Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.
Mary McCollum
One valuable aspect of the DayBook is its revelations of relationships. The McCollum [McCollam, McColem, McCollem, or McKoleme] family is a good example.
There are twenty-seven instances where someone with the name McCollum makes a visit to the store. The given names in order of appearance are: Sarah, Thomas, John, Mary, Mathew, and William.
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.
On March 19, 1768 the DayBook states that items charged to Mathew's account are delivered to (picked up by) his brother Tom. Mathew and Thomas are brothers.
On October 17, 1768 the DayBook states that items charged to Thomas' account are delivered to (picked up by) his son, William.
Further we know that Thomas' wife is alive as she also picks up items on his account. Unfortunately, she is not named.
Sarah and Mary share the same account: #181. They could be mother and daughter or sisters. Perhaps one or both are sisters to Mathew and Thomas?
John picked up items for Thomas, hinting at an unknown relationship.
On two occasions, items for McCollums are picked up by people who do not share the same surname: John Rose and Thomas Beattie. I happen to know from my study of farms of the area that they are both close neighbors of the McCollums and perhaps they are even related in some fashion.
I find it fascinating that so much about relationships can be postulated using DayBook data. I say "postulated" because there could be several different Mathew McCollums and Thomas McCollums. The families were large and favorite names were frequently reused.
I have an interest in this family as I believe they were close friends of my 6th GGF, Samuel Campbell. Samuel had many children and grandchildren while they were neighbors with the McCollums and perhaps there was some intermarriage. Their farms abutted. The properties were on the southern border of the Wileman patent. And both lands were bisected by the Plank Road that ran to the future site of St. Andrews church. Previous blog on the McCollums.
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| McCollum and Campbell Farms in Montgomery, New York. The cross at the top of the map is where St. Andrews Church was located. The cemetery is still there. St. Andrew's road follows the path of a road that existed at the time of the DayBook. It passes through the Campbell Farm in yellow and the McCollum Farm in blue. The line at the southern end of the properties is the boundary between the Wileman and Brasier patents. The Perry Farm is shown in red. The black line running north through the McCollum farm is an abandoned road that existed at the time of the DayBook. Route 52 or South Plank Road passes through the Perry Farm (red). The blue river is the Tin Brook. It flows west to the Wallkill River. |
Five years from this date, in 1773, Samuel McCollum would witness the will of Samuel Campbell. [No Samuel McCollum is listed in the DayBook.] Samuel McCollum did not appear at the probate of the will in 1780 as did all of the other witnesses.
In 1779, Samuel Campbell's grandson, Ezekiel Campbell would serve along side Thomas McCollum and James Beattie in VanKeuren's Company of McClaughrey's Regiment of Militia. All of these names are in the DayBook.
In the 1790 census, Samuel Campbell's sons, Nathan and Levi, are listed just before John McClannen [believed to be McCollum]. Their location, based on other adjacent names in the census, is the area of the homesteads shown above.
By 1794, the Campbells had moved west and Robert Beattie came into possession of the Campbell farm. In 1808, Mathew McCollum and his wife, Elizabeth, sold their farm to Dr. Henry Hornbeck.
250 years ago today, Mary McCollum had two separate entries in the DayBook. The first entry lists three items sold to the store: Cash, Wheat, and Stocking Yarn. Had she harvested the wheat and spun the yarn herself? Had she acquired the cash through sales of other items to her neighbors?
The second entry lists the three items she purchased: Molasses, Tea, and Plates.
Unfortunately, we don't know much else about Mary McCollum. The month prior she had sold cash and yarn to the store and purchased heels, cups, pins, and fabric. Today's entry for Mary would be the last heard of her in the DayBook. It is frustrating that more is not known of this industrious woman. On the other hand it is fantastic that her doings from 250 years ago have been preserved by the DayBook and made available to all through this transcription.
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