What would New Year's Eve have looked like in the US around the 1850s? Parties? Countdowns? Or was that a later tradition? Found another post discussing the traditions of that time in Scotland, but I am wondering about the US.
Scotland is obviously a much smaller country than the US, and it goes without saying American experiences of NYE would vary depending on geographical location, class and race.
The unified experience of New Year's Eve consisted be baking cakes and eating meals, visiting neighbours and family and giving gifts. Racial minorities were not excluded from these celebrations, with New Year's Eve being a special day on plantations for slaves.
For the more affluent, grand balls would be held, with one in St. Paul, MN in 1849 being described as "the largest collection of beauty and of fashion we have ever seen in the West."
I found some journal articles that feature case studies of specific regions. Some predate 1850 but it gives you an idea of the traditions which would already have been observed by this time.
New Year's gifts were typically exchanged with neighbours and family. Farmers would share produce and women would sew socks and mittens.
The letters of Mrs. Mary Austin Holley, detailed her experiences in 1837 Houston:
"we had a gay supper last night, & danced in the new year, though, being a Sunday did not dance out the old. A few young persons were in. among them 2 young gentlemen excellent singers & musicians on guitar, flute, violin, & Accordian. After retiring they serenaded us with those instruments combined & vocal solos. Very sweet musick. It lasted till near the time the birds commenced their morning concert."
Balls were also customary on New Year's Day, as an article appearing in the Telegraph and Texas Register, dated December 26, 1838, reads:
"We have been requested to mention that a Ball will be given in this city on New Years day at the Houston house. The subscription list is now open for those who may wish to participate in the recreation."
The ball was later reported to have been:
"one of the most splendid and delightful entertainments of the kind ever given in this section. A large number of ladies and gentlemen from this city were present, and many also
from Harrisburg and the vicinity. The festivities were
kept up to a late hour, and the guests returned highly pleased with the cordiality and kindness of the hospitable entertainer."
Louis C. Ervendberg visited a German orphan asylum near New Braunfels, Texas, on New Year's Eve in 1849. His experience demonstrates the experiences of the less-affluent:
"a table covered with a snowy cloth, with Christmas presents for each of the children....after a walk about the grounds, everyone had tea by the fireside, and many a merry game was played with the children, and many a happy song was sung, and many a verbal nut was cracked along with the pecans."
Clearly, the holiday was meaningful and celebrated, and those who did not have wealth would save food, presents and such for the special occasion.
The experiences of African Americans have also been documented in 1843 Texas, although unclear if these were enslaved or free:
"Last night through the kindness
of Mr. Mc. [McDonald] the Negroes of this vicinity had thier [sic] Christmas Ball in his unfinished store. (The Upper part destined for a Masonic Hall). It was late ere all arrived many of them having had to come several miles. It was a Subscription Ball & the unfortunate negro who could not raise a couple of bits (about Is) was not admitted at the commencement of the Ball, but Black hearts wax soft & as midnight approached- the Strains of music sweet, the excitement produced by dancing, the door keeper became benevolent & it was a public ball."
Source: Walter Prescott Webb, 'Christmas and New Year in Texas (Texas Collection),' The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jan., 1941), pp. 357-379
As with Texas, the custom of sharing gifts and charity seemed to also define New Year's celebrations in the Mid-West. In Minnesota, we learn about the traditions of white Americans who lived proximate to Native Americans, in 1845:
"The Red Lake missionaries marked New Year's Eve by assembling the pupilsof the mission school and giving them presents. In 1845 the gifts consisted of flannel shirts for the boys and "shortgowns" for the girls. The Indian children "came with cleaner faces & hands than usual," writes Mrs. Lewis, "asa little soap had previously been distributed."
As with the German orphanage in Texas, this was a special time of year and limited resources were pooled and reserved to celebrate, the holiday, such as soap in this example.
In early 1850s frontier Minnesota, a typical New Year's Day was described as:
"Ladies remain at home and see company. Gentlemen make short calls, and take a slight refreshment everywhere. (From ten in the morning to four in the afternoon were considered the proper hours for making calls.)"
Later, in the 1870s, steamboat trips up the Mississippi became a popular New Year's Day activity.
Source: Bertha L. Heilbron, "Christmas and New Year's on the Frontier," Minnesota History, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Dec., 1935), pp. 373-390
A journal article from the American Folklore Society, revealed New Years' traditions on plantations in 1850s Louisiana.
At daylight, on the 1st of January, the rejoicing began on the plantation; everything was in an uproar, and all the negroes, young and old, were running about, shaking hands and exchanging wishes for the new year.
Children received toys, and adults, including the elderly, were gifted:
an ox killed expressly for them, several pounds of flour, and a new tin pan.
Clothes were also given, with men receiving:
"a new jean or cottonade suit of clothes, and the women a dress and a mo gaudy headkerchief or tignon, the redder the better. Each woman that had had a child during year received two dresses instead"
Music was played at balls that were hosted and slaves were allowed to drink.
Source: Rosan Augusta Jordan and Frank De Caro, '"In This Folk-Lore Land": Race, Class, Identity, and Folklore Studies in Louisiana,' The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 109, No. 431 (Winter, 1996), pp. 31-59
New Year's Eve became more widely celebrated in the early 1900s, with many immigrants who came to big cities being surprised at the extent of the celebrations when compared with their homelands. The first celebrations of Times Square were reportedly as early as 1904, with the first ball drop occurring in 1907. (Source: https://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-new-years-eve/nye-history-times-square-ball)
To conclude, before 1850, New Year's Eve was celebrated with small traditions in the rural United States, such as calling on families and exchanging homemade gifts such as produce or knitted items. Bigger and grander celebrations were reserved for larger population centres, in the form of balls, such as those in Houston and St. Paul. Native Americans and African Americans were included in New Year's celebrations, and those with limited resources, such as the Texan German Orphanage, would still make an effort to mark the holiday with gifts and feasts.