JF Ptak Science Books Post 2235
Long before John Brown led his armed Abolitionist revolt, he was--like many people on the inner edge of the frontier--trying to make his way in the world at a host of different businesses, some of which did well, some not. He had a farm, operated a tannery, raised sheep and cattle, a bit of this and that, a man with a big family (he would have 20 children in his life) who absolutely had to make some money one way or the other. Some of these enterprises involved loans, which when combined with the Panic of 1837 and the Crisis of 1839 put the man under water. He was so deeply done that by 1842--at the age of 42--John Brown was bankrupt.
I'm writing about this now because Rebecca Onion published (in her excellent Slate Vault blog) a list of all of the worldly possessions of Brown and his family, collected and listed out by order of federal bankruptcy laws. The resulting list is heartbreaking and hopefully, and probably representative of a broad-spectrum slice of American semi-pioneer daily life about what the working family owned at mid-century somewhere along the speedily disappearing frontier.
What appeared to me first was the worn and worn out material, all listed in workman-like observational undertones, especially in the housewares and daily life category: "6 feather beds old and poor", "3 tables old", "5 chests old", "6 pots cracked", "6 bedsteads old", "4 wooden pails old", "2 earthen ware crocks broke". There was the broken stuff, and then just the inexpensive: the 75-cent writing desk, 50-cent washtub, the pepper mill for a quarter, three soup bowls for a quarter, the pot hook for a skinny dime, and so on.
Most of the value of the family was in the livestock and food stores, mostly because there was so much that could be done with that, and by every/anyone. Though even there are found some shriveling disappointments: the 75-cent nail hammer, the 12-cent inkstand, and the 25-cent pitchfork ("work needed to be done on same").
The listing of possessions was complete--also found here under guided supervision was the clothing of the family in their house as well as what everyone was wearing; and for a large family, there wasn't much at home that wasn't already being worn. "2 overcoats - 5 coats - 10 vests - 12 pairs Pantaloons - 26 Shirts 10 Womens & Girls dresses - 3 Skirts - 2 Cloaks - 4 Shawls - 8 Womens and childrens aprons - 5 pairs of Boots - 3 pairs of Shoes - 13 pairs of Socks & Stockings - 7 Stocks & Handkerchiefs - 4 Bonnets - 1 Hat 5 Palmleaf Hats - 8 mens & Boys cloth caps - 1 Fur cap - & 1 Wool cap."
It is the children's clothing that is really hard to read about.
Photographs of the original documents as well as transcriptions are available here
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