Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America., Part 136

Author: Tracy, Cyrus M. (Cyrus Mason), 1824-1891, et al. Edited by H. Wheatland
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Boston, C. F. Jewett
Number of Pages: 450

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America. > Part 136

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Australian Trade. - Wherever a uew channel of trade was opened for Americans, Salem was either the first to opeu it, or her vessels followed closely after the pioneers. She was found asking for ad- mission to the port of Sydney, in 1832. and by a special order of the council, passed that year, the ship "Tybee," Charles Millett. master, was allowed to enter that port. This vessel was owned by Nathaniel L. Rogers, and others, and was the Erst American vessel to euter the ports of Australia.

California Trade. - A letter giving definite information of the dis- covery of gold in California. reached Salem in October, 1848. The brig " Mary and Ellen" was then fitting for sca. A cargo suitable for the California trade was at ouce put on board, owned by Stepheu C. Phillips and others, and the brig. under command of Capt. J. H. Eagleston, was cleared Oct. 27, 1848, for the Sandwich Islands via California. Salem again takes the lead. for this was the first vessel to sail for California from Massachusetts after the gold discovery. Both vessel and cargo were sold in California. The first vessel that cleared from Massachusetts for San Francisco direct, with an assorted cargo and passengers, was the barque "Eliza," of Salem. loaded by John Bertram and others, and commanded by Capt. A. S. Perkins. She left Salem, Dec. 23. 1848. and arrived at San Francisco. June 1. 1849. Alfied Peabody, of Salem, was among the passengers, and upon his arrival he found that Capt. Eagleston had already sold the "Mary and Ellen," and her cargo.

Foreign Commerce. - Salem merchants still own a large amount of tonnage, but their vessels never enter the port of Salem, and their busi- ness is transacted largely in Boston and New York. Where once vessels were arriving, sometimes two in a single day, from India or other remote ports, but a solitary schoouer found her way into Salem harbor from a foreigu port, other than those from the British Provinces, during the year ending, June 30, 1878. and she brought a cargo of eval from England. At the Custom House, where in the week ending Sept. 15, 1798, seven Salem vessels, three ships, one hargne. and three brigs cleared for Copenhagen. there was cleared during the year ending June 30, 1878, one vessel to the West Indies, and one to Liverpool ; the single entry and the two clearauces being in the month of Decem- ber. The whole uumber of foreign entries for that year were seventy- uine, of which eight were Americau vessels, aud the total tonnage was

8.183. The number of foreign clearances was ninety-six, of which nine were American vessels. the total tonnage being 10.090.

The Coasting Trade. - While Salem has lost her foreign trade, the harbor of Salem is not entirely barren of vessels ; for a large amount of tonnage. larger even than when she was at the height of hier commercial prosperity, engaged in the coasting trade, brings coal to Salem for distribution to the mills of Lowell and Lawrence. In 1870, there entered the harbor, 1.812 consting vessels. having an aggregate tonnage of 213,514 ; and 1,237 vessels, measuring 203.798 tons, entered during the year ending June 30, 1878. Some eight or ten years ago, there was a line of steam packets between Salem and New York. run by the Salem and New York Steamship Company.

Salem Merchants. - Among the prominent Salem merchants, whose names have not been before alluded to, were John Turner, who died in 1742. Edward Kitchen, and Thomas Lee, who died July 14, 1747. These men followed Philip English. The name of Pickman has been intimately connected with the commerce of Salem. Benjamin Pick- man. who was born in 1706, and died in 1773, was very successful as a merchant. He built and ocenpied the house which stands oppo- site the head of St. Peter's Street, and has at present a number of stores built in front of it. His trade was mainly with the West Indies. Timothy Orne, who died July 14, 1767 ; Joseph Cabot, who died Nov., 1781; William Orne, who was born Fcb. 4, 1751. and died Oct. 14, 1815 : George Crowninshield, who was born Aug. 6. 1734. and died June 17, 1815. and who lived in a house on the site of the present custom-house ; George Crowninshield. Jr., who was born May 28, 1766. and died Nov. 26, 1817. and who equipped the famous vessel know as " Cleopatra's Barge " for a pleasure trip to the Mediterranean, - a floating palace, which excited wonder even at Genca for her beauty. luxury. and magnificence ; Thomas Perkins, who was born Apr. 2. 1758. and died Nov. 24, 1830 ; Nathaniel West, who was born Jan. 31. 1756. and died Dec. 19. 1851 ; Joseph Lee, born May, 1744. and died in 1831 ; Pickering Dodge. Gideon Tucker. Robert Stone, Dudley L. Pickman. Jerathmael Peirce. and Aaron Waite-were all promi- nently connected with the commeree of Salem, and their individual careers would well repay the labors of the biographer.

John Bertram. - This brief recital of Salem's commercial reeord should not be closed without some reference to the last of the mer- chants of Salem, whose vessels arrived in her harbor from ports be- vond the Cape of Good Hope. It is a curious coincidence, that our first merchant, Philip English. is supposed to have been born in the Isle of Jersey, and that our last merchant, John Bertram. first saw the light ou that same island. Feb. 11, 1796. Mr. Bertram came to Salem at an early age; and in December. 1813, we find him sailing from Boston in the schooner " Monkey " as cabin-boy. He arrived in Charleston, S. C .. early in 1814, and left there in an American privateer in March. The privateer was captured, and he was taken to Bermuda and confined in the Bermuda and Barbadoes prison-ships. Having been born on the Isle of Jersey. and being familiar with the French language, he was released, as a Frenchman. after which he enlisted in another American privateer, was again takeu prisoner, and carried to England, where he arrived in April, 1815. after peace had been declared.

In 1824. with P. I. Farnham and others, Mr. Bertram purchased the schooner " General Brewer." and, in company with Capt. W. B. Smith. sailed for St. Helena. When a few days out, he met the brig " Elizabeth," of Salem, Story, master, bound also for St. Helena. Capt. Story came on board the " General Brewer." and took tea with Capt. Ber- tram : and each was desirous that the other should not know his des- tination. They each announced themselves as bound for Pernambuco. Capt. Bertram suspected. however, that the "Elizabeth " was bound to St. Helena. and he was extremely anxious to arrive there first. and dispose of his cargo. As night came on. in order to lighten his vessel, he had his entire deck-load of lumber passed aft and thrown overboard. and by crowding on all sail. day and night, he arrived at St. Helena. disposed of his cargo, and was coming out of the harbor just as the " Elizabeth " arrived. From St. Helena. Capt. Bertram went to Pernambuco, on his way to Salem. After his return home. he pur- chased the "Velocity." of 119 tons burden, and, with Capt. W. B. Smith. again set sail for St. Helena. He went from there to the Cape of Good Hope. and thence to the Rio Grande and the coast of Pata- gonia. at which latter place he remained, engaged in trading for hides. while Capt. Smith made trips up and down the coast in the " Velocity." After being at Patagonia for some time. Capt. Bertram and Capt. Smith both sailed for Pernambuco in the " Velocity," and there found Capt. Thomas Downing, of Salem, in the brig " Combine." of 133 tons burden. They purchased the "Combine" of Capt. Downing, and

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

387

drew lots to determine which of them should return to Patagonia, and which should go home to Salem. It fell to the lot of Capt. Bertram to return to Patagonia, which he did : Capt. Smith coming back to Sa- lem in the "Velocity." After trading for a while on the coast, Capt. Bertram returned to Salem in the " Combine." He afterwards made another trip to Patagonia in the brig " St. Michaels," of 120 tons bur- den. He was on the coast of Patagonia for about three years.

On his final return to Salem, the firm of Nathaniel L. Rogers & Bros. offered him an interest in the ship " Black Warrior," of 231 tous burden, and he sailed in command of her from Salem in Deeem- ber, 1830, for Madagascar, Zanzibar, and Mocha. Capt. Henry F. King, of Salem, was with him on this voyage. He loaded, as has been before stated, with a large quantity of gum-eopal in bulk, aud established a trade there which he has continued to the present time. He returned from this voyage Mareh 31, 1832. Mr. Bertram has been con- neeted in this business at various times with Michael Shepard, Na- thaniel Weston, and Andrew Ward.

From 1845 to 1857 he was trading at Para. He sent, in December, 1848, one of the first vessels from Massachusetts to California after the gold discovery, and the favorable aeeounts he received from her induced him to send three vessels from Salem the next spring with full cargoes, and two others shortly after. He also engaged in the California trade with Messrs. Glidden & Williams, of Boston. He has been connected with the building and management of several rail- roads in the West. Mr. Bertram founded, and has maintained at his own expense, the " Old Men's Home," and he was largely instrumental in establishing the Salem Hospital. As a merchant, he was enterpris- ing and energetie ; as a eitizen, public-spirited and charitable. His name worthily closes the long list of eminent merchants who have given Salem a history unparalleled in the annals of commerce.

Salem's Commercial Record. - The commercial history of Salem reads like a tale of fietiou. We of to-day ean hardly realize that she led the way from New England round the Cape of Good Hope to the Isle of France, and India, and China ; that her vessels were the first from this country to display the American flag and open trade with St. Petersburg, and Zanzibar, and Sumatra ; with Calcutta and Bom- bay ; with Batavia and Arabia ; with Madagascar and Australia : and yet sneh is the plain story of her achievements. The adventures of her brave officers in unknown seas ; their encounters with pirates and savage tribes ; their hairbreadth escapes ; their tales of shipwreck, and of imprisonment among the Algerines, and in the prisons of France and Spain ; and the strange and thrilling incidents of their carly voy- ages,-would make a tale which even the imaginings of romance could hardly parallel.

But the commercial prosperity of Salem is a thing of the past. Her triumphs on the seas have passed into history, and the record is closed. Derby Street no longer presents a scene of bustle and activity,-of sailors greeting friends on their arrival from the far East, and of others preparing for departure ; the shop windows no longer display curious trinkets and odd ventures gathered from all quarters of the world; the boarding-houses where the returning sailor found a home, with the inevitable clothing-shop attached, where he was invited to spend his hard-earned wages, have been a long time elosed ; and the rope-walks, the sail-lofts, and the ship chandlers' shops are deserted and abandoned. The foreign com- merce of Salem, once her pride and glory, has spread its white wings and sailed away forever. But the traditions of the past will always make a bright page in her history, and the motto on her municipal seal, "To the furthest port of the rich East," seattered far and wide as she each year sends forth her official documents, will serve to perpetuate and hand down to posterity her brilliant commercial record.

The Custom-House .- Hand in hand with commerce come the col- lectors and officers of the customs revenue. Before 1819, and during the palmy days of Salem commerce, there was no govern- ment building for the accommodation of such officers. Salem has been established as a port of entry at least since 1658. In 1663, Hillard Veren was collector; and in 1683, Marblehead, Beverly, Gloucester, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, and Salisbury are annexed to the port of Salem by order of the Court of Assistants, and it is decreed that this port and Boston shall be lawful ports in this Colony, where " all ships and other vessels shall lade or unlade, any of the plantations enumerated goods, or other goods from foreign ports, and nowhere else, on penalty of the confiscation of such ship or vessel, with her goods and tackle, as shall lade or unlade else- where."

At an early period, commerce seems to have centred about

Creek Street and the locality of the present Eastern Railroad Sta- tion. This is the supposed location of the "Port House on the South river " mentioned in an order of the Quarterly Court in 1636. All the " cannowes of the South Syde, are to be brought before the Port House att the same time to be viewed by the Surveiors." These " cannowes" were used for transporting passengers to North and South Salem before the days of bridges, and in them they some- times went fowling "two leagues to sea." There was another port house on North River, and much business was done in former years on that side of the town.

The Custom House for thirty-four years was in a building on the corner of Gedney Court, erected in 1645, and known as the French house, having been tenauted by French families. The enstoms offi- cers often transacted business at their homes. In 1789, it was on the site of the present bank building in Central Street. Maj. Hiller was the collector. In 1805, it was removed, under Col. Lee, to the Central Building on the opposite side of the street, where a carved eagle and shield, lately restored, still mark the spot. In 1807, it was in Essex Street for a time, opposite Plummer Hall; in 1811, it was on the corner of Essex and Newbury streets ; and in 1813, in the Central Building again, where Col. Lee resided, and whenec, in 1819, it was removed to the government building erected for the purpose at the head of Derby Wharf, where it now remains. This building stands upon land bought of the heirs of George Crowninshield, and was the site of the Crowninshield mansion-house, which was removed to make way for the present structure. It was "intended to aeeommo- date a hoped-for inerease in the commercial prosperity of the place -- hopes destined never to be realized -- and was built a world too large for any necessary purpose, even at the time when India was a new region, and only Salem knew the way thither." This eustom-house is a substantial, two-story brick building, with a large warehouse in the rear, the whole surmounted by a eupola, from which the inspect- ors ean watch for incoming vessels. It is now out of all propor- tion to the business of the port, and the time is not far distant when it will be abandoned for some smaller quarters.

There has been collected in imposts at the port of Salem, sinee the organization of the Union in 1789, the sum of more than twenty- five millions of dollars. From 1790 to 1799, inelusive, 1,466 ves- sels in our foreign commerce entered, which paid annually, on an average, $249,041.25; from 1801 to 1810, inclusive, the dutics eol- lected amounted to $7,272,633.31, the years 1804-5-6-7 showing an average of about one million cach ; from 1808 to 1817, the foreign arrivals were 936, and the average annual duties, $378,579.78; from 1818 to 1827, inclusive, 1,139 arrivals, paying annual duties of $463,978.29 ; from 1828 to 1834, inclusive, the arrivals were 704, and the average annual duties, $419,230.77. The duties for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 1807, when the embargo was officially announeed at Salem, were $511,000, which is the largest amount ever collected at Salem in a single quarter. The goods were imported in 22 ships, 3 barques, 19 brigs, and 23 schooners. Among them 17 vessels were from Calcutta, and 6 from Sumatra. The Sumatra ves- sels landed three million pounds of pepper. In 1793, 12 ships were owned in Salem. In 1807, 60; and in 1833, only 29. In 1825, there were 32 ships, 5 barques, 95 brigs, 60 schooners, and 6 sloops owned in Salem, measuring 34,224 tons ;-- the ship "Nile," of 400 tons, was the largest; and in 1828, 30 ships, 102 brigs, 8 barques, and 30 schooners, -- the largest being the ship " Arabella," Foster, mas- ter, 404 tons. In 1833, there were 111 vessels engaged in the foreign trade of Salem. In 1868, there was collected in duties the sum of $118,114.37, of which $30,000 was paid in a single month. In 1878, the whole amount collected was only about $11,000, of which about $3,600 was for direct imports.

Collectors of Customs .- The successive collectors since the Revolu- tion have been Warwick Palfray (born, Oct., 1715; died, Oct. 10, 1797), from 1776 to 1784; Joseph Hiller (born, March 26, 1748 ; died, Feb. 9, 1814), 1784 to 1802; William R. Lee (born, 1744; died in office, Oct. 26, 1824), 1802 to 1824; James Miller, 1825 to 1849; Ephraim F. Miller, 1849 to 1857; William B. Pike, 1857 to 1861; Willard P. Phillips, 1861 to 1865; Robert S. Rantoul, 1865 to 1869; Charles W. Palfray, 1869 to 1873; Charles H. Odell, 1873 to the present time.

Deputy Collectors .- The deputy collectors, under the present organization, have been : Charles Cleveland, from 1789 to 1802; William W. Oliver, 1803 to 1839; John B. Knight, 1839 to 1843 ; Ephraim F. Miller, 1843 to 1849; J. Linton Waters, 1849 to 1854; Henry E. Jenks, 1854 to 1857; Chipman Ward, 1857 to 1859; Heury Derby, 1859 to 1861; Ephraim F. Miller, 1861 to 1864;

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Charles S. Osgood, 1864 to 1873; J. Frank Dalton, 1873 to the present time.

Surveyors .- The surveyors during the same period have been Bar- tholomew Putnam, from 1789 to 1809; George Hodges, 1809 to 1817; John Saunders, 1818 to 1830; James Dalrymple, 1830 to 1834 ; Joseph Noble, 1834 to 1838 ; Edward Palfray, 1838 to 1841; Stephen Daniels, 1841 to 1843; Nehemiah Brown, 1843 to 1846; Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1846 to 1849; Allen Putnam, 1849 to 1854; Lewis Josselyn, 1854 to 1857; Ebenezer Dodge, 1857 to 1861; William C. Waters, 1861 to 1863; Charles F. Williams, 1863 to 1865 ; Joseph Moseley, 1865 to 1871; Charles D. Howard, 1871 to 1875, when the office was abolished.

Naval Officers .- The naval offieers have been William Piekman, from 1789 to 1803; Samuel Ward, 1803 to 1812; Henry Elkins, 1812 to 1829 ; John Swasey, 1829 to 1842; Abraham True, 1842 to 1846; John D. Howard, 1846 to 1849; William Brown, 1849 to 1853; Charles Millett, 1853 to 1858; John Ryan, 1858 to 1860; Joseph A. Dalton, 1861 to 1865, when the office was abolished.

Nathaniel Hawthorne .- The two most prominent names in this list are those of Nathaniel Hawthorne and James Miller. The one the unequalled master of romanee ; the other "New England's most dis- tinguished soldier." Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, July 4, 1804, in the house now numbered twenty-one on Union Street. Hewasa descendant of Maj. William IIathorne, who came with Gov. Winthrop in the " Arbella." The name is an old and honored one in Salem, and prominently connected with its early history. On the death of his father, in 1808, he lived for a time with his maternal grandfather, Richard Manning, on Herbert Street. For a year he lived in Ray- mond, Maine, and then returned to Salem. He graduated at Bow- doin College in 1825, in the same class with the poet Longfellow. He was appointed weigher and ganger at Boston in 1838, and was removed in 1841 for politieal reasons ; he was surveyor at Salem from 1846 to 1849; and consul of the United States at Liverpool from 1852 to 1856. The fame of Hawthorne as a writer was of very slow growth. In 1828, he published anonymously the romance, " Fanshawe," and in 1837, "Twice-told Tales."

In 1840, after having been a resident of Lenox, as well as of Con- cord, he drifted back to the old family mansion in Union Street, where, writing in the solitude of his chamber, he says : " Here I sit, in my old accustomed chamber, where I used to sit in days gone by. Here I have written many tales. If ever I have a biographer he ought to make mention of this chamber in my memoirs, because here my mind and character were formed ; and here I sat a long, long time, waiting patiently for the world to know me, and sometimes wondering why it did not know me sooner, or whether it would ever know me at all - at least till I were in my grave." Some years later he published the " Scarlet Letter," and there was no longer any doubt whether the world would ever know him. This romance has become one of the classics of our language, and the subtle genius of the great story- teller has reflected a halo of interest round the Custom-House which brings curious travellers from far and wide to visit it. The room he occupied ; the desk on which he wrote; the steneil-plate with which he put his name on packages ; the room in which he tells us he found the manuscript, telling the sad, strange story of Hester Prynne, were, until a few years, preserved and examined with interest by tourists. The Custom House was refurnished in 1873, and his desk was deposited by his successor in office with the Essex Institute.

About 1849 he removed to Lenox, and there wrote the " House of the Seven Gables." The scene is located in Salem. The work added to his growing fame as an author. The house which he is sup- posed to refer to is situated on Turner Street, and is now occupied by Horace Ingersoll. Among his later works are the " Blithedale Romance," and " Marble Faun." The one a reminiscence of his resi- dence at Brook Farm, the other of his abode in Italy. He died in Plymouth, N. H., May 19, 1864, while making a short journey, in the company of his friend and classmate, President Franklin Pierce.

James Miller was born in Peterboro, N. H., in 1776. He was bred to the law and left the courts for the camp, on being appointed by Jefferson, in 1808, a major in the 4th U. S. Infantry. He was with Gen. Harrison throughout his famous Western campaign of 1811; then followed Brownstown, Chippewa, and Lundy's Lane, and from the last dates his national fame and his brigadier's commission. At that battle Maj. Gen. Brown was in command, and was disabled, and Scott of the First Brigade was also disabled. It was plain that a certain hill, whose frowning front bristled with artillery, was the key to victory. At this juneture Col. Miller was called on to storm the work. "I'll try, sir l" was Miller's reply, and as he says, with his

regiment redneed to less than three hundred men, he at once obeyed the order. Two regiments ordered to his support quailed and turned baek. "Col. Miller," says the official records, " without regard to this occurrence, advanced steadily and carried the height." "Not one man at the cannon," says he, in writing to his wife, " was left to put fire to them." The memorable words, " I'll try, sir !" were at onee embossed upon the buttons of his shattered regiment, which was presented with a captured gun for distinguished gallantry. On the following Novem- ber Congress voted him a gold medal bearing his likeness, his famous words, and the names of Chippewa, Niagara, and Fort Erie. He was also presented with a sword by the State of New York. Gen. Miller was governor of Arkansas Territory in 1819. He died July 7, 1851, in Temple, N. H.

Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Oliver are remarkable among the deputy collectors. The former was born in Norwich, Conn., June 21, 1772, and died June 5, 1872, coming within sixteen days of living out the century. At the age of ninety-eight he attended Mr. Oliver's funeral, who died at ninety-one. Mr. Oliver was connected with the Custom- House forty-six years. He was born in Salem, Dec. 10, 1778, and died Dec. 29, 1869.

Jonathan Pue, now immortalized in the "Scarlet Letter," beeame " seareher and surveyor" in 1752, and died suddenly in office, Mareh 24, 1760. In 1734 William Fairfax, whose name was afterwards pleasantly associated with that of Washington, left the collectorship of this port and removed to Virginia, and it was upon the petition of James Cockle, colleetor of Salem, for a warrant to search for smuggled molasses, heard at the Old State House in Boston, February, 1761, that James Otis made his immortal plea against writs of assistance.

Salem Privateers in the Revolution. - The colonists in the War of the Revolution were almost destitute of ships of war. They were engaged in a struggle with one of the most powerful maritime nations, without the means to eope with their enemy on the high seas. Their own commerce was ruined, and it was essential to their sue- eess that provision be made for making the commerce of Great Britain suffer, in common with them, the fortunes and vicissitudes of war. Boston and New York were occupied and nearly ruined by the enemy, and Newport, Philadelphia, Savannah, and Charleston soon share their fate. The main reliance of the country to preserve its inter- course with Europe, and for supplies of arms and military stores, was on the shipping of Salem, and a cluster of small ports around it, including Marblehead and Beverly.

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Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America., Part 136

Author: Tracy, Cyrus M. (Cyrus Mason), 1824-1891, et al. Edited by H. Wheatland Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Boston, C. F. Jewett Number of Pages: 450

Author: Tracy, Cyrus M. (Cyrus Mason), 1824-1891, et al. Edited by H. Wheatland
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Boston, C. F. Jewett
Number of Pages: 450