Category: People

Joseph Jackson: The Man of Many Stitches

Christopher José // AMH 4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

To find answers from the past, historians search endlessly through documents of all types, even store ledgers. These answers result in the researcher being able to glimpse into the past and learn from it. In the end, we better understand the culture and methods of those who came before us. This blog will explore one client of the Glassford & Henderson Colchester Store in 1760-1761, Joseph Jackson’s purchases and his method for buying, along with the mystery that surrounded this man’s profession.

Jackson seemed to be quite an enigma when my initial research began. His purchases were what I presumed very similar to that of a tailor. I discovered his purchases often consisted of a mix of items such as pins, thread, and “duffils.”^[1] These items drew me into exploring what this man truly intended to do with these objects.

Joseph Jackson purchased materials necessary for making clothing during the cold month of December (folio 117D).

Now, it was no surprise that needles and threads could be used by a tailor, but duffil, or duffle, was a foreign fabric type with which I was not previously familiar. I researched the word and discovered what it was. I found duffle’s origin derives from the name of a Belgian town that crafted the fabric. It is a heavy, wool fabric that was first manufactured during the seventeenth century.^[2] With this in mind, it led me to think about the use of the material.

A coat made of broadcloth, a heavy wool not unlike duffle. Joseph Jackson could have made a coat similar to this. From the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Acc. No. 1954-1041.

Since Jackson bought the heavy fabric in December, it is possible he could have used the material to make a coat for himself or for another person to keep warm during the winter. The purchasing of duffle was not exclusive to one kind of trade and therefore did not provide conclusive proof of his profession. Moreover, these items could also have been purchased for another person, even a family member. The fact remained that if Jackson was not a tailor, then what (or who) were these purchases specifically for?

I realized that it was imperative to continue my investigation of Jackson’s purchases to discover the truth behind his identity. As I continued my analysis of Jackson’s account, I attempted to compare documents with another customer that I stumbled across. This individual, like Jackson, acquired similar items. This person was John McIntosh who was more likely to be a tailor based on how he paid his accounts – in the creation and repairs of clothing for Alexander Henderson (the Colchester store manager) and those enslaved by the store.^[3]

John McIntosh also purchased materials for clothing, creating a link between his account and Jackson’s (folio 34D).

Through McIntosh, I saw some similar purchases: needles and duffle. Knowing that McIntosh purchased his materials at the same store that Jackson did made me wonder if there were any connections. Given the similarity in purchases, perhaps Jackson was a tailor not yet employed, or perhaps he was an apprentice for a tailor and associated with McIntosh on some level. Yet, it was not enough evidence to surmise Jackson’s profession and it continued to be unknown to me. Whatever profession Jackson pursued was not clearly identified by his purchases alone and would take additional research to learn.

John McIntosh paid his balance at the Colchester store in 1760-1761 by making various items of clothing. Clearly, he was some sort of tailor (folio 34C).

Compare how Joseph Jackson paid his account with McIntosh (above). By paying with tobacco, and not with a service such as tailoring, it becomes evident that Jackson followed some other profession (folio 117C).

By looking at Jackson’s payments to the Colchester store, it became clear he was not a tailor at all.^[4] He may have been connected to Marmaduke Beckwith (a landholder in the western part of Fairfax County) as Jackson’s credits came from selling tobacco notes originally belonging to Beckwith. Was Jackson a tenant of or farm manager for Beckwith? Although I couldn’t confirm what Jackson’s profession may have been by looking at his purchases, by continuing to look at Jackson’s accounts in full, I learned I was wrong in my initial interpretation of him as a tailor based on his fabric purchases and that sometimes it is hard work being a historian!

^[1] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 117 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[2] “Duffle coat,” Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, accessed March 23, 2017, http://angelasancartier.net/duffle-coat.

^[3] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, folio 34 Debit.

^[4] Ibid., folio 117 Credit.

October 11, 2018
Absalom Reid: Exploration into a Store’s Customer

Sarah Ryschkewitsch // AMH4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

When it comes to colonial America, most people do not know the life of an average colonist. People learn about the American Revolution, all the battles fought so the colonies could break away from England, the people that made the American Revolution a success for the colonies, and the people that got their names into the history textbooks. What is left out of these textbooks are the average colonists who made a living by working for a minimal wage, those who were not seen as key figures in the Revolution. By looking at the ledger (1760-1761) from the Glassford and Henderson Colchester, Virginia, store there is a way for people to get a glimpse into the daily life of an average, middle class colonist.

On April 19, 1727, Joseph Reid and Elizabeth [Hampton] Reid had a son, Absalom, in Overwharton Parish in Stafford County, Virginia.^[1] Joseph Reid was in immigrant from Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland, and Elizabeth Hampton was from Truro Parish, Prince William, County, Virginia.^[2] Joseph and Elizabeth Reid had six children: Absalom, Jane, Sarah, John, Elizabeth, and Ann.^[3] Absalom Reid was the oldest. He married Sarah Simpson in Fairfax, Virginia, on January 29, 1750. They had eight children by the time of Absalom’s death: Jean, Elizabeth, Mary, Susannah, Sarah, Joab, John, and Margaret.^[4]

Absalom Reid shopped in the Colchester store, located in Fairfax County, Virginia.^[5] Based on Reid’s purchases, it was evident he belonged to what was known as the middling sort then, or the middle class today. From 1760-1761, Reid bought 40 yards of osnaburg, a felt hat, three pairs of damaged stockings, a pair of thread stockings, a pair of worsted stockings, a pair of leather breeches, and women’s gloves.^[6] Along with clothing supplies, Reid also bought sewing supplies, such as thread, cotton, and buttons.^[7] Other purchases included rum, and he also paid several hundred pounds of tobacco to the sheriff and parish collector to pay his taxes and tithes. To pay for his purchases, Reid either provided cash or tobacco–with a total of 1,085 pounds of tobacco in August worth six pounds, seven shillings, and three pence. Though he made his purchases in the store in 1760 and 1761, he didn’t pay in full by the end of the ledger year and his debt carried to the following year (1762) via Liber C.^[8]

Absalom Reid’s varied purchases at the Colchester store in 1760-1761 (folio 79D).

Absalom Reid paid with 1,085 pounds of tobacco in August of 1761, and in November, but it didn’t pay off his account which carried over to the next year (folio 79C).

When evaluating the debit and credit ledgers, it is evident that Absalom Reid would travel to Colchester and buy the supplies he needed, as he rarely shopped more than once a month. As can be seen on the debit page of his account, most of the purchases were made in August 1761, when he also paid on his account in tobacco. Reid, as a tenant on property owned by James Scott, was able to farm his own tobacco, even if it wasn’t his own land.^[9] Making many purchases at once was most likely because he wanted to ensure he had most of what he needed so he didn’t have to travel over twenty miles each way to the store and home more than necessary.^[10]

A depiction of how far Absalom Reid (top left, red square) had to travel to reach Colchester (bottom right, lined triangle). “An Interpretive Historical Map of Fairfax County Virginia in 1760” – © Beth Mitchell – Published by Office of Comprehensive Planning, County of Fairfax, 1987.

Based on Absalom Reid’s frequency at the Colchester store in 1760-1761, what he was purchasing, how he paid, and the circumstances under which he had to travel, a rough outline of his life appears out of the scrawling ink of the account ledger. A man of modest enough means, Reid likely was part of what we know of as the middle class. His account at the store leaves us evidence about average life in colonial America.

^[1] Overwharton Parish was designated sometime between 1664 and 1667 and was located in the Woodlawn/Mount Vernon area of present-day Fairfax County. In 1730, the Virginia National Assembly decided to create a new parish in order to serve the people better. A church was built on the banks of the Occoquan River, near what would become Fairfax, Virginia, and became known as the “church above Occoquan Ferry.” In 1732, there was a further split and Truro Parish was created. Truro Parish included the church above the Occoquan. Today that church is known as the Pohick Church. Larry Brooks, “Stafford, ‘This Land is Ours’,” Stafford County, VAGenWeb, accessed May 31, 2018, http://vagenweb.org/stafford/tricent.htm; William Waller Hening, The Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619 (Richmond, Virginia: Franklin Press – W.W. Gray, Printer, 1819) Vol. 4 Ch. XVIII, 304, accessed June 5, 2018, http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol04-15.htm; Philip Slaughter, History of Truro Parish in Virginia (Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Company, 1908) 5, accessed June 5, 2018, https://archive.org/details/historyoftruropa00slau_0.

^[2] Donald S. West and Lola E. Lindsey, “Descendants of Joseph Reid and Elizabeth Hampton,” Descendants of Joseph Reid (1702-1749) and Elizabeth [Hampton], published 1997, accessed June 5, 2018, http://www.tbgen.com/west/reidbook.html.

^[3] West and Lindsey, “Descendants.”

^[4] Ibid.

^[5] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 79 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[6] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761 folio 79 Debit.

^[7] Ibid.

^[8] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761 folio 79 Credit.

^[9] Beth Mitchell and Donald M. Sweig, Fairfax County, Virginia in 1760: An Interpretive Historical Map (Fairfax County, Virginia: Office of Comprehensive Planning, 1987).

^[10] Henderson, et. al. Ledger, 1760-1761 folio 79 Debit.

October 10, 2018
A Man and His Clothes

Amanda Eversz // AMH 4110.0M01—Colonial America, 1607-1763

We can gain some insight into the economic priorities of those living in colonial Virginia from an account ledger from John Glassford and Alexander Henderson’s Colchester store in Fairfax County dating back to 1760-1761 which contained an accounting record for the overseer, Jeremiah Thomas, of Colonel Thomas Lee’s farm.^[1] At first glance, these purchases seem to be a part of the typical shopping experience with a customer buying clothing materials and household goods. It is not until after further research that we can uncover more specific usage and purpose in Thomas’ purchases of these goods. This account gives a record of the items purchased by Thomas and may shed light on the societal purpose for some of his choices.

Jeremiah Thomas’ account in the Glassford and Henderson ledgers, showing the variety of his purchases (Folio 51D).

Thomas’ transactions show that various textiles were purchased with supplies such as buttons, thread, and lace with the likelihood of making clothes. The materials Thomas purchased imply he was a man concerned with his appearance and status within society. He purchased coat straps, silk handkerchiefs, and combs—things intended to keep up his appearance of wealth, even as an overseer of another man’s land. Appearances played a vital role in colonial Virginian society. This was especially the case because colonists often tried to emulate the current fashions and trends of England.^[2] Mr. Thomas’s largest line items were for women’s shoes, stockings, blue wool, and an assortment of buttons. He spends significantly less on home goods like nails, salt, and sugar. Clearly, if one were trying to make it in society, one needed to make a serious commitment to budgeting for his wardrobe.

Rendering of a 1750s tailor shop from London. These shops would have been extremely important for the upkeep of one’s appearance. – © Trustees of the British Museum. G, 12.111.

There is another aspect of Virginian life that is revealed by the textiles purchased by Jeremiah Thomas: climate. In order to pursue wealth through agriculture, Virginia colonists were willing to go through extreme temperatures throughout the year. Mr. Thomas’s purchases reflect these extremes of hot and cold. He purchased expensive cotton for its breathability in warm climates. He also purchased dufill, which is a heavy wool, frequently used in making heavy coats.^[3] It is worth noting that even while Jeremiah Thomas was being practical when purchasing cotton and dufill fabrics, he purchased the “best Cotton” and a rather expensive “Blue Dufill.”^[4] It seems as though his public presentation still maintained priority no matter the weather.

A wool and silk coat, ca. 1755-1765, made in England. Colonists often copied fashions of the homeland. Images courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; H. Randolph Lever Fund, 1968. 2009.300.916a, b.

Reading a ledger at first seems like a meaningless glimpse into someone’s finances. However, we can gain a deeper understanding of who Jeremiah Thomas was. He was clearly a man that chose to spend a large portion of his spending money on fashion and appearance. This shows that he pursued a social life in front of other colonists. This familiar aspect of staying up to date with the newest European trends is common to both eighteenth-century Virginia and twenty-first-century America.

^[1] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 51 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[2] Linda Baumgarten, “Looking at Eighteenth-Century Clothing,” Colonial Williamsburg, accessed May 3, 2018, http://www.history.org/history/clothing/intro/clothing.cfm?showSite=mobile-regular.

^[3] Oxford English Dictionary, “duffel, n. and adj,” OED Online, accessed May 3, 2018,
http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/view/Entry58272?redirectedFrom=duffel#eid.

^[4] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761 folio 51 Debit.

October 10, 2018
Slave Consumption

Glenmore Bachman // AMH 4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

At the Glassford and Henderson Colchester store (1760-1761) in Fairfax County, Virginia, evidence of slaves in the records was mostly through indirect mentions (“by your negro wench”) or by the purchase of items used mostly by those enslaved (osnaburg, a fabric used to make clothing). Negro Jack was an exception; he was a slave belonging to Mr. Linton’s estate and yet, had his own account in the store. Jack visited the store once in 1760 (November 9) and four times in 1761 (February 3, August 22, September 16, and December 4). Jack purchased mostly rum.^[1] These purchases appear to be in line with the thinking of the time, as “colonial Americans, at least many of them, believed alcohol could cure the sick, strengthen the weak, enliven the aged, and generally make the world a better place.”^[2] Was Jack suffering from an illness that drew him to rum? In addition to alcohol, another of Jack’s purchases was a bottle of Turlington’s Balsam of Life, a patent medicine created by Robert Turlington in 1744.^[3] It was said to treat “kidney and bladder stones, cholic, and inward weakness,” in addition to many other ailments.^[4]Beyond liquids, Jack also purchased building materials: nails and HL hinges that were used for doors or cabinets, depending on their size.^[5]

HL hinges in a variety of sizes from Historic Housefitters Co.

The only other slave with her own account was Negro Sue who belonged to Mr. Benjamin Grayson. Sue visited the store three times: once to purchase a chest lock (November 22, 1760) and twice to pay her bill through selling to the store chickens, ducks, and cabbages (December 10, 1760 and December 1761).^[6] Purchasing a chest lock indicates she owned something she chose to keep to herself, as well as a chest to keep those things. Being able to sell chickens, ducks, and cabbages to the store indicates she had the ability and space to tend a garden and maintain her own animals, separate from Mr. Grayson. Sue may not have been free, but she had the freedom to create something that enabled her to have a little spending money of her own.

Negro Sue’s account at the Glassford and Henderson Colchester Store, 1760-1761 (folio 079D).

Negro Sue used chickens and cabbages to pay off her account at the store (folio 079C).

Both of these individuals’ accounts paint a more detailed picture of slavery in colonial America. Slaves with the relative autonomy to make and spend their own money show that the social atmosphere, at least in 1760-61 Virginia, might have been much more relaxed towards the enslaved. Not only did store manager, Alexander Henderson, cultivate relationships with Fairfax County’s white residents, but its enslaved population as well. What Negro Jack and Sue mean for understanding the complex social ties of the time is that relations with slaves from the colonial period up to the Civil War were likely more complicated and more diverse than might be believed.

^[1] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 114 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[2] Ed Crews, “Rattle-Skull, Stonewall, Bogus, Blackstrap, Bombo, Mimbo, Whistle Belly, Syllabub, Sling, Toddy, and Flip: Drinking in Colonial America,” Trend & Tradition: The Magazine of Colonial Williamsburg (Holiday 2007), accessed March 15, 2017, http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/holiday07/drink.cfm.

^[3] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761 folio 114 Debit;
Kate Kelly, Old World and New: Early Medical Care, 1700-1840, The History of Medicine (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010), 98.

^[4] George B. Griffenhagen and James Harvey Young, Old English Patent Medicines in America (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2009), accessed March 29, 2018, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30162/30162-h/30162-h.htm.

^[5] “H & HL Hinge Hardware,” Historic Housefitters Co., accessed March 16, 2017,
https://www.historichousefitters.com/Hand%20Forged%20Iron/H%20HL%20HINGE%20HARDWARE.

^[6] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, folio 79 Debit/Credit.

September 11, 2018
Benjamin Hawkins: Rum and the Consumer Revolution

Griffin Bixler // AMH 4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

In the mid-eighteenth century, several stores in Fairfax County, Virginia, were owned by two men, John Glassford and Alexander Henderson. Their store ledgers contain vast amounts of information about their customers, their credit, and the goods they bought. One interesting case within the ledger for the Colchester store (1760-1761) was Benjamin Hawkins, who purchased rum frequently from October 13, 1760, to June 8, 1761.^[1] His purchases were a product of the changing economic environment that occurred around this period.

For colonists in the Chesapeake, alcohol was an important part of life. Colonists consumed alcohol at every meal, during church, at social gatherings, and on numerous other occasions.^[2] Early in the eighteenth century, colonists acquired alcohol through producing it at their household or buying it from planters and taverns.^[3] By the mid-eighteenth century, the colonial economy expanded as a result of its connection to Britain and the rest of its empire.^[4] Goods, such as alcohol, became cheaper and diverse. Colonists could purchase new variants of alcohol that were impossible or hard to create in the colonies.

One of these was rum. A great source of rum came from Scottish traders.^[5] Previously, Scottish traders could not operate in the colonies because Britain limited colonial trade through the Navigation Acts of 1663.^[6] The Navigation Acts forced colonists, among other things, to export profitable goods, such as tobacco and sugar, only to Britain.^[7] In 1707, England and Scotland united, allowing Scottish traders to sell their goods in the colonies. In fact, this uniting provided John Glassford, who was Scottish, to become so successful in the Chesapeake through his numerous stores. Rum became increasingly popular with the lower classes with many of the lower classes enjoying rum for its fortitude in the hot Chesapeake climate and its cheap price. Rum, along with other alcohols, also lessened servants’ dependence on planters for drink.^[8]

As mentioned earlier, the majority of Hawkins’ purchases were rum. His account shows that he purchased rum every couple of days through the month of November 1760. Hawkins mostly purchased rum one quart at a time, but there was an exception on November 4, 1760. On that day, Hawkins purchased a gallon of rum. The gallon of rum, according to the credit side of the account, was paid for in cash, although not in its entirety as the rum cost 6 shillings and Hawkins only provided the store 5. Hawkins returned the next day and purchased only “1/4 [one quart] Rum.”^[9]

Benjamin Hawkins’s purchases at the Colchester store, 1760-1761, folio 43D. Alcohol purchases are underlined.

In all, he purchased seven gallons and two quarts of rum between October 13, 1760, and March 13, 1761. In addition to rum, Hawkins purchased brandy on several occasions (January 10, January 17, and February 5, 1761), a bridle (October 13, 1760), silk stockings (April 15, 1761), and a tin canister (June 8, 1761). The tin canister was the last purchase he made at the Colchester store in 1761.^[10]

An example of what might have been a rum bottle, made by Richard Wistar between 1745-55. Image from the Corning Museum of Glass, Acc. No. 86.4.196.

An interesting element that came up during research was Hawkins’s involvement in several court cases. It seems that Hawkins legally quarreled with a man named Hugh Guttray. Hawkins was a defendant in an injunction case in opposition to Guttray.^[11] An injunction is a court order that a person is either allowed or not allowed to do something. He was also involved as a plaintiff in a chancery suit.^[12] A chancery suit entails a matter of equity, such as a dispute over land or individual status.^[13] These court cases occurred after the period when Hawkins purchased his rum from Glassford and Henderson’s store, but were the disputes a reason for Hawkins’s drinking? It is difficult to tell whether his drinking was exacerbated by the court cases. After a hiatus in his account, it resumed in January 1765. Now living in Augusta, Virginia, Hawkins had to pay court fees to Prince William County (adjacent to Fairfax County). On the credit side, it showed that the payment was moved “By Ballance to Liber F,” which meant Hawkins accrued the fees as a debt. Hawkins did not buy alcohol during this period.^[14]

Benjamin Hawkins’ constant purchase of rum illustrates the changes that occurred in the colonial economy. Rum, and other accessible goods, became affordable to the colonists. His constant purchases of rum would have been inconceivable several decades earlier. The colonial economy was going through a “consumer revolution,” which facilitated the purchase of diverse goods at cheaper prices.^[15]

^[1] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 43 Debit, from the John Glassford and
Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the
Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[2] Sarah H. Meacham, Early America: History, Context, Culture : Every Home a Distillery : Alcohol, Gender, and
Technology in the Colonial Chesapeake, (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2009), 6.

^[3] Meacham, Every Home, 82.

^[4] Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North America, (New York: Penguin Books, 2001), 310.

^[5] Meacham, Every Home, 85.

^[6] Taylor, American Colonies, 258.

^[7] Ibid., 306.

^[8] Meacham, Every Home, 82-87.

^[9] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, folio 43 Debit.

^[10] Ibid.

^[11] Fairfax Court Order Book 1756, page 572, March 18, 1761, Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center,
Fairfax, Va.

^[12] Fairfax Court Order Book 1756, page 596, June 16, 1761, Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center, Fairfax,
Va.

^[13] Fairfax County, Virginia, “Historic Records Finding Aids,” accessed April 19, 2017, http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/circuit/historical-records-finding-aids.htm

^[14] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1765, Colchester, Virginia folio 38 Debit, from the John Glassford and
Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 59 (owned by the
Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[15] Taylor, American Colonies, 310.

September 11, 2018
Tobacco: The Most Versatile Cash Crop

Joseph Swiderski // AMH 4110.0M01—Colonial America, 1607-1763

In colonial America, tobacco was one of the most influential crops in cultivation. Colonies like Virginia profited heavily from its agricultural success. The successful cultivation of tobacco began when John Rolfe planted South American tobacco seeds called Nicotiana tobacum in 1612. From there, “tobacco production spread from the Tidewater area to the Blue Ridge Mountains, especially dominating the agriculture of the Chesapeake region.”^[1] It became such a huge commodity that the Virginia House of Burgesses made it a requirement for tobacco to be inspected, and directed the construction of warehouses and port towns where tobacco would be brought by planters.^[2] As tobacco became more valuable, its uses expanded from smoking to use as currency. It was used for just about anything: purchasing indentured servants and slaves to cultivate the crop, paying taxes, or purchasing manufactured goods and items from the local store.^[3]

Tobacco plants hung to dry. Image courtesy of VirginiaPlaces.org under CC3.0.

What really caught my attention was something much more interesting than the tobacco itself. While transcribing ledgers from the Colchester store accounts (1760-1761) of John Glassford and Alexander Henderson, I noticed that not all of the people paying their accounts were doing so with their own tobacco, but tobacco from other people. This intrigued me because obviously people that grew tobacco could use it as currency, but how did a random man use someone else’s tobacco as a form of currency to pay their account? The answer was that tobacco itself became a source of social currency as well as money. It became a way of paying off your accounts and a way of paying others, who then purchased items at the store using someone else’s tobacco as payment.

A payment by Daniel Laughlin to his account at the Colchester store (1760-1761) using a crop note from Joseph Stephens (folio 045C).

The picture above is an example of account credits from the Colchester store (1760-1761) of Glassford and Henderson. This account belonged to a man named Daniel Laughlin. On July 31, 1761, Laughlin credited a crop note for 1 hogshead (a barrel) of tobacco from the Pohick warehouse to pay for his account.^[4] He used tobacco as payment so that he could purchase items from the store. What I found interesting was the interesting mark indicating the tobacco’s “ownership” or tobacco mark: a capitalized I, a superscripted S, and a capitalized A. It reads ISA, which was a tobacco mark that represented not Daniel Laughlin but Joseph Stephens. Tobacco marks most frequently matched the initials of the owner (in this case it would be DL which was identified as Laughlin’s mark in 1759).^[5] This ledger shows that Daniel Laughlin credited the Colchester store 1 hogshead of Joseph Stephens’ tobacco; in September, 1761, Stephens paid his account with an additional hogshead of tobacco.^[6]

A 1751 map cartouche depicting the inspection and shipping of tobacco hogsheads. From the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, LCCN 74693166.

I found no immediate relationship between these men in the ledger other than that Laughlin used Stephens’ tobacco to buy goods that he needed. As a local landowner, Stephens may have hired Laughlin for some service and paid him in tobacco. Regardless, Laughlin profited by nine pounds, 19 shillings on the transaction enabling him to purchase many different fabrics from the Colchester store: cotton, bearskin, osnaburg, roles, linen, striped Holland, German serge, shalloon, sheeting, ferrit, check, and buckram.^[7]

Purchases made by Daniel Laughlin at the Colchester store from 1760-1761 (folio 045D).

Through my research I learned a lot about what eighteenth century life was like. Tobacco opened up a new world of possibilities for American colonists, and it widened the range of its uses as time passed. People not only used their own tobacco as currency, but they used that of others as well. They exchanged tobacco for goods or paid other people with the crop, who then used it as currency in the local economy for whatever they needed. Although I do not know the specific relationship between these two men, they were connected through tobacco. Tobacco brought them together in a way that was beyond currency. It went from being a cash crop to a social crop. It brought individuals, families, and communities together. In my opinion, tobacco was not only the most valuable crop monetarily, but also culturally. Tobacco became its own culture and that is what had an effect on me while doing my research. I was inspired by how this leafy green and relatively ugly looking plant took over the colonial economy and also impacted people’s lives.

Growing tobacco plants. Image under CC0.

^[1] Emily Jones Salmon and John Salmon, “Tobacco in Colonial Virginia,” Encyclopedia Virginia, accessed March 23, 2017, https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Tobacco_in_Colonial_Virginia.

^[2] William Waller Hening, ed., The Statues at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619 (Richmond: Franklin Press, 1820), Vol. 4, Ch. III, 247-271, accessed May 21, 2018,
http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol04-13.htm.

^[3] Salmon and Salmon, “Tobacco in Colonial Virginia.”

^[4] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 45 Credit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

^[5] Beth Anderson Mitchell, “Colonial Virginia Business Records as a Genealogical Resource,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 62, no. 4 (December 1974): 261.

^[6] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, folio 88 Credit.

^[7] Ibid., folio 45 Debit.

September 11, 2018
Momentos Mori: The Materials of Mourning

Casey Wolf // AMH 4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

On 22 November 1761, death had come to the Gunston Hall Plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. The deceased was Sempha Rosa Enfield Mason Dinwiddie Bronaugh—mother to Captain William Bronaugh and the daughter of George Mason II.^[1] Prior to marrying Jeremiah Bronaugh, she was the widow of John Dinwiddie—a successful merchant on the Rappahannock River and brother of Robert Dinwiddie, Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 1751 to 1758.^[2] In the days following her death, Captain William Bronaugh visited Alexander Henderson at his Colchester store to purchase items to begin the process of burial and mourning: bombasine, black buckles, crape, alamode, fine shalloon, black satin ribbon, linen, worsted ferret, black stockings, black thread, handkerchiefs, sheeting, and ties.^[3] Much as in life, the purchase and display of material goods would proclaim the wealth and status of the well-born, well-bred, and well-connected Sempha Rose. So, how were material goods used to part with the dearly departed?

On the 24th and 28th of November, Captain William Bronaugh purchased items to bury his mother and to mourn her passing (folio 159D).

Unlike death, the practices and processes of confronting it in eighteenth-century colonial America are not certain. Partially informed by fashions and traditions from England, funeral and mourning customs were shaped by local factors as well. As a result, customs varied significantly throughout colonial America.^[4] These variations reflected aspects of the colonists who participated in them.

For the dead

In the eighteenth century, the deceased were not often buried in their clothes as clothing was both laborious to make and a significant expenditure. Clothing in colonial America was often passed down to and altered for younger generations of a family. Instead, most people were buried in shrouds. Shrouds were robes split down the back with ribbons or strings at the openings for the hands and the feet, essentially enclosing the deceased within the shroud. The quality of the shroud and the material of which it was made depended on the wealth of the deceased.^[5] Sempha Rose’s shroud was most likely constructed with the sheeting and tied with the twists that Bronaugh purchased. Rough cheap fabrics were used when burying the poor while higher quality fabrics—embellished with ruffles or pleats—were used to inter the wealthier. For those who needed to be buried promptly or who did not have a family to attend to their burial, winding sheets—usually of osnaburg—were wound around the body before it was placed into the grave.^[6]

For the living

Interpreters wearing eighteenth-century mourning dress. Image courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Many colonists wore specific outfits to outwardly express their feelings of grief and mourning. Although varied, mourning clothes were plain, usually consisting of dull material without embellishment.^[7] Trimmed with white linen or black crape, dresses were made of bombasine—a blend of wool and silk—with either button or black ribbon closures.^[8] On the head, hoods, veils, caps, or any combination of the three were made of and embellished with crape and silk.^[9] Accessories included handkerchiefs or fans.^[10]

For men, mourning suits were made of woollen material most likely broad cloth, shalloon, or a combination of the two—with crape wrapped around the band of the hat.^[11] Depending on the wealth of the family, servants would also receive mourning clothes—although of lesser quality and often only a few pieces. Bronaugh’s order of materials already dyed black are a statement of his wealth. The wealthy could afford to have a set of clothes made specifically for mourning purposes while the poor dyed their everyday wear to serve as mourning clothes.^[12]

As the development of Atlantic trade facilitated easier means of exchange between Europe and the colonies, colonists began to use displays of material goods to project declarations of wealth traditionally limited to the wealthy.^[13] Mourning materials made available to increasingly wealthier colonists allowed them to participate in traditions previously reserved for European aristocracy.^[14]

^[1] Michele Lee, “Simpha Rosa Ann Field Mason,” George Mason’s Gunston Hall, last updated May 18, 2011, accessed March 23, 2017, http://www.gunstonhall.org/library/masonweb/p1.htm#i8.

^[2] Pamela C. Copeland and Richard K. McNaster, The Five George Masons: Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland (Fairfax County, VA: George Mason University Press, 2016), chap. 2.

^[3] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 159 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association); History Revealed, Inc. Glassford and Henderson glossary.

^[4] Kelly Arehart, interview by Harmony Hunter, “The Business of Death,” Past & Present (MP3 broadcast), Colonial Williamsburg, uploaded March 30, 2015, accessed March 23, 2017,
http://podcast.history.org/2015/03/30/the-business-of-death/.

^[5] Arehart and Hunter, “The Business of Death.”

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] Kirstin Olsen, Daily Life in 18th-century England (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 1999), 108.

^[8] Linda Baumgarten, What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America, the Colonial Williamsburg Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002), 177-78;
Lou Taylor, Mourning Dress: A Costume and Social History (New York, NY: Routledge, 1983), 78.

^[9] Baumgarten, What Clothes Reveal, 177; Taylor, Mourning Dress, 78, 81-2.

^[10] Baumgarten, What Clothes Reveal, 180; Taylor, Mourning Dress, 82.

^[11] Taylor, Mourning Dress, 78-9.

^[12] Olsen, Daily Life, 108.

^[13] Lorena S. Walsh, “Urban Amenities and Rural Sufficiency: Living Standards and Consumer Behavior in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1643-1777,” The Journal of Economic History 43, no. 1 (March 1983): 117.

^[14] Taylor, Mourning Dress, 78.

August 15, 2018