Salt, Sugar, and 34 Yards of Cloth: A Sumner Shopping Trip in 1855
Jacob May was a merchant in the newly formed village of Sumner, Lawrence County, Illinois, from 1853 to 1857. His surviving account book, published by the Richland County Genealogical and Historical Society in 1991, offers a revealing glimpse of everyday life in a mid-nineteenth-century rural community. A general store then served as grocer, clothier, hardware supplier, credit desk, and informal gathering place—all before anyone thought to call it “one-stop shopping.”
On October 29, 1855, Daniel Miller purchased two pounds of sugar, two pounds of rice, and an unspecified amount of turpentine for 65 cents. Two days later, Daniel—or more likely Mrs. Miller—bought eight yards of sheeting for $1.60, a pair of shoes for 25 cents, half a yard of Swiss sheer fabric for 17 cents, quilt batting for 5 cents, a pair of gloves for 25 cents, and two spools of thread for 10 cents. The combination suggests a household sewing project, perhaps even preparations for a wedding, although the ledger records the details without confirming the gossip.
On November 17, Miller bought 75 pounds of salt for $1.20. That was no oversized seasoning purchase: before mechanical refrigeration, salt was essential for curing meat and preserving food through the winter. A half-pound of coffee followed on November 24, a modest quantity of a purchased staple that a farm household could not produce for itself.
On December 11, Daniel’s wife purchased two and a half pounds of sugar, likely for holiday baking or preserves. Then, on Saturday, December 29, the family appears to have made a substantial trip to town. They bought three pairs of boots, one pair of suspenders, a paper book of pins, a 34-yard bolt of fabric, three yards of jeans fabric, a card of buttons, and a skein of thread, for a total of $12.80. The order reads like a practical winter restocking: footwear, clothing materials, and sewing supplies in quantities large enough to keep a household busy well beyond New Year’s. In an age before ready-made wardrobes and next-day delivery, 34 yards of cloth was less an impulse-buy than a family production schedule.
(What do you want to bet that the three sons and four daughters all had identical shirts and dresses?)