CHAPTER VI
Pewter in the Early Days
In the spring of 1629, when the Secretary of the Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England was preparing a memorandum of materials to be obtained "to send for Newe England" in the ships that sailed on April 25th of that year, among the fabrics and food stuffs, the seed grain, potatoes, tame turkeys, and copper kettles of French making without bars of iron about them, were listed brass ladles and spoons and "pewter botles of pyntes & qrts." The little fleet reached Naumkeck (now Salem) on June 30th, and on its return voyage, a month later, Master Thomas Graves, the "Engynere," expert in mines, fortifications, and surveys, who had come over with Governor Endecott the previous year, sent home a report to the Company in which he listed "such needefull things as every Planter doth or ought to provide to go to New-England," including victuals for a whole year, apparel, arms, tools, spices, and various household implements, among which appear "wooden platters, dishes, spoons and trenchers," with no mention of pewter. The records of the Company make mention of carpenters, shoemakers, plasterers, vine planters, and men skillful in making pitch, salt, etc., but nowhere does the trade of the pewterer appear.
Pewter did not come into general use among the more prosperous farmers in England until about the middle of the sixteenth century and then only as a salt – a dish of honor, or three or four pieces for use on more formal occasions. It was the wooden trencher that was commonest in use in all middle-class families until well after the year 1700, and this was true both in New England and Old England. In homes where the shilling was made to go as far as possible, the wooden trencher, like the homespun coat, lingered in use for a century later. At least one family in Essex County, Massachusetts, was still using its wooden plates of an earlier period as late as 1876, when the menfolk left home to work for two or three days in the early fall on the thatch banks beside Plum Island river. And this happened in a comfortably situated, but thrifty, family. The rough usage given the common tableware in the crude camp by the marshes had taught the housewife the desirability of bringing down from the chest in the attic, at least once a year, the discarded wooden plates used in her childhood.
Pewter appears early in the Massachusetts Colony in connection with the settlement of estates of deceased persons. By means of the detailed inventories taken at such times, it is possible to reconstruct with unquestioned accuracy the manner in which the homes of the early settlers were furnished, and by means of this evidence it is possible to show that the hardships and crudities of the first years were soon replaced by the usual comforts of the English home of similar station at the same time. The ships were crossing the Atlantic frequently and bringing from London, Plymouth or Bristol, to the new settlements, all manner of goods required for sale in the shops that had been set up in Boston, Salem and elsewhere.
In 1635 the widow Sarah Dillingham died at Ipswich, leaving a considerable estate. Among the bequests were a silver bowl and a silver porringer, and the inventory shows 40½ pounds of pewter valued at £2.14.0.
In 1640, Bethia Cartwright of Salem bequeathed to her sister, Mary Norton, three pewter platters and a double saltcellar and to a nephew she gave six spoons and a porringer.
In 1643, Joseph, the eldest son of Robert Massey of Ipswich, was bequeathed by his father, four pewter platters and one silver spoon. Benjamin, another son, was to receive four pewter platters and two silver spoons, and Mary, a daughter, received the same number as did Joseph.
In 1645, Lionell Chute died in Ipswich. His silver spoon he bequeathed to his son James. It was the only piece of silver in the house. Of pewter, he had possessed fourteen dishes, "small and great," eleven pewter salts, saucers and porringers, two pewter candlesticks and a pewter bottle.
The widow, Mary Hersome of Wenham, possessed in 1646 one pewter platter and two spoons. The same year Michael Carthrick of Ipswich possessed ten pewter dishes, two quart pots, one pint pot, one beaker, a little pewter cup, one chamber pot and a salt. In 1647, William Clarke, a prosperous Salem merchant, died possessed of an interesting list of furniture; six silver spoons and two small pieces of plate; and the following pewter which was kept in the kitchen – twenty platters, two great plates and ten little ones, one great pewter pot, one flagon, one pottle, one quart, three pints, four ale quarts, one pint, six beer cups, four wine cups, four candlesticks, five chamber pots, two lamps, one tunnel, six saucers and miscellaneous old pewter, the whole valued at £7. The household also was supplied with "China dishes" valued at twelve shillings. John Lowell of Newbury, in 1647, possessed three pewter butter dishes. John Fairfield of Wenham, the same year, had two pewter fruit dishes and two saucers; also four porringers, a double salt, one candlestick and six spoons, all of pewter. His fellow-townsman, Christopher Yongs, a weaver, who died the same year, possessed one bason, a drinking pot, three platters, three old saucers, a salt and an old porringer, all of pewter and valued at only ten shillings. There were also alchemy spoons, trenchers and dishes and a pipkin valued at one shilling and sixpence.
When Giles Badger of Newbury died in 1647 he left to his young widow a glass bowl, beaker and jug, valued at three shillings; three silver spoons valued at £1, and a good assortment of pewter, including "a salt seller, a tunnell, a great dowruff" and valued at one shilling. The household was also furnished with six wooden dishes and two wooden platters. The inventory of the estate of Matthew Whipple of Ipswich totalled £287.2.1, and included eighty-five pieces of pewter, weighing 147 pounds and valued at £16.9.16. In addition, there were four pewter candlesticks valued at ten shillings; two pewter salts, five shillings; two pewter potts, one cup and a bottle, four shillings and sixpence; one pewter flagon, seven shillings; twenty-one "brass alchimic spoones" at four shillings and four pence each; and nine pewter spoons at eighteen pence per dozen. The inventory also discloses one silver bowl and two silver spoons valued at £3.3.0; six dozen wooden trenchers, valued at three shillings; also trays, a platter, two bowles, four dishes, and "one earthen salt."
The widow Rebecca Bacon died in Salem in 1655, leaving an estate of £195.8.6 and a well-furnished house. She had brass pots, skillets, candlesticks, skimmers, a little brass pan, and an excellent supply of pewter, including "3 large pewter platters, 3 a size lesse, 3 more a size lesse, 3 more a size lesse, £1.16; 1 pewter bason, 5s; 6 large pewter plates & 6 lesser, 9s; 19 Pewter saucers & 2 fruite dishes, 11s, 6d; 1 old Pewter bason & great plate, 3s; 2 pewter candlesticks, 4s; 1 large pewter salt & a smal one; 2 pewter porringers, 3s.6d; 1 great pewter flagon; 1 lesser, 1 quart, 2 pints & a halfe pint, 13s; 2 old chamber pots & an old porringer, 3s." She also died possessed of "1 duble salt silver, 6 silver spones, 1 wine cup & a dram cup of silver, both £6."
The Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, when he died in 1656, was possessed of an unusually well-equipped kitchen, supplied with much brass and ironware and the following pewter, viz.: "on one shelfe, one charger, 5 pewter platters and a bason and a salt seller, £1.10.0; on another shelfe, 9 pewter platters, small & great, 13 shillings; one old flagon and 4 pewter drinking pots, 10 shillings." No pewter plates or wooden trenchers are listed.
In other estates appear some unusual items, such as: a pewter brim basin, pewter cullenders, pewter beer cups, pewter pans, pewter bed pans, and a mustard pot.
The trade of the pewterer does not seem to have been followed by many men in New England during the seventeenth century. The vessels were bringing shipments from London and moreover, the bronze moulds used in making the ware were costly. Pewter melted easily and frequently required repairing, and it was here that the itinerant tinker or second-rate pewterer found employment. The handles of pewter spoons broke easily, and a spoon mould was a part of the equipment of every tinker. The earliest mention we have noted of the pewterer practising his trade in New England is one Richard Graves of Salem. He was presented at a Quarterly Court on February 28, 1642-43 for "opression in his trade of pewtering" and acquitted of the charge. Then he was accused of neglecting to tend the ferry carefully, so it would seem that pewtering occupied only part of his time. This he acknowledged, but said that he had not been put to it by the Court and also that it was necessary to leave the ferry when he went to mill, a quite apparent fact. He seems to have been a somewhat reckless fellow in his dealings with neighbors, for he was accused of taking fence rails from Christopher Young's lot and admonished by the Court. At the same session he was fined for stealing wood from Thomas Edwards and for evil speeches to him, calling him "a base fellow, & yt one might Runn a half pike in his bellie & never touch his hart."
Graves came to Massachusetts in the "Abigail," arriving in July, 1635. He settled at Salem and was a proprietor there in 1637. Sometimes he is styled "husbandman." He got into trouble with the authorities very soon, and in December, 1638, was sentenced to sit in the stocks for beating Peter Busgutt in his own house. Peter made sport of the Court at the time of the trial, and in consequence was ordered to be whipped, this time by the constable. In 1641 Graves was brought into court again and William Allen testified that "he herd Rich Graves kissed Goody Gent twice." Richard confessed that it was true, and for this unseemly conduct he was sentenced to be fined or whipped. The records do not disclose his individual preference as to the penalty eventually inflicted. In 1645 he was in Boston in connection with some brazen moulds that were in dispute. A Mr. Hill and Mr. Knott were concerned in the affair, and very likely the moulds were for pewterers' use. On another occasion a few years later, when Graves went to Boston, he got drunk at Charlestown, and in consequence was mulct by the Quarterly court. Only a month later he was complained of for playing at shuffleboard, a wicked game of chance, at the tavern kept by Mr. Gedney in Salem, but this time he escaped the vengeance of the law, for the case against him was not proved. He was still pursuing his trade of pewterer in 1655 when he so styled himself in a deed to John Putnam, and sometime between that date and 1669 he passed out of reach of the courts to that bourne from which no pewterers ever return.
Mention has been made of the fact that London-made pewter was brought into New England at frequent intervals to supply the natural demand. An invoice of pewter shipped from London in 1693 has recently come to light in the Massachusetts Archives, and is here printed as being of interest not only as showing the market prices for pewter, but also the kind of utensils in demand at that time. This particular shipment of pewter was a part of a consignment made by John Caxy of London to Joseph Mallenson, his agent in Boston. It consisted of a great variety of clothing, fabrics, hardware, implements, kitchen utensils and pewter. The part of the invoice that comprised the shipment of pewter follows, viz.:
CHAPTER VII
The Farmhouse and the Farmer
The farmers in the early days had few conveniences and comforts and were largely dependent for the supply of their wants upon the products of their farms. But little food was purchased. At the outset domestic animals were too valuable to be killed for food but deer and other wild game were plentiful. When this no longer became necessary and an animal was killed by a farmer, it was the custom to lend pieces of the meat to the neighbors, to be repaid in kind when animals were killed by them. In this way the fresh meat supply was kept up for a long time by the killing of one animal. Other parts of the meat were salted and kept for a number of months before all was eaten. Nearly every family had a beef and a pork barrel (called a "powdering tub"), from which most of the meat used in summer was taken. Meat was not found upon the table every day.
The chimney in the farmhouse was of great size, occupying relatively a large amount of the space inside the house. The kitchen fireplace usually was large enough to accommodate logs four feet in length, oftentimes even larger. In making a fire a backlog, a foot or more in diameter, was placed against the back of the fireplace; a forestick was then placed across the andirons in front, and wood piled between, producing a hot fire, and giving the kitchen a very cheerful appearance. Large stones were sometimes used instead of a backlog, and an iron bar was laid on the andirons in front of the forestick. Ample ventilation was had by the constant current of air that passed up the chimney.
In sitting before an open fire it was often complained that while one was roasted in front he was frozen in the back and this led to the use in nearly every family of a long seat made of boards called a "settle," with a high back to keep off the wind from behind, which, when placed before the fire, was usually occupied by the older members of the family.
At night, any fire that remained was carefully covered with ashes and was expected to keep until morning to kindle for the next day. This was called "raking up the fire," and calculation was made to have enough fire to cover up every night, so it need not be lost. If the fire didn't keep over, some one would go with a fire pan to a neighbor, if one lived near, and borrow some fire. But if this was inconvenient, resort was then had to the tinder box. Tinder was made by charring cotton or linen rags. The box containing this was usually kept in a niche made in the side of the fireplace, by leaving out a couple of bricks. By striking fire with flint and steel, the tinder was ignited. Homemade matches, which had been dipped in melted brimstone, were set on fire by touching the burning tinder and in this way a fire was obtained. Sometimes fire was kindled by flashing powder in the pan of a flint-lock musket, thereby setting paper on fire. Friction matches did not come into use until about 1832.
The cooking was done over and before the open fire. Boiling was done by suspending kettles from pot hooks which were upon the crane and of different lengths to accommodate the height of the fire. An adjustable hook which was called a "trammel" was not infrequently used. Meat was roasted by passing through it an iron rod called a spit and this was rested on brackets on the back of the andirons in front of the fire and by repeated turning and exposing on all sides, the meat was evenly cooked. Another method was to suspend the meat or poultry by a line before the fire. By twisting the line hard it would slowly unwind. Of course some one had to be in frequent attendance to twist the cords and usually it was a child. A dish placed underneath caught the drippings from the roast. Sometimes the line would burn off, and have to be replaced before the cooking could be completed.
Potatoes and eggs were roasted in the ashes by wrapping them in wet leaves or paper, and then covering with hot coals. In half an hour or so the potatoes would be well cooked.
At first bread and other things were baked in a Dutch oven. It was a shallow cast-iron kettle with long legs and a cover of the same material, having a raised edge. The cover was filled with live coals, and then the oven was suspended from a pot hook or stood in the hot coals. It was used for both baking and frying. Indian bannock, made from corn meal mixed with water and spread about an inch thick on a board or wooden trencher, was baked before the fire by setting it on an incline against a sad-iron or skillet, the top a couple of inches back from the bottom, and when baked and made into milk toast it was considered a dish fit to be "set before a king"!
The brick oven was in the chimney of nearly every well-built house. The opening was inside the fireplace and was closed by a wooden door. In heating the oven dry pine wood, which had been spilt and seasoned out of doors for a short time and then housed, was a necessity for the best results. The oven was considered hot enough for a baking when the black was burned off the roof and the whole inside had assumed a uniform light color. The coals and ashes inside the oven were then removed with a "peel," a long-handled iron shovel made for the purpose. The bottom of the oven was then swept clean with a broom made of hemlock or other boughs. The process of removing the fire and getting it ready for use was called "clearing the oven."
The food to be cooked was then put in the oven: brown bread made from rye and Indian meal, drop cakes made with milk and eggs and wheat flour, which were placed directly upon the bricks and when baked and eaten hot with butter, were considered a great luxury. Beans, meats, potatoes, pies, and many other things were cooked in the brick oven at the same time.
Families in good circumstances, made it a rule to heat the oven daily, but Saturday was generally reserved for the week's baking.
The skins of animals killed on the farm were tanned by some local tanner and a year or more was required by the old process, but it produced an excellent quality of leather.
The utmost economy was practiced. Nearly all the young people and some of the older ones went barefoot during the summer. In going to meeting on Sunday the girls and young women often walked a number of miles. They wore heavy shoes or went barefooted, carrying their light shoes in their hands to save wear until near the meeting house.
In the early years following the settlement, all clothing or materials were brought from overseas but in time, flax and wool were produced on many farms, and the women of the family were capable of taking the wool as it came from the sheep, cleansing, carding and spinning it into yarn, and then weaving it into cloth, from which they cut and made the clothes for the family. The carding was done with hand cards similar to those used for carding cattle, only a little larger and of finer mesh. The carded rolls were spun into yarn upon the hand wheel. Five skeins was considered a good day's work.
The yarn was woven into cloth on the hand loom, which was a ponderous affair and occupied a great deal of room. Not every family possessed a loom, but there were weavers in every locality. The yarn which went lengthwise of the cloth had to be drawn into the harness by hand; that which went the other way came from the shuttle. The yarn which was in the shuttle was wound upon short quills, which were pieces of elder three inches in length with the pitch punched out, and these quills were wound on a wheel called a "quill wheel" which made a great deal of noise. This work was usually done by children or some helper, while the woman of the house was weaving.
Weaving was hard work and five or six yards was considered a good day's work. Cotton was sometimes bought and worked in about the same manner as wool. When the yarn was to be knitted, it was generally colored before using. The dye pot was of earthenware and had its place in the chimney corner just inside the fireplace. It was covered with a piece of board or plank on which the children often sat. The dye was made of indigo dissolved in urine. Into this the yarn was put and remained until it was colored. When the yarn was wrung out, or the contents disturbed, the odor that arose had no resemblance to the balmy breezes from "Araby the blest."
The cloth for men's wear was called "fulled cloth." After it was woven it was taken to the clothier, where it was fulled, dyed, sheared, and pressed. That worn by women was simply dyed and pressed, and was called pressed cloth. Baize without any filling or napping was woven for women's use.
Flax was grown on the farm. It was pulled in the fall and placed upon the ground, where it remained a number of months until the woody portion was rotted and the fiber became pliable. When at the right stage it was broken by a clumsy implement called a "flax brake," which rid the fiber of the woody parts. It was then "swingled," which was done by beating it with a wooden paddle called a "swingling knife," which prepared it for the comb or "hatchel" made of nail rods. Its teeth were pointed and about six inches longer, seven rows with twelve in each row. The combing took out the short and broken pieces which was called tow and spun into wrapping twine, small ropes and bagging. When the flax had been combed sufficiently it was put upon the distaff and spun.
The linen wheel was about twenty inches in diameter and was operated by the foot resting upon a treadle. The wheel had two grooves in the circumference, one to receive a band to drive "the fliers," the other to drive the spool with a quicker motion to take up the threads. The thread when spun and woven into cloth, was made up into shirts, sheets, table covers, dresses, handkerchiefs, strainer cloths, etc. Ropes used about the farm were often home-made of linen and tow. In the summer men wore tow and linen clothes. A cloth made of cotton and linen was called fustian.
Cider mills were found on a great many farms where the apples, which were mostly natural fruit, were made into cider. This was a common drink and found a place upon the table three times a day with each meal, and was carried into the fields to quench thirst forenoon and afternoon. The men of those days assumed to be unable to labor without a liberal supply of cider, as water seldom agreed with them. The drawing and putting the cider upon the table usually fell to the younger members of the family and was generally considered an irksome task. In some cases it was made the rule that the one who got up the latest in the morning should draw the cider for the day. Cider which had been drawn for a little time and had become warm was not considered fit to drink. Any that remained in the mug was emptied into a barrel kept for the purpose in the cellar and was soon converted into vinegar. In this way the family supply was made and kept up, and it generally was of the best quality.
When David Cummings of Topsfield died in 1761, he provided by will that his wife Sarah should be supplied annually with five barrels of cider, in fact, it was common among farmers to so provide for their widows, together with a horse to ride to meeting, and a certain number of bushels of vegetables, corn, rye, etc., etc.
The tallow candle was used for light in the evening. When this was supplemented by a blazing fire in the fireplace it gave the room a cheerful appearance. Most of the candles were "dips," although a few were run in moulds made for the purpose. All the tallow that came from the animals killed on the farm was carefully saved and tried out and rendered by heating. The liquid thus obtained was put in pans to cool and when enough had been accumulated it was placed in a large kettle and melted. The candle wicking was made of cotton, and was bought at the shops in town. It came in balls. The wicking was cut twice the length of the candle and doubled over a stick made for the purpose and then twisted together. These sticks were two feet in length and half an inch in diameter. Six wicks were placed upon each stick, and as many used as would hold all the candles to be made at one time. Two sticks six or eight feet in length, often old rake handles, were used for supports. These were placed upon two chairs and about eighteen inches apart. On these the sticks were placed with the wicks hanging down. By taking a couple of the sticks in the hands the wicks were placed in the hot tallow until they were soaked. When all had been thus treated dipping began. Each time a little tallow adhered, which was allowed to cool, care being taken not to allow the dips to remain in the hot tallow long enough to melt off what had already cooled. While the dipping was going on the candles were suspended where a draft of air would pass over and cause them to cool quickly. Care was also taken not to have the candles touch each other.
The dipping continued until the candles were large enough for use. If the tallow in the kettle became too cool to work well, some boiling water was put in which went to the bottom and kept the tallow above warm enough to work. The tallow candle made a dim, disagreeable light, as it smoked considerably and required constant snuffing or cutting off of the burnt portions of the wick. Snuffers were used for this purpose, in which the portions of the wick cut off were retained, and this was emptied from time to time as the receptacle became filled.
Nearly every family made the soft soap used in washing clothes and floors. Ashes were carefully saved and stored in a dry place. In the spring the mash tub, holding sixty or seventy gallons, was set up, and on the bottom a row of bricks were set on edge. On them a framework was placed which was covered with hemlock boughs or straw, over which a porous cloth was placed. The tub was then filled with ashes. If any doubt existed as to the strength of the lye, thus produced, a little lime was put in. Boiling water was then poured on in small quantities, at frequent intervals and this was allowed to settle. When no more water would be taken it was left to stand an hour or more, when the first lye was drawn off. If an egg dropped into the lye floated, all was well and good luck with the soap was certain.
Ashes from any wood except pine and beech were considered good and used with confidence. Grease that had accumulated during the year and been saved for this purpose was then placed in a kettle with some of the lye, and when boiled, if it did not separate when cooled, soft soap was the result. Most farmers' wives dreaded soap making. It was one of the hardest day's work of the year. Usually it was made a point to have the soap making precede the spring cleaning.
Men generally rode horseback to meeting and elsewhere, and when a woman went along she rode behind on a pillion, which was a small cushion attached to the rear of the saddle with a narrow board suspended from the cushion – a support for the women's feet. To assist in mounting and dismounting horse blocks were used at the meetinghouse and in other public places. Small articles were carried in saddle-bags, balanced one on each side of the horse. Grain was carried to mill laid across the horse's back, half in each end of the sack.
In the early days baked pumpkin and milk was a favorite dish. A hard-shelled pumpkin had a hole cut in the stem end large enough to admit the hand. The seeds and inside tissue were carefully removed, the piece cut out was replaced, and the pumpkin was then put in a hot oven. When cooked it was filled with new milk and the contents eaten with a spoon. When emptied the shells were often used as receptacles for balls of yarn, remnants of cloth and other small articles.
Bean porridge was another dish that was popular. In cold weather it was often made in large quantities and considered to grow better with age. Hence the old saying:
"Bean porridge hot;
Bean porridge cold;
Bean porridge in the pot,
Nine days old."
While iron shovels were brought in from England and in a limited way were made by local blacksmiths, most shovels used by farmers were made of oak, the edges shod with iron. Hay and manure forks were made of iron by the blacksmith. They were heavy, had large tines that bent easily, and were almost always loose in the handle. It took a great deal of strength to use them. Hoes were made by the blacksmiths, who also made axes, scythes, knives, etc.
When help was wanted on the farm, the son of some neighbor who was not as well off, or who had not enough work to profitably employ all his sons, could be hired. He became one of the family, took an active interest in his employer's business, and in not a few instances married his daughter, and later with his wife succeeded to the ownership of the farm. If help was wanted in the house, some girl in the neighborhood was willing to accept the place. She was strong and ready, capable and honest, and in the absence of her mistress was able to take the lead. She was not looked upon as a servant, and often established herself permanently by becoming the life partner of the son.
Clocks were seldom found in the farmhouse. Noon marks and sundials answered the needs of the family and when the day was cloudy, one must "guess." Because so many had no means of telling the time, it was customary to make appointments for "early candlelight."
It was usual with most families to gather roots and herbs to be used for medicinal purposes. Catnip, pennyroyal, sage, thoroughwort, spearmint, tansy, elderblows, wormwood, and other plants were saved to be used in case of sickness. Gold thread or yellow root was saved and was a remedy for canker in the mouth. Many of the old women who had reared families of children were skilful in the use of these remedies, and were sent for in case of sickness, and would prescribe teas made from some of these herbs, which were cut when in bloom and tied in small bundles and suspended from the rafters on the garret to dry, causing a pleasant aromatic smell in the upper part of the house.
The well was usually at some distance from the farmhouse and often located in an exposed and wind-swept position requiring much daily travel over a snowy and slippery path in winter and through mud and wet at other times. Convenience in the location of the well was in too many cases overlooked. From the well all the water used for domestic purposes was brought into the house in buckets. The water in the well was usually drawn by means of a well-sweep.