My interest in history extends beyond the major milestones of early America we are all exposed to in school. Sure, the American Revolution, War of 1812 and the Civil War were ardent struggles for our country but, the everyday aspects of life in the early times are just as, or even more intriguing to me and we do not get to experience that in a general education environment. So, I go digging into the old records for clues and stories.
My seventh great grandfather Adam Hitch (spelled Heatch in some of the very early records) was born in 1658. His roots were undoubtedly English but there is a large uncertainty whether he came directly from England to Somerset Co., Maryland or, if he descended as a grandson of John Hitch of London who purchased shares in the Virginia Co. of London and ended up coming to the New World at James City Co., Virginia by 1624. This writer favors the latter but the early Virginia records which would have proved or denied that hypothesis for the areas where John Hitch would have raised children and grandchildren were largely destroyed with the burning of Richmond in 1865. I curse General Grant for that under my breath every time I sit down to do family research!
What we do know is that Adam Hitch is the patriarch of a good 70% of the Hitches who now live in the U.S.[1] He first appears in the records of old Somerset County when he purchases land from William Jones, Jr. on March 13, 1688 (new style) amounting to 300 acres of the tract "Beaver Dams” (“New Holland” in other records). There is no evidence he ever lived on that tract which is just to the east of modern Salisbury, MD. We do know that he eventually settles on his dwelling plantation in the Rockawalkin area of modern Wicomico Co., MD just to the west of Salisbury. He was a man of some means as he purchased the 1450 acre tract called “High Suffolk” there in August 1700 and then had an adjacent tract surveyed for him for 550 acres called “Come By Chance” in May of 1707. For perspective, 2000 acres of land is equivalent to more than 3 square miles – quite a spread! Hitch probably had four (4) wives of which at least two bore children, he owned a grist and saw mill, held at least eight (8) slaves and, was a prominent community man in the area at the time, attending to many matters of church and state.
I will spend more time on the everyday life of Adam Hitch in later blogs but, for this one, I wanted to focus a short blog post on one particularly interesting item I found in the old Somerset Judicial records. While rummaging around in those old records one day in the late 1990s, I ran across what amounts to be a bar tab for Adam Hitch at Alexander Wilson’s Inn for the years 1705 to 1708 - over 300 years ago! It seems Mr. Wilson got tired of waiting for Adam to pay up so he brought the issue up in the Somerset County court in 1709 when he sued for 1,053 lbs of tobacco of a 1,610 lb account which Hitch had purportedly already paid 557 lbs.
It is unknown where Mr. Wilson’s ordinary was located but it could have been near Hitch’s dwelling in Rockawalkin or, more probably, south on the Pocomoke River where it meets the mouth of Dividing Creek near the old Somerset County courthouse located there from the 1690s to 1742. Hitch attended to many matters at the court, serving on the grand and petit juries many times and being summoned for cases involving his own and his neighbor’s land and businesses. There were inns and taverns nearby for the travelers doing court business and this is likely where Hitch overslept and took dinner and a drink. It is on my “to do” list to research more to see if I can better locate where Alexander Wilson ran his inn and tavern.
The suit Wilson brings against Hitch and the details of the Hitch bar tab are transcribed at the end of this post for the reader to enjoy. From the record, we get a glimpse into what it must have been like to drop into the local ordinary in Maryland circa 1707 for a cool refreshment and some jovial conversation with friends and business associates. It definitely shows that Adam Hitch and his associates liked to imbibe in some spirits and, they seemed to have had a particular liking for rum and hard cider (“syder” in the records) which was frequent fare. Other refreshments included sweet “syder”, wine, beer, “flip”, “sampson” and “punch”. In researching some of the slang terms from the early 18th century, I have been able to ascertain what some of these items from his bar record were:
pottel (pottle) – vessel for liquid equal to a half gallon
gill - 1/4 pint (4 oz.); however other definitions indicate a gill equals 8 oz.
joyn - ??? - might be related to demijohn which is a large bottle with a bulging body and narrow neck.
flip - mixture of beer and spirit sweetened with sugar and heated with a hot iron.
punch - beverage composed of wine or spirits mixed with hot water or milk and flavored with sugar, lemons and some spice or cordial
sampson - ???
diet - Oxford English Dictionary citation from year 1566: to feed, to take one's meal; citation from year 1635: to board.
We see Hitch quaffing with friends including Thomas Poll. (this is no doubt Thomas Pollitt), Richard Plunkett, William Noble, William Hayman, William Goddard, John Louis, John Davis, John Gillie (Gillis), and Daniel Jones. Once, Adam Hitch even sent “his man Bryan” to pick him up a gill of rum. “His man” probably refers to a servant, slave or tenant of Adam Hitch. The actual record is interesting in its own right and I leave it as follows for the reader to take a time machine back to 1707 Maryland and have a drink for Happy Hour on me! [from the Somerset Judicial Records, 1709-Jun 1711, folios 267 & 268]
Alex’r Wilson, plaintiff
vs
Adam Heatch, defendant
- Somerset - Adam Heatch of Somerset County Planter was attached to answer unto Alex'r Wilson of said county Inn Holder of a plea of trespass upon the case. And where upon the said Alex’r Wilson per Samll Worthington his attorney complaineth that the said Adam in the month of Aug 1708 and before at Pocomoke within the jurisdiction of this court became indebted unto the said Alex'r in the sum of sixteen hundred and ten pounds of tobacco it for sundry ordinary expences and accomodations as per account here unto annexed may here in court appear and the said Adam being indebted being indebted in manner aforesaid for and in consideration aforesaid at the time and place aforesaid did upon himself assume and faithfuly promise that the aforesaid 1610 pounds of tobacco unto the said Alex'r he would well and truly content and pay when there unto required although the said Adam the sum of five hundred fifty seven pounds of tobacco in part of the said debt hath paid yet the residue of the said debt being one thousand fifty three pounds of tobacco the said Adam (though often there unto requested) the said Alex’r hath not paid but the same to do hath denyed and still doth deny to the loss and damage of the said Alex’r of two thousand pounds of tobacco and there upon he brings this suit.
- Worthington
Mr. Adam Hitch debt
Jun the 16th 1705 Lbs.
To one gill rum at 0 0 5
To 1 half pint ditto 0 1 0
To a joyn for punch 0 0 8 2
To 1 quart of punch 0 1 7 2
To 1 quart of ditto 0 1 7 2
Aug the 15th
To 1 quart of beer 0 0 3
To 1 gill rum 0 0 5
To 1 quart of flip 0 1 7 2
To 1 pottel of syder 0 1 0
To 1 quart of sampson 0 1 7 2
Nov 13th
To 1 gill of rum 0 0 5
To 2 gal of syder 0 4 0
To 2 gills of rum 0 1 0
To 1 pottel of syder sweet 0 1 2 2
Jan the 8th
To 2 pint of rum 0 1 0
To 2 gills of ditto 0 1 0
To 2 pint of ditto 0 1 0
To credit to Thomas Poll
1 qt. syder 0 3 5
To ditto Richard Plunkett
1 pottel syder 0 1 0
To Wm. Godards note excepted per
you for 0 6 9
To credit to Wm. Hayman
6 pottels of syder 0 6 0
Mar 14th
To your man Bryan per your order
one gill of rum 0 0 5
Jun the 11 1706
To 1 gill of rum 0 0 5
Sep 14th
To 1 pottel of flip 0 3 5
To 1 gill of rum 0 0 5
To 1 quart syder 0 0 5
To 1 gill of rum 0 0 5
To 1 gill ditto 0 0 5
To 1 gill ditto 0 0 5
To 1 pottel syder, 1 pt wine 0 0 5
To 1 pint of wine 0 1 5
To 1 pottle syder 0 1 0
To credit Wm. Davis 3 gal
and 1/2 sweet syder 0 8 7 2
To John Davis meat accepted per you for 1 0 0
To credit to Wm. Davis more
to 3 pottels syder 0 3 0
To ditto to ditto 1 gal ditto 0 2 0
To ditto to ditto 5 pottels of ditto 0 5 0
To ditto to ditto 3pottels of ditto
sweet 0 3 7 2
Dec 3rd
To ditto to ditto 1 pottel of ditto
sweet 0 1 2 2
To 1 qt. of syder 0 0 5
To 1 quart of syder 0 0 5
To 1 quart of ditto 0 0 5
To 1 gill rum, l pottel syder sweet 0 1 0
To 1 quart syder 0 0 5
To 1 quart ditto 0 0 5
Jul the 14th
To credit to John Louis 1 pottel
syder sweet 0 1 2 2
To 1 pottel ditto 0 1 2 2
sum 89 5 2
To your account brought forward 89 5 2
Mar 1707
To credit John Gillie 1 diet,
2 qts syder 0 2 6
To 1 quart syder sweet 0 0 6
To I pottel beer 0 1 0
Jun 11th
To credit to Richard Plunkett 0 6 5
To 1 quart of flip 0 1 7 2
To 1 diet 0 1 0
Sep 9th
To 4 qts. syder sweet 0 2 5
To 2 qts.ditto 0 1 2 2
To 3 qts. ditto 0 1 5
To 1 pottel ditto at 0 1 0
To 2 qts, ditto 2 diets 0 3 0
To 1 qt. flip, 3 gills rum 0 3 2 2
Jan 12th
To 1 gill rum 0 0 5
To 1 qt. flip, 1 gill rum 0 2 2 2
Mar 1708
To 2 gal. corn, 2 diets 0 2 6
To 2 qts. syder, 2 pt. rum 0 2 0
To 1 pottel beer 0 0 6
To 1 qt. punch, 2 gills rum, 1 diet 0 3 7 2
To 9 pts.. of wine, 2 diets
2 gills rum 1 6 5
To 3 pottels corn, 2 pottels wine 0 6 9
Jun 8th
To 1 bottel wine, 1 gill rum 0 3 5
Aug
To 7 quarts cyder 0 3 5
total sum 16 1 0
Per contra credit
Per tobacco paid Wm Noble Senr 4 0 0
Per tobacco paid ditto Noble more 1 2 0
Per Richard Plunkett 0 1 0
Per Daniel Jones 2 shill.
3 pence at 0 2 7
5 5 7
balance 10 5 3
errors excepted per me Alex’r Wilson
At which day being trial day the deft. and pltf. being called and the deft. Adam Heatch having filed no plea the pltfs, attorney humbly moves the court for judgment which being considered by the court here is granted according to the rates of this court and that the pltf. Alex’r Wilson recover of this deft. Adam Heatch the balance of the account according to the declaration to wit one thousand fifty three pounds of tobacco as also two hundred fifty one pounds of tobacco for his cost and charges laid out and expended --- and the deft. in mercy.
[1] The others descend from Christopher Hitch from 18th century MD and VA or one of the other 12 lines who immigrated here in the 19th century
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