 hollow shaves, 12d., p, 4s.;
2 cooper adzes, 2s. p, 1 pr. sheers, 12d.;
3 doz. 9 curtaine rings, 1s.;
4 large, 6 smale shaves, 6s.;
7 shooe punches, 6d. p., 3s. 6d.;
9 pr. Hinges, 5d. p, 3s. 9d.;
2 gouges, 2 chessell, 4d. p, 1s. 4d.;
1 tinder box & pump nailes, 1s. 6d.;
1 coopers knife, 10d.;
5 staples, 12d.;
4 bolts, 2s.;
1 auger, 12d.;
a rasp & smale auger, 1s.;
5 pr. sissers, 12d.;
a pewter salt, 12d.;
3 pr. snuffers, 18d.;
a standish, 2s. 6d.;
6 cod hoockes, 12d.;
1 bed quilt, 10s.;
1 thousand & ½ of pins, 1s. 1½d.;
21 doz. of wt. thrid buttens, 18d. p. grosse, 2s. 7d.;
pewter Bottle, 9d.;
pcell of beaver stones, 2li. 10s.;
2 pr. small scalls & some waites, 6s.;
a glasiers vice & moulds, 4li.;
a pcell of glass, drawne lead, sodering to mak up about
200 or 300 foot of glass, 4li.;
29 li. cheese at 3½d. p li., 8s. 5d.;
1 B. ½ wheat, 3s. 6d., p. 3 bagges, 3s., 8s. 3d.;
6 old shirts, 7s., 5 very old sheets, 15s., 1li. 2s.;
2 old drawers, 2s.;
3 wascoates, 8s.;
4 pillow beeres, 6s.;
1 table cloath & 4 napkins, 6s.;
1 chest, 5s.;
1 sash, 12d.;
1 carpett, 18d.;
1 bed pan, 5s.;
1 brass chafindish, 3s.;
a fether bed & bolster, 2 blanketts, 7 pillowes, a rugg
& bedsteed, 7li.;
a pcell of pack cloath, 7s., a hamer, 18d., 8s. 6d.;
his woolen wearing apparell, 5li.;
1 chest, a smale table & 2 old cushions, 12s.;
2 old seives, 10d.;
1 bed, bolster, 1 pillow, 2 Ruggs, bedsteed & blankett, 4li. 10s.;
1 old trunk marked E. W., 3s.;
some odd trifling lumber, 2s.;
2 tables, 4 Joyn stools, 18s., tinn ware, 14s., 1li. 12s.;
brasse ware, 1li.;
pewter, 35s., 2 spitts, 2 fire pans, 8s., 2li. 3s.;
2 Iron potts & skillett, 12s.;
4 rasors, 1 pr. sissers & a hoand, 9s.;
some Indian dishes & other lumber, 8s.
FURRS:
49 Racoone skins, 12d. p, 2li. 9s.;
38 fox skins, 2s. 6d. p. 4li. 15s.;
2 woolves skins, 12d. p. 2s.;
a cub beare skin, 1s.;
31 Otter skins, 6s. p., 9li. 6s.;
4 wood chuck skins, 21d. p, 7s.;
21 martins & sables at 15d., 1li. 8s. 3d.;
7 muskquash, 6d. p, 3s. 6d.;
about 50li. beaver, 6s. p., 15li. 13 B. mault, 3s. p, 1li. 19s.;
150li. oacum, 25s., 3 pecks wt. salt, 1li. 6s. 9d.;
36 gall. Rume, 2s. p. 3li. 12s.;
2 new chests with ticks, 6s. p, 12s.;
4 new barrells, 8s.;
2 shovells, 18d., 301li. sheeps woole, 15s., 16s., 6d.;
1 bagg, 18d., 200 foot of board, 8s. 9s. 6d.;
2 B. wheate, 3s. 6d. p. 3 b. Ry. 3s. p. B., 9s. 3d.;
6 B. pease, 3s. p., ½ B. Beanes, 19s. 6d.;
11 hides, 5s. p., about 600 foot bord, 3li. 19s.;
16 B. Indian corne, 2s. p, 1 barrell, 2s., 1li. 14s.;
6 chests, 6s. p, about 13 C. spanish Iron, 2s. p., C, 14li. 16s.;
2 barrells of porke, 50s., 5li.;
almost 2 barrells of tarr, 7s. 6d. p, 15s.;
100li. tobbacco at 3d p, 1li. 5s.;
11 moose skins, 5li. 8d.;
2 Racoones, 12d. p, 2 sealls at 12d. p, 4s.;
1 hhd. ½ passader wine much decaid, 4li.;
pt. of 5 barrell very much decaid & pricked madera, ----;
2 hhd. mallasses nott full, 5li. 10s.;
an old small catch exceeding out of repaire almost worne out, both
Hull & all appurtenances, valued by Mr. Bar. Gedney & John
Norman, ship carpenters, 15li.;
a dwelling house & land neere the meeting house & apprtenances,
80li.;
a smale peece of land part of a frame for a warehouse & wharf, not
finished & stones upon the ground, 14li. 10s.;
a small pcell of timber & old board, 10s.;
an old smale cannoe, 10s.;
a horse runing in the woods if alive ----;
a remant of stuff, 2s.;
a pcell of land at New Jerzey but doe not know the quantity yett &
some goods at som other places not yett knowne what they are
----; total, 630li. 6s. 5¾d.
Samll. Shattock's account of the debts: To several in England above,
300li.;
to several in New England which cannot yet be known how much, nor
Justly what yt is in England, but as himselfe said when he was
sick & I ptly finde it by Invoys of Goods.
APPRAISED SINCE THE FOREGOING, GOODS BROUGHT FROM THE EASTWARD
AS COST PER INVOICE:
2 coates, 19s. p. coate, 1li. 18s.;
2 coats, 16s., p, 1li. 12s.;
3 white childs coates, 1 at 11s. & 2 at 14s., 1li. 19s.;
2 coates, 19s. p, 6 or 7 yeare old, 1li. 18s.;
1 Coat tamet, 16s.;
1 boyes coate, 13s.;
a flanders Tick & bolster, 1li. 9s. 6d.;
a draft, 8 qrts., 14s.
VALUED AS COST HERE IN NEW ENGLAND:
2 silke barateene under coates, 1li. 6s.;
1 large silk Rugg, 3li.;
1 calico India carpett, 4s.;
7 bushell & ½ malt, 1li. 2s. 6d.;
3 B. & ½ of Indian, 7s.;
1 B. wheate, 3s. 6d.;
a speckled pillow beere, 1s.;
to sugar sold at 5s. 3d.;
a gold ring, 7s. 6d.;
an Iron Casement, 5s.;
460 feet of board, 3s. p, 13s. 8d.;
8 narrow brimed hats, 2s. p, 16s.;
3 old rusty curry combs, 1s.;
2 old sawes, 2s. 6d.;
4 pr. sissers, 1 twissers, 1 gimlet, punch, som ales &
steeles, 4s. 6d;
3 firkins of old butter, 3li.;
decayed wine, 1li. 15s.;
an old pr. of hand screws, 1li. 10s.;
debt of 12s.;
suposed 3 acres of land at merimake, to a silver seale, 2s.;
bookes, 12s.;
mincing knife, 6d., 2 curry combes, 2s.;
Glass redy made & som lead, 1li. 10s.;
2 chests & 1 trunke, 15s.;
8 & 2 yd. of narrow serge, at 2s. p, 17s.;
Debts, 40 li.;
total 69li. 6s. 11d.
Allowed in Salem court 27: 4: 1678, Samuell Shattuck, sr.,
being a Friend affirming, and Samuell Shattock, jr. making
oath to the truth of the inventory.
--_Essex County Probate Records_, Vol. III, pp. 203-208.
APPENDIX H
INVENTORY OF THE ESTATE OF CAPT. GEORGE CORWIN OF SALEM, TAKEN
BY BARTHL. GEDNEY, BENJA. BROWNE, JOHN HIGGINSON JUNR. AND TIMO.
LINDALL ON JAN. 30 AND THE BEGINNING OF FEB., 1684-5
Dwelling house & land wheron it stands & adjoyneing to it wth. the
out houseing & fence, &c., 400li.;
the pastor, qt.[97] about 3 acres ½, considering a buriall place
ther apointed, 90li.;
[97] Quantity.
the lower warhouse & wharfe, 110li.;
the upper warhouse & land adjoyning, 50li.;
about 8 acres Medow & upland by Ely Geoules, 45li.;
the farme on the plaines goeing to Lin bought of Trask, Pickering,
Adams, &c., qt. about 200 acres,
25p., 250li.;
the Farme now Reding bought of Burnap, qt. about 800 acres,
aprized by Tho. Flint & Jos. Pope, 250li.;
the Farme bought of John Gold, qt. about 500 acres, 50li.;
60 acres of Land bought of Goodman Dutton, 20li.;
15 acres of medow bought of Lt. Smith, 25li.;
the houses & Land adjoyneing that was Wm. Godsoes & wharfe, 45li.;
a pc. of land at the point nere Jer. Neales yt was ----, 10li.;
the Katch Swallow wth. her apurtenances, 130li.;
the Katch George with her apurtenances, 65li.;
620 oz. [7/8] plate at 6s. 8d. [per], 206li. 19s. 2d.;
in New England mony, 47li. 1s.;
in English mony, 37li. 15s., advance, 7li. 11s., 45li. 6s.;
in peices of Eight, 1519li. 1s. 8d;
72oz. ¼ Gold at 5li. [per] oz., 361li. 5s.;
1 Silver hat band & 6 Spones, qt. 4 oz. [9/16], 1li. 10s. 4d.;
1 watch wth. a stard case, 1 watch wth. a Silver case, 5li.;
1 Silver case & doctors Instruments, 5li.;
more in New England mony, 2li. 18s. 6d.;
1 Plate hilt rapier, 4li. 10s.;
1 Two edged Sword, 1li.;
1 Silver headed cane, 5s.
IN THE SHOPE.
2 yd. broadcl[oth] at 8s., 16s.;
1 yd. ¾ ditto at 8s., 14s.;
16 yd. [3/8] Redcloth Rash at 6s. 6d.,
5li. 6s. 5¼d.;
2 yd. ¾ serge at 3s. 6d.; 9s. 7½d.;
6 yd. perpcheana at 18d., 9s.;
7 yd. ¼ perpcheana at 18d., 10s. 10½d.;
11 yd. ditto at 18d., 16s. 6d.;
20 yd. ½ ell french Stufe at 2s., 2li. 1s. 3d.;
36 yd. ½ ditto at 2s., 3li. 13s.;
25 yd. Red Cotten at 2s., 2li. 10s.;
1 Sad colerd Ruge, 18s.;
1 Grene ditto, 18s.;
9 yd. ½ Stript Stufe at 18d., 14s. 8d.;
1 yd. ¼ Grene Say, damaged, 2s.;
19 yd. ¾ Grene tamey at 10d., 16s. 25½d.;
1 yd. ¾ bl. calico at 18d., 2s. 7½d.;
4 yd. ½ crape at 18d., 6s. 9d.;
11 yd. ¾ Crape at 18d., 17s. 7½d.;
2 yd. ½ Stript Stufe at 18d., 3s. 9d.;
2 yd ½ ell Curle deroy at 18d., 3s.
11d.;
4 yd. ¾ prunella at 22d., 8s. 8½d.;
10 yd. ¼ Silk barronet at 2s. 6d.,
1li. 5s. 7½d.;
7 yd. buckrom at 18d., 10s. 6d.;
10 yd. bla. Cloth rash at 6s., 3li. 4s. 6d.;
6 yd. ¾ Sad colerd ditto at 6s., 2li. 6s.;
14 yd. ½ Gr. Tamey at 10d., 12s. 1d.;
6 yd. flanell at 18d., 9s. 4½d.;
2 pr. white blanketts, 14s.;
[2]1 yd. ¾ Red cotten at 20d., 1li. 16s. 3d.;
14 yd. peniston ----, 1li. 8s.;
11 yd. ½ Carsy in Remnts. at 4s., 2li; 6s.;
1 yd. ½ Red buckrom at 18d., 2s. 3d.;
2 Sutes Curtains & valients at 4li., 8li.;
2 yd. ¼ Flanell at 18d., 3s. 4½d.;
28 yd. ½ ell persian Silke at 5s. 6d., 7li. 17s. 5d.;
6yd. ¾ wosted Farenden at 20d., 11s. 3d.;
5 yd. ¾ camlet at 20d., 9s. 7d.;
16 yd. ¾ ticking at 20d., 1li. 7s. 11d.;
20 yd. ½ ditto, at 20d., 1li. 14s. 2d.;
19 yd. ¼ ditto at 20d., 1li. 12s. 1d.;
3 yd. ¼ ditto at 20d., 5s. 5d.;
11 yd. ½ ditto at 17d., 16s. 3½d.;
17 yd. bengall at 18d., 1li. 5s. 6d.;
24 yd. ½ St. Petters canvis at 16d., 1li. 12s. 8d.;
10 yd. ¼ hall cloth at 15d., 12s. 9¾d.;
5 yd. ½ canvis at 16d., 7s. 4d.;
14 yds. ditto damaged at 14d., 16s. 4d.;
29 yds. ditto damaged at 12d., 1li. 9s.;
12 yd. ½ fugeres at 15d., 15s. 7½d.;
22 yd. ¾ Vittery at 13d., 1li. 4s. 7¾d.;
19 yd. ¾ ditto at 13d., 1li. 1s. 4¾d.;
24 yd. ¼ fine canvis at 18d., 1li. 16s. 4½d.;
3 pcs. broad linon, qt. 309 yd., at 20d., 25li. 15s.;
32 yd. ¾ blu linon at 9d., 1li. 4s. 6¾d.;
10 yd. ¾ pillow Ticking at 18d., 16s. 1[2/3]d.;
5 yd. wte. Fustian at 15d., 6s. 3d.;
18 yd. course holland at 2s., 1li. 16s.;
7 yd. Slesy holland at 21d., 12s. 3d.;
10 yd. ½ Scotch cloth at 16d., 14s.;
25 yd. ¾ lockrom at 15d., 1li. 12s. 2¼d.;
61 yd. [2/3] doulas at 16d., 4li. 2s. 4d.;
2 halfe peces of [2/3] doulas, 9li.;
26 yd. browne diaper at 14d., 1li. 10s. 4d.;
55 yd. Vittery at 12d., 2li. 15s.;
12 yd. high Brene at 22d., 1li. 2s.;
1 bolt Noyles, qt. 140 yd., at 16d., 9li. 6s. 8d., 2 pcs. Course
ticking at 35d., 3li. 10s.;
12 pr. weo. hose, 18s.;
12 pr. mixed Stockrs. Smll. & Great, 14s.;
13 pr. bodys at 4s., 2li. 12s.;
4 pr. parogon bodys & Stomachers at 8s., 1li. 12s.;
11 pr. Small bodys at 20d., 18s. 4d.;
1 doz. large Combes, 4s. 6d.;
3 doz. ditto at 3s. [per] dz., 9s.;
5 doz. ditto at 2s. [per] dz., 10s.;
8 combes at 3d.½, 2s. 4d.;
23 wte. haft knives at 8d., 15s. 4d.;
3 thousd. pins, 2s. 6d.;
17 long bla. haft knives wthout sheaths at 3d., 4s. 3d.;
2 dz. bl. haft knives at 2s. 6d., 5s.;
3 papers manchrs. & pt. of a peice, 12s., 49 pcs. colerd tapes at
12d., 2li. 9s.;
3 papers colerd Filiting, 9s.;
40 pcs. wte. Tape at 12d., 2li.;
23 pcs. nar tape at 8d., 17s. 4d.;
17 doz. thred laces, 4s. 11d.;
a percell of broken tape, 5s.;
4 pcs. ½ diaper Filiting, 6s.;
41 Smll. pcs. Colerd tape at 3d.½, 11s. 11½d.;
a percell of broken colerd tape, 1s. 6d.;
21 cards old fasioned silke lace & 5 cards Gimp Lace, 4li.;
1li. 2 oz. fine thred at 10s., 11s. 3d.;
5 pr. Gloves, 2s.;
6 doz. ½ Sisers at 2s., 13s.;
½ doz. barbers Sisers at 6d., 3s.;
a box nedles, qt. about 3 thousand, 1li. 10s.;
44 doz. yds. flowerd & Plain Ribin at 12s., 26li. 8s.;
20 yd. flowred Ribin at 5d., 8s. 4d.;
22 yd. ¾ ferit Ribin at 4d., 7s. 7d.;
1 pc. ½ Cotten Ribin, 4s. 6d.;
2 yd. ¼ Ribin at 6d., 1s. 1d.;
12li. kniting nedles at 12d., 12s.;
1 pr. fishing boots, 12s.;
4 pr. fr. held shouse & 2 pr. Galotias, 1li.;
6 flower boxes, 4 tin poringers, 1 candle box, 1 Tinder box,
1 Calender, 4 Candlesticks, 7 driping pans, 4 fish plates, 1li.;
1 brase Skilit, 4s.;
27 m. 4d. Nayles at 2s. 6d., 3li. 7s. 6d.;
4 m. 6d. nayles at 3s. 8d., 14s. 8d.;
226 mackerell lines at 9d., 8li. 9s. 6d.;
Erthen ware & wooden ware 3s.;
4 m., 2ct. 12d. Nayles at 10s. [per] m., 2li. 2s.;
5ct: 1: 14li. Shot at 20s. [per] ct. 5li. 7s. 6d.;
147li. French lines at 10d., 6li. 2s. 6d.;
8 yd. ½ yellow Ribin at 6d., 4s. 3d.;
15 yd. bone lace at 4d., 5s.;
a percell of hat bands, 1li. 15s.;
24m. ½ hobs at 21d. [per] m., 2li. 2s. 10½d.;
11 Grose buttens at 21d., a percell loose buttons, 1li. 3s. 3d.;
1 ct. Suger, 1li.;
1li. ¼ Silke at 22s., 1li. 7s. 6d.;
3 Iron morters & 2 Iron pots, qt. 95li. at 3d., 1li. 3s. 9d.;
a parcell of Ginger in a Caske, 6s.;
1 brase morter, 9s.;
9 Cow bells at 8d., 2 pr. pattens at 12d., 8s.;
10 Chalke lines, 1s. 8d.;
7 doz. ½ Capl. hooks at 18d., 11s. 3d.;
2 Reme paper, 8s.;
a percell of white beades, 1s.;
34li. pouder blue at 14d., 1li. 19s. 8d.;
114li. alspice at 21d., 9li. 19s. 6d.;
1 pr. cards, 1s. 6d.;
33li. shott, 6s.;
4 large, 3 Smll. Salt Sellers, 8d.;
a bundle of Galome, 15s.;
3 Combs, 2s.;
10 Catticises at 12d., 3s.;
2 pr. blu Stockins, 2s. 6d.;
a percell of Red filit & tape, 2s.;
1 qt. pot, 1 pt. pot, 1 Gill pott, 4s.;
4 pr. Seales & waites, 37s., 1 pr. Stiliards, 3s., 2li.;
Cloves, mace, Cinomon & Nutmegs, 10s.;
3 black Silk Caps for men, 3s.
IN THE SHOP CHAMBER.
21 Stock locks at 8d.¼, 14s. 5¼d.;
30 ditto at 11d.¼, 1li. 8s. 1¼d.;
42 ditto at 15d.¾, 2li. 15s. 1½d.;
9 ditto at 6d.½, 14s. 7½d.;
11 ditto at 22d.½, 1li. 7½d.;
14 ditto at 25d.½, 1li. 9s. 9d.;
6 ditto at 31d.½, 15s. 9d.;
45 Smll. lines at 6d., 1li. 2s. 6d.;
5 M. brase nayles at 9s. 9d., 2li. 8s. 9d.;
5 Candlesticks at 10d.½, 4s. 4½d.;
2 doz. augers at 7s. 6d., 15s.;
13 carveing Tooles at 3d., 3s. 3d.;
5 paring Chisells at 6d.¾, 2s. 9¾d.;
19 Gouges & Chisells at 7d.½, 11s. 10½d.;
6 doz & 3 plaining Irons at 5s. [per] doz., 1li. 11s. 3d.;
Oct: 2: 5li. hooks & Twists at 48s., 1li. 6s. 2d.;
18 Spring locks at 2s. 3d., 2li. 6d.;
3 Spring locks wth. Screws at 2s. 9d., 8s. 3d.;
3 best ditto at 3s. 6d., 10s. 6d.;
6 Single Spr. Locks at 13d., 6s. 6d.;
12 warded outside chist lockes, 15s. 9d.;
155li. Frying panes at 6d., 3li. 17s. 6d.;
23 outsid box locks at 6d., 11s. 6d.;
17 Reape hooks at 9d., 12s. 9d.;
10 ward cuberd locks at 9d. ¾, 8s. 1½d.;
1 doz. latches & katches, 6s. 6d.;
26 plaine cuberd locks at 6s., 13s.;
3 pr. pinchers at 11d., 2s. 9d.;
8 pr. nipers at 4d.½, 3s.;
10 pr. marking Irons at 15d., 12s. 6d.;
2 doz. & 3 tacks at 4d. [per] dz., 9d.;
½ doz. shepe sheres at 19d.½, 9s. 9d.;
1 doz. shepe sheres, 16s. 6d.;
13 doz. ½ all Blades at 6d. [per] doz., 6s. 9d.;
3 best box Irons at 3s. 6d., 10s. 6d.;
2 plaine box Irons at 18d., 3s.;
6 Stell Sawes at 3s. 3d., 19s. 6d.;
20 Sawes at 18d., 1li. 10s.;
7 doz. & 2 wte. haft knives at 8s., 2li. 17s. 4d.;
1 pr. Tongs & fire pan, 5s. 6d.;
2 doz. ½ horne haft knives at 4s., 10s.;
5 tilers hamers at 22d.½, 9s. 4½d.;
7 pr. barbers Sisers at 6d., 3s. 6d.;
4 doz. & 5 pr. Large Sisers at 3s., 13s. 3d.;
2 doz. 11 Glass bottles at 3s., 8s. 9d.;
4 doz. 3 Sorted hamers at 12s., 2li. 11s.;
3 doz. Speke Gimlets at 4s. 3d., 12s. 9d.;
6 doz. 9 Small Gimlets at 2s., 13s. 6d.;
15 pr. buttons at 19d. ½, 1li. 4s. 4½d.;
4 Stared bridles at 3s. 3d., 13s.;
7 chafeing dishes at 12d., 7s.;
1 doz. best wte. bridles 14s., 3d.;
½ doz. ordinary ditto, 6s.;
11 bolls, 6d.¾, 6s. 2¼d.;
5 bl. plaine bridles at 14d.¼, 5s. 11¼d.;
11 dutch bridles at 25d.½, 1li. 3s. 4½d.;
2 French ditto at 22d.½, 3s. 9d.;
1 doz. best Stirop leathers at 18s., 18s.;
8 Stirop leathers at l0d.½, 7s.;
1 Grose of diaper Girt web, 1li. 2s. 6d.;
1 Grose fine plaine ditto, 1li. 3s. 3d.;
1 Grose ¼ ditto at 15s., 18s. 9d.;
7 pr. Swevell Stirop Irons at 16d.½, 9s. 7½d.;
1 doz. boxhorse combes, 5s.;
11 horse combes at 2s. 9d. [per] doz., 2s. 6¼d.;
3 pr. plaine Stirop Irons at 10d.½, 2s, 7½d.;
11 horse brushes at 12d.½, 11s. 5½d.;
2 Grose Girt buckles at 8s. 3d., 16s. 6d.;
4 Papers wte. buckles at 18d., 6s.;
11 curry combes at 5d.½, 5s., ½d.;
4 best wte. Cury combs at 18d. 6s.;
5 wte. ditto at 15d., 6s. 3d.;
14 Files at 8d.¼, 9s. 7½d.;
4 horse locks at 14d.½, 4s. l0d.;
6 Twisted Snafells at 7d.½, 3s. 9d.;
5 large plaine ditto at 6d., 2s. 6d.;
4 small ditto at 4d.½, 1s. 6d.;
8 Smll. padlocks at 9d., 6s.;
3 large ditto at 12d.¾, 3s. 2¼d.;
4 tiling trowells at 12d., 4s.;
2 pointing trowells at 12d., 2s.;
45 pr. plaine Spures at 6d.¼, 1li. 3s. 5¼d.;
3 pr. Joynted Spures at 7d.½, 1s. 10½d.;
287 Curtaine rings at 18d. [per] ct., 4s. 4d.;
10 Curr Bitts at 22d.½, 18s. 9d.;
12 pr. bosses, 8s. 3d.;
2 drawing knives at 14d., 2s., 4d.;
3 doz. 1 Shoue Spurs at 2s. 6d., 7s. 8½d.;
3 shoue knives at 2d.½, 7d.½;
4 wimble bits & 1 Gimlet, 1s.;
1 brick Joynter, 4d.;
4 outside Chist lock at 10d. [per], 3s. 4d.;
1 Chist lock, 10d.;
12 li. pack thred at 12d. [per], 14s.;
1 Cutting Knife, 6d.;
2 X Garnels at 8d., 1s. 4d.;
1 cow bell, 8d.;
1 halfe pt. pott, 1s.;
14 yd. ¾ Carsy at 3s. 6d., 2li. 11s. 7½d.;
8 pcs. blu linon, qt. 233 yd. ¾, at 9d., 8li. 15s. 3¾d.;
37 yd. ticking at 2d., 3li. 14s.;
25 yd. ¾ yellow flanell at 18d., 1li. 18s. 7½d.;
61 yd. ¾ fine doulas, and ½ pc. fine Doulas, 13li.;
1 pc. Course Ticking, qt. 35 yds., at 12d., 1li. 15s.;
171 yd. Genting in 20 pls. & Severll. Remnts. at 18d.,
12li. 16s. 6d.;
4 yd. ¾ peniston at 2s., 9s. 6d.;
45 yd. ¾ St. Petters linon at 15d., 2li. 17s. 2¼d.;
16 yd. ¼ Red flannell at 20d., 1li. 7s. 1d.;
½ doz. chusians at 2s., 12s.;
35 yd. Small Noyles at 9d., 1li. 6s. 3d.;
18 yd. ¼ medrinix damaged at 4d., 6s. 1d.;
1 pc. Red Cotten, qt. 72 yd., at 21d., 6li. 6s.;
1 pc. ditto, qt. 76 yd., at 21d., 6li. 13s.;
42 yd. medrinix at 9d., 1li. 11s. 6d.;
33 yd. St. Petters Linon at 14d., 1li. 18s. 6d.;
59 yd. ½ medrinix at 9d., 2li. 4s. 7½d.;
45 yd. ¾ broad linon at 18d., 3li. 8s. 7½d.;
26 yd. broad Linon at 15d., 1li. 12s. 6d.;
94 yd. Narow Brene at 15d., 5li. 17s. 6d.;
32 yd. ¾ Longloses at 16d., 2 li. 3s. 8d.;
115 yd. Vittery at 13d., 6li. 4s. 7d.;
107 yds. ditto damaged at 8d., 3li. 11s. 4d.;
1 Ruge Eaten, 20s., 1li.;
1 ditto, 1li. 4s.;
1 ditto, 16s.;
1 ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 ditto, 1li. 3s.;
70 yd. Smll. Noyles at 9d., 2li. 12s. 6d.;
35 yd ½ Red Cotten at 2s., 3li. 11s.;
45 yd ½ St. Petters linon at 16d., 3li. 8d.;
1 bolt Ranletts, qt. 70 yd., at 12d., 3li. 10s.;
62 yd. Lockrom at 12d., 3li. 2s.;
1 pc. course Ticking, qt. 35 yd., at 12d., 1li. 15s.;
16 yd. ½ Medrinix at 9d., 12s. 4½d.;
59 yd. Vittery damaged at 6d., 1li. 9s. 6d.;
63 yd. fine hall cloth at 16d., 4li. 4s.;
13 doz. & 8 pr. large Sisers at 3s., 2li. 1s.;
4 doz. Smll. Sisers at 2s., 8s.;
4 doz. large Combes at 4s. 6d., 18s.;
16 doz. ditto at 3s. 6d., 2li. 16s.;
12 doz. ditto at 3s., 1li. 16d.;
4 doz. ditto at 2s., 8s.;
9 white haft knives at 8d., 6s.;
6 bl. haft knives at 4d., 2s.;
16 bl. woden haft case knives at 4d., 5s. 4d.;
86 hower Glases at 6d., 2li. 3s.;
7 papers manchester at 4s., 1li. 8d.;
1 pc. filiting, 2s.;
½ li. fine thred at 10s., 5s.;
128 li. Colered & browne thread at 2s. 8d., 17li. 1s. 4d.;
25 Grose & 8 doz. Gimp coat buttons at 21d., 2li. 4s. 11d.;
2 Grose brest ditto at 16d., 2s. 8d.;
1 pc. Slesy holland, 15s.;
1 pr. Gerles Gren Stockings, 1s. 2d.;
a percell of hat bands & linings, 5s.;
1 pr. bandelers, 6s.;
31 old fashioned high Crowned hats at 18d., 2li. 6s. 6d.;
1 low ditto, 1s. 6d.;
2 yd. ½ Curle at 2s. 5d., 6s. ½d.;
28 wooden blocks at 4d., 9s. 4d.;
1 Ruge, 18s.;
2 Red Cushian, 5s.;
1 Red Ruge, 10s.;
old Curtaines, &c. in a Chist, 10s.;
1 Silke cradle ruge, 12s.;
1 Canvis Sute, 2s. 6d.;
1 large wainscot chist, 18d.;
1 old Chist & two old Trunks, 8s.;
1 Chaire & 1 Table, 6s.;
1 pr. weo. black shouse, 3s. 6d.;
4 tin pans, 3s.;
1 watch Glase, 1s.;
3 Sase pans, 2 tunells & 2 peper boxes, 1s. 6d.;
1 bed, bolster & pillow, 2li. 15s.;
1 bedsted & matt, 10s.;
1 pr. Grene Curtains & valients, 1li.;
2 Red Fethers, 5s.;
1 cod line, 1s. 3d.;
1 Cloake bage, 3s.;
oatmell, 6s.
IN THE LOWER WAREHOUSE.
120 hh. or thereabouts of salt at 8s., 48li.;
17 m. shingle at 5s. [per], 4li. 5s.;
2 ct. ½ Clabords at 4s., 10s.;
20 barells Tarr at 4s. 6d., 4li, 10s.;
5 barells Oyle at 25s., 6li. 5s.;
3 old hogsheads, 7s. 6d.;
1 Cask Nayles, qt. 0: 2: 25, ditto, qt. 1: 1: 24, 1 ditto,
qt. 2: 0: 01, 1 ditto, qt. O: 3: 00, 1 ditto, qt. 1:
0: 09, 1 ditto, qt. 1: 0: 05, 1 ditto, qt. 1: 3: 15,
total, 8: 3: 23, deduct Tare, 0: 3: 23, Rest, 8: 0:
00 at 46s. 8d., 18li. 13s. 4d.;
1 Caske hobs, 6li.;
1 Cable, qt. 3ct: 3: 2li. at 25s., 4li. 14s. 2d.;
48ct: 0: 13li. Spa Iron at 20s., 48li. 2s. 4½d.;
26: 0: 00 Lead at 2Os., 26li.;
2 doz. 3 Rubstones at 18d. [per] doz., 3s. 4½d.;
35 doz. Erthen ware, 3li.;
1 barll. yelow Oaker, qt. neat 2ct: 0: 17li. at 10s., 1li. 1s. 6d.;
a percell of old Junke, 10li.;
1 Great beame Scales & 1 halfe hundrd., 1li. 15s.;
1 Smll. beame & 2 morters, 10s.;
2 netts damaged, 10s.;
old rey in ye Garret, 3s.;
5 m. Red Oak hogshead staves at 25s., 6li. 5s.;
1 pr. old hand screws, 10s.;
2 pr. Stilliards, 1li. 5s.;
a percell of Rozin, 10s.;
1 longe Oare, 5s.;
shod shoule, 1s. 6d.;
old cask, 10s.;
1 Suger drawer, 1s. 6d.;
a percell Limestones on the wharfe, 8li.
IN THE UPER WAREHOUSE.
3 Ketles 95li.½, 15 potts 550li. at 25s. [per] ct., 7li. 4s.;
9ct: 2: 2li. lead at 20s. [per] 9li. 10s. 4d.;
4: 1: 9 Stelle att 50s. [per], 10li. 16s. 6d.;
1: 2: 8 of Old Iron at 12s. [per], 19s.;
1 hogshed Suger, qt. 6ct: 1: 16li. neat 20s., 6li. 8s.;
1 Cask Starch, qt. 150li. neate at 3d., 1li. 17s. 6d.;
7 doz. [2/3] Glase botles at 2s. 9d., 1li. 1s. 1d.;
2 barll. mattasows at 30s., 3li.;
1 pr. Great hand screws, 3li.;
12 whip Sawes at 9s., 5li. 8s.;
beanes, 3s.;
1 Chist drawers, 1li. 10s.;
wheate, 6s.;
1 pr. Great Stilliards, li. 5s.;
1 pr. Smll. Stilliards defective, 5s.;
219 fot Bords, 3s. [per], 2 harpn. Irons 12d. [per], 8s. 7d.;
old caske, 10s.;
Graine, the Sweping of the Chamber, 3s.;
part of an old Clock, 10s.
IN THE OLD HALL.
9 turkey worke chaires wthout. backs, 5s. [per], 2li. 5s.;
4 ditto wth. Backs at 8s. [per], 1li. 12s.;
6 low Turky worke ditto wth. Backs, 8s. [per], 2li. 8s.;
2 Tables, 20s. [per], 1 ditto, 5s., 2li. 5s.;
1 Carpet, 15s.;
1 pr. large brase Andirons, 1li. 10s.;
1 large looking Glase & brases, 2li. 5s.;
3 Curtaine rods & Curtains for windows, 15s.;
2 Candlesticks, 5s.;
1 Glase Globe, 1s.
IN THE RED CHAMBER.
8 Red branched chaires wth. Covers, 16s. [per], 6li. 8s.;
1 Smll. table, 1 Red carpet, 10s.;
2 Curtaine rods & window Curtaines, 7s.;
1 Scritore & frame, 1li. 10s.;
2 Trunks, 15s.;
1 old Cuberd & Red cloth, 6s.;
1 pr. brase Andirons, 1 back, 1 pr. Tongs, 13s.;
1 looking glase, 6s.;
1 large white Quilt, 2li.;
1 ditto, 1li. 10s.;
1 ditto, 1li.;
1 pr. Shetts, 1li.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 pr. ditto, 18s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 5s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 2s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li.;
1 pr. ditto, 18s.;
1 pr. ditto, 12s.;
1 pr. ditto, 18s.;
1 pr. ditto, 18s.;
1 pr. ditto, 1li. 4s.;
1 pr. ditto, 16s.;
½ pr. ditto, 8s.;
½ pr. ditto, 18s.;
17 Napkins, 1 large table cloth & a Towell all of Damaske, 4li.;
9 diaper Napkins & 1 Table Cloth, 15s.;
1 doz. ditto & 1 Table Cloth, 1li. 2s.;
1 doz. ditto & 1 Table Cloth, 1li. 2s.;
1 doz. ditto & 1 Table Cloth, 18s.;
1 doz. diaper Napkins & a Table Cloth, 17s.;
1 Table Cloth, 8s.;
2 pillowbers at 2s. 6d. [per], 5s.;
1 Table Cloth, 5s.;
1 diaper Table Cloth, 8s.;
1 ditto, 8s.;
1 Cuberd Cloth, 5s.;
1 ditto, 3s.;
1 Calico Counter pain, 8s.;
18 pilobers & Napkins, 15s.;
4 towells & a Cuberd Cloth, 10s.;
1 Child's Bed, 1s.;
1 Red Cushion, 1s.
IN THE TWO CLOSETS ADJOYNING.
10 doz. Erth. ware, 15 large, 33 Small tins pans for Suger Cakes,
16 qt. botles, 3 Erthen pots, 3 long mum Glases, 2li. 10s.
IN THE GLASE CHAMBER.
1 bed sted & apurtenances, 1li.;
1 fether bed, bolster & 2 pillows, 4li. 10s.;
1 pr. Curtains & Valients, 2li. 10s.;
1 Red Ruge, 8s.;
1 large white blanket, 8s.;
1 Stript blanket, 3s.;
1 Silke blanket, 12s.;
1 large Striped blanket, 8s.;
1 Smll. blanket, 4s.;
1 pr. shettes, 14s.;
2 pillowbers, 2s.;
6 parogon Chaires at 10s. [per], 3li.;
2 longe Stooles, at 10s., [per], 1li.;
2 Stands at 4s., 8s.;
1 Table, 1 linsy carpet, 10s.;
1 Calico Carpet, 3s.;
1 looking Glase, 7s.;
1 pomader basket, 10s.;
1 Ouall fine wicker basket, 3s.;
1 painted Couberd Cloth, 3s.;
1 Glase frame for Glase worke, 1li.;
3 Curtain rods & window Curtains, 10s.;
1 pr. Andirons wth. brases, 12s.;
1 pr. brasse fire pan & Tongs, 8s.
IN THE CORNER CHAMBER.
1 bedsted, 10s.;
2 Ruges, 1li. 12s.;
1 pr. Curtains & Valients & Rods, 2li.;
1 Grene Counter paine, 5s.;
1 pr. Sheets, 12s.;
1 bolster & pillow, 1li.;
1 wainscot Chist, 10s.;
1 Table & 1 Grene Carpet, 12s.;
8 yd. bengall at 9d., 6s.;
7 yd. doulas at 20d., 11s. 8d.;
4 yd. ½ Stript linon at 16d., 6s.;
1 yd. ½ Serge at 3s., 4s. 6d.;
7 yd. Narr. brene at 15d., 8s. 9d.;
1 yd. [3/8] Grene Say at 3s. 6d., 4s. 9¾d.;
8 pcs. Tape at 9d., 6s.;
3 yd. Lockrom at 12d., 2s.;
1 yd. ¾ ticking at 20d., 2s. 11d.;
a Remnant of holland, 1s.;
19 yd. high brene at 2s., 1li. 18s.;
1 yd. Red Cotten, 1s. 9d.;
3 yd. course holland at 18d., 4s. 6d.;
3 yd. ½ narr Cloth at 8d., 2s. 4d.;
[7/8] yd. Linon at 18d., 1s. 3¾d.;
2 yd. ¾ fustian at 12d., 2s. 9d.;
a Remt. fine Canvis, 7d.;
1 yd. ½ Linon at 18d. [per], 2s. 3d.;
1 yd. wte. Calico, 1s.;
1 yd. ½ linon at 18d., 2s. 3d.;
1 yd. ½ Slesy at 12d., 1s. 6d.;
1 yd. colerd Fustian, 1s.;
1 pr. Red. weo. stockings, 1s. 6d.;
2 old Chaires at 2s., 4s.;
1 bundle of Remnants, 1s.
IN THE COUNTEING HOUSE & ENTERY.
1 dozn. pins, 9s.;
1 dozn. ditto, 10s.;
2 li. Colerd thread at 2s. 8d., 5s. 4d.;
3 li. ½ wormesed at 4s. 6d. [per], 15s. 9d.;
¼ Grose Girt web at 22s. [per] Grose, 5s. 6d.;
12 books Carell upon Jobe, 1 Grt. bible & 1 Psalme Booke, 3li.;
1 booke Markham's Gramer, 2s.;
3 pls. Turtle Shell, 1s. 6d.;
1 Snafle bitt, 1 pr. Spures, 1s.;
2 pr. Stirop Irons, 2s.;
1 Inkhorne, 6d.;
1 Caine, 3s.;
1 Turned Stick, 2s., 5s.;
1 Rapier Tipt wth. Silver, 15s., 1 ditto, 5s. 1li.;
4 musketts, 2li.;
1 pr. pistolls & holsters, 1 plush Sadle layed wth. Silver lace
& Sadle Cloth, 5li.;
1 Caduco box, 2s.;
1 buff belt wth. Silver buckles, 1li.;
2 old bells, 2s.
IN THE HALL CHAMBER.
1 bed Sted, 5s.;
1 pr. Red Curtaines & Valients, 2li. 10s.;
2 Ruges, 16s.;
1 pr. Shetts, 10s., 1 pillow, 5s., 15s.;
1 flock bed & 1 fether bolster, 16s.;
2 Ruges, 12s.;
1 Trundle bedsted & Curtaine rods, 7s.;
4 Trunks, 1li.;
1 Chist drawers & 1 Carpet, 10s.;
1 Table & 1 Carpet, 8s.;
1 looking Glase, 5s.;
1 Curtain Rod & window Curtaine, 3s.;
2 pr. white Calico Curtaines, Valients, tester Clothes & 6 Covers
for Chaires, 2li. 5s.;
14 old Napkins at 9d., 10s. 6d.;
19 new diaper small ditto at 9d. 14s. 3d.;
2 Calico Side bord Clothes, 6s.;
3 Calico ditto, 6s.;
12 towells at 6d., 6s.;
more 35 diaper & other Napkins at 9d., 1li. 6s. 3d.;
7 Table Clothes at 5s., 1li. 15s.;
8 ditto at 2s. 6d., 1li.;
15 ditto, 18s.
WAREING CLOTHES.
1 Tropeing Scarfe & hat band, 1li. 10s.;
1 Cloake, 2li.;
1 Cloth Coat wth. Silver lace, 2li.;
1 Camlet Coate, 15s.;
1 old bla. farendin Sute, 1li.;
1 black Cloake, 2li.;
1 velvet Coate, 2li. 10s.;
1 old Tabey dublet, 5s.;
1 old fashioned duch Sattin dublet, 15s.;
1 black Grogrin Cloake, 1li. 10s.;
3 Quilts, 3s.;
1 hatt, 15s.;
1 pr. Golden Topt. Gloues, 10s.;
1 pr. Imbroidred ditto, 8s.;
1 pr. bl. fringed Gloues, 3s.;
1 pr. bl. & Gold fringed ditto, 3s.;
1 pr. new Gloves, 2s.;
2 pr. Gloves, 2s.;
3 pr. old Silke Stockings, 8s.;
2 belts and 1 Girdle, 2li.;
1 Sattin Imbroadred wascot wth. Gold, &c., 3li.;
1 yd. ¾ persian Silke at 5s. 6d., 9s. 7½d.
IN THE COUNTING HOUSE & ENTRY MORE.
1 Table, 5s.;
1 Carpet, 10s.;
1 Chaire, 4s.;
1 desk & Cuberd, 5s.;
1 pr. bandelers, 3s.;
seling wax, 3s.;
1 Cushian, 6d.;
3 flasketts & 2 basketts, 5s.;
1 Iron bound Chist, 5s.
IN THE HALL.
1 Lookeing Glase, 7s.;
3 tables, 1li. 2s.;
1 Turky worke Carpet, 1li. 5s.;
8 leather Chaires at 5s., 2li.;
5 Stra bottomed Chaires, 5s.;
1 old wicker Chaire, 2s.;
1 Napkin presse, 1li. 10s.;
1 Glase Case, 6s.;
1 Clocke, 2li.;
1 Scritore or Spice box, 6s.;
1 Screne wth. 5 leaves & Covering, 15s.;
1 old Smll. Turky worke Carpet, 3s.;
1 Armed Chaire, 2s.;
1 Stand, 1s. 6d.;
1 Great Candlestick, 1li.;
1 pr. Grt. Dogs & 1 Iron Back, 2li. 5s.;
5 Cushians at 4s. pr, 1li.;
1 window Curtaine & rod, 6s.;
1 pr. Tongs, Shoule fire & Smll. Tongs & Toster, 7s.;
Glases in the Glase case, 5s.
IN THE MAIDES CHAMBER.
1 bed & bolster, 3li.;
1 bedsted, 2s.;
1 new Bed & Case, 5li.;
1 Cushian & 2 Stoole Covers, 3s.;
1 pillion & Cloth, 1li.;
1 pr. old Shetts, 4s.;
3 pr. Shetts at 16s. 2li. 8s.;
1 pr. new Shetts, 1li. 2s.;
5 Shetts at 8s., 2li.;
3 Shetts at 4s., 12s.;
1 Table Cloth, 3s.;
1 old Sheet, 2s.;
1 wainscot chist, 5s.;
2 Cotten Ironning Clothes, 3s.;
1 Calico Cuberd Cloth, 1s. 6d.;
Starch & a bage, 2s.;
2 boxes, 2s.;
1 Rat eaten Carpet, 5s.;
1 old Bed Tick, 7s.;
1 pr. old Stript Curtaines & Carpets, 8s.;
1 Chist, 4s.;
1 Smll. brase Ketle tined, 6s.;
1 lanthorne, 5s.;
1 Calender & 1 plate, 2s.;
1 Wooden Voider, 1s. 6d.;
1 bird Cage, 2s.
IN THE GARRETTS.
12 Reame ½ paper at 4s., 2li. 10s.;
1 bolt Noyles, qt. 89 @ ¼ is 130 yd. ¾ at 16d. [per], 8li.
14s. 4d.;
1 Sadle, bridle & brest plate, 1li. 5s.;
2 pc. pole daine & a Remnt, qt. 80 yds., 4li.;
150li. Fr. lines at 10d. [per], 6li. 5s.;
1 pr. large brase Andirons, 1li.;
1 Candlebox, &c., 2s.;
1 pillion & cloth, 5s.;
1 old port mantle, 1s.;
2 Childr. blankets, 10s.;
1 Carpet, 8s.;
1 wainscot chist, 5s.;
1 pin Chest, 2s. 6d., 7s. 6d.;
gloves & Some Lumber, 5s.;
2 old Ruge, 3s.;
1 hamaker, 5s., 8s.;
1 Auger weges, & chisles, 5s.;
5 Shetts at 5s., 1li. 5s.;
1 fine Shett, 7s.;
19 napkins & towells, 12s.;
about 100li. hogs & beffe Suet at 2d., 16s. 8d.;
meale Troues, &c., 6s.;
old Bed steds, 10s.;
old cask, 5s.
IN THE ENTRY BELOW.
1 Round table & 1 Gren Carpet, 15s.;
2 Great Chaires & 4 high Chaires, 15s.;
1 Cuberd & cuberd Cloth, 8s.
IN THE CLOSET.
Erthen ware & a Glase botle, 5s.;
a parcell of honey, 5s.
IN THE PEUTER ROME.
4 boles, 1 Tray & Erth. Ware. 10s.;
1 limeback & 1 Iron pott, 2li.;
a percell of old Iron, 5s.;
1 large defective driping pan, 2s. 6d.;
4 trayes, 1 platter, 2s., Erthen ware, 18d., 3s. 6d.;
1 leather Jack.
IN THE KITCHIN.
7 Spitts, 1li. 5s.;
2 Racks, 1li.;
1 Jack & waite, 12s.;
2 Iron potts & 2 pr. pot hooks, 1li.;
4 tramells & 1 Iron barr, 15s.;
1 pr. Iron doges, 10s.;
2 fenders, 4s.;
1 pr. la. Tonges, 4s.;
1 Iron driping pan, 3s.;
1 Iron back, 1li.;
1 Iron Ketle, 6s.;
4 box Irons, 8s.;
5 old Iron potts, 1li. 4s.;
1 pr. Fetters, 3s.;
2 Fring pans, 5s.;
3 Grid Irons, 1 pr. pot hookes & treuet, 7s.;
1 Slut or larance, 1s.;
1 Cleuer & a shreding knife, 4s.;
a hooke & Iron Squers, 2s.;
1 Chafeing Dish, 1s. 6d.;
1 pr. bellows, 1s. 6d.;
1 warmeing pan, 2s.;
38 pls. Tin Ware, 1s. 4d.;
2 Iron Candlesticks & a toster, 5s.;
2 tables, 5s. 4 old Chaires, 6d., 7s.;
Erthen ware, 6s.;
453li. peuter of all Sorts at 12d., 22li. 13s.;
24li. brase in Small ware at 20d., 2li.;
1 Coper Ketle, qt. 30li. at 2s., 3li.;
2 brase Ketles, qt. 57li. at 12d., 2li. 17s.;
1 brase Stew pan, 6s.;
3 bell mettle Skilets, qt. 25l., 1li. 5s.;
1 payle, 1 bole & other wood. lumber, 5s.; 2 Cases &
7 knives, 12s.;
1 Slick Stone, 1s. 6d.
IN THE WASH HOUSE.
1 Peuter Still, 10s.;
1 Coper, 4li.;
tubes, a Table & lumber, 5s.;
1 pr. Andirons & Iron rake, &c., 5s.
IN THE STABLE.
1 horse, 4li.;
1 Cow, 3li., wth. the hay, 7li.;
2 forks, 1 Tray, 2 Grain payles, 6s.;
1 axe, 3s.;
1 Cow at 1s. Williams, 2li. 10s.
IN THE SELLER UNDER THE HOUSE.
Old Caske, 1li.;
24 qt. Jugs, 4s.;
24 Glase botles, 5s. 6d.;
4 Jares, 4s.;
1 Erth. pot, 1s.;
44li. Castle Sope at 6d., 1li. 2s.
IN THE CLOSET OF KITCHIN CHAMBER.
43 pls. Erthen ware at 2s. [per] doz., 7s., 2d.;
19 Glase cups & Smll. botles, 2s.;
1 pr. Shouse, 4s.;
5 qt. botles, 15d.;
1 Stone Juge, 2s., 3s. 3d.;
3 woden boxes, 1s.;
1 Tin Candlestick, 1s.;
1 Cap for a Clock of belmetle, 2s.
IN THE KITCHIN CHAMBER.
1 large Scritore, 5li.;
1 bedsted & Teaster, 1li.;
1 fether bed & bolster cased & 2 pillows, 6li. 10s.;
1 pr. Sad Colerd Curtaines & valients & counter paine & rods, 3li.;
1 worsted Stript Ruge, 3li.;
2 pillobers, 2s.;
1 pr. blanketts, 1li.;
1 pr. Shetts, 1li.;
1 bedsted & Teaster & head peice, 1li.;
1 fether bed & bolster cased & 2 pillows, 4li.;
1 pr. Red Serge Curtains valients & Rods, 3li. 10s.;
1 Quilt of Calico Colerd & flowred, 1li. 10s.;
1 Red Ruge, 10s.;
3 blanketts, 1li.;
1 Pallet bedsted, Teaster & hed peice, 1li.;
1 fether bed & bolster, 1 pillow, 3li. 10s;
2 Curtaines & Smll. Valients, 15s.;
2 Coverleds, 1li. 12s.;
1 pr. blanketts, 1li.;
1 Shett, 5s.;
1 Stoole, 1s.;
7 Chaires Sad Colerd & 1 Grt. Chaire, 4s., 1li. 12s.;
1 Table wth. a drawer, 8s.;
2 Stands, 4s.;
1 Close Stoole, 6s.;
8 window Curtains & 4 Rods, 16s.;
1 looking Glases & brases, 1li. 5s.;
1 Chist Drawers, 25s. & Cloth, 4s., 1li. 9s.;
2 pr. bla., 1 pr. Speckled Stockings, 12s.;
4 pr. old Stockings, 4s.;
1 pr. andirons wth. brases, 10s.;
1 pr. tongs & fire pan, 4s.;
1 back, 12s.;
1 Round fender, 5s.;
1 pr. bellows, 1s. 6d.;
1 Japan Trunke. 8d.;
5 neckclothes at 9d., 3s.;
4 night caps at 15d., 5s.;
17 bands at 6d., 8s. 6d.;
2 pocket hanchesters, 1s.;
1 pr. Gloves, 1s.;
3 fustian wescoats, 6s.;
3 pr. dito drawers, 8s.;
4 pr. holland drawers at 2s. 6d., 10s.;
6 Shirts, 1li. 12s.
GOODS THAT CAME FROM ENGLAND FROM MR. JOHN IUES.
Pr. Capt. Gener. 6 pls. peniston amo. to wth. charges, 18li. 17s.
7d., wth. advance, 50li. [per] Ct., 28li. 6s. 4d.
Pr. Capt. Edwards. 20 pls. blue linon & a percell of Spice amounting
to wth. Charges, 48li. 17s. 6d., wth. adva. at 50li. [per] Ct.,
73li. 6s. 3d.
IN THE CLOSET IN KITCHIN CHAMBER.
18 Glass botles, 4s., 6d.;
10 pls. Erthen ware, 2s. 6d.;
2 haire bromes, 2s. 6d.;
1 knife tipt wth. Silver, 1s. 3d.;
1 woden Screne, 3s.;
3 yd. bla. broadcloth at 10s., 1li. 10s.;
35 Qn.[98] mercht. Fish at 9s., 15li. 15s.;
[98] Quintal.
½ Qn. pollock at 5s., 2s. 6d.;
22 barlls. Porke at 43s., 47li. 6s.;
2 laced bands, 19s.;
2 pich potts, 8s.;
1 warehouse at Winter Island, 6li.;
1 Great beame Scales & ½ct. waites, 1li. 10s.;
112li. lead & 98li. Spa Iron, 1li. 17s. 6d.;
137li. hide, damages at 2d., 1li. 2s. 10d.;
1780 fot Bords at 2s. 6d. [per] ct. 2li. 4s. 5d.;
1 heffer, 1 Stere & 1 Cow aprized by Edward & Jno. Richards,
5li. 5s.
The house & land yt was Jno. Gatchells wth. the apurtenances,
115li.;
the house & land yt was Jno. Gatchells now Wm. Furners, 60li.;
the dwelling house & land nere Micall Coas, 40li.;
2 oxe Yoakes wth. bowes, 4s.;
2 hows, 1 peak ax & forks, 5s.;
1 barr Iron, 5s.;
1 load hay, 20s., 1li. 5s.;
1 old house & land formerly Hudsons acording to Towne Grant,
aprized by Jno. Lege & Ambrose Gayle, 3li.;
total, 219li. 14s.
At Boston: The warhouse & Ground, 200li.;
1056 ounces ½ pcs. of eight, 6s. 8d., 352li. 3s. 4d.;
2 Cloakes, 2li.;
an old Trunke, a hat & wax, &c., 6s. 8d.;
aprized by Eliak. Hucheson & Jer. Dumer, 554li. 10s.;
3 pipes Madara Wine at 11li., not being filled up, 33li.;
in mony of Petter Millers freight, 2li. 16s.
Brought home in Katch Jno. & William: 130 bushells Indian corne,
at 18d., 9li. 15s.;
33 bushells Rey at 3s., 4li. 19s.;
25 bushells ½ wheate at 4s., 5li. 2s.;
1 barll. Porke, 2li.;
3 barells Beffe at 25s., 3li. 15s.;
1 plaine Ruge, 10s.;
15 hower Glases, bad, 5s.;
4 pr. Stirop Irons & lethers, 7s.;
3 locks at 25d., 6s. 4½d.;
6 ditto at 11d.¼, 5s. 1½d.;
4 ditto at 8d.¼, 2s. 9d.;
6 hand sawes at 18d., 9s.;
11 trunk locks at 10d., 9s. 2d.;
6 box outsid locks, 6d., 3s.;
4 Cuberd locks at 6d., 2s.;
1 doz. combs at 2s., 2s.;
1 doz. ditto at 3s., 3s.;
1 doz. ditto at 3s. 6d., 3s. 6d.;
3 pr. parogon bodys at 8s., 1li. 4s.;
2 doz. Reap hooks at 9s., 18s.;
12 duble Girts, 9s.;
1 pr. Shetts at 16s., 16s.;
1 pr. Shetts at 10s., 10s.;
1 pr. ditto at 36s. 2 bredths ½, 1li. 16s.;
1 pr. ditto at 30s., 3 bredths, 1li. 10s.;
1 pr. ditto at 30s., 3 bredths, 1li. 10s.;
The land whereon the house comonly called Capt. Jno. Corwins
stands, 35li.
The Katch John & William wth. her apurtenances, 80li.;
1 old Mainsayle of Katch Penelopy, 1li. 10s.
This Inventory amounting to five thousand nine hundred Sixty foure
pounds nineten shillgs. & one peny ¾d. aprized as mony by us.
Barthl. Gedney
Benja. Browne
John Higginson, Junr.
Timo. Lindall.
--_Essex County Quarterly Court Files_, Vol. XLIV, leaf 95.
INDEX
Adultery, 211.
Allen, Capt. Bozone, 244.
Allen, William, 88.
Ames, Ruth, 203.
Amusements, 103.
Andover, 28.
Andrews, Thomas, 136.
Animals (domestic), 5, 7, 8, 33, 37, 38, 42, 91.
Animals (wild), 14, 91.
Annable, John, 141.
Anvils, 121.
Apothecary, 121.
Appleton, John, 33.
Apthorpe, Stephen, 126.
Assayer, 122.
Augusta, Me., 22.
Bacon, Rebecca, wid., 43, 87.
Bacon, William, 56.
Baden, Robert, 122.
Badger, Giles, 43, 86.
Bailey, Jacob, 117-119, 160-163.
Baker, 122.
Balance maker, 136.
Barber's union, 122.
Barnard, John, 50.
Barnard, Jonathan, 51.
Barter, 166, 172.
Bateman, John, 232.
Bean porridge, 98.
Bear baiting, 114.
Bed coverings, 53-59.
Belcher, Andrew, 146.
Bellamy, Samuel, 221.
Bellows maker, 123.
Bells, 123, 124.
Bible mandates, 102.
Billiard tables, 115.
Bissell, Samuel, 121.
Blacksmith, 124.
Block houses, 14, 15.
Block maker, 129.
Blowers, John, 134.
Blowers, Pyam, 51.
Bonner, Capt. John, 68.
Bookkeeper, 125.
Books, 1, 10, 15, 16, 35, 36, 103, 278.
Boone, Nicholas, 131.
Boston, 16, 18, 25.
Boston merchants, 149, 150.
Bottles, 130.
Bourne, John, 141.
Bowling green, 115.
Boxford, 203.
Boydell, John, 48, 50, 124.
Boyer, James, 132.
Bradford, William, 114.
Bradish, Jonathan, 130.
Brabrooke, Mehitable, 38.
Bradstreet, Gov. Simon, 149.
Brazier, 125, 126.
Brick oven, 41, 93.
Bricks, 20.
Bridgen, Michael, 139.
Brooks, Thomas, 49.
Brown, John, 114.
Browne, Edward, 126.
Browne, Walter, 134.
Bryant, William, 124.
Buckram, 126.
Building agreements, 227-238.
Buildings, construction, etc., 13-27.
Bullivant, Dr. Benjamin, 176.
Burlington, N. J., 13, 14.
Burning at the stake, 210.
Busgutt, Peter, 88.
Butcher, 126.
Cabinet maker, 126.
Calico printer, 127.
Calvin, John, 101.
Calvin's theology, 102.
Camera obscura, 130.
Candles, 96, 97, 127.
Cannon, 132.
Cardmaker, 127.
Cards, playing, 111.
Carpets, 23, 48, 50, 51, 55.
Carthrick, Michael, 86.
Cartright, Bethia, 55, 84.
Casement sash, 20, 268.
Caxy, John, 89.
Chandler, 127.
Chapman, 127.
Charlestown, 16, 18.
Chase, Aquila, 207.
Childs, John, 117.
Chimneys, 19, 20, 91.
Choate, Rufus, 24.
Chocolate mill, 127.
Christmas, 111, 114.
Chute, Lionel, 43, 45, 85.
Cider, 95, 96, 108.
Clap, Roger, 16, 106.
Clapboards, 14.
Clark, William, 25.
Clarke, Dr. John, 176.
Clarke, Richard, 132.
Clarke, William, 54, 56, 86.
Clemens, James, 127.
Clocks, 99.
Cloth, 5, 6, 24, 25, 36, 45, 48, 50-52, 57, 63, 69-83, 94, 95, 126,
127, 133, 134, 139, 141, 152, 153, 240, 242, 244, 246-257,
258, 263, 265, 270.
Clothing, 2, 5, 6, 35, 57, 59-83, 130-132, 151, 152, 241, 243,
246-257, 262, 265, 268, 270, 279.
Clough, Joseph, 123.
Coffin, William, 125.
Coffin furniture, 127.
Concord, 17.
Cooking, 8.
Cookson, John, 136.
Cookson, Robert, 135.
Cooper, 128.
Corn husking, 117-119.
Corn, Indian, 104.
Corwin, George, 42, 45, 55, 64, 270.
Costume, _see_ Clothing.
Counterpanes, 53-59.
Courts in Massachusetts, 200, 222.
Coverlets, 53-59.
Crimes, 39, 88, 107.
Crimes and punishments, 199-226.
Culpepper, Nicholas, 190.
Cummings, David, 96.
Cummings, Mrs. Joanna, 55.
Currants, 117.
Currier, 128.
Custom house records, 154-157.
Dakin, Jonathan, 136, 140.
Daly, Charles, 66.
Dancing, 111, 115.
Dankers, Jasper, 13-15, 46.
Davis, John, 66, 127.
Davison, William, 66.
Dedham, 18.
Dillingham, John, 32.
Dillingham, Sara, 35.
Dillingham, Sarah, 32-35, 85.
Diseases, 5, 7, 11, 105, 174-198.
Doctors, 174-191.
Dorchester, 19.
Douglas, Dr. William, 175.
Downing, Emanuel, 143.
Downs, Thomas, 33.
Dowse, Francis, 140.
Drinks, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 30, 95, 96, 108, 118, 119, 151, 155,
208, 246-257.
Draper, Richard, 129.
Drugs, 248.
Drunkenness, 107.
Duck, Stephen, 138.
Dudley, Thomas, 19, 105.
Dug-outs, 17, 18.
Dunster, Henry, 36.
Dye, 94.
Dyer, 128.
Dyer, John H., 128.
Earthenware, 129, 139.
Edwards, Thomas, 88.
Embroidery, 62, 70.
Endecott, Gov. John, 5, 18, 56.
Endecott, Dr. Zerobabel, 178-190.
Erving, Henry W., 30.
Essex, 24.
Evenden, Walter, 139.
Executions, 202, 210, 218, 220-224.
Fabrics, _see_ Cloth.
Fairbanks house, 18.
Fairfield, John, 86.
Faneuil, A., 68.
Farming, 91.
Farrington, Edmond, 129.
Fellmonger, 129.
Fences, 100.
Fire engine, 129, 131.
Fireplace, 8, 24, 34, 38, 40, 91, 132, 141.
Fireworks, 116.
Firman, John, 16.
Fish, 145.
Fitch, ----, 16.
Flagg, Gershom, 129.
Flax, 95.
Fleming, Alexander, 128.
Flying man, 117.
Food, 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 28, 37, 41, 42, 91, 93, 98,
104, 106, 107, 151, 162, 165, 239, 242, 246-257.
Fort, 15.
Frankland, Sir Henry, 25.
Franklin, James, 138, 140.
Freeman, Philip, 69, 131.
Frocks, 64-66.
Fry, Richard, 138.
Fuller, Dr. Samuel, 174.
Furnishings, Household, 7, 11, 23, 24, 26, 28-52, 55-57, 84-90,
154, 163, 241, 242, 246-257, 261, 264, 277, 280.
Furniture, 26, 29, 31, 33-37, 43-46, 49-52, 56, 57, 126, 246-257,
261, 276, 279, 281.
Furs, 249, 257, 267.
Gaines, Daniel, 141.
Games, 110.
Gardiner, David, 112.
Gedney, ----, 88.
Gee, Lately, 122.
Germantown (Braintree), 130.
Gilbert, Rev. Thomas, 208.
Glass, 1, 14, 20-23, 129, 130, 249, 267, 269.
Glazier's diamonds, 129.
Glover, Rev. Jose, 36.
Glover, 131.
Gloves, 64, 68.
Goffe, John, 55.
Googe, William, 37, 38.
Gore, John, 23.
Goyt, John, 18.
Graves, Richard, 88.
Graves, Thomas, 84.
Gray, Francis, 127.
Gray, James, 127.
Gray, Robert, 49.
Green, Bartholomew, 16.
Greenleaf, Stephen, 136.
Gridley, Isaac, 25.
Griffin, Henry, 126.
Grocery wares, 250, 259.
Gun, 136.
Gunsmith, 131.
Hair, 63.
Halberts, 131.
Hall, Samuel, 126.
Hamilton, Dr. Alexander, 29.
Hancock, Thomas, 47, 134.
Harding, Thomas, 146.
Hardware, 25-27, 153, 244, 264, 272-274, 283.
Hardware catalogs, 27.
Harris, William, 149.
Hartford, 17, 30.
Harvard College, 115.
Hatch, Col. Estes, 47.
Hats, 67, 132, 250.
Hearth, Iron, 132.
Henchman, Daniel, 46.
Henderson, Joseph, 69.
Hendry, Robert, 124.
Herbs, 99.
Herb tea and the doctor, 174-198.
Hersome, Mary, 86.
Hewsen, John, 66.
Hickey, John, 133.
Higginson, Rev. Francis, 3-5, 11, 16, 60, 104.
Hill, Thomas, 141.
Hobart, Rev. Jeremiah, 209.
Hollingsworth, William, 49.
Holyoke, Rev. Edward, 108.
Horse racing, 112-114.
Houghton, Rowland, 122, 131, 140, 141.
Hour glasses, 132.
Houses, 20, 39, 228-237.
Howard, William, 55.
Hull, John, 152, 169-171.
Hunt, James, 65.
Hunt, Sarah, 141.
Ingram, John, 137.
Indians, 16, 22, 114, 204, 211.
Ipswich, 32, 35, 38.
Irish, 8.
Iron, 25, 26, 98, 121, 256, 259.
Iron forge, 140.
Iron foundry, 132.
Iron monger, 132.
Ivers, James, 115.
Jacks, roasting, 140.
Jackson, Edward, 125, 126.
Jackson, John, 140.
Jenkins, Robert, 69.
Jeweller, 132.
Johnson, Edward, 16, 17, 108.
Jones, Daniel, 132.
Jones, William, 141.
Joyner, 133.
Killcup, George, jr., 48.
King's chapel, Boston, 235.
Lambert, Richard, 133.
Landis, Henry, 64, 83.
Langdon, Edward, 127.
Laws in Massachusetts, 199-226.
Leather clothing, 60, 61, 67, 70.
Lewis, Alonzo, 17.
Lidgett, Col. Charles, 146.
Lime kiln, 134.
Lincoln, Countess of, 19.
Linen, 141, 251.
Linen printer, 133, 134.
Locksmith, 135.
Log houses, 13-15.
Lord, Rupert, 50.
Lowell, John, 86.
Luce, Capt., 66.
Lumpkin, Richard, 35.
Lyell, David, 138.
Lynn, 17, 37.
Mahogany, 135.
Malden, 227.
Mallenson, Joseph, 89.
Manufactures, 4, 14, 15, 25, 91, 94, 120-142, 145, 154-156,
246-257, 276.
Manners and customs, 28-30, 101-109.
Marblehead, 18, 25, 29, 220.
Marlborough, 231.
Marriage intentions, 100.
Marriot, Powers, 68.
Mascoll, John, 37.
Massachusetts Bay Company, 5, 20, 239.
Massey, Robert, 85.
Matches, 92.
Mathematical instruments, 136.
Mather, Rev. Cotton, 102, 146.
Maverick, John, 47.
Maxwell, James, 132.
_Mayflower_ (ship), 7, 15, 31, 44.
Medicine, 99, 101, 174-198.
Meetinghouse, 227, 235.
Metcalf, Joseph, 56.
Middleborough, 141.
Middleton, Alexander, 130.
Military, 2, 114.
Military equipment, 132, 135.
Millard, Thomas, 36.
Miller, Samuel, 131.
Ministry, The, 207.
Money, 166-173, 270.
Moody, Rev. Samuel, 103.
More, Capt. Richard, 44.
Morton, Thomas, 201.
Muff, 68.
Murder, 202.
Music, 136.
Musgrave, Philip, 113.
Mustard maker, 137.
Nailmaking, 137.
Navigation Acts, 146.
Needlemaker, 137.
Newbury, 107.
Newhall, Mrs. Thomas, 55.
Newport, R. I., 146.
Nichol, James, 141.
Nichols, William, 69.
Norton, Mary, 85.
Noyes, Rev. James, 56, 87.
Oakes, Edward, 125.
Oakes, Dr. Thomas, 176.
Oil, Lamp, 137.
Oliver, Mary, 214-217.
Ordeal of touch, 202-204.
Oven, Brick, 41, 93.
Paine, William, 258.
Paint, 22-25, 49, 130.
Palmer, Joseph, 127.
Paper mill, 137, 138.
Paper money, 172, 173.
Parker, John, 48.
Patchwork quilt, 53-59.
Paxton, Charles, 51.
Peddler, 127.
Perkins, Jacob, 38.
Perkins, Dr. John, 177.
Perkins, Rev. William, 208.
Perry, Michael, 46.
Pewter, 34, 36, 43, 84-90, 125, 138.
Phillips, John, 48, 221.
Phillips, Joseph, 124.
Pictures, 156.
Pig run, 113.
Pillion, 97.
Pim, John, 131.
Pine tree money, 167-171.
Piracy, 217-224.
Pirates, 145-148.
Plank houses, 15.
Plymouth, 13, 15.
Pope's night, 116.
Population, 101.
Portraits, 64, 80.
Potash, 138.
Potter, Luke, 141.
Pottery, 138, 139.
Powder maker, 139.
Prices of commodities, 239-245, 258-283.
Pride, John, 138.
Privateering, 145.
Pumpkins, 98, 106.
Pumps, 122, 131, 140, 141.
Punishments, 7, 39, 44, 88, 110, 133, 199-226.
Putnam, John, 89.
Quakers, 14.
Quelch, Capt. John, 145, 220.
Quilting party, 119.
Quilts, 53-59.
Raisings, 119.
Randolph, Edward, 148.
de Rasieres, Isaac, 15.
Ray, Caleb, 140.
Read, James, 129.
Richards, Capt. Stephen, 129.
Religious affairs, 101-104, 107.
Russell, John, 138.
Russell, Thomas, 126.
Robinson, John, 142.
Rogers, Rev. Ezekiel, 56.
Rogers, Rev. Nathaniel, 49.
Rowe, John, 47.
Salem, 1, 16, 19, 20, 22, 49.
Salt trade, 156.
Saltonstall, Richard, 33, 34, 201, 205.
Sanded floors, 44.
Savage, Arthur, 127, 129, 130.
Scales, 140.
Scarlet letter, 210, 214.
Schaw, Janet, 163-165.
School, Boarding, 124.
Sergeant, Peter, 24, 46.
Servants, 8.
Sewall, Hannah, 21.
Sewall, Samuel, 21, 28, 63, 114.
Sharp, ----, 19.
Shipbuilding, 143, 148, 154.
Ship owners, 157.
Shipping and trade, 143-165.
Ships, Passenger accommodations on, 7, 158-165.
Shirley, Gov. William, 116.
Shoemaker, 140.
Shoes, 64, 66, 69, 94, 243.
Short, Henry, 45.
Shuffle-board, 110.
Silver, 34, 36, 37, 43, 64, 87.
Skelton, Rev. Samuel, 239.
Skins, 253, 267.
Sluyter, Peter, 13-15.
Smibert, John, 49.
Smith, Francis, 127.
Smith, Samuel, 55.
Smith, Simon, 137.
Snow shoes, 68.
Soap, 97.
Soap boiler, 127.
Society in Massachusetts, 107.
Spinning, 94, 95.
Sports and Games, 110-119.
Starr, Daniel, 48.
Stephens, William, 144.
Stevens, Daniel, 68, 115.
Stockings, 64, 67, 70.
Stoves, 141.
Surriage, Agnes, 25.
Swan, Col. James, 47.
Symmes, Thomas, 139.
Symonds, Mrs. Rebecka, 61.
Tailor, 141.
Taverns, 110-112.
Thacher, Oxenbridge, 125.
Thacher, Rev. Peter, 141.
Thatch, 19, 38.
Thomas, Isaac, 46.
Tidmarsh, Giles Dulake, 52.
Tiles, Dutch, 129.
Tilley, George, 24.
Timber, 145.
Tinware, 127.
Tobacco, 63.
Tools, implements, etc., 1, 7, 10, 44, 98, 246-257, 260,
264, 266, 280.
Topsfield, 23, 207.
Towle, Ann, 33, 34.
Toys, 42.
Trade, 143-165.
Trades, 15, 20, 58, 91, 94, 107, 120-142.
Trenton, N. J., 14.
Turner, Robert, 66, 243.
Tymms, Brown, 125.
Underwood, James, 122.
Usher, John, 67.
Vegetables, 7.
Veren, Hilliard, 49.
Vessels, 2, 4-12, 143-165.
Vetch, ----, Col., 21.
Vincent, William, 139.
Wall paper, 46-49.
Wampum, 166.
Wash bench, 29, 30.
Water engine, 141.
Watertown, 16.
Weapons, 4, 37, 56.
Weaving, 94, 134, 151.
Webber, John, 139.
Webber, Thomas, 126.
Webster, John, 122.
Weld, Capt. Joseph, 242.
Well, 99.
Westford, Conn., 30.
Wharton, Edward, 262.
Wheelwright, 142.
Whipple, Matthew, 86.
White, Thomas, 49.
Whitear, John, 124.
Whitesmith, 124.
Whittingham, John, 56.
Wigglesworth, Rev. Michael, 103, 175.
Wigs, 68.
Wigwams, 16-18.
Windows, 14, 21, 22, 230, 232, 237.
Winslow, John, 132.
Winthrop, Gov. John, 9, 16, 18, 34, 106.
Winthrop, John, jr., 32.
Witchcraft, 211.
Woburn, 17.
Wood, Obadiah, 122.
Wood, 254.
Woodcocke, William, 121.
Woodenware, 84-87, 154.
Woodman, ----, 28.
Woolen cloths, 257.
Wright, James, 123.
York, Me., 103.
Young, Christopher, 86, 88.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as
printed.
Mismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where
the missing quote should be placed.
The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the
transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
Page 48: "Killcup is ready to pay those he in indebted to"--The
transcriber has changed "in" to "is".
Page 186: "by being exernally applied"--"exernally" has been replaced
with "externally".
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