I came across this recipe for a heartburn cure in the Lyne Estate Papers in the Durrett Collection at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center. I was researching the salt industry in the late 18th/early 19th century in the Upper South/Lower Midwest, and just happened to find this little recipe. It was written in 1789, probably by Edmund Lyne of Blue Licks, Kentucky. Lyne died two years later; one hopes it wasn't from heartburn.
"As much Rosin as will lie on a Penny, same quantity of Alum, same of Ginger, mix them in a spoonful or a little more of Molasses, the whole of the above in a morning for three mornings together, it will effectively cure the water brush [sic].*"
*the ailment was waterbrash.
