POTATOES! September 1, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Thursday, September 1, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Potatoes

James Campbell sold one bushel of potatoes to the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Bushel of Potatoes. Image courtesy of food-skills-for-self-sufficiency.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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Only two mentions of potatoes are contained in the Day Book. They were both sales by James Campbell of a bushel to the store.

Potatoes were certainly not the crop of choice in this area of New York. But Webster, in his 1828 dictionary, states that it was not an unimportant one in the colonies. This native crop of America 'constitutes one of the cheapest and most nourishing species of vegetable food.' Webster ended his definition with this statement: 'In the British dominions and in the United States, it has proved one of the greatest blessings bestowed on man by the Creator.'

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KERSEY! August 31, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Wednesday, August 31, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Kersey

Abraham Strickland purchased three-and-one-half yards of Kersey at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago. He also purchased buttons and mohair.

Sample of Kersey in a 1770 Commercial Sample Book.  Image courtesy of katedaviesdesigns

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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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Webster defined Kersey in his 1828 dictionary as 'a coarse woolen cloth.' Caulfeild defined it as a 'coarse narrow woollen cloth, woven from long wool, and usually ribbed.'

Kersey was sold on twenty-two occasions in the DayBook. Its normal price was six-and-one-half shillings per yard. As mentioned in a prior post, the local fuller (William Sears) was paid by the Colden store to full, dye, press, and shear some Kersey.

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FARRINGTON! August 30, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Tuesday, August 30, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Captain Farrington

William Thomson received a credit for a firkin of butter for Captain Farrington at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago. Thomson also received credit for the 'Cag' that contained the butter.

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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 Farrington surname is mentioned only four times in the Day Book so it is presumed that this family did not live close to the store. The fact that the family head is referred to as 'Captain' may indicate that his purchases were made in an official capacity. One purchase was fifty-six pounds of butter. Today's transaction was a credit to William Thomson for seventy-six pounds of butter provided to Farrington.

The other two purchases involving Farrington were "sundries' delivered to Steven Farrington by Peter DuBois and two-and-one-half yards of Linen purchased by Margaret Farrington.

Because Farrington was acquainted with DuBois and did not appear in future assessments, suggests he may have sided with the loyalists, causing him to 'disappear' from records of the Revolution. However, the DayBook leaves proof of his existence in Ulster County (and his love for butter.)

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HUMPHREYS! August 29, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Monday, August 29, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

James Humphreys

James Humphreys purchased a hammer, a rule (Webster: 'An instrument by which lines are drawn'), and a pair of compasses (Webster: 'so named from its legs, but 'pair' is superfluous...an instrument for describing circles') at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago. At the same time, Colden lent Humphreys over four pounds cash.

Colonial hammer and compass.  Image courtesy of PlansForWoodworking  

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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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James Humphreys [Umphry, Umphre, Humphrys] is mentioned ten times in the Day Book. However, no Humphreys or Umphry appears in the tax assessment rolls of 1779 for Hanover or Shawangunk. If he was from from New Windsor (as is suggested below) this explains the omission.

It is likely that this James Humphreys is related to another James Humphreys (b. 1755, his son or nephew?) who was an officer in McClaughry's Ulster County Regiment of militia. James (b. 1755) was at Fort Montgomery on that fateful day in October 1777 when the British captured the two forts in the Hudson Highlands. James was taken captive and held in New York City and Long Island for ten months.

At the date of this purchase at the Colden Store, this younger James would have been just thirteen years of age. Perhaps he assisted his uncle or father in the carpentry project that required a hammer, rule, and compass.

[Note: There is quite a bit of information on this younger James Humphreys in the pension records at fold3.com.]

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JURY! August 27, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Saturday, August 27, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Jury

Colden paid Stephanis Crist one pound and five shillings for entertaining the Jury of April 8, 1768. He entered it as a credit in Crist's account in the Colden Store Day Book on this day, 250 years-ago.

August 27, 1768 entry in Colden Store Day Book for Stephanis Crist

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Colden had been appointed one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for Ulster County. No other record of his expenses in this office exist in the Day Book as they were likely kept in a separate ledger. This entry is unusual if it indeed refers to an expense incurred to 'entertain' members of the jury of the court.

As you can see from the image, the transcription is unclear and could be referring to a "Mr. Jury," but such a name does not appear elsewhere in contemporary records for this area of Ulster.

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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 surname of 'Crist' is covered in a prior blog.

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PUTTY! August 26, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Friday, August 26, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Putty

Benjamin Constable purchased twenty-six panes of glass and two pounds of putty at the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Webster defined 'putty' in his 1828 dictionary as 'A kind of paste or cement compounded of whiting and linseed oil, beaten or kneaded to the consistence of dough; used in fastening glass in sashes and in stopping crevices.'

This evidence suggests that Constable was either building or improving a home in the area. However, the 1798 map showing prominent homes in the area does not show one attributed to Constable.

'Glass Panes' are described in a prior 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.

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

The surname of 'Constable' appeared seven times in the Day Book. In all cases the given name was 'Benjamin.'

The name of John Constable is found in the early records of the Town of Montgomery (future name of the area of the Colden Store) and a George Constable in the early 1800s.

Public genealogies suggest that Benjamin was born about 1712 in Hurley, Ulster, New York. He was fifty-six years old when he purchased the putty and panes of glass. He had about two daughters and four sons with his wife, Margriet Maul. His sons would fight in the Revolutionary War.

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GREEN NAP! August 24, 1768 at the Colden Store, Coldengham, New York

Wednesday, August 24, 1768
Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.

Green Nap

Lewis Bodine purchased three-quarter yard Green Nap from the Colden Store on this day, 250 years-ago.

Green Nap? Nap is linen used as tablecloth.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary did not include a definition of 'nap' which matched with the fabric sold at the Colden Store. He did include the noun 'Napery' which he defined as 'Linen for the table; table cloths or linen cloth in general.' Caulfeild's 1887 Dictionary of Needlework further explains that the French term is 'Nappe, a tablecloth.'

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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 had over twenty sales of Nap (Napt) Cloth including Green (5), Blue(1), and Scarlet (1). Nap was fairly expensive at six to twenty-four shillings per yard.

The Bodine surname appeared sixty-four times in the DayBook. Two Bodine homes appear in the Galatian map of 1798. They are underlined in green below.

1798 Galatian map of Montgomery showing Bodine homes in Green.

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