{"id":793,"date":"2013-03-14T15:54:41","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T19:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richmondheritage.ca\/?p=793"},"modified":"2019-11-29T11:28:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-29T16:28:33","slug":"going-to-the-store-richmond-merchants-in-the-1820s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.richmondheritage.ca\/index.php\/going-to-the-store-richmond-merchants-in-the-1820s\/","title":{"rendered":"“Going to the Store” – Richmond Merchants in the 1820’s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Port<\/a>
Port of Montreal circa 1825
courtesy
Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 du Havre de Montr\u00e9al<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1819, when the Richmond settlers were completing their first year in the area, George Lyon <\/a>began buying goods from Montreal merchants to sell in his newly established store.\u00a0 An examination of the entries in his invoice book reveals the wide variety of merchandise that he was able to obtain from about fifty suppliers.\u00a0 However, Lyon wasn\u2019t the only merchant to provide goods to the Richmond settlers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Military<\/span><\/p>\n

When the British government decided to settle disbanded soldiers in the new \u201cRichmond Settlement\u201d which comprised the townships of Goulbourn, Huntley, March, and parts of Beckwith and Nepean, it also created an administrative headquarters in Richmond Village.\u00a0 Col. Burke, the Superintendent, was responsible for distributing the land and administering the settlement.\u00a0 This included overseeing the commissary that provided tools and food rations to the new settlers from 1818 until 1822.\u00a0 The government intended these soldier-settlers to be the nucleus of a militia that would protect the area in case of invasion.\u00a0 As such, it was relatively generous in the distribution of land and supplies to these militiamen (as compared to civilian settlers).<\/p>\n

To augment what they brought with them, each military family received free rations for one year along with a variety of other tools and supplies.\u00a0 This included: 1 axe, 1 broad-axe, 1 pick axe, 1 mattock (similar to a pick-axe), 1 spade, 1 shovel, 1 scythe, 1 drawing-knife, 1 hammer, 1 hand-saw, 2 scythe-stones, 2 files, 1 camp-kettle, 1 bed tick, 1 blanket, 12 panes of glass, 1 lb of putty, and 12 lbs of nails (in 3 sizes).<\/p>\n

The military also provided supplies for group use. Every five families were allotted a crosscut saw, a whipsaw, and a grindstone.\u00a0 Two complete sets of carpenter tools and two complete sets of blacksmith tools were provided for the Richmond Settlement.\u00a0 However, as the only urban centre within the settlement, Richmond Village probably received at least one set of each.<\/p>\n

But what would one do if one required something not on the list or which one needed?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Mill<\/a>
Mill on the Ottawa River
A view of the mill and tavern of Philemon Wright on the Ottawa River, Lower Canada, painting by H. Du Vernet, 1823 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada\/C-608).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Philemon Wright<\/span><\/p>\n

Although there was a small store at Richmond Landing (today\u2019s LeBreton Flats), many settlers looked across the Ottawa River to Philemon Wright of Hull for additional supplies.\u00a0 Wright was a well-established businessman who had been asked to provide fresh beef and flour as part of the military rations to the Richmond settlers.<\/p>\n

Evidence of these additional purchases can be found in Wright\u2019s \u201cSoldiers Waste Book & Others for Richmond Settlement, Oct. 1818 – Dec. 1819\u201d.\u00a0 While this account book contains only rough entries of transactions, they tell us about the goods that the people of the \u201cSettlement\u201d (and a few outside the settlement) were requesting.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of the 136 pages in Wright\u2019s account book document the purchase of some type of alcoholic beverage \u2013 mostly gin and whiskey.\u00a0 The other entries include tobacco, various items of clothing (mainly shirts and trousers), as well as cloth.\u00a0\u00a0 Wright provided footware: shoes, boots and \u201cmorgasins\u201d to at least 75 customers along with a few hats and gloves.\u00a0 He advanced cash at least 30 times and provided postage another 20.<\/p>\n

There are records of purchases on some interesting items which may have had their own stories to tell.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n