A rural carpenter's world : the craft in a nineteenth century New York township

Drawing on the 1869 diary of New York farmer and carpenter James C. Holmes, Franklin (English and American studies, U. of Iowa) reconstructs Holmes' networks and grounds his craft within the context of 19th century culture, society, and economics. He also provides a group biography of some 60 carpenters who practiced in the area until 1900. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. A Rural Carpenter's World CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION: DOCUMENTING THE CRAFTS PART ONE CRAFT 1— The World of James Holmes Holmes's Helpers 2— The Holmes Diary for 1869 January February March April May June July August September October November December 3— The Major Jobs of 1869 The Judson Winans House The James C. Holmes House The Col. Myron J. Hubbard House The William O. Ashley House The Hubbard House Revisited The Other Jobs of 1869 PART TWO CONTEXT 4— Carpentry in Otsego County in the Nineteenth Century Building Activity in Schenevus, 1868 - 1870 5 The Carpenters of Westford A Turn Toward Biography Hezekiah Skinner Judson Winans Carpentry in Westford before 1850 The Case of Charles Loomis The Case of William H. Groff Conclusion: Skill and Responsibility GENERAL NOTE ON SOURCES APPENDIX 1 WESTFORD IN 1869: A BIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE 1. The Holmes Family James Holmes's Parents Their Children James Holmes's Own Family Children of James and Mary Holmes Holmes's Second Family Other Kin 2. Westford and Area Residents APPENDIX 2 THE CARPENTERS OF WESTFORD: A BIOGRAPHICAL GALLERY 1. Richardson Babcock (WN: 1797 - 1875) 2. George Becker (WN: 1832 - 1893) 3. Aaron Webster Bentley (b. ca. 1822) 4. Edgar Bentley (WN: b. ca. 1829) 5. Stephen R. Bentley (WN: 1843 - 1880) 6. William Bentley (1781 - 1862) 7. Peter Brown (1788 - 1874) 8. Asa Butler (1848 - 1875) 9. Edward Chase (WN: b. ca. 1835) 10. Alden Chester, Sr. (1802 - 1857) 11. Dwight Chester (WN: b. ca. 1835) 12. Horace Chester (WN: b. 1842) 13. Addelman/Addelmorn Cleaveland (b. ca. 1829) 14. William Darling (ca. 1813 - 1886) 15. Homer Denton (1835 - 1897) 16. Fernando P. Draper (WN: b. 1819) 17. Ezra Dutton (1825 - 1852) 18. Eugene Eckler (b. ca. 1866) 19. Jacob Galer (1812 - 1875) 20. James B. Galer (b. 1838) 21. Hiram Graves (b. ca. 1790) 22. Hiram Graves the younger (b. ca. 1848) 23. William H. Groff (b. ca. 1819) 24. Nathan G. Hall (b. ca. 1828) 25. Stephen Hall (b. ca. 1830) 26. Willard Hall (ca. 1832 - 1878) 27. George Holdridge (ca. 1833 - 1859) 28. James C. Holmes (WN: 1830 - 1895) 29. John K. Holmes (WN: 1827 - 1907) 30. Harrison Hubbard (WN: 1840 - 1908) 31. Giles Lampman (b. ca. 1808) 32. Daniel Leonard, Jr. (b. ca. 1817) 33. Charles Loomis (1819 - 1912) 34. Philip Morris (b. ca. 1790) 35. John Pank (b. ca. 1840) 36. William Pank (b. ca. 1839) 37. Andrew J. Pette (WN: b. ca. 1826) 38. George C. Pette (WN: b. ca. 1828) 39. Martin Pierce (WN?: 1812 - 1895) 40. Julius E. Preston (WN: b. Ca. 1846) 41. Frank Rickard (b. Ca. 1854) 42. Hezekiah Skinner (b. 1831) 43. Andrew/Andrewes/Andrus Snyder (1796 - 1889) 44. Chancellor/Chauncelaer Snyder (1824 - 1895) 45. Erasmus Snyder (WN: 1822 - 1898) 46. Jacob L. Snyder (1789 - 1868) 47. Elisha Spafford (b. Ca. 1829) 48. Ezra Thurber (1792 - 1876) 49. Oliver Thurber (WN: 1830 - 1916) 50. David Tilton (b. Ca. 1814) 51. William Wales (1822 - 1897) 52. Delos Wallrod (b. ca. 1824) 53. Gaius Ward (b. 1857) 54. Horace Webster (b. ca. 1820) 55. Nehemiah White (WN: b. ca. 1824) 56. Judson Winans (b. ca. 1839) 57. Henry E. Wright (WN: 1827 - 1864) 58. John Wright (WN: 1809 - 1887) 59. Milton Wright (WN: 1812 - 1873) 60. Warren Wright (WN: b. ca. 1838) 61. William E. Wright (WN: 1841 - 1925) APPENDIX 3 THE HOLMES MEMORANDA [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] NOTES Introduction 1. The World of James Holmes 2. The Holmes Diary for 1869 3. The Major Jobs of 1869 4. Carpentry in Otsego County in the Nineteenth Century 5. The Carpenters of Westford Conclusion: Skill and Responsibility INDEX A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Sometime late in 1868, New York farmer and carpenter James C. Holmes bought a new pocket diary for 1869. Now, over a hundred years later, this rare document of craft activity becomes the center for an intensive study of rural carpentry in Holmes'place and time that unlocks an entire realm of significances. Holmes'day-by-day record places his actual craft, not just its visible artifacts, in the context of nineteenth-century culture, society, and economics. Wayne Franklin's impeccable, wide-ranging research reconstructs Holmes'networks at a time when the coming industrialization of the building trades had yet to have much effect outside American cities. His meticulous identification of more than one hundred individuals referred to in the diary and his group biography of over sixty carpenters who practiced in the area until 1900 create portraits of real lives, demonstrating the complexities of the social landscape after the Civil War. A Rural Carpenter's World makes carpentry a prism through which James Holmes and his work and his world shine. This graceful, living record has immediate and lasting value for social historians, students of vernacular architecture and the built environment, and all those interested in westward migration and rural America.