The Portland daily press., 1870-04-11
DAILY PRESS.
ND
Monday Morning, april IL 1870.
From Willis's History OF Portland
OH Time CustOms in Portland.

OLD Time Customs in Portland.
Distinctions of rank among different classes
of the community, part of the old system,
prevailed very much before the revolution and
were preserved in the dress as well as in the
forms OF society. But the Difference attached
TO robes OF office and the lormaity of official
station have all fled before the genius OF our
republican Institutions; we look now upon the
man and not upon his garments nor upon the
post to which chance may have elevated him.
In the circle OF our little town, the lines were
drawn with much striclness. The higher class
es were called the quality, and were composed
Of persons not engaged in mechanic employ
mens. We now casionally find some old
person whose memory recurs with longing de-
light to the days in which these formal dis
tinctions held uncontrolled sway.
In our town the peronS who were distin-
guished by the cooked hat, the bush wiz and
the red cloak, the en,ied marks of distinction,
were the Waldos, the Rev. Mr.. Smiths family,
Enoch freeman, Brigadier Preble, Alexander
Ross, Stephen Lonetellow, DR.. Coffin, Moses
comb, William Tying. Theopilus Bradbnrv
David W,er, and perhaps some others. The
fashionable color of clothes among this class
Was drab; the coats were made with large
cults reaching to the elbows, and low collais.
All classes wore breeches which had not the
advantage of being kept up as in modern times
by suspenders; the dandies of that day wore
embroidered silk vests with long pocket flaps
and ruffit S on their breasts and over their
hands. Most OF those above metioDed were
engaged in trade, and the means of none were
sufficiently ample to enable them to live with
out engaging IN some emplo, nient. Still the
pride OF their caste was maintained, and al
though the cloak and perhaps the wig NAV
have been laid aside in the Gust and hurry of
business, they were scrupulously retained
when abroad. Wigs were quite an expensive
article of dress, and had 10 be renewed about
as often as the coat and breeches. The Rev.
Mr.. Smith says, August, 1865, had new
wig and Clothes" and again in 1869, " lad
new wig, rich one, and hat; had my super
fine black clothes" And some entries in Mr..
Deane's Diary let US into the cost of this dec
Oration OF the ouier man: "1766, Jan. 25, wig.
sixteen pounds seventeen shIlinss and six
pence" '1769, December %, sent to S. Park
man jo and pistareen TO buy wig" on the
2Sth Of The same month the DR.. says, "receiv-
ed my new buckskin breeches."* We may
form some idea OF the ministerial dress from
these brief notices. The same absurdity OF
dress was carried into the clothing ot chill
dren. l find a memorandum on an account
ary 25, 1754. as follows:
Expenses for James wig, so.
same, Q.
Mending my own thick wig, 10
Shaving my three sons at times 5.14
These three SONS were Samuel, aged eleven
years, James, nine and halt, William, seven
years; the shaving was Of the mead to receive
the wig.
Under February IL, 1885, in the same book,
is the following memorandum, Expenses DR..
to Samuel Waldo, Esq, for my scarlet cloak,
and a scarlet riding-hOod tor my wife, as per
his account on letter dated London, October
IS, 1854, with trimmings, ETC., eleven pounds.
One crimson lidinghr cd, four pounds nine
shillings nine pence, being fifteen pounds nrne
shilllnss and nine pence sterling, which is
twenty pounds thirteen shillings lawful mcnev,
and one hundred and tifty-four pounds seven
teen shillings and six pence old tenor"
"March l6, Nathl Coffin DR.. one pair OF
leather breeches twenty tour shiiiings, one
Skin Shammy two shillings eight pence"
In 1853, Mr.. Fre man has several charges
for red coats sold, price two pounds eight shil
lIngs. red breeches eight shill ngs, laced hat
five shillings, brass buckles three shillings four
pence, hose ole shilling. Before the revOlu-
tion, the silveIsmiths, Paul Little, John But
Ter, and Joseph II. lngraham, found much en-
ployment in the manufacture OF brass and sill
yer knee, shoe, and sleeve buttons. Captain
Daniel Tucker in an interesting manuscript
autobiography, says that in It'll, when eleven
years old, he Was put an apprentice to Paul
Little, who had shop on the corner OF Mid
die and King streets, and was first put to work
on brass sleeve buttons and marking them,
and then promoted to making silver ones.
There were many other expensive customs
in that day to which the spirit OF the age re-
quired implicit obedience; these demanded
costly presents to be made, and large expenses
to be incurred at the three most important ev-
ents in the history of man, bis birth, marriage
and death. In the latter it became particularly
onerous and extended the influence of its ex-
i, aa The poorest classes OF the people, who
In tneir show or grIef ImIfated, IhO1sh - .,,
immeasurabe distance, the CUSTOMS vf the
rich. The following memorandum of the
charges at the funeral OF a son of respecta-
BILE inhafitaDt in It'll, was found among his
papers, viz, eight pair OF colored gloves six
teen shillings, five pair wOmen's white gloves
nine shilings lnur pence, one pair of womens
colored gloves two shillings, one pair OF men s
colored gloves two shillings, two dozen lem
ons, four bottles of wine, and shoe buckles ten
shillings, knee buckles eight pence't
AThi, form OF the neither garment was worn BY
boys as well as mea universally, until about 1890,
wber Capt: Joseph Titcumb, lie urnmg Irom the
south was the first that wO pantaOons here and
introduced the fashion. The dress OF the anie-rev-
o u'ion ladies' wonld appear to at least G, o.
tesQue as that OF the gentlemen; their ong wais
towering head dresses and high heeed shoes would
give Them an equal title TO our admiration.
fThe funeral OF james, son OF Enoch Freeman
who died FEB, 5'h. 177l, aged 26.