Small Things Remembered:
What Seventeenth Century Plymouth Probates Reveal about the Production of
Material Culture
December 14, 2001
Introduction
Sixteenth century England was a nation in turmoil. Ruling Protestant and dissenting Puritan forces were in conflict. The courts persecuted Puritan leaders. They attempted to reform the church under Protestant monarch, Queen Elizabeth to a puritan ideal of Christianity with little ceremony and direct relationships with God, not through a priest. The English Court of High Commission tried Puritans for speaking out.
In 1603, King James I was crowned. He developed ties with Catholic Spain and France, exacerbating growing tensions. More arrests and trials took place. These events and the religious atmosphere in England at the time were among the primary reasons for the Puritan migration out of England. In 1606, a group of Puritan Separatists from Nottinghamshire formed a congregation, lead by John Smyth and Richard Clifton. Two years later, these Separatists migrated to Amsterdam to avoid further persecution and religious conflict. In Amsterdam, the congregation grew and began to divide on issues. Some of the Separatists, led by Smyth, move to Leyden, Holland. For nearly a decade, roughly three hundred Separatists lived and worked in Leyden.
As the years carried on, the Separatists wished for a return to English life, alienated by the Dutch culture. The same religious tolerance that originally drew them to Leyden was now undesirable. The farming subsistence they had been accustomed to was replaced by city life. As English, they could not join guilds and were forced into low-paying positions.[1] They wanted to begin a new life where they could return to English society and practice Christianity the way they saw fit, away from imperfect Protestant practices. Their desire to readopt certain attributes of English culture led them to seek a new home.
In 1620, Thomas Weston and Associates received a patent from the Virginia Company to settle in the New World. The Leyden Separatists booked passage. They returned to England on the Speedwell. Soon, thirty-five Leyden Separatists were passengers on the famous Mayflower bound for Virginia Colony.
The Mayflower had a crew compliment of about fifty, bringing the total number onboard to about one hundred fifty. Upon reaching North America too far north with winter approaching, they over-wintered in New England and settled at Plymouth. The Mayflower Compact dictated that a settlement made outside Virginia boundaries still have an established government, thus creating Plymouth Colony.
Less than half the passengers were Leyden Puritans. In fact, many of the most notable settlers in Plymouth were “strangers”, or non-Puritan passengers. Miles Standish and John Alden are among those. Alden, a cooper, was employed on the Mayflower to oversee supplies. This is relevant because many of the non-puritan passengers had important skills that would help sustain the entire settlement in the first hard years. John Alden may have been related to the Mayflower captain, Christopher Jones, by marriage, possibly explaining his involvement in the journey.[2]
The first winter decimated the 102 settlers that had made the journey on the Mayflower. In 1621, after the first winter, William Bradford was named Governor. The settlers, unlike other Europeans in the New World at the time, came to establish a permanent settlement. However, they brought few possessions besides what they needed to survive the voyage. Space on the small ship was extremely limited and the determined passengers had to relinquish almost all their worldly possessions. One possession they would not part with was their bibles. William Bradford brought his Geneva Bible, illustrating the ties the Puritans felt with Calvinist thought.
Other items that would have been brought over on the Mayflower include woodworking and agricultural tools and wooden chests, but no other furniture.[3] The skills of the passengers and the resources of new land were their only tools for survival. Lacking most of the furniture, tools, and other goods common to daily life, the ability to fabricate these goods or import them from England and Europe became extremely important to their survival
As the population grew during the great migration of the 1630’s more skilled craftsmen entered the population, increasing the colony’s ability to produce goods needed, such as furniture, metal tools, cloth, clothing and ceramics. More independence in the production of material culture meant less dependence on England, forever altering the relationship of mother country and dependent colony to something new and unique. The birth of an independent nation not realized for another 140 years was imminent.
Materials & Methods
What material goods were produced in Plymouth Colony after settlement (1621 to 1650) and what was still imported from Europe? In turn, how did craftsmen and the goods they produced affect Plymouth Colony’s dependence on England for the material goods of daily life?
A study of the material culture of this time through probate research revealed to what extent these people relied on goods imported from England and Europe. This includes where items were made and who possessed the skills necessary to produce the goods of daily life within the colony,
I undertook probate research to discover what types of goods Plymouth colonists owned and where these goods came from. I studied museum collections of seventeenth century goods from Plymouth households. Possessions such as looms, woodworking tools, blacksmithing tools, and other items help construct an idea of daily life in Plymouth colony. I read histories of Plymouth Colony to become familiar with the lives and occupations of the Mayflower passengers before the voyage.
To answer my research question, I began with a survey of secondary source literature relevant to the time period. In addition to providing general information on the subject, it allowed me to see what issues have been considered in past historical research. Religious conflicts of the 16th and 17th century provide a background for the motivations of the Separatists. I also conducted research into the lives of the Mayflower passengers and also the passengers of the two next ships that brought settlers to Plymouth, including their occupations and skills. Probate records from Plymouth dating 1620 to 1650 were scoured for entries of tools and other accoutrements specific to the production of goods such as furniture, ceramics, cloth, metal tools and other daily objects. The presence of tools and goods like blacksmithing tools and spinning wheels will serve as evidence of an ability to independently produce goods that were originally imported from England and Europe.
A two-week research trip to Massachusetts was also part of the endeavor. Visits to museums housing Plymouth Colony artifacts, interviews with archaeologists and historians, and further research at libraries and historical societies added to my data. Research at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum featuring a reproduction of the original Plymouth Colony, a gallery of artifacts and period pieces from seventeenth century Massachusetts, and a research library provided much of my data. Archaeological research of the excavated sites from Plymouth colonists provided knowledge of artifacts found in situ.
I also had the opportunity to view extensive archaeological collections of seventeenth century ceramics with the assistance of Karin Goldstein, a staff archaeologist at Plimoth Plantation. This enabled me to recognize the types of ceramics utilized by the Plymouth colonists and understand where they were produced. Most ceramics found in archaeological sites associated with this time period are from England, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands (delft).[4] Research into the types of garments worn and how clothes related to status was done to contribute to a picture of everyday life in Plymouth Colony.
Counts of the presence of books, ceramics, clothing, bolts of cloth, hand tools, pewter and brass items, spices, woodworking tools, blacksmithing tools, and entries such as possession of large quantities of raw materials like leather or coal in probate records enabled me to chart the status, occupation and probable ability to produce important utilitarian goods by the probated individuals.
Books were a status symbol. While most households owned a bible or psalm book, ownership of other types of books can be used to gauge wealth and status. Plymouth colonists exhibited a very high literacy rate, with all but one probate including books, either religious or secular (see figure 1). Clothing in probates was used in a similar way, as it also indicates wealth. In Plymouth, sumptuary laws dictated that only men and women of an estate over £200 could wear certain garments such as lace and some fabrics.[5]
Ceramics, on the other hand, were present in each household inventory from the probate records. Its presence is important, as ceramics were first produced in the 1620’s in the Americas, but not in Plymouth colony. Ceramics were solely an import commodity until well into the century. The probable origin of most ceramics during this time can be established by type alone.
Historical research into the lives of the original colonists provided information on skills and trades practiced by the colonists in the Old World. Combining that knowledge with information gleaned from probates and other secondary documents enabled me to deduce who could start to produce goods after 1621.
Probate Findings
Data from probates
were interpreted by noting the presence of aforementioned items. I used twenty
categories: farming and agricultural equipment such as plows and hoes, bolts of
cloth and yarn, spinning wheels, Bibles, other books, pewter items, brass
items, weapons such as swords and muskets, livestock, food stores such as
barley and corn, hand tools such as awls and hammers, nails, identified
imported goods such as Irish stockings, fishing equipment such as line and
nets, silver items, gold items, hatchets and axes, ceramics, spices, and
mention of crops in the field. Data came from a random sample of nineteen
probates out of forty-six recorded for the period 1620 to 1650.
Out of nineteen probates, eight contained entries of farming equipment such as plows, hoes, spades, shovels, pitchforks and a hay hook. Roughly half the probates list tools used in the field to tend crops. About three quarters of probates listed livestock and food stores from farming. Perhaps this can be viewed as evidence that more than half the households possessed farming equipment. It could have been listed under catch-all entries such as “other lumber” or “all the tooles”.[6] Therefore, it would not show up in my analysis.
Nine of nineteen probates contain entries of bolts of cloth and yarn. In
addition, many of those also contain separate entries of points, meaning sewing
needles, thread, silks, and other materials used to produce clothing, bedding
and table linens. Of the households that suffered a death in the family, which
would generate a probate record, almost half had the means to produce their own
clothing from bolts of cloth. Two probates listed a spinning wheel. These two
households, of William Kempe and John Jenney, could produce not only the raw
material of cloth, but finished clothing.
Books were a source of education, status, and pleasure as recreation. The overwhelming presence of books, not including Bibles, indicates a high literacy rate among those probated. This reflects that most of the Plymouth settlers were middle-class people. In addition, roughly seventy percent of the probates specifically mention Bibles separate from bulk entries such as “20 smale books”.[7]
Three quarter of the nineteen probates contained both pewter and brass items. These items were definitely imported from Europe. Three quarters of the probates also contained entries of various weapons. Muskets, rapiers, bows and arrows, powder and shot, swords and daggers are mentioned. The first iron works in the region began production in 1643. The Saugus Ironworks produced tools and nails. Before this time, all metal weaponry had to be imported.
Tools used in the crafting of furniture, wooden kitchen goods and building projects such as axes, saws, awls, punches and chisels are itemized in thirteen of the nineteen probates. Nails are listed separately in five of the probated containing hand tools. While most goods such as furniture and wooden dishes could be imported, buildings, homes, fences and other wooden structures had to be built on-site. The combination of hand tools and nails, along with this demand, indicates that many households had the means to produce furniture and other goods of wood. In addition, twelve probates have entries for axes, hatchets and other cutting and chopping implements listed. Lumber for building and fencing would have been acquired using these tools, contributing to ability to produce the finished goods.
Five of the nineteen probates, about twenty-six percent, contained entries of items identified by the probates as import goods. Entries of this type include Irish stockings and ceramics named by country of origin. Another category of entry that is easily identified as imported goods are spices such as ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. These entries are found in four of the nineteen probates, or twenty-one percent.
Expensive and valuable items made from pewter, brass, gold and silver represent items that would be imported to Plymouth. Seventy-eight of the probates had pewter items listed. The same percent owned brass items. Items of precious metals were a little more rare. Only five of the nineteen listed silver items, including mostly spoons, bottles and a beaker. Gold items are mentioned in two probates. One is a gold ring and the other is a decadent gold scale of weights owned by Mr. John Atwood whose estate was valued at £124. Items such as these were of considerable value and reflect the class of settlers that migrated from England. Even in England, pewter had only become a common possession outside of elite families in the mid-sixteenth century.[8]
Fishing related items are listed in seven probates. This is not surprising, as Plymouth Colony sat close to the Atlantic Ocean and the mouth of the Eel River. Sinkers, weights, netting and fishing line are recorded in these probates.
The last category is crops in the field. I recorded this to show that crops still in the field were valued as part of estates just like livestock. The difference between starving and prosperity could be an acre of crops in Plymouth Colony. To record crops still in the field along with food stores in barrels show that they were valued. While this has no direct bearing on production of material goods, it is important, as it indicates an improved standard of living from the first years.
Lastly, ceramics are counted in every probate list. Some are listed in bulk entries. Some are listed as Redware or earthenware, indicating how they were made and in some cases where they were made. For example, stoneware and brown ware were imported goods. Stoneware was not made in America until the 1700’s. Brown ware was also an imported good, typically from Germany.[9]
In the early years of Plymouth Colony, all goods that were not grown on the
land were imported. As population grew and more households gained the tools and
skills needed to produce material goods, production of goods within the colony
began.
Figure 2
In Figure 2, each column represents an individual probate record by the year it was recorded. The quantity represents how many categories each probate fulfills. So, the last probate studied, corresponding to the year 1647, had entries that satisfied nine of the categories and four of imported goods categories. The imported goods categories represent items that could not be produced in the colony during that time. This includes Bibles, other books, pewter, brass, weapons, identified imported goods, silver, gold and spices. As general totals rise over time, the corresponding selected totals also rise. This indicates that more goods were showing up in probates, including goods considered imports
Discussion and Conclusion
One hundred and two colonists and about fifty crewmen arrived at Cape Cod, Massachusetts in November of 1620. One death and one birth during the voyage had left the numbers equal. Oceanus Hopkins was born en route. Later, as they over-wintered aboard the Mayflower, Peregrine White was born. While only roughly one-third of the passengers were from the Leyden Separatists, many other passengers were tradesmen and craftsmen recruited by Weston and Associates. A cooper, two surgeons, three carpenters, two tailors, a metal smith, two printers, a serge maker, a hatter, three merchants, a haberdasher, and a wool carder were among the men who landed that day. In addition, another carpenter, a gunsmith, a ribbonmaker, two fell mongers, another wool carder, a miller, a nailer, another cooper and a felt maker would arrive in the next three years, passengers on the ships Fortune and Anne.[10] The occupations they held in England could not easily be readopted once they landed. They lacked the machines, tools, and supporting communities to carry on their trades. What they could and did bring with them was the knowledge. As the society grew and expanded, opportunities to again work in trades also grew.
In addition to the data from the probate records studied, these arrivals brought more craftsmen into the population. A well-established trade system was in place by 1630 and neighboring Massachusetts Bay Colony provided an economic center to purchase imported goods. Contrary to what I had anticipated, the data show a rise in the appearance of imported goods in the probates after 1620. This may be due to an increase in economic resources, allowing the colonists to purchase more material goods in general. It may also be explained by an increased demand for English goods. This scope of this study does not cover these possibilities. While a portion of the population was producing material goods within Plymouth colony, the colonists continued to rely heavily on imported goods. Colonists produced utilitarian items such as canoes, wooden dishes, clothing, netting and some types of ceramics. Items of a more decorative nature such as lace and fancy materials, items related to status such as books, pewter and other precious metals, metal items such as weapons, tools and house wares continued to be imported. Some items like farm tools produced in the colony were made from imported raw materials.
An expanding population including men and women with skills such as sewing, blacksmithing and woodworking, lessened the colony’s dependence on England for survival. However, they still relied on England and other European countries to provide them with luxury items and most of the goods they used in their daily lives. Overall breadth of possession increased over time (see Figure 2) and possession of imported goods also increased.
This study illustrates some of the trends in material possession of the Plymouth colonists in the thirty years after colonization. While probate inventories represent the contents of a household at a single point in time, the death of the owner, they can provide information about how the house was furnished, what occupations the inhabitants practiced, the relative wealth and status of the household, and the monetary values of the possessions in the home.
By considering questions of the production and origins of material goods of the colony through probate research, I aimed to address some of these issues and shed light on the possessions and practices of daily life in seventeenth century Plymouth.
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