While running a search on Ancestry yesterday, I found something fun misfiled under “Wm Bembry.” This is a stray account from William Bembry’s estate file, paid by his administrator to a merchant or tavern keeper of some kind.
William, it seems, was quite the tippler, putting away many “Drinks” of gin, cider, cordial, and the occasional “tody” (rum drink). Sometimes he skipped the glass and just bought a pint or a gallon to take home with him!
Of course, most people drank what we would consider to be astonishing quantities of alcohol back in those days. But given that William died greatly indebted in his early 40s, and that his brother John was known for “drinking and frolicking wherever he can get liquor,” I do have to wonder just what was going on with the four Bembry brothers!
A Long Way to Tennessee 