HATS! January 25, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Monday January 25, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Hats

The store reopened today after its normal Sunday closure. But a winter storm was brewing and the store traffic consisted only of five persons who bought a total of only six items.

Store Visitors

Items Purchased

This article is one in a series of a daily accountings of Colden Store transactions. Be sure you read the first installment for more of an introduction to the store. You should also read this article which appeared in the Journal of the Orange County Historical Society.

250 years ago today, Samuel Gillespie bought a hat for 10 shillings. Perhaps it was in preparation for the approaching (or ongoing) storm.

Hats were a common item of sale at the store. In the prior 5 months, Colden sold about 70 hats. A hat made of beaver fur sold for around two pounds (40 shillings). These were also called Castor Hats. However, most of the hats sold were in the price range of four to twelve shillings.

Most of the items in Colden's store were imported through the port at New York City, however there was one item that he purchased locally and resold in his store. He called them "Hills Hatts."  He purchased 66 of them from William Hill on November 4th of the prior year for about 6 1/2 shillings a piece. Their materials of construction are unknown but were likely of felts made from furs and wools.

I found this an interesting decription of  'hat-making' in colonial times: http://www.alfredjacobmiller.com/explore/from-pelt-to-felt/

As the day of January 25, 1768 progressed, the storm grew worse.  Perhaps Colden closed his store early in the day. The New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury reported that a meeting of the citizens of New York City on this evening was "adjourned on Account of the Badness of the Weather." (see p. 3 of the February 1, 1768 issue) The storm either continued into the next day or its aftermath took a full day to recover from, as the store was not open on Tuesday, January 26. It was one of only six days, other than Sundays, that the store did not have a transaction for the 450 calendar days of the DayBook.

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