The
Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker
Collection
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike,
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.