Cordwainer/Shoemaker
Although we have farmers, laborers, clerks, sailors, and even physicians among our ancestors, we have what seems an unusually large number of cordwainers. A cordwainer is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. This is distinguished from a cobbler who does shoe repairs. The word “cordwainer” has Spanish origins and originally derives from Cordoba known for its production of cordovan leather.
Elias Van Court (1691-1750), our sixth great grandfather, was a cordwainer working out of the Janeway and Broughton store near Raritan Landing which was a small port on the banks of the Raritan River in Middlesex County, New Jersey. This port was a commercial center active in the 18th and 19th centuries. The community of Raritan Landing consisted of houses, warehouses, and stores. The Janeway and Broughton store, located upriver from Raritan Landing, was a general store in the true sense of the word supplying clothing, stoneware, pewter, knives, grain, molasses, and just about anything a colonialist might need.
Both of Fred Pemberton Abbott’s grandfathers were shoemakers. They also both served in the Civil War. Justin E. Abbott (1820-1901) was a cordwainer in Saugus and served in the 4th Massachusetts heavy artillery division, but I do not believe he was in any battles. William W. Knowles (1833-1863) was a shoemaker in North Bridgewater. He served in the 38th regiment Massachusetts infantry which saw battle in Louisiana; William died of disease in New Orleans. Justin Abbott’s father-in-law, Samuel Wilson (1785-1862), was also a shoemaker in Saugus.
Thomas Blanchard (1674-1759), our seventh great grandfather, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony but lived most of his life in Andover – and he was a cordwainer in Andover. Timothy Johnson (1644-1688), our eighth great grandfather, was also a cordwainer in Andover. His family is notable as his widow Rebecca Aselbee Johnson (1652-d. after 1705) was accused of witchcraft and imprisoned for 13 weeks in 1692-1693. On January 7, 1693, the Grand Jury hearing her case declared the charges “ignoramus”, i.e., without support.
Closer to our time, Mary Sutton Feld (1899-1965) worked at Fenton Shoe in Cambridge. Betty and Billy also worked there for summer jobs.
Sources:
The Honourable Cordwainers’ Company. What is a cordwainer? Retrieved from http://www.thehcc.org/backgrnd.htm
Timothy Johnson & Rebecca Aslebee, Salem Witch Trials. Retrieved from https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/32968384?signin=true&reportabuse=true
Yamin, Rebecca. (1993). Local trade in pre-revolutionary New Jersey. Northeast Historical Archaeology, 22(1). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1203&context=neha