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
-
Agents, Indian - Salaries in 1809Source: American state papers, vol. IV, class 2, "Indian Affairs," p. 756.
-
Building-trades wages - 1800 through 1836Wages of bricklayers, carpenters, masons, etc. Source: U.S. Dept of Labor Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 30 #1.
Bricklayers earned $2 per 1,000 bricks in Penn., 1815-1817 -
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.
-
Coal miner earnings - Pittsburgh, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America by Fearon (1818).
-
Congressional salaries, 1789-presentLists salaries along with dates of enactment for each pay increase.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Governors in New York and Vermont, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
-
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.
-
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.
-
Mechanic's wages, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
-
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.
-
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.
-
Planter income 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.
-
Schoolmaster earnings in Kentucky, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Fearon (1818).
-
Servant earnings in Cincinnati, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey...a by Fearon (1818).
-
Ship builders - Daily wages, 1818Wages for carpenters, blacksmiths, sawyers, plumbers, painters, caulkers, riggers, sail makers and other jobs needed for constructing a Navy ship in North Carolina. Source: American State Papers, Class VI, vol. I, p. 836.
-
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 are at the bottom of the page.
-
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, p. 456
- Salaries of Massachusetts judiciary officers, p. 456
- Annual salaries of Ohio government officials (1818), p. 100
- Annual salary of clergymen in Washington DC, p. 216
- Income of planters in Louisiana, p. 164
- Earnings of farm laborers in Maine, p. 471
- Wages in New York City (1816) and Petersburgh, VA, p. 333
- Prices of labor in New York, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, pp. 18, 45, 133
- Wages of carpenters, masons, and cabinet makers, p. 374
- Canada - Wages of female servants, farmer's servants, and laborers, pp. 308-9, 315
Wages by sex, 1810-1819
-
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
-
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
-
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..., vol. 2, p. 133.
-
Wages by occupation - Massachusetts, 1810sFrom 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
-
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)
-
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).
-
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.
-
Wages in New York City (1816) and Petersburgh, VASource: History of North America..., vol. 2, p. 333.
-
New York - Price of labor, 1816-1818Source: History of North America..., vol. 2, p. 18.
-
Labor wages for men and women - Ohio, 1817-1818The annual wages of a labouring man ranged from £58, 10 shillings to £65. The annual wage for women was £31, 10 shillings. Source: page 218 in Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
-
Philadelphia wages, 1817-1818Source: Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818), p. 60.
-
Artisans, laborers and agricultural worker wages - Philadelphia, 1785-1830Shows average wages, year by year, for workers in the city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania only. See table explanation for detail. Source: Historical statistics of the U.S., p. 163.
-
Salaries of the Pennsylvania Hospital staff, 1814Includes physicians, dresser, apothecary, steward, matron, superintendent, gardener, carter, laborer, watchman, baker, porter, nurses, cook, chambermaids, and laundresses. Source: Treatise containing a plan for ... marine hospitals in the U.S., p. 22.
-
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..., vol. 2, p. 45.
-
Wages - Petersburgh VA, 1816Source: History of North America..., vol. 2, p. 333.
-
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.
-
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. Source: Sketches of America; a narrative of a journey... by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
Foreign wages by country, 1810-1819
-
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.
-
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.
-
Wages by occupation - Manchester England, 1810-1819Wages for about 40 occupations listed alongside the price of basic provisions for each year of the 1810s. Source: Thomas Tooke's 1824 book Thoughts and details on the high and low prices, appendix page 21.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Canada - Wages in the 1810sCovers female servants, farmer's servants, and laborers, pp. 308-309, 315. Source: History of North America, pub. 1820.
Foreign wages by occupation (A-Z) then country, 1810-1819
Prices in the United States, 1810-1819
-
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.
Farm house in
New York state, 1810s
-
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 (see also a corroborating source)
- 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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
Massachusetts - Prices for foodSource: Mass. Bureau of Statistics of Labor, 16th annual report, 1885.
-
Ohio - Indian agency at Piqua - Food prices, 1812U.S. ration prices: 5¢ or 6¢ would buy 1.5 lb. beef or .75 lb. salted pork; 100 lbs. of rye or corn meal cost $3; 1 quart salt cost 12¢; a bushel of corn cost 50¢; bacon cost 10-12¢ per pound; whiskey was 75¢ per gallon. Source: Merchants' magazine and commercial review, v.18, p. 454.
-
Wheat and fowl prices - Albany NY, 1793-1846Reports annual price data for bushels of wheat and fowls, as well as wages paid for one day's service, p.25. Source: Documents of the NY Senate no. 92, 1846 v.3
"An Interior View of a Dining Room in 1815" by Martin Drölling. -
Bread and flour prices - NYC and Alexandria VA, 1819Article gives weights of the 6¢ and 12¢ loaves in both cities.
-
Food prices - Illinois, 1818Mentions prices for coffee, sugar, tea, salt, beef and pork, sugar, and wild turkeys. Source: Letters from Illinois by Morris Birkbeck (1818).
-
Food prices in selected 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. Source: Sketches of America... by Fearon (1818).
PRICES for HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, 1810s
-
Spinning wheel price, 1812According to this report, portable spinning frames for home use cost about $25 - $50. Source: Report on condition of women and child wage earners (1910), vol. 9.
-
Furniture prices - New York, 1817Shows prices for chests of drawers, tables, work tables, chairs, and sofas in 1817. Source: Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
-
Prices paid for articles in New Hampshire, 1811-1819Shows prices from merchant's account books in the Chester, NH area dating from 1811-1819; including rum, molasses, scythes, salt, tea, cotton, sugar, wood, calico, glass, nails, hats, shoes and more.
-
Massachusetts - Prices for household itemsSource: Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor 16th annual report (1885).
PRICES for CLOTHING and SEWING SUPPLIES, 1810s
-
Clothing and sewing supplies - Massachusetts, 1810sSource: Massachusetts BLS, 16th annual report, 1885.
Image source: fashion book, dated 1818- Clothing: Prices of hats, stockings, gloves, pantaloons, hose, coats, and shawls.
- Cloth: Prices for broadcloth, cassimere and more.
- Dress goods: Prices of calico, cambric, gingham, muslin, satin, silk, velvet and more.
- Dry goods: Prices for blankets, shirtings, ticking, and more.
- Boots, shoes and leather: Prices of buckles, leather, buttons, braid, fringe, shoes, boots, sandals, slippers, rubber overshoes, and more.
- Buttons and dress trimmings: Button prices reported by the dozen.
- Ribbons and laces
- Small wares: Yarn, needles, pins, embroidery silk, cotton, and linen thread.
-
Boot and shoe prices - Richmond VA, 1810Advertisement from the Oct 30, 1810 issue of The Enquirer of Richmond, Va. lists prices for made to order boots and shoes manufactured at the penitentiary.
-
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. Source: Sketches of America... by Fearon (1818).
-
Cotton shirting price, 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 if using a home-base spinning wheel. Source: Bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufactures, vol. 16 #2 (1886).
PRICES for LODGING and MEALS, 1810s
-
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.
-
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.
-
Lodging and board rates - U.S. and Canada, 1817Inn rates at New York, Boston, and Montreal, as well as tavern rates in New Jersey. Source: Journal of travels in the United States... by John Palmer (1818).
-
Prices paid for Atlantic crossing, internal travel, and hotels - 1817-18This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 include prices paid for hotels, including: Lawe’s Hotel in Middletown, KY; Louisville hotel charges for breakfast, dinner, supper, bed, fire in room, and per day. Source: Sketches of America... by Fearon (1818).
PRICES for LIVESTOCK, 1810s
-
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
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 HEALTH CARE, 1810s
-
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). Source: A Medical History of Sullivan Co., Indiana, by Maple (1936).
-
Medicine and remedy prices, 1819Prices of medicines shown in an advertisement. Source: Alexandria Virginia newspaper, April 21, 1819.
COST of ATTENDING COLLEGE, 1810s
-
Harvard College - Cost to attend in 1810sReport from the Steward compares the cost of attending between the 1810s and the 1830s. Further discussion here.
-
Union College (NY) - Cost to attend in 1815Union College was founded in 1795 and is located in Schenectady, NY.
Four years at HarvardCOST of EDUCATION (non-college), 1810s
-
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.
-
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. Source: Sketches of America by Fearon (1818).
MISCELLANEOUS PRICES, 1810s
-
Entertainment in New York and New Orleans, 1817Narrative of the author's travels in America included prices of selected shows. In NYC: 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." Source: Sketches of America... by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
Theater ticket: 75¢ in 1817, New York City -
Tobacco price - South Carolina, 1856Tobacco sold for $20 per keg.
-
Rates of postage, 1816Source: History of North America (1820).
-
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.
-
Price of a newspaper or newspaper subscriptionUse the "Chronicling America" website to find prices and subscription rates for individual newspaper titles in specific years. Set the year, 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.
-
Cincinnati - Newspaper subscription, 1817Source: Sketches of America by Henry Bradshaw Fearon (1818).
Transportation prices, 1810-1819
-
England to America - Fares and more, 1817-18Prices for passage from London to New York in the cabin and in steerage. Steerage passengers had to pack their own provisions for 50-70 days at sea. Source: Sketches of America... by Fearon (1818).
Ocean passage from Liverpool to New York was £14 in 1817 -
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 the price of 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). Source: History of North America... (1820).
-
Horses - Bought or hired, 1818Source: Letters from America pub. 1822, page 114.
- Price of a fine saddle horse: $200 - $300
- Hire of a saddle horse: $1 per day
- Hire of a 4-horse team with driver, without provisions: $4 per day
-
Travel costs in the United States and Canada, 1817This journal of the author's travels through North America details fares paid for passage from New York to Philadelphia by sail, stage, and steam boat, as well as stage coaches from Boston to Burlington, Vermont, St. John's to Laprairie, Canada. Source: Journal of travels in the United States... by John Palmer (1818).
-
Stagecoach fare in New England, 1817-18This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 include prices paid for stagecoach fare from Boston to Albany plus meals and bed en route, as well as between Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Source: Sketches of America... by Fearon (1818).
-
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 though the U.S.
-
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)
-
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 the prices of wagon hire from Connecticut to Cleveland, Philadelphia to Ohio, and Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, as well as the cost of tolls to use the Potomac Bridge in Washington, DC. Source: History of North America... (1820).
-
Travel costs in the United States and Canada, 1817This journal of the author's travels through North America details fares paid for several modes of transportation:
- Passage from New York to Philadelphia by sail, stage, and steam boat
- 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
-
Transportation and hotel rates - United States, 1817-18This collection of letters detailing the author's travels in America in 1817-18 include prices paid for 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 lodging 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. Source: Sketches of America... by Fearon (1818).
-
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)
-
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 the price for river passage from Pittsburgh; the cost of an ark to travel down the Ohio River; the price to be ferried across the Tennessee River in Mississippi. Source: History of North America... (1820).
-
Hobby horse, 1819The hobby horse looked like a bicycle but had no pedals. The rider would use a "skating" action with his feet to propel himself forward. These machines were newly patented in 1818 and difficult to obtain, but reportedly priced at around £8 to £10 (English money).
Man on a hobby horse
Reported value of items stolen or lost
Missourians' claims for cost reimbursement of lost items. Source: U. S. Congressional Serial Set #126.
- Itemized theft report with valuation from William Ewing and John Ewing, 1812
-
Value of clothing such as great coat, waist coats, pantaloons, shirts, calico dress, shoes, silk stockings, shawls, petticoats, silk gloves, handkerchiefs, mittens
Umbrella or parasol, value about $3.00 - ...Household items such as bedsteads, quilts, dishes, table spoons, sugar bowl, looking glass, pillows, pins and needles, linen fabric, "superfine" cloth
- ...Personal belongings such as silver watch, combs, razor
- ...Equestrian supplies such as saddles, stirrups, bridle
-
- Claim of Matthew M. McCormick, 1813
- Value of household furnishings such as bed, dishes, candlesticks
- ...Tools such as axe, 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, quilts
- ...Clothing including buffalo robe, cambric muslin dresses, cotton dresses, aprons, 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, teacups, pewter spoons, knives
- ...Food including sugar, coffee
- ...Hunting supplies including beaver traps, shot molds, shot
- Claim of Hezekiah O'Neile for replacement value of items lost in a robbery, 1812
Tools, kettle, bucket, bedding, etc.
- Property stolen from William Ewing, 1813
Values of tools and horses (by age and height), are found throughout the document.
Foreign prices by country, 1810-1819
PRICES in GREAT BRITAIN, 1810s
-
England and New York - Price comparisons, 1817-1819Source: "Expenses of House Keeping," chapter in A Year's Residence in America by Cobbett.
-
Grocery prices - England, 1814 and 1905Price per pound for tea, coffee, sugar, figs, raisins, rice, mustard, saltpeter, treacle, etc., in both English and US currency.
-
Provisions - Prices in England, 1810-1814Includes flour, oats, meat, cheese, etc. Source: British almanac (1834), p. 48.
-
Food prices - Manchester England, 1810-1819Retail prices for flour, potatoes, meats, butter, cheese, etc. Source: Thomas Tooke's 1824 book Thoughts and details on the high and low prices, appendix page 21.
-
Food, beer, candles etc. - Prices in London, 1740-1865Shows prices paid by Greenwich Hospital for meat, bread, flour, cheese, butter, beer, candles and coal in each decade from 1740-1860. Source: Wages and earnings of the working class published in London, 1867.
-
Bread prices - England, 1784-1819Shows average prices of bread in England from 1660-1899 on pp. 27-35. The intro explains that these prices are for the type of bread consumed by lower middle classes, not the "fancy bread." Source: Three Centuries of Prices of Wheat, Flour and Bread. Price sources are provided on pp. 21-22.
-
Grains, peas and bean prices - England and Wales, 1792-1819These appear to be wholesale prices per one hundred pounds. Source: Thomas Tooke's 1824 book Thoughts and details on the high and low prices, appendix pages 11-12.
-
Retail prices in Great BritainShows retail prices of bread throughout the UK as well as foods in London from the colonial period to the 1880s. Source: Report on wholesale and retail prices in the United Kingdom
-
Hackney coach fares - London, 1810Also includes rates of waterage. Source: Johnstone's London commercial guide.
-
Hackney coach and chariot fares - London, 1817Also shows rates for conveying parcels from inns. Source: New guide to stage coaches, waggons, carts, vessels, etc.... for 1817.
PRICES in CANADA, 1810s
-
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. See the Index for more. Source: History of North America; comprising a geographical and statistical view ... (1820).
PRICES in IRELAND, 1810s
-
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.
-
Potato price - Ireland, 1811Due to the crop failure, potatoes were being sold for the high price of 6 shillings per hundred pounds at Dublin in 1811. Source: Thomas Tooke's 1824 book, Thoughts and Details on the High and Low Prices of the Thirty Years, appendix page 18.
Prices in FRANCE, 1810s
-
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.
-
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.
-
Gold prices at Paris, 1818-1823Source: Thoughts and details on the high and low prices of the thirty years, by Thomas Tooke, pub. 1824, appendix pages 7-8.
PRICES in ITALY, 1810s
-
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.
Analysis and calculators, 1810s
-
Nineteenth century wage trendsBrief booklet reviews wage trends from 1800-1899. Source: U.S. BLS Staff Paper #2.
-
Wage calculator by day, week, month and year - British moneyTable shows annual, monthly, weekly and daily pay if only one of these variables is known.
-
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.
-
Wholesale price index, 1810-1920Source: "Long term trend of prices in the U.S.," Annalist Vol. 17 #442, July 4, 1921.
-
Purchasing power calculator, 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.
-
"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 Assn., Vol. 101 #2. Source
-
Price of gold and silver in various currencies, 1797-1838Shows the price of gold and silver in Spanish dollars and British pounds. Also shows Hamburg and Paris exchanges. Source: A History of Prices... by Thomas Tooke, p.386.
-
Gold - Market price in England, 1800-1821Source: Thoughts and details on the high and low prices of the thirty years by Thomas Tooke.
Ask a Question
Marie Concannon, Government Information Librarian
Government Documents Department, Ellis Library
University of Missouri, Columbia
Email: concannonm@missouri.edu
Phone (573) 882-0748
