Like every other job the settlers faced, the accumulation of firewood was a laborious, backbreaking job, but one that had to be undertaken well before winter so that the wood would have an opportunity to dry out before it was needed.
The massive clearing of trees, which had been the focus of activity around the fledgling farmstead in the waning weeks of summer, inevitably gave rise to a new and equally important objective, which was collecting and stacking the huge quantities of firewood needed to see the family through the coming winter. While a fireplace had been constructed in the barnhouse to provide heat for cooking and general warmth, it was grossly inefficient.
Lacking dampers to provide any sense of draft control, the vast amount of heat that was generated simply roared up the chimney. What heat did manage to make it out into the living area was largely generated from the hot bricks or stones within the firebox. Some settlers invested in a cast iron fireback which would throw off additional heat while at the same time protecting the material that composed the back of the fireplace from fire deterioration. Such firebacks often incorporated motifs of political figures, dates, patriotic symbols or classical floral motifs.
Back logs
With many trees now felled to clear the way for the development of fields, the first decision that had to be made by the settler was the selection of back logs to take the family through the cold months ahead. Back logs — as the name implies — were very large logs which would be situated at the back of the fireplace. These logs, which would often be towed into the house by horses and then rolled into the firebox, would become the constant source of harvestable hot coals needed to keep both the fire going at all times and to place underneath cooking vessels. The back logs would be kept smoldering by heat generated by the regular cooking fires throughout the day. Large back logs could last as long as a couple of weeks in the fireplace before they were completely reduced to ashes. At that time another back log would be brought in to replace it.
Ashes, which were typically shoveled against the jambs (sides) of the fireplace to keep them out of the way of cooking activities, were eventually collected and dumped into the family’s ashery to generate lye water which was most often used in making lye soap. Even today the term backlog survives, now used to connote life’s projects confined to the rear burner, or things needing attention in the future.
Ember pans
Having a ready source of hot coals in the fireplace was necessary not only to keep the immediate family’s fires going, but to provide for neighbors whose fires might become extinguished for whatever reason. If that happened, a child from the affected family would be sent down the road with an ember pan to collect some hot coals from a neighbor to get his or her family’s fire going once again. Ember pans were typically a wrought iron box with a sliding lid which had a few holes perforated through it to allow air to get to the embers so they would not go out before they reached their destination. These pans had long wooden handles to protect the bearer from the heat.
Firewood
Branches from the fallen trees needed to be sawn to length for firewood. Sawing could be done in a variety of ways. (Note: I always thought it was interesting that with the vast number of settlers flooding into the Ohio Country in the early 1800s that apparently not one of them thought to bring along a chain saw). One of the earliest methods was using a ground-mounted clamp, the iron teeth of which held the wood to be sawn in position. This device was held in place by a heavy, pointed wooden stake that was pounded into the ground. Another method was the use of a sawbuck, composed of two heavy x-shaped pieces of wood held together several feet apart by a stretcher. Unlike the ground clamp, the sawbuck elevated the wood to be sawn a couple of feet off the ground. Regardless of the type of holding device, the actual cutting was done with a bucksaw. This was a wood-framed saw with a moderately heavy blade, the tensioning on which was controlled by a rope or wire across the top of the frame which could be tightened as needed. With the tensioning loosened, this type of saw was completely collapsible and could easily be dismantled for transport, taking up little space.
The next step was splitting the sawn logs, enabling them to dry out — or “season” — so they would burn better when the time came. Splitting wood before the invention of the modern mechanical wood splitters was as much a challenge in the early 19th century as it is today. The tools of choice were the sledge hammer and the iron wedge. Nineteenth century wedges were different from the cast iron wedges of today in that they were wrought by blacksmiths and were hollow This allowed wooden plugs to be inserted into them to take the shock of the hammer blow. Such plugs lasted longer if they incorporated an iron band around the top to keep the plug from shattering over time.
The Pennsylvania Germans used a unique tool for wood splitting. Called a “holtzaxe,” it was one of the first-ever multi-tools on the frontier. With a wedge-shaped head weighing between 8 and 12 pounds, it could be used like a regular axe to cut trees, although the weight would be a challenge for even the most stalwart woodsman. It could also be used as a splitting maul, the heavy blade being swung downward on the log. Or, thirdly, it could be used as a splitting wedge, the user holding the handle to keep it in place while the sledge pounded it. An unusual feature of the holtzaxe was that it had an iron lip extending about a 1/2 inch from the bottom of the poll. While the reason for this odd addition has never been determined with certainty, it is theorized that it was to protect the wooden handle from an overstrike by the user.
