Not All Black and White: Puritan Clothing

-


Puritan Clothing

Currier and Ives; Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division


We are approaching a monumental 400th anniversary: the landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims in November, 1620.  They were followed by the Puritan settlements beginning in 1621 and through the Great Migration years, all nearing the 400 year anniversary.

Maybe it is due to our childhood education that the month of November brings up visions of the first Thanksgiving.  The Mayflower Pilgrims are some of the most iconic figures in American history. One glimpse of their black clothes and buckled hats and you automatically know who they are.


But those images are not completely accurate.  The Pilgrims and Puritans are often represented as wearing black or grey clothing but in reality they seldom wore black, preferring to wear what they called “sadd” colors.  These included green, rust, orange, purple, brown and other colors.  In the 17th century black was the color of formal garments and not considered appropriate for the simple life style preferred by Puritans.

Clothes were made from linen, wool and leather and colored using dyes made from roots, berries and leaves.  “The ‘sadd’ colors mentioned in the records of the time were so called because of a dye process that dulled or ‘saddened’ the intensity of the color.”

 The inventory of William Bradford’s possessions, in his last will and testament in 1657, states that he owned many colorful items of clothing:
  • A suit with silver buttons & a coat valued at £4
  • A cloak faced with taffety [taffeta] and lined with bays valued at £3
  • A “sod” or “sad” colored cloth suit valued at £2
  • A Turkey grogram suit and cloak valued at £2
  • A pair of black breeches and a red waistcoat valued at 15 shillings
  • A lead-colored cloth suit with silver buttons valued at £2
  • A “sod” or “sad” colored short coat and an old serge suit valued at £1 and 10 shillings
  • A light-colored coat valued at 16 shillings
  • An old green gown valued at £1
  • A light-colored cloak valued at £1 and 15 shillings
  • An old violet cloak valued at £1 and 5 shillings
  • Two hats, a black one and a colored one, valued at £1 and 10 shillings 
The Puritans used clothing as a sign of social status—black was appropriate for the leaders of the colony, including the clergy, who often added lace and other indicators of privilege.  People of lower social classes were forbidden from wearing clothing inappropriate for their station.


Governor Edward Winslow, circa 1651


How did we get the iconic images of stern black wardrobes?  The paintings and portraits of the period usually show a dignitary in black clothing, but portraits were expensive; we’re only seeing the upper echelon of society.  Later paintings often show people in various colored clothing.

So, for your Thanksgiving displays and pageants and your 400th anniversary celebrations, break out the “sadd” colors.  You’ll be right in style with your Pilgrim and Puritan ancestors.

https://historyofmassachusetts.org/what-did-pilgrims-wear/

The Dyers of London, Boston and Newport, Christy K. Robinson, 2013
British Colonial America: People and Perspectives, edited by John A. Grigg, 2008, ABC-CLIO, Inc.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

MaryLynn Strickland



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's the Question?

-
Image
We genealogists are often told by experienced researchers how important it is to begin with a research question. I resisted doing this for a long time, but now that I use a series of questions to guide my research, the search is more focused and actually finds more of the history of the family I'm investigating. I use a Google Doc as the  research proceeds, where I keep the question(s), the plan, timelines, checklist of resources to search, etc. all in one place. I've seen others use spreadsheets in the same way, perhaps splitting up things in tabs (Excel or Google Sheets). I prefer a document because I add source citations as I find them and I can begin writing up the case right there in the doc as the hypotheses are proven. Specific Questions in Previous Successes As beginners we often have no clue how much and what details we already know about a person, event or relationship, so it's hard to specify what we want to know. But when looking back at successful research, it
Read more

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack? GAME CHANGER at FamilySearch

-
Image
Generated with Bing ImageCreator (AI), March 13, 2024 Where is YOUR Needle, Your Missing Record? Genealogical Proof Standard When we use the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as our guide, we all know that "exhaustive research" can be both tedious and exhausting. Is life long enough to search page by page through all the counties where all the members of a family might have lived, paid taxes, bought, leased or sold property, made a will or died intestate? It is possible that the new Full Text Search at FamilySearch will  eventually  allow us to do just that. It has been estimated that 75% or more of the records at FamilySearch were browsable but not searchable; the only indexes those found in the records themselves. Those records are certainly attainable by using those indexes and browsing to the record of interest, but the process is tedious, often frustrating, and slow. And once found, the record must be read and transcribed to be useful. This new Full Text Search tackles a
Read more

Shedding Your Genealogy "Stuff"

-
Image
AI: Bing Image Creator Generated Changing realities force many of us to consider the future of our genealogical collections. Whether a change in health, a new location or even just downsizing, it can be useful to evaluate what we have now, with an eye to the future. What we can pass along? Plan Ahead First: if you have online trees, create a plan to grant access to interested fellow researchers, even distant cousins. Depending on the website, you may need to add a codicil to your will, or just tell the site whom your successor will be.  Ancestry.com: there are two considerations: your DNA test and your tree(s). It is wise to share your DNA results with a cousin or other relative; no need to wait. Or you can  Assign a Manager .  For overall accounts and trees, there is  Ancestry® Family Plan Memberships .  FamilySearch help file:  How to Connect to a Family Member’s Tree .  B ecause it is a shared tree, a person cannot pass along their FamilySearch account. Ensure that your interested
Read more