Recently, Colonial Williamsburg’s
Historic Foodways began baking in the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop again after
several years of inactivity. I began to
develop an interest in the bakers of Williamsburg a few years ago. 18th century Williamsburg had six
bakers throughout the century which provided baked goods to all of its citizens: Peter Moyer, Cornelius Deforrest, William
Sharman, Jean or John Marot, Thomas Alley and a man known only as the “French
Baker”. In compiling all the research
for this blog, I realized that there is very little information about these
bakers. The information I was able to
locate is compiled from research that I found at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
library, ancestry websites and facts about 18th century bakers from the
other thirteen colonies and England.
TA represents Thomas Alley
WS stands for William Sherman
A baker from this time period would
have had a very early start to their workday.
With a typical preheat time of two hours, ovens had to be lit sometime
around six ‘o’clock a.m. Depending on
how much had to be baked for that day, 50 to 100 pounds of dough would have had
to be kneaded by hand in this preheat time frame. Then all of this dough would have to be
formed into rolls and set to rise. The oven
coals would then have been raked out of the heated oven to allow for cooling so
that the oven could cool to the right temperature for bread-making. There was no idle time for the baker and this
was a very physically demanding job. He
would need a lot of experience and expertise to bake all of the bread needed
for the entire town with an oven that never stays at a constant
temperature.
It is thought that the first baker
in Williamsburg was William Sherman. The
first mention (and only record) of William Sherman is in 1706 court records of
the procurement of the Coke-Garret property in Williamsburg. He is recorded as
“Sherman, William Baker in Williamsburg”.
William Sherman died sometime between 1708/09.
The Coke-Garret Property Shown on the Frenchman's Map
Records show that Jean, or John,
Marot was baking in Williamsburg and owned a tavern where the Shields Tavern is today
from 1708 until his death in 1717. An
interesting fact about John Marot is that he was sued and found guilty for
baking a cake that weighed less than the required weight. I’m sure this sounds a little strange now but Great
Britain had established strict laws concerning the weights and ingredients that
were required in everyday staples such as beer and bread around the time of
King Henry III. Bakers who broke these
laws were subject to strict and very public punishment. Another interesting fact about John Marot is
that he baked a cake for the funeral of His Excellency Edward Holt.
The property where Marot's tavern was shown on the Frenchman's Map of Williamsburg
Another baker that I found
referenced was Thomas Alley. It seems
that he was a slave or indentured baker at the Raleigh Tavern. There is only one mention of Thomas Alley
before an article in the Virginia Gazette in 1751 for a runaway servant of the
same name. The article mentioned,
“Thomas Alley, about 5 foot 7 inches high, by trade a baker, full faced and
fresh colored, with dark brown hair.” Because of the limited references, it is not
known how long he was baking in Williamsburg prior to running away.
The Raleigh Tavern shown on the Frenchman's Map of Williamsburg
Barbara Scherer baking at the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop
Photo By: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Cornelius Deforrest was born in
1735. The ancestry websites that I
referenced claim that he moved to Virginia from New York, but I cannot find any
supporting evidence of this. I believe
he was born in Virginia and got married to his first wife there. The name of his first wife is unknown but
records show that in 1760, he married a widower named Sarah Hill and they had
three children together: Cornelius (b. 1761), Louisa (b. 1767) and Elizabeth (b.
1770). I found a reference in the
Virginia State Records that he baked 2,000 pounds of bread for the navy
schooner Revenge. The base of operation
for Cornelius Deforrest was somewhere on York Street in Williamsburg. He died sometime in 1781/82.
A look at York Street on the Frenchman's Map of Williamsburg
Virginia Gazette November 15, 1776
The next baker is my favorite
because I drive by his house every week.
His name was Peter Moyer and his operation was located at the
intersection of Francis and Botetourt Streets, near the Public Armory in
Williamsburg. The first mention of Moyer
is in public records of 1762 where he is listed as the father of George Mires
(Moyer). He is mentioned again in records
of 1763 when his daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was baptized at Bruton Parish Church
in Williamsburg. Peter Moyer’s wife was named
Rebecca and based on tax records, he died sometime between 1792/93.
Peter Moyers house shown on the Frenchman's Map of Williamsburg
Virginia Gazette October 5, 1769
I have found only two records for
the “French Baker”. The first mention is
a record is of “French Baker” renting the Norton-Cole House which is near the Williamsburg
Courthouse. The second mention is located
in the Humphrey Hardwood ledger where an oven repair is listed at the
Norton-Cole site. I think the
Norton-Cole location, which is close to the Market Square site, would have been
a great selling location for the “French Baker”.
In the 18th century,
bakers were more than just tradesmen.
Bakers were the center of the community and provided basic nourishment
to all manner of people. This type of
blog represents one of my favorite subjects because it deals with real people and
how they impact the community with their food-related lifework.
