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| 1849 Inventory of John McWilliams Estate - page 1 |
The McWilliams’ prized household
possession was probably their eight-day clock that was appraised at thirty
dollars. This was by far the most expensive and extravagant item among their
furnishings. In fact, only their threshing machine, two-horse wagon, and horses
had a higher value than their clock.
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| 1849 Inventory of John McWilliams Estate - page 3 |
The main living area likely housed their settee, three rocking chairs, two corner cupboards, a dining table, “waiter,” and a set of six rush-bottom chairs. “One lot of carpet,” could have covered some of the bare wood floors of their home. Three tables, sixteen more chairs, and a bench were most likely scattered throughout other rooms of the house. The bedrooms were furnished with six bedsteads, one stand, two bureaus, one chest, one case of drawers and two mirrors. One tick, six pillows and bed clothes for the bedsteads were the only linens in the inventory. A few lots of “sundry items” might have included linens for use as towels.
Polly prepared meals for her hungry family over their fireplace and “stove and pipe” using only a few basic kitchen utensils and tools. There was one set of andirons, an iron hook, six iron pans, a copper kettle and an iron kettle. She also owned a churn, a tub, and a meat barrel. Bread could have been baked and served on her two bread trays. She probably carried and stored fruit and vegetables in the baskets listed with the kitchenware. One corner cupboard contained glazed cream-colored English earthenware dishes known as queensware. Their tables were undoubtedly lighted with the candlesticks they owned. Polly may have even made hand-dipped candles to place in the candlesticks. Kitchen cutlery was not listed, but might have been included with “sundry items.”
The
McWilliams relied on the produce from their land to feed their family. Polly
probably grew potatoes, turnips, pumpkins and cabbages as staple vegetables in
her garden. They stored well when placed in a cellar or buried in a pit or
barrel and dug out as needed during the winter. Every family had a supply of
apples, peaches and cherries from trees planted on their property. The fruits
kept well after being dried in the sun. The children surely helped cultivate
the garden and gathered wild fruits, berries and nuts. They may have also
picked dandelion greens to eat when green vegetables were not in season.[ii]
Wild honey was used for sweetening food, as was maple syrup harvested from
maple trees, and molasses made from sorghum.
John
died in mid-summer before his grain was ready for harvest. At his death he had
sixteen acres of corn and other crops in his fields valued at $350.00. The
other crops probably included wheat and buckwheat. His inventory also listed
hay valued at $95.00 and oats worth $10.00.
John,
like most Pennsylvanians, likely took his grains to a nearby water-powered
grist mill for grinding into flour and cornmeal. Polly probably baked bread,
oatmeal, cornmeal and buckwheat cakes in a Dutch oven on the kitchen hearth,
while most other foods were boiled over a fire. Of course, the firewood had to
be replenished at regular intervals and the old ashes had to be removed to keep
the fire burning. Most homes were located close to a natural water source, such
as a spring or mountain-fed creek, but all the water for cooking and household
use had to be carried into the house.
The McWilliams owned a hetchel to
comb flax fibers, a pair of sheep shears, wool carding paddles and basket, a
wool wheel, and a spinning wheel and reel. Polly and her daughters obviously
knew how to make linen from the flax they grew and were adept at spinning wool
fiber from the fleece of their sheep. The women in the home typically spent
evenings and long winter days occupied by the tedious labor needed to comb,
card, spin, weave, and sew raw fibers into homespun clothing. Polly likely made some, if not all of the
clothing, for her family. Two "sewing chairs" were also listed in the inventory. Mending and laundering by hand added more chores to
the long list of responsibilities that she must have shouldered.
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| 1849 Inventory of John McWilliams Estate - page 2 |
John owned a respectable assortment of livestock at the time
of his death. His most valuable animals were a gray mare, a bay mare, a bay
horse and a bay colt. The bay horse and colt were worth ninety dollars each and
the mares were valued at twenty and thirty dollars. He also had three cows, two
heifers, eight hogs and eight pigs. In
addition to her housekeeping chores, food preparation, and bearing and rearing
their children, Polly probably partnered with John in the care of their
livestock.
The cows provided milk for Polly to churn into butter or process into cheese, and swine were a primary source of protein for pioneers. Hogs required little care and produced large numbers of offspring. They roamed and foraged freely in the woods during the spring and summer where they fattened before fall when all except the breeding stock were butchered. The McWilliams likely preserved the pork by salting or smoking, and the fat was rendered into lard for cooking. John probably hunted wild poultry, rabbits, squirrels and deer to provide fresh meat for roasting and stewing,[iii] but preserved meat was necessary for sustenance during periods of heavy snow or bitter cold when hunting was impossible.
The importance of John’s horses as
partners with him in the farm operation was underscored by examining the list
of farm implements in the inventory. A corn plow, two harrows, a threshing
machine and four sets of harness were essential for the planting and harvesting
of all the McWilliams’ crops. The horses also provided transportation for the
family and carried heavy loads of water, wood, grain, meat, and other essential
supplies. A buggy, wagon, truck wagon, two horse wagon, two wagon beds, a
single and double tree, sleigh, sleigh box, and sled were some of John’s most
expensive and indispensable equipment. They enabled travel over the primitive
rural roads and fields that were often muddy or covered in ice or snow. A
saddle and bridle, a side saddle and lines, a couple of sets of chains, and a
buffalo robe completed the gear used with the equine members of the family.
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| 1849 Inventory of John McWilliams Estate - page 4 |
The fish hooks, grubbing hoe, shovel,
barrels, boxes, watering can, grindstone, tongs, ladder, straw cutting box, and
powder horn gave hints of the diverse chores John may have performed in
providing for his dependents. He must have also been skilled in woodworking as
he owned a shaving horse (a workbench/vise for woodworking), axe, maul, wedge,
augurs, and saws. Of course, he employed some of those tools to cut and split
firewood for his home.
See You in Court
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| Lithograph from 1858 Coal Land Survey Map by Hopkins & Cleaver from the Library of Congress |
The McWilliams filed land deeds, estate papers, and other legal documents at the county seat in Sunbury. The town was described in notes in the 1850 Mortality Schedule of Northumberland County:
“Sunbury is the seat of Justice for
Northumberland County, Situated on the east bank of the Susquehanna River about
two miles below the confluence of the North and West branches of the same. It
has a Court house, Jail, and Public Offices for the County Officers. A Post
Office and daily mail. Four Churches. Episcopal Lutheran German Reformed and
E.P. Methodist. Here a large Dam is built in the river to feed the Pennsylvania
Canal.”[iv]
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| The Sunbury Gazette, July 26, 1845 |
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| The Sunbury American, July 28, 1849 |
John’s name appeared in the List of
Jurors in the Sunbury newspaper in the August court term of 1845 as a Grand
Juror and in the August court term for 1849 (published before his death) as a
traverse juror representing Chillisquaque Township in Northumberland County. He
was surely regarded as a respected citizen of unblemished character to have
been selected to serve on juries entrusted with investigation and trial of
criminal and civil court cases.[v]
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| Columbia County PA Orphan's Court, volume 2, page 45, April 8, 1828 |
John
also appeared in Columbia County Orphan’s Court records in 1828 when he was
appointed as guardian for his sister Eleanor McWilliams Scout’s youngest
daughter, Mary Ellen Scout, after Eleanor’s husband died in 1826.[vi]
[i] Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds, Estate Inventory, File Mc 97, 1849, John McWilliams, Northumberland County Courthouse, Sunbury, PA
[ii] Youmans, Martha Follmer, “Journal of Anna Margaret Follmer 1775-1781,” Special Issue Historical Leaflet Series Publications of the Columbia County Historical Society, pages 7, 8, 10, 18 August 1976, Bloomsburg, PA, accessed Northumberland County Genealogical Library, Sunbury, PA
[iii]
“Agriculture and Rural Life,” Stories
from PA History, accessed at explorepahistory.com/stories.php
[iv] 1850 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chillisquaque Township, mortality schedule, p. 833, NARA microfilm publication M1838, roll 3; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 19
[v] Sunbury and Shamokin Journal, Sunbury, Northumberland County, PA, 21 June 1845, page 3, column 4, John McWilliams, and Sunbury American, Sunbury, Northumberland County, PA, 28 July 1849, page 3, column 2, accessed https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
[vi]
Orphan’s Court, Columbia County, Courthouse,
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Orphan’s Court Docket, Volume 2, p. 45, Mary Ellen
Scout (1828), Appointment of Guardian, 8 April 1828; Orphan’s Court Dockets, 1814-1869,
Orphan’s Court dockets, vol. 2, 1814-1841, p. 45; filmstrip 955824, DGS
5544892: accessed www.familysearch.org, image 326
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