RASP! August 23, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Tuesday, August 23, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Rasp

Higons Conklin [Higone Conkling] purchased a rasp at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Rasp used to shape horse's hoof. Image Courtesy of Belinda Hankins Miller.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defined a rasp as 'a large rough file; a grater.' A rasp found work in the carpentry trade, but because of the mention of a horse in this entry, this rasp might have been used as a farrier's tool.

The farrier or blacksmith used the rasp to trim the hooves of horses.

The Day Book only records two sales of rasps.

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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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Colden added a note to the sale of the rasp to Conklin: "NB he put a horse to Pasture." Could this indicate that Conklin cared for Colden's horses? Perhaps Conklin not only trimmed Colden's horses' hooves with his rasp, but provided pasture for them?

The Conklin (Conkling, Conklin, Conclen, Concklin) surname appeared twenty-eight times in the Day Book. The only given name was Higans (Heggins, Higens, Higons, Hegans). He was represented on occasion by his wife or boy.

The Conklin name was not uncommon in the Newburgh area.  Joel Campbell (eponym of this blog) served in Captain Jacob Conklin's company of Ulster County Militia during the Revolutionary War. It was known as the 'West Newburgh Company' and was recruited from those living in eastern Hanover Precinct.  The relation between Jacob and Higans Conklin is unknown to the author. Read more in my book, Yeoman of the Revolution.

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MOWING! August 19, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday, August 19, 1768
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.

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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LACE! August 17, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Wednesday, August 17, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Lace

Hanneas Milspaugh purchased one yard of Lace at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Belgian Lace, 18th Century. Image courtesy of LosAngelesMuseumOfArt

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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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Lace was sold on forty occasions at the Colden store. It varied in price from one-and-one-half to six shillings per yard. It must have varied from plain narrow to fancy wide.

In contrast with the Ramsay Ledger of Alexandria, Virginia , all sales were by the yard. Another difference in the two stores is the lack of descriptors (color, quality, or materials of construction) in the Colden Day Book.

Milspaugh (Millspaugh) was one of the most common surnames in the DayBook.  It appeared 459 times! The given name of Hanneas (or Honnes) Milspaugh appeared 36 times.

Hanneas bought a wide variety of items on this August visit to the store. They included other sewing items like Persian Fabric and Vest Buttons, table items (Plate, Earthen Tea Pot, Cups, and Saucers), a Primer, and Tradeware (Ragstone, Gimblet, and Indigo Dye).

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MUTTON! August 15, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Monday, August 15, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Mutton

Peter Mulender sold fifteen pounds of mutton to the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

In 1828, Webster's Dictionary defined mutton as the 'flesh of sheep, raw or dressed for food.'

The purchase of other meats by the Colden Store was discussed in prior blogs:  Gammon (Pork) and Beef.

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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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Mutton was sold to the Colden Store on three occasions, twice by Adam Sensabuagh. On no occasion did the store sell mutton.

It is likely that most of the population had sheep judging from the number of sheep shears sold at the store. Sheep wool was valuable in the manufacture of woolen articles. Their skins were dressed for additional uses.

At three to four pence per pound, mutton was slightly more expensive than beef and veal (2.5-3 pence per pound). Mutton was less expensive than gammon (pork) which was purchased by the store for about seven pence per pound.

There was no activity recorded in the Day Book for Tuesday, August 16, 1768.

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SHAY! August 13, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Saturday, August 13, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Patrick Shay

Patrick Shay purchased three gallons of York Rum for ten shillings at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Partial summary of visits of Patrick Shay to the Colden Store as recorded in the Store Day Book.

The Shay surname appeared thirty-one times in the DayBook. Nineteen of those entries belonged to Patrick. He was represented at the store at times by his wife and son, William. John Shay appeared eleven times and was occasionally represented by his brother, William (Bil[sic]). It is unclear if John and Patrick were related.

Patrick Shay owned property along South Plank road very close to the farm of Joel Campbell's father, Samuel . [Joel Campbell is the eponym of this blog.]

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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 addition to his listing in the DayBook, Patrick Shay appeared in the 1779 tax assessment of Hanover Precinct with 100 acres of land. By the 1790 census his name had disappeared, but Dennis and Thomas Shay were enumerated in the general area of Patrick's farm. Perhaps they were his sons?

By the time of the 1779 tax assessment, Samuel Campbell had deceased, and his two sons, Nathan and Levi, were farming the fifty-acre homestead. From the assessment below, it appears that Patrick Shay owned adjoining property to the Campbells.

Partial transcription of 1779 Tax Assessment for Hanover Precinct.

Sadly, I could not find much public information on this line of the Shay family. They undoubtedly knew their Campbell neighbors and had social, religious, or business interactions.

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LINIMENT! August 12, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday, August 12, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Liniment

Thomas Belknap purchased one-quarter ounce of liniment [lenement, leniment] at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Sales of Liniment at the Colden Store.

Liniments were applied to the skin to relieve pain and aid in healing.  They often contained herbal oils (camphor, rosemary, menthol), soap, alcohol, and water.

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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 spelled liniment as 'leniment' in his 1828 dictionary. He defined it as 'An assuasive' and added that the word was not used?

One other sale of liniment was recorded in the DayBook in September of the prior year. Obviously, Colden did not sell many medicines. There were no ointments, plasters, elixirs, pills, or oils mentioned in the DayBook. There were several doctors practicing in the area including Doctor John Hill and Doctor Charles Clinton who were the likely source of most medicines.

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RHUBARB! August 11, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Thursday, August 11, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Rhubarb

Thomas Belknap Jr. purchased a dozen Rhubarb [Rubarb] for one-and-one-half shillings at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Day Book entry of August 11, 1768 for Thomas Belknap.

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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.

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

Cultivation of rhubarb in America was rare at this date. However, the correspondence of John Bartram of Philadelphia shows that he was experimenting with rhubarb seeds as early as 1739. Bartram was a correspondent of Colden's father and had visited the Colden estate on a few occasions.

Rhubarb stalks. Image courtesy of revolutionarypie.com

Bartram also corresponded with Colden's sister, Jane, who was a respected botanist herself. In one of her letters to Bartram she apparently requested rhubarb seeds from him. Bartram (letter of January 24, 1757) responded that 'If the Rhubarb from London be the Siberian, I have it."

It is entirely possible that Colden was growing rhubarb on his estate in 1768. It was known that rhubarb made excellent tarts before other fruits for that purpose came into season. Perhaps John Belknap was to make a rhubarb tart for his tavern guests?

This mention of rhubarb is the only one found in the DayBook (95% transcribed as of this writing.).

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