The Winterthur Library

 Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker Collection

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         New Lebanon, New York, community                                 

Title:               Collection of bills and letters relating to business activities.

Dates:             1805-1878, 1853-1878 (bulk dates).

Call No.:         ASC 1128

Acc. No.:        [various – see detailed description]

Quantity:        33 items

Location:        29 E 4

 

 

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Most of the items in this group are addressed to Edward Fowler or D.C. Brainard and have to do with seeds, herbs, and vegetables.  Brainard received letters from firms in London, England, and Toronto, Canada, from whom he was ordering seeds.  Edward Fowler received bills from the Albany, N.Y., printing business of Charles Van Benthuysen, which had printed labels, catalogues of merchandise, billheads, cards, and price lists for the Shakers, and from the Matteawan Machine and Manufacturing Company, which had provided the New Lebanon community with a steam boiler.  He also dealt with herb and medicine dealers.

 

A bill dated 1805-1808 is headed "rec'd from the Chh at Canaan," and includes credits for sheep, tubs and pails, great wheels, cotton yarn, seeds of various kinds, flax, cards, chairs, twist and filling, whip stocks, floor boards, watermelons, and other items.  The name on the back of this bill appears to be David Osborn.  Two bills from Jonathan Wood list charges for grinding grains.  Stephen Munson is asked to pay for corn; Robert Wagan [spelled Wagon] is quoted prices for woodworking machinery, and Philip Smith shipped seeds for the Shakers.

           

 

ORGANIZATION

 

Divided first by name of Shaker individual and then in chronological order under each name.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

 

           

PROVENANCE

           

Gift of Mrs. Edward D. Andrews.

 

 

RELATED MATERIALS

 

ASC 1130 at this repository contains a great many more bills and receipts, most of which pertain to the Canaan and New Lebanon Shaker communities.   Four items (SA 935.98-.101) relate to the boiler and other parts procured from the Matteawan Machine & Manufacturing Co.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Brainard, Daniel Clinton, 1828-1897.

Fowler, Edward.

Munson, Stephen.

Smith, Philip, of Albany County, N.Y.

Wagan, R. M.

Wood, Jonathan, of New Lebanon, N.Y.

 

Topics:

            Shakers - New York (State) - New Lebanon.

            Shakers - New York (State) – Canaan.

            Religious communities - New York (State) - New Lebanon.

            Printing - Costs.

            Seed industry and trade - Shakers.

            Herbs - Marketing.

            Steam-boilers.

            Woodworking machinery.

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 29 E 4

 

 

Canaan Church family:

SA 913.1         account, 1805-1807, with Church Family at Canaan, perhaps with David Osborn [name on back is difficult to read].

One page is headed “Delivered to the Chh” and the other page is headed “rec’d from the Chh at Canaan.”  The items delivered to the family include reams of seed paper, whip stocks, floor boards, various kinds of seeds in large quantities, whalebone and walnut whips.  Items received from the family include pails and a tub, seeds, cotton yarn, pairs of box cards, great wheels, a quill wheel, wool, twist and filling, etc.

 

 

Stephen Munson:

 

SA 913.2         request from Jonathan Haight, jr., to Stephen Munson for payment for Haight’s corn; money can be send by William Scott; February 10, 1827.

 

 

Jonathan Wood:

 

SA 916.1         Bill, from Jonathan Wood to F. W. Everest, 1847-1848, for grinding wheat.

 

SA 916.2         Bill, from Jonathan Wood to Jesse Lewis, 1847-1848, for grinding “upper” and barley.

 

 

 

Robert Wagan:

 

SA 917            note, L.M. to Robert Wagon [sic, i.e. Wagan], April 1, 1863.

                        Quoting prices for wood lathe, drill stock with tolls, buzz saw, boring machine, planer, counter shaft, press pulley, and batts.

 

 

Philip Smith:

 

SA 1766          Philip Smith, Shakers, Albany Co., N.Y., note to C. N. Williams, Elizabethtown, N.Y., January 17, 1876.

                        Have sent seeds in package addressed to J.C. Parish.

 

 

 

Edward Fowler:

 

SA 914.1a-b    Bill, from Matteawan Machine & Mfg. Co., to the New Lebanon Society, 1852, with letter of February 19, 1853.  Also a wrapper inscribed “account of steam boiler, &c”

                        The letter requests payment of the bill, which includes charges for fire brick, a boiler, grate bars, a blower, and other parts.

                        [see also accessions SA 935.98-.101 in ASC 1130, which also relate to this purchase.]

 

SA 914.2         note, A. L. Ackerman,, agent for the Matteawan Machine & Mfg. Co., to Edward Fowler, New Lebanon, June 13, 1853.

                        Please pay rest of bill.  Mr. Starkey has already paid $100 of it.

                        [for more about this project, see ASC 1130, accessions SA 935.98-.101]

 

SA 914.3         Elias Kingsley, for J. & E. Kingsley, Yards Master, Boston, to Fowler, August 1, 1854. 

                        Encloses form of bill for fares and freight.  Makes reference to mastic business.

                        [see also ASC 1107 and accession SA 935.102a-b in ASC 1130, which probably pertain to the same project]

 

SA 1748          E. Fowler, per B. Gates, New Lebanon, letter to D.T. Lanman & Co., Feb. 27, 1858; written inside a printed, undated circular letter.

                        Fowler’s letter: can send better quality elder blows, if Lanman is interested.

 

                        Circular letter was printed to accompany a catalog; in this circular, the Shakers extol the quality of their herbal extracts and assure customers that they are manufactured “from the best material according to the established principles of pharmaceutical science.”

 

SA 1736          E. Fowler, per B. Gates, New Lebanon, letter to D.T. Lanman & Co., March 29, 1858(?).

                        Check received.  Offers Dr. Norwood’s Vertrum Viride, of which they are sold manufacturers.

 

SA 1737          E. Fowler, per B. Gates, New Lebanon, letter to D.T. Lanman & Kemp, May 24, 1858.

                        Quotes prices on p. pine, bittersweet, and yellow dock root.

 

SA 2043.1       Wm. T. Coleman & Co., commission merchants, New York, letter to Fowler and Gates, April 6, 1861.

                        Order to ship goods on board the “David Crockett” to San Francisco, and apparently to be sent on to Victoria [British Columbia?].

 

SA 2043.2       J. S. Merrill, Saint Louis, letter to Fowler, April 15, 1861.

                        About a shipment of goods from Merrill to Fowler.  Has purchased the stock of Shaker herbs and extracts from a defunct business so will not need to order more.  Discusses politics in a local election.

 

SA 2043.3       Wm. T. Coleman & Co., commission merchants, New York, letter to Fowler and Gates, April 24, 1861.

                        Encloses bill of lading for goods shipped on “David Crockett.”  [bill of lading not present]

 

SA 2043.4       S. S. Fitch, M.D., New York, printed letter, June 1, 1861.

                        Has appointed J.H. McKenzie & Co. to take over business end of his practice.  “Business letters and orders should be addressed to J.H. McKenzie & Co.  Letters for consultation or advice to Dr. S. S. Fitch.”

 

SA 2043.5       Wm. T. Coleman & Co., commission merchants, New York, letter to Fowler and Gates, June 19, 1861.

                        Encloses bill of lading for goods shipped on “Vitula.”  [bill of lading not present]

 

SA 2043.6       J. S. Merrill, Saint Louis, letter to Fowler, July 20, 1861.

                        Shipment arrived safely.  Discusses availability of various plant materials (sassafras bark, Solomon seal, etc.).  May want more sweet clover seed.

 

SA 2043.7       Philip Schieffelin & Co., New York, letter to Fowler, August 2, 1861.

                        Asked that a portion of the company’s order be sent immediately but it has not arrived.  If cannot supply immediately, please let them know.

                       

 

SA 914.4         James G. Wood & Co., Druggists, Poughkeepsie, bill to Fowler, Sept. 13, 1862.

                        Bill for vegetable seeds (varieties named).

 

SA 914.7         Charles Van Benthuysen, Printing, Binding and Paper House, Albany, bill to Fowler, July 28, 1863.

                        Bill for paper, binding periodicals and books [brief titles given], and printing billheads, seed bills, list of garden seeds, labels (some printed in Spanish), medical catalog, etc.

 

SA 914.5         Charles Van Benthuysen, Printing, Binding and Paper House, Albany, note to Fowler, Sept. 1, 1863.

                        Encloses bill for the Shaker society.  [for bill, see SA 914.7]

 

SA 914.6         Charles Van Benthuysen, Printing, Binding and Paper House, Albany, note to Fowler, Oct. 8, 1863.

                        Updates bill, listing credits and new balance due.

 

SA 914.8b-c    account, Calvin J. Cowles, bill sent to Fowler, Shaker agent, 1865-1866.  With yellow envelope.

                        Bill for herbs and seeds, and for shipping these items.

 

SA 1763.1-2    letters, Otis Clark, Great Barrington, to Fowler, November 6 and 12, 1866.

                        Nov. 6: received the box of medicine, and places order for additional medicines and herbs.

                        Nov. 12: adds to earlier order.

 

 

D. C. Brainard:

 

SA 915.1         Waite, Burnell & Co., Seed Warehouse, London, letter to D. C. Brainard, March 17(?), 1870.

                        Invoice enclosed for seeds shipped to New York City, care of Mr. Godwin.  Glad he was pleased with last year’s peas.

 

SA 915.2         Waite, Burnell & Co., Seed Warehouse, London, letter to D. C. Brainard, February 11 1871.

                        Invoice enclosed for seeds shipped from Liverpool.

 

SA 915.3         Waite, Burnell, Huggins & Co., Seed Warehouse, London, letter to D. C. Brainard, May 17 1872.

                        Account enclosed.  Mr. Huggins will be calling on him.

 

SA 915.4         Waite, Burnell, Huggins & Co., Seed Warehouse, London, printed letter to D. C. Brainard, July 1872.

                        Reminder that this company has taken over the firm of Beck, Henderson & Child.  H.T. Huggins will call on him about the end of September.

           

SA 915.5         H.T. Huggins, Seed Warehouse, Boston, [Mass.], letter to D. C. Brainard, September 6, 1873.

                        Encloses price list “of most of the leading varieties of seeds required in this country,” including flower seeds [to be imported from England].  Please inform Huggins if he prefers French seed.  Since Huggins saw Mr. Sillman, does not think it is necessary to visit Mt. Lebanon but will if Brainard wishes him to do so.

 

SA 915.6         Steele Bros. & Co., Seed Merchants, Toronto, letter to D.C. Brainard, Mt. Lebanon, N.Y., March 14, 1878.

                        Offers a variety of pea seeds, with stated prices.  The seeds will be hand-picked, which makes the prices seem a little higher than in the past. 

 

SA 915.7a-b    Steele Bros. & Co., Seed Merchants, Toronto, letter to D.C. Brainard, Mt. Lebanon, N.Y., March 27, 1878.  With envelope.

                        Re-quoting some prices, and emphasizing that the hand-picked seeds are of the highest quality and will give best satisfaction.  Because of downturn in economy, smaller seed growers are going out of business, and larger ones will only grow what is ordered ahead of time.  Please telegraph order.

 

SA 2047          D. C. Brainard, note enclosed with a check, to Bro. Henry, Jan. 14, 1882.

                        Check to cover costs of phosphate and something else.  On back: calculations.