Busy conquering a stubborn wilderness, the first Jamestown settlers had only a few things to make their houses cosy and cheerful. In most cases, their worldly goods consisted of a few cooking utensils, a change of clothing, a weapon or two, and a few pieces of homemade furniture. However, between 1607 and 1612, George Percy was generously outfitted with some necessities as well as much fine apparel and numerous luxury items (including a feather bed) by his brother the Ninth Earl of Northumberland, as published records of the Earl’s expenditures for George show. Other persons of gentle birth and position quite probably enjoyed similar goods.
After the early years of hardship had passed, the colonists began to acquire possessions for a more pleasant living; and by 1650 the better houses were equipped with most of the necessities of life of those times, as well as a few luxuries of comfortable living.
Furniture
Very little furniture was brought over from England during the early years of the colony. Perhaps a few chests and Bible boxes were imported, but most of the large pieces of furniture, such as tables, chairs, bedsteads, chests-of-drawers, cupboards, benches, and cradles would have been made in Virginia. Woods commonly used included pine, cedar, walnut, maple, and oak.
Furniture hardware and accessories found. Much of the furniture used in the Jamestown houses was made in Virginia.
Furniture hardware and accessories excavated at Jamestown include hinges, locks, drawer pulls, chest handles, escutcheon plates, upholstering tacks, hasps, and finials. Most of the furniture hardware is of brass (probably used after 1650). Since much of it is skillfully decorated, it is believed that it once was attached to furniture of high quality. Furniture used during the first two decades of the settlement, however, must have been simple with little or no ornamentation.
Lighting Devices
The candle, made of either tallow or bayberry wax, was the standard lighting device at Jamestown. Pine torches were often used out of doors, and rushlights and candlewood were undoubtedly used in the humbler dwellings during the very early years of the settlement. Candlesticks unearthed at Jamestown include a large brass pricket holder, one made of English sgraffito-ware, several incomplete earthenware holders, and parts of delftware candlesticks. Many fragments of brass and iron candlesticks, as well as a few candle snuffers, have also been recovered.
