"BY SPINNING 28 LBS. OF THREAD" --
THE THREAD SPINNER

Although Daniel Crely is recorded in Dupui's general store ledger as having been the individual compensated for a total of 36 pounds of spun thread, the odds are relatively high that it was females (either in his family or in his employ), who had actually performed this work. 

Interestingly, in the fifty year history of the ledger, this was the only time that domestically spun thread was ever offered to Dupui.  In the early years, of course, it was Dupui who was offering imported skeins to his clientele (such as silk skeins and top-of-the-line Nun's thread).

So what do we know about Daniel Crely and his family?  The ledger tells us that his family or workforce must have been rather large in that he purchased tremendous amounts of beef (197 lbs), pork (45 lbs.), venison (22 legs), and hog's fat (19 lbs.)  He also bought wheat (11 bushels), turnips (11 bushels), potatoes (11 bushels), and corn (3 bushels).  Additionally on the menu was rye meal (129 pounds) and midlins (100 pounds).  We also see that he paid part of his debt by way of 56 pounds of butter.

The only other significant purchase the man made was "1 broom" that doubtless was used to keep his thread spinning area clean.

As on one occasion, Crely paid off part of his debt with 14 lbs. of mutton, we can't be sure as to the type of thread that he was spinning... it could have been wool, but as he was also once paid for "the sowing of one Bushel of Flax," he might well have been spinning skeins of linen thread.  And there is still yet another option (as it is known that colonists at one point began blending the fibers of linen and wool, producing the cloth known as "linsey-woolsey"). Additionally, we don't know whether a spinning wheel or drop spindle was used.

All that we know for sure is that we have no evidence from the ledger of anyone else other than Daniel Crely engaged in the process of spinning thread.  While we're told that Britain's 1767 Townshend Acts resulted in colonists holding "spinning bees" under the name the Daughters of Liberty, we see no evidence of such activities reflected anywhere within Dupui's ledger.