USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1905, Volume I > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
In 1823, Nathaniel Foster and Thomas Foster, under the firm name of N. & T. Foster, manufactured and sold watches, jewelry and silver ware at No. 21, and afterwards at No. 12 State street.2
In 1845, Joseph Moulton, born February 17, 1814, fifth in descent from William Moulton who was living in Newbury in 1690, had a shop on Merrimack street, near Market square, where he made and sold gold beads and silver ware. He sub- sequently removed to the brick building on the southeasterly corner of State and Essex streets. His son William Moulton, in company with John E. Lunt, under the firm-name of Moul- ton & Lunt, still follows the occupation of jeweler and dealer in silver ware, at No. 45 State street, nearly opposite Essex street.
In 1849, John G. Pearson & Co. manufactured silver spoons, forks and butter knives at No. 145 Water street, "just below the James mill." In 1851, they removed to No. 23 State street.3
In 1857, James B. Fairbanks and Andrew M. Paul under the firm-name of Fairbanks & Paul, commenced the manufac- ture of gold thimbles, rings, lockets and chains in Prince place ;4 and Alfred Osgood made and repaired jewelry at No. 5 Rob- erts street, and afterwards at No. 59 State street.
Anthony F. Towle and William P. Jones, under the firm- name of Towle & Jones, began the manufacture of silver ware
1 Newburyport Herald, July 9, 1824.
2 Newburyport Herald, June 27, 1823, and July 20, 1824.
3 Newburyport Herald, November 27, 1849, and August 19, 1851.
4 Newburyport Herald, September 9, 1857.
FACTORY OF TOWLE MANUFACTURING CO., 1905.
173
FISHING INDUSTRY
in 1857 in a building in the rear of No. 8 Merrimack street.
In 1867, they removed to No. I I Middle street, and in 1870 Edward B. Towle was admitted to the firm and the name changed to Towle, Jones & Co. In 1873, the firm was dis- solved. William P. Jones continued to manufacture silver ware at the old stand on Middle street, and afterwards on State street.
Anthony F. Towle and Edward B. Towle, under the firm- name of A. F. Towle & Son, leased a building on Pleasant street, which they occupied until the Towle Manufacturing Company, organized in 1880, A. F. Towle, president, and E. B. Towle, treasurer, began to manufacture silver ware on a large scale in a brick building on Merrimack street near the foot of Carter street. In 1883, the brick factory at the foot of Broad street, erected in 1866 by the Merrimack Arms and Manufacturing Company was purchased and has since been occupied by the Towle Manufacturing Company. The capi- tal stock of the last named company has been several times increased. It is now three hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars divided into thirty-seven hundred and twenty shares, having a par value of one hundred dollars each. Lucien D. Cole is president, and William H. Swasey, treasurer.
In 1882, the A. F. Towle & Son Company, Anthony F. Towle, president, and Edward B. Towle, treasurer, was organ- ized for the purpose of manufacturing solid and plated silver ware. A building was erected on Merrimack street, at the foot of Oakland street, and occupied until 1890, when the machinery, and other personal property of the company, was removed to Greenfield, Mass.
FISHING INDUSTRY.
The catching and curing of cod fish and mackerel was for many years a profitable industry in Newburyport. The num- ber of men and vessels employed was never very large but the business was prosecuted with vigor and paid a fair rate of interest on the capital invested.
In the spring of 1817, an association was formed for the
174
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
purpose of building and equipping vessels, of suitable size and shape, to fish on the banks of Newfoundland. The net profits of the new enterprise, for the first year, were estimated at about twelve per cent.1 Subsequently, the company was less fortunate and, after experiencing several heavy losses, finally decided to abandon the business.2 At that date, salmon, blue fish and shad were abundant in the Merrimack river during the early spring and summer months. In 1847, forty-two hun- dred shad were taken in one seine, at one haul, at the mouth of the river.3
In 1850, the law providing for the payment of a bounty to the owners of vessels engaged in cod fishing was frequently made to add to the profits of the mackerel fishermen. A communication, published in the Newburyport Herald, on the twenty-sixth day of November of that year, created consid- erable excitement which culminated in a riotous attack on Thomas Cutler, said to be a native of New Brunswick, residing temporarily in Newburyport. The writer of the communication urged the collector of customs to execute the law fearlessly and justly, and closed with the following statement of facts :-
There are a number of fishermen who annually sail from this port, some of whom enter their vessels under cod-fish papers for the sake of the bounty and at the same time prosecute the mackerel fishery on our coast as well as Bay Chaleur.
On the evening of that day a large crowd gathered in the vicinity of Fair street and, proceeding to the residence of Mr. Cutler, entered and forcibly dragged him into the street. He was bound hand and foot, placed in a cart and drawn by men and boys to the southern boundary of the town, where he was pelted with stones and decayed fruit, and then allowed to find his way home as best he could.
At a meeting of the citzens of Newburyport, held in Market hall the next morning, at eleven o'clock, the selectmen were in- structed " to prosecute all persons connected with the riotous
' Newburyport Herald, Feb. 13, 1818.
2 Advertisement in Newburyport Herald, Feb. 23, 1821.
8 Newburyport Herald, June 18, 1847.
175
WHALE FISHING
proceedings of last evening," and a committee, consisting of John Porter, Eben F. Stone, Philip K. Hills, Charles Peabody, Moses Hale, John Balch, John M. Cooper, David J. Merrill, Jacob Horton and Joseph Akerman, was chosen to confer with and assist the selectmen in maintaining law and order in the town. Several arrests were made, but owing to conflict- ing evidence no convictions followed.
In 1851, there were ninety vessels, measuring six thousand and twelve tons and carrying nine hundred and eighty-five men, engaged in fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, on the coast of Labrador, owned, wholly or in part, in Newburyport. On the fifth day of October, eighteen of these vessels were lost, in a terrific gale, at Prince Edward's Island.
WHALE FISHING.
In 1832, a company was organized for the purpose of build- ing and fitting out vessels to be employed in whale fishing on the Pacific coast. Micajah Lunt, Jr., and Henry Titcomb, Jr., stockholders in the company, were appointed agents. The first vessel built under their supervision was the ship Merri- mack, Capt. J. H. Pease, master. She sailed from Newbury- port in September, 1833.1 The ship Navy, Captain Francis Neil, and the ship Adeline, Captain Buckley, sailed in the month of November following. The next year, the ship Newburyport, built by John Currier, Jr., was fitted out by the company and joined the whaling fleet on the Pacific coast.2
The business was carried on successfully for several years. The ship Merrimack, Captain Pease, arrived in Newburyport April 22, 1837, from her second voyage with thirteen hundred barrels of sperm, and sixteen hundred barrels of whale oil.3 The profits, however, arising from the sale of her cargo were unsatisfactory and subsequent voyages proving unremunera- tive the company decided to sell its ships and abandon the enterprise.
1 Newburyport Herald, September 20, 1833.
2 Newburyport Herald, July 8, 1834.
3 Newburyport Herald, April 25, 1837.
I76
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
IMPORTATION OF SUGAR AND MOLASSES.
The importation of sugar and molasses from Porto Rico and other islands in the West Indies was carried on quite ex- tensively by the merchants of Newburyport previous to the war of 1812. William Bartlet and Moses Brown had large warehouses on the wharves at the foot of Federal street, and at the foot of Green street, where they stored cargoes arriving
BAYLEY'S WHARF.
at the dull season of the year when they could not be disposed of at a fair profit.
At a later date, Capt. Robert Bayley, born in 1778, and his son Robert Bayley, Jr., born in 1808, were large importers of molasses and other merchandise from Porto Rico. Under the firm-name of Robert Bayley & Son they paid duties at the custom house in Newburyport, varying from fifty thousand
CHAISE MAKING
177
to one hundred thousand dollars annually, for nearly fifty years. In 1852, they purchased of Anthony Davenport the wharf property near the foot of Fair street, with the buildings thereon.I
The half-tone print on the opposite page gives a view of the wharf as it appeared just after the arrival of a cargo of several hundred hogsheads of molasses.
The business of the firm was continued, after the death of the senior partner, by his sons, Robert Bayley, Jr., and Charles M. Bayley, until January 1, 1879, when owing to financial embarrassment the firm was dissolved.
SAIL MAKING.
April 23, 1773, Ambrose Davis leased, for Six pounds, to be paid annually, a brick building on the wharf at the foot of Fish (now State) street, where he carried on the
business of sail
TRAKSTORE,
BENJ. G. DAVI SAIL MAKE
OLD SAIL-LOFT.
making. This building was owned by Benjamin Wood- bridge at that date, and afterwards by his son Joseph Wood- bridge.2 It was partially, but not entirely, destroyed by the great fire in 1811. When repaired it was again used as a sail-loft and is still used for that purpose by Benjamin G. Davis, a lineal descendant of Ambrose Davis.
In the above half-tone print a photographic view of the old sail-loft and the way to March's ferry is reproduced.
CHAISE MAKING.
Moses Brown was a chaise maker in Newburyport as early as 1766. In December, 1767, he purchased a lot of land on
1 Essex Deeds, book 460, leaf 267.
2 " Ould Newbury," p. 153,
178
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
Fish (now State) street, with a dwelling house and other build- ings thereon." He probably continued to work at his trade, as a carriage builder, for twenty or twenty-five years, until he purchased the wharf property at the foot of Green street in 1792, and commenced the importation of molasses and the distillation of New England rum.
In 1796, Aaron Fitz had for sale, " two doors below Blunt & March's store on State street," a tub-bottom chaise with standing-top, also one full-sweep standing-top chaise. "Any person wishing to contract for a chaise may have one of any construction, on the shortest notice, on very reasonable terms.'2'
In 1818, the Eastern Stage company manufactured in Hale's court heavy coaches and light one-horse carriages for its own use and for the accommodation of travellers ; and Robert Dodge, Samuel Rogers, and William Wig- glesworth carried on the business of chaise making in Belleville parish, HORSE AND CHAISE. now a part of New- buryport.
Although it is claimed that "a chaise breaks down, but never wears out " only a few of the older styles are now in ex- istence. One of comparatively modern make is shown in the above half-tone print.
COMB MAKING.
In 1759, Enoch Noyes manufactured horn buttons, and combs in the town of Newbury. "In 1778 he employed William Cleland, a deserter from Burgoyne's army, a comb-
1 Essex Deeds, book 120, leaf 148, and book 117, leaf 247.
2 Impartial Herald, March 29, 1796.
179
COMB MAKING
maker by profession, and a skillful workman. This was the commencement of the comb-making business in Newbury, and various other places."I
In 1819, there were several comb manufacturers in that part of the town which was set off and incorporated by the name of West Newbury. In 1830, Enoch S. Williams had a small shop in Newburyport where he made horn combs.2 In 1831, there were three shops in Newburyport, and twenty in West Newbury.3
In 1853, a brick building on Fair street, Newburyport, owned by L. P. Ingraham, and occupied as a machine shop, was sold to Lucien A. Emery, Handel Brown, and John Carr of West Newbury. The building was remodeled and repaired, and the new owners, under the firm-name of L. A. Emery & Co., began the manufacture of combs on a large scale. Sub- sequently, the name of the firm was changed to Carr, Brown & Co. The building was occupied for a comb factory until 1898.4
William Noyes, Jr., with his son, William Herbert Noyes, began the manufacture of combs in Prince place in 1871. Robert Vine was subsequently admitted to the partnership. In 1873, the firm of Noyes & Vine was dissolved, and William Herbert Noyes leased a shop on Water street, near the cus- tom house, and afterward a large building near the foot of Pike street, which he occupied until 1879, when in company with his brother Davis F. Noyes, under the firm-name of William H. Noyes & Co., he built a more commodious fac- tory on Chestnut street.
In 1884, the name of the firm was changed to William H. Noyes & Bro., and in 1899 the W. H. Noyes & Bro. Company
1 History of Newburyport (Coffin), p. 225.
2 Newburyport Herald, February 26, an dMarch 5, 1830.
3 Newburyport Herald, May 20, 1831.
4 It was erected, in 1822, for a machine shop, by Capt. David Coffin and Hon. Ebenezer Bradbury. Four or five years later it was purchased by William Bartlet and a portion of it used for a grist mill, by Edmund Bartlet, and for a brass and iron foundry, by Samuel Huse, and afterwards for a stocking and yarn factory. In 1841, the property, " completly fitted for making woolen yarn, with a large gang of mill-stones in the basement, fitted with gearing for grinding corn," was sold at auction by the executors of the will of William Bartlet. Newburyport Herald, August 10, 1841.
1 80
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
was incorporated. Since that date, the business of the com- pany has been gradually extended and its manufacturing fa- cilities increased. In 1904, the stock in trade and machinery owned by the firm of Somerby C. Noyes & Co., comb manu- facturers, in West Newbury, was purchased and removed to the W. H. Noyes & Bro. Company factory, in Newburyport.
The G. W. Richardson Company, incorporated and organ- ized in 1898, Henry B. Little, president, and George W. Rich- ardson, treasurer, having a factory at No. 9 Dalton street,
COMB FACTORY OF W. H. NOYES & BRO. COMPANY.
Newburyport, and the W. H. Noyes & Bro. Company are now the only comb manufacturers within the limits of Newbury, West Newbury and Newburyport.
MANUFACTURE OF WOOLEN YARN.
The brick building on the corner of Market and Merrimack streets was probably built by Richard Bartlet, Jr., in 1795: He purchased the land, February 16 and March 10, 1795, " a dwelling house thereon to be removed."' On the twenty-
1 Essex Deeds, book 159, leaves 32 and 208.
18I
MANUFACTURE OF WOOLEN YARN
ninth day of December following, he announced in the Im- partial Herald that he had removed to his new store, on the easterly corner of Market street, where he sold iron ware, coffee, sugar, tobacco, West India rum and molasses. He conveyed the property, February 17, 1797, to William Bartlet, who established his son, Edmund Bartlet, in business there.I William Bartlet also built the three-story brick dwelling house, on Market street, where Edmund Bartlet lived for many years.
In 1827, the New England Lace Company established a school in Newburyport for the purpose of instructing young ladies in the art of working lace. This school was under the supervison of Mrs. Clarke of Ipswich, and pupils were requested to apply to her for admission, " at the upper door to the brick store, east corner of Market Street."2 Subsequently, the store was converted into a factory for the manufacture of woolen yarn and cotton batting.
At about two o'clock, Sunday morning, November 26, 1837, the factory was discovered to be on fire. The machinery and the stock of manufactured goods on hand were destroyed, but the building was saved. A card of thanks, addressed to the firemen, and signed by Edmund Bartlet, was published in the Newburyport Herald on the twenty-eighth day of November following.
William Bartlet, in his will, proved February 16, 1841, gave to his son Edmund Bartlet
The house and land on which he now lives with all the buildings on Market street in Newburyport . . . . with all the fixtures, machinery and furniture in the steam mill, attached to the house, which I value to the sum of $38,000. dollars, to be held in trust for him by my executors [Ebenezer Wheelwright, Samuel Farrar, John Porter and Charles Brock- way].
In 1845, the factory was conveyed to Edward S. Lesley, who occupied it for a machine shop until 1860, when it was sold to Aaron Bancroft.3 The westerly end of the building
1 Essex Deeds, book 162, leaf 98.
2 Newburyport Herald, August 7, 1827.
8 Essex Deeds, book 359, leaf 4, and book 618, leaf 148.
182
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
was converted into a dwelling house, now the property of Mrs. John B. Pritchard ; the easterly end, on the corner of Market and Merrimack streets, is owned and occupied by Renton M. Perley, agent of the Frank Jones Brewing Company.
IRON FOUNDRIES.
Iron castings for ship work, cooking stoves, and hollow ware, also brass and copper castings, were made and sold by Samuel Huse & Co. at the steam mill on Fair street, opposite Commercial wharf, as early as 1836.1
Robert Russell and Eleazer R. Walker, under the firm- name of Russell & Walker, established an iron foundry, in 1840, on Brown's wharf, at the foot of Green street.2 In 1854, Albert Russell had charge of the foundry, and made all kinds of iron castings there until 1860.
James Blood of Newburyport, James M. Holmes and Wil- liam W. Nichols of Taunton, under the firm-name of Holmes & Nichols, leased a brick building on the corner of Merri- mack street and Williams' court, in 1857, and converted it into an iron foundry and machine shop.3 In 1860, Albert Russell purchased the stock in trade and good will of the firm of Holmes & Nichols, and removed his foundry from Brown's wharf to the westerly end of the building on Wil- liams court. In 1872, additional space was acquired for the use of the foundry, and Edward P. Russell and Albert Rus- sell, Jr., sons of Albert Russell, Sr., were associated with him under the firm-name of Albert Russell & Sons. The foundry and machine-shop owned by this firm are now under the management of Mr. William F. Runnells.
MAP OF NEWBURYPORT.
[March 24, 1830] Voted that the Selectmen appoint a surveyor to take a plan of the Town agreeably to a Resolve of the Legislature passed at the last session.4
1 Newburyport Herald, February 23, 1836.
2 Newburyport Herald, October 22, 1840.
3 Newburyport Herald, August 3, 1857.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 199.
183
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES
The plan was completed in the month of May following and filed, with other town plans, in the state house at Boston.' The copy on page 185, reproduced from the original plan, gives the boundary lines, and the location of the wharves, streets and public buildings of the town.
The almshouse and the First Presbyterian meeting house are located on Federal street ; the meeting house of the Fourth Religious society on the corner of Temple and Fair streets ; the Methodist meeting house on Liberty street; the town- house on the corner of State and Essex streets ; the market house in Market square; Wolfe tavern on State street ; the Second Presbyterian meeting house on Harris street ; the meeting house of the First Religious society on Pleasant street; the factory of the Newburyport Hosiery Company on the same street ; the Second Congregational meeting house on Titcomb street (opposite Brown square) ; St. Paul's church on the corner of High and Market streets ; the Baptist meeting house on Congress street ; and the jail and court house near Frog pond.
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.
The evils arising from the intemperate use of spirituous liquors were clearly perceived and vigorously discussed in Newburyport twenty years before the Washington move- ment was inaugurated. At a town meeting held December 24, 1813, William B. Bannister, Thomas M. Clark, William Bartlet, Ebenezer Moseley and Capt. John Pearson were chosen a committee "to take into consideration the evils arising from the distillation of Ardent Spirits from Rye and other kinds of Grain." On the third day of January, 1814, this committee recommended the adoption of the following petition to the General Court which was agreed to.
To the HONORABLE the SENATE & the HONORABLE the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES in General Court to be convened on the second Wed- nesday of January instant :
The inhabitants of the Town of Newburyport respectfully represent
1 Mass. Archives (Town Plans), vol. I., p. 13.
184
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
hat the distillation of Grain in this Commonwealth is a source of in- calculable injury to the moral as well as to the civil and social interests of its citizens, and while we rejoice with thankfulness for the various abundant and useful products of the earth we cannot but deep- ly lament the perversion of these blessings to the great injury of society. While we believe in the righteousness as well as goodness of him from whom all blessings flow and when we consider for a moment the exten- sive and destructive effects of the evil of which we complain we cannot but consider it as one and not the least among the many causes which draw the frowns and judgments of an overruling Providence upon guilty people.I
At a town meeting held March 13, 1820, a committee, con- sisting of John Pearson, Ebenezer Moseley, William B. Bannis- ter, James Prince and Joseph Williams, was appointed, " To see what measures the town will adopt to enforce the Laws of the Commonwealth to prevent retailers from selling ardent spirits to persons of known intemperate habits agreeably to the request of Moses Brown and thirty-nine others." This committee re- ported, on the twenty-ninth day of March following, that shops for the sale of liquor were increasing in number, that intem- perance was a growing evil and that the poor were greatly impoverished thereby. In conclusion the committee recom- mended "that a list of all known drunkards be posted up in all licensed houses & retailers' shops in this town, agreeably to the provision of the statute on this subject," and that the selectmen be instructed to prosecute all persons violating the law. This report was accepted and a committee, consisting of twenty prominent citizens of the town, was appointed to confer with and assist the overseers of the poor in prosecut- ing innholders and victuallers suspected of selling intoxicating liquors to persons of intemperate habits.2
In 1827, a society for the promotion of temperance was organized in Newburyport. Thomas M. Clark was president ; William B. Bannister, Thomas Hale and William Little, vice presidents ; and Ebenezer Stone, secretary. The third anni- versary of this society was celebrated by a public address in the meeting house of the Fourth Religious society, on Pros-
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 452-454.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., pp. 69, 71.
MAP OF
NEWBURYPORT
SURVEYED AND DRAWN FOR THE SELECT MEN OF THE TOWN BY PHILANDER ANDERSON IN MAY 1830.
IR
North . Street
I
fin Bridge
S
Ư
Y
Aar
. 00
TOWN HO
Long Way Rocks
1
-
-
tiere
- PROGS
mr 0.16.
-
--
Court Hours
High
LAlms House
I Street
Street |
Turnpike to Boston
S
V
60
10
CDO
SI
chocks
South
186
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
pect street.I The Young Men's Temperance society and the Belleville Temperance society were subsequently organized. Hon. Caleb Cushing delivered an address before the two so- cieties last named February 26, 1833.
Licenses for the sale of liquor in Newburyport were granted by the county commissioners subject to the approval of the selectmen. In 1834, the commissioners were requested, by the legal voters of the town, to decline to grant licenses, and the selectmen were instructed to withhold their approval if licenses were asked for.2 The next year, however, the select- men were requested " to favorably consider the application of as many persons as in their opinion the public good requires."
The Washington Total Abstinence society was organized in 1841, and celebrated the sixty-fifth anniversary of Ameri- can independence by a procession and an address appropri- ate to the occasion. In 1842 and 1843, the members of this society were granted liberty to use Market hall every Sunday morning for the discussion of questions relating to the use and abuse of distilled liquor.3
The Young Men's Total Abstinence society was organized in 1844, and the selectmen were authorized to grant the free use of Market hall, "when it is not otherwise engaged, to either of the Total Abstinence Societies in town," provided they agree to pay the expense of heating and lighting.
In 1845, the inhabitants of Newburyport adopted the fol- lowing resolutions :-
Whereas it is well ascertained that there are a large number of Grog shops and Tippling Houses within the town, illegally carrying on the business of dram selling, against the morality, peace, happiness, and pros- perity of the community, therefore
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.