Increased wealth in the Deerfield community created a demand for imported and locally produced goods. The middling sort — artisans, craftsmen, and tavern keepers — settled into the community to meet those needs. Many of the “middling sort” in Deerfield settled along the Albany Road, after land owned by the minister was sold in 1759 to accommodate their shops. It is along that road that we meet Justin Hitchcock, a hatter, and Elizabeth Amsden, a weaver.

Life choices were limited for children of the middling sort. If the means to educate the family’s sons did not exist, they would often be apprenticed to a skilled craftsman to learn a trade. Still others came to a craftsman as indentured servants to learn a trade.