Inventory of a Carpet Factory in 1842
Amsterdam, on the Mohawk River, Montgomery County, in central New York, began as a textile factory town with impetus from two families. By 1840, William K. Greene, of Poughkeepsie, had set up a carpet factory with his son, William K. Greene, Jr. In 1842, the Greenes formed a partnership with John Sanford. William K. Greene and Son conveyed the factory building and all contents to the partnership of Sanford & Greene.
Both William K. Greene Sr. (1790-1864) and John Sanford (1803-1857) came to NY from Connecticut. Greene was born in Leicester, MA, but married in Woodstock, Windham County, where his first few children were born. Since ingrain carpet weaving was being done in Connecticut by 1823, this may be where he picked up some knowledge of textile operations. Sanford was born in Roxbury, Litchfield County, and is reported in a biographical sketch to have come to Amsterdam in the 1830s as a teacher.
While a recorded partnership agreement has not been found, deeds recorded in Montgomery County in August and October, 1843 reflect sale of the Greene property on Market Street, on the West side of Chuctanunda Creek, to Sanford as well as joint purchase of two adjacent properties and water rights of what had been a plane factory. These were adjacent to the existing dam and pond on Chuctanunda Creek, which had already furnished power to grist mills, oil mills, an iron forge, sawmills and a fulling mill.
In 1845 the factory in Amsterdam was reported producing 600 yards of carpeting per day, selling at 75 or 80 cents per yard, “and arrangements are making for the manufacture of three ply and Brussels qualities” [New York Herald, May 7, 1845, page 1, and other papers around this date]. The partnership is also reflected in the inventory that follows, but it may have been short-lived. By a deed of April, 1847, the Greenes sold to John Sanford a lot known as part of the “forge lot” together with building, equipment and stores, reserving to themselves the water wheel on the premises which they intended to remove. In late 1847 William K. Greene, Jr. was designated agent and superintendent of a new carpet mill in Schenectady, which was to have a dye house and separate building for the 40-horse steam engine that was to power the looms [The Cabinet (Schenectady, NY), November 2, 18347, page 2].
Shortly before midnight, December 20, 1849, a fire started in the Sanford carpet works’ yarn-drying area, destroying the wood building, 50 looms, two sets of cards and other machinery, although some carpet, wool and dye stuffs were spared [Albany Evening Journal (Albany, NY), Saturday, December 22, 1849, page 2]. John Sanford’s son, Stephen, rebuilt upstream on the same creek, and this factory and its merged corporate organizations operated for many decades there.
The following inventory is in a ledger, identified on the flyleaf as Sanford & Greenes Invoice Book. It reflects the equipment and materials used by producers of ingrain carpet as well as “fancy” coverlets, although the types of yarns used in coverlets would vary and not all coverlet producers were dyers as well.
Sanford & Greenes Invoice Book
Invoice of Machinery, Building, Stock &c Bo’t. of Wm. K. Green & Son
by Sanford & Greene’s Aug’t. 14, 1843
1 Factory Building at 350.00 350.00
10 Carpet Looms camptute @ 125.00 1250.00
1 Warping Mill & Creele 10.00
5 Set. Wheels & Swifts @ 4.00 20.00
8-3/4 doz Shuttles $5.00 43.75
10 pr Temples @ 4/ 5.00
1238 Bobbins 8/ pr 100 12.38
232 Spools @ $6. pr 100 13.92
1 Cloth Prep Screen & Bar 40.00
1 Shearing Machine 115.00
1 Rolling Machine 5.00
1 Burling Table 2.00
1 Beaming Apperatus 2.00
2 Raddles @ 10/ 2.50
1 Set Plates & Puncher 20.00
1 Card Lacing Machine &c 2.00
2 Sets Old Vine Pattern & Design 1250 cards @ $15. 30.00
4 “ New do. “ 418 $5 20.00
4 “ Boquet “ 480 $7 28.00
3 “ Calico “ 380 $3 9.00
1 “ Flour Pot “ 680 111 10.00
2 “ Star “ 480 4.00 8.00
1 “ C. M. P. “ 241 3.00
1 do “ ” 3.00
1 “ D. &c. Fora “ 480 8.00
1 Dye Kettle Copper Large 110.00
1 do do Small & Tub &c 100.00
1 Soap Vat 5.00
1 Indigo Grinder 3.00
1 Trunk for Keeping Design’s 2.00
2 Set Scroll Pattern & Design 630 Cards each @ $8 16.00
59 # Smyrna Yarn in Greese @ 22 12.90
62 “ do do “ 13.64
40 “ do do “ 8.80
51 “ Codover do 24 12.24
317½ “ do 1 Bale 4/ “ 76.70
153½ “ do “ 36.84
29 “ Lot’s custom (?) Yarn 60 17.40
140 “ do Smyrna “ 30 42.00
28 “ do in Greese 22 6.16
72 “ Codover Col’d 32 23.04
73 “ do in Greese 24 17.52
75 “ Chelmsford B in “ 18 13.50
75 “ do do Col’d. 26 19.50
5 “ Worsted in Greese 45 2.25
64 “ Chelmsford B. Col’d 26 16.64
90 “ do do “ 23.40
66 “ do do “ 17.16
46 “ do do “ 11.96
14 “ N. E. B 4/8 do 29 4.06
72 “ Smyrna do 30 21.60
79 “ Whinfield do 29 22.90
7 “ Custom do 60 4.20
25 “ Chelmsford B “ 26 6.50
25 “ do in Greese 18 4.50
50 “ do do 18 9.00
50 “ do Col’d 26 13.00
50 “ Worsted in Greese 45 22.50
50 “ do Col’d 55½ 27.75
27 “ N. E. B. filling 29 7.83
28 “ do in Greese 22 6.16
1 Black Haun 4.00
3½ # Worsted in Greese 45 1.58
40 “ filling on Bobbins N E B 29 11.60
2 lots in Loom not commenced (?) @ 19 38.00
1 “ do on Warping Mill 19.00
5 “ in Looms commenced (?) Equal to 3 pr @19 57.00
101 # Worsted on Spools 55½ 56.05
62 “ do Col’d 55½ 34.41
89 “ do do “ 49.40
18 “ N. E filling do 29 5.22
60 “ Chelmsford B do 26 15.60
70 “ do do do “ 18.20
68 “ do do do “ 17.68
80 “ Smyrna do 30 24.00
19 “ Codover do 32 6.08
34 “ Chelmsford B. do 26 8.84
76¾ “ Custom do 40 46.05
5½ Cords Wood @ 14/ 9.63
2 Stoves & Pipes 10.00
2 Willow Baskets 2.50
1 Screw Wrench 2.00
2 pr Plyers@ 3/ .75
1 Hammer 3/ .38
2 Bbls 2/- Hyper 182, 177 359 3¾ 13.96
1 “ ” Fustick 115 1¾ 2.27
3 C. 2/ Logwood 346 @ 2 7.67
1 St. do 114 1½ 1.96
2 Bark 323 1¾ 6.16
1 Allum 290 3¼ 9.67
1 Hyper 82 3¾ 3.32
1 Fustick 57 1¾ 1.24
1 Bark 28 2/ 2 .81
1 Keg Lack Dye 2/ 29 4.31
1 “ Blue Vitrol 33. 10 3.55
1 Bbl Whiting 33 1½ .75
½ “ 2/ Red Tarter 100 lbs 13 13.25
1 Bbl 2/ Logwood 36# 2 .97
1 Bbl Brimstone 96 “ 2 1.92
5 # C. Tarter 22 1.10
1 Carboy 12/ M. Anice 100 # 4 5.50
1 “ Oil Vitrol 96 12/ 3½ 4.86
1 “ Aquafortis 58 1/ 8.75
24 # B. Tin Grain’d 2/ 6.00
60 “ M. Anice 4 2.40
7 Stone Pots 5/ 4.38
1 Coffee Mill 8/ 1.00
6 # Cochineal 113 6.78
5 “ do “ 5.60
5 “ G. Indigo 14/ 8.75
1 Hydromiter 4/ .50
1 Bbl Soap 16 2.00
1 Carboy 12/ 1.50
200 # Soap Greese 4 8.00
1 Wheele Barrow 5.00
1¼ Cord Wood 14/ 2.19
32 Dying Palls 8 2.56
3 Pails .38
1 Rinse Box 1.50
1 Box Stove 5.00
1 pr Small Steel Yards 1.00
1 pr Balances 5.00
1 Saw & 1 Axe 1.50
1 Gross Large Pastboard for Carder 16.00
23 # fustick 1¾ .40
19 “ Logwood 2 .38
46 “ Copperas & Keg 2 .80
18 “ Hyper 3¾ .67
6 “ Red Tarter 13 .78
9½ Blue Vitrol 10 .95
13 oz Knot Cord @ 11/# .81
½ # Knot Cord @ 9/ .56
1 Remnant Brussells Carpet 2.25
1 do Ingrain do 1.13
12 Sheets Design paper 1/ 1.50
1 New Design Not Cut 5.00
2¾ Cords Wood @ 14/ 4.81
57 # Worsted Col’d 55½ 31.64
1 of Wimples Patent Scales 20.00
1 Tin Oil Can 35 Gall 3.50
Wm. Partridge Bill Dye Stuf Aug 10. 1843 as on file 35.90
Policy of Insurance 3-1/6 **Leves to sum $1000
Sum p’d Original $16.50 Transf’d 10.45
===========================
$3509.02
Deduct the Am’t. Contributed
by Wm. K. Green & Wm. K. Green Jr.
as Capitall Stock 3000.00
due Wm. K. Green & son $509.02
Rec’d Note at 90 days in full of the above
balance Dec. 30th 1843
Wm. K. Greene & Son
