History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 44

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 44

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This business was established about 1835, and in- creased very rapidly. Mr. Whipple commenced by employing four or five men, but at the time of his death, in 1850, the number of men employed averaged thirty-five or forty, and the amount of gum cleaned each year was about one million five hundred thous- and pounds, the gum losing in weight about one- quarter part during the process of cleaning. Mr. Whipple was succeeded by his sons, who continued the business under the name of Stephen Whipple & Brothers. The business was prosperous until the year 1861, when an import duty of ten cents a pound was imposed on the uncleaned gum. The gum was there- after cleaned on the coast of Africa before shipment, and the business diminished until it was finally abandoned altogether.

The trade with Zanzibar, Madagascar, Arabia and

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the east coast of Africa has been continued by Salem merchants from the summer of 1826, when the "' Ann" was there, to the present day. In 1846, Salem had nine vessels there. The successors of the firm of John Bertram still continue the trade, but their ves- sels no longer enter the port of Salem, The last arrival at Salem from Zanzibar was the bark "Glide," May 1, 1870, and this was also the last arrival at Sa- lem of any vessel owned in Salem from beyond the Cape of Good Hope.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE TRADE .- When the merchants of Salem, at the close of the Revolutionary War, sent their vessels on long voyages, the Cape of Good Hope was among the first places visited. In this as in most other trades established with distant countries Elias Hasket Derby was the first to lead the way. , In 1781 he built at the South Shore a fast sail- ing ship of three hundred tons called the "Grand Turk " for use as a privateer. She carried twenty- two guns, and was remarkably successful in capturing prizes. In November, 1784, Mr. Derby despatched this vessel, under command of Jonathan Ingersoll, on the first voyage from Salem to the Cape of Good Hope. The cargo of the "Grand Turk " consisted, in part, of rum, which was sold to an English East India-man and delivered at the Island of St. Helena. From there she returned to Salem, via the West Indies, ar- riving in 1785. He bought in the West Indies, Gren- ada rum enough to load two vessels, sent home the " Grand Turk, " and returned himselfin the " Atlan- tic."

A striking incident is connected with this voyage of Captain Ingersoll. On his pas-age to Salem he res- cued the master and mate of the English schooner " Amity," whose crew had mutinied and set their officers adrift in a boat. After their arrival at Salem, Captain Duncanson of the " Amity " was sitting one day with Mr. Derby in his counting-room, and while using his spy-glass he saw his own vessel in the offing. Mr. Derby promptly manned one of his own brigs, put two pieces of ordnance on board of her, and, tak- ing with him the English captain, boarded and recap- tured the " Amity."

Mr. Derby purchased a vessel which had been cap- tured from the British during the Revolutionary War. He named her the "Light Horse." This bark he sent, in January, 1787, to the Cape of Good Hope, un- der command of John Tucker.

The captain wrote his first letter from Table Bay, dated May 15, 1787, giving an account of a sale of part of the cargo. From the Cape he went to the Isle of France, sold the remainder of his cargo, loaded with coffee and some India goods, and returned to Salem, arriving in January, 1788.

The brig "Hope," of one hundred and sixty tons burden, carrying eight men, made an annual voyage between Salem and the Cape of Good Hope for six consecutive years, entering at Salem in February, 1790, in August, 1791, in July, 1792, in June, 1793,

in May, 1794, and in July 1795. She was command- ed on the first three voyages by Jonathan Lambert, and on the last three by Samuel Lambert, and her car- go was consigned, on each voyage, to Jacob Ashton and others. The schooner "Ruth," Jonathan Lam- bert, Jr., master, entered in July, 1796, consigned to Jacob Ashton and others. The ship "Betsey," Jere- miah L. Page, master, entered in May, 1804, consign- ed to Abel Lawrence & Co.

Coffee, wine, pepper, sugar, ivory and aloes were among the articles imported. Most of the direct trade with the Cape of Good Hope, was carried on he- fore the commencement of the present century, and Jacob Ashton and Jonathan Lambert appear to have been largely engaged in it.

THE AUSTRALIAN TRADE .- Wherever a new chan- nel of trade was opened for Americans, Salem was either the first to open it, or her vessels followed close- ly after the pioneers. She was found asking for ad- mission to the port of Sydney, in 1832, and by a spe- cial order of the council, passed that year, the ship " Tybee," Charles Millett, master, was allowed to en- ter that port. This vessel was owned by Nathaniel L. Rogers and others, and was the first American ves- sel to enter the ports of Australia. The " Tybee " en- tered at Salem from Sydney January 20, 1835, again in March, 1836, and again in June, 1837. Joseph Rogers commanded her on these voyages, and her car- go consisted mainly of wool. The ship " Black War- rior," William Driver, master, entered from Sydney in September, 1835, and the ship "Shepherdess," J. Kinsman, master, in May, 1836, both bringing cargoes of wool. All the above-mentioned cargoes were con- signed to Nathaniel L. Rogers & Brothers. This trade did not prove profitable and it was not long coutinu- ed, the direct entries at Salem, from Sydney, being confined to the years 1835, '36 and '37.

THE FEEJEE ISLANDS TRADE .- The enterprise of Salem merchants seems not to have been confined by the limits of the civilized world, but to have extended to all habitable countries, however remote and how- ever peopled. Salem was as familiar a name to the cannibals of the Feejee Islands, during the first half of the present century, as it was to the savages of Africa and Madagascar. In many of those wild coun- tries, the untutored natives thought Salem comprised all the remainder of the outer world about which they knew so little. Captain William P. Richardson, of Salem, was at the Feejee Islands in the bark " Active," in 1811. He sailed from Salem June 1, 1810, and left the Feejee Islands July 26, 1811, for Canton. He ar- rived at Salem March 27, 1812, one hundred and eighteen days from Canton. This was the first trad- ing voyage from Salem to the Feejee Islands. Com- mercial intercourse with these islands began about 1806, probably by the vessels of the East India Com- pany.

When Commodore Wilkes went ou his famous ex- ploring expedition, he took with him as pilot and inter-

SALEM.

preter, Captain Benjamin Vanderford, a Salem ship- master, who, having made many voyages to these is- lands, was familiar with the customs and language of the natives. Captain Vanderford died March 23, 1842, on the passage home; and the commodore, writ- ing of him says: "During the cruise I had often ex- perienced his usefulness. He had formerly been in command of various vessels sailing from Salem, and had made many voyages to the Feejee Islands. Dur- ing our stay there, he was particularly useful in su- perintending all trade carried on to supply the ship." Commodore Wilkes was indebted to another Salem captain for bringing one of the vessels of his squad- ron,-the "Peacock,"-safely into port, on the 12th of July, 1840. Captain J. H. Eagleston, of Salem, who was trading there at the time, rendered him this important service. The commodore, in his report to the government, says : "The squadron is much in- debted to Captain Eagleston for his attention and as- sistance. I am also indebted to him for observations relating to gales."

Captain Eagleston made voyages to these islands between 1830 and 1840, in the bark "Peru," the ship "Emerald," the brig "Mermaid" and the ship " Leonidas." On one of his passages in the " Leoni- das " he caught several albatrosses, and tied to the neck of each a quill containing a slip of paper, on which was written "Ship Leonidas, of Salem, bound to New Zealand." One of these birds was caught by a French vessel off the. Cape of Good Hope, several hundred miles away from the spot where it was first caught by Captain Eagleston. The news reached Salem March 21, 1840, and was the first news of this vessel since she sailed, on the 9th of August. Cap- tain Eagleston sailed for Stephen C. Phillips, who was a prominent merchant of Salem from about 1828 to the time of his death, in 1857. Mr. Phillips was largely engaged in trade with the Feejee Islands, with Manila and other Eastern ports. In 1846 Salem had six vessels engaged in trade with the Feejee Islands. The usual voyage was from Salem to the Feejee Islands, where the vessel would remain, collecting the beche-de-mer, a sort of sea stug, found on reefs and in shallow water, and after drying and preparing them for the market, carry them either to Manila to exchange for sugar and hemp, or to China to ex- change for tea, the voyage usually consuming about two years. Salem almost monopolized this trade, and, in a work written in London, in 1858, by Thom- as Williams and James Calvert, missionaries 'at these islands, it is stated that the traffic in sandal-wood, tortoise-shell and beche-de-mer, "has been, and still is, chiefly in the hands of Americans from the port of Salem." There are many curious articles at the Pea- body Academy of Science at Salem, which were brought from the Feejee Islands during the early voyages.

Among the Salem merchants engaged in this trade were Nathaniel L. Rogers & Bros., Stephen C. Phil-

lips, Samuel Chamberlain & Co. and Benjamin A. West. The bark " Zotoff," Benjamin Wallis, master, made several voyages to the Feejee Islands. Captain Wallis, on two of these voyages, covering a period from 1844 to 1850, was accompanied by his wife, who, upon her final return, wrote an account of her trav- els, in a book entitled, "Life in Feejee." She men- tions seeing the brig " Elizabeth," the bark "Samos," Captain H. J. Archer, the bark "Pilot," Captain Hartwell and the brig "Tim Pickering," all of Sa- lem, during the first voyage. The "Samos " was af- terwards condemned at Manila. The "Tim Picker- ing," Walden, master, while lying at Ovalon, in the Feejee Islands, was driven ashore in a severe gale, April 5, 1848, and became a total loss. Captain Ben- jamin Vanderford was at the Feejee Islands about 1819, in the ship "Indus," and about 1822 in the "Roscoe." The bark "Dragon," Thomas C. Dunn, master, sailed from Salem February 22, 1854, and ar- rived at the Feejee Islands, a distance of sixteen thousand seven hundred and seventy miles, in eighty- five days, making the shortest passage ever made from the United States. She crossed the equator in twenty days, and passed Port Phillip, New Holland, seventy-three days ont. She reached Salem from Manila September 4, 1856, with one thousand one hundred and seventy bales of hemp, consigned to Benjamin A. West.

The seamen of Salem, visiting these islands, were exposed to peril of their lives from the ignorant and deceitful inhabitants, and to disaster to their ships from hidden reefs, of the existence of which they were unaware. In August, 1830, the brig "Fawn," James Briant master, and owned by Robert Brook- house, was lost at the Feejee Islands, and Captain Charles Millett, of the ship " Clay," gave captain and crew a passage to Manila. The ship "Glide," in March, 1832, was driven ashore at Tackanova, and lost. Her boat's crew were attacked by the natives, at Ovalon, December 26, 1831, and two of them killed. In the same gale which destroyed the " Glide," an- other Salem vessel, the brig " Niagara," was lost, at an island one hundred and forty miles from Tacka- nova.

The brig "Charles Doggett," owned by Nathaniel L. Rogers & Bros., and commanded by George Batch- elder, was at Kandora, one of the Feejee Islands, in September, 1833, and her crew were curing the beche- de-mer for the East India market. They were at- tacked by the natives for the sake of plunder, and five of the crew were killed, including Charles Ship- man, the mate. The remainder escaped in the boats, but were all more or less injured. James Magoun, of Salem, who had lived among the islanders several years, was dangerously wounded. On the way to Manila, the vessel touched at the Pelew Islands, and the crew were again attacked by the natives, and a boy was killed. The vessel reached Salem, from Manila, in October, 1834.

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

The story of a previous voyage of the "Charles Doggett," under the command of William Driver, is one of most romantic interest, and deserves a place in history. As an introduction, it may be well to give a brief account of the mutiny of the " Bounty," which, though an oft-repeated tale, is still one of thrilling interest. Captain William Bligh was sent by the British Government in the "Bounty " in De- cember, 1787, to Tahiti. He reached that island in October of the following year, and remained there six months, collecting bread-fruit plants, with which he started for Jamaica. Twenty-four days out, on the 28th of April, 1789, a part of the crew mutinied, and forced Captain Bligh and eighteen men into the ship's launch, which they cast adrift, turning their own course back to Tahiti. The captain and his companions arrived on the 14th of June, after suffer- ing almost incredible hardships, at the island of Timor, a distance of three thousand six hundred nautical miles from the place where they were aban- doned. The mutineers, after staying at Tahiti for some time, fearing pursuit, sailed eastward, taking with them eighteen natives, six men and twelve women, and leaving part of their comrades at Tahiti. They landed at Pitcairn Island, a solitary island in the Pacific Ocean, lying at the southeast corner of the great Polynesian Archipelago, having an area of only one and a quarter square miles, Here they took up their residence, and burned the "Bounty." From the time they left Tahiti, in 1792, nothing was heard of them, until an American, Captain Folger, touched at the island in 1808. At this time, all the men, save Alexander Smith, and several of the wom- en, were dead. The island was visited by British vessels in 1825 and 1830.

In 1831 their numbers had increased to eighty- seven, and the island was scantily provided with water. At their own request, they were transported by the British Government to Tahiti. All the origi- nal settlers were dead, and their descendants had been reared away from contact with the world, and were, despite their wild ancestry, virtuous and re- ligious. Never having looked upon vice, they found themselves among a people where virtue was un- known. Disgusted with the immoralities of the Ta- hitians, the most loose, voluptuous and unchaste peo- ple that exist under the tropic sun, they yearned with a homesick longing for the isolation and quiet of the little island that had so recently been their home.

It was at this time that the brig "Charles Doggett," William Driver, master, and owned by Nathaniel L. Rogers & Brothers, arrived at Tahiti. These poor homesick people besought Captain Driver to take them back to their native island. For their own sake, but above all for the sake of their children, they desired to leave this land of sensual indulgence. Captain Driver finally consented to carry them, sixty- five in number, back to the island, fourteen hundred

miles away, from whence they had so recently arrived, taking in pay some old copper, twelve blan- kets and one hundred and twenty-nine dollars in missionary drafts. They left on the 15th of August, 1831, and were landed on Pitcairn Island on Septem- ber 3rd, after an absence of about nine months. In 1855, finding their numbers again too large for the island, for they now numbered two hundred and two, they petitioned the British Government, and, in 1856, were removed to Norfolk Island. In 1859, two fami- lies, in all seventeen, returned to Pitcairn Island. An English writer, in speaking of them, says: "From their frequent intercourse with Europeans, the Pit- cairn Islanders have, while retaining their virtuous simplicity of character and cheerful, hospitable dis- position, acquired the manners and polish of civilized life, with its education and taste."

May it not well be said that a Salem vessel saved this people from sinking into the immoral life that surrounded them at Tahiti, and that in their strange and romantic history there is no chapter more impor- tant than that which records the assistance rendered them by Salem in their time of need ?

THE SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE,-The trade be- tween Salem and South America has been quite cx- tensive. This trade began early, and continued to be prosecuted after trade with other foreign countries had been abandoned. On the 25th of August, 1789, the schooner "Lark" arrived from Surinam with sugar and cocoa. The brig "Katy," Nathaniel Brown, master, cleared for Cayenne in April, 1798, with fish, flour, bacon, butter, oil, tobacco, candles and potter's ware. The schooner "Sally," Daniel Proctor, master, cleared for Cayenne in March, 1802. For forty years, from 1820 to 1860, there was constant commercial intercourse between Salem and the ports of South America.

Para was the port most frequently visited, there having been four hundred and thirty-five arrivals at Salem from that port, mainly between the years 1826 and 1860. The largest number of arrivals in a single year was in 1853, when twenty vessels entered. The last entries were in 1861. Rubber, hides, cocoa, coffee and castana nuts were among the articles im- ported. A few of the entries from Para are given, to indicate the merchants engaged in this traffic: The schooner "Betsey," James Meagher, master, entered from Para in March, 1811, with cassia, coffee and cocoa, consigned to John Howard; the schooner " Four Sisters," Joseph Ervin, master, in August, 1811, with one hundred and thirty-eight thousand pounds of cocoa, to William Orne; the schooner "Resolution," Edward Brown, Jr., master, in July, 1812, consigned to Jeremiah L. Page; the brig " Mer- cator," Samuel B. Graves, master, in September, 1817, to Robert Upton ; the schooner "Cyrus," Benjamin Russell, master, in March, 1820, to Robert Upton ; the schooner "Charles," Richard Smith, master, in August, 1822, to Michael Shepard; the schooner

SALEM.

" Phœbe," Benjamin Upton, master, in December, 1824, to Robert Upton ; the schooner " Leader," Na- thaniel Griffen, master, in April, 1826, to Richard Savory ; the schooner "Dollar," Thomas Holmes, master, in April, 1826, to David Pingree; the schoon- er "Cepheus," Charles Holland, master, in August, 1826, to Joseph Howard ; the brig " Romp," Clarke, master, in December, 1828, to Thomas P. Pingree and Michael Shepard ; the schooner "Gazelle," Warren Strickland, master, in August, 1830, to James Brown ; the brig " Ahby M.," R. Wheatland, master, in Octo- ber, 1830, to Gideon Tucker ; the brig "Amethyst," John Willis, master, in July, 1831, to Robert Upton ; the brig " Fredonia," S. K. Appleton, master, in Sep- tember, 1832, to Benjamin Creamer ; the brig "De- posit," G. E. Bailey, master, in January, 1842, to James Upton (this vessel made regular trips between Salem and Para) ; the brig " Mermaid," C. Conway, master, in April, 1842, to P. I. Farnham; the brig "Eagle," M. S. Wheeler, master, in December, 1842, to Benjamin Upton ; the brig "Deposit," under com- mand of Charles Upton, entered in March, 1844, and made several voyages thereafter, consigned to Luther Upton ; the brig "Granite," S. Upton, master, en- tered in October, 1844, and made regular trips, to S. F. Upton ; the brig " Rattler," C. W. Trumbull, mas- ter, entered in July, 1846, and made a number of voyages, consigned to John Bertram; the brig " M. Shepard," H. B. Manning, master, entered in March 1853, and continued for some time in the trade, con- signed to John Bertram. Messrs. Phippen and Endi- cott were the last among the Salem merchants engaged in this trade. There were two entries in the year 1861, and these entries closed the trade of Salem with Para.

There has been a large trade between Salem and Cayenne, beginning in the last century. The whole number of arrivals from this port between the years 1810 and 1877 was about three hundred. The largest number of entries in a single year was in 1835, when there were eleven entries from that port. From 1835 to 1840 inclusive, there were fifty-eight entries. The Cayenne trade was the last foreign trade engaged in by Salem merchants at the port of Salem.

Among the entries from that port was that of the brig "Trial," Eben Learock, master, in June, 1810, with molasses and coffee, consigned to Francis Quarles ; the schooner "Rachel," Mark Knowlton, master, in August, 1812, to John Winn; the brig " Return," Henry King, master, in March, 1813, to Thomas Perkins; the schooner "Essex," Thomas Cloutman, master, in May, 1816, with cocoa, molasses and almonds, to William Fabens; the brig " Ram- bler," W. D. Shatswell, master, in February, 1821, to William Fabens, and in February, 1828, to Benjamin Fabens ; the brig "Cynthia," in July, 1821, to J. H. Andrews ; in 1824, to Michael Shepard, and in 1825, to David Pingree; the hrig "General Jackson," Shatswell, master, in May, 1826, to P. I. Farnham ;

the brig " Jeremiah," Joshua F. Safford, master, in June, 1821, to David Pingree; the brig " Rotund," Joseph R. Winn, master, in May, 1825, to Benjamin Fabens; the schooner "Betsey and Eliza," Benjamin Pickering, master, in August, 1829, to Joseph Shats- well; the schooner "Numa," D. R. Upton, master, in March, 1833, to Robert Upton ; the brig "Romp," Peter Lassen, master, in September, 1851, to Joseph Shatswell; the brig "Esther," W. H. Fabens, master, in February, 1850, to Benjamin Fabens, Jr., and in Angust, 1850, Peter Lassen, master, to Charles H. Fabens ; the bark "Lawrence," Fabens, master, in September, 1851, to Charles H. Fabens.

David Pingree and Joseph Shatswell were largely engaged in this trade. The Fabens family for fonr generations have carried on the trade between Salem and Cayenne. William Fabens began it ahout 1816, Benjamin Fabens about 1825, Charles H. Fabens about 1850, and Charles E. and Benjamin H. Fabens about 1869. The successive generations have prose- cuted the trade continuously from 1816 to the present day. The last named removed the business to Boston in 1877, and now carry it on from that port. The last arrival at Salem from a South American port was the schooner "Mattie F," which was entered from Cayenne, by Messrs. C. E. & B. H. Fabens, March 21, 1877. The entry of the "Mattie F." closed the foreign trade of Salem.

The trade between Salem and Buenos Ayres is the next in importance. From 1816 to 1860, inclusive, there were one hundred and twenty-one arrivals at Salem from this port. The period of greatest activity was from 1841 to 1860. Robert Upton, James Upton, David Pingree and Benjamin A. West were among the merchants principally engaged in this trade. The entries from this port include that of the brig "Nancy Ann," John B. Osgood, master, in April, 1816, to Stephen Phillips ; the ship "Diomede," Samuel L. Page, master, in March, 1817, to Philip Chase; the brig "Cambrian," H. G. Bridges, master, in June, 1823, to Joseph Peabody; the brig "Bolivar Libera- tor," James Garney, master, in January, 1831, to P. I. Farnham; the bark "Chalcedony," J. E. A. Todd, master, entered in April, 1841, and made several voy- ages thereafter, commanded by Captain Todd, and a number after 1849, with George Upton as master (she was consignedon these voyages to James Upton); the bark "Three Brothers," Welch, master, entered in May, 1843, consigned to David Pingree; the brig "Cherokee," Mansfield, master, entered in October, 1843, consigned to Michael Shepard ; the brig “Ga- zelle," Dewing, master, in November, 1843, to John Bertram; the brig " Olinda," S. Hutchinson, master, in December, 1843, to Gideon Tucker; the bark " King Philip," George Upton, master, in June, 1844, to James Upton; the brig "Gambia," G. E. Bailey, master, in September, 1848, to Benjamin A. West; the bark "Maid of Orleans," Charles Upton, master in September, 1848, and on several subsequent voy-

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ages, consigned to James Upton ; the bark "Man- chester," S. Upton, master, in May, 1853, to Robert Upton; the brig "Russell," in August, 1854, to Geo. Savory ; the bark "Salem," in August, 1860, to Jas. Upton. The last entry at Salem from Buenos Ayres was in 1860.

Rio Grande was a place with which Salem mer- chants traded quite extensively. Hides and horns were the principal articles imported, From 1817 to 1860 there were one hundred and fifty-five arrivals at Salem from that province, and of that number, one hundred were during the period from 1845 to 1854 in- clusive. The largest number of arrivals in a single year was seventeen, in the year 1851. The Uptons were largely interested in this trade, as they were in most of the Salem trade with the ports on the eastern coast of South America. Robert Upton, James Up- ton, Benjamin Upton, Luther Upton and H. P. Upton and David Pingree, George Savory, Thomas P. Pin- gree, Benjamin Webb and David Moore were among those engaged in trade with Rio Grande.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 44

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1538

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538