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
"Thus you see the ship's provision, is _Beef_ or _Porke_, _Fish_,
_Butter_, _Cheese_, _Pease_, _Pottage_, _Water gruel_, _Bisket_, and
six-shilling _Bear_.
"For private fresh provision, you may carry with you (in case
you, or any of yours should be sick at Sea) Conserves of _Roses_,
_Clove-Gilliflowers_, _Wormwood_, _Green-Ginger_, _Burnt-Wine_,
_English Spirits_, _Prunes_ to stew, _Raisons_ of the _Sun_,
_Currence_, _Sugar_, _Nutmeg_, _Mace_, _Cinnamon_, _Pepper_ and
_Ginger_, _White Bisket_, or _Spanish Rusk_, Eggs, Rice, _Juice_
of _Lemmons_, well put up to cure, or prevent the Scurvy. Small
_Skillets_, _Pipkins_, _Porrengers_, and small _Frying pans_.
"To prevent or take away Sea sickness, Conserve of _Wormwood_ is
very proper."[8]
[8] John Josselyn, _Two Voyages to New England_, London, 1675.
The settler also must take with him a supply of food to answer his
needs on reaching Massachusetts, and it was advised that enough for
the space of a year might be required in which case each person
should be certain to have in store 8 bushels of meal, 2 bushels
pease, 2 bushels oatmeal, 1 gallon brandy, 1 gallon oil and 2
gallons vinegar. Sugar could be had in New England as the Colonial
vessels were bringing it from the West Indies in the way of trade,
but spices, necessary to the English diet, must be brought from
England.
John Josselyn, writing in 1638, listed the following articles as
necessary equipment for every family coming to New England, viz.:
Bellows £0 2 0
Scoop 0 9
Great pail 0 10
Casting shovel 0 10
A sack 2 4
Lanthorn 1 3
Tobacco pipes
5 broad howes 10 0
5 narrow howes 6 8
5 felling axes 7 6
2 hand saws 10 0
1 whip saw 10 0
1 file and wrest 10
2 hammers 2 0
2 augers 1 0
Wheels for a cart 14 0
Wheel barrow 6 0
Canoe 3 0 0
Short oak ladder 0 10
Plough 3 9
Axle tree 0 8
Cart 10 0
3 shovels 4 6
2 spades 3 0
2 broad axes 7 4
6 chisels 3 0
3 gimblets 0 6
2 hatchets 3 6
2 frows 3 0
2 hand bills 3 4
Nails of all sorts 2 0 0
3 locks and 3 pr. fetters 5 10
2 curry combs 0 11
Brand for beasts 0 6
Hand vise 2 6
100 wt. spikes nails and
pins (120) 2 5 0
2 pick axes 0 3 0
Chain and lock for
a boat 2 2
Coulter (10 pound) 3 4
Pitch fork 1 4
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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