SEARS THE FULLER! June 13, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Monday, June 13, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

William Sears - Fuller

The account of William Sears was credited for the "Fulling, Dying, Pressing, & Shearing" of thirty-nine yards of Kersey on this day, 250 years-ago. Kersey was a course woolen cloth. He was paid at the rate of one shilling per yard. The total paid (£1:19:0) was about a week's wages for a laborer.

Schematic of fulling mill. Image courtesy of torwenb.wordpress.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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This entry confirms that the community had the capability to make their own finished woolen fabrics, despite the large selection and sales of imported fabrics at the Colden Store. We know the community raised sheep and had them sheared.  They carded the wool and dyed and spun yarn. They weaved 'homespun' on their looms. Lastly, the crude homespun was 'fulled, dyed, pressed, and sheared.'

William Sears operated a fulling mill. This was a water-powered hammer which beat the cloth in a vat of detergent (see schematic above). The beating forced the fibers into a tighter and more random matrix that gave a thicker, softer, and more wear/water/wind resistant material. The wefts and warps of the weaving process became almost invisible in the final felt-like material.

Cloth before and after fulling.  Image courtesy of interweavestore.com.

After fulling, the cloth could be dyed, then 'pressed' between wooden plates to flatten.  The last step was 'shearing' to remove the nap and fuzz, yielding a soft smooth finish.

William Sears appeared four times in the DayBook and was referred to as 'fuller' or 'the fuller.' Sears must have done most of his shopping elsewhere (New Windsor or Newburgh) as his purchases at the store were few... 2 Hats, 20 pounds of Lead, one-half gallon of West Indian Rum, and 16 yards of fabric.

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