Mary Graves dowry list, 1830

Mary Graves dowry list, 1830

Item Information

Title:
Mary Graves dowry list, 1830
Description:
This is a handwritten list of the goods purchased for Mary Dickinson Graves of Williamsburg, probably by her father under her mother's direction, in preparation for her October 6, 1830 marriage to Deacon John Montague of Sunderland, Massachusetts. It appears to encompass everything that a middle-class housewife of the period needed to set up country housekeeping from scratch, from a single piece of paper to 33 yards of carpeting, and it tells the price paid for every item. The list probably remained with Mary's father, John Graves, because there is an April 1838 notation on it in a different ink, recording his gift of $200 to her eight years after the wedding. He would have saved this document for reference in deciding how to apportion his estate among his children when making his will, but for us it is far more interesting as a window into what the Graves and Montague families considered indispensable to the initial domestic arrangements befitting a deacon and his wife. The document measures 7.75 x 13.1 inches.
Name on Item:
John Graves (1773-1843)
Date:
1830
Format:
Manuscripts
Location:
Williamsburg Historical Society
Collection (local):
Williamsburg, Mass., Historical Society, Graves Farm Documents Collection
Subjects:
Williamsburg (Mass.)
Graves, Mary Dickinson, 1805-1881
Montague, John, 1796-1881
Graves, John, 1773-1843
Dowry--Massachusetts--Williamsburg
House furnishings--Massachusetts--Williamsburg.
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampshire (county) > Williamsburg
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/4j03db119
Terms of Use:
Permission to publish the image must be obtained from the Williamsburg Historical Society by writing to ddarienzo@cwmars.org or Meekins@cwmars.org. The Williamsburg Historical Society, Williamsburg, Mass., must be credited as the original source of the item for all use.
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English
Notes:
Part of the Williamsburg, Mass., Historical Society, Graves Farm Documents Collection.
Identifier:
Williamsburg Historical Society--Graves Farm Documents Collection--Mary Graves dowry list
mary_graves_dowry_list