Prices in the Good Old Days

Dr. David B., an uncle of the Manchester Bridge resident, studied medicine at Omaha Medical College, Omaha, Nebraska, and Columbia Medical School in New York City. He returned to Dutchess County to practice medicine from the Route 55 family homestead until his death in 1926.

Edmund's late brother, Paul, a graduate of Eastman Business College, worked for the New Haven Railroad. He lived in Hartford during most of his working career. He died in 1955.

PRICES IN THE "GOOD OLD DAYS"

by Edmund Van Wyck*

Here are some items taken from an old account book in which the very first line reads "Peter Cornwell's Act. Book, 1830". Some of the price columns are headed "$-C" and some S D", indicating that the influence of the English monetary system had not entirely died out. Our shilling equaled 121/2 cents and were known as "bits"; 2 bits equaled 25 cents, 6 bits equaled 75 cents, and so on. The Cornwell farm was situated on today's Smith Crossing Road between Maloney and Didell Roads and the family was there until about 1920.

The book itself is 61/2 " x 8" and contains about forty pages crowded with entries dated 1830 through 1832, and in addition is literally stuffed with memoranda on loose slips of paper of all shapes and sizes. These carry dates to 1861. The 1861 entry reads:

Received of Peter Cornwell four Dollars for visit to his Brother in consultation with Dr. Underhill September 12, 1861 ( signed) John Cooper

Most entries of the first three pages consist of butter sales, amounts ranging from 11/2 to 34 pounds, but no prices are recorded. Other items:

20 bu oats at 30 cents 4 bu Rie at 5S bu corn at 45 15 gees at 16 turkeys at

Pork at $5-s3 2 pigs sold Roe 1 pig sold Stant

6.00 2.50 2.121/2 26.00 8.00 33.20 02.00 3.121/2

In 1831 the price of oats was a little better, ranging from 2/8 to 3/7 and pork was sold for $4.75 per cwt. Flax, a rare commodity for this area, sold for 8 to 81/2 cents a pound. Another entry:

3 hogs sold to Harvey E. Everitt valued 18.00 7 Turkeys sold to Harvey E. Everitt for 4.371/2

In 1833 he recorded twenty sales of butter and this time he entered the prices. The prices vary from a low of twelve and a half to eighteen cents a pound, and quantities from eleven to thirty-three pounds. But the man's arithmetic was atrocious! Checking at random, I only found one

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sale where there was an over charge, 5 1bs.g.8 equal .93. Here are samples:

Weight Price His record Should be 15 lbs. $.15 $1.61 $1.65 32 .15 4.68 4.80 18 .18 3.19 3.24 251/ 2 .15 3.62 382½ 123/4 .121/2 1.47 1.593 /8 He short-changed himself every time!

* Edmund Van Wyck, Trustee and former President of the Dutchess County Historical Society, continues to contribute to the Year Book interesting and valuable records of Dutchess County.

Also in 1833 he sold a sow and pigs for $11.00 and five calves at prices from two to four dollars each, and quantities of oats in two to twenty-five bushel lots at prices ranging from 30 to 40 cents per bushel. And in another case of depression arithmetic, he again lists flaxseed, 51 /4 bu.0.19-a total of $9.18, nearly eighty cents short. He lists also 3 geese for $1.31 and a very unusual item, clover seed, at $7.00 a bushel and 2 of potatoes for $.871/2.

By far the most numerous entries are those recording days labor at many jobs for neighbors; all of these are in pounds, shillings and pence. With some, it is impossible to know after a hundred and thirty years, whether the sums are owed or owing. Here is a page headed

Jan. 17, 1830 Philander Seward Dr. £- S -D by 2 days thrashing 0- 4 -0 Jan. 30 by 6 days thrashing 0 - 12 - 0 and so on for 10 similar enries:

Received payment in full

- S -D 5 - 18 - 0

This is followed by a list of days spent at laying walls, hoeing corn, digging celler, mowing clover, making hay, harvesting oats and, on September 25, by 3 days work in Aples 0 12 0. Summer work brought better wages. Threshing was worth 2 shillings a day, but various summer days were worth 6 in haying and 8 in harvest. In September, he noted that he was paid in full but did not put down the amount. Later, he worked in corn and the last item on that page is "riding Stalks" on November 8. They were getting set for the winter. The Philander Seward farm-house is owned at present by New Hackensack Reformed Church and used as a Parsonage.

During 1830, he worked two days for John "Diddle" laying wall at the rate of three Shillings a day. Likewise, he put in two "half months" for John Luyster, and for one half he received one pound 10 shillings and for the other, 1 pound 12 shillings, but doesn't say what he was doing. In March, 1831, he records 21 days for Luyster at 2 pounds 11 shillings and in October 31 he has a half month at 2 pounds. In 1832, again Luyster, the account shows:

April 28 by months work and half day June 16 by 6 days work at wall E - S -D 4- 2 -0 1 - 4 -0

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and in 1833:

£- S -D June 27 by 41 / 2 days work at hoeing corn 0 - 16 - 0 July 14 by 6 days work at wall & hay 1 - 5 - 0 Sept. 30 by 11 days work at wall 1 - 4 - 0 Wages were going up a little, maybe two "bits" a day over the rates in 1830.

Other employers mentioned, besides Diddell, Seward and Luyster, include Harvey E. Everitt, William Roe, William Brower, Stephen Hicks, Mrs. Jane Dates and others. The Diddell place, east of New Hackensack, is still owned and operated by that family, and the Roe place adjoined it on the west. One James Luyster lived in New Hackensack years ago and was employed by Luckey, Platt and Company.

Many pages are filled with what appear to be family records of transactions between members of the household, but one person appearing as "Cr" and "Dr" perhaps on the same page or on several pages. However, the prices paid for "trade goods" are interesting and cover a wide range of subjects between 1830 and 1835. The actual dates are not important the items are:

by 1 pair mittens by 1 pair hare combs by 1 paper tobaco by muslin & trimming for shirts by 1 horse blanket & 1 lb. salts

by 21 /2 yds. of Canton Flannel by 11/2 yds. of Irish linen by potash by 1 Read Bandanah Habdkerchief by muslin for shirts & trimmings by 2 yds Cloth for Coat @ $2 per yd. by Trimmings for coat by buttons for coat by 1 summer hat by Pantaloons by lining for same by cash paid for watch by sweet potatoes E - S -D O - 2 -6 O - 0 - 3 0 - 0 - 9 0- 8 -0 0- 7 -0 - S -D 0- 5 -0 0- 2 -0 0 - 0 - 3 0- 6 -0 O - 8 -2 1 - 12 - 0 O - 9 - 6 0- 0 -8 0 - 2 -0 0 - 13 - 3 0- 0 -9 0- 6 -0 0- 1 -0

I like the "hare combs" at 3'd and the ''tobaco" at 9'd but the "Read Bandanah" at 6 bits must have been quite all right as the 1 /2 yard of Irish linen only cost two!

The loose papers are of all shapes and sizes. Many are receipts for money and lots of them appear to be shopping lists on the back or even across the front. Here is one: "Received of Mr. John Cornwell two Dollars in full for the Poughkeepsie Telegraph up to No. 442 Dated October 15th 1834. Samuel Van Dyne." Then there is a receipt signed for the executors of the estate of Matthew Van Benschoten by Alex Forbus in the amount of $20.31 on a book account and $38.50 interest the two

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bonds and mortgages of Clement and John. In July of 1831, Peter ( John's Father? Brother? Son?) bought some groceries of Robinson and Graham:

7 — Sugar — $0.50 14 — Rice .50 2 — Coffee .25 12 — Mackrel .48 1 /4 — Y. H. Tea .28

Recd Paymt $2.01 .75

1.25

He probably traded eggs or butter amounting to $.75 and R 8z G knocked off the odd penny! There are no less than twenty-two Steamboat Company receipts for tubs of butter in lots of one to three tubs, each sold at prices ranging from 13 to 28 cents per pound. One, two or three hogs were shipped and on one occasion, a bushel of walnuts which brought Two Dollars. The freight charges ran from eleven to thirty-eight cents, which included the trip to New York, selling the stuff and returning the container, if any. Fancy that today!

During 1832-33 Peter seems to have done considerable building as there are two or more pages filled with building supply items. He never specifies sizes of anything, simply "Bot of Mr. Pierce 52 bards 16 cents — 8.32"; Bot of Mr. Hodges 32 joice 6 cents — 4.66"; "Bot of Mr. Waldron 17 lbs nails — 1.02"; "Bot of Mr. Pierce 2 thousand shingles — 9.80"; Bot of Woolley 26 bords — 2.60"; "4 clear plank $1.41"; "2 bunch shingles $4.75"; "Arnold bill for stoop post $0.53"; Storms bill for nails $0.65". Sizes of "joice" are not given and sometimes "bords" are set down as "wide", "Pine", "clear", "Hemlock", "narrow siding" etc. And once, nails were specified as 5'd, otherwise "cut", "large", "lath", "small", "floor" and so on. It is rather difficult to compare, but they seem to be low in price by today's reckoning.

The very last page of the book has two very sobering notations: "Phebe Cornwell Departed this life Monday Morning April 15th 1833 — Aged 54 years — 9 months and 3 days About." "Clement Cornwell Departed this life Tuesday morning April 23rd 1833 — Aged 85 years — 2 Months and 27 days".

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