What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

“THE New-Haven Committee for soliciting Subscriptions for Relief of their suffering Brethren at Boston.”

Colonizers in Connecticut and other places rallied to support residents of Boston once the Boston Port Act went into effect on June 1, 1774.  In retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed legislation that closed and blockaded the harbor until the town made restitution for the property that had been destroyed.  As Bob Ruppert explains, “All shipping and commerce came to standstill.  Ships-of-war appeared in the harbor, army regiments arrived from England and only food was allowed to enter the town (by way of the town of Marblehead, sixteen miles to the north).”

As far away as South Carolina, patriots formed committees to aid Boston.  In Connecticut, the “New-Haven Committee for soliciting Subscriptions for Relief of their suffering Brethren at Boston” provided an update of their activities and invited readers to join their efforts in an advertisement in the November 18 edition of the Connecticut Journal.  It ran in the same column as advertisements for the “Votes & Proceedings Of the American CONTINENTAL CONGRESS” and a “likely Negro Girl, about 10 Years old,” for sale.  The committee advised their “generous Subscribers to being in their Grain, &c. [et cetera] on Thanksgiving Week, as they expect a Vessel will then be lying at the Long-Wharf for the purpose of taking in such Benefactions.”  In other advertisements, Josiah Burr hawked an “Assortment of GOODS suitable for the Season,” Jacob Daggett promoted a “fresh Assortment of Goods,” and Joseph Howell touted a “good Assortment of English and India GOODS,” making overtures to consumers.  In contrast, the Committee for the Relief of Boston put advertising to another purpose, alerting the public to an opportunity to play a part in current events and express their political principles.  Their notice also served as a news update, supplementing the content selected for inclusion by the printers of the Connecticut Journal.