Martha Ballard: All in A Day's Work

“At Ditoes. Birth of 2nt. Received 12/ and 4 lb Sugar” (Ulrich, 205)

Martha Ballard is clearly marking the sugar she received as a good exchanged for her service as a midwife. But what exactly would have been the worth, specifically, of this sugar to a late 18^th century midwife living in the rugged Maine nature? Just how much were her efforts being valued? Turning to other resources may help to shed some light on this. In Comparative Wages, Prices, and Cost of Living, a bag of sugar in New England is listed as being worth approximately twelve cents a pound. So, four pounds of sugar would carry a monetary weight of $0.48. Using the Department of Labor’s CPI Inflation Calculator, this is equivalent to $9.11 in 2020. And according to Walmart.com, 4 lbs. of sugar is going to cost $4.58 in 2020. It would seem as if Ballard is getting a relatively good deal here. Especially considering that foodtimeline.org says that certain items, “butter, spices, sugar, and sweetmeats were luxuries.” Indeed, sugar would have been scarcer then other common goods, so this factors into Ballard’s payment as well. At the time, sugar was seen as quite the commodity, "from the 1740s until the 1820s, sugar was Britain's most valuable import" (Wikipedia). So there’s a supply demand for sugar as well. Coupled with the fact that Ballard notes receiving less payment then “/12” on various other births recorded during this time in the same chapter of her journal, it can be stated that not only is Ballard receiving an excellent deal here, but that this “Ditoe” family may come from a status of higher wealth than others Ballard has been serving.

Works Cited

Olver, Lynne. “Food Timeline> Colonial America & 17th/18th Century France .” The Food Timeline: History Notes--Colonial America and 17th & 18th Century France, 3 Jan. 2015, www.foodtimeline.org/foodcolonial.html.

Walmart.com. “(2 Pack) Great Value Pure Cane Sugar, 4 Lb.” Walmart.com, Walmart, www.walmart.com/ip/2-Pack-Great-Value-Pure-Cane-Sugar-4-lb/698454167.

Webster, Ian. “Inflation Rate between 1780-2020: Inflation Calculator.” Inflation Calculator, US Department of Labor, 2020, www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1780?amount=0.48.

Wikipedia Community, Open source. “History of Sugar.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sugar.

Wright, Carroll D. “Comparative Wages, Prices, and Cost of Living.” Google, Hahitrust, 20 Apr. 2020, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044050806330&view=1up&seq=5&q1=sugar.

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. "January 1796: 'find my house up in arms.' In A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812. NY: Vintage Books, 1990. 204-234.

Written by: Thomas Donohue