Tag: Beverage

  • Through the Looking Glass – Revealing the Untold Story of the History of Glassmaking

    Through the Looking Glass – Revealing the Untold Story of the History of Glassmaking

    Bella Watson // AMH 4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

    Glass has always been a mystery to me. Where does it come from? How is it made? Is it significant? From my research, I have discovered several customers purchased glass items in the 1760-1761 ledger from the Glassford and Henderson store in Colchester, Virginia. This discovery motivated me to dig deeper into the mystery of glass and reveal the unanswered questions.

    An illustration depicting how a Jamestown glassblower might craft his wares. From the National Park Service.

    History behind the Glass: With the opportunity to prosper in the New World, colonists needed to produce profitable goods. After all, the New World was abundant with raw materials needed for glassmaking: sand, wood, and ashes.[1] In England, glass was in high demand; however, the country lacked the appropriate resources to create glass. Although the colonists had the resources, they originally had no talented artisans to make the glass.[2]

    Production in Jamestown: In 1608, the Virginia Company sent Dutch and Polish artisans to Jamestown, Virginia, as craftsmen to create various products, including glass. Within the year, the manufacturing of glass was established. After the “Tryal of Glasse” (samples of glassware that were produced) was sent over to England, the production in Jamestown was halted due to a population decrease.[3] Thanks to a nearby swamp, starving conditions and repeated epidemics created the need for a constant replenishment of new colonists.[4] In 1621, four Italian artisans were among a new shipment of colonists sent to Jamestown. These four men were to restart glass production. This venture was organized by Captain William Norton.[5] He created a well-organized plan that would ensure success in the glassmaking industry, however it did not start out as smoothly as he hoped. The production of glass was halted in 1622 because of bad weather, disease, and conflicts with Native Americans, though efforts would not completely cease until 1624.[6]

    The Process: At Jamestown, glass was produced from silica in sand on the shores of the James River and alkali from limestone and potash.[7] After these materials were gathered, they were cleaned by either washing or extreme heating. The freshly cleaned materials were then liquefied in the furnace, which was fueled by wood from the surrounding area. These furnaces reached up to 2,080 Fahrenheit which enabled the silica and alkali to form into crystals. It was then melted into a molten material ready to be blown into a finished piece.[8]

    Evidence: In the ledger, William Haden purchased “1 pint Glass Decanter” in 1761.[9] A decanter is “a bottle of…cut glass, with a stopper, in which wine is brought to the table, and from which the glasses are filled.”[10] The question that rose from these findings was: Where did this glass come from? Henderson ordered various glass instruments from Glasgow, Scotland, including 2 dozen pint glass decanters, 2 dozen quart glass decanters, and looking glasses.[11] From this, it appears that glass production in Scotland may have been more successful than colonial production.

    On July 2, 1761, William Haden purchased a “pint Glass Decanter” (folio 111D).
    A 1765-1775 glass decanter. Image courtesy of the Winterthur Museum Collections,  1976.0165A, B.

    The Northern Attempt: In 1739, Caspar Wistar, a brass button entrepreneur from Germany, travelled to Pennsylvania and established a glass factory in Alloway, New Jersey. Wistar and his son, Richard, used two furnaces, two flattening ovens, several pottery mills, and a cutting house to operate their factory for forty years.[12] Wistar’s glassmaking venture became the first successful glassmaking factory in America. Besides his massive production of bottles, he also began to produce window glass. In addition to his production of Waldglass (green-yellowish color) style items like bottles, Wistar added the production of a clearer colored glass to his body of work.[13]

    Making Connections: Though Wistar was extremely successful in his brass button making business – it is said to have totaled almost 700 pounds at his death – and though he had success in making window glass and bottles, there were other forms of glass making that he did not venture into.[14] One of these was glass buttons. According to one of the accounts from Colchester, in November, 1761, James Edwards bought a dozen glass buttons along with 2 dozen “mettle” buttons. Purchasing both types of buttons may have meant Mr. Edwards had a higher social standing. The glass buttons were more expensive than the metal ones by half a shilling or six pence.[15]

    James Edwards was among the colonists who purchased buttons of both the glass and “mettle” varieties (folio 019D).

    Much like it is today, glass in the eighteenth century was a versatile material, able to craft a variety of goods. Though some manufactures, such as window glass, were relatively inexpensive to buy, others, such as decanters, drinking vessels, and buttons, seem to be more reflective of a higher social standing.[16] The availability of these goods at the Colchester store in 1760-1761 stands as a testament to the materialism that would shape colonial identity for years to come.

     

    [1] National Park Service, “Jamestown Glasshouse,” Historic Jamestowne: Glasshouse, last modified April 12, 2012, accessed March 23, 2017, https://www.nps.gov/jame/planyourvisit/glasshouse.htm.

    [2] NPS, “Glasshouse.”

    [3] NPS, “Glassmaking at Jamestown,” Historic Jamestowne, last modified February 26, 2015, accessed May 25, 2018, https://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/glassmaking-at-jamestown.htm

    [4] Alan Taylor, “Virginia, 1570-1650”, in American Colonies: The Settling of North America (New York: Penguin Books, 2001), 130.

    [5] NPS, “Glassmaking.”

    [6] Ibid.

    [7] Thomas L. Purvis, Colonial America to 1763, Almanacs of American Life (New York: Facts on File, 1999), 107.

    [8] Purvis, Colonial America, 107.

    [9] Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 111 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association).

    [10] “decanter, n.,” OED Online (Oxford University Press) http://www.oed.com/ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/view/Entry/48019?rskey=upZsGT&result=1&isAdvanced=false, accessed May 25, 2018.

    [11] Alexander Henderson, Charles Hamrick, and Virginia Hamrick, Virginia Merchants: Alexander Henderson, Factor for John Glassford at His Colchester Store, Fairfax County, Virginia, His Letter Book of 1758-1765 (Athens, Ga: Iberian Pub. Co, 1999).

    [12] Purvis, Colonial America, 107.

    [13] Ibid.

    [14] Insa Kummer, “Caspar Wistar established the first successful glass manufacturing business in North America,” Immigrant Entrepreneurship, last modified September 25, 2014, accessed May 25, 2018, https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=1.

    [15] Henderson, et. al. Ledger, 1760-1761 folio 19 Debit.

    [16] David Dungworth, “The Value of Historic Window Glass,” The Historic Environment: Policy and Practice 2, No. 1 (June 2011): 41, DOI 10.1179/175675011X12943261434567.

  • Rum and Its Consumption

    Rum and Its Consumption

    Noelle Robison // AMH 4110.0M01 – Colonial America, 1607-1763

    Alcohol, rum specifically, was consumed regularly and at all times of the day in the British colonies of North America. The Colchester store ledger from 1760-1761 in Fairfax, Virginia, shed light on this observation. Almost every account listed in the folios have entries regarding the purchase of rum. For example, in Valinda Wade’s and William Turner’s accounts, there are several entries with rum purchased by the quart and a few by the gallon.[1] Other folios, such as Benoni Halley’s account, show several gallons purchased in a short period of time.[2] William Scott also purchased many gallons.[3] In summation of the thirteen folios reviewed, a pattern of high rum purchases and consumption was realized. Rum was the alcohol of choice in the colonies largely due to its proximity to the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. It is estimated that the average colonist consumed 3.7 gallons annually.[4]

    In June and July of 1760, Mrs. Valinda Wade purchased multiple gallons of rum from the Colchester store (folio 19D).
    In December of 1760, William Turner purchased 3 and a half gallons of rum from the Colchester store (folio 22D).

    Though widespread, alcohol consumption was often regulated by both legal constraints and social expectations. Anyone wishing to sell alcohol and provide other service to townspeople and travelers alike were required to secure licenses for their establishments. These taverns or inns, otherwise known as ordinaries, were common throughout many of the colonies. Licenses were needed as early as the mid-1600s in some places.[5] In Colchester, many licenses were granted during the town’s short history, though the most important was likely the Colchester Inn, or the Fairfax Arms Tavern, owned by Peter Wagener and managed by Charles Tyler.[6] Under licenses, taverns or ordinaries were often restricted by how long they could be open each day, how much alcohol they could sell, and who they could serve.[7] These legalities were coupled with social expectations. One was expected to control oneself, and this meant no drinking to excess. In the most extreme cases, those in violation of social norms or the law would find themselves publicly humiliated or fined.[8] In these ways, the everyday consumption of alcohol, including rum, was ensured against excess and attempts were made to regulate it for the common good.

    Metal tankards from ca. 1730-1745, possibly like ones used in ordinaries and taverns. From the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Acc. No. 1954-940.
    Stoneware tankards dating from 1740-1780 that could have been similar to those used in colonial ordinaries or taverns. From the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Acc. No. 1973-231.

    Additionally, while the consumption of alcohol was high, so was its opposition. Religious tolerance was common amongst the British colonies. However, some of these religious groups were extreme in their practices against alcohol. They condemned alcohol and many attempted to prohibit the sale and consumption of it. This disdain for alcohol was highlighted in a recent interdisciplinary journal article by Utah Valley University professor, regarding the interactions between Quakers and Native Americans in the mid 1700s. The article states, “Indian and Quaker revivalism intersected through a shared concern for moral purity and regulating alcohol consumption.”[9] This article goes further stating, “For colonists rum generated profit as well as anxieties about its potential disorder.”[10] Meanwhile, sugar plantations in the Caribbean were supplying the foundation for the highly successful rum market. There is no doubt that the rum trade brought wealth to investors and producers. However, this caused concern in towns and religious sanctuaries. This article elaborates on alcohol consumption in the same time period as the Colchester ledgers, providing a broader view and context of the folio pages analyzed.

    While rum was an extremely popular drink and part of the culture surrounding the British colonies, it was also heavily regulated by both laws and norms, as well as deemed intolerable by some religious groups. Sugar as a cash crop was extremely beneficial financially to investors and planters. Its versatility made it so, including its importance in the production of rum. Successful sugar plantations were essential for colonial profit while also encouraging the creation, and in turn, the consumption of rum. Thus, sugar plantations and rum consumption created a complex web of interdependencies among various peoples living in the colonies.

     

    [1] Alexander Henderson, et. al., Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 19, 22 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] Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761 folio 23 Debit.

    [3] Ibid., folio 24 Debit.

    [4] Ian Williams, Rum: A Social & Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776 (New York: Nation Books, 2005), 166.

    [5] Alice Morse Earle, Stage-Coach and Tavern Days (New York: Macmillan Co, 1900), 2, https://archive.org/details/stagecoachtavern00earluoft.

    [6] Edith Moore Sprouse, Colchester: Colonial Port on the Potomac (Fairfax, Va: Fairfax County Office of Comprehensive Planning, 1975), 61, https://archive.org/details/Colchester_201704.

    [7] Mark Harrison Moore and Dean R. Gerstein, eds., Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1981), 132.

    [8] Moore and Gerstein, Alcohol and Public Policy, 137.

    [9] Michael Goode, “Dangerous Spirits,” Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal 14, no. 2, 260.

    [10] Goode, “Dangerous Spirits,” 262.

  • Benjamin Hawkins: Rum and the Consumer Revolution

    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.

  • Brandy in the 1760s

    Brandy in the 1760s

    Austin Browning // AMH 4112.001 – The Atlantic World, 1400-1900

    As many may already know, water wasn’t always clean or fit for human consumption in colonial America which required another source for beverages: alcohol.  By the 1750s, rum became a large import to the colonies as the primary beverage of choice.[1]  We saw this consumption of rum exemplified well in the Ready Money transactions from 1760-1761 at Glassford and Henderson’s Colchester store.

    Brandy was also purchased, but may have been used in a somewhat different manner than rum. Looking at the Ready Money account, it was not purchased until December.[2] This suggests to me that brandy consumption was saved for the holiday season. Sales extend through March with two additional pints purchased in May. It was possible that brandy was not in supply year round due to it only appearing in the Ready Money accounts primarily from December through March.  Additionally, it is worth noting the brandy was likely made locally and not imported.[3]

    Brandy purchased at the Glassford and Henderson Colchester store from the Ready Money account in December 1760 and January 1761 (folio 11).
    Brandy would have been served in specialized bowls that could be passed around the table (or room). Image courtesy of the collections of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Acc. No. 2016-59).

    A striking observation was the relatively small amounts of brandy purchased as compared to rum. While rum was often purchased by the gallon, brandy was usually bought in smaller amounts, usually in one or two pints. This purchasing trend shows that massive amounts of brandy were not being consumed in one sitting, and adds credence to my theory that brandy was saved for special occasions and holidays rather than as a daily drink.

    Purchasing brandy would have been done by almost anyone looking to celebrate special occasions, especially in the winter months.  I think primarily the sale of brandy in Colchester, Virginia, showed an affinity for decadence and celebration. I imagine the average Virginian grew tired of rum which was consumed in massive amounts throughout the rest of the year.  Brandy may have been a good change of pace and provide a good tasting alcoholic beverage for the entire family to enjoy.

     

     

    Infographic on Brandy

     

    [1] David C. Klingaman. “The Development of Coast-wise Trade of Virginia in the Late Colonial Period.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 77, no. 1, part 1 (January 1969), pp. 26-45.

    [2] Alexander Henderson, et. al.  Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 10 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).

    [3] Sarah Hand Meacham. “‘They Will Be Adjudged by Their Drink, What Kinde of Housewives They Are’: Gender, Technology, and Household Cidering in England and the Chesapeake, 1690 to 1760.”  The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 111, No. 2 (2003), pp. 117-150.

     

  • Rum in Colonial America

    Rum in Colonial America

    Michael Szary // AMH 4112.001 – The Atlantic World, 1400-1900

    Throughout written human history, all of mankind can relate with one another on one thing: getting drunk. Rum in 18th-century colonial America was, without a doubt, one of the most bought and sold consumable good in the Glassford and Henderson Colchester store per the Ready Money accounts from 1760 – 1761.[1] The delectable good was not only a social lubricant, but it was also used for many things during the time such as daily refreshment, as a clean drinking source, and as a medicine for the sick.

    Exterior of a Distillery, on Weatherell’s Estate, Antigua (from William Clark’s Ten Views in the Island of Antigua, in Which are Represented the Process of Sugar Making, 1823). Image courtesy of SlaveryImages.org, compiled by Jerome Handler and Michael Tuite.

    Rum was not only imported, but also distilled in the colonies. being traded between colonies, but also exported to the rest of the Atlantic world.[2] The sugar based drink was not only prevalent in the British American colonies, but also the rest of the Atlantic World. This was a result of other alcoholic beverages such as beer and cider which “didn’t last as long, took up too much space to transport, and raw materials were readily available to make rum in high volumes.”[3] Not to mention the alcohol content was higher and rum would keep longer than beer and cider.[4] Furthermore, rum was cheap! However, American colonial rum was cheaper than Caribbean rum, mostly because Caribbean rum was more refined and smoother.[5]

    The Glassford and Henderson Ready Money account for October 1760 indicated large volumes of rum being sold, from gallons to pints, with 80 transactions throughout the month.  Price varied only slightly with most quarts being sold for one shilling and six pence.  There was only a few rum transactions that might hint at the difference between American and Caribbean made rum – transactions for only a pint at nearly one shilling and for one and a half quarts valued at two shillings and six pence, both nearly double the normal cost.[6] So being an inexpensive commodity, almost everyone could afford it, and having the option between premium Caribbean rum and cheaper American rum, the quantities at which people could buy the rum was endless.

    A sample of rum purchases from October 1760 in the Glassford and Henderson Colchester store ledger (folio 10).

    In colonial America, alcohol was widely considered as a medical application as well as a pleasurable good, and also contributed to their mental state, kept them warm and even made them stronger.[7] Rum was thought to cure many of the illnesses that were common including pregnant women giving birth who were given rum as a means of anesthetic. Rum was used a source of something safe to drink, as dirty water would cause illness; the practice of drinking alcohol originally came over from Europe where polluted water supplies were widespread.[8]

    In conclusion, rum was a social lubricant, economic powerhouse, medical application, and a source of clean drinking supply. Rum was one of the most important commodities of colonial America.

    Infographic on Rum

    [1] Alexander Henderson, et. al.  Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 10-13 Debit/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).

    [2] Ed Crews. “Drinking in Colonial America: Rattle-Skull, Stonewall, Bogus, Blackstrap, Bombo, Mimbo, Whistle Belly, Syllabub, Sling, Toddy, and Flip.” Colonial Williamsburg Journal, December 2007.  http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/holiday07/drink.cfm (Accessed December 5, 2016).

    [3] Ibid.

    [4] Ibid.

    [5] Ibid.

    [6]  Henderson, et. al.  Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 10 Debit.

    [7] Crews. “Drinking in Colonial America.”

    [8] Ibid.