Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony — John Shaqi
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay ColonyDow, George Francis
History
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Dow, George Francis
Massachusetts -- Social life and customs -- To 1775
The widow of the Rev. Jose Glover married, in 1641, Henry Dunster,
President of Harvard College. Among the furnishings of her house
were "eleven featherbeds or downe ... one of them haveing philop and
Cheny curtaines in graine with a deep silke fringe on the vallance,
and a smaller on the Curtaines, and a Coverlett sutable to it, made
of Red Kersie, and laced with a greene lace, round the sides and
2 downe the middle, also ... an outlandish quilt, also to another
a blue serdge suite very rich and costly, curtaines and valances
laced, and fringe, and a blue Rug to the bed, also a greene sute in
the same manner, also another red wrought suite, with a sheet and
all things Compleate, also a Canopie bed, with Curtenes, a Chest of
Drawers of part of this Chest was filled with rich lenen a dammeske
suite seuerall diepere suits a fine hollen[d] suit with a stech:
with abundance of flaxen linen for Common use, in another parte of
the chest of drawers tape, tafety for Chaire and Stooles ... also
29 siluer spones a very faire salt with 3 full knops on the top of
it[22] 3 other siluer salts of lesser sorts a great siluer trunke
with 4 knop to stand on the table and with suger: 6 porrengers, one
small one: 3 bere boules 4 wine cups a siluer grate with a Couer on
it: 6 siluer trencher plates: also blankets and Coverletts and Rugs
euery[way] Compleat to furnish so many beds."[23]
[22] This large salt is now owned by Harvard College.
[23] _Old-Time New England_, July, 1934.
By way of contrast let us glance at the inventory of the possessions
of William Googe of Lynn, who died in 1646, ten years after Mrs.
Dillingham had willed that her body be "decently buyried" and her
child "religiously educated if God give it life." Googe left a house
and twelve acres of land and the total value of his possessions
amounted to but £28. 11. 7, with debts of £4. 9. 7. He left a
widow and three small children, and though dying in very lowly
circumstances he may have known better times, for John Mascoll, the
servant of Mr. Googe of Lynn, was fined in 1643, for neglecting the
watch. The title of honor, "Mr.," was used but sparingly in those
early days and usually indicated a degree of social standing in the
community.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account