THE HIGH LIFE

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy." ~ Benjamin Franklin

the tavern keepers

Six of our great-grandfathers were tavern keepers: the infamous Daniel Clarke (9GGF), John Heywood (8GGF), Henry Palmer (10GGF), Edmund Littlefield (11GGF) William Clark (11GGF), and William Knight (9GGF) Our Grandpa Nathaniel Hill (8GGF) owned an inn where strong drink was sold. Also on the list is Edmund Greenleaf (H10A), husband of our aunt Anna Moore (10A)

John Heywood (8GGF) lived in Concord and, sometime after 1676 when he was made constable, the selectmen of the town requested that John Heywood might be allowed to “keep a house of entertainment for strangers for night’s lodging, beer and sider.” Two years later, “John Heywood, ordinary keeper at Concord renewed his license” and was allowed “to retaile strong waters to travelers & sick persons upon giving bond.”

Henry Palmer (10GGF) lived in Haverhill. In 1654 a law was passed prohibiting all persons except those specially licensed from selling "any Indian or Indians, either wine or strong liquors of any sort" under a penalty of 20s per pint. Henry Palmer was the only one licensed in Haverhill to sell liquor to the Indians.

Edmund Littlefield (11GGF) lived in Wells, Maine. He "was a retailer of intoxicating liquors, but duly licensed for that purpose by the proper authorities." His license shows the high respect in which he was held. He was "authorized to sell to the Indians to such an extent as he thought for their good."

William Clarke (11GGF) was an innkeeper and the proprietor of "The Ship's Tavern" in Salem, MA. When he died, his widow (not our grandmother) was licensed to keep the tavern business, provided she find a "fit man yt is godlie to manage the business."

William Knight (9GGF) lived in Lynn. In 1652 he was "licensed to retail strong drink."

Nathaniel Hill (8GGF) lived in Chelmsford. He was an innkeeper and was also authorized to sell "intoxicating liquors." His inn was the scene of fight that ended in the death of one of our cousins. That incident will be saved for a future post.

Edmund (H10A) and Anna Moore (10A) Greenleaf were two of the first settlers in the town of Newbury. In 1639 Edmund was "permitted to keep a house of entertainment."

Although the sale of alcohol was generally restricted to the tavern keepers, a modified law was passed in 1639: "In regard of the greate inconvenience that is found for want of fit places of intertainment of people upon occasion of great assemblies, & arrivall of ships wth passengers, it is declared, that upon such occasions, it is lawful for ANY person, in ANY towne where such great resort of people shall happen to bee, to give intertainement to such people & to affoard them lodging & dyot at reasonable rates, though they bee not allowed to kepe comon ordinaries &c."

It appears that many tavern owners enjoyed an even higher social status than the clergy during the colonial era. Perhaps this is why, in spite of occasional fines for bad behavior, Daniel Clarke was always allowed to renew his license and keep his tavern open.

morning, noon and night

Alcohol has played a major role in our nation's history and it’s possible that, in colonial times, Americans drank more alcohol that in any other era. In 1790, United States government figures showed that annual per-capita alcohol consumption for everyone over fifteen amounted to thirty-four gallons of beer and cider, five gallons of distilled spirits, and one gallon of wine. Compare that to recent studies on average alcohol consumption today. Americans drink, on average, 2.3 gallons of alcohol per year in the form of beer, wine and mixed beverages, according to a new analysis of federal health statistics.

Then as now, there seemed to be no end to the variety. The colonists liked their beer. They liked their hard cider with breakfast. Rum and wine were great with dinner. And to wind down in the evening there was always claret, ratafias, creams, punches, and any other concoction they might decide to put together.

As with any vice, approval from on high allowed the Puritans to imbibe whenever they wished. The belief that God created alcohol strengthened their notions that alcohol could cure the sick, provide energy necessary to work, keep them entertained, contribute to the enjoyment of food and calm them before bedtime. They sipped, slurped and guzzled from early morning until late at night.

"Who has any right to complain?"

Ample amounts of alcohol were consumed at christenings, wedding, funerals and trials. Craftsmen drank at work, hired hands in the fields. It was so much a part of their daily life, that one of Harvard University’s first construction projects was a brewery to provide a steady supply of beer for the students. The colony of Connecticut required that each town ensure there were places available for the purchase of beer. And the colonists also learned to make a wide variety of wine from fruits. Early on, French vine-growers came to the New World to teach settlers how to cultivate grapes.

Long before the days of White Russians, Long Island Ice Teas and Cosmopolitans, the colonists were enjoying mixtures with names such as Rattle-Skull, Stonewall, Bogus, Bombo, Mimbo, Syllabub and Whistle Belly. And, as pervasive as it must have been, the colonist had as many words for drunkenness. Benjamin Franklin found more than 200 terms including addled, afflicted, biggy, boozy, busky, buzzey, cherubimical, cracked, and (my personal favorite) "halfway to Concord.”

While Puritan leaders let their disapproval of drunkenness be known by fines or a stint in the pillory, taverns were still the center of civic life. Because of this, town taverns were often required to be located near a church or meeting house. Religious services and court sessions were often held in taverns. Life was so much better with drink that early Americans didn’t much care what anyone thought about their love of alcohol. As an early Georgian man wrote; “If I take a settler after my coffee, a cooler at nine, a bracer at ten, a whetter at eleven and two or three stiffners during the forenoon, who has any right to complain?"

Our "immoderate" drinking grandfather, Daniel Clarke, couldn't have said it better.