Historical Society of Montgomery County
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BULLETIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY MONTGOMERY COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA JVONR/STOWN PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AT IT5 ROOM5 18 EAST PENN STREET NORRISTOWN.PA. APRIL, 1949 VOLUME VI NUMBER 4 PRICE ONE DOLLAR E Historical Society of Montsomery County OFFICERS Kirke Bryan, Esq., President George K. Brecht, Esq., First Vice-President Foster C. Hillegass, Second Vice-President David E. Groshens, Esq., Third Vice-President Eva G. Davis, Recording Secretary Helen E. Richards, Corresponding Secretary Mrs. LeRoy Burris, Financial Secretary Lyman a. "Kbatz,"Treasurer Mrs. LeRoy Burris, Acting Librarian TRUSTEES Kirke Bryan, Esq. Mrs. H. H. Francine Donald A. Gallager, Esq. H. H. Ganser Nancy P. Highley Foster C. Hillegass Mrs. a. Conrad Jones Hon. Harold G. Knight Lyman A. Kratz , o Douglas Macparlan, M.D. Katharine Preston Franklin A. Stickler Mrs. James I. Wendell Mrs. Franklin B. Wildman, Jr. Norris D. Wright Dale Furnace THE BULLETIN of the • ' Historical Society of Montgomery County Published Semi-Annually — October and Avril Volume VI April, 1949 Number 4 CONTENTS / The Charcoal Iron Industry in the Perkiomen Valley, Alfred Gemmell 281 I Neighborhood News and Notices (Compiled) 335 A Genealogical Nugget Charles R. Barker 354 Reports ' 359 Publication Committee Mrs. LeRoy Burris Jean Gottshall Donald A. Gallager, Esq. Charles R. Barker, Chairman 279 ERRATA occurring in the October, 1948, number: Page 183 For "Charcoal Industry," read "Charcoal Iron Industry." 189 line 6. For "1688," read "1638." U3 line 22. For "is," read "it." 214 Transfer first three lines, and insert them between last two lines on page 213. 264 line 85. Invert line. 275 line 2 from foot. For "Jane Keplinger," read "Jane Keplinger Burris." 280 The Charcoal Iron Industry in the - Perkiomen Valley By Alfred Gemmell (continued from, page 258) CHAPTER III The Iron Workers No story of the early iron industry would be complete if it omitted the social aspects of its plantation life. A descrip tion has already been made of the nature of the iron plantation, with the workers' tenant houses grouped about the ironmas ter's mansion, with its remote self-sufficiency, and with the necessary combination of iron-making and agriculture. To this outline must now be added the social picture of the work ers, without whom the plantation could not have lived, pro duced, or thrived. To meet the need for commodities which could not be produced in the home and garden, the larger Perkiomen Valley iron plantations included a store operated by a clerk directly responsible to the ironmaster. Some of the store's stock was produced on the plantation, but much was of such import nature that it had to be purchased in Philadelphia. A typical entry referring to such a purchase is as follows: "Dec. 13, 1738 —Barnabas Rhodes Cr. By Hauling 1 Hoggs, Rum, 2 bushels salt, 1 Barrell Tobacco, 1 cask Powder, and 1 Box hatts—From Philadelphia—1/6/9."^ The merchandise was hauled from the city in return for shipments of iron, which furnished the wagons with a pay-load during the entire trip. Then, too, it allowed a system of barter to operate, which was most con- *Mount Pleasant MSS., Day Book, (1738-40), Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 281 282 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY venient in the days when hard money was scarce and the iron master's risks made it difficult for him to obtain long credit from the city merchants. It is in the account books kept by the store clerks that a wealth of information is revealed concerning the little every day transactions so helpful in picturing life on the plantations. Unfortunately, most of the records are lost for the Perkiomen area, and those that have been located are fragmentary, cover ing only brief periods of an establishment's history. Incom plete as these accounts are, they furnish local facts on three distinct periods: 1737 to 1750; 1799 to 1801; and 1827 to 1870. Each of these will be considered separately. The four manuscript volumes extant covering the"activi ties of Mount Pleasant Furnace during the earlier (1737 to 1760) years of the Furnace's history shed light on social con ditions at a very early time in Pennsylvania's iron-making history. A condition which seriously hampered the iron industry throughout the eighteenth century was the acute shortage of labor, especially skilled labor.^ Of the several classifications of labor available to the Potts family, at least three were em ployed at Mount Pleasant—free labor, indentured servants, and Negroes. Free labor constituted the largest portion of the workers, particularly those who were entrusted with respon sibilities such as clerks, furnace keepers, potters, and founders. The wages paid these men were commensurate with their free status as well as their dependability and skill. The presence of at least one redemptioner at Mount Pleasant is revealed in the following ledger item: "April 7, 1741—Anthony Brana- berger is Dr. for 10/3/10 paid Peter Robinson, mercht., for the passage of you and your wife."® While Negroes seldom held positions of responsibility at a furnace, the shortage of labor compelled their employment "Arthur C. Biningr, Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century, pp. 108-109. 'Mount Pleasant MSS., Ledger A, p. 269, Historical Society of Penn sylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. THE CHARCOAL IRON INDUSTRY IN THE PERKIOMEN VALLEY 283 at many of the more menial tasks. Many were employed" as forgemen and teamsters. A "Mulatto Joe" worked at Mount Pleasant, being credited with having delivered stoves to Thomas Potts, Sr., in 1739.* The acquisition of a colored boy is recorded: "Thomas Mayberry—Cr. By a negro boy I Bought of you for two tons Piggs. 11/—/—This item is also inter esting in its revelation of bartering practices found in all early account books dealing with the iron plantations. The Negroes were generally well-treated in Pennsylvania. This may have been due to the investment they represented, as much as"fifty pounds being paid for a Negro in 1750." Both the Quakers and the newly-arrived German immigrants, especially the latter, were opposed to the use of slaves in Pennsylvania. This atti tude undoubtedly prevented more widespread use of Negro labor in the Perkiomen region. In an area populated heavily by German immigrants. Mount Pleasant Furnace records contain remarkably few names of German extraction during the period under discus sion. The following names, picked at random from the account books, reveal a rather cosmopolitan group at Mount Pleasant: Andrew Jack, Barnabas Rhodes, George Custard, Henry Let- chaw, Robert Hogg, Anthony Branaberger, Thomas Yorke, Joseph "Walker, John Patrick, David Buchard, Andrew Lind say, William Dunn, and Benjamin Boone. Some of these were workers at the furnace, but many were independent farmers and patrons in the vicinity. Business at the plantation store was carried on with the use of very little actual money. Goods purchased were charged against the worker's salary and noted in the day book. Bal ances were sometimes transferred to ledgers as a better book keeping practice, although often the day book contained the only record of a customer's standing at the store. The workers received little of their salary in specie or currency unless they Day Book, p. 197. Hbid., Ledger A, p. 58. ®A. G. Bining, op. ext., p. 115. 284 bulletin of hktorical society of Montgomery county had a balance due them when they left the employ of the iron master. This did not represent a severe hardship, for there was little opportunity to spend money on the isolated plan tation. A vast quantity of food was consumed by the hard-work ing population of the plantation, which often numbered several hundreds. Most of the food, including meat, eggs, dairy prod ucts, fruit, and grain, was produced on the farm associated with the plantation. The ironmaster sold much of this produce through the store, although the workers often worked small patches or gardens near their tenant houses. This made them more independent. Often the workers' wives would exchange butter, poultry, eggs, or garden produce at the store in return for such "city goods" as cloth, dyes, buttons, or that new "fine hatt" for which there will ever be a feminine demand. The larder was further supplemented by supplies of game and fish which abounded in the forests and streams. Something of the eating habits and food prices can be learned from the following purchases made at the Mount Pleasant store Shillings Pence 1 quart salt . 2 1 Bushel wheat 3 6 1 quart molasses 9 1 bushel buckwheat 3 8 1 pound butter 6 1 quart milk 1 pound cheese 5 1 pound sugar 6 1 bushel potatoes 2 6 1 dozen eggs ^ It will be noted that import items such as molasses and sugar were relatively prohibitive in price and must have repre sented luxurious touches in the pioneer's diet. The same source reveals that the workers' diet further included parsnips, beans, onions, cucumbers, and cabbage. A 'Mount Pleasant MSS., Day-Book (1738 to 40), Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. THE CHARCOAL IRON INDUSTRY IN THE PERKIOUEN VALLEY 285 meal cost four pence in 1738. While the above prices seem low by present-day standards, a just comparison cannot be made unless interpreted in tetms of the worker's income. A miner who received two shillings (24 pence) a day would have been able to purchase four pounds of sugar or butter at the plan tation store with his daily wage. Even if his living were in cluded, this wage would appear trifling to an industrial worker of today. The rigors of hard labor and strenuous living were too often forgotten by recourse to heavy drinking.