| This dissertation analyzes the role of the country storekeeper in the early republic. Samuel Rex operated his store from 1790 to 1807 in Schaefferstown, a small Pennsylvania German village seventy-five miles from Philadelphia. Through his activities Rex connected Schaefferstown residents, the regional iron-producing community, and Philadelphia merchants in an interconnected network of relations.; Rex's Schaefferstown customers obtained some needs through traditional exchanges, but they also produced goods for distant markets, and they sought consumer goods they could not make or buy locally. At his store, Rex facilitated both local and distant exchanges; he offered banking services, sold luxury and everyday merchandise, and bought country produce and manufactured goods. He resold some of these goods locally, but he sold far more to the regional ironmasters. He supplied pork and grain to feed their workers, and served as a company store where workers charged purchases against their wages.; Rex also sold produce in Philadelphia. Twice a year he hired local farmers and craftsmen to drive butter, whiskey, lard and other produce to the city and to carry back cargoes of imported goods to replenish his inventory. Urban merchants welcomed Rex's business because he bought large amounts of goods and paid for them on time, and because he channeled country produce to them.; Though Rex sometimes encountered problems, most transactions at the store took place in a spirit of mutuality and meeting common interests. He succeeded in a risky business because of his location and a favorable economy, and because he had the right combination of background and skills; he was equally at home in the countryside and in the urban business community.; This study contributes to our understanding of everyday life in the mid-Atlantic, inland commerce and transportation, and the exchange role of country storekeepers. It illustrates the mixed nature of the economy and complicates the market/community dichotomy that informs most interpretive models. It shows that the storekeeper was both an economic and cultural broker—an agent of exchange and change—and suggests that a “network of relations” is a fruitful way to understand early American economy and society. |
