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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

HIRAM WEST'S GRIST-MILL IN 1880

By 1880 Hiram F. West was 41 and had given up farming. On the 1880
Federal Census his occupation is given as "Owner Saw and Grist-Mill".
Of the two mills, the saw-mill must have been the busier because there
are three men boarding with Hiram and his family who are listed as
"works in saw-mill":
William Mitchell, age 60
Albert F. Upton, age 41
Leonard York, age 25

The mills are listed on two different "Special Schedules of Manufacture"
with the grist-mill on "Flour and Grist Mills - Cheese, Butter and 
Condensed Milk Factories". Happily, Hiram didn't dabble in the dairy
factories trade, so his entry is confined to solely grist-mill on this
form. Both mills were situated along the banks of the Cambridge River
at two different waterfalls with the grist-mill located at the larger of the two.

I'm going to post the two transcriptions seperately, starting with this one
on the grist-mill. The handwriting on this schedule is legible with the
exception of the two entries I've marked with (?). Here's my transcription:


Name of Corporation, Company, or Individual producing to value of $500 annually:
Hiram F. West

Capital(real or personal) invested in the business:1000

Greatest number of hands employed at any one time during the year: 1

Average Number of Hands Employed:
Males above 16 years: 1
Females above 15 years:
Children and Youth:

Wages and Hours of Labor :
Number of Hrs. In Your Ordinary Day of Labor:
May to Novemb'r: 10
Novemb'r to May: 10
Average day's wages for a skilled mechanic: 1.00
Average day's wages for an ordinary laborer:
Total amount paid in wages during year: 312(dollars)
Months in Operation:
On full time:10
On three-quarter time only:
On half time only:
Idle time:

Number of runs of stone:2

Estimated maximum capacity per day, in bushels: 50

Do you custom work or make only for market? If the former, what proportion of your
product is custom grinding? : Whole

Is there an elevator connected with your establishment? If so, give capacity in bushels:

Power Used in Manufacture:
If Water-Power Is Used:
on what river or stream? (see note below): Cambridge River
Height of fall, in feet: 18
Wheels:
Kind: Center Vent
Breadth,in feet: 5
Revolutions per minute:100
Horse-power:15

If Steam-Power Is Used: Number of Bellows: Number of Engines:
Horse-power:

Materials:
Number of bushels of wheat:1000
Value: 1250
Number of bushels of other grains: 820
Value: 600
Value of mill suppplies: 10
Total value of all material: 1860
Products:
Number of barrels of wheat flour: 200
Number of barrels of rye flour:
Number of pounds of buckwheat flour: 3500
Number of pounds of barley meal:
Number of pounds of corn meal: 40. (?)
Number of pounds of feed: 168(?)
Number of pounds of hominy:
Value of all other products:
Total value of all products: 2460

I'll post my transcription of the sawmill schedule next.

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