In this video, archaeologist Mara Kaktins shares bits of Mary Washington’s dishes excavated at Ferry Farm and explains their significance.
Read more about Mary’s dishes in this blog post.
Foodways
“Dined at the City Tavern”
Christmas in the 18th century was celebrated quite differently than it is today. Unlike today, one of the most important (and wildest) celebrations of the season took place on January 6th, or Epiphany. Also known as Twelfth Night, this holiday is more comparable to our present-day New Year’s celebrations in style and entertainment. Our stereotypical views of a supposedly refined time period perhaps conjure up images of classy champagne toasts and highly intellectual conversations. However, much like the Christmas season itself, 18th century parties and dinners any time of the year were actually quite different from that stereotype.
On September 14, 1787 George Washington wrote in his journal:
“Friday 14th. Attended Convention. Dined at the City Tavern, at an entertainmt. given on my acct. by the City light Horse. Spent the evening at Mr. Meridiths.”
It appears he enjoyed a simple enough dinner at City Tavern in Philadelphia after a day of Constitutional planning, right? Washington was famous; certainly everywhere he went, people provided “an entertainment” in his honor. As you look more into this event, you find that Washington’s simple diary entries may not always reveal the whole story of what happened.
In this entry, he notes the City Light Horse honoring him at the tavern. The Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia was founded in 1774. They fought with General Washington throughout the war, including at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Brandywine. They were part of the icy-cold crossing of the Delaware and the snow-covered winter at Valley Forge. In fact, although operating under a new name, the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry remains intact today as a private military organization whose members all must serve in the Pennsylvania National Guard. Due to its close relationship with George Washington, the troop jumped at the chance to show him its appreciation at the tavern as the Constitutional Convention drew to a close. According to Dr. Gordon Lloyd, the Robert and Katheryn Dockson Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University, the bar tab sent to the City Light Horse remains in the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry Archives. Here is the transcription of the bill:
As you can see, the total comes to 89 pounds, 4 shillings, and 2 pence. According to the Bank of England, given inflation and changes over time, today this would be approximately £14,083 or around $18,471.
While that sticker price is shocking enough, as we inspect the bill a little more, we notice what all was purchased for the gathering. There are four separate categories on the bill. The bottom section is the fee for the musicians to play. The next section up lists 16 bottles of claret, 5 bottles of madeira, and 7 bowls of punch drunk by the 16 servants and musicians. Next, comes a line for items broken at the gathering.
Finally, the top section of the bill deals with 55 guests, all men, who were the main party at City Tavern. The men ordered dinner and several different beverages. First, fifty-four bottles of madeira, probably Washington’s drink of choice. Throughout his life, Washington was said to favor this type of fortified wine from the Madeira islands, an archipelago off the coast of Portugal and a frequent stop for merchant ships travelling between Europe and America in the 18th century. Many prominent families in America took a liking to the wine, as it was relatively easy to obtain. According to records at Mount Vernon, Washington ordered Madeira by the pipe, a large, elongated barrel that held about 126 gallons of wine. Often, he ordered multiple pipes at a time. Today, you can still purchase Madeira wine, but be cautious as it runs 18-20 percent alcohol by volume. Similar to its brother, Port, Madeira is often used in cooking and is a staple of French cuisine today.
Next, the sixty bottles of Claret were a French-style wine also popular in America in the 18th century. While Madeira came in both sweet and dry varieties, Claret was typically a dry, dark red. Claret is not a fortified wine like Madeira, meaning it is lighter and only around 13-15 percent alcohol by volume.
The list notes that the gentlemen also consumed eight bottles of “Old Stock”, a term used for whiskey at the time. Perhaps throughout his time as General and President, nights like September 14, 1787 convinced Washington to create his own whiskey distillery later in life. By 1799, the distillery at Mount Vernon was one of the most profitable in the country. During the colonial era, it was not customary to age whiskey. The spirits produced at Mount Vernon, as well as, that served at City Tavern were practically straight from the still.
The porter, cider, and beer listed on the bill are all similar to the alcohols we call porter, cider, and beer today. Porter was a very popular style of beer in both England and America. In fact, the style was so popular, Washington had his own recipe for it to be produced at Mount Vernon.
Lastly, the list claims the gentlemen also went through seven large bowls of punch. Punch recipes varied from tavern to tavern and from house to house in colonial days, but they were typically rum or whiskey-based and often contained more than one type of alcohol. You can read much more about punch and how it was served here and about Mary Washington’s punch bowl here.
With all this drink flowing, we might conclude this was quite a raucous party, but these were rather typical evenings for the people of the 18th century. Keep in mind that water was not always drinkable due to bacteria, they didn’t always have access to fruit to make fresh juice, and certainly soda wasn’t around yet! They were left with few options: tea, coffee, or booze.
Washington returned to the Convention and by the end of the day after the party, the delegates had finished. Copies of the document were ordered, and just two days later, they signed the Constitution of the United States on Monday, September 17, 1787. Washington stated in his journal:
“The business being thus closed, the Members adjourned to the City Tavern, dined together and took a cordial leave of each other.”
What happened that night at City Tavern? Unfortunately, no bill from this night survives to give us any clarification, but Washington provides a hint of just how much steam the delegates needed to blow off. The entry in his journal continued that he returned to his lodgings and:
“retired to meditate on the momentous wk. which had been executed, after not less than five, for a large part of the time Six, and sometimes 7 hours sitting every day, sundays & the ten days adjournment to give a Comee. opportunity & time to arrange the business for more than four Months.”
Momentous work, indeed.
Elizabeth Hosier
Manager of Interpretation and Visitor Services
Making Eggnog
Eggnog is a staple drink during the holiday season. Historians debate the exact ancestry of eggnog but most agree that it originated from early medieval “posset”, a hot, milky, ale-like drink. Eventually, expensive and rare ingredients like eggs, sherry, brandy and Madeira were added and the drink became the trademark of the upper class.
During the 18th century, eggnog found its way across the Atlantic to British North America. However, since brandy and wine were heavily taxed, colonists substituted more cost-effective alcohol like rum, domestic whiskey, bourbon, and even home-made moonshine. With access to inexpensive liquor and plenty of fresh eggs and dairy products, the popularity of eggnog soared in the colonies.
Given his connection to numerous myths, it is unsurprising that a “George Washington’s Eggnog Recipe” falsely claimed to be written by Washington himself circulates widely on the Internet. As popular as the drink was in the 1700s, he certainly drank it and served it to others but “no recipe penned by Washington appears in George or Martha Washingtons’ papers nor in the cookbook that Martha inherited from her first marriage nor in her personal copy of The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, which was the most popular English cookbook in America in the latter half of the 18th century (published in 1747).”
Nevertheless, we decided to make an eggnog using this mythical Washington recipe. Given the ingredients, I think you might understand why. Moreover, although it originally dates from the 19th century, it certainly could have been made a century earlier.
“One quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen tablespoons sugar, one pint brandy, ½ pint rye whiskey, ½ pint Jamaica rum, ¼ pint sherry—mix liquor first, then separate yolks and whites of 12 eggs, add sugar to beaten yolks, mix well. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Let set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.”
This potent mixture creates a classic colonial eggnog. Purists who argue that store-bought versions can’t hold a candle to the homemade goodness will be quite satisfied.
Heather Baldus
Collections Manager
Appearance is Everything: Mary Washington and Her Specialized Ceramics of Gentility – Some Seriously Fancy Dishes!
The story of Mary Ball Washington is one of overcoming a lifetime of adversity. Often overshadowed by her larger than life son George, Mary’s place in history fluctuated from saint to shrew with many historians ignoring the obstacles she faced and overcame. The archaeological record sheds light on some of the strategies Mary used to navigate her way through mid-18th century life as a widow while trying to maintain her own social status and that of her children. Fragments of highly-specialized ceramics excavated at Ferry Farm, the plantation Mary called home for much of her life, speaks to her efforts.
Specialized dishes are those designed for a very specific job unlike, say, a bowl which is multi-purpose. We have uncovered evidence of many dishes Mary owned that fulfilled single tasks. These type of ceramics are a sign of gentility. Most households could not afford these items and likely did not possess the resources to make the food and drink that they were designed to hold.
As the 18th century progressed, so did dining habits. Increasingly, people of means gravitated toward dinners with multiple courses of entrees, appetizers, beverages, and deserts. Previously, most meals consisted of large one-pot creations with multiple ingredients. In order to pull course cooking off, one required the specialized dishes designed for serving multiple courses.
One prime example of such specialized dishes from Ferry Farm is Mary’s elaborately decorated creamware sauce boats. The sauce boats are a luxury in and of themselves. They’re highly decorated and were very fashionable at the time. Not only were they expensive, but they showed that Mary had the refinement to serve her guests the fancy sauces being introduced into colonial cooking. They also indicated that she had a trained kitchen staff of enslaved workers capable of executing these new and intricate recipes. You never thought a sauce boat could hold so much meaning, did you?
Fragments of an extremely fancy white salt glazed fruit dish are further examples of Mary’s calculated purchasing of dishes. Previously written about here and here, this dish was meant to display fruit, another luxury in the 18th century. Being able to afford non-local or out-of-season fruit was a status symbol and necessitated the proper dish to proudly display the fruit. To put the rarity of fruit in perspective, in colonial America, pineapples were so expensive you could rent one for display at parties in the holiday season because most people couldn’t afford to buy one outright. While renting a fruit may seem ridiculous to modern readers, the action highlights just how important being seen to own certain items was during the colonial era. Of course, we still engage in this same behavior today, but just not with pineapples.
Ferry Farm archaeologists also excavated fragments of two creamware condiment dishes. Once again, the ability to serve various condiments to dinner guests conveyed status. Condiments could include relishes, dips, mustards, ketchups (mushroom ketchup being the preferred type), and pickled vegetables such as capers. Castor sets were also a way to serve other condiments such as olive oil, vinegar, pepper, etc. Generally, these castor sets were only owned by well-to-do households in the colonial period. The base of a creamware castor was recovered at Ferry Farm.
The fact that so many of Mary’s specialized ceramics are made of creamware should also be noted. Creamware was invented in 1762 and wasn’t the most expensive type of ceramic (that was porcelain) but it was highly fashionable. Mary, as a widow with five children and a diminished income following her husband’s death, likely couldn’t afford much porcelain. She opted for the less expensive but still highly-desirable creamware, instead.
The Washington family went to great lengths to demonstrate their status and refinement to visiting friends, neighbors, and relatives. At Ferry Farm, this burden fell solely on Mary after the death of her husband. Her specialized ceramics served to illustrate her place within the gentry class despite her diminished income and refusal to remarry after being widowed. Her goal was to remain independent while raising five children to be successful adults and members of the Virginia gentry class. In doing so, she likely realized that the socioeconomic security of her children would ensure her own into the future as well. Consequently, it was important that Mary cultivate a refined household with appropriate table and teawares. Ceramic artifacts from Ferry Farm reveal a woman who carefully selected choice ceramics to perform very specific tasks, while at the same time not overextending her budget. These ceramics contributed to her goal of remaining a part of the gentry class and teaching her children genteel habits so they could do the same. It was a task in which she overwhelmingly succeeded.
Mara Kaktins, Archaeologist
Ceramics & Glass Specialist
Eggsperimental Archaeology: Preserving Eggs before the Age of Refrigeration – Part 2 [Video]
In this experimental archaeology video, we reveal how well four different 18th century techniques preserved fresh uncooked eggs before the advent of refrigeration. Watch the first part.
The Seasonality of Egg Laying [Video]
In this video, we meet Mara’s chickens and learn how chickens naturally lay eggs seasonally.
Betty Washington’s Cookbooks
In the 18th century, more women began to publish cookbooks. Previously, writing or compiling such books was the domain professional cooks or chefs, who were men. Two of these women and their books, Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy and Eliza Smith’s The Compleat Housewife, or, Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion, ended up in Betty Washington Lewis’s personal library. She no doubt referenced these two useful books as much as I have referenced them in my blog posts about cooking here, here, and here. Both Glasse and Smith were part of an innovative movement to create guide books on cooking for common people in a common language without pretense.
The “Compleat House Wife” and “Glasses Cookery” listed on the probate inventory made following Fielding Lewis’s death in 1782.
Hannah Glasse was born in London in 1708 and had her first book Compleat Confectioner published in 1742. Her second book The Art of Cookery was published in 1747. This book on cookery was so popular that it went through ten editions before her death in 1770. It was reissued another sixteen times after 1770, including two American editions in 1805 and 1812. The book’s commercial success did not translate to personal success for Glasse, however. Unfortunate business decisions eventually led to her declaring bankruptcy, selling the copyright to The Art of Cookery, and being sent to debtor’s jail.
The frontispiece of Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Credit: Wikipedia
Eliza Smith and her life are shrouded in mystery and, unfortunately, not much is known about her. She wrote only one book, The Compleat Housewife, or, Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion, which went through eighteen editions and became the first cook book published in Colonial America in 1742. According to her own account, what she presented in the book was from her own experience. Her recipes and tips came from a “space of thirty years and upwards during which time I have been constantly employed in fashionable and noble families.”
Frontispiece of Eliza Smith’s The Compleat Housewife: or Accomplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion. Credit: Wikipedia
When these two ladies were writing in the mid-18th century, more people were residing in urban areas as part of the emerging middle and gentry classes. These new relatively or very affluent groups were desperate to keep up with fashions, manners, and lifestyle of the aristocracy.
This often meant the middle-class housewife needed assistance with how to run a household or plan multi-course meals to keep her from committing embarrassing social faux paus. The old commercial cook books were usually unhelpful since they were written by grand chefs for other cooks working in courts or mansions with large kitchen staffs. These books were filled with technical language and extravagant recipes with expensive ingredients.
New writers like Glasse and Smith became popular because they offered practical advice, common sense recipes, and organization. They wrote their books to help average middle and gentry class homes with small staffs, basic cooking equipment, and a limited budget. As Glasse stated, she wrote her book “in so full and plain a manner, that most ignorant Person, who can read, will know how to do Cookery well”[1] She only hoped her book would “answer the ends I intend it for; which is to improve the servants, and save the ladies a great deal of trouble.”[2] Eliza Smith had a similar goal, writing that her book would be a guide for the housewife where “the receipts [recipes] are all suitable to English constitutions…wholesome, toothsome, all practicable and easy to be performed; here are those proper for a frugal, and also for a sumptuous table.”[3]
Indeed, both women’s recipes had simple instructions, accessible ingredients, easy and practical help with weights, measurements, and cooking times. Recipes had no French vocabulary, no complicated patisserie, and no confusing directions. They were just simple, delicious dishes any housewife could make or have servants make without formal culinary training. Eliza Smith offered over a dozen different types of stew with everything from beef to eel and her pancake and apple fritter recipes sound delicious! Hannah Glasse included over 20 different types of pies, an easy and lovely syllabub, and even the first recorded recipe for curry.
Recipe for curry from Glasse’s “The Art of Cookery”. Credit: Wikipedia
The 18th century middle or gentry class housewife and her staff, e.g. Betty and enslaved cook Rachel, could use these books to create meals that no longer consisted of just boiled meat and a vegetable. Now, they could create a range of dishes that would not be out of place on the table of a Lord or Lady. Betty could have dinners prepared for the week, plan special dishes for a party, or undertake extravagant desserts for her Christmastime table. All would delight guests who were using the same books.
The Art of Cookery and The Compleat Housewife democratized cooking, which is something Betty Washington Lewis, sister of the first American president, would have appreciated.
Heather Baldus
Collections Manager
[1] Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, T. Maiden for A. Lemoine & J. Roe, 1802: pg 3
[2] Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, J. Rivington and Sons [and 25 others], 1788: pg 4
[3] Eliza Smith, The Compleat Housewife: or, Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion, J. and J. Pemberton, 1739: Preface
Making Ribband Jelly & Blancmange
As Christmastime approaches again, it’s time to focus attention on two more forgotten favorites from the 18th century dessert table: ribband jelly and blancmange.
Ribband Jelly
Our first dessert is a simple Ribband Jelly that descends from an ancient dessert called white leach.[1] A white leach was a milk jelly flavored with rosewater and colored with gold to create an elaborate pattern. [2]
Ribband jelly simply means the jelly has multi-layers of different colors.[3] Ribband jelly was a popular dessert on the salvers of Betty Washington Lewis’s holiday table because it added some pleasing color and texture to the spread.
We will be following a modernized version of the recipe by Hannah Glasse in her book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy which was in Betty’s library. Traditionally, the jelly is thickened with calves bones and Hartshorn, which is the shavings of the soft velvet from the antlers of young male deer, as well as with isinglass, which is dried swimming bladders from fish, particularly sturgeon. [4]
The Ribband jelly we are making sounds similar to one written about by Thomas Jefferson during his diplomatic mission to France, where he lived from 1784 to 1789. He wrote down a recipe for a nutmeg- and lemon-spiked “wine jelly” on what appears to be an 18th-century version of a cocktail napkin.
However, we will be using the more modern powdered gelatin first made available in the Victorian era.[5]
We will stick with the original coloring agents, however, using spinach for green and cochineal (the scales of the insect Dactylopius coccus) for red.
Blancmange
Our second dessert, blancmange or flummery, we know was popular with Betty’s brother George during his Christmastime feasts.[6]
Initially, flummery and blancmange were two different dishes. Blancmange was a savory dish of capon or chicken in milk and was thought ideal for the sick. Flummery was a jelly made by steeping oatmeal in water overnight and boiling the strained liquor with sugar. [7]
However, by the 18th century, flummery had become a synonym for blancmange, which had evolved into a sweet almond-flavored dish made with milk or cream and thickened with Hartshorn, isinglass, or, later, gelatin.[8] [9]
Flummeries and blancmanges were usually made with molds to create elaborate decorative displays that served as the center piece of the party.
For our blancmange we will be following a recipe by Hannah Glasse again. It is called “French Flummery”. [10] As a setting agent, we will be trying the traditional isinglass as recommended. [11]
These traditional desserts were the forerunners of today’s Jell-O molds that grace many tables during the holidays.[12] Perhaps this year, try a traditional jelly or blancmange, similar to the ones that graced the Washington family table and enjoy a little bit of history with your holiday feast.
Heather Baldus
Collections Manager
[1] Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswives Jewell (London: 1596)
[2] https://www.historicfood.com/Jellies.htm
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass
[5] https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/biochemistry/biochemistry/gelatin#2
[6] https://www.mountvernon.org/inn/recipes/article/blancmange/
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blancmange
[8] https://www.historicfood.com/Jellies.htm
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blancmange
[10] Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.
[11] http://foodhistorjottings.blogspot.com/2013/08/jaune-mange.html
[12] Moskin, Julia. “How Jell-O Molds Claimed Their Spot on the American Table.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/dining/jello-mold.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR3HCrnhDlqGZtsO7F_AdZxRJ8qJwlvQ57iMMs2MCiuMUKTLbOkQGCi-bZ0
33rd Annual Gingerbread House Contest & Exhibit at Ferry Farm [Photos]
It’s the 33rd year of a a long-standing holiday tradition: the Gingerbread Contest & Exhibit at George Washington’s Ferry Farm! This year’s theme is “Holiday Songs.”
“Deck the Halls” by King George Country Schools Preschool: Ms. Rachel, Ms. Cindy, and Ms. Becky’s Class
“Deck the Halls” by King George Country Schools Preschool: Ms. Rachel, Ms. Cindy, and Ms. Becky’s Class
“How Many Songs” by Carol Glick and family
“How Many Songs” by Carol Glick and family
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Valerie Jackson & Debbie Hicks
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Valerie Jackson & Debbie Hicks
“Jingle Bells Rock the House Down” by RAAI-RACSB
“Let It Snow” by Samantha Wainwright
“Marshmallow World” by the Baldwin Family
“Melekalikimaka” by Daniel Jackson & Noah Stusse
“Poor Grandma” by Hunt Family
“Santa Clause is Coming to Town” by the Fleming Family
“Santa’s Musical Workshop” by Chancellor High School German Club
“Santa’s Stable” by Moriah Webster’s 7th & 8th grade students, Walker Grant Middle School
“Sleigh Ride” by Ryan Jackson & Henry Stusse
“To RAAI House we go!” by RAAI-RACSB
“Winter Wonderland” by Maggie Jackson
Winners
- Level 1: Age 2-5 First Place Ribbon ~ “Let it Snow” by Samantha Wainwright
- Level 3: Age 11-14 First Place Ribbon ~ “Melekalikimaka” by Daniel Jackson & Noah Stusse
- Level 3: Age 11-14 Second Place Ribbon ~ “ Sleigh Ride” by Ryan Jackson & Henry Stusse
- Level 4: Age 15-17 First Place Ribbon ~ “Winter Wonderland” by Maggie Jackson
- Level 4: Age 15-17 Second Place Ribbon ~ “Santa’s Musical Workshop” by Chancellor High School German Club
- Level 5: Age 18 & Over: First Place ~ “I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Valerie Jackson & Debbie Hicks
- Level 6: Family Made: First Place ~“How Many Songs” by Carol Gick & Family
- Level 6: Family Made: Second Place ~ “Poor Grandma” by Hunt Family
- Level 7: Special Needs: First Place Ribbon ~ “Deck the Halls” by King George Country Schools Preschool: Ms. Rachel, Ms. Cindy, and Ms. Becky’s Class
- Level 7: Special Needs: Second Place Ribbon Tie ~ “To RAAI House we go!” by RAAI/RACSB
- Level 7: Special Needs: Second Place Ribbon Tie ~ “Jingle Bells Rock the House Down” by RAAI/RACSB
- Best in Show Award Ribbon: First Place ~“How Many Songs” by Carol Gick & Family
People’s Choice Ribbon: To Be Determined on Dec 30
Please come visit the exhibit and vote for your favorite! Ferry Farm’s hours are Monday – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Ferry Farm is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The gingerbread exhibit ends on December 30. General admission to Ferry Farm and the exhibit is $9 adults, $4.50 students, under 6 free while admission to the exhibit only is $4.50 adults, $2.25 students, under 6 free.
For more information, email events@gwffoundation.org, call (540) 370-0732 x24, or visit ferryfarm.org.
The Wild Game on the Washingtons’ Table
The holiday season is beginning! No matter how you celebrate the next several weeks, you’re likely spending extra time thinking about food. We archaeologists are no different, only we also want to know what the Washingtons and their enslaved laborers ate, whether at the harvest, the holiday season, or simply a regular meal. Historians know about the past because people wrote things down in diaries, letters, receipts, legal records, and other documents. Of course, not everything was written down, especially when the things as mundane as what people ate for dinner. To find out more about the diets of those living at George Washington’s Ferry Farm in the 18th century, along with research in historical documents, we also turn to archaeological analysis.
We previously published a blog post detailing floral remains excavated in 2015 from a storehouse cellar abandoned in the mid-1700s. This cellar feature contained floral remains (seeds and wood) which were analyzed by a microbotanical expert. We are currently using this information to recreate the Washington era landscape and to plant in our garden examples of what the Washingtons grew.
Historical documents, namely the probate inventory of Augustine Washington compiled in July 1743, show that the livestock owned by the Washingtons included 6 oxen, 29 cattle, 19 pigs, and 11 sheep. Rather than consume this livestock themselves, however, the Washingtons most likely raised most of these animals for market. Many of them would be butchered by enslaved workers, the meat loaded onto small ocean-going vessels ported at Fredericksburg, and then shipped to the British West Indies or even to England.
“The Residence of David Twining, 1785′ by Edward Hicks. Although Twining’s farm was located near Newtown, Pennsylvannia, this painting includes great example images of livestock typically found on a colonial farm or even on a plantation like Ferry Farm. Credit: The WikiArt Visual Art Encyclopedia
To add to the probate inventory’s livestock picture, we also explored a root cellar feature under the Washingtons’ house as well as a root cellar feature associated with a nearby enslaved laborer’s dwelling. In these cases, we hoped to determine what kinds of animals – or fauna – each group actually ate. These diets would be revealed by archeologically recovered animal remains, usually bones, called “faunal remains.” Then, we had an expert in faunal remains analyze what came out of these two root cellars.
Archaeologist excavating an animal bone at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.
An assortment of faunal remains excavated at Ferry Farm.
The results for Ferry Farm were unusual compared to other 18th century sites. The Washingtons weren’t only dining on typical domestic livestock like cows and pigs, they ate a variety of wild game and in much higher amounts than expected. Results from other studies show that typical 18th century Virginia households consumed a little under 4% wild game on average. Another study of planter households in Maryland and Virginia showed faunal remains only ranging from 4-15% wild game. The percentage of wild game recovered from the Washington house root cellar was a whopping 25%.
Mammal remains recovered from the Washington family root cellar include cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits, raccoon, white-tailed deer, fox squirrels, and grey squirrels. Birds that were prepared and eaten include chicken, turkey, Canada geese, mallards and other ducks, bobwhite, and the now-extinct passenger pigeon. Fish eaten include longnose gar, stripped bass or rockfish, white perch, yellow perch, and carp. Shellfish consumed include oysters and crabs. The Washingtons also ate turtles, which were 18th century delicacies.
Passenger Pigeon by Mark Catesby from his famed Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands published 1729-1747. Credit: Wikipedia
Longnose Gar by Mark Catesby from his famed Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands published 1729-1747. Credit: Wikipedia
The species recovered from the slave quarter root cellar include cow, pig, chicken, possum, four types of fish, and an unidentified bird. Beef and pork account for almost 78% of the faunal remains. What meat Ferry Farm’s enslaved people consumed came in the form of mostly beef, pig, and chicken. The relative absence of wild animals, with the exception of fish, shows that the occupants of the slave quarter did not significantly supplement their diet using hunting or trapping. No lead shot, gunflints, or fish hooks were recovered in the slave quarter, the lack of which supports this conclusion. The enslaved laborers however were providing food for themselves by raising chickens, which account for over 7% of the meat recovered in the slave dwelling.
The prevalence of wild animals being served on the Washington table may be related to the makeup of the four Washington boys: George, Samuel, John Augustine, and Charles. The youngest Washington male, Charles, left home around 1761, meaning that the Washington boys hunted, fished, and trapped for up to 23 years at Ferry Farm. Farm life meant there were also frequent opportunities requiring the dispatching of varmints. At the time, hunting and fishing were considered fun and great practice for adult gentry life. There was also an economic benefit to provisioning one’s table with game. This supplemental meat source replaced domestic animals that could be steered toward the market, increasing the profits of selling livestock and poultry.
Elyse Adams, Archaeologist
Co-Field Director / Archaeology Lab Technician
