SAMUEL CAMPBELL! April 30, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Saturday April 30, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Samuel Campbell

On this day, 250 years-ago, Samuel Campbell made his first of three appearances in the Store DayBook. His account was #224, which referred to a ledger book that summed all of Samuel's credits and debits to the Colden enterprise. Samuel was represented in the store by his son. Later in July of 1768 he was represented by his daughter.  Only on the final entry in August of 1768, did he appear himself in the store.

Samuel Campbell farm bisecting road from Goodwill Church to Walden Mills.  The property was deeded to the Barkleys in 1793. Colden home on the right. Base map ©Google 2018

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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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There were at least two Samuel Campbells living in this area at this time. One was the father of Samuel Jr., Joel (eponym of this blogsite), Jonathan, Ruben, and others. I mention these four brothers by name as they are all mentioned in the DayBook. The other Campbell siblings (Daniel, Mary, Nathaniel, Levi, and Nathan) do not appear in the DayBook by name. Samuel Sr. was about 70 years old on this date. He wrote his will in 1773 and is believed to have died about the same time.

Samuel Jr. would have been about forty-years-old on this date. He probably had a son named Samuel, but that is only conjecture. The other siblings may have also named sons after their father, Samuel Sr.   For example, in the 1790 census there are two Samuel Campbells living in this area.  One is referred to as "Samuel the 1st."  (not Sr. or Jr. as was used by the census-taker in some instances) The other is living on the farm of Samuel Campbell Sr. and is referred to as "Samuel the 2nd." (not Jr.) Samuel Jr. would have been about 60 years-old on in 1790 and was known to be living on the Samuel Sr. farm, so are Samuel Jr. and Samuel the 2nd the same person? Both Samuel the 1st and Samuel the 2nd had two male household members under 16 years-old which makes it even more confusing.

When Samuel Sr. wrote his will in 1773 (five years from today's date of April 30, 1768), he and Samuel Jr. were living on the same farm. It sat north of the Goodwill church on the road that travels down the Wallkill river towards the mills at what is now, Walden, New York (see map above). That is probably the direction Samuel's son walked on this day, 250 years-ago, with his gallon of molasses and twenty-eight pounds of salt. Whether this son was one of the many sons of Samuel Sr. or a son of Samuel Jr. is not known.

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PIPES! April 29, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday April 29, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Pipes

Adam Stag purchased six pipes at the Colden store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Clay pipes. Image courtesy of de.wikipedia.org

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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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Unlike the 'sticks' of mohair discussed in the prior blog, for which scant evidence is found in archaeological digs, the ubiquitous clay pipe is one of the most common colonial artifacts.

Tobacco was snorted as 'snuff' and probably chewed as well, but smoking of tobacco in pipes was very common. Colden sold over 1200 of the fragile 'little ladles', as they were called by the English. No wonder their clay fragments are often found when digging in the dumps of colonial farms.

These pipes were likely imported from England, but pipe manufacture had been going on in Virginia and Maryland for over 100 years.

Because tens of thousands of pipes have been found, there are copious publications on this topic.  The Williamsburg write-up is a good place to start.

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MOHAIR! April 28, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Thursday April 28, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Sticks of Mohair

Johannis Felter purchased one stick of mohair at the Colden store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Mohair is goat hair which has presumably been spun into yarn and wound on a stick. The price of a stick of Mohair was one-half shilling. That is too cheap to be a fabric as suggested by the transcribers of the Ramsey Store Ledger.

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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.

In the prior eight months, Colden sold 270 sticks of mohair. It was often purchased with fabric, buttons, thread, and silk. It may have been a thread-substitute for special purposes.

Webster defined mohair in 1828 as "The hair of a kind of goat in Turkey, of which are made camlets, which are sometimes called by the same name." A camlet was defined by Webster as "stuff." He defines "stuff" as "Cloth; fabrics of the loom; as silk stuffs; woolen stuffs. In this sense the word has a plural. Stuff comprehends all cloths, but it signifies particularly woolen cloth of slight texture for linings."

Unfortunately, those definitions do not add clarity to what a stick of mohair really looked like and what it was used for.

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WILTON! April 27, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Wednesday April 27, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Wilton

Peter Mulender purchased one yard of Wilton cloth at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

In the prior eight months, Colden sold fifteen yards of Wilton on seven different occasions.

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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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Wilton, not far from Salisbury England, was long known for its textiles (primarily broadcloth made on the wide looms of Wilton) and later for its carpets.

It could be that 'Wilton' was used as a generic term for any broadcloth. The term is neither in Webster's 1828 dictionary, nor in the British Dictionary of Traded Goods, nor in Caulfeild's Dictionary of Sewing.

Wilton cloth was relatively expensive at twelve shillings per yard. It was probably used in large items like cloaks where a 'broad' fabric was needed.

Colden also sold an item known specifically as 'Broad Cloth.' It was even more expensive at 18 to 28 shillings per yard, perhaps due to an even greater width.

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BUTTER! April 26, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Tuesday April 26, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Butter

Hans Yurry Smith brought three and one-half pounds of butter to the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago. He sold it to the store at the normal rate of ten pence per pound. His account was credited with £0:2:11.

Churning Butter.  Image courtesy of history.org

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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.

The community was a net exporter of butter. Of the sixty transactions for butter in the prior eight months, 80% were sales to the store.

It appears the salted butter kept well enough to not only send to New York City, but also to ship to the West Indies. Peter Kalm wrote in 1749 that New York vessels carried "flour, corn, biscuit, timber, tuns, boards, flesh, fish, butter, and other provisions ..." to the West Indies and returned with rum.

Sample of butter transactions at the Colden Sstore.

The price of the butter purchased the prior October from Robert Carskadan (see 057-06 above) was to be based on the price Carskadan would fetch in New York City later that fall. It appears Colden was not the only person in the area trading directly with New York City. The transaction contains a notation that seems to indicate this butter was intended for Colden's sister, "Mrs. DeLancey."

Butter was sold by the pound in firkins and cags (kegs). A firkin was about eight gallons and appeared to contain 65 to 75 pounds of butter. [8 gallons of water is 67 pounds. Butter is less dense than water, so a firkin of butter would be less than that.] Webster's 1828 dictionary stated that the term firkin was rarely used in America "... except for butter or lard, and signifies a small vessel or cask of indeterminate size, or of different sizes, regulated by the statutes of the different states."

Webster had this to say about 'keg' in his 1828 dictionary: "A small cask or barrel; written more correctly cag." It appears the clerks in Colden's store were using the 'correct' Websterian spelling! A 'cag' must have been synonymous with the firkin cask as the weights per cag were were about the same as the weights per firkin.

In the prior eight months over 2000 pounds of butter were purchased by Colden.  He only sold about 100 pounds.  More than half of the sales were to Captain Farrington, who perhaps was making a government purchase and not a personal one.

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NUTMEG! April 25, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

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

Nutmeg

Jacob Hill purchased one nutmeg from the Colden Store on this day, 250 years ago. In the prior eight months, Colden sold over forty nutmegs.

Nutmeg seeds. Image courtesy of Britannica.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.

Webster dedicated a lot of type to 'nutmeg' in his 1828 dictionary:

"noun (Latin... But it may be questionable whether the last syllable in English, meg, is not from Latin, mace, the bark that envelops the nut.) The fruit of a tree of the genus Myristica, growing in the isles of the East Indies and South Sea. The tree grows to the height of thirty feet, producing numerous branches. The color of the bark of the trunk is a reddish brown; that of the young branches a bright green. The fruit is of the kind called drupe, that is, a pulpy pericarp without valves, containing a nut or kernel. The covering of this nut is the mace. The nutmeg is an aromatic, very grateful to the taste and smell, and much used in cookery."

Nutmeg was believed to have medicinal and hallucinogenic uses, but it was primarily used as a spice in colonial kitchens.

A single nutmeg lasted a long time, as the purchasers at the store were very seldom repeat customers.

A nutmeg was usually sold as a single nut for one-half shilling, or about an hour's wage for a laborer. Four of the sales were in ounces at three shillings per ounce or the equivalent of six nuts.

ColonialSense.com lists 71 colonial recipes using nutmeg.  They include meats, vegetables, fish, puddings, soups, and sauces.

Nutmeg was a necessity in most rum punches. The recipe for the punch supposedly served by Martha Washington included grated nutmeg.

Image courtesy of BespokePost.com

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SPECTACLES! April 24, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Sunday April 24, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Spectacles

April 24th was a Sunday, 250 years ago. The store was normally closed on Sundays, but the DayBook records three visitors on the 24th. I think this was probably an error, and that these sales were actually made on the 23rd.  The date on one of the three entrees was altered (either from 23 to 24 or vice versa). The entry following this one has no date (assumed to be the 24th) and the subsequent entry is clearly marked as the 25th.

At any rate, it would not be the first time the clerks (or Colden) were confused with the current date.

The six items that were purchased on this date, 250 years ago, were all items discussed in detail in prior blogs, so this blog is dedicated to an item that was sold the following Monday to Duncan Campbell (relationship to the author, if any, is unknown): Spectacles.

Spectacles dated 1793. Image courtesy of Wellcome Trust.

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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.

Eyewear was a common sight by the 18th century. Both 'nose' or 'bridge' spectacles (with no sides) and the more modern spectacles with 'sides' were available. Even bifocals had been introduced by the 1760s.

The increasing availability of reading material (such as newspapers, almanacs, and bibles) made spectacles a necessity for much of the population.

This sale of spectacles to Duncan Campbell is only the second discovered so far in the DayBook.

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SALT! April 23, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Saturday April 23, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Salt

On about this date, 250 years ago, a copy of the April 18th edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury newspaper arrived in Coldengham. A short article reported that the merchants of New York City had agreed to boycott British goods shipped after October 1, 1768 if Boston and Philadelphia did also. The boycott would continue until 'a certain act of Parliament is repealed,' referring presumably to the so-called Townshend Acts.

This news was not good for most merchants who relied on the profits from these imported goods which were popular with colonists. Colden may have wondered how his store could survive after that date. Could the boycott be the reason that the DayBook stops in about November of 1768? Did his store, which relied on these imported goods, suffer from lack of inventory and close its doors? If it did close at the end of the DayBook, the boycott was probably not the reason. Many items could be sourced from New England (such as rum), plus there were pirated items to sell and a legal trade with Spain and France.

One thing was certain. The boycott would change life-as-usual at the Colden store.

One item that colonial entrepreneurs were trying to source locally was salt. It was available in the new world as sea salt and in mineral deposits. It was vital to the preservation of many foods. One historian writes that in the 1700s the colonists ate salted meat at nearly every meal.

Archibald McNeal purchased one-half bushel of salt on this day, 250 years ago, for two shillings and three pence.

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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.

===========================

Salt Manufacture
Liquid from sea water or briny springs/bogs were evaporated in shallow ponds or concentrated in heated vats. Salt crystals formed during this process and were removed.

Bushels
Salt was sold by the bushel. A bushel referred to a specific weight (not to a container). This was the case into the 1800s as seen from the attached table. A bushel of salt equated to 56 pounds. Hence, Archibald McNeal walked away from the store with 28 pounds, probably in a bag.

Bushel weights for various commodities. Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

Salting meats for preservation
"Salting, especially of meat, is the process of preserving food with salt (and a little saltpeter). This method draws out moisture that causes decay. Also, most bacteria, fungi, and other disease-causing organisms cannot survive in such a salty environment. Meat salted in cold weather (so it does not spoil before the salt has time to take effect), can last for many years. Salted meat was often smoked as well, by exposing it to smoke from a wood fire. In the American colonies, most home properties included a smokehouse where meats were smoked and stored." Foods preserved with salt by the Coldengham community included pork, beef, chicken, lamb, and fish. [Colonial Williamsburg]

This short demonstration of the salting process shows how McNeal may have salted his pork: https://youtu.be/ZdmPIpQZPRg

In the prior eight months, Colden sold 220 bushels of salt (12,320 #) in 275 transactions.

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LIME! April 22, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday April 22, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Lime

On this day, 250 years ago, John Nicholson sold seven casks of lime to the Colden store.

Lime has been used in agriculture since the times of the Greeks and Romans. Cato (95BC-46BC) described the operation of a limestone kiln to make this valued crop enhancer. As soon as the colonists arrived in North America they set out to find sources of lime.

Ruins of old lime kilns dating to the 18th century can be found up and down the East coast. John Nicholson appears to have operated one. In fact, it was said that nearly every farm in the colonies in 1760 had a lime kiln! [Williams, Lime Kilns in the Lower Jordan Valley, Lehigh County Historical Society, 1952, 77-78]

Lime kiln ruins in High Falls, NY. Image courtesy of The Lime Kiln

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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.

The calcination of limestone (CaCO3) to lime (CaO) requires heat. In colonial times, that heat was provided by burning wood. Alternating layers of stone and wood were ignited and allowed to burn for about a week.

Some limestone kilns were constructed of rock, but crude kilns were simply a pit filled with alternating layers of limestone and wood. In both cases the burn was monitored closely as too much or too little heat was detrimental.

Schematic of Lime Kiln. Image from Creative Commons

Lime was also used in mortars and plasters. The iron industry that was developing in the nearby highlands at this time, also required lime.

John Nicholson was an officer in the French and Indian War and led a company north to the Battle of Quebec in 1759. His home on current Route 208 still stands near the hamlet of Maybrook.

Much of the information on lime kilns was sourced from The Lime Kiln - Fraley.

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PAPER! April 21, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Thursday April 21, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Paper

This day, 250 years ago, was a quiet one for the Colden Store. There were only eight items purchased by four persons.

Andrew Crawford purchased one quire of paper for one-and-one-half shillings. A quire was 24 sheets of paper.

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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.

==============================

In a prior post I discussed the literacy of the community based on purchases of Almanacs, Bibles, Primers, Spellers, Ink-Powder/Ink-Horns, and paper.

The high quality paper (described as 'best') was probably imported, but paper mills were appearing in New York and could have supplied some of the paper. The best paper was two shillings per quire compared to one-and-one-half shillings for a normal quire.

In the prior eight months the Colden store sold about 70 quires of paper in about 70 transactions. Below is a sample of a search of the on-line database.

[image]

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COPPERAS! April 19, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Tuesday April 19, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Copperas

The store had no entries for Monday, April 18, but that may have been an error. It is likely that these entries, labeled April 19th, were actually transacted on the 18th. Colden and his clerks had problems with the dates during the prior few days. They appear to have skipped April 16 and no one seemed to noticed.

David Craig was one of the shoppers on this day, 250 years ago. One of his purchases was one-half pound of copperas (spelled copres, coppres, copras, and coperas in the DayBook) for the price of one-half shilling (six pence). Copperas was the common name at the time for iron sulfate used in black dyes.

Ferrous sulfate or Copperas.  Image courtesy of Benjah-bmm27 - Own work - Public Domain.

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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.

=======================

Webster's 1828 definition for copperas was "Sulphate of iron, or green vitriol; a salt of a peculiar astringent taste, and of various colors, green, gray, yellowish, or whitish, but more usually green. It is much used in dyeing black and in making ink, and in medicine, as a tonic. The copperas of commerce is usually made by the decomposition of iron pyrites. The term copperas was formerly synonymous with vitriol, and included the green, blue and white vitriols, or the sulphates of iron, copper and zink."

In the prior eight months, Colden sold about three pounds of copperas in six transactions.

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There were no transactions in the DayBook on Wednesday, April 20. Whether this was a special day, a clerking error, or just Colden's discretionary closure is not known.

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IRON POT! April 17, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Sunday April 17, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Iron Pot

Hons Crist Jr. purchased an Iron Pot at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years ago. Iron Pots were sold by the pound.

Iron Pot found on Colden Property at North Drury Lane and Rte. 17K. Courtesy of Colden House Study - 2017, Robert Williams.

In December of 2017, an abandoned home that stood on the what was the original Colden estate, was demolished. It was located on the corner of North Drury Lane and Rte. 17K.

1811 Map of Colden Estate showing location of Drury Lane Home.

Former Town of Montgomery Historian, Robert Williams, inspected the premises before and during the demolition. He speculated that this home may have been the original home of Colden Jr. prior to construction of his Stone Mansion in 1767.

In the process of removing salvageable items, a sealed board and batten door was located under the rear stairway which had been closed off for years. One of the artifacts found in this forgotten spot was an iron pot. This pot could very well be from the colonial period, perhaps much like the ones Colden sold in his store.

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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.

=======================================

In the prior eight months, Colden sold about 25 iron pots or iron kettles. They sold for either four or four-and-one-half pence per pound. The largest was 99 1/2 pounds and sold for £1:13:2! The smallest was sixteen pounds and sold for £0:6:0.

Iron Pots sold at the Colden Store.

For some reason the clerk failed to weigh the pot purchased by Crist. The weight in #, pence/#, and total price are not given in the DayBook.

Was this really Sunday, April 17th?

At first I thought that the date of the transactions of this day had been misread. That is not the case. Page 257 of the DayBook clearly states 'Aprill 17, 1768' at the top of the page and twice more on the same page in the headers of individual transactions.

The next page, 258, is a bit more confusing. The header says 'Aprill' but the 16 has been changed to a 17 or vice versa. Because the page before is clearly the 17th it would make sense that this page is not the 16th.

Header on page 258 of the DayBook. April 16 or 17?

However, the 17th of April was a Sunday. This was quite unusual, as the store was normally closed on Sundays.

Both pages contain the handwriting of Colden and two other clerks. It is hard to believe the store was staffed by three people on a Sunday.

It was also odd that there appears to be no sales on Saturday the 16th.

I would bet that the clerks made an error that propagated through these entries and that all seventeen shoppers visited the store on Saturday the 16th with the store being closed on the 17th.

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NIPPERS! April 15, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday April 15, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Nippers

Johannes and Daniel Tears (or Tearse) both purchased nippers (spelled nipors & nipers) at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years ago.

Sugar Nippers and Sugar Loaf.

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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.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defined nippers as "Small pinchers." In 18th century writings, nippers almost always were referred to in connection with sugar, ie. sugar nippers. They were used to remove a bit of sugar from a the highly refined sugar loaf.

Another usage was in the shoe-making trade as 'shoe nippers' (See Wastebook of Francis Jerdon 1748-1749)

Shoe Nippers circled. Cordonnier et Bottier, The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert

The Tears surname appears 28 times in the DayBook. In the prior eight months they purchased 53 items. The items purchased (or sold) do not hint at any involvement in shoe-making.

The DayBook recorded only one purchase of loaf sugar by the Tears' family in the prior eight months. It is hard to believe the Tears' would need two pairs of sugar nippers costing almost five times the cost of the single loaf sugar purchase.

Maybe the nippers were simply a versatile tool of the 18th century yeoman?

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COPPERS! April 14, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Thursday April 14, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Coppers

On this day, 250 years ago, Colden bought cash from Archibald Hunter (entry 255-09). About half of the cash tendered was referred to as "copers."

Colden Store transactions of April 14, 1768.

In 1672, King Charles II proclaimed that farthings (1/4 pence) and half-pence would be minted in copper instead of silver. These coins adopted the nickname of "coppers."

George II 1754 Farthing 'Copper'. Last year of minting prior to this date in 1768.

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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.

Production of 'coppers' was ceased temporarily in 1754 due to high copper prices and a large number of counterfeit coppers in circulation. Production was not restarted until 1770. So although King George III had been on the throne for eight years in 1768 (1760-1820), there were no coppers in Colden's store with the bust of George III. The coppers were likely to have born the image of his father, George II. All of the coppers produced from 1729 to 1754 featured the left portrait of George II. (see above). Half-pence were minted in 1729-1740 and 1742-1754 and farthings in 1730-1737, 1739, 1741, 1744, 1746, 1749, 1750 and 1754. [coins.nd.edu]

In New York the coppers were worth about twice their face value, ie. 12-15 half-pence per shilling.   If half of the coppers received by Colden were farthings and half were half-pence, he would have received over 600 coins to equal the one pound and eighteen shilling total! This seems like quite a large number of coins unless the colonies were calling all coinage 'coppers' which would have been quite inaccurate.

Colden received the remainder of the Cash as "Bill" for one pound sixteen shillings and three pence (£1:16:3). These were undoubtedly 'Bills of Credit' as discussed in a prior blog.

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CHAMBER POT! April 13, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Wednesday April 13, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Chamber Pot

On this day, 250 years ago, Robert R. Graham purchased a Chamber Pot at the Colden Store for seven shillings.

Pewter Chamber Pot. Image courtesy of the-saleroom.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.

Webster defined chamber-pot in his 1828 dictionary most delicately as "A vessel used in bedrooms." A more accurate description would be "a portable toilet."

This entry is only the second chamber-pot recorded so far in the DayBook [August 1767 to April 1768]. At least three other sales of chamber pots were recorded later in 1768. Of these five sales, all were described as 'pewter' except for this sale.

These chamber-pots were likely considered a luxury item considering the wealth of the five men who purchased them. Less wealthy families either made do with other containers or endured the cold walk to the out-house.

Webster also had some difficulty defining 'outhouse' in his 1828 dictionary. It was "A small house or building at a little distance from the main house."

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BOYD! April 12, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Tuesday April 12, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Robert Boyd Jr. - Gunsmith

Tuesday, April 12th, 250 years ago, was a busy day at the Colden store. Hugh Calhoon arrived with his assortment of fabrics and stockings in hopes that Colden would purchase them for the store's inventory. In total there were 65 transactions on this day!

Among the transactions was a sale of steel to Robert Boyd Jr.

Robert Boyd Jr. purchase of steel on April 12, 1768.

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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.

The DayBook gives insights into the lives of the people in Coldengham in 1768, but it also raises many questions. For example, Robert Boyd was known to be a blacksmith of New Windsor. Why did he shop at the Colden Store? There were undoubtedly stores near the docks at New Windsor with lower prices.

Boyd only shopped at the store four times and two of those were for steel. Did Colden have a source of steel better than Boyd could find at New Windsor?

Robert Boyd's main claim to fame (or infamy) was his idea to manufacture guns for the revolutionary cause. Ruttenber in his History of New Windsor states that Boyd erected a forge on the Quassaick Creek at New Windsor in June, 1775 "...for the manufacture of guns, bayonets, etc. He obtained a contract from the revolutionary authorities of the state, by the terms of which he was to receive 'three pounds fifteen shillings, New York money, for each good musket with steel ramrod, and bayonet with scabbard.' In February, 1776, he was able to write that he had 'the best, gunsmiths' shop in the colonies,' but nevertheless its capacity was limited [.  He] offered a large premium for gunsmiths to assist him, and empowered [...] agents in Europe to secure workmen...  ...The provincial convention in the state were mainly armed with muskets of his manufacture."

There are many who dispute that final sentence. They say that Boyd's guns were of low quality and were never supplied in a measureable quantity to the cause.

Coldens's DayBook entry included a very interesting side note: "NB this was Chalked up on Mantle Piece to be Paid in a few Day but as it was not, now charged here." It appears the store had a chalk board sitting on the store's mantle-piece where some transactions were written before posting in the DayBook. We do not know exactly where the store was located, but now we know it had a fire-place with a mantle holding a chalked-up slate.

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HUGH CALHOON! April 11, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Monday April 11, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Hugh Calhoon - Traveling Salesman?

On this day, 250 years ago, twenty-two items were purchased on nine different accounts. The items were nothing unusual; rum, tea, molasses, chocolate, fabrics, buttons, utensils, a hat, and a bible.

Colden expected fresh inventory to arrive tomorrow, courtesy of Hugh Calhoon. Indeed, tomorrow saw the arrival of Mr. Calhoon, a supplier of fabric, stockings and shoes. Colden bought over £28 of goods from him.

Items purchased from Hugh Calhoon on April 12, 1768.

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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.

The DayBook does not reveal very much about how Colden stocked his store. From where and from whom did he acquire the thousands of gallons of rum sold at the store? And what about the molasses, salt, tea, and coffee? These articles were probably imported into the docks at New York City, but how did they get to Coldengham? Was there an intermediary merchant that managed the New York to New Windsor trade or did Colden supply his store by directly interacting with New York City merchants? None of these details are recorded in the DayBook.

Colden did some minor purchasing and reselling from local farmers and tradesmen. For example, he bought and resold shoes, honey, butter, bran, wheat, skins.  But these small supplies were not a major part of his business.

I have found only two significant suppliers mentioned in the DayBook (so far, as much is yet to be transcribed). The first was William Hill who supplied 66 hats to the store in November 1767. His hats were usually sold as "Hills Hats."

The second supplier was Hugh Calhoon. He is mentioned only twice in the DayBook. The first time was tomorrow, 250 years ago. He sold Colden four rolls of fabric: Linen, Calico, and Shiff.  Colden also bought from him eighteen garters, a dozen stockings, and three pairs of shoes. See transcription above.

On Calhoon's second visit in the coming June, he sold snuff in addition to his fabrics.

Calhoon and Hill appear to be the rare suppliers who visited the Colden Store. Most of the store inventory appears to have been acquired in New York City or Newburgh/New Windsor and not recorded in the DayBook.

Calhoon is not found in any of the local records of the day and is not mentioned in any New York City newspapers, but he would be an interesting subject of history.

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TANNING! April 9, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Saturday April 9, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Tanning

Saturday, April 9, 250 years ago, was a busy day at the Colden Store. Thirty-seven transactions were entered in the DayBook into twenty different accounts.

Nehemiah Carpenter was paid by Colden for his services as a tanner on this day.  He tanned 47 hides weighing 388 pounds for Colden.

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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.

Tanning, the process of turning animal hides into leather, was a long and capital intensive process requiring copious amounts of water. Carpenter's tannery was probably located along a stream, perhaps even the near the Wallkill.

The tannery.  Scraping hides on left. Soaking hides on right. Image courtesy of colonialsense.com

It was common for hides to be provided to the tanner by the local yeomen. In return for the tanning services, the tanner would keep half of the resulting leather, sometimes known as a side. In the case of Colden's hides, it appears that Carpenter performed the tanning for a flat rate of one-half shilling per pound of hide.

Colden credited Carpenter's account with six hides that Carpenter had bought with money Colden loaned him on December 9th of last year. Colden credited him with a few shillings more than the value of the loan, 3:12:6 vs, 3:5:0. Colden made the notation "These he is to tan for me."

Just six weeks prior, on February 20, 1768,  Nehemiah Carpenter was paid by Colden for making three pairs of shoes by way of a credit to his account. On prior visits to the store, Carpenter had purchased awls, buckles, heels, sole leather, and upper leather. It appears that Carpenter was not only a tanner, but a shoemaker.

There is a good description of the tanning process at "colonialsense.com." The steps included:

1. Soak the clean animal skin in a vat of CaOH solution (made with limestone or seashells) for 2 to 12 months until the hair can be removed easily.
2. Scrape the hide to remove hair, dermis, and fat.
3. Delime the hide in vats using enzymes found in feces, urine, and other decomposing materials. Sometimes done repeatedly with additional scraping.
4. Toughen the hide by soaking in a tannin vat. Usually the tannin came from ground hemlock or oak tree bark. Carpenter probably had a bark mill.
5. Soften the leather with oils and waxes. Carpenter had purchased tallow on December 9, 1767. Perhaps it was for this purpose. If this is the case, he was also a 'currier' in addition to being a tanner and a shoemaker.

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There were no transactions recorded the following day, Sunday, April 10, 1768.

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NATHANIEL HILL! April 7, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Thursday April 7, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Nathaniel Hill

Cadwallader Colden Jr. recorded in his DayBook that he received payment for nine sheep purchased by Nathaniel Hill at the Davis vendue on this day, 250 years ago.

A vendue is an auction held to settle the debts of one recently deceased. The surname 'Davis' only appears one other time in the DayBook and that is subsequent to this date. It is unknown who 'Davis' was and where the vendue was held.  But, apparently Colden facilitated some of the transactions. This makes sense as the store was the closest thing the community had to a bank. Perhaps Davis owed Colden money, and the Davis estate paid back Colden through sales of belongings, such as the nine sheep.

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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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This transaction is rare in that it is marked neither as a credit nor a debit. No account number is given for Nathaniel Hill. This makes sense only if Hill had no outstanding debts with the store and if he was not buying the sheep from the store. Perhaps the payment was credited to the outstanding balance of Davis, but there is no indication that was done.

In the subsequent transaction (see page 249-03 above), Han Crist Young's account was debited for a cash payment to Hill. Perhaps Hill turned around and sold some of the sheep to Young?

These two entries are the only mentions of Nathaniel Hill in the DayBook. This seems odd due to his proximity to the store and his wealth. The Hill surname appears eighty times in the DayBook, but they all belong to Doctor John Hill and his brother, William Hill, who do not appear to be related to Nathaniel.

In this year, 1768, Nathaniel Hill built a brick home just a bit further down the road from Colden's toward Goodwill Church. Perhaps the brick hauled by Colden were for this project?

The Hill home was a common gathering point during the Revolution. It was large, conveniently located on the main road between the Wallkill and Newburgh, and Nathaniel's son, Peter, was a Captain in the army.

This home still stands on Route 17K in Montgomery. It is known as the 'Brick House' and serves as a museum of the period.

Nathaniel Hill's Brick House. Photo taken by author in 2012.

The Brick House's size and elegance, along with the nearby Colden Stone Mansion and the Doctor Hill home, indicate the wealth that existed in this rural area in 1768.

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There were no transactions recorded the following day, Friday, April 8, 1768.

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STOCKINGS! April 6, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Wednesday April 6, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Stockings

Robert and Alexander Kidd purchased one pair of stockings on this day, 250 years ago. This was only one of the twelve items purchased by them on this day. The other eleven were all fabrics, thread, and buttons.

18th Century Linen Stockings. Image Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg

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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.

I mentioned in prior blogs that the community near the Colden Store made most of their own clothing. But the store did sell finished and luxury wear such as handkerchiefs, gloves, hats, cravats, and stockings.

In the prior seven months, Colden sold about 35 pairs of stockings (almost always spelled as 'Stockens'). They were described as 'Cotton,' 'Woled[Woolen?],' 'Milld,' 'Worsted,' and 'Fitted.' They were priced between five-and-one-half shillings and ten-and-one-half shillings.

Colden also purchased about eight pounds of 'Stocking Yarn' from the local yeomen. This was probably linen yarn spun from locally grown flax fibers. Whether this was used locally to make stockings or was exported by Colden is not known.

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DAY OF PRAYER! April 5, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Tuesday April 5, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Day of Prayer

Tuesday, April 5, 1768, 250 years ago today, was a very quiet day at the Colden Store. Three people visited the store and they bought only five items. As you might have guessed, if you have done even a cursory scan of typical purchases, two of those five items were rum.

Items purchased on April 5, 1768 at the Colden Store.

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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.

The records of Wallkill precinct state that on this day, April 5th, 1768, 'Major Colden' was chosen as supervisor of the precinct. The other officers were John Miller (Clerk), Patrick Barber (Assessor), James White (Assessor), Samuel McColm (Constable), George Smith (Collector), Henry Patterson (Constable and Collector). Fence Viewers and Poor Masters were also chosen. [Ruttenber, History of Orange County.]

These elections probably involved the gathering of the entire precinct, perhaps at the Goodwill Meeting House. Perhaps these events were the cause of the slow day at the store? The low activity continued into tomorrow, April 6. The store was closed on Friday, April 8 (very unusual), open on Saturday, April 9, and then closed as usual on Sunday, April 10.

There do not appear to have been any weather anomalies at this time, although New York newspapers did not have much interest in reporting local weather.

One possibility is that the area was observing a "Day of Prayer" as was being done throughout Connecticut on Wednesday, April 6.  The governor of Connecticut, William Pitkin, appointed that day "as a day of public fasting and prayer throughout this colony." The circumstances driving this observance were not given in its announcement in the March 21st edition of the New-York Postboy. A 'Day of Prayer' would only explain closure of the store on one day, not the week-long phenomenon described above.

Perhaps there were multiple causes for the unusual store activity this week. Good spring weather might have induced Colden to sail to New York City to procure more merchandise and visit family. Or perhaps he was called to Kingston to fulfill his obligations as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. And maybe there was also a designated "Day of Prayer." Or maybe the community was just involved in other aspects of their demanding lives as yeomen and had no need to visit the store?

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CRAVAT! April 4, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Monday April 4, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Cravat

On the first Monday in April, the day after Easter, fifty-seven items were purchased at the Colden Store.  Johannes and Jacob Millspaugh (Millspough) made identical purchases of a cravat (seven shillings) on this day, 250 years ago.

White Cravat.  Image Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg.

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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.

Prior blogs have described the large quantities of fabrics sold at the store, which would indicate that the inhabitants of this area made most of their own clothing. The store sold no dresses, breeches, vests, coats, or shirts. Some shoes were sold, but not in the quantities to be expected if the store was the main source.

But the store did sell finished accessories like handkerchiefs, gloves, hats, stockings, and cravats.

The Colonial Williamsburg website states that "The 18th-century man almost always wore some sort of neck cloth, whether fashionably dressed or at labor.The cravat was one of many forms of neckwear. It was a narrow length of white linen that could be adorned on its ends with lace, fringe, or knots. It was worn wrapped about the throat and loosely tied in front. The cravat was first seen in fashionable dress in the mid-17th century. It was derived from the "crabate" worn by Croatian soldiers serving with the French Army (ca. 1645-1650). By the mid 18th century it was worn in informal attire."

Over the prior seven months, Colden sold about fifteen Cravats. One was described as 'Silk', four others as 'Black.'

Perhaps Black Cravats were going through a period of fashion? An internet search for black cravats yields several early nineteeth century portraits of noblemen sporting black cravats, much like the one below which you can buy today on-line.

Black Cravat. Image courtesy of Townsends

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WINE! April 1, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday April 1, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Wine

Today was Good Friday and the last day the store would be open until after Easter. It was one of the rare occasions where the store was closed two days in a row: Saturday and Easter Sunday.

The shopping activity was just slightly more than an average day: 29 items on 14 accounts.  Henderick Crist purchased one-half gallon of wine on this day, 250 years ago.

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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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Rum was clearly the alcoholic beverage of choice at the Colden Store. In the prior seven months, rum had been purchased on almost 1000 occasions!

Wine was also sold at the store. The sizes of the purchases varied wildly: 1 pint, 1 1/4 pint, 1 1/2 pint, 1 quart, 1/2 gallon, 1 gallon, 2 gallon. This indicates that the wine probably was transported in a cask and distributed to smaller containers in the store.

Cask of Madeira. Image courtesy of WineFolly.com

The wine price was predominantly nine-shillings-per-gallon. Half gallons therefore sold for four and one-half shillings. However quarts, pints and half-pints, which were the majority of the purchases, were almost always sold for twelve-shillings-per-gallon. Was this price inconsistency with the gallon price a result of the smaller volumes being sold in bottles or was it just a volume related surcharge?

Wine purchases in the prior seven months sorted by Cost (P S d).

It is very likely that this wine was "Madeira Wine." This wine was fortified with brandy which preserved it on the ocean crossings. The American colonies were said to have consumed one-quarter of all Madeira wine.  To quote the Colonial Williamsburg website: Madeira Wine "... came from the Portuguese Atlantic island of that name. This beverage not only survived the long ocean voyage but improved with the tossing in a ship's hold. It also proved resilient in the steamy South. About 1750, somebody decided to fortify Madeira with brandy. The new taste appealed to Americans, and Madeira became the preeminent wine in British North America."

1797 Madeira. Image courtesy of FinestAndRarest.com 

The Colden Store had no transactions on Saturday, April 2 or on Easter Sunday, April 3. Perhaps Colden traveled to New York City on this occasion to conduct some trading as the Hudson was now free of ice.

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