Prices and Wages by Decade: 1810-1819
Links to government documents and primary sources listing retail prices for products and services, as well as wages for common occupations.
Wages by occupation, 1810-1819
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Building-trades wages - 1800 through 1836Wages of bricklayers, carpenters, masons, etc. Source: U.S. Dept of Labor Monthly Labor Review
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Clergymen wages in D.C., 1816-1818Emigrant guide shows statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America..., pub. 1820.
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Coal laborer earnings in Pittsburgh, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
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Congressional salaries, 1789-presentLists salaries along with dates of enactment and statutory authority for each pay increase.
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Domestic servant wages for women in New England, 1815Female household servants averaged around 50 cents per week in 1815, according to this congressional report on the history of women in the U.S. labor force.
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Farm laborer monthly earnings, 1818-1948Lists average monthly earnings with board, by geographic divisions, p. 163. Read the explanation and historical context for this table.
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Farm laborer wages in Maine, 1816-1818Emigrant guide shows statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America..., pub. 1820.
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Government employees, federal - Salaries, 1816-1819The individual salaries for each individual in government service are listed in A Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military and Naval. See volumes for 1816, 1817 and 1819. Editions for later years are also available.
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Government wages in Ohio, 1816-1818Emigrant guide shows statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America..., pub. 1820.
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Governors in New York and Vermont, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
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Judiciary wages, 1816-1818Emigrant guide shows statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America..., pub. 1820.
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Judiciary wages in Massachusetts, 1816-1818Emigrant guide shows statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America..., pub. 1820.
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Mechanic's wages, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
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Navy ships - Monthly pay, 1812Lists monthly pay for each of these ship positions: Captain commandant, lieutenant, surgeon, purser, master, Navy storekeeper, boatswain, gunner, quartermaster, steward, clerk, seaman, ordinary seamen, and boys. On page 330 find the rates paid to men who repaired the ships, including carpenters, sawyers, joiners and laborers. Source: American State Papers section VI, "Naval Affairs" Vol. I, page 328.
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Navy pay charts (U.S.) - 1814-1893This is not a government website but it does a good job of organizing a complex topic. If you need original government documents showing pay, contact us.
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Planter wages in Louisiana, 1816-1818Emigrant guide shows statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America..., pub. 1820.
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Schoolmaster earnings in Kentucky, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
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Servant earnings in Cincinnati, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey...a by Fearon (1818).
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Wages by occupation in various cities, 1817-1818This collection of travel letters include discussions of wages in places the author visited: wages in Philadelphia; Pittsburgh coal laborers earnings and wages of many other occupations; wages of laboring men and women in Ohio; wages of servants and mechanics in Cincinnati; school masters annual earnings in Kentucky; mechanics wages in Louisville; mechanics wages in Baltimore; salaries of governors of New York and Vermont.
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Income and Earnings, 1816-18This guide for emigrants to North America is filled with statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations:
- Salaries of the Judiciary
- Salaries of Massachusetts judiciary officers
- Annual salaries of Ohio government officials (1818)
- Annual salary of clergymen in Washington DC
- Income of planters in Louisiana
- Earnings of farm laborers in Maine
- Wages in New York City (1816) and Petersburgh, VA
- Prices of labor in New York, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky
- Wages of carpenters, masons, and cabinet makers
- Canada - Wages of female servants, farmer's servants, and laborers
Wages by gender, 1810-1819
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Women's wages as domestic servants in New England, 1815Female household servants averaged around 50 cents per week in 1815, according to this congressional report on the history of women in the U.S. labor force.
Wages by state, 1810-1819
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College professor salary - Yale University, ca. 1817Yale professors were paid $1000 per year with lodging. Tutors received $333 annually with the board of commons. Source: Warden, p. 22
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Kentucky - Price of labor, 1816-1818From a guide for emigrants to North America filled with statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America...
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Wages by occupation for time periods - Massachusetts (1810s)From the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, 16th Annual Report.
- Agricultural laborers 1752-1860
- Blacksmiths 1781-1860
- Butchers 1771-1827
- Carpenters 1772-1860
- Clockmakers 1815-1860
- Clothing makers 1803-1860
- Harness makers 1815-1860
- Laborers 1752-1860
- Masons, 1774-1860
- Metal workers 1815-1860
- Millwrights 1799-1858
- Nail makers 1781- 1855
- Painters 1801-1860
- Paper mill operatives 1815-1857
- Printers 1815-1860
- Ship/boat builders, 1789-1845
- Shoemakers 1754-1858
- Tanner/curriers, 1815-1860
- Wooden goods makers (coopers) 1809-1860
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Painter's bill - Boston, 1814Shows the bill for a variety of painting jobs including hanging rolls of paper and whiting ceilings. Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review (January 1930)
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Clergy salaries in New Hampshire, 1812 & 1816This publication tells a Presbyterian reverend's salary in Chester for the years 1812 and 1816. Also gives a minister's salary in Candia for 1816 to 1818. Source: History of old Chester [N.H.] from 1719 to 1869 by Benjamin Chase (1869).
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Wage for one day's labor in Albany (New York), 1793-1846Chart lists the wage paid for one day of labor in Albany, New York for each year from 1793-1846. Compares to the price of wheat and fowls.
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Wages in New York City (1816) and Petersburgh, VAFrom a guide for emigrants to North America filled with statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America...
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New York - Price of labor, 1816-1818From a guide for emigrants to North America filled with statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America...
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Ohio labor wages by gender, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey of five thousand miles through the eastern and western states of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
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Philadelphia wages, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey of five thousand miles through the eastern and western states of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
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Artisans, laborers and agricultural workers - Average daily wage, 1785-1830 - PhiladelphiaShows average wages, year by year, for workers in the city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania only. See table explanation for detail. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, p. 163.
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Salaries of the Pennsylvania Hospital staff, 1814Includes physicians, dresser, apothecary, steward, matron, superintendent, gardener, cell keepers, carter, laborer, watchman, baker, porter, nurses, cook, chambermaids, and laundresses.
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Pennsylvania - Price of labor, 1816-1818From a guide for emigrants to North America filled with statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America...
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Wages in New York City (1816) and Petersburgh, VAFrom a guide for emigrants to North America filled with statistical information, including income and earnings for a number of occupations in various locations. Source: History of North America...
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Farm labor in Vermont - Daily wages, 1780-1820sTable 26 shows daily wages for laborers, with board. The complete chart shows wage data for every year from 1780-1937; the explanation begins on page 43. Source: Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station.
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Wages by occupation in various cities, 1817-1818This collection of travel letters include discussions of wages in places the author visited: wages in Philadelphia; Pittsburgh coal laborers earnings and wages of many other occupations; wages of laboring men and women in Ohio; wages of servants and mechanics in Cincinnati; school masters annual earnings in Kentucky; mechanics wages in Louisville; mechanics wages in Baltimore; salaries of governors of New York and Vermont.
Foreign wages by country, 1810-1819
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Wages by trade and city in the UK, 1800-1836Shows wages of carpenters, bricklayers, masons, plumbers, tailors, shoemakers, hand loom weavers, spinners, wool combers, stocking makers, seamen, labourers, compositors and printers. Source: Progress of the nation by George Porter, 1851.
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United Kingdom - Wages, 1810-1886Extensive, 437-page government report indicates detailed wages by occupation in many locations throughout the UK. Wages are reported in British currency.
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Scotland - Wages for selected occupations, 1810sShows wages expressed in American dollars for blacksmiths, building laborers, cabinet makers, calenderers, carpenters, boot and shoe closers, coopers, machinists, masons, painters, plasterers, plumbers, roofers and slaters, sawyers, tailors, textile warpers, weavers. Source: "Graded weekly wages," Massachusetts BLS annual report, vols. 26-28.
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Wages in France by sex, 1789 and 1811Compares wages in France before the revolution (1789) to that under Napoleon's leadership in 1811. Shows daily wages paid to male and female French day laborers. Also shows wages paid to cartwrights, farriers, masons, locksmiths, carpenters, tilers, thatchers, shepherds, farm-yard boys, etc. Amounts are expressed in British pounds sterling using an exchange rate of 25 francs to the pound, p.337.
Worldwide wages by occupation (A-Z) and country, 1810-1819
Economic analysis and calculators, 1810s
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Nineteenth century wage trends30-page booklet reviews overall wage trends from 1800-1899. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Staff Paper #2.
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Online calculator: Present-day purchasing power of historic monetary amountsThe MeasuringWorth.com website provides online calculators, guides and tutorials to help researchers understand historic monetary purchases and payments in present-day terms, for the United States, Australia, Spain and the United Kingdom.
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Currency converter, 1270–2017This calculator can be used to determine the historical purchasing power of currency in the United Kingdom from 1270 to 2017. Purchasing power is represented in its equivalence in horses, wheat, the yearly wages of a skilled tradesperson, and others.
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"How much is that in real money? A historical price index..."Provides explanations and charts to help users calculate the current value of historic dollar amounts. Source: Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Association, Vol. 101 #2. Source
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Price of gold and silver in various currencies, 1797-1838Shows the Spanish dollar price and the British pound price for one ounce of gold or silver for each year from 1797-1838. Also shows the cost for gold and silver on Hamburg and Paris exchanges. Source: A History of Prices... by Thomas Tooke, p.386.
Prices in the United States, 1810-1819
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Log home cost in New York, 1810sUsing hired laborers, a two-room log house might cost $100 to build; a smaller house (20 feet square) might cost $50. Source: Talbot's History of North America, vol. 2, p. 18.
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Price of land by state, 1810sThis guide for emigrants to North America discusses the cost of land in different states and territories:
- Massachusetts - Average value of land per acre in 1814
- New York - Price of rent in New York City (1815-16), and land in New York state
- Pennsylvania - Price of land
- Ohio - Price of land
- Indiana - Price of land
- Kentucky - Price of land and rent
- Louisiana - Price of land
- Alabama Territory - Price of land
- Michigan Territory - Cost of public land
- U.S. government - Cost of public land
Farm house in
New York state, 1810s
BUILDING MATERIAL PRICES
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Building materials - Price of wood and shingles in New York, 1817Tells price of oak and mahogany as well as shingles. Source: Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818), p.23.
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Massachusetts - Prices for hardware and building materialsSource: Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living, from the 16th annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor.
- Tools and implements: hoes, shovels, spades, files, etc., p.150.
- Lumber - Prices for boards, plank, shingles, timber, etc. by the foot. Reports some prices by type of wood: ash, white oak, spruce, pine, p.129.
- Tacks, brads and nails priced by the pound, p.147.
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Richmond, VA - Prices of nails and brads, 1810This advertisement from the October 30, 1810 issue of The Enquirer of Richmond, Va. lists retail prices (cents per pound) of nails and brads manufactured at the penitentiary and available at the penitentiary store on Shockoe Hill.
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Detroit - Prices of tools, building materials and more, 1817Shows prices paid to a Detroit merchant by the federal government for tools used to build and repair fortifications, as well as window glass, padlocks, hinges, paint, etc. (source).
PRICES for FOOD, 1810s
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Price of wheat and fowls in Albany, New York - 1793-1846Table reports annual data for price of wheat and fowls as well as wages paid for one day's service for every year from 1793-1846, p.25.
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Massachusetts - Prices for foodThe extensive price figures below were collected by the state of Massachusetts, and reported in Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living (from the Sixteenth annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, for 1885) by Carroll D. Wright. Most tables below report price data up through the 1860s.
- Dairy products
Price per pound of butter back to 1760s; eggs and cheese back to 1750s; quarts of milk back to 1770s, p.86. - Food preparations
Prices for individual biscuits back to 1770s, sugar, salt and tea back to 1750s. Bread, lemons, chocolate, coffee, crackers, raisins, lard, macaroni, molasses, and more. Tea is extensively subdivided by type and priced by the pound, p.110. - Flour and Meal
Flour, buckwheat flour, graham flour, "Indian Meal," rye meal, oatmeal, wheat bran and more priced by the pound or bushel, p.105. - Agricultural products (Fruits, vegetables, grains)
Reported for almost every year as far back as the 1750s, p.64. - Meats and Nuts
Prices by the pound for bacon, beef, ham, lamb, mutton, pork, etc. in some cases dating to the 1750s. The table for nuts includes prices by the pound for almonds, filberts and walnuts. - Poultry and game
Price per pound of goose, turkey, and poultry back to 1758, p.38. - Fish
Prices for halibut, herring, haddock, salmon, codfish, eels, etc. by the pound, p.103. - Liquors and Beverages
Prices by the quart or gallon for beer to 1812, brandy to 1782, cider to 1755, wine to 1783, gin to 1784, rum to 1761, and more. Prices indicate source in some instances, for example, Gin from Holland or Rum from the West Indies, p.126. - Spices and condiments
Prices by the pound or ounce for wide variety of spices. The earliest spice prices date to 1780s. Price of vinegar dates to 1760s, p.143.
- Dairy products
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Grocery prices in Illinois - 1818Tells prices for coffee, sugar, tea, salt, beef and pork, sugar, and wild turkeys. Source: Letters from Illinois by Morris Birkbeck (1818). Not a government document.
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Groceries in a number of cities - 1817This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 gives prices for groceries and provisions in New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh (and price of porter); Cincinnati (including liquor); New Orleans (cabbages and turkeys); Washington DC (beef, pork, potatoes, bread, milk, tea, coffee, beer, sugar); and of fire wood in Ohio.
PRICES for HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, 1810s
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Price of a spinning wheel for family use, 1812According to this federal report, "portable spinning frames...made expressly for family use were quite extensively sold about the country for prices ranging from about $25 to about $50. Source: Report on Condition of Women and Child Wage Earners in the United States (1910), vol. 9.
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New York - Furniture and chairs in 1817Tells retail prices of chests of drawers, tables, work tables, chairs, and sofas in 1817. Source: Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
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Prices paid for articles in New Hampshire, 1811-1819This source contains entries from merchant's accounts in the Chester, NH area dating from 1811 to 1819; articles shown include rum, molasses, a scythe, salt, tea, cotton, sugar, wood, calico, glass, nails, hats ("napt" and wool), shoes (calf skin, cow hide, morocco), and more.
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Massachusetts - Prices for household itemsThe extensive price figures below were collected by the state of Massachusetts, and reported in Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living (from the Sixteenth annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, for 1885) / by Carroll D. Wright. Most tables below report price data up through the 1860s.
- Furniture
Bedsteads, bed cords, bureaus, tables and chairs are listed, with some prices dating to the 1790s. - Carpetings
Prices date to 1794. - Cutlery
Prices for table knives and forks back to 1780s, and pocket knives back to 1801. - Paper
Letter paper, priced by the sheet, dating to 1780s. - Tallow, candles, soap, etc.
Soap prices date to 1770s. - Oils for Illumination
Oils to light lamps and lanterns, dating back to the 1780s - Fuel
Charcoal, oak wood, pine wood, coal, etc. - Miscellaneous, not elsewhere classified
Price for brooms, brass kettles, brick, matches, tubs, tumblers, clocks, candlesticks, silver watches, feathers (by the pound), wine glasses and more. Prices for some items date to 1750s. - Tobacco and snuff
Prices for cigars by the dozen, and tobacco and snuff by the pound or (sometimes) ounce. Tobacco prices date to 1760s.
- Furniture
PRICES for CLOTHING and SEWING SUPPLIES, 1810s
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Price of a yard of cotton shirting, mid-1810sAccording to an early American textile manufacturer, a yard of cotton shirting would cost 50 cents per yard in the mid-1810s, and would require four days of work to produce by women using home-based spinning wheels. Source: Bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufactures, vol. 16 #2 (1886).
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Massachusetts - Prices for clothing and sewing suppliesThe extensive price figures below were collected by the state of Massachusetts, and reported in Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living (from the Sixteenth annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, for 1885) by Carroll D. Wright. Most tables below report price data up through the 1860s.
- Clothing
Hats, handerchiefs and stockings back to the 1760s; gloves, breeches, pantaloons, hose and coats back to 1780s; shawls and vests back to the 1790s; mittens and waistcoats back to the 1810s. - Cloth
Prices for some types of cloth back to 1770s - Dress goods
Prices for alpaca wool and calico by the yard, as well as batiste, cambric, cashmere, crape, gingham, gauze, lawn, muslin, linsey woolsey, plaid, poplin, satin, silk, velvet and many other fabric types, some back to the 1770s but most back to the early 1780s. More fabrics are listed under the Dry Goods heading. - Dry goods
Prices for blankets back to the 1780s, cotton flannel, damask and denim, diaper cloth, shirtings, ticking, and more, some dating to the 1750s. - Boots, shoes and leather
Prices reported by the individual pair or by component such as buckles, leather, buttons, braid, fringe, etc. Detailed prices for style and type of shoe, boot, sandal, slipper, rubber overshoe, etc. Earliest price dates to 1750s. - Buttons and dress trimmings
Button prices reported by the dozen. Fringe and tape by the yard. Earliest price dates to 1780s. - Ribbons and laces
Prices date to 1783. - Small wares
Yarn, needles, pins, embroidery silk, cotton and linen thread. Some prices date to 1770s.
- Clothing
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Richmond, VA - Price for boots and shoes, 1810This advertisement from the October 30, 1810 issue of The Enquirer of Richmond, Va. lists prices (some quoted in dollars, others in shillings and pence) for made to order boots and shoes manufactured at the penitentiary.
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Clothing and articles of apparel, 1817-18This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 mentions prices for articles of clothing in various locations: hats, Wellington boots and shoes, coat and trousers in New York; wearing apparel in Philadelphia; clothing articles in Cincinnati; hats and shoes in Louisville; worsted gloves in Washington DC.
PRICES for LODGING and MEALS, 1810s
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Tavern and lodging rates, Sussex County NJ - 1810The court set the rates for lodging, food and drink at taverns. This source quotes the price for brandy, gin, rum and whisky, and the price per quart for cider. Also shows costs for meals and for hay for the horses, p.120.
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Rent, room & board in various cities and states, 1817-18This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 discuss rents and prices for room and board in various locations: annual rent on a boarding house on State Street in New York City and weekly cost for guests there; rents (continues to page 42) and board in New York City; at a boarding house in Boson; board and rent in Albany, NY (along with prices of meats and fowl, rum and gin); rents in Pittsburgh; rent and houses in Cincinnati; rents in Kentucky; board and lodging in Baltimore; spirits at a bar in Louisville.
PRICES for ANIMALS, 1810s
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Price of animals in Ohio and PennsylvaniaThis guide for emigrants to North America discusses the cost of land in different states and territories. See the Index for more. (source)
- Pennsylvania - Prices of horses, cows, oxen, mules, wagons, carts
- Ohio - Prices of horses, cows, sheep
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Animal prices by location - 1817These letters detailing the author's travels in America discuss prices in various places (source)
- New York - prices of horses, cows, pigs, sheep, farm carts, wagons on Long Island;
- Pennsylvania - prices of horses and livestock
- Pittsburgh - Horses; cows, sheep, and pigs;
- Ohio - price of horses and cows
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Illinois - Price of animals and more, 1817This publication tells prices of horses, cows, and sows, wagons, and bricks. Source: Letters from Illinois by Morris Birkbeck (1818). Not a government document.
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Detroit, Michigan - Prices of animals and more, 1817Details of a contract with a Detroit merchant show the price the federal government paid for pairs of oxen ($120), horses ($100 each), tools for building and more. Source.
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Cattle in New Hampshire, 1816Tells the price (in dollars) of a pair of cattle in 1816 in Chester, NH. Source: History of old Chester [N.H.] from 1719 to 1869 by Benjamin Chase (1869).
PRICES for TRAVEL and TRANSPORTATION, 1810s
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Travel costs in the United State and Canada, 1817This journal of the author's travels through North America details fares paid for several modes of transportation, as well as for board:
Ocean passage from Liverpool to New York was £14 in 1817- Passage from New York to Philadelphia by sail, stage, and steam boat
- Stage coach - Boston to Burlington, Vermont, St. John's to Laprairie, Canada
- Steam boat - New York to New Haven, New Haven to New London, Burlington, VT to St John's, Lower Canada, Quebec to Montreal (3 classes), Albany to New York
- Sail - Montreal to Quebec by sloop, St. John's to Burlington by schooner
- Small craft - Ferry to cross the Ohio River, batteaux to cross the St. Lawrence River
- Board - In New York, Boston, and Montreal; tavern rates in New Jersey
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Prices paid for Atlantic crossing, internal travel, and at hotels - 1817-18This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 include prices paid for various modes of transport including: passage money from London to New York in the cabin and in steerage; steamboat fare from New York City to Albany and to New London, CT; steamboat fare from Newark to Fishkill; stagecoach fare from Boston to Albany plus meals and bed en route; steamboat fare from Natchez to New Orleans; stagecoach fare between Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Rates at hotels are also included: Lawe’s Hotel in Middletown, KY; Louisville hotel charges for breakfast, dinner, supper, bed, fire in room, and per day.
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Stage fare in Ohio, 1818This source gives stage fare as 10 cents per mile and an additional dollar and a quarter for meals and lodging. Source: Remarks made during a tour through the United States of America, in the years 1817, 1818, and 1819.
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Stage and steam boat fare, 1819This traveller's companion included tables showing daily stage and steam boat fare from Petersburg, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts and from Petersburg to St. Mary's. Source: The merchant's and traveller's companion (1819)
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Cost to emigrate - Prices of travel and transportationThis guide for emigrants includes logistical details for traveling to and through North America in the late 1810s, including prices:
- Atlantic crossing - voyage to Baltimore or Philadelphia; passage from Liverpool via the Packet Line and aboard other vessels (with an inventory of recommended stores, including a water filtering machine)
- River passage from Pittsburgh
- Wagon hire from Connecticut to Cleveland, Philadelphia to Ohio, and Philadelphia to Pittsburgh
- Cost of an ark to travel down the Ohio River
- Price to be ferried across the Tennessee River in Mississippi
- Tolls to use the Potomac Bridge in Washington, DC
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Horses - Bought or hired, 1818Taken from Letters from America, published 1822, page 114. Not a government document.
- Price of a fine saddle horse: $200 - $300
- Hire of a 4-horse team with driver, without provisions: $4 per day
- Hire of a saddle horse: $1 per day
PRICES for HEALTH CARE, 1810s
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Doctors fees in Indiana, 1816-1820This list of charges were found in a Sullivan county doctor's day book dating from 1816-1820; it includes services (visits, parturition, setting fractures, consultations, bleeding, emetic, blisters, tooth extraction, scarifying an eye, vaccination) and medicines (castor oil, calomel and jalap, ipecac, Peruvian Bark, magnesium citrate, Carolina pink, elixir of health, Godfrey's cordial, Bateman's drops, laudenum, cream of tartar, itch ointment).
COST of ATTENDING COLLEGE, 1810s
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Harvard College- Cost to attend in 1810sReport from the Steward compares the cost of attending between the 1810s and the 1830s. Further discussion here.
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Union College (NY) - Cost to attend in 1815Union College was founded in 1795 and is located in Schenectady, NY.
COST of EDUCATION (non-college), 1810s
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Board and tuition at an academy near Richmond, VA in 1810Advertisement for Rumford Academy in the December 6, 1810 issue of The Enquirer of Richmond, Va. gives prices (in pounds) for board and tuition.
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Education in various cities - 1817This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 mentions education costs in a number of cities: charges at seminaries in New York; private schools in Boston; terms for education in Cincinnati; education in Kentucky.
MISCELLANEOUS PRICES, 1810s
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Entertainment in New York and New Orleans, 1817This narrative of the author's travels in America in 1817-18 included prices of entertainments he enjoyed. In New York City: admission to the Academy of Fine Arts, the theatre, and for a public assembly with orators; in New Orleans, admittance to an exhibition of "Furious Animals."
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Postage rates for letters mailed in the U.S., 1792-1863Chart from the Historian of the United States Postal Service shows price to mail a domestic letter. Not included are postage rates for ship and steamboat letters and "drop letters" (for local delivery), which were assigned different rates.
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Rates of postage, 1816Source: History of North America (1820). Not a government document.
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Price of a newspaper or newspaper subscriptionWe recommend using the Library of Congress' "Chronicling America" website to find prices and subscription rates for individual newspaper titles in specific years. Click into the site and set the year boxes to your date range. Click "GO" and then check the "Show only front pages" box. If the price is not in the masthead, search for publisher's information somewhere in the body of the paper - often in the left column of the front page. Annual subscription rates are likely to be described there.
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Cincinnati - Newspaper subscription, 1817Source: Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
Reported value of items stolen or lost - Missouri
When average retail prices are not available, alternative sources can suggest the approximate prices of consumer goods. Item valuation from theft reports found in the U. S. Congressional Serial Set are one such option.
The following were taken from U. S. Congressional Serial Set volume 126, "Memorial of the State of Missouri and Documents in relation to Indian Depredations upon Citizens of that State."
- Itemized theft report with valuation from William Ewing and John Ewing, 1812
- Value of clothing such as great coat, waist coats, pantaloons, shirts, cambric dress, calico dress, shoes, socks, muslin shirts, silk stockings, shawls, petticoats, silk gloves, handkerchiefs, mittens;
- ...Household items such as bedsteads, quilts, dishes, table spoons, sugar bowl, looking glass, table cloth, pillows and cases, pins and sewing needles, yards of linen fabric, yards of "superfine" cloth;
- ...Personal belongings such as silver watch, combs, razor;
- ...Equestrian supplies such as side saddle, stirrups, bridle, man's saddle
- Claim of Matthew M. McCormick, 1813
- Value of household furnishings, bedsteads, brass candlesticks, cooking and serving dishes
- ...Tools such as axe, chisel, augur, hoe, hand saw, knives, loom, spinning wheel, churn, etc.
- ...Livestock including hogs and cattle
- ...Harvested crops including bushels of corn, wheat and flaxseed
- Account of Isaac Best, 1814
- Value of household furnishings including feather beds, straw beds, blankets, sheets, quilts, tablecloth,
- ...Clothing including buffalo robe, cambric muslin dresses, cotton home made dresses, calico dresses, aprons, petticoats, linen shirts, waistcoats, pantaloons, hunting shirt, cotton stockings, fur hats, suspenders,
- ...Personal belongings including handkerchiefs, razor,
- ...Sewing supplies including pins and needles, thimble, linen fabric
- ...Kitchen supplies including coffee pot, sugar scoops, teacups and saucers, pewter spoons, knives
- ...Food including sugar, coffee
- ...Hunting supplies including beaver traps, shot molds, shot
- Claim of Hezekiah O'Neile for robbery, 1812
Tools, kettle, bucket, bedding, etc. - Property stolen from William Ewing, 1813
Tools and horses, itemized by age and height, are found throughout the document.
Foreign prices by country, 1810-1819
PRICES in GREAT BRITAIN, 1810s
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England and New York - Price comparisons, 1817-1819The chapter "Expenses of House Keeping" in William Corbett's book A Year's Residence in America gives Corbett's impressions that many things cost less in America.
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England - Prices of Groceries in 1814 and 1905Gives the price per pound of selected commodities in 1814 and 1905. Short list includes tea, coffee, sugar, figs, raisins, rice, mustard, saltpeter, treacle, etc.. Prices are given in both English and American currency.
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Price of provisions in England, 1810-1814Source: British almanac (1834), p. 48.
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England (London) - Prices paid for foods, beer, candles and coal, 1740-1865Chart shows the prices paid by Greenwich Hospital for meat, bread, flour, cheese, butter, beer, candles and coal in each decade from 1740-1860, and 1865. Also shows average weekly wages for building trade occupations in shillings and pence. Source: Wages and Earnings of the Working Class published in London, 1867.
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Bread prices in England, 1784-1819Shows average prices of bread in England for each year from 1660-1899 on pages 27-35. Source: Three Centuries of Prices of Wheat, Flour and Bread (not a government document). The introduction to this table explains that these prices are for the type of bread consumed by lower middle classes, not the "fancy bread." Price sources are provided on page 21-22.
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Retail prices in Great BritainShows retail prices of bread throughout the UK as well as other foodstuffs in London from the colonial period up to the 1880s. Source: Report on wholesale and retail prices in the United Kingdom
PRICES in CANADA, 1810s
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Canada - Prices of food and landThis guide for emigrants to North America discusses costs emigrants would pay in Canada in the late 1810s, including prices of food in Quebec, land and tea, chocolate, sugar, and cheese. It also describes the terms of settlement (including fees for land) and value of land.
PRICES in IRELAND, 1810s
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Ireland (Dublin) - Price of foods at markets, 1816Guide tells the price to purchase various kinds of meats per pound, fish, potatoes, porter by the quart (a beverage combining ale, beer and two-penny) on pages 62-65. This is taken from a travelers' guide published in Dublin in 1816.
Prices in FRANCE, 1810s
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Prices in France, 1789 and 1811Compares prices in France before the revolution (1789) to prices under Napoleon (1811). Shows prices for coats, hats, shoes, and various sorts of farm implements such as ploughs and hoes. Also shows prices for farm animals such as chickens, sheep, plough horses and fat pigs. The same chart shows wages for common occupations. Amounts are expressed in British pounds sterling using an exchange rate of 25 francs to the pound, p.337.
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Tourist prices in France, ca. 1819Guide intended for British travelers shows fare from London to Paris, cost of hiring horses and carriages, cab fare inside Paris, selected hotel charges, restaurant prices and more. Source: A new picture of Paris, or, The stranger's guide to the French metropolis, pub. 1820.
PRICES in ITALY, 1810s
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Italy - Food prices in Milan, 1801-1908Lists prices of wheat, bread, wine, beef, pork, butter and rice. Source: Bulletin of the U.S. Bureau of Labor, Vol. 20 #87, pp. 599-607.
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