Madaline,

I read your query with interest, and got sidetracked before I could send a reply.  I have run across "wagon tents" before in my inventory research, and I am pretty certain that the appraiser was refering to a wagon cover - I need to find the historic reference that supports that interpretation - I cannot remember if it is a period newspaper add or a later 19th century catalogue.  Another thing I have learned in looking at thousands of inventories is that while appraisers were pretty sparing in the amount they wrote, they tried to be as descriptive as possible - in one inventory from the 1870s, for example, I found several wagon-related items listed together which inluded "wagon sheets" and a "waggoners whip."

John


-----Original Message-----
From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Madaline Preston
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 1:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-ROOTS] wagon tent

Dear VA. list,
On the 17th I started this string....that ended up talking about blankets and the palatinate and hollow/hollar people. Very interesting responses came thru and it is nice to see some action on the VA list.

However, my original email was:  "In a Frederick Co., VA inventory of 1827 there is listed: one wagon tent. Would this be an actual tent waggoners carried with them on long hauls to erect at night for personal use....or maybe a covering for the wagon?"  Perhaps a conestoga.  The wagon was inventoried at $75...the price for two of the horses.

Guess I should assume since there were no comments on wagon tents.....that no one is familiar with this term?

Enjoyed reading all the input regardless of the bends in the road.
M. Preston

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