looking back

  Ever heard of a cordwainer? I certainly hadn't until I read it on the census. I found that occupation while searching for my ancestors. Now this is something I had done a while back and the details are foggy now. I have it recorded in the family tree, online, but am unable to access that at this time. I'll get back to it later on. But anyway I knew of a man named Phineas Terry, he was father to my great grandmother Lucy. I didn't know his father. The search began. Then I mentioned that to my sister and she provided me with the most interesting document. Incomplete, though mostly intact, where the Indentured servant papers belonging to Phineas. I read them with much interest and found the information I was seeking. His fathers' name was Caleb. Caleb Terry that lived in New Jersey. Caleb had, for a small sum, indentured Phineas to a cordwainer for a period of seven years. Phineas did receive a small monthly stipend to purchase necessary items like clothing and personal care products. The contract, the indenture didn't allow for much else. No drinking, no women, no nonsense! But he would be taught the trade, become a professional cordwainer. He obviously completed this indenture and given his papers as proof. They served as a sort of diploma I suppose.

 Now Phineas I found living in Bridgehampton on Long Island. It was there he raised his family. They are buried there as well. That was information I didn't have growing up and I'm certain I passed that cemetery many times. I do have a picture of Phineas in a group photograph taken in Amagansett, New York. He was there along with other family members at a Mrs. Pheobe Hands' boarding house. I'm quite certain there were things that belonged to him at my great grandfathers home, some tools of the trade. None of that was ever mentioned but I was young then and probably not paying attention much. Phineas lived a long and productive life from what I can tell. I've always thought to go back and do more research, see what else I could uncover about him. I know that I have roots in New Jersey and being from Long Island I don't want to claim that. It's a joke, if you're from Long Island you'll understand. I have folks from Mass. as well. Tried to spell that but settled on abbreviating. Well none of that is surprising really. Back in the old days crossing Long Island sound to Jersey, Ct. and even Mass. was quite common. Travel by boat was surely quicker than by horseback or wagon. There is even a Long Island located in Boston Harbor.

 So, what is a cordwainer? Turns out it is a shoemaker. A cordwainer, an old English term, is a man that makes new shoes and boots from new leather. He is not to be confused with a cobbler. A cobbler merely repairs shoes and boots. The terms became interchangeable over the years in America. Phineas was a cordwainer and practiced that trade in Bridgehampton New York. There were tools of that trade at my great grandfathers house although I can't say they were his. Those tools were quite common in every household for making repairs or whatever. I don't have any from there but did purchase a shoe last and keep on a shelf to remind me of Phineas. What is the shoe last? That is the iron foot that is the shape of a human foot. They come in all sizes. I have one for making a childs' shoe. 

 The other day I wrote about my whaling ancestors, Abraham and Oliver. Now I'm talking about a cordwainer. It is interesting to know what our ancestors did for a living, how they got by. Today there are no whalers and I suspect cordwainers are far and few between. I would expect some to do it as a hobby or perhaps being a survivalist. Many of the things that were everyday things a hundred years ago or more are now relegated to that, a hobby. Spinning cotton into thread. Knitting, crocheting, darning. When's the last time you heard of someone darning a sock? I've always enjoyed old tools, of any kind. I wouldn't call myself a collector, it isn't something I pursue. I do have a tack hammer I acquired at a yard sale. The handle is worn down where the person using it held it. The indents are quite deep, almost worn through in fact. It's remarkable to me that it would have been used that long to become that worn. That's what made me buy it. Just thinking about the years of use that tool has seen. I also have a small hammer that may have been used by a tinker. There's a trade you don't hear about anymore. I do remember when you could buy a tinkers dam at the hardware store. Ask for one at Ace hardware today, see what the helpful hardware man has to say about that.