History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 35

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 35

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Striet integrity, a prompt discharge of duty, a clear lead, and strong common sense have made him our foremost citizen clarum et venerabile nomen.

THE ROTCH FAMILY OF NANTUCKET AND NEW BEDFORD.

The ancestors of this family, which has been so prominently connected with the early history of Nantucket and New Bedford, came from Salisbury, · England, and settled first in Provincetown, Scituate, and other places in Eastern Massachusetts. The first of the name who is mentioned among the genealogi- cal records of New England was William Roteh, who was born in Salisbury in 1670, and came to America about the year 1700 or soon after, settling in Prov- incetown. The records show that early in the eighteenth century he was a prominent citizen and took an active part in town matters. His name often appears in subscriptions for valuable publications, and among the archives of Massachusetts is a petition presented in 1741 to the Legislature by citizens of Provincetown, in which William Roteh signs first.

William Rotch, of Provincetown, had two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. The former lived in Brain- tree and Falmouth, and afterwards went to Nan- tucket, where he married Love Macy, a descendant of Thomas Macy, the first immigrant to Nantucket, in 1659. From Joseph Rotch and Love Macy are descended the Rotehes of Nantucket and New Bed- ford, while Benjamin, the second son of William, was the ancestor of the Provincetown branch, whose descendants now live at Easton, Mass., Mount Ver- non, N. II., Martha's Vineyard, and other places.

Joseph Rotch (1704-84) was an enterprising mer- chant of Nantucket, and was held in high estimation by his fellow-citizens. In 1765 he removed to New Bedford, whose beautiful harbor he selected as being especially eligible and advantageous for the prosecu- .

tion of the whale-fishery. "This event," as stated by one of the historians of New Bedford, "was of the utmost importance, and this acquisition of capi- tal, accompanied with the ripe experience, clear- headed sagacity, and skilled methods of this accom- plished merchant, gave an impetus to the infant industry of New Bedford, which insured its perma- nence and success." New Bedford was originally a part of Dartmouth, but as a little village had already begun to appear, it was thought necessary to give it a particular designation from the rest of the old township ; and upon a publie occasion Joseph Roteh suggested that the name should be "Bedford," in honor of Joseph Russell, who bore the family name of the Duke of Bedford, which was readily adopted by the rest of the inhabitants.

Mr. Rotch purchased from Joseph Russell, besides several smaller lots, ten acres of land in one tract in the centre of what is now the business portion of the city of New Bedford, and was identified in many ways with the early history of the town. His house, situated on what was formerly known as Rotch's Hill, Water Street, was burned by the British troops during the Revolutionary war.

His family consisted of three sons, William, Joseph, and Francis.

William Rotch (1734-1828) was born in Nantucket, where he lived until the close of the war. His com- parative wealth, integrity, and heroic devotion to what he believed was right, rendered him a conspicu- ous man in the community, and enabled him to render important services to his fellow-citizens, whether he pleaded the cause of the helpless and destitute upon the quarter-deck of a British man-of- war, or before the Provincial Council at Boston.

In a sketch of his personal recollections during the war he said, "From the year 1775 to the end of the war we were in continual embarrassments. Our ves- sels were captured by the English, and we were some- times in danger of being starved. The exposed situ- ation of the island made it extremely difficult to elude the numerous cruisers that were always in the vicinity, and months would frequently elapse before any sup- plies could be obtained from the main land." -

The troubles of Nantucket did not end with the war, the whale fishery being ruined by the heavy " alien duty" of eighteen pounds sterling per ton im- posed upon American oil for the protection of British subjects, Great Britain being then the "only market of any consequence for sperm oil." Sperm oil was sold at Nantucket after the peace at seventeen pounds per ton, which before the war was worth thirty pounds. Mr. Rotch estimates the losses he had sustained by captures during the Revolutionary war at sixty thou- sand dollars, and for two years after the war the business was continued at a certain loss. In this des- perate state of things Mr. Roteh saw no alternative for the prosecution of his business but to proceed to England and endeavor to establish the whale fishery

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HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

there. He had several interviews with William Pitt, the chancellor of the Exchequer, and with Lord Hawksbury, but they would not consent to the intro- duction into England of any American-built ships. Mr. Roteh proceeded to France and laid his proposi- tions before the comptroller of finance, the minister of foreign affairs, and other officials, who extended a cordial welcome, and the business was finally estab- lished at Dunkirk.

" Full of most interesting incident is the story of William Rotch's residence in France. The striking and instructive aspect of his life while there is that perfect harmony and consistency of character main- tained by him in all the circumstances in which he was placed. The French revolution brought suffer- ing and danger to him and his family, but there was no wavering in the firmness with which he maintained the principles of his faith,-as true to him when the mob howled about his dwelling at Dunkirk as when he plead the cause of Christian liberty before the National Assembly at Paris, with Mirabeau as its president."

True to his Quaker principles, when he appeared before the National Assembly he refused to take off his hat or to wear one of the cockades which were considered necessary for every one in order to avert suspicion on the part of the lower classes.

" In the course of the year 1792," he writes, " fresh trials awaited us. A great insurrection took place in Dunkirk, founded upon a rumor of the exportation of corn. Several houses were attacked, their furni- ture totally destroyed, and many of our friends but just escaped with their lives. Martial law was pro- claimed, and whenever five men were seen together in the evening or night orders were given to fire upon them. Upon the announcement of a victory of the French over the Austrians a general illumination was ordered, but as we could take no part in war, we refused to join in rejoicings for victory. 'Well,' said the mayor, 'keep to your principles. Your houses are your own, but the streets are ours, and we shall pursue such measures as we think proper for the ,peace of this town.' We retired, though not without some fear that they would send an armed force. How- ever, they took another method, and sent men to erect a frame before our house and hang a dozen lamps upon it. The mayor had also the great kindness to have a similar frame with lamps placed before his own house, in addition to the usual full illumination, and he placed a man in front of our house to assure the people that we were not opposed to the govern- ment."

In 1793, when war was imminent between England and France, it became necessary to leave Dunkirk to prevent the capture of the ships by the English. Mr. Rotch writes as follows: "Two of our ships were cap- tured full of oil and condemned, but we recovered both by my being in England, where I arrived two weeks before the war took place.

" Louis XVI. was guillotined two days after I left France, an event solemnly anticipated and deeply deplored by many who dared not manifest what they felt."

He finally left Europe, July 24, 1794, with his family in the ship " Barclay," and after a long passage of sixty-one days once more reached America. After a year's residence in Nantucket, he removed to New Bedford in 1795, where he remained till his death, in 1828, in his ninety-fifth year. His residence was the " Mansion House," at the corner of Union and North Second Streets.

The author of "The History of New Bedford" speaks of him as follows : "His venerable and patri- archal appearance during the latter part of his life is well remembered by the writer. Tall and dignified in his person, his face expressive of benevolence, with his long silvery locks and the drab-colored suit of the style of the Society of Friends, combined with his noble and philanthropic character, rendered him an object of profound respect to his fellow-citizens, as well as to his numerous friends among the distin- guished merchants and men in public life at home and abroad. He was a fine specimen of a merchant, a man of the strictest integrity, frank, generous, high- minded in its truest sense, of broad and liberal views, a friend of the oppressed and down-trodden, in fine, a more perfect character it has never fallen to our lot to know, and is probably rarely to be met with in any community."

William Rotch was the owner of the famous ship " Bedford," which first displayed the American flag in British waters, an event which is thus described in Barnard's "History of England :"

"The ship 'Bedford,' Capt. Moores, belonging to the Massachusetts, arrived in the Downs on the 3d of February, 1783, and was reported at the custom-house on the 6th instant. She was not allowed regular en- try until some consultation had taken place between the commissioners of the customs and the Lords of Council, on account of the many acts of Parliament in force against the rebels of America. She was loaded with four hundred and eighty-seven butts of whale-oil, is American built, manned wholly by American seamen, and belongs to the island of Nan- tucket, in Massachusetts. This is the first vessel which has displayed the thirteen rebellious stripes of America in any British port."

Francis Rotch (1750-1822), the younger brother of William, was also a successful merchant and the owner of several ships, among which was the " Dart- mouth," from which the tea was thrown overboard in Boston harbor Dec. 16, 1773.

It is a remarkable coincidence that, by two occur- rences associated with the beginning and close of the war, the two ships, "Dartmouth" and " Bedford," owned by the two brothers, Francis and William Rotch, should have thus made memorable the names of the mother town and the infant village.

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NEW BEDFORD.

Nancy Roteh, the widow of Francis, lived during the latter years of her life on the corner of Walnut and Sixth Streets in New Bedford.

William Roteh, Jr. (1759-1850), was born at Nan- tucket, and moved to New Bedford soon after the Revolutionary war, where he spent the remainder of his life. He is well remembered by many persons now living as one of the prominent merchants of New Bedford during the first half of the present cen- tury. He was one of the incorporators and the first president of the New Bedford Institution for Savings in 1825. He subscribed nearly half of the money raised for the erection of the Friends' Academy, which was built in 1811, upon land given for the pur- pose by his father, and was the first treasurer of the board of trustees, his father being the first president.

His residence for many years was the building now occupied by the Bethel Boarding-House, then situ- ated at the corner of William and Water Streets, nearly opposite the Merchants' National Bank. He lived afterwards on County Street, his house and grounds being purchased after his death by the late Edward C. Jones.

One of his especial characteristics was his hospi- tality towards strangers coming to New Bedford, whether rich or poor, whom he entertained with sim- plieity and courtliness.

He, as well as his father, was an earnest advocate of the anti-slavery cause, and assisted many a bond- man to obtain his freedom.

Benjamin Rotch, the second son of William Roteh, Sr., was born at Nantucket, and accompanied his father to England and France in 1785. After the outbreak of the French revolution, when his father returned to America, Benjamin went to England, and soon after to Milford Haven, where he established the whale-fishery under the auspices of the British gov- ernment. He afterwards went to London, where he and his wife lived during the remainder of their lives.

Two of the children of Benjamin-Francis and Eliza-came to America, where they married and re- mained until their death. Francis married Ann Morgan, sister of Charles W. Morgan, of New Bed- iord, and Eliza married Professor John Farrar, a cele- brated mathematician of Cambridge.

Mrs. Farrar (1792-1870) was an authoress of some note. Among her earliest publications are " The Children's Robinson Crusoe," "Life of Lafayette," " Howard," and " Youth's Letter Writer." Her most popular work, " Young Lady's Friend" (1837), passed through many editions in the United States and Eng- land. Her " Recollections of Seventy Years," pub- lished in 1865, contains many interesting ancedotes of the distinguished persons whom she met during her eventful life, and she was considered one of the most accomplished and refined women of her time.

The second son of Benjamin Rotch, named also Benjamin, was a barrister in London, a member of

| Parliament, and chairman for several years of the board of Middlesex magistrates in London.

The youngest son, Thomas Dickason, was brought up as a civil engineer, and was noted for his inven- tive ability. His son, William D., is a distinguished barrister, formerly of London, now of Liverpool, and is a great admirer of American institutions and re- publiean principles.

William Roteh, Jr. (1759-1850), married Elizabeth Rodman, of Newport, R. I., and had five children, -- Sarah, who married James Arnold, of New Bedford ; William R., who married Caroline Stockton, of Princeton, N. J .; Joseph, who married Ann Smith, of Philadelphia ; Thomas, who married Susan Ridge- way, of Philadelphia ; and Mary, who married Charles Fleming and afterwards George B. Emerson. Wil- liam R. Roteh had two children, Horatio and Mary (who married Capt. Charles Hunter, of Newport).

Joseph Rotch (1790-1839) had five children,- Elizabeth (who married Joseph Angier), Benjamin S., William J., Rodman, and Joanna.

Benjamin S. Roteh (1817-82) graduated at Har- vard in 1838, he and his brother William being the two marshals of the elass which numbered among its members Lowell, Eustis, Devens, Story, and many other well-known men. In 1846 he married the eldest daughter of the Hon. Abbott Lawrence, and aecom- panied the latter to England when he was appointed our minister at the court of St. James. It was dur- ing this and subsequent visits to Europe that he had the opportunity to improve and cultivate that interest in the fine arts which rendered his influence in artis- tie matters most valuable. His careful study of for- eign collections, supplemented by practical work, made him a competent and fastidious critie, as well as a painter whose landscapes have shown to advan- tage in many local exhibitions. He was a trustee of the Boston Athenaeum and of the Museum of Fine Arts, and chairman of its committee. He also filled most successfully many other public and private offices which were confided to him.

He had seven children,-Edith, Arthur, Aimée (who married Winthrop Sargent), Catharine (de- ceased), Annie L., William (deceased), and Abbott Lawrence.

Arthur Rotch graduated at Harvard in 1871, and then pursued a thorough course of architecture at the " École des Beaux Arts" at Paris. On his return from abroad he settled in Boston, where he has been very successful in the practice of his profession, and has paid considerable attention to matters pertaining to art and music.

Abbott Lawrence Rotch at an early age exhibited a decided taste for mechanical engineering, and is now a student in the Institute of Technology in Boston.

William J. Rotch graduated at Harvard in 1838, in the same class with his brother Benjamin, with whom he was afterwards associated in many business enter- prises. Together with L. A. Plummer, of New Bed-

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HISTORY OF BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ford, they founded the New Bedford Cordage Com- pany, which has always been one of the most success- ful corporations of that city. In later years the two brothers were among the first to discover and develop the value of the Mckay sewing-machine, which has since won a world-wide reputation.

William J. Rotch has been prominently connected with nearly all the important business enterprises of New Bedford for many years, and has held numerous offices, both public and private, of honor and trust. In 1852, at the early age of thirty-three, he was elected mayor of the city. He has been treasurer of the board of trustees of the Friends' Academy since 1850, and has been a director in many manufacturing companies, railroad corporations, and banks in New Bedford and Boston.

In 1842 he married Emily Morgan, daughter of Charles W. Morgan, of New Bedford, who died in 1861. They had eight children, Charles M. (de- ceased), William, Helen, Morgan, Isabel M. (who married Pierre Severance), Sarah R. (who married Frederick Swift), Emily M., and Anna S. In 1866 he married Clara Morgan, and they had one daughter, Mary R.

After 1876 Mr. Rotch lived in Boston during the winter, and in 1881 he went abroad with his wife and four daughters, returning in the fall of 1882. His residence on County Street, in New Bedford, sur- rounded by extensive lawns and gardens, which cover several acres near the centre of the city, has for many years been considered one of the finest in Southern Massachusetts, and when occupied by its former owner, James Arnold, its spacious grounds and green- houses, filled with rare exotic plants, were among the principal objects of interest to all strangers who visited the city.

William Rotch graduated at Harvard in 1865, and after a three-years' course at the " École Impe- riale Centrale des Arts et Manufactures" at Paris, re- ceived the diploma of "Ingenieur civil" in 1869. In 1871 he was appointed assistant engineer of the Fall River Water-Works, the construction of which was begun a few months later; and in 1874 he was ap- pointed chief engineer and superintendent, retaining the position until the completion of the works. He resigned this office in 1880, and removed to Boston, where he was appointed consulting engineer and pur- chasing agent of the Mexican Central Railway Com- pany. He has been consulting engineer and treasurer of several other railroad corporations during the last three years.

In 1873 he married Mary Rotch Eliot, daughter of Hon. Thomas D. Eliot, M. C., and has had five chil- dren,-Edith Eliot, William, Jr., Charles Morgan, Mary Eliot (deceased), and Clara Morgan.

Morgan Rotch graduated at Harvard in 1871, and has since been engaged in business in New Bedford as a cotton-broker. He has been a member of the Common Council, is a director of the National Bank of

Commerce of New Bedford, and of several other cor- porations. In 1879 he married Josephine G., daugh- ter of Joseph G. Grinnell, of New Bedford, and has had two children, Arthur Grinnell and Emily Mor- gan.

Rodman Rotch (1821-54) left New Bedford at an early age, and settled in Philadelphia, where he died at the age of thirty-three. He married Helen Morgan, daughter of Thomas W. Morgan, of Phila- delphia, and had two children, Anna S. and Thomas Morgan.

Thomas Morgan Rotch graduated at Harvard in 1870, and, after studying three years at the Harvard Medical School, and holding the position of house physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital for one year, took the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He next studied for two years in the hospitals of Ger- many and France, and then returned to Boston, where he began to practice in 1876. He was ap- pointed Instructor in Diseases of Children in the Harvard Medical School, and has since held positions in the Boston Dispensary, the Boston City Hospital, and the Children's Hospital. In 1874 he married Helen, daughter of William J. Rotch, of New Bed- ford, and has one son, Thomas Morgan Rotch, Jr.

Seven generations of this family have lived upon the soil of New Bedford from the time when Joseph Rotch purchased the " ten-acre lot" in 1765, and sug- gested the name of the town, and probably no one family has had a greater influence in developing its character and shaping its history.

JONATHAN BOURNE.

Jonathan Bourne, son of Jonathan and Hannah Tobey Bourne, was born in the village of Monument, town of Sandwich, Mass., March 25, 1811, and was the tenth of a family of eleven children. His father, a man of inflexible will, strong good sense, and ster- ling integrity, was a farmer, and his sons were trained to habits of industry and learned the lessons of self- reliance. At the age of seventeen Mr. Bourne came to this city and entered the store of John B. Taylor, remaining there nine months, and then spent the win- ter months at home in attendance at the village school. The next spring he again came to New Bedford, where he attended for a few months the school of B. F. Fry, and after a brief visit to his home, found employment in the grocery-store of John Webster, under the Man- sion House, with whom, after a short time, he entered into partnership. Soon afterwards he purchased Mr. Webster's interest, and managed the business alone until 1838, when he sold out to the late George W. Howland, as his whaling investments were becoming important enough to demand his full attention. He retained, however, an office at his old stand, and being engaged largely both as owner and agent in the whale fishery, he carried on his business there until 1848, when he moved into the counting-room on Merrill's

un.

Arthur Jeauras

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NEW BEDFORD.

wharf which he has since continuously occupied. Devoted to his business, he rapidly increased it, until he became at one time the owner, probably, of more whaling tonnage than any other man in the country, if not in the world.

During the late civil war, when other owners, dis- heartened at the prospects of the fishery, were selling their vessels to the government to be sunk, stone- laden, at the month of Charleston Harbor, Mr. Bourne kept his faith in the enterprise and purchased five ships, retaining the entire ownership of three of them, and prosecuted the business with redoubled vigor, and with results proving his sagacity.

Always interested in politics, first as a Whig and later as a Republican, Mr. Bourne has never held any political office, except that of alderman, which, during the early history of the city, he filled for five con- secutive years. Decided in his views upon all ques- tioas that came before the board, and frank and fear- less in expressing them, he encountered persistent opposition at the polls, but never failed of an election.

Mr. Bourne was three times chosen a delegate to the National Republican Convention, and at Chicago, in 1860, was the first of the Massachusetts delegation to abandon Seward and cast a vote for Abraham Lincoln. For five terms, of two years each, he was elected by the Legislature a State director of the Western (now the Boston and Albany) Railroad. In politics, as in business, he has relied mainly upon his own judgment of men and measures, and always had the courage of his convictions. Upon the death of Hon. John Avery Parker, Mr. Bourne was chosen as his successor in the direction of the Merchants' Bank, and upon the death of Charles R. Tucker, in 1876, was unanimously chosen president of the bank, a position he now holds. He also succeeded the late W. H. Taylor, Esq., as president of the Bristol County Fire Insurance Company.

Mr. Bourne's early educational advantages were limited to those afforded by the common schools in his youth, open for about two months each winter, and kept by men poorly paid and often as poorly fitted for their work, and by the brief term he at- tended Mr. Fry's school in New Bedford. But he made good use of them, and was well fitted for the larger school of practical affairs in which he has taken such conspicuous rank. An eminently snc- cessful business man, the secret of his success is an open one. It is due to his tireless industry, to his promptness that never failed to meet every financial obligation, however trivial or however large, to his remarkable personal attention to details, and to a probity and courage, tempered with cantion, that have made him sagacious and successful beyond most men. Though quick in his insight into affairs, and sometimes almost passionate in the conduct of his business, he has been just in his decisions and thought- ful of those connected with him.

Though in his seventy-third year, Mr. Bourne, by 10

his bodily vigor, energy in business, and spirited in- terest in affairs, most forcibly illustrates the value of active habits, possessing as he does, at his ad- vanced age, the physical and mental elasticity and strength generally associated with the prime of life.

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History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 35

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1818

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818