HISTORY BY HAND

original historic handwritten manuscripts, documents and letters

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Item Number: DM4007

The Tavern License: Partially printed tavern license issued by the Commissioners of Excise in the town of Milton, Saratoga County, New York on 7 May 1822 to Mary Swan.  (5 ¼” X 7 5/8” ; on the back of the license, there are calculations that appear to relate to income and expenses).  Signed and sealed by four commissioners: Thomas Palmer, A[lpheus] Goodrich, Joel Keeler, and Daniel Couch.

The license, good for one year, states that the applicant has been found to be “…of good moral character, and of sufficient abilities to keep an Inn or tavern…”  Since most tavern keepers were men at that time, the pre-printed form refers to “he” and “his” throughout.

Some spotting; an attractive piece overall.

Background Information: Mary Swan, however, was the mother of eight children and needed to support her large family.

Mary Swan appears in the 1820 US Census in the Town of Milton, Saratoga County.  She is listed as “Mary Swan (widow)” and heads a household with 1 male under 10, 2 males between 10 and 16, 1 female under 10, 2 females between 10 and 16, 2 females between 16 and 26 and 1 female (herself) between 26 and 45.  Based on this family composition, she is therefore likely the widow of Joshua Swan, the eldest son of Joshua and Martha Denison Swan, who died after 1814.  The Swans were originally from the area of Stonington, Connecticut before settling in Saratoga County some years before. 

The commissioners of Excise who signed this license were all “public men” in upstate New York.  Thomas Palmer was a justice of the peace, and was elected county clerk in Saratoga County in 1818.  Alpheus Goodrich was also county clerk in 1833, after having previously served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1825 and 1828. He was also clerk of the Board of Supervisors and Superintendent of the Poor.  Joel Keeler, originally from Westchester County, was a member of the NY Assembly in 1813 and in 1817 was moderator of the Board of Supervisors.  He was also one of the town’s early postmasters. His daughter Mary eventually married Mary Swan’s son Joshua.   Daniel Couch was a justice of the peace.  Originally from Redding, Connecticut, Couch served in the Revolutionary War in the CT Line. He came to Saratoga County in 1792 and ultimately moved west with his family to Scipio, Hillsdale County, Michigan, where he made application for a veteran’s pension in 1835.

 A frameable piece of upstate New York’s women’s history.

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