Foodways

[Marge Smith]

And speaking of David Hackett Fischer. I obtained through inter-library loan his source on the salt & earth superstition. It was volume 1 of a 3 volume set of the biography of Andrew Jackson by James Parton in 1861, yes that was 1861.

Parton is quoting the superstitions taken from an EARLIER book on the history of Carrickfergus where Jackson's father came from.

At the end of this chapter Parton says
"Among the descendants of the Scotch-Irish in New Hampshire and North Caroline, SOME (my emphasis) traces of these rustic customs and beliefs may still be observed..."

It really is very exciting to study this area, it was unique until the California gold rush. But you can't give it just one flavor. There were many different peoples here and they interacted with each other. The Apple River Fort is a microcosm of the mining area and how three communities came together for their self-protection and how they accomplished this even though out-numbered in a battle.

[mary]

Marge-

I would be interested in learning more of the kitchen utensils and furniture. The first person accounts I have read indicate a wide variety of materials...often far less than we tend to think are the bare essentials, given our modern perspective.

Thanks!
Mary

[mary]

As a comparison with the Elijah Isles account that opened this thread, I located another interesting account, told by John Tillson and recorded by his wife Christiana Holmes Tillson.

The time period was spring, 1821, and the cabin scene belongs to Squire David Kilpatrick, his wife and two daughters. Mrs. Tillson is a Massachusetts "Yankee," who takes up the delicate subject of describing a family of the "white folks"* set settled in Illinois:

I have thus been particular in my description that you may, in imagination, look at two handsome young gentlemen seated at table with 'Squire and lady, Peggy and Polly. Six was the number usually at log cabin tables, for the reason that six plates, one platter, six knives and forks, six tin cups--or, possibly among the more aristocratic, six cups and saucers-- constituted the table outfit. On a little bench in the corner of the cabin stood the water bucket, with a gourd, for drinking. It was the custom for each one, after being satisfied with the solids of the table, to walk to the bucket, and take their last course from the gourd. Then, while the younger scions were scrambling for what remained on the table, the older members of the family---both male and female-- would seat themselves comfortably around the fire with each a pipe, showing their own inventive genius. Several varieties might be seen on such occasions, but the most common was a piece of corn-cob dug out for the bowl of the pipe, with an alder quill inserted for the stem.

*By way of a definition of the phrase "white folks," Mrs. Tllson wrote:

Perhaps I should explain that "white folks" was a name given in derision to the first emigrants from the western and southern states. An old Tennessee woman who has a terrific opinion of the Yankees, said: "I am getting skeery about theme 'ere Yankees; there is such a power of them coming in that they and the Injuns will squatch out all the white folks." Nothing afterword would exasperate them more than to have a Yankee call the white folks.

[Susan Gordy]

Couldn't resist hopping in to the discussion. Listed below is the inventory of a gentleman who died in Jo Daviess County in 1832. There are some good clues as to personal goods as well as his occupation(s). Have fun! ;D

A BILL OF SALE OF SOME ARTICLES OF PERSONAL PROPERTY OF THE ESTATE OF GEORGE EAMES DEC’D



To Whom Sold Article Sold Price Sold For

David Gregory one rat trap .87 ½
David Gregory one pair steelyards 1.37 ½
John McDonald one windlass rope 2.50
A. S. Mitchell one pair andirons 1.00
Wm. Caldwell one crowbar 2.37 ½
Wm. Johnson two spades paid .62 ½
John Armstrong broken mining tools 1.50
John Mc Donald one mining pick 1.00
H. Von Valkenburg one lot blowing tools paid 1.50
John Armstrong one pick .62 ½
John Flack part of one set of harness pd 1.00
Clack Stone one pair harns (sic) &One singletree 1.75
Jas A. Mitchell one double barrel (sic)Shot gun 1.75
Chas Eames one law book .50
Chas Eames one book of Practical Forms .25
David Gregory one steel trap 3.00
(illegible) White two steel traps 1.12 ½
John Armstrong one steel trap 2.62 ½
Chas Eames ten pounds tobacco 1.25
John McDonald ten pounds tobacco .85
David Gregory one small bell .50
Chas Bowers one stack wheat 26.00
A. S. Mitchell one sha(?)t 23.00
Wm. Lawhorn five hogs 27.50
Fred Fults ten hogs 25.00
Jas Watson ten hogs 23.00
Jas Watson twenty five shoats 65.62 ½
John McKee one clothes press 18.75
Jas Watson one cast iron plough (sic) 5.00
John Armstrong one mattock l.37 ½
Chas Bowers one stack wheat 21.00
______
243.10

Jas A. Mitchell forty seven pounds tobacco 5.87 ½
Wm. Caldwell one drifting pick 1.25
A. S. Mitchell one hand saw 1.62 ½
Jas A. Mitchell one seythe (sic) & snead (sic) .87 ½
Jas A. Mitchell one broken seythe (sic) .25
John McDonald one corn cutting knife .18 ¾
David Gregory one tea kettle .75
____
$10.81 ¼


We hereby certify that the above is a true and correct bill of sale of such articles of the personal property of the estate of George Eames dec—d as are herein or above mentioned.

Dec. 22nd 1832
Augustus S. Mitchell clk of sale
Charles Eames crier of sale

[Susan Gordy]

A great source for information on foodways can be found at:


foodhistorynews.com/

I subscribed to this newsletter for eight years while working at Lincoln Log Cabin and while it may not directly answer questions to foodways in the Lead Region it does have excellent articles regarding for example what flour looked like in the 19th century and ways to reproduce it's texture, for example adding 2 cups of wheat flour and 1 cup of wheat germ to 5-6 cups of all purpose unbleached flour will most closely resemble the common milled flour of the early 19th century. Chris and I had the opportunity to test this theory out by harvesting some 400 pounds of heirloom wheat and having it ground at a locally preserved grist mill. The two types of flour were nearly identical. The only difference being in how many times it was sifted prior to baking.

And that is just the beginning. There are articles on debunking myths of the poisonous tomatoes, baking using only saleratus or potash and sources on where to find food grade potash as it is no longer produced in the U.S.

Bottom line: This is a great source and a great little newsletter, I plan to subscribe to it at the fort if anyone cares to borrow it from time to time or need an article.

[mary]

Thanks for this excellent source. It sounds like great fun, although I;m glad not to be the one harvesting 400 lbs of wheat.

As Stephan Foster said in song the darkie (Mr Foster's words) preferred to harvest cotton and sugar cane rather than hay". Even though one harvests wheat once, I imagine a similar amount of work is required!

I would like to review some of these articles at your convenience. After making the filled donuts at ARF, I am gaining a new appreciation for our ancestors way of 'modern cooking'!

Mary

[Chris Gordy]

Susan spoke of the tomatoes in her earlier post. There is a good book about the history of tomatoes that I used to have at an earlier museum I worked with. I'll see if I can find it again as it was a great reference piece for this vegetable. Maybe somebody out there knows which one I'm talking about.

[Susan Gordy]

The name of the book that Chris refers to is "The Tomato in America". It is very good and very interesting and is available to borrow from the Gordy household provided you put down a deposit of large amounts of tobacco or shrimp ;D

But, alas, I have more foodways and furnishings stuff for all of you to ponder...

This is from the diary of Mrs. Caroline Phelps which was first published in the Monmouth Review Atlas in 1932. Her diary begins on March 2, 1830 and abrubtly ends in 1840. Mrs. Phelps and her husband William were traders and lived primarily in Oquaka, IL and along the Des Moines River in Iowa and traveled extensively between their home, Prairie Du Chien and St. Louis.

In regards to furnishings, "In the latter part of September (of 1830) we went to the Des Moines River to trade with the Indians. We went up the river about 90 miles and camped with the Indians. We had only a small feather bed, two blankets, one quilt, one trunk, and one skillet".

And describing her new home, " It was a log cabin with rough puncheon floor and no hearth. We had a small rock fireplace and the house was cold enough".

Describing her winter fare, as they had run out of food, " I lived on parched corn and crabapples for a long time. I never knew what it was to want for bread before ".

After a flood, " We finally reached home and my baby was sick. He soon got well but I had little milk for my child. I had to feed him soup and while he did not like it he soon grew strong and fleshy child."

And again while traveling, they run out of food, " I asked if they had anything to eat and the squaw then got some blue beans, the largest I ever saw. They were about half cooked and not having eaten anything in so long and being unused to so much food I got sick."

Traveling back up to the Des Moines River, "I had not eaten anything but dried meat for several days and went to the boat and got some bread and meat and then traveled on... The next day the road led us so far from the river that we had to go without dinner. We had plenty of plums to eat and got to the boat about dark, ate our suppers and went to bed."

"I used to ride horseback every day through the woods, sometimes to hunt hickory nuts. One day I was gathering walnuts..."

"While he was away (her husband, William) about 80 Indians came to the house. I then went in and got some pipes, tobacco, flour, venison, and honey. They then smoked and ate and went on."

Around the fifth of March of 1836, Caroline writes, "We were getting scarce of provisions. We had some honey and corn...." She also encountered wolves which, "came to the door and took the meat that hung on a pole at the sides of the door."

While going downriver and camping, she describes one meal, " The Indians had killed a goose that evening and had given it to us. The men cooked it or boiled it but it was so tough that I could not eat it for fear of breaking out my teeth. We had a little bread which I saved for my children."

And finally, an account of a Fourth of July celebration, "I gave a feast for the women and children as the Indians, most of them, had gone on a war party. We had a beef killed and they came in the morning by the firing of our canon. Then squaws came over to cook. They fetched their large kettles to boil beef in. They fried: in grease, half a barrel of flour. They used half a barrel of crackers, fifty pounds of sugar and ten pounds of coffee."

I find these accounts very interesting as most of the food she refers to is either purchased, given, or traded to her. As the wife of trader, she probably had some goods at her disposal with which to trade for food. Nowhere does she mention having or tending a garden, which I interpret as their lifestyle (one of constant movement) does not allow time for or it was simply easier to trade for fresh produce than to tend her own plot.

BTW, Mrs. Phelps is not a Yankee as she and her husband play a terrific practical joke on some Yankees that have come to see the Indians "just for greens"

[Robert Braun]

We are all familiar with George Featherstonhaugh's account of foodways when visiting Mineral Point in 1835:

At length came the summons to the never-failing repast of coffee, rice, treacle, and bread and butter. Having got into conversation with some of the people of the place, I found that the inhabitants produced nothing of any kind for their subsittance, not even a cabbage, for there was not a garden in the place, and that they were as dependant upon others as if they were on board a ship. Every thibng they ate and drank was brought from a distance by waggons and at a great expense. Flour, the price of which in the Atlantic states was five and six dollars a barrel was as high as fourteen here; fresh meat of any kind was altogether unknown; and indeed everyone lived from hand to mouth, without once dreaming of personal comfort.

In contrast, Butterfield reported in History of Iowa County:

In 1828, paltry patches of land adjoining miner's diggings were broken, or rather, dug up and planted with garden truck, in hopes of realizing a variety to the monototnous diet of pork and beans. The first attempt to follow farming as an industry was made in 1829 by Capt. J. B. Estes, who broke forty acres in the town of Linden. ...In 1830, Bennett, Honey, and Jerry Lycan broke and additional 100 acres for Capt. J. B. Estes. ...This land was famed for its luscious strawberries...

The first crop of wheat and oats was garnered by Capt. J. B. Estes on his 100 acre farm in 1831.

Perhaps Featherstonhaugh's arrival in May found folks at the end of their winter supplies of foodstuffs, thereby resorting to the "never-failing repast" set before him?

[Susan Gordy]

Per, the lovely Ms. Mary's request here is an inventory from the Galena area. Inventory of the personal estate of James Jones Dec’d, This 18th day of July 1833.

2 feather beds (illegible) $10. each $20.00
Bolster $1.00
Straw Underbeds @ $1.50 $3.00
Pillow $1.00
Sheets $5.00
Blankets $10.00
Comforters $7.00
Counterpanes $6.00
Quilts $4.00
Cott (sic) $2.00
Mattress $4.00
(illegible) 4 curtains $4.00
Windsor chairs .75 ea. $4.50
Rocking chair (illegible)
Little Chairs .50
Gilt looking glass $2.00
Falling leaf walnut table $5.00
Plum walnut table $2.00
Cradle $1.50
Cradlebed (sic) $1.50
Cradle quilt .50
Cradle coverlette $1.00
Trunks at $1.25 each $5.75
Pair of cast iron andirons $1.00
1 cupboard $6.00
1 bushel basket .50
1 flat skillet $1.50
tea kettle .50
Oven and lid $1.25
______
$101.00

one large wash pot $1.00
1 pair pot hooks .25
2 wash tubs @ .12 ½ each .25
1 washboard .50
1 tea pot .75
1 cup and saucer .25
5 breakfast plates .25
5 soup plates .50
6 dinner plates .62
6 metal spoons .25
6 knives and forks 1.00
3 dishes .75
2 pitchers .87 ½
2 small pitchers .25
2 glass tumblers .18
2 candle sticks .31 ¼
1 tin coffee pot .25
1 large tin pot .25
2 small tin pans .25
1 steam kettle $1.00
1 violin and bow $1.00
1 silver watch $2.50
5 pint glass flasks .25
4 wine bottles .25
3 pounds butter .18
1 large bottle .25
1 sugar bowl .06 ¼
1 tea canister .12 ½
2 pepper boxes .12 ½
1 salt seller (sic) .06 ¼
1 wire sieve .25
1 spade .25
1 Pick .37 ½
1 hoe .25
1 axe (sic) .50
1 pair of scissors .06 ¼
2 linen Damask table cloths $2.50
7 towels .31 ¼
12 ¼ yards of Callico 2.45
1 stone ware churn .75
6 bound Form Books 1.25
50 Stitches Form Books 3.12 ½
1 Gridiron .12
2 razors .25
1 razor strop .06
2 shaving boxes .09
1 cow and calf 20.00
1 spinning wheel 1.00
1 pair of cotton cards .25
1 (illegible) .25
1 small tin (illegible) .12 ½
1(illegible) iron .25
4 earthen bowls .25

[Robert Braun]

Returning to Elijah Isles, he reported the following during the establishment of his store in what would become Springfield, ca. 1820:

I first boarded with John Kelly, a North Carolinian and a widower. His household consisted of himself and two children, two younger brothers, George and Elisha, his aged father and mother, and myself. The board, to my notion, has never been excelled at any hotel I ever stopped at, either before or since. It consisted in part of the best milk and butter ever set before a man, corn bread (baked on a hoe and called hoe-cake, instead of on a board or in the ashes as in Kentucky), honey, venison, turkey, prairie chicken, quail, squirrel, fish, and occasionally for variety we had pig, together with all the varieties of vegetables raised in this climate. Deer were very plenty. They trailed through the town, up the town branch, halting in a grove where now stands the governor's mansion; and if we wanted fresh venison for breakfast the Kelly boys would go to the grove early and kill a deer.

[mary]

Many of us are familiar with sugar loaves, put up in large cone shapes and covered with deep blue paper. We frequently see these cones in Colonial settings. I have often wondered whether such cones were appropriate for the 1820s-1830s period.

According to dear Juliette Kinzie, we have one clue. She related the story of her return to Fort Winnebago on a Durham boat in think July, 1832. The boat struck a tree, which ripped open the boat and flooded the occupants and their baggage. The ladies and most of their goods were rescued, thank goodness!

Mrs. Kinzie later wrote:

Among the boxes brought to land, and "toted" up the steep bank, was one containing some loaves of sugar and packages of tea, which I had bought for our winter's supply from the sutler at the post. The young Indian who was the bearer of it set it upon the ground, and soon called my attention to a thick, white stream that was oozing from the corners. I made signs for him to taste it. He dipped his finger in it, and exclaimed with delight to his companions, when he perceived what it was then pointed to his hatchet, and motioned him to open the box. He did not require a second invitation — it was soon hacked to pieces.

Then, as I beckoned up all the rest of the youngsters who were looking on, full of wonder, such a scrambling and shouting with delight succeeded as put us all, particularly the boys, into fits of laughter. Bowls, dippers, hands everything that could contain even the smallest quantity, were put in requisition. The squaws were most active. Those who could do no better took the stoutest fragments of the blue paper in which the sugar had been enveloped , and in a trice nothing remained but the wet, yellow bundles of tea, and the fragments of the splintered box which had contained it.

I would think these were sugar loaves of rather large size, since it appears that the box contained only sugar and tea bundles... maybe the latter used as convenient packing material.

Source: Juliette A. Kinzie, Wau-Bun: The Early Day in the Northwest , pp. 341-2

[Marge Smith]

In answer to the Sugar question, The Galena Miners' Journal newspaper published a list of goods, prices, availability which I copied from Dec. 15, 1829 to August 7, 1830. I wanted to see if the prices changed when the Mississippi opened in the Spring. The information was provided to the editor by A. L. Johnson, a Galena merchant.

The price as of August 7, 1830 for the following were:
Sugar, per lb - 10
Sugar, per lb single - 12 1/2
Sugar, Lump, single loaf - 23
Sugar, Loaf, single loaf - 25

If anyone wants this Excel spreadsheet, I'll send it to
them off-line. It contains foodstuff, lead, oats, etc.

Marge

[Chris Gordy]

Actually, wrapped sugar cones can be found throughout the nineteenth century. While working with the Macon County Historical Society and Museum in Decatur, Illinois, I ran across an original wrapped sugar cone in the collections which dated to the turn of the century. Susan and myself have tried (though without success) to make our own cones, or loafs, in the kitchen. We obtained information on the process from a friend of ours who specializes in these types of things. One of these days we'll get it right and have some cones in the house and supply house of ARF.

[Robert Braun]

An article covering the making of modern sugar cones may be found in the Jan.-Feb. 2003 issue of the "Prairie Picayune" found on the Lincoln's New Salem website

www.lincolnsnewsalem.com/

Now... to find a source for that blue-dyed paper!

Bob.