Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.
Beeswax
Jacob Terwilliger sold Cadwallader Colden's Store three and one-quarter pounds of Beeswax on this day, 250 years ago. He was credited with four shillings and ten and one-half pence at the rate of eighteen pence per pound ("@18d").
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This article is one in a series of a daily accountings of Colden Store transactions. Be sure you read the first installment for an introduction to the store. You should also read this article which appeared in the Journal of the Orange County Historical Society.
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Honey bees were imported to the colonies in 1622. (Podcast on "Bees in the Colonies") By the time of the DayBook, bee husbandry had been carried out in the colonies for almost 150 years. The domestication of bees was often done by providing a hollowed out tree as a hive location.
The colonial foliage was very agreeable to the bee. In one year, Philadelphia exported 30,000 pounds of beeswax!
In the prior six months, the store bought about 60 pounds of beeswax from 13 different farmers. Beeswax was typically used in high quality candles. Jacob Terwilliger also sold tallow to the store on the same day. Tallow was made from animal fat and was used in candle manufacture.
There is only one purchase of honey recorded in the DayBook in the prior six months. William Terwilliger sold 48 pounds of honey to the store. Honey was used not only as a sweetener, but also in the manufacture of mead, a popular alcoholic beverage.
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