Apparently there were some disputes between Jonathan Edwards and his Northampton parishoners over the amount of his salary, especially in 1748, when it was reported to be 700 pounds for living with an additional 170 pound allowance for books. His salary in 1726 was reported to be 100 pounds. When I tried to translate these amounts into today's dollars (1991 dollars, due the books I had), I came up with ridiculously low amounts, such as $2710 for 1726 and $8409 for 870 Massachusetts pounds in 1748. Could you please help me to figure these out right? Apparently both Edwards' congregation and Edwards himself said he was one of the highest paid ministers at the time, and he had a high standard of living; thus, those figures seem very unrealistic.
The Answer
Your instincts are better than my data - or, better put, they provided a good cautionary check to my data.
I get slightly different numbers in 2003 dollars than you show: 1726, ca, $4,000; 1748, ca. $11,000 - but your point is still a good one. It doesn't seem like a lot of money. Nevertheless, he may still have been one of the highest paid ministers of his time and been able to afford a "high" standard of living.
The data we use for such conversions is based on a commodity price index, as you may have read, and comparisons based on them get stretched pretty thin across several centuries. That is my standard caution. Time and place lend perspective. If you can get your hands on it, read Carl Bridenbaugh's article on "The High Cost of Living in Boston, 1728," New England Quarterly, V (October 1932), 800-811. He tells the story of a contemporary debate, argued out in the pages of Boston newspapers, that included several members of the local clergy. According to the three detailed annual budgets presented there, Jonathan Edwards seems to have been considerably underpaid in 1726 and paid in 1748 at the slightly above the going rate of 1728: about $10,500. This may be a more useful perspective for you.
All of which also suggests something about where we in the United States stand today.
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