(_Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser_ (Richmond), February 15,
1783)
_WILLIAM PEARSON, TANNER AND CURRIER_
Prominent in the list of known Williamsburg leatherworkers are the names
of William Pearson, tanner and currier, Alexander Craig, saddler and
harnessmaker, and George Wilson, boot and shoemaker. As usual in
colonial Virginia, each of these men—while primarily occupied in his own
special phase of the leather trade—did more or less work in other
phases.
[Illustration: _Corroyeur_ _The shop of a currier and the tools used
by his workers. Against the wall at the left a man is scraping a
skin with the “moon knife” (figs. 7 and 7 no. 2), holding the skin
taut by means of pincers and a thong (fig. 6) around his seat. In
the background workers are treading, slicking, and graining skins.
In the foreground one man uses the “head knife” to work over the
skin on the beam, while another softens a skin with the currier’s
mace._ Diderot.]
William Pearson first appears in surviving records as the godfather of
Alexander Craig’s daughter Lucretia. At about the same time he was
Craig’s tenant in a house adjoining the latter’s tanyard, and shortly
thereafter he purchased from Craig the land occupied by the tanyard. The
two men seem to have been in partnership for a while, but Pearson—under
circumstances now unknown—eventually became full owner of the tanyard.
This establishment lay just to the east of the town, its location
recalled to this day in the name of Tanyard Street. It had been founded
in the early 1750s by Craig in partnership with Christopher Ford,
carpenter, and Nicholas Sim, tanner. Craig bought out his partners in
1758, and two years later Pearson came on the scene. At that time the
tannery consisted of “Tan Vatts ... New and Old Bark Houses, Mill House
and Fleshing House ... and all other Houses and Buildings ... used in
the Business of Tanning and making Leather.”
When Pearson died in 1777, his estate included “four Negro men Tanners
and Curriers, two shoemakers” and three other slaves, indicating that
the late master tanner operated a considerable business. The tanyard
continued in the possession of Pearson’s widow and descendants for
nearly sixty years, being operated at least part of the time by William
Plume, tanner and currier from Norfolk.
It is hardly a secret that the processes of tanning and currying infuse
the surrounding air with a symphony of odors—a circumstance that helps
to explain why a tannery was generally located on the far edge of a
town, and usually on the downwind side. As if hides and skins were
themselves not fragrant enough, eighteenth-century tanners, curriers,
and leather dressers made use at various stages or for special purposes
of such delectable commodities as fish oil, sour beer, urine, barley
mash, and the fermented dung of chickens, pigeons, and dogs.
Sketchily described, the procedures employed by the tanner and currier
(separate crafts in England but often combined under one roof or in the
same man in colonial America) were as follows:
1) Preparing the pelt included the removal of accumulated dirt and
stable trash, removal of the hair and epidermis from the outer or grain
side (except for furs), removal of shreds of flesh and adipose tissue
from the inner side, and plumping up of the fibers of the remaining
middle layer, or corium, to be more receptive to the tanning solution.
The tanner accomplished all this by repeated washings, followed by a
sequence of soaking in solutions of lime, and then by draining, and
scraping. The scraping process, known as unhairing and fleshing, he did
laboriously with a blunted knife, the pelt being stretched over a wooden
horse or beam. He might repeat the liming, draining, and scraping if
necessary, and he followed it up with more rinsing and scraping to
remove most or all of the lime.
2) Tanning proper involved soaking the hide or skin in a series of
tanning vats, each containing a stronger solution—called “ooze”—than the
one before. Careful and complete tanning, a slow process, required from
several weeks for a light skin to eighteen months for a heavy hide.
During this period the hides or skins were many times “hauled and set,”
that is, removed from the vat and piled beside it to drain for a time.
The same sort of processing took place in tawing, except that alum
rather than oak bark supplied the tanning agent.
3) Finishing included trimming, currying, and coloring (if called for)
in whatever combination of processes was needed for the intended use of
the finished leather. Readers with uneasy stomachs should be satisfied
if some of these processes are here left undescribed, only named, to
wit: trampling, scouring, blooming, slicking, stricking, shaving,
stuffing, dubbing, boarding, graining, bruising, staking, waxing,
blacking, sizing.
Altogether, William Pearson might have subjected a hide to as many as
two hundred separate steps (repetitions included in the count) in its
passage from the animal’s back until delivery as finished leather to a
shoemaker, saddler, bookbinder, or other leather using craftsman. The
total time consumed would have been anything from a few months for a
lambskin, for example, to more than two years for a thick ox hide.
_ALEXANDER CRAIG, SADDLER AND HARNESSMAKER_
A craftsman who had financial resources large enough to buy a lot in
Williamsburg and build a shop on it would seem to have been in business
already at another location. Such may have been the case when Alexander
Craig, just before midcentury, acquired a lot on the road out of
Williamsburg to Yorktown—not far from where the tanyard would soon
thereafter be established.
A saddler and harnessmaker, Craig was the town’s most successful leather
craftsman, possibly its most successful craftsman in any line. He
acquired a number of properties in and near the colonial capital city
over the years from 1749 until his death in 1776. Among them were the
tanyard and two choice lots on the main street near the Capitol. One of
the latter may have become his shop location, and the other did become
his residence. His eldest daughter, Judith, married John Minson Galt,
the promising young physician and apothecary.
Two of Alexander Craig’s account books survive. They reveal that he
carried on a thriving trade, kept several indentured servants and
slaves, and employed at least three journeymen leatherworkers—although
not all of these at the same time. He bought and sold skins and hides,
did tanning and currying for himself and for others, purveyed leather to
other craftsmen, made and sometimes mended shoes, and sold shoes that
had been made in his own shop, imported from London, or possibly made in
other colonial shops. A wide variety of other leather goods issued from
his shop, including cushions for couches, for chairs, and even for
billiard tables, sword belts, gun buckets, leather pipes for a fire
engine, razor cases, cartridge boxes, trusses, and once a “strong Coller
for a Bear.”
[Illustration: _Bourlier_ _Harnessmaker’s shop, in which workers
(left to right) are cutting leather into straps with a round knife
(fig. 6); waxing thread (background); sewing a piece of leather held
in the clamp or “clam” held slanted between the legs; and using an
awl to pierce a hole in a strap, also held in a clam (fig. 3 and
fig. 4)._ Diderot.]
But the making and mending of horse furniture—saddles, bridles, and
harness—was Craig’s specialty. In a colony where everyone rode
constantly, saddlery was a vital craft. And where horses, oxen, and
human beings hauled, lifted, and carried every burden, harnessmaking was
no less important.
The account books show that Alexander Craig valued his labor and sold
his products at a good price. He charged Humphrey Hill £7 for “a Harness
for a Shaft Chair” and Thomas Atkinson £5 for “a Harness for a Single
Horse.” He billed Colonel William Byrd III £25 for harness for six coach
horses, and Colonel Benjamin Harrison £16 to make harness for “four
Charriot Horses.” For making a side saddle with cover and studded
trappings for Robert Hutchins, a tailor of the town of Blandford some 40
miles away, Craig charged £6, 10 shillings.
Some idea, albeit only an approximate one, of the purchasing power of
those sums may be gained by comparing them with prices for house
furnishings at about the same time. Colonel Robert Carter of Nomini
Hall, for instance, bought eight mahogany dining chairs, upholstered and
trimmed with brass nails, for £16 from Williamsburg cabinetmaker
Benjamin Bucktrout. Four “Elbow Chares” bought at the same time cost him
£11. A desk and bookcase—now called a secretary—brought £16.
_THE SADDLE AND HARNESS SHOP_
Elkanah Deane, carriagemaker of New York, removed his business from that
city to the little metropolis of Williamsburg shortly before the
Revolution. Both in New York and in the capital of the Virginia colony
he enjoyed the patronage of His Lordship Governor Dunmore. Deane’s house
in Williamsburg looked out upon the same green as did the Governor’s
Palace, along with the mansions of the wealthy Robert Carter and the
learned George Wythe.
This was heady company for “an Hibernian Cottager,” as one rival
coachmaker called him, and perhaps Deane deserved the label of “Palace
Street puffer” conferred on him by the same fellow citizen. Be that as
it may, the carriagemaker advertised that he also made, repaired, and
sold harness, although the actual work was probably done by another
craftsman in his shop.
Perhaps this was Edward Roberts, who gave notice in 1775 that he
“continues to carry on the business of Saddling, Cap and Harness making,
at the late Mr. Elkanah Deane’s shop.” The shop, it is to be presumed,
was primarily devoted to the varied specialties that were needed in the
manufacture of wheeled vehicles, of which blacksmithing was one of the
more vital. Deane’s forge, to the rear of his property, is a favorite
attraction in restored Williamsburg, especially for children.
[Illustration: _Exterior view of the Deane Forge and Harnessmaking
Shop in Williamsburg today. The sign before the door is the coat of
arms of the Saddler and Coach Harnessmakers’ Company of London.
Redrawn from a photograph._]
Adjoining the forge, the saddlery and harnessmaking shop of two hundred
years ago has again resumed operation. There the visitor may see
examples of saddle and harness work done in the eighteenth-century
manner with tools and equipment resembling those shown in the great
eighteenth-century illustrated encyclopedia of Denis Diderot.
The basic operations in the making of harness were only two: cutting the
hides into appropriate strips and shapes, and stitching the pieces
together as needed. Simple as it sounds, skillful choice of the
leathers, flawless cutting, and thorough stitching made the difference
between good harness and poor. Finish and ornamentation, although not
essential to the task of attaching a draft animal securely to its load,
made the product distinctive and handsome, and no doubt gave the
craftsman more pleasure in the making.
The harnessmaker’s knife had a semicircular or half-moon shape to its
blade, with the handle sometimes at right angles to the back of the
blade and sometimes with a right-angled tang that put the handle
parallel to the back of the blade. For sewing he possessed an assortment
of punches and awls and a very important holding device called a “clam.”
This last was a hinged wooden clamp with jaws somewhat resembling the
shell of a clam. Holding it between his crossed thighs, the harnessmaker
used it to hold fast the straps he was sewing, thus freeing both of his
hands for the tough job of stitching through heavy leather.
In most essentials, and indeed in most details, the harness of the
eighteenth century looked like and functioned like that of today—or of
the not-so-distant yesterday before the motorization of everything on
wheels. Saddles, at least some of them, were slightly different in shape
and detail from the present-day English riding saddle. For their making,
as well as for the making of collars, the saddler-harnessmaker needed a
variety of tools to pack and shape the stuffing of pads. By and large,
however, the result would seem to have been less comfortable to both
horse and rider than the modern saddle.
_GEORGE WILSON, BOOT AND SHOEMAKER_
George Wilson came originally from Norfolk, where his older brother—or
perhaps it was his uncle—John Wilson, did boot and shoemaking on a large
scale. In May 1771 the _Virginia Gazette_ of Williamsburg carried this
advertisement:
I TAKE this Method to acquaint the Publick, and my Customers in
particular, that Mess. _James Campbell_ and Company have resigned the
SHOE FACTORY in Favour of me, by which Means I carry on double the
Trade I did formerly. Gentlemen who may please to favour me with their
Orders for Negro Shoes, or others, are desired to send them soon, that
I may be capable of supplying them better than it was in my Power last
Fall, on Account of the Scarcity of Leather. Ladies and Gentlemen may
depend on being supplied with as neat Shoes, either Leather or
Calimanco, as any from _London_; as I have on Hand _London_,
_Philadelphia_, and _New York_ Calf Skins, red, green, and blue
_Morocco_ Leather, Calimancoes of all Colours, and of the best Kinds.
Those who choose to favour him with their Custom shall be served on
reasonable Terms, by applying to him at the Sign of the _Boot_ and
_Shoe_ in _Norfolk_.
JOHN WILSON
Just five months later, announcing his death, the _Gazette_ described
John Wilson as a tradesman of “Credit and Reputation in Norfork, whose
Industry, Integrity, and whole Deportment, were truly exemplary.”
Shortly thereafter the same paper carried the notice that Wilson’s
estate would be auctioned and that “The Shoemaker’s Business, in all its
Branches, is carried on by George Wilson, Junior, and Company.”
The “Company” here seems to have been John’s widow, for the next
advertisement to appear in the _Gazette_ disclosed that her partnership
with George Wilson having been dissolved, Mary Wilson “still carries on
the Shoemaking Business, in all its Branches.” She was one of
innumerable colonial widows whom fate threw into the awkward position of
being master craftsmen, at least until they found another man to take
over the shop—and very often the household, too.
[Illustration: _Cordonnier et Bottier_ _A shoemaker’s shop and an
assortment of his most important tools. Note the rows of lasts on
the wall and the customer whose foot is being measured with a size
stick, also shown as fig. 14._ Diderot.]
George Wilson promptly turned up in Williamsburg, announcing to the
public that he had just imported a “choice Cargo of the best sorts of
English LEATHER for all Manner of Mens Shoes and Pumps, and excellent
LONDON DRAW-LEGS for BOOTS.” Underscoring the ambitious size of the
business he hoped to establish, he again signed himself “George Wilson &
Co.,” and appended a notice that “Two or three JOURNEYMEN SHOEMAKERS,
who understand making BOOTS and Mens WOOD HEELS, will meet with good
encouragement by applying immediately to me, next Door to Mr. Greenhow’s
Store in _Williamsburg_.”
Like other colonial shoemakers, George Wilson not only made shoes but
also repaired them. Put another way, they all did both _cordwaining_ and
_cobbling_. But George Wilson seems not to have catered to the ladies;
his advertisements mention only footwear for gentlemen, and when his
shop was broken into in March 1774 the thief took away nineteen or
twenty pairs of men’s shoes.
Whether his earlier ad failed to bring him the desired journeymen or
whether he needed still more help cannot be said, but he advertised
again that “Two or three journeymen shoemakers will have a good set of
summer work, by applying early, at the rate of 3s. 6d. for plain shoes,
5s. for stitched work, and 10s. for boots.” Before the end of the year
George Wilson, too, had died.
_LESSER LEATHER CRAFTS_
Among the many crafts that produced articles partly or largely of
leather, those of glover, breechesmaker, cabinetmaker, upholsterer,
coachmaker, and bookbinder were known in eighteenth-century
Williamsburg.
Two centuries ago William Keith, a Williamsburg tailor, “having lately
purchas’d an ingenious Workman in Leather does hereby give Notice to all
Gentlemen, and others, That they may be supplied with Buck-skin
Breeches, and Gloves, made after the neatest Fashion, and as Cheap as
anywhere else.” At about the same time the _Virginia Gazette_ carried
this announcement of a newcomer to the colony:
EDWARD MORRIS, Breeches-Maker, and Glover, from _London_, IS set up in
Business, near the College in _Williamsburg_, where he makes and sells
the best Buck Skin Breeches, either of the common Tann’d Colour, or
dy’d Black, or of Cloth Colours, after the _English_ Manner: Also Buck
Skin Gloves, with high Tops. He also makes and sell Bever-Skin
Breeches, which are very strong and servicable, fit for Servants or
Slaves, and are very cheap. He also dresses Leather after the
_Philadelphia_ manner, not inferior to Oil’d Leather Dress, for
Goodness and Fineness, upon the Flesh or Grain. Likewise dresses all
Sorts of Fur-Skins, for Muffs, for Gentlemen or Ladies, or for
Saddle-Housings. Also dresses Calf-Skins, Sheep-Skins, and White
Leather, fit for the use of Sadlers, Shoemakers, and Others. Any
Persons that have Occasion to make Use of him in any of the Above
Particulars, may depend on kind Usage, and at very reasonable Rates.
Inasmuch as Morris did not advertise again in the _Gazette_ (so far as
surviving copies show) it may be presumed that so few persons found
occasion to call on him that he moved elsewhere or found some other way
to make a living. Several bookbinders lived and worked in
eighteenth-century Williamsburg; their craft is described in another
pamphlet in this series and is represented today in an operating craft
shop on Duke of Gloucester Street in the historic town.
_THE SHOEMAKER’S SHOP_
Visitors to restored Williamsburg can identify another operating craft
shop by the overhead sign of the “Boot & Shoemaker.” The little building
not far from the foot of Palace Green represents the shop of George
Wilson & Co. “next Door to Mr. Greenhow’s Store,” and stands on
foundations of an eighteenth-century structure. In the absence of
documentary or archaeological evidence as to the appearance of George
Wilson’s shop or its contents, the architecture and furnishings of the
shop follow traditional precedents.
[Illustration: _Cordonier_ _An illustration, again from Diderot’s
encyclopedia, showing some European styles and techniques of
shoemaking. Colonial American styles and methods were similar.
Unfortunately no one on this side of the ocean wrote or illustrated
any descriptive books on the subject, so we must rely heavily on the
French source._]
A working shop that demonstrates shoemaking and the general skills of
leatherworking, the shop’s size and contents are typical and authentic.
One sees in it numerous boots and shoes in various stages of
construction, a full set of lasts, other articles of leather, including
belts, mugs, and black jacks, and an assortment of knives, awls, and
other leatherworking tools of the eighteenth century.
In contrast to this small shop in Williamsburg, the “Shoe Factory”
operated by John Wilson, George’s predecessor in Norfolk, included these
items presumably found there by the appraisers of his estate:
304 pairs of “Negroe Shoes” valued at 5 shillings per pair
103 pairs of men’s shoes, some at 6/ and some at 9/ per pair
6 pairs of boots at 20/ per pair, and four pairs of boot legs
15 pairs of women’s shoes at 5/ and 6/; one of silk at 10/
79 pairs of children’s shoes at 3/ and 3/9
235 lasts; 60 or more hides and skins; 6½ dozen heels; 3 dozen
blacking balls; 17 shoemaker’s seats; “4 Gross Tax”; and “a sise
stick.”
The “tax” in this case is easy to evade by changing it to tacks. The
“sise stick” was almost certainly the same sort of device that is used
in shoe stores today to measure the size of the customer’s foot. But
what really strikes one about this inventory is the magnitude of the
operation it reveals. With an indicated seventeen workers, it was
doubtless one of the few mass-production factories colonial Virginia
could boast.
The ratio of boots to shoes for men—6 to 103 pairs—seems out of line for
Virginia where, as one observer wrote, “even the most indigent person
has his saddle-horse, which he rides to every place, and on every
occasion.” Virginians being “excessively fond of horses,” one would
expect them to have worn boots most of the time, and this expectation
would seem to be corroborated by Robert Gilbert’s repeated
advertisements for the services of a journeyman bootmaker. The evidence
indicates that in the latter part of the century boots appear to have
sold better than shoes.
Boots (sometimes listed as “ffrench falls”) as well as shoes for men,
women, and children were imported from England—and from New England—as
well as being made in the colony. Among the London makers, Didsbury &
Co. enjoyed first preference for orders sent from Virginia and paid for
with shipments of tobacco. The wives and daughters of planters, in
particular, preferred to wait six months or a year for the arrival of
fashionable shoes from London rather than buy what the local shoemaker
offered, or they sometimes patronized the milliner for “stuff” shoes.
A good shoemaker could average two pairs of shoes, welted, turned, or
stitched in a twelve-hour working day. In any shoe the sole would be
heaviest cow or ox hide, cut from that part of the hide over the
animal’s hind quarters called the “bend.” Uppers would usually be of
calfskin, sometimes of goat, sheep, or dogskin. Women’s shoes with
leather soles very often had uppers of fabric, such as calimanco,
ticking, silk, damask, satin, or poplin.
Black was the color of men’s shoes, although an occasional example might
be in color, especially the heels. For women’s leather shoes, red,
white, blue, green, or purple prevailed. Children’s footwear was made in
bright colors or black. Lacing, apparently the usual fastening method in
the seventeenth century, gradually gave way in the eighteenth to straps
and buckles, the latter tending to become larger and fancier as time
passed. Buckles of brass and steel served for everyday wear, silver and
paste for dress-up occasions. The Geddy family in Williamsburg made
copper alloy buckles as good as could be had from London, while
silversmith John Coke made them in gold. Ties, however, did not lose out
completely.
Pointed toes held first place in fashion for both men’s and women’s
shoes. Again, this does not mean that round- or square-toed shoes were
not made; on the contrary, they were not uncommon on the feet of those
persons who put other considerations before style. But style was a
potent governor for the well-to-do among colonial Virginians, who {...}
Both men’s and women’s shoes, as well as children’s and slaves’ shoes—,
were made on straight lasts. That is, shape and construction were the
same for left and right shoe, and either one of a pair could be worn on
either foot. This situation resulted not from some primitive crudeness
or ineptitude on the part of colonial cordwainers, who could and if
called upon did make paired left-and-right shoes. Rather, it embodied an
aesthetic preference. Symmetrical shoes pleased the eighteenth-century
eye more in themselves and left a more pleasing pattern of tracks than
did unsymmetrical shoes.
If that seems a curious judgment, just remember that your own preference
for paired shoes would strike your style-conscious colonial forebears as
quite unthinkable.
[Illustration: _Riding horse, fully equipped, with reins, saddle,
and a “horse pistol” in its holster just in front of the saddle._
Diderot.]
_WILLIAMSBURG LEATHERWORKERS_
The list below includes the known leatherworkers who engaged in business
in Williamsburg during the eighteenth century. The dates following the
men’s names indicate the years the men are known to have worked in the
city.
_Thomas Allen—shoemaker_ (_1710-1716_). The first record of Thomas Allen
is in 1710 when the death of his daughter was recorded in the Bruton
Parish register. In 1716 Allen purchased a lot in Williamsburg. No other
information concerning Allen has been located.
_John Coulthard—saddler_ (_1734-1756_). John Coulthard’s name is first
mentioned in Williamsburg in 1734 when he did saddlery work for Thomas
Jones. In 1751 he announced in the Virginia Gazette that he had moved
his shop “from next Door to the Printing-Office to the back Street, next
Door to the house of Mr. Walter King.” Coulthard died in 1756.
_Alexander Craig—saddler_ (_1748-1776_). Alexander Craig, who owned a
saddle shop and tannery, is first mentioned in Williamsburg in 1748. His
business was quite extensive. Craig made and sold shoes, saddles,
harness, and other leather goods, and he employed several journeymen
leatherworkers. Craig died in 1776 and left a large estate.
_Robert Gilbert—shoemaker_ (_1768-1783_). Robert Gilbert announced in
1768 that he had “opened Shop near the Capitol in Williamsburg,” where
he advertised leather and shoes for sale. Gilbert continued his business
in Williamsburg until 1783 when he moved to Richmond.
_Henry Gill—tanner and shoemaker_ (_1707-1720_). Henry Gill, tanner and
shoemaker, arrived in Williamsburg from Charles City County in 1707. He
established his shop on Duke of Gloucester Street, where he soon opened
an ordinary. Gill died in 1720.
_Daniel Groome—tanner and collarmaker_ (_1713-1719_). Daniel Groome
purchased a lot in Williamsburg in 1713. At that time he was described
as being from James City County. By 1719 Groome had left Williamsburg
and settled in Henrico County.
_James Hern—harnessmaker_ (_1762-1764_). James Hern worked as a
journeyman harnessmaker with Alexander Craig from 1762 to about 1764.
_Gabriel Maupin—saddler and harnessmaker_ (_1752-ca1800_). Gabriel
Maupin was born in Williamsburg and probably learned his trade from
Alexander Craig. He carried on the saddle and harnessmaking business,
but was primarily a tavern-keeper. He died about 1800.
_Edward Morris—leather-breeches maker and glover_ (_1739_). Little is
known of Edward Morris. He announced the opening of his business “near
the College in Williamsburg” in June 1739. In his advertisement he
stated that he was from London. In addition to making breeches and
gloves, he dressed leather “after the Philadelphia manner.”
_William Pearson—tanner_ (_1760-1777_). William Pearson appeared in
Williamsburg in 1760. He worked with Alexander Craig and may have been
in partnership with him. Pearson later became owner of Craig’s tannery
in Williamsburg, which he operated until his death in 1777.
_William Plume—tanner_ (_1777-1783_). William Plume came to Williamsburg
from Norfolk in 1777 and leased Pearson’s tannery. He operated the
tanyard until 1783 when he returned to Norfolk.
_William Quirk—leatherdresser_ (_1745_). William Quirk was either an
indentured servant or journeyman who worked with Robert Simpson,
leather-breeches maker of Williamsburg. In 1745 Simpson advertised that
Quirk had “absconded from his Habitation” in Williamsburg.
_Edward Roberts—saddler and harnessmaker_ (1775-1777). Edward Roberts
evidently established his business in Williamsburg before 1775. In that
year he advertised that he “continues to carry on the business of
Saddling, Cap and Harness making, at the late Mr. Elkanah Deane’s shop.”
He left Williamsburg in 1777 to settle in Maryland.
_John Rolleson—shoemaker_ (_1750-1784_). Very little is known of John
Rolleson. He is mentioned as being in Williamsburg in 1750, and he
purchased leather from Alexander Craig during the 1760s. Rolleson’s
estate was settled in York County Court in 1784.
_John Sclater—shoemaker_ (_1774_). John Sclater is mentioned as being of
both Williamsburg and York County in 1774, when Matthew Evans was
apprenticed to him. Sclater offered “good Encouragement” for “a Sober
Journeyman Shoemaker who understands Mens and Womens work.”
_John Shepherd—harnessmaker_ (_1761-1787_). John Shepherd worked as a
journeyman harnessmaker with Alexander Craig from 1761 to 1762. About
1772 he apparently established his own business and advertised himself
as “Coach, Chaise, and Harness Maker from London.” Shepherd died in
Williamsburg sometime in 1787.
_Nicholas Sim—tanner_ (_1758_). Nicholas Sim was a partner with
Alexander Craig in a tannery in Williamsburg. When Craig bought out his
partners in 1758, Sim left Williamsburg to settle in Petersburg.
_Robert Simpson—leather-breeches maker_ (_1745_). Robert Simpson of
Williamsburg advertised for a runaway indentured servant or journeyman
in 1745.
_Thomas Skinner—shoemaker_ (_1765-1777_). Thomas Skinner came to
Williamsburg from Henrico County sometime before 1765. He engaged in the
shoemaking business until 1777 when he dropped from sight.
_James Swain—leather-breeches maker_ (_1763_). Little is known of James
Swain. He is mentioned in Alexander Craig’s account book in 1763. In
that year Swain made a shot bag for Craig. He may have been the same
James Swain who is mentioned in Henrico County in 1777.
_James Taylor—shoemaker_ (_1742-1775_). James Taylor is first mentioned
in 1742. He may have been in business with William Wilcox, shoemaker. In
1751 Wilcox and Taylor advertised for two runaway indentured shoemakers.
Taylor engaged in business in Williamsburg until 1775 when he dropped
from sight.
_George Wells—shoemaker_ (_1738-1753_). George Wells came to Virginia in
1738 at the age of 21 as an indentured servant. He was engaged to work
for seven years. In 1751 he advertised lodgings for rent in
Williamsburg, where he worked at the trade of a shoemaker. He died in
1753 and left a fairly large estate.
_William Wilcox—shoemaker_ (_1748-1757_). William Wilcox is first
mentioned in 1748. He may have been in business with James Taylor by
1751. Wilcox died in 1757 and left a large estate.
_George Wilson—shoemaker_ (_1773-1774_). George Wilson was probably a
brother of John Wilson, shoemaker of Norfolk. After John Wilson’s death
in 1771, George carried on his shoemaking business in Norfolk until he
moved to Williamsburg in 1773. George Wilson operated a shoemaking
business in Williamsburg until his own death in 1774.
_The Leatherworker in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg_ was first
published in 1967 and was reprinted in 1973. Written by Thomas K. Ford,
editor of Colonial Williamsburg publications until 1976, it is based
largely on unpublished studies by Harold B. Gill, Jr., and Raymond
Townsend of the Department of Research.