On Tue, 1 Sep 1998, Ian McGiver wrote:

>         --Pot Ash. Does anyone know of a thorough study  of pot ash? I am
> particularly interested in the marketing  of pot ash in New york state
> during the early to mid 1780s and beyond.
>
>         --does anyone know of a comprehensive study of land pricing in the
> back country areas of new york state during the 1780s, 1790s?
>
This may well be old news, but _William Cooper's Town_ by Alan Taylor,
both academically very solid, and a Pulitzer Prise winner, is all about a
big land speculation in and promotion in back-country NY in that period,
*and* William COoper, the speculator/promoter made heavy use of the potash
market to provide his land customers, who bought on long credit, with a
way of paying him back; he set up the whole infrastructure for a potash
market.

I am thinking of what you might glean from footnotes/endnotes at least as
much as from the text.  Or you might get more help from the author, who
probably found more sources than would be strictly relevant to the
argument of the book.

Good Luck,
Hal Morris: [log in to unmask]   --  Editor of:
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