Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe Part 28

The Germans, however, were as active as formerly, and Mr. Bolzius, in a letter to Von Munch, dated May 6, 1747, says, that "the people last winter planted more mulberry trees than for thirteen years before,"

for which he promised them a bounty of one shilling for every tree which yielded one hundred pounds of leaves. The silk b.a.l.l.s raised at this place this year, were over four hundred pounds, three hundred and sixty-six pounds of which sold for 36_l_. 12_s_. 10-1/2_d_. The amount raised in the whole colony, was eight hundred and forty-seven pounds of coc.o.o.ns, and sixty-two pounds of spun silk. In 1748, the Saltzburgers reared four hundred and sixty-four pounds, but their small trees were destroyed, and some of the larger ones injured, by the late frost. They this year succeeded admirably in spinning twenty-four pounds of raw silk, the want of a chimney and proper basins, which had impeded them before, in their rude building, having been remedied. The President, writing to Secretary Martyn, December 11, 1746, says, "The fundamental cause of its stagnation, is the unaccountable backwardness of some of our dames and damsels to employ themselves in attending to the worms during the time of feeding, which I have frequently taken notice of, and it cannot be imputed to the want of leaves."

During the same period only thirty-four pounds of spun silk were raised by the Trustees' agent in Savannah. Mr. Bolzius, under date of February 15th, 1749, thus writes: "the weather being now warm and pleasant, the mulberry trees have put forth their young leaves, and our people are now turning their minds towards making of silk," and then, after expressing his surprise, that so few were disposed to this culture, adds, "one reason for this reluctance, is ascribed to the circ.u.mstance that, by ordinary labor, about two shillings might be obtained per day, whereas scarcely a shilling could be earned in the same time, by the silk concern." Seven hundred and sixty-two pounds of coc.o.o.ns were raised, and fifty pounds thirteen ounces spun silk, and there were two machines erected in Mr. Bolzius's yard which drew off twenty-four ounces per day. On the 29th September, 1749, the Trustees promised 2_l_. to every woman, who shall make herself mistress of the art of winding, in one year. And they also gave Rev. Mr. Bolzius permission to erect ten sheds, with clay furnaces, at an expense of not more than 2_l_. each, and ten machines for reeling, at thirty shillings each, which he says could be made better than those at Savannah for 3_l_.; they also sent them ten basins, and the good Germans felt the impulse of this substantial encouragement. In 1750, though the people in other parts of the colony mostly relinquished the silk culture, the inhabitants of Ebenezer continued vigorously employed and interested in it. On the 2d of June they received ten kettles from the Trustees, one of which, and a reeling machine, were given to each mistress in the art of spinning, and two of the best artisans received 5_l_. for giving instruction to fourteen young women, to each of whom was bestowed 1_l_. for attention and industry.

Over a thousand pounds of coc.o.o.ns were raised at Ebenezer, and seventy-four pounds two ounces raw silk made, producing (the price being then thirty shillings) over 110_l_. sterling. As ill.u.s.trative of the luxuriant growth of the mulberry, it may be interesting to state, that two trees in front of the Parsonage, ten years old, measured three feet eight inches in circ.u.mference. In December of this year, eight more copper basins were received, and public confidence in the success of the undertaking seemed revived, notwithstanding Mr. Camuse and family had left the Province, and settled at Purysburgh, in South Carolina.

On the 25th December, 1750, Mr. Pickering Robinson, who, together with Mr. James Habersham, had been appointed the preceding August a commissioner to promote more effectually the culture of silk, arrived in Savannah.

Mr. Robinson had been sent to France, at the expense of the Trustees, to study the management of filatures and the necessary processes for preparing the article for market, and thus, though no operative, was qualified to take the directorship of so important a branch of industry. His salary was 100_l_. per annum; 25_l_. for a clerk, and a tract of land was also granted him, which, in 1763, sold for 1300_l_.

Mr. Robinson brought with him a large quant.i.ty of silkworm seed, but all failed, save about half an ounce; the commissioners determined at once to erect a filature, which should be a normal school to the whole province, and it was their opinion that it would be "a sufficient nursery to supply, in three or four years, as many reelers as will be wanted, when we make no doubt of many private filatures being erected, which can only make their culture a general staple." The dimensions were thirty-six feet by twenty, rough boarded, with a loft or upper story, for the spreading out of the green coc.o.o.ns. It was commenced on the 4th of March, 1751. On the 1st of April, the basins were put up, and on the 8th of May the reeling began. To encourage the colonists, the Trustees proposed to purchase all the b.a.l.l.s, and wind them at their own expense, and paid from 1_s_. 6_d_. to 2_s_. 4_d_. per pound for green coc.o.o.ns. The Commissioners separated the coc.o.o.ns into three sorts: 1st, perfect cones; 2d, the spongy and fuzzy; and 3d, the spotted, stained, and dupions. This arrangement, however, gave great offence to some of the residents in Savannah and Purysburgh, and Messrs. Robinson and Habersham requested the Vice President and a.s.sistants to determine the respective prices and publicly announce the same, which they did on the 26th April, by a proclamation, wherein by way of bounty, they promised to pay for coc.o.o.ns delivered at their store in Savannah, the following sums, namely, for coc.o.o.ns made by one worm, hard, weighty and good substance, 2_s_. per pound; for the weaker quality, pointed, spotted, or bruised, 1_s_. 3_d_.; for dupions (those made by two worms), 6_d_.; for raw silk, from 1st quality coc.o.o.ns 14_s_. per pound; for that made from 2d quality, 12_s_.; the product of the double cones, 6_s_. per pound; and they also offered, if delivered at the filature, for best coc.o.o.ns, 3_s_. 6_d_.; for middling 1_s_. 8_d_.; and for inferior 1_s_. 1_d_., a series of prices truly astonishing, when we reflect that the real merchantable worth of a pound of coc.o.o.ns is scarcely ever 6_d_.

Experiments were made at the filature to ascertain the relative quant.i.ty of each of these qualities, in a given weight of coc.o.o.ns, and the results were, that in fifty pounds of green coc.o.o.ns, there were twenty-seven pounds of the first sort, ten pounds four ounces of the second, and twelve pounds twelve ounces of the third. After curing or baking, these fifty pounds weighed only forty-six pounds five ounces, showing a loss in ponderosity of nearly eight per cent. Beside the arrangement above specified, the coc.o.o.ns were still further divided for the purpose of reeling into white and yellow, and these again, subdivided into five each, namely, 1st, hard and weighty; 2d, little woolly and weaker; 3d, very woolly and soft; 4th, spotted and much bruised; 5th, double worms.

Mr. Camuse, son, and daughter, who, it appears, gave the commissioners no little trouble by their perverse conduct, returned to Savannah and were engaged to labor at the filature, at three shillings per day, at which Mr. Habersham exclaims, "monstrous wages!" The reelers now advanced with much proficiency, and five of them, on the 10th of May, wound off eleven pounds of coc.o.o.ns each. The proportion of raw silk to the coc.o.o.ns, appeared, on a variety of trials, to be nearly in this ratio:--

oz.

10th May, 1751, 55 lbs. coc.o.o.ns, 1st quality, produced 117-7/8.

11th " " 8 " " " " 6-9 per thread 18-1/2.

13th " " 11 " " " " produced 21-1/2.

15th " " 55 " " 2d " " 109.

18th " " 20 " " " " " 24.

22d " " 15 " " 1st " " 20-3/4.

" " " 10 " " 2d " " 13-1/2.

The whole amount of coc.o.o.ns raised in the province, was six thousand three hundred and one pounds, of which two thousand pounds came from Ebenezer, and four thousand pounds were made at Whitefield's Orphan-house. Two hundred and sixty-nine pounds and one ounce of raw silk, and one hundred and sixty-one pounds of filogee, were prepared, notwithstanding over three hundred and eighty pounds were lost by vermin, fire and mould. The expense of the culture was large this year, owing to the erection of the filature, &c., which swelled the sum to 609_l_. 9_s_. 8-1/2_d_. sterling. The private journals of that day kept at Savannah and Ebenezer, acquaint us, in some measure, with the arduous nature of the commissioners' labors, and the difficulties they encountered from the want of funds, the intractableness of laborers, the novelty of the attempt, the imperfections of machinery, and the bitter opposition of those who should have sustained and encouraged them. The public duties of Mr. Habersham prevented his constant attention to this business; but the whole time of Mr.

Robinson was devoted to the filature, directing the sorters, aiding the novices, advising the reelers, and in every way exerting himself to obtain success. His engagement with the Trustees expired on the 30th of August, 1751, but finding that his intended departure depressed the friends of the culture, he was solicited by the local government to remain another year, and, generously sacrificing private to public interests, he complied with their request. Mr. Habersham thus speaks of Mr. Robinson. "I think him the most prudent as well as the most capable person I ever knew, to undertake such a work, and if he could be continued here, I doubt not but that he would turn out a number of well instructed reelers, who would be able to conduct filatures at Ebenezer, Augusta, and other parts of the province." So great was the confidence which the Trustees had in him, that he was appointed an a.s.sistant in the government at Savannah; an honor which he declined, and in the same letter stated, "If due encouragement be not given to the culture of raw silk, for the term of at least fourteen years, I positively cannot think of settling in America."

These gentlemen recommended the building of a house, sixty feet by twenty-six, as a coc.o.o.nry, great loss having been experienced for the want of such a structure.

In 1752, Mr. Robinson returned to England, and his place was partially supplied by Joseph Ottolenghe, a native of Piedmont, and a proficient in his art, who came to Georgia on the 18th of July, 1751, and took charge of the filature in April, 1753. In a letter to Lee Martyn, dated September 11, 1753, Mr. Ottolenghe says, that "there were fewer coc.o.o.ns raised this year, as the worms mostly hatched before the trees leaved," and that "the people were willing to continue the business."

One hundred and ninety-seven pounds of raw silk were made this year, and three hundred and seventy-six pounds in 1754, besides twenty-four pounds of filosele. The people of Augusta became interested in this manufacture, and entered with considerable spirit into the undertaking, promising to send hands to Savannah, yearly, to learn the art of reeling: their enthusiasm, however, soon evaporated.

On the 29th of March, 1755, a certificate, signed by thirty-nine eminent silk-throwsters and weavers, was given to the "Commissioners for Trade and Plantations," stating that after examining three hundred pounds of raw silk, imported from Georgia, "we do sincerely declare that the nature and texture is truly good, the color beautiful, the thread as even and as clear as the best Piedmont (called wire silk) of the size, and much clearer and even than the usual Italian silks;" and furthermore, "it could be worked with less waste than China silk, and has all the properties of good silk well adapted to the weaver's art in most branches."

In 1755, five thousand four hundred and eighty-eight pounds of coc.o.o.ns were raised, and four hundred and thirty-eight pounds of raw silk spun. The good effects of the filature were now happily evident in the increased interest of the planters in the subject, who sent both their daughters and young negroes to acquire the art of reeling. In 1756, three thousand seven hundred and eighty-three pounds and one ounce of coc.o.o.ns were received at the filature, and two hundred and sixty-eight pounds of raw silk reeled.

The liberal policy of the commissioners, who had no private ends to answer, caused them to recommend the establishment of additional filatures, and in their letter to the Trustees, June 12th, 1751, they advise the erection of one at Ebenezer, and another contiguous to Savannah, but Mr. Ottolenghe opposed this course and arrogated to the one in Savannah the entire monopoly of the culture. Jealousy appears to have been very conspicuous in Mr. Ottolenghe's character, and his opposition to the Saltzburgers and depreciation of their efforts, arose from this suspicious trait. He aimed to render himself solely necessary, and aspersed everything which seemed to militate with his fancied superiority. This appears not only from letters of Governors Reynold and Ellis, but from his own correspondence, where this caution and fear of rivalry is plainly discernible. His course gave offence to the Ebenezer people, who had already erected a filature in their village; who had been at great sacrifice to send their wives and daughters to learn the art of reeling in Savannah, and who had hoped to carry on the manufacture under their own supervision and for their own benefit. Mr. Ottolenghe, however, overruled their views and required all coc.o.o.ns to be delivered at Savannah and to be reeled there. Each basin at the filature had two apprentices, besides others who were employed in sorting the b.a.l.l.s, &c., and the various operations connected with the trade, employed nearly forty persons.

In 1757, over five thousand pounds of coc.o.o.ns were received at Savannah, and three hundred and sixty pounds of raw silk spun, which, says Governor Ellis, would have been more, if the eggs had not failed; and in a letter, dated 11th of March, 1757, he says "the raising of silk seems to be no longer a matter of curiosity, it employs many poor people, and is approaching towards a staple."

Seven thousand and forty pounds of coc.o.o.ns were deposited in the filature in 1758, but while the friends of this business were rejoicing in the a.s.sured success of their experiment they were saddened by the destruction of the filature, which took fire on the 4th of July, and was totally consumed. The wound silk, which had not yet been shipped, amounting to three hundred and fifty pounds, was saved, but several thousand weight of silk b.a.l.l.s, together with much of the reeling apparatus, were destroyed. Another and more capacious building was immediately erected and was ready for use the ensuing season.

In 1759, ten thousand one hundred and thirty-six pounds of coc.o.o.ns were raised in Georgia, four thousand pounds of which were from Ebenezer, and the proceeds of their culture alone, for the season, reached 700_l_. sterling. The opinion of those engaged in the culture, as expressed to Dr. Jared Elliot, was, "that it was more profitable than any other ordinary business."

The coc.o.o.ns delivered at the filature in 1760, weighed seven thousand nine hundred and eighty-three pounds, and there were spun eight hundred and thirty-nine pounds. Mr. Ottolenghe was now honored with the full appointment of "superintendant of the silk culture in Georgia," with a salary appropriate to his station.

Five thousand three hundred and seven pounds of coc.o.o.ns, and three hundred and thirty-two pounds of raw silk were produced in 1761.

Governor Wright, under date 13th of July, says, "The greatest appearance that ever they had here was destroyed in two nights' time, by excessive hard and unseasonable frosts, and there is likewise a degeneracy in the seed, as Mr. Ottolenghe tells me." These frosts occurred on the 5th and 6th of April. Parliament, this year, made a grant of 1000_l_. towards defraying the expenditure for the silk culture, and it was annually renewed until about 1766. By means of this gratuity, Mr. Ottolenghe was enabled to give a high price to the rearers of coc.o.o.ns, and thus sustain the encouragement so judiciously commenced.

In 1762, fifteen thousand one hundred and one pounds of coc.o.o.ns were delivered at the filature, and one thousand and forty-eight pounds of raw silk reeled, which Mr. O. declared to be the finest and best silk ever produced in Georgia.

The year 1763 showed an increase of coc.o.o.ns but a decrease of silk, there being fifteen thousand four hundred and eighty-six pounds of the former, and only nine hundred and fifty-three pounds of the latter.

The occasion of this disparity was a season of cold, rainy weather, towards the close of April, by which the later coc.o.o.ns were injured and rendered almost useless.

There were delivered at the filature, in 1764, fifteen thousand two hundred and twelve pounds of coc.o.o.ns, notwithstanding the season was so unfavorable, that Governor Wright mentions the case of one man who expected to make from five to seven hundred pounds, who only succeeded in raising one hundred pounds of coc.o.o.ns. Eight thousand six hundred and ninety-five pounds were sent by the Saltzburgers, and the whole amount yielded eight hundred and ninety-eight pounds of raw silk.

In addition to the grant of Parliament, a Society, inst.i.tuted in London, for the encouragement of arts, manufactures and commerce, offered certain premiums for the advantage of the British American dominions, among which were:

"For every pound of coc.o.o.ns produced in the province of Georgia and South Carolina, in the year 1764, of a hardy, weighty and good substance, wherein only one worm has spun, 3_d_.; for every pound of coc.o.o.ns produced in the same year, of a weaker, lighter, spotted or bruised quality, 2_d_.; for dupions, 1_d_." These premiums were to be paid under the direction of Mr. O., with proper vouchers that the same were raised in either of the provinces specified.

It was agitated in 1765, to reduce the price of coc.o.o.ns from 3_s_. to 1_s_. 6_d_. per pound, a measure which produced much dissatisfaction and as a consequence there was a considerable falling off in the amount of b.a.l.l.s and silk, only twelve thousand five hundred and fourteen pounds of the former, and seven hundred and twelve pounds of the latter, together with seven hundred and twenty pounds of filosele being produced. To prevent the depression consequent on this reduction, Governor Wright suggested, that instead of so much per pound, as formerly, that the ten largest quant.i.ties should receive the highest, 50_l_., the next greatest parcel 45_l_., and so on, gradually decreasing with the decrease in weight, until you reached the lowest quant.i.ty, to which 10_l_. would be awarded; thus, while the expense would be greatly lessened to the Trustees, the stimulus of reward would be sufficiently sustained. This advice was not adopted, though owing to the urgent remonstrances of those best acquainted with the business, the reduction in the bounty was only 9_d_. instead of 1_s_.

6_d_. On the 25th April, 1765, the following order was published in the "Georgia Gazette:"

"Notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern, that, by direction of the Right Honorable the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, the price usually paid for coc.o.o.ns is now reduced, and that no more than 2_s_. 3_d_. per pound will be paid for coc.o.o.ns raised in this province, and delivered at the public filature this season.

"By order of His Excellency the Governor.

"GEO. BAILLIE, _Commissary_"

This bounty was still further reduced in 1766, when by order of the Board of Trade, only 1_s_. 1_d_. was paid per pound. The dependence of this culture on the weather, was signally instanced this year, from the fact that though many who had hitherto raised coc.o.o.ns, abandoned it at the reduction of the bounty, yet such a large crop had never been produced before; over twenty thousand three hundred and eighty pounds of coc.o.o.ns being delivered at the filature, which, however, only produced one thousand eighty-nine pounds of raw silk, and eight hundred and fifty pounds of filosele. This amount of reeled silk was not at all proportionate to the weight of the cones, resulting, as Mr.

Ottolenghe said in a letter to Governor Wright, October 2, 1766, "to the badness of the seed, and consequent inferiority of the worms."

In 1760, the coc.o.o.ns weighed only seven thousand nine hundred and eighty-three pounds, and yet eight hundred and thirty-nine pounds of raw silk were spun; at which rate, the product this year should have been about two thousand pounds.

On the 26th of June, Henry Kennan made proposals to the Board of Trade, for carrying on the filature; but they were of a nature not at all advantageous to the culture, and Governor Wright, in his reply, on the 21st of October, disapproved of the plan, and exposed the fallacy of his scheme, which was in consequence abandoned.

In 1767, ten thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight pounds of b.a.l.l.s were raised, and six hundred and seventy-one pounds nine ounces of raw silk spun; the decrease of coc.o.o.ns being caused, first, by withdrawing of the Purysburgh coc.o.o.ns, which last year amounted to five thousand five hundred and fifty-one pounds; and second, by the reduction of bounty, so that while last year the coc.o.o.ns were delivered in by two hundred and sixty-four different persons, only one hundred and sixty individuals were this year devoted to the culture. The silk, however, was of a better quality, and sustained its high reputation in the London market.

In 1768, another plan was proposed, by Mr. Delamar, "in order the more effectually to establish the growth of raw silk in America." His proposal was, to pay a bounty of 20_s_. per pound on every pound of good, clear raw silk imported from any of his Majesty's dominions in America, to be paid on the price such silk might sell for at public sale in London; at the expiration of ten years, ten per cent. bounty was to be allowed; the ensuing five years at five per cent., after which time the bounty was to cease. This was the general feature of his plan; it was not, however, adopted, though in many respects its provisions were highly judicious and appropriate.

But this branch of industry and commerce was fast waning before the increasing culture of more sure and lucrative products, and only one hundred and thirty-seven different persons brought coc.o.o.ns to the filature this year. Governor Wright, in his official letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, July 1, 1768, says, "I am persuaded that few, or none but the very poorer sort of people, will continue to go upon that article. Several substantial persons, who did mean to make it an object when the price was higher, have, to my knowledge, given it over. The reason, my Lord, is evident; for people who have their fortune to raise or make, will always turn themselves in such a way, and to the raising and making of such commodities, as they think will answer best; and it is very clear to me, that those who have negroes, may employ themselves and negroes to better advantage, &c., than by raising coc.o.o.ns at 1_s_. 6_d_. per pound, although that is, as I have said, 7, 8, or 9_d_. more than they are intrinsically worth."

Cluny, in his "American Traveller," printed in London, 1769, says, "The climate of Georgia has been found to agree in every respect with the silk worm." Experience, however, proved that the climate was not sufficiently equable to secure permanent and continued success.

Governor Wright, in the letter quoted above, says, "the variable and uncertain weather in spring, makes it precarious," and facts amply confirm this statement. Only five hundred and forty-one pounds of raw silk were made this year, a smaller amount, with one exception, than had been produced for ten years. In 1769, the quant.i.ty was still more decreased, both from the reluctance of the people to raise worms, and the unfavorable weather in spring. Governor Wright, on the 20th of June, 1769, says, "We had a most extraordinary prospect, till the middle of April, when I thought every thing safe, yet we had very cold rains on the 17th and 18th, which were succeeded by hard black frost on the 19th and 20th, and destroyed a great part of the worms, and will reduce the silk very much."

The silk business was now on the irretrievable decline, though it still maintained a nominal existence, and received the encouragement of Parliament. The special bounty which had hitherto been paid on coc.o.o.ns, over and above their merchantable value, was suspended, and by a statute of 9 Geo. III., c. 38, a premium of twenty-five per cent.

from the 1st of January, 1770, to the 1st of January, 1777,--of twenty per cent, from the 1st of January, 1777, to the 1st of January, 1784,--and of fifteen per cent. from the 1st of January, 1784, to the 1st of January 1791, on the ad valorem value of all silk produced in America and imported into Great Britain in vessels regularly navigated by law, was subst.i.tuted in its place.

The inhabitants of Ebenezer resumed the culture, which with them had long been dormant, and its revival at that time was princ.i.p.ally owing to the influence of a very worthy man and magistrate, Mr. Wertsch, who, sanguine himself of ultimate success, had imparted to the Germans a portion of his own enthusiasm.

In 1770, they shipped two hundred and ninety-one pounds of raw silk, the result of their own industry, and as the filature at Savannah was discontinued in 1771, the Earl of Hillsborough, ever anxious to advance the produce, warmly commended the zeal of the Saltzburgers, and directed President Habersham to distribute "the basins and reels that were left in the public filature, to such persons as Mr. Wertsch shall recommend to be proper objects of that bounty;" and in the same letter he promised that he would endeavor to procure for them, this year, "a small sum from Parliament, to be laid out in purchase of utensils for the a.s.sistance of the poor sort of people in your province." This promise he redeemed.

So popular had the silk business become at Ebenezer, that Mr.

Habersham, in a letter dated the 30th of March, 1772, says, "some persons in almost every family there, understand its process from the beginning to the end." In 1771, the Germans sent four hundred and thirty-eight pounds of raw silk to England, and in 1772, four hundred and eighty-five pounds, all of their own raising. They made their own reels, which were so much esteemed that one was sent to England as a model, and another taken to the East Indies by Pickering Robinson.

The operations at Savannah were now totally discontinued, though Mr.

Ottolenghe still styled himself "Superintendent of the Silk Culture in Georgia," and in consideration of his long and faithful service in that office, received an annuity of 100_l_.

In a message of Sir James Wright, to the Commons House of a.s.sembly, 19th of January, 1774, he says, "The filature buildings seem to be going to decay and ruin; may it not, therefore, be expedient to consider what other service or use they may be put to?" and the a.s.sembly answered, "We shall not fail to consider how it may be expedient to apply the filature to some public use;" and henceforth it was used as an a.s.sembly or ball-room, a place where societies held their meetings, and where divine service was occasionally conducted: more recently, it was converted into a dwelling-house, and was thus appropriated at the time of its destruction by fire, on the afternoon of March 25, 1839.

Thus ended the grand project for raising silk in the Province of Georgia; for though some few individuals, together with the people of Ebenezer, continued to raise small quant.i.ties, yet, as a branch of general culture, it has never been resuscitated. The last parcel brought to Savannah was in 1790, when over two hundred pounds were purchased for exportation, at from 8_s_. to 26_s_. per pound.