Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.
Mowing
Colden paid Abraham Hennion, William Branon, and James Quigley for their labor at mowing on this day, 250 years-ago. As was common in the Day Book, he paid them not in cash, but via a credit to their store account.
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| Scythe Festival at Wimpole. Image courtesy of Wympole & Wratsworth. |
[Note, there is no blog for Thursday, August 18th, 1768, even though there was store activity on that day.]
The wages for this brute labor was three to three-and-one-half shillings per day (compared with seven shillings for a skilled carpenter.) Quigley was paid for five days, Hennion for eight days, and Branon for sixteen-and-one-half days.
Webster clarified what was considered 'mowing' in his 1828 dictionary. He stated that 'In America, mow is not applied to the cutting of wheat or rye. When these are cut with a scythe, they are said to be cradled. Oats and barley are sometimes mowed.' Mowing was 'The act of cutting with a scythe' according to Webster, but apparently the harvested field was only said to be mowed if it was not wheat or rye.
It appears that 'mowing' usually referred to the cutting of grass to make hay?
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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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The Quigley (Quigly) surname only appeared five times in the Day Book. The given names were James (3) and Jane (2). James' son, Hugh, appeared once at the store.
The Branon (Brenan, Brenning, Brannon, Branen, Brennen) surname appeared sixteen times in the Day Book. Given names included Cornelius (1), William (14), and William Jr. (1).
The Hennion (Henyon) surname appeared forty-five times in the DayBook. See prior blog for more on this family.
Author's Note: The Store had sales on Saturday, August 20 and Monday, August 22, but there will be no blog for those days.
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