Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.
Scythe
David Smith and Jacob Bookstaver (Buckstaver) made consecutive purchases of scythes on this day, 250 years ago, in the Colden Store.
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| Image courtesy of passionforthepast.blogspot.com |
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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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[Author' Note of 2018-06-30. An updated blog on scythes is available here.]
Webster's Dictionary of 1828 instructs us that the spelling of 'scythe' is incorrect and should be 'sythe.' He would change his mind in later dictionaries. That is how fluid spelling can be. Colden's clerks spelled it both ways...and a few more just to cover all of the bases.
Webster's definition in 1828 was "An instrument for mowing grass, or cutting other grain or vegetables. It consists of a long curving blade with a sharp edge, made fast to a handle, which in New England is called a snath, and which is bent into a convenient form for swinging the blade to advantage. The blade is hung to the snath at an acute angle."
This was an indespensible tool for a yeoman of the 18th century. Undoubtedly every yeoman possessed at least one and treasured it dearly.
The inventive New Englanders were constantly coming up with improvements in the handle and blade which may have been why these two yeoman were making a purchase in what was really the off-season. The scythe was used for cutting grains like wheat and rye which were harvested between July and December. Indeed, ten of the thirteen scythe purchases transcribed so far were purchased in late June 1768.
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| Today's purchases were on page 235. Pages 311 to 320 were all in late June. |
Here is a great clip of a scythe in action. It was hard work!
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