A Cure for Whatever Ailment

I’ve been looking at an old ledger that my daughter Susan had at her house. The earliest date is August 1853. She had forgotten all about it, and it surfaced one day when she was cleaning some corner of her house.

The first page has this entry: Franklin, VT, Journal, S.P. and R. Gates. Gael’s mother’s maiden name was Gates and she was from Franklin. The first half of the book has entries from the store perhaps, and the second half has prescriptions. Pretty interesting reading.

Here are some other entries:

• Calvin Webb, 12 1/4 lb. maple sugar-98 cents.
• Asa Gallup, 3 yards cotton for shirts-44 cents.
• Frederick Vincent, ½ pound tea, nutmeg-24 cents.
• Chauncy Richards, 4 pounds mutton, 9 pounds sugar.
• Charles Warner, 3 pounds sugar-30 cents.
• S.P. Gates, box yeast powder, 12 cents, pail for berries, 46 cents, mutton, 45 cents-$1.03.
• L.C. Spaulding, 10% butter-42.05.
• Herman Barnam, 1 pint lamp oil, 15 cents, 1 bottle ink, 4 cents.
• Henry Johnson, pipe tobacco-10 cents.
• Marshall Shedd, postage 1 letter-5 cents.

The more I read, the more I get the sense that I know these people. Some names keep appearing over and over: Brill, Cheney, Gidding, Wright, Peckham. “Gary, are any of these names familiar to you?”

Then, moving on to the prescriptions:

• The first one is Dr. Petit’s eye salve: Lard (perfectly fresh), yellow oxide mercury. Mix thoroughly and apply to the edge of
• the lower lids every night for inflamed eyes. the lower lids every night for inflamed eyes.
• Cancer wash: White oak bark, witch hazel, dried and pulverized. Add boiling water and let steep until cool. Wet cloth with mixture and lay on sore 3 to 4 times a day.
• Diarrhea: Stir lightly into a cup of cold water the white of one egg not beaten and drink. Slippery elm bark is another
  remedy.
• Burns: Lime water, olive oil, and glycerin.
• Vomiting from any cause: Hazel bark, steep but do not boil. Give a few drops every half hour till vomiting stops.
• recipe for horse liniment, chilblains, night sweats, Cholera, Epilepsy, and chapped hands.

Meanwhile, a few hours have passed and I haven’t gotten any chores done, but who cares. The chores have been waiting for weeks and they probably can wait a while longer. After typing this, I might need a nap. So if you need a cure for whatever ailment you have, call me, and if I can read the remedy, I’ll tell you what to do. Or not!