Manuscript Location

South Carolina Historical Society, Reading Room, College of Charleston, Addlestone Library

Place of Origin

United States ➔ South Carolina ➔ Charleston

Date of Composition

1791-ca. 1838

Description

This receipt book is part of the library's Mary Motte Alston Pringle papers. It contains recipes for pickles, sausages, and for curing hams other meats, as well as medical recipes.

The book was begun by Mary Brewton Motte Alston (1769-1838), the second wife of William Alston (1756-1839), who fought in the Revolutionary War and was one of the wealthiest planters in antebellum South Carolina, the owner of over 700 slaves. Mary Alston and her husband had six children and lived in Charleston, in a Georgian brick mansion built in 1769 by Mary Alston's uncle Miles Brewton, a wealthy merchant, planter, and slave trader.  After Mary Alston died, her receipt book was continued by her daughter, Mary Motte Alston Pringle (1803-1881), the youngest of the Alstons' six children. Mary Motte Alston Pringle wrote a cookbook of her own, which is also part of the library's collection.

See also Mary Motte Alston Pringle Receipt Book.