Check Your Receipt! What Shopping Can Tell Us About the Past

By: Seth Dubowsky, Historic Mill Interpreter

So, here we are in 2021. This past year has been a bit of a mess. We’ve been here before, though. Flash back 160 years. The world was facing a cholera pandemic. In the midst of a contentious election Americans were heavily divided, socially and politically. Our ancestors were questioning their history, and who they were as a country. Sounds a little familiar doesn’t it?

In spite of all this there are some things that always retain some semblance of normalcy. Be it 1860 or 2021, folks need to go to the store. Whether it’s Walmart, Food Lion, or the West Point Mill, we all have to shop.

One of the projects that the Cultural Heritage staff at Durham Parks and Recreation has been working on is indexing several sales ledgers kept by John Cabe McCown. McCown owned and operated the West Point Mill in the mid-1800s. These ledgers run from the late 1850s to the late 1870s, and record transactions at the West Point mill, store, and post office (check the collection out, here at Wilson Library).

I know what you’re thinking. This is about as exciting as reading someone else’s grocery store receipt. However, these ledgers give us a window into the community around Durham 160 years ago. They show us some interesting similarities between now and then. They also hold some intriguing mysteries.

In 1871, Anise R Williams sent John Cabe McCown a note asking for flour, to be paid for when next she came in. Yesterday, like many of us, I ordered food on my phone for pickup, to be paid for when I came in. In 1866, Louisa McCown purchased several dresses, pairs of shoes, hats, and trimmings for Sally. Anyone who has a teenager, as I do, has likely purchased more clothes, shoes, and hats than they can comprehend. Not to mention whatever a “Yeezy” is. In 1861 John Smith purchased a little whisky, fiddle strings, and a pair of shoe soles. In the past year our shopping list may have included a little wine, Spotify, and a decent pair of walking sneakers. In short, many of the transactions seen in these ledgers look similar to those we make today.

Then, there are the more puzzling entries. Purchases for items that were likely common in the 1800s but are not today. Turning rounds, cane rulers, and here are a few. I haven’t quite figured out what a “banger” is, but I have learned that a smut machine isn’t one of those gossip magazines in the supermarket checkout aisle. It turns out that West Point currently has one on display!

It isn’t just the transactions that are interesting in the ledgers, but also who was shopping at West Point. The McCown ledgers are a treasure trove of names. As expected, there are the names of prominent citizens, such as Duke and Angier. There is also Dink McCown, and Amelia Scoggins. We know that Dink McCown was African American. He had a fairly extensive line of credit, indicating that he may have had some standing in the community. In a very male oriented society. Amelia Scoggins had her own account. This isn’t unheard of. However, in a time when money was hard to come by, Amelia Scoggins paid in cash. Perhaps she was a business or land owner. In building a more inclusive history of the community around Durham, it is often difficult to find information on African Americans and women. Like today though, most people at some point had to go to the store.

So what’s next in our research involving these two ledgers? As Cultural Heritage continues to build a broader history of the area, staff and volunteers are currently using the ledgers as part of genealogical research into community members of interest. My next project is looking into dozens of entries that could be either tax or food assistance during the Civil War period.

There is no doubt that this past year has been tough on all of us. Some of the research Cultural Heritage is doing helps us understand that there have been other tough years for Durham. We’re still here. We trade, we work, we sing, and yes, we shop. We still buy flour, and shoes, and maybe a little wine. We also buy things that may remain commonplace to our time. I wonder if future historians will ponder over what a “Krispy Kreme” is? Which reminds me, I have to go to the store. I’m out of milk...