Imported and domestic knitted goods (Part Two)

The South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (Charleston SC)- June 26 1770

Part Two of my research for imported and domestic knitted goods, I examine the types of knitting needles listed among inventories, invoices and store ledgers; how common were yarn stockings and finding advertisements to teaching people how to knit.  Also the types of stockings listed in women's inventories in North Carolina.

I am sure not the entire population of women during the 18th century knew how to knit.  It was a cottage industry in many areas of the world.   So the myth that everyone knitted or made their own stockings or knitted goods, is well untrue.  Ready made goods were available and imported from overseas or even within the colonies, there are advertisements posted to teach others how to knit and knitting needles were imported and sold in stores.  I don't find darning eggs listed in among items in women's inventories or as a ready made good/item.  

Out of the hundreds of women's inventories, only four list knitting needles among their possessions.  There is a 1750 sale of a man's estate that list several pairs of knitting needles as well   I might need to revisit the inventories again to look into more detail but my earlier notes I did list them as something of interest as I am a knitter myself.  

The 1762 inventory of Sarah Collings in Pasquotank County, North Carolina lists yarn, 2 pr of "nitten" needles and half a stocking (underlined in blue).  What does 2 pairs of knitting needles mean?  Most knitted items were knitted in the round on 4 needles and then a 5th needle as the working needle.  So does this mean 10 knitting needles in total?  

"North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," Pasquotank County; Collings, Sarah (1762); State Archives, Raleigh.

The 1763 estate of Ann Overman lists all of her wearing apparel and then knitting needles and a pair of scissors.  

The 1779 estate of Hannah Alexander (not Bradley as noted on the files - John Bradley was the executor of her estate and I feel that there was an error on the outside of her estate file) from Mecklenburg County North Carolina lists several pairs of knitting needles, blue yarn, stockings and yarn and etc.

The final women's inventory that lists knitting needles is the 1744 estate of Elizabeth Hanner from Chowan County, North Carolina.  Oddly enough, she has 100 "nitten" needles listed in her estate.  It is unclear if she had a store in Chowan County but to have 100 knitting needles is rare.  It is listed near the bottom of the page right after 5 yards of coarse plad.  I tried to make it as large as it could possibly be.   I could have cropped the inventory but I wanted to also share all of her fabulous items listed in her estate.  

"North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," Chowan County Hanmer, Elizabeth (1744); State Archives, Raleigh.

Then we come to the 1750 estate for William Burnitt of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, he had both brass and plain knitting needles listed.   What is interesting is that they list them as four "pare" of "nitten" needles.  Again, what does that mean?  Four needles in total or 20 needles?

I wondered about brass knitting needles but looking at the image that I used in the last article you can clearly see the knitting needles are a brass or yellow color.  Were these used for finer yarns versus your typical metal or iron knitting needles that were used for heavier woolen yarns?   The answer I do not know.  But I found it odd that brass knitting needles were available and we know they were here in North Carolina as well as in South Carolina during the 1700s.

Jean Baptiste-Greuze (1724-1805) - Knitter Asleep

Store inventories and invoices of imported goods also provide us a clue of the commonness of knitting needles.  Were they brass, metal or both?  

The store sale of William Whitehead in Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1750 lists the sale of several pairs of knitting needles. 

They do not denote if they are brass knitting needles or not.  They are sold as 4 prs. of needles.

The 1750 sale of the store owned by Major Joseph Howell in Edgecombe County also lists knitting needles but 3/4th knitting needles.  

Then we have the invoices for imported knitting needles into Charleston, SC in the early 1760s.  

 The vessel "Little Carpenter" brought in a variety of imported goods including iron and brass knitting needles.

Imported iron and brass knitting needles, in the Robert Hogg Account Books, #343, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Knitting needles versus knitting pins

I have found 2 early citations of "knitting pins" both are in Pennsylvania but it seems that this terminology falls out of favor and return again by the late 1770s this time surfacing in South Carolina.  I don't see the term "knitting pins" in North Carolina until 1787 in a newspaper in New Bern. I had wondered if it was a typo in the newspaper where they were missing a comma between knitting and pins but  Could knitting pins refer to a different type of knitting needle or again just a regional terminology?   I did search in foreign newspapers and the term "knitting pins" shows up post-1811 in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.  So for the most part, I would call them knitting needles for the majority of the 18th century.

Ready made or imported stocking advertisements

The North-Carolina Weekly Gazette New Bern, North Carolina 13 Mar 1778  •  Page 3

Woolen, thread and silk stockings imported from France into North Carolina during the American Revolution. 1778.  There are several advertisements for French imported goods during this period coming into North Carolina. 

The South-Carolina Gazette

 Charleston, South Carolina

 10 Dec 1764 •  Page 4

Worsted, thread, cotton and yarn stockings imported along with black worsted mitts and yarn for knitting.  

The South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal Charleston, South Carolina 

08 Dec 1767,•  Page 3

In my previous blog article, "Seeking Worldly Goods", Pennsylvania stockings were highly prized and it is evident in William Sample Alexander diary where family members requested stockings to be made in Philadelphia (mid 1770s).  So could one speculate that with Charleston importing these Germantown stockings, is what spurred the Alexander family to seek out these stockings?  Just a guess.

Teaching people to knit or making stockings for purchasing

A few advertisements

The Pennsylvania Gazette Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 30 Aug 1770, •  Page 6

 What I find interesting is that they wanted to set up shop in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1770.  Haven't been able to find any more about if this business succeeded in Wilmington or not.

The South-Carolina Gazette, Charleston SC; 9 August 1770 pg. 5

The South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (Charleston SC)- June 26 1770

I find this advertisement very interesting.  Keep in mind there were no commercial patterns for knitting unlike the early to mid 19th century were books are printed with various patterns.  So having some one teach you how to knit, is probably how most people shared information and pattern styles. Although it is from Charleston it clearly shows that there was a need by both white and black people to learn how to knit, sew, mark and wash clothing.  I think it is also note worthy that she is located in Dutch-Town section of Charleston.  I wonder if this where the German immigrants resided as there was influx of German indentured servants in the 1750s and 1760s.

Types of stockings listed in women's inventories 

So, what was common for women to have in their wardrobes for stockings?  We are in the south, it gets hot and humid in the summer and damp in the winter.  So what would be best?  Silk, thread, cotton, worsted and all of the above?  Within the estate records in North Carolina, 33 women have stockings listed as an item out of 92 estate records that have clothing listed.

The break down of the types of stockings goes like this:

Total of 102 pairs listed

49 listed as "stockings"

29 listed as "thread"

9 listed as "old"

6 listed as ""worsted"

5 listed as "silk"

2 or less

"Yarn", "Cotton", "Old Worsted", "Old Silk", "Blue" and "Womens"

The average number of stockings listed in a women's inventory is 3 pairs.

However some estates can skew the numbers such as the 1770 estate of Ann Carter she had 16 pairs of thread stockings listed (Onslow County NC).  And the 1740 estate of Mary Glouster  (who was a Quaker in Pasquotank County, North Carolina) had 8 pairs of stockings listed which were a variety of styles. (cotton, worsted, "stockings" and thread).  In some cases, there were a variety of stockings listed but usually they just list x pair of stockings.  

As for colors of stockings, unfortunately there is only one reference to a color associated with stockings.  Blue stockings were listed in the inventory of Rebecca Eborn of Hyde County in 1758, there is a reference to red stockings on a Irish runaway servant from New Bern in 1757.   Are colored stockings a mid-18th century fashion statement or were there more colors but we are yet to find them within the confines of what resources we have available online.

There is more to learn about imported and domestic knitted goods.  I hope these 2 blog articles have helped share some light on what was available in both North and South Carolina.  

Imported and domestic knitted goods (Part One)

Jean Baptiste-Greuze (1724-1805) - Knitter Asleep

Knitted goods both domestic and imported are seen in store inventories, personal inventories and on imported goods advertisements in the Carolinas.   Knitted or worsted caps, stockings, Scotch "bonnets" for men, mitts and mittens were the most common knitted items in the 18th century.  

For the love of god - please do not use Outlander as a historical resource for knitted or crocheted items. They are modern interpretations plus there were no crocheted items during the 18th century.  There were no knit shawls or sontags - those don't show until the 19th century for women. Crochet did not come around in popularity until the early to mid 19th century.   I highly recommend Mara Riley's patterns and also Sally Pointer.  If you are on Ravelry, they have patterns for sale there as well.   18th Century Material Culture page also a great resource for images of original items. 

Okay....back to our regular scheduled program.  

Scotch blue bonnets

"The North Carolina Weekly Gazette" New Bern, NC 24 December 1773

Anson county had many Scots-Irish settlers as well as New Hanover, Duplin, Bladen and Cumberland counties. Here is one example of a runaway enslaved person named SHIE from Anson County, North Carolina wearing a "scotch" bonnet.  

I have found several bonnets listed in inventories in New Hanover County such as James McDonough. Talking among other historians from North Carolina, we agree that these more than likely were blue "scotch" bonnets. 

"North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979,"  James McDonough, 1760; citing New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh, NC

In Neill Buie's 1761 Cumberland County inventory, a bonnet (again more than likely a scotch bonnet) sold for 3 shillings, 4d.  It is underlined in blue.

"North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979,"  Neill Buie, 1761; citing Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh 

Source: Sally Pointer
Example of plain scots bonnets or blue bonnet. 

Worsted Caps or Knit Caps

Particularly you see worsted caps or knit caps imported into the colonies and sold in stores.

Worsted, knit, milled caps are all seen being imported in the Colonies and including the Carolinas.  

North Carolina Weekly Gazette, New Bern NC
9 January 1778.

The North Carolina Gazette, Wilmington NC
13 January 1773

"Mens blue mill'd caps" The South Carolina Gazette, Charleston SC
8 August 1768

The Derby Mercury, Derby Derbyshire, England
24 September 1746
Another variation of the woolen cap this one a blue, red and white worsted cap on.  A runaway prisoner for the County Goal in Derby, England.

This is my take on this cap.  Blue with red stripes and white at the edge

The South Carolina Gazette, Charleston SC
12 November 1763
"Stripe, scarlet and mill'd woolen caps"

 Knitted goods whether imported or domestically manufactured were a part of the clothing of the men in the Carolinas.  Knitting needles are found in many store inventories as well as women's inventories sometimes with a stocking or mitten still on the needles.  Despite this, imported knitted goods were available to many people in the 18th century.  My next article will be on stockings, mittens, and knitting needles.  

I will close this part with a knitted cap that was found at Dry's Wharf at Brunswick Town/ Fort Anderson State Historic Site near Winnabow, North Carolina.  The photos are courtesy from Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson

Based off the archaeological findings, the cap dates from 1748.  My friend Hannah Smith wrote about the conservation work on it for her Master's Thesis, which I have linked here. 

https://thescholarship.ecu.edu/handle/10342/4444?show=full

There is some debate if this was a stocking that was altered to create a men's cap, or was this someone who was learning to knit and created this unique cap.

The Art of Deciphering Historical Handwriting

Inventory of Mary Morris Pasquotank County, North Carolina
April 5th 1746

Cursive writing......for most historians, we can read and write it.   But before too long, there might be a generation of historians who will not understand or know how to read cursive handwriting.   I hope it does not become an lost art among historians and or the general public.

My first experience reading historical cursive writing was probably when I began helping my parents do genealogy research and looking at census records. (Yeah, I am nerd.)   Then off to college and began my journey in the Historic Preservation field where our "Intro to Local and Public History" aka HST 200 with Mr. Bob White.  This class weeded out those who would continue in the program.  We had to complete 3 projects that semester.  The one that sticks out the most was "find your dead person" in historical records.  So basically we were given a name of a resident in Cape Girardeau County prior to 1860 and we had to find all the primary historical records we could about him/her and then write a tour script for their "historical house."  This was way before the digital age, so we had to go to the courthouse and look up probate, wills, land transfer and estate records and then look on microfilm any census records.  Needless too say, I learned my mad research skills from that class.  Thanks Mr. White!!!!!!!

Deciphering historical cursive handwriting can be a challenge and even more so when the handwriting looks like chicken scratch and there are holes and tears in the paper such like the example of the one shown below.

Inventory of the estate of Elizabeth Winslow,  Pasquotank County, North Carolina
1750

There is also an art to deciphering what is been listed in the inventories.  Sometimes the administrator of the estate would write phonetically the articles of the inventory such as shows = shoes; jackgert/jackcoat = jacket; bunnet/bonett= bonnet; calyco = calico; pear= pair; sail=sale, fols = false, chex/chequex/check'd/check't = check; hude/hud = hood; shuebuckels = shoe buckles; cloke/cloake = cloak; linning = linen and etc.

Also terminology of clothing helps us understand what we are looking for:

18th century spelling/terminology = modern equivalent

Gound = gown
coats/pettecoats/pettycoats/petitcote = petticoats
pair of boddies/bodyes = stays
smocks = shift
sack & coat = French style gown and matching petticoat
quilts/ quilt coat = quilted petticoat

Rebecca Eborn sale of estate 1758
Hyde County, North Carolina

1 Garlick Shift
1 checked apron
1 checkered Bonit & Jacket
1 Calleco Gound
1 payr blue stockings
1 striped pettey coute
1 striped gound
1 chamber pott
1 ladel wooding
1 red clock
1 payr cambrick pinnors
1 blue silk bunit

So we decipher that there is:
1 garlix shift
1 check apron
1 check bonnet & jacket
1 calico gown
1 pair of blue stockings
1 striped petticoat
1 striped gown
1 chamber pot
1 wood ladle
1 red cloak
1 pr cambrick pinners
1 blue silk bonnet

What I like about Rebecca Eborn's inventory - she has both a blue silk bonnet and a check'd bonnet.  She is the first to have a check'd bonnet listed but it is not the only one that I find.  There is a calico bonnet listed earlier in 1753.  However, it does fall in line with other linen bonnets and or check'd bonnet.  I plan to go into more detail about bonnets in North Carolina for a future article.

Hannah Hay inventory: Carteret County, NC 1777

Hannah Hay's inventory shows us that in many cases they mix in other items amongst the clothing. So you have to pay attention because you think you have everything and then they throw an item towards the bottom.  Her inventory listed the following:

5 gowns, 4 silk handkerchiefs, 2 linen, 1 cotton ditto, 3 pettycoats, 2 jackets, 4 aprons, 3 hoods, 17 caps (yep, you read that right 17 caps!); 11 ribbons, 2 yds of white linen, 3 mantles, 1 iron trammel, 1 pr of pot hooks, 1 earthen porringer, some wool, 1 shoe hammer, 3 spoons, 2 gold rings, 3 sugar boxes, 1 looking glass, 3 hats, 2 bonnets, 1 glass salt seler[?], half bunch of tape, 1 silver buckle, 3 shifts, a few saddle nails and buckles, 3 prs of silver sleeve buttons, 43 rows of pins, 8 awls, 4 [unknown] half scaine of white thread, 3 stomachers.

 As you can see just from these two examples, sometimes they list the type of material/textile of the garment, sometimes they don't.  It doesn't deter or lessen the information.  It still provides us a number of garments or other items such as shoes, stockings, shifts and etc., that the woman owned.

I began a spreadsheet to breakout what I have found among women's inventories/wills and estate sales.  Here is my list of items:

gowns
short gowns
bed gowns
petticoats
jackets
Suite of clothes
wrappers/night rales
shifts
pr of stays
pr of stockings
pr of shoes
pr of gloves
bonnets
hats
handkerchiefs
cloaks
mantles
capuchin
hoods
aprons
prs of ruffles
caps
prs of pockets
stomachers
sleeve buttons
ribbons
gold rings/jewelry
garters
laces
shoe buckles
mitts

Again, I am still new to this blogging thing.  So if there is anything special you want to know more about (ie., types of bonnets, textiles, gowns, shoes, stockings and etc.) let me know.

Geography of the Old North State

Geography.....

As a transplanted Midwestern to North Carolina, I have learned over the past 20 years about the geography and history of the "Old North State".   Here is a link about the settlement of this state and it can go into more detail than I wish to delve into on this blog.  Colonial Settlement in NC

Early settlement and map showing the boundaries for coastal counties in NC

I also had to learn about the history of the state to understand where the $$$ was for estates and such.  The coastal counties definitely had the money.   Trade in the ports brought the money.  Tucked away in the Northeast part of the state is - Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Currituck, Bertie, Beaufort and Tyrell were the earliest to be settled.  Chowan and Pasquotank county folks had lots of nice things.   Of all of the estates, inventories and wills that I have examined - Pasquotank county led the way 82 women of which 18 had clothing listed in their inventory. Chowan county was second for that region with 45 women had estates of which 7 included clothing. 

Head down the coast and you have Craven, Onslow and New Hanover Counties.  I live in New Hanover County by the way.  I began my initial research for inventories in New Hanover County just to learn more about the women who lived here.  Today the county is much smaller than what it was in the 1700s.  Brunswick and Pender Counties were carved from it.  They moved the Royal Governor's house from Brunswick Town/Cape Fear to New Bern (Craven County).  Craven county was 2nd in the list of women's inventories/wills with 14 inventories listing clothing.

Map of North Carolina counties 1760

Inland counties not so much.  Counties were carved up and divided up so sometimes the records get lost.  There was a big expansion of counties from 1775-1780.  Another reason, the American Civil War happened and courthouse records were destroyed. [No negative comments please].  However, there are records and diaries available to show us that trade was happening down the Great Wagon road from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.  People were traveling to Philadelphia to purchase items including clothing, accessories (bonnets, shoes & etc.) and textiles to make clothing.

A map listing the counties in North Carolina 1775

So far I have as of today 19 February 2019:

Beaufort - 1
Bertie - 9
Burke - 1
Carteret - 3
Chowan - 7
Craven - 14
Cumberland - 1
Duplin - 3
Edgecombe- 1
Hyde - 3
Mecklenburg - 4
New Hanover - 8
Onslow - 3
Pasquotank - 18
Perquimans - 3
Tyrell - 1

For a total of  82 inventories & wills of women's clothing.  Some are husband and wife estates that are combined, some are of husband's estates who bequeath clothing to their daughters.  There is more to explore that is for sure and this may not seem like a whole lot but it is a awesome start.  Granted there are some inventories listed before 1738 and after 1783, but as re-enactors/living historians - the bulk of impressions are for either F&I (French & Indian War 1754-1763) or the American War for Independence (1775-1783). 

Also looking at estates from the 1770s-1780s, it would seem that clothing was not considered as much of a commodity or valued as much as in the earlier inventories.  In many cases, "a parcel of women's clothing" or a "trunk of old clothes" would be listed in these later inventories.  Frustrating for researchers but it shows the trend of mercantilism. Ready made clothing was available to people and so it makes sense that clothing was not considered valuable unless it was of personal sentiment.  It also tends to debunk the mentality that women only wore homespun.  Yes, homespun or country cloth was available and made into clothing but 9 out of 10 times, the gowns are made of textiles such as chintz, linen, calico, worsted and etc., that could be purchased at a store or even ready made.  There are numerous inventories of store keepers and also invoices and ledgers of businessmen who were purchasing ready made gowns, accessories like cloaks, mantlets, stockings, shoes, and etc. from Scotland and England to import into North Carolina.  So thus the cut off at 1783, granted I have a few inventories for the mid 1780s that shed some light on the changing fashions and those could be discussed later on.

 

Down the Rabbit Hole of Research

Ann Eborn 1769 Hyde County, North Carolina

When I began researching for women's inventories, I came across the estate of Ann Eborn from Hyde County, North Carolina.  She was one of hundreds that I found with her estate listing only a few clothing items.   Her estate sale was held on the 20th Day of April 1770. 

 
2 bonets[sic] - sold at 2s 4d
 To hollon [Holland] a remment 5s 4d
1 handkicef [sic] } sold for 5s
1 par of ruffles 
1 apron - sold for 5s 4d




Honestly I was like.....that's all?  No will?  No complete inventory of her estate? Just a record of the sale of her estate and very little in the way of clothing.....ugh.   I gave up on any more information.

Well, here recently I began looking for wills and sales records  of women estates in the various counties in NC.  It would seem that some counties kept a register of wills, inventories and sales in a different volume. While scrolling through "Wills, Inventories and Sales of Hyde County Volume 1 part 1-2 1765-1794" - I found Ann Eborn's will and her true inventory along with some other women.  I did a little happy dance when I found this information. 

Will of Ann Eborn
Hyde County, NC 20th Day of December 1769 - January 1770 Term
" Hyde County Wills, Inventories, Sales Volume 1, Part 1-2", page 32

Close up of the bequeath of clothing

"I give and bequeath to Tina Slade one Quilt paired item, I give Luorase Fortque one Quilt item, I give to Mathew Taylor one Stript Cotten Gound [sic] and pare of Leather Gloves.  I give Dorcas Bell one black Gound [sic], I give Prudens Slade one Worsted Gown [sic].

So one can only imagine what the striped cotton gown looked like.  I would love to know what the black gown was made of and what color the worsted gown was.......The quilts are they bed quilts or quilted petticoats?  Well, the inventory of her estate explains a little more.

"An Inventory of the Goods and Chattles of Ann Eborn late Deceas'd taken by Mr. Edward McSwain December 28th 1769"

2 Quilts [quilted petticoats?]
3 gowns, 1 Scarlet Cloke [sic]
1 Satten hat
1 pair of leather gloves
2 caps
1 handkerchief
2 white aprons
2 callico bonnets
2 remnents of Cambrick

2nd column

1 quarter yard of holland
1 pair of ruffles 2 chunk bottles
1 check apron 2 earthen cups

Needless to say - this inventory along her will explains what types of textiles were used for the gowns and bonnets.   Calico bonnets.  Are they printed calico, white calico ?  They fall in line with other bonnets that I have found in women's estates in coastal counties in NC of the era.  That is for another blog article.  

So, never give up.  Always keep searching and you never know what you may find.