Shopping in 1855

In the mid‑1850s, Jacob May was running a busy general store in the newly formed village of Sumner, Lawrence County, Illinois. Fortunately for us, his account book for 1853-1857 survived and was later published by the Richland County Genealogical and Historical Society in 1991, giving us a wonderfully nosy look into everyday shopping habits of the era.

Benjamin Umfleet was a schoolteacher in Lawrence and Richland Counties. The Account book shows that even then, schoolteachers didn’t make much money, and some had to take second jobs. On November 7, 1855, Benjamin, was paid by Jacob May for chopping wood, @$1.00 a day. He worked 5 ¼ days. The money was used for store credit at May’s store, purchasing a fascinating mix of necessities and curiosities (at least for a bachelor) including 2 boxes of shooting caps, 1 thimble, 1 set of needles, 1 book, 1 pencil, envelopes, 2 yds of flannel, 12 sheets of paper, 1 square of silk and 2 rings.  Perhaps he got tired of mending his own clothes because he married Louisa Hillis in Richland County Illinois six weeks later on December 27, 1855. 

Meanwhile Simpson Sumner was living his best frontier life. He special- ordered a bridle for $1.25 on November 24, 1855, and on December 4, 1855, he purchased a bottle of wine at the cost of $1.00, suggesting just a quiet evening with his first wife.  (They had a baby the next fall..Just saying.) Oh, by the way he remarried after each wife’s death …five of them, five funerals-- five weddings….lots of wine.)

The genealogy on John McCausland, another customer of Jacob May shows that John died October 8, 1855; his son Alexander was married the same day. Two sons were married within months of his death. Her oldest son David married in April the same year and John was married in September.

May’s account book shows that on Saturday, December 22, 1855, John McCausland’s widow stopped by May’s store for what can only be described as the 1850s version of a Walmart/Hobby Lobby run. She purchased 3 ½ yards of calico ($.53), 2 lbs of coffee (.30), 1 quart of molasses (.16), 1 ½ yards of jeans material (.75), ½ yard of muslin (.18), ½ yard of flannel (.18), and one skein of thread (.10). On Christmas Eve she splurged on a new pair of shoes, a pair of scissors and a new hat for $3.45, clearly determined to look respectable for church . . . or someone.   

Then there was Alfred Lewis who may have been May’s most loyal customer. Over time, Alfred Lewis purchased a coat worth $10.00, some tobacco for .40, 1 corner chisel for $1.75, and 1 file for .65.  On October 25, 1855, he purchased 3 1/2 yards of flannel for $1.75. An account entry for December 10, 1855, showed that he purchased 1 gallon of molasses, 2 plugs of tobacco, 1 bottle of liniment, 4 yards of jeans material, 1 bottle of pain killer and 1 cake of Yankee soap, all for $4.93. He bought another plug of tobacco for 40 cents on December 19, 1855. All of these purchases suggest a very active lifestyle, or least an addiction to nicotine.  

Jacob’s store was open on Christmas Day with business as usual; and Alfred was shopping that day as well.  After receiving store credit for 1 ½ deer skins ($.30), he bought 2 axe handles, 1 pair of shoes and 1 gallon of molasses. Total ($1.43) (Because nothing says ‘I love you’ like gifting your wife matching axe handles.)  He returned later that day to purchase 2 lbs. of nails, 1 clothesline, 1 large tin cup and 1 bottle of ink.  ($.96) Two days later December 27, 1855, Alfred bought 8 1/2 lbs. of sole leather (to repair shoes), 3 yards of linsey, 3 yards of shirting material and a lb. of tobacco all for $4.21. (I’m thinking the axe handles didn’t cut it, and the clothesline wasn’t a much better gift.)

All in all, Jacob May’s account book reads less like a dusty ledger and more like a lively snapshot of frontier life. What would your purchases tell future generations about your life?