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.
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| 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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