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40 English Street, Salem .·
According to available evidence, this house was built c. 1820 for John
Crowninshield Very, trader.
On 22 September 1826 John Crowninshield Very, Salem trader, for $2000
mortgaged to his uncle, James Devereux, Salem merchant, "the same estate on
which I now live" (ED 242: 123). It had a "dwelling house and all other buildings"
on a lot bounded . northerly' 80' on land of Hill, easterly 42' on English Street,
southerly on land of Anne Foot 80', and westerly 90' on land of Donaldson and
Kehew. The mortgage was given as collateral for Mr. Very' s payment of a note
for $2000 dated 27 Nov. 1818 and owed to Capt. Devereux and to Stephen White.
This mortgage is the first documentary reference to the existence of this house. It
did not stand here in 1820, per the census of that year; so it was built, evidently,
between 1820 and 1826 .. l)nfortunately, no deed was recorded for the conveyance
of the house-lot to Mr. Ve~·y; but obviously he owned it; and he was a member of
the family in whose ownership it had long been.
This lot was part of the much-larger homestead of William Goose in the 1630s (his
house stood just down from English Street in the middle of what is now Derby
Street), who was succeeded by John Clifford in the 1660s. During the 1600s there
was no Derby Street here, and the lot ran down to the harbor uninterrupted except
by a cartway near the shoreline. Jacob Allen bought the homestead in 1693, and
sold it in 1697 to the eminent merchant Philip English, whose house stood at the
northeast comer of English and Essex Streets, and whose and wharf and store
stood on the east side of the foot of English Street. The next owner was Joseph
Hillard, a ropemaker, who evidently had a ropewalk here (a ropewalk being a long
low building in which fiber was spun into rope). In 1741 Mr. Hillard sold the
homestead to his son-in-law Clifford Crowninshield, a mariner who soon became a
ropemaker.
Clifford Crowninshield, ropemaker, had married Martha Hillard in 1721; after her
death he had married Mrs. Christian Cash in 1737. He made his will in 1750. In
his will, he gave his son John "my piece of land on English Lane bought of Joseph
Hillard and Philip English". Clifford and Martha had son John and daughter Mary
(m. 1746 John Byrne); and he was survived by his second wife Christian.
John Crowninshield, a shipwright, the son of Clifford Crowninshield, resided in
this neighborhood. He mairied Mary Ives, and had several children, six daughters
�and a son, Clifford. John died in 1777, and his property stayed in the family. In
1792 an inventory of his estate was taken, in which his holdings were identified as
40 poles of land in English's Lane (18 li), 2/3 undivided of the mansion house and
land of Clifford Crowninshield deceased (155 li), 2/3 undivided of a 20-pole lot in
English's Lane (6 li), and 2/3 undivided of the Blockhouse Field (30 li).
'
It would appear that the John Crowninshield estate remained undivided among the
heirs in the 1700s. The most successful of the siblings and their spouses was Capt.
Clifford Crowninshield, a prominent mariner, merchant, and investor, who resided
in a mansion on Washington Square. In 1801 and 1802 five of his sisters sold him
their right in property including a lot that included the site of future #40. Capt.
Crowninshield died childless in July, 1809, leaving much property. His heirs were
his six sisters and/or their children. One of the sisters was Abigail, who had
married Samuel Very in 171.82 and had died in 1792, leaving four children,
including John Crowninsh1~ld Very, who all came under their father's
guardianship. By 1809, this lbt was part of a parcel that was owned partly by
"Very" (presumably the fqvr Very heirs or their father) and partly by James
Devereux (or his wife SallY,), who had acquired much of the property formerly of
his brother-in-law Capt. Clifford Crowninshield, including his Washington Square
mansion. In October, l SOQ, Anne (Crowninshield) Foot purchased the parcel just
to the south of the parcel from which the #40 lot was later set off (ED 188:72).
In October, 1809, the Very.heirs sold off part of their inherited property on Essex
Street, with other Crowninshield heirs (ED 188:70). At that time, John
Crowninshield Very was described as a Salem mariner. By March, 1811, J.C.
Very was working ashore as a trader (grocer); at that time he bought a piece of
land on upper English Street from his brother Samuel Very 3d; and next day he
sold the same at a profit of.$48 (ED 192:301). In April, 1812, J.C. Very's brother
Samuel, a trader, sold to hi~ uncle, Capt. James Devereux, his 1/8 right in a parcel
which included the site of#40 (Book of Executions & Depositions 1:234) .
.,
John Crowninshield Very CJ 785-1849) was born two years after the end of the
Revolutionary War, in which his father had perhaps sailed as a privateer against
the British. Samuel Very q 759-1832), a cordwainer (shoemaker) who grew up in
a house on St. Peter Street, was a member of the fifth generation of the Very
family in Salem. He had distant cousin, also named Samuel Very (b. 1751), a
notable shipmaster. In 1790, Samuel Very and family resided in the East Parish,
probably in the John Crowtjinshield house on Essex Street, with Capt. Joseph
Moseley & family (Mrs. Moseley was a sister of Mrs. Very). In September, 1792,
Abigail (Crowninshield) Very died, aged about 32 years and leaving four small
�children. In 1793 Samuel Very married, second, Mary Rantoul, a widow. It was
considered by some a mismatch; and her relations soon arranged for a divorce,
under scandalous circumstances. Samuel Very married, third, Martha Cheever,
and by her had five children more. In 1799 he, then a truckman, was awarded
guardianship of his first four children.
Like most Salem boys, John Crowninshield Very was bound to sea at an early age,
to learn the trade of a mariner. He was the second son in a large family. At twelve
or thirteen, in 1798 or so, John C. Very was a cabin boy, and later in his teens he
was a deckhand, and then a mate. He worked on vessels sailing to the Caribbean
and Europe, and, perhaps, on those making the long voyages to the Indian Ocean to
trade with India, China, and Sumatra. He came along at a good time for seafaring
men, for Salem's commerce boomed, with few setbacks, from the mid-1780s
through to the embargo more than 20 years later.
In 1792 Salem's first bank, the Essex Bank, was founded, although it "existed in
experiment a long time before it was incorporated," per Rev. William Bentley.
From a population of 792 ljn 1790, the town would grow by 1500 persons in a
decade. At the same time, .thanks to the economic policies of Alexander Hamilton,
Salem vessels were able totransport foreign cargoes tax-free and essentially to
serve as the neutral carrying fleet for both Britain and France, which were at war
with each other. The size ~nd number of vessels was increased, and Salem was
among the greatest worldwide trading ports in America.
In the late 1790s, there was agitation in Congress to go to war with France, which
was at war with England. After Pres. John Adams' negotiators were rebuffed in
France, a quasi-war with F(.ance began in summer, 1798, much to the horror of
Salem's George Crowninshield & Company (Capt. G. Crowninshield and five
sons), which had an extensive trade with the French, and whose ships and cargoes
in French ports were susceptible to seizure. The quasi-war brought about a
political split within the Salem population. Those who favored England aligned
themselves with the national Federalist party, led by Hamilton and Salem's
Timothy Pickering (the U.S. Secretary of State). These included most of the
merchants, who were eager to go to war with France, and had opposed Adams'
efforts to negotiate. They were led locally by the Derby family. Those who
favored peace with Fran9e (and who admired France for overthrowing the
monarchy, even while deploring the excesses of the revolutionaries) were the AntiFederalists, who later became aligned with Pres. Jefferson and his DemocraticRepublican party; they were led locally by the George Crowninshield family. For
the first few years of this rivalry, Derby and the Federalists prevailed; but after the
�death of Basket "King" Derby in 1799 his family's power weakened, while it
signaled the rise of his nephews, the five Crowninshield brothers.
In 1800, John Adams was successful in negotiating peace with France, and
thereupon fired Pickering, his oppositional Secretary of State. Salem's Federalist
merchants erupted in anger, expressed through their newspaper, the Salem Gazette.
At the same time, Britain began to harass American shipping. As with the French
earlier, Salem's seafarers added guns to their trading vessels, and the Salem
owners and masters aggressively expanded their trade to the farthest ports of the
rich East, while also maintaining their trade with the Caribbean and Europe. Salem
cargos were exceedingly valuable, and wealth was piling up in Salem's counting
houses. The George Crowninshield firm, now led by brother Jacob, were
especially successful, as their holding rose from three vessels in 1800 to many in
1803. The greatest of the Salem merchants at this time was William "Billy" Gray,
who owned 36 large vessel~--15 ships, 7 barks, 13 brigs, 1 schooner--by 1808.
In 1800, Salem was still a town, and a small one by our standards, with a total
population of about 9,500. Its politics were fierce, as the Federalists squared off
against the Democratic Republicans (led by the Crowninshields and comprised of
the sailors and fishermen)., The two factions attended separate churches, held
separate parades, and supp9rted separate schools, military companies, and
newspapers (the CrowninsI?-ield-backed Impartial Register started in 1800).
Salem's merchants resided mainly on two streets: Washington (which ended in a
wharf on the Inner Harbor,,and, above Essex, had the Town House in the middle)
and Essex (particularly b~tween what are now Hawthorne Boulevard and North
Streets). The East Parish,Q?erby Street area), in which John Crowninshield Very
grew up, was for the seafaring families, shipmasters, sailors, and fishermen. In the
1790s, Federal Street, known as New Street, had more empty lots than fine houses.
Chestnut Street did not exist: its site was a meadow, backlands for the Pickerings
on Broad Street and the old estates of Essex Street. The Common was not yet
Washington Square, and was covered with hillocks, small ponds and swamps, and
utility buildings and the town alms-house. In the later 19th century, Salem's
commercial prosperity would sweep almost all of the great downtown houses away
(the brick Joshua Ward ho~se, built 1784, is a notable exception).
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The town's merchants wer~ among the wealthiest in the country, and, in Samuel
Mcintire, they had a local, architect who could help them realize their desires for
large and beautiful homes, il1 the latest style. While a few of the many new houses
built in the next ten years ":'ent up in the old Essex-Washington Street axis, most
were erected on or near Washington Square or in the Federalist "west end"
�(Chestnut, Federal, and upper Essex Streets). The architectural style (called
"Federal" today) had been'developed years before in the Adam brothers in England
and featured fanlight doorways, palladian windows, elongated pilasters and
columns, and large windows. It was introduced to New England by Charles
Bulfinch upon his return from England in 1790. The State House in Boston was
his first institutional composition; and soon Beacon Hill was being built up with
handsome residences in the Bulfinch manner.
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Samuel Mcintire, carver and housewright, was quick to pick up on the style and
adapt it to Salem's larger lots. Mcintire's first local composition, the Jerathmeel
Peirce house (on Federal Street), contrasts greatly with his later Adamesque
compositions. The interiors of this Adam style differed from the "Georgian" and
Post-Colonial: in place of walls of wood paneling, there now appeared plastered
expanses painted in brightcolors or covered in bold wallpapers. The Adam style
put a premium on handsome casings and carvings of central interior features such
door-caps and chimney-pieces (Mclntire's specialty). On the exterior, the Adam
style included elegant fendes; and the houses were often built of brick, with
attenuated porticoes and, in the high style, string courses, swagged panels, and
even two-story pilasters. The best example of the new style was the Elias Basket
Derby house, co-designed by Bulfinch and Mcintire, and built on Essex Street in
1799 (demolished in 1815), on the site of today's Town House Square. A more
typical example was the mansion designed by Mcintire and built for Clifford
Crowninshield, at 74 Washington Square East.
Salem's commerce created great wealth, which in tum attracted many newcomers
from outlying towns and e~en other states. A new bank, the Salem Bank, was
formed in 1803, and there were two insurance companies and several societies and
associations. The fierce politics and commercial rivalries continued. The ferment
of the times is captured in the diary of Rev. William Bentley, bachelor minister of
Salem's East Church (it stood on Essex Street, near Washington Square), and
editor of the Register newspaper. Mr. Bentley's diary is full of references to the
civic and commercial doings of the town, and to the lives and behaviors of all
classes of society. On Union Street, not far from Mr. Bentley's church, on the
fourth of July, 1804, was born a boy who would grow up to eclipse all sons of
Salem in the eyes of the world: Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose father would die of
fever while on a voyage to the Caribbean in 1808. This kind of untimely death was
all too typical of Salem's young seafarers, who fell prey to malaria and other
diseases of the Caribbean ~nd Pacific tropics.
�In 1806 the Derbys extended their wharf far out into the harbor, tripling its
previous length. This they did to create more space for warehouses and ship-berths
in the deeper water, at jusf about the time that the Crowninshields had built their
great India Wharf at the fobt of Webb Street. Their cousin, Capt. Clifford
Crowninshield, John C. Very's uncle, had a wharf with warehouses at the foot of
English Street. The other important wharves were Forrester's (now Central, just
west of Derby Wharf), and Union Wharf (formerly Long Wharf), extending from
the foot of Union Street, west of Forrester's Wharf. To the west of Union Wharf, a
number of smaller wharves extended into the South River (filled in during the late
1800s), all the way to the foot of Washington Street. Among the most important of
these were Ward's, Ome's, and Joseph Peabody's, which extended from the foot of
what is now Hawthorne Boulevard. Each of the smaller wharves had a warehouse
or two, shops for artisans (coopers, blockmakers, joiners, etc.). The waterfront
between Union Street and Washington Street also had lumber yards and several
ship chandleries and distilleries, with a Market House at the foot of Central Street,
below the Custom House. The wharves and streets were crowded with shoppers,
hawkers, sailors, artisans (''mechanics"), storekeepers, and teamsters; and just
across the way, on Stage .Point along the south bank of the South River, wooden
barks and brigs and ships,'· were being built in the shipyards.
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Salem's boom came to an ~nd with a crash in January, 1808, when Jefferson and
the Congress imposed an embargo on all American shipping in hopes of
forestalling war with Britain. The Embargo, which was widely opposed in New
England, proved futile and nearly ruinous in Salem, where commerce ceased. As a
hotbed of Democratic-Republicanism, Salem's East Parish and its seafarers, led by
the Crowninshields, loyally supported the Embargo until it was lifted in spring,
1809. Shunned by the other Salem merchants for his support of the Embargo, the
eminent Billy Gray took his large fleet of ships-fully one-third of Salem's
tonnage--and moved to Boston, whose commerce was thereby much augmented.
Gray's removal permanently eliminated a huge amount of Salem wealth, shipping,
import-export cargoes, and. local employment. Gray soon switched from the
Federalist party, and was e\ected Lt. Governor under Gov. Elbridge Gerry, a native
of Marblehead. It may be that these two and their party did not go out of their way
to support laws or policies that favored Salem or its merchants. Salem resumed its
seafaring commerce for three years, but still the British preyed on American
shipping.
In 1810, the French were capturing American vessels that they claimed were
trading with the British. Typically, a captured American vessel would be inspected
at Naples (then a French-held port) and impounded or cleared. The Salem ship
�Margaret, Capt. William Fairfield, was cleared from Naples on I 0 April 1810,
with a crew of 15 and 31 passengers, mainly sailors from Salem whose vessels had
been impounded. One of those on board was John Crowninshield Very, 25. Capt.
Fairfield, a well-regarded shipmaster, had, as a boy in 1789, been aboard a Salem
slaving vessel commanded by his father, when the Africans had risen up against
the sailors, and killed Capt. Fairfield. Young William and the other crewmen had
put down the uprising, and, delivered their human cargo in the West Indies.
On Sunday, May 20, 181 O; headed home from Naples, the Margaret ran into a
terrible gale and was knocked over on her beam ends. All of her people were able
to get on her sides and bottom, and hold on through the storm until Monday, which
was calmer. Capt. Fairfield freed one of the boats, and sailed off with 14 men
(they would be rescued on the 26th by a Marblehead vessel, but their rescuers could
not find the wreck of the Margaret, riding low in the great sea). Those left behind
(including Mr. Very) had some provisions, and built a platform on the side of the
Margaret, to keep themselves out of the water. On the 28th a storm swept away the
platform and most of the provisions, but they held on and built a new platform on
the 30th. The men were w{(akening and losing hope. One died on June 3rd. With a
small ration of wine to keep them alive, they survived until the 51\ but twelve men
died on that day and another the next. Vessels kept passing in the distance, but did
not see the wreck and its desperate occupants. John C. Very and some of his mates
(Capt. Henry Larcom of Beverly, John Treadwell of Ipswich, Jeptha Leyth and
E.A. Erving/Irvine of Salem) fished out a damaged yawl, fixed it well enough; and
on June ?1h they sailed off to be saved. Ten men remained on the wreck, there to
die, one by one, in the loneliness and terror of mid-ocean. The five men in the
yawl sailed' on for another 15 days, determined to live, with only brandy and urine
to keep them alive. A little rain fell on the 22d, which helped, but Treadwell died
on the, 23d. They caught a few fish, their first food in two weeks; but it was not
enough, and Leyth died onthe 28 1h. On the 291\ a gale hit them; they fought to
stay afloat, but lost their m~st and oars, and now were left to drift under the skies.
Next day, the men of a Glqµcester vessel spotted the boat in the offing, came up
with it, and were astonished to discover J.C. Very, E.A. Irvine, and Henry Larcom,
all more dead than alive. After 17 days on a wreck, and another 23 days in a small
open boat, these three would have their lives back-the only survivors of the 32
men who had been left on the wreck. They were received in Salem as men come
back from the dead. By July 25, J.C. Very was "still confined, but better," (per
Bentley), while the other two were up and about. Capt. Larcom, who wrote letters
to the newspapers, was bitter in his accusations against Capt. Fairfield, who had his
defenders.
�John Crowninshield Very seems to have retired from the sea after this terrible
voyage. He set up as a grocer, and in 1813 married Mary Dwyer of Salem, she
being, evidently, the daughter of an Irish immigrant, Edward Dwyer.
John Crowninshield Very (1785-1849), born 28 Jan. 1785, son of Samuel Very
and Abigail Crowninshield, died 28 Feb. 1849. Hem. 28Feb1813 Mary Dwyer.
Known issue:
1. Edward D., 1813, Baptist minister, left Salem; drowned at Blomidon, NS,
1852.
2. Samuel, 1815, shipmaster, m. Sarah W. McKey
3. John C., 1817, shipmaster, m. (int. 1837 Almira Foster), m. 1845 Lucy
Ann Collins.
In June, 1812, war was declared against Britain. Although Salem had opposed the
war as being potentially ruinous and primarily for the benefit of the southern and
western war-hawk states, y,et when war came, Salem swiftly fitted out 40
privateers manned by Marblehead and Salem crews, who also served on U.S. Navy
vessels, including the Constitution. Many more could have been sent against the
British, but some of the Federalist merchants held their vessels back. In addition,
Salem fielded companies df infantry and artillery. Salem and Marblehead
privateers were largely successful in making prizes of British supply vessels. It is
likely that J.C. Very served in the armed forces at this time. While many of the
town's men were wounded.in engagements, and some were killed, the possible
riches of privateering kept the men returning to sea as often as possible. The first
prizes were captured by a30-ton converted fishing schooner, the Fame, and by a
14-ton luxury yacht fitted with one gun, the Jefferson. Of all Salem privateers, the
Crowninshields' 350-ton,,ship America was the most successful. She captured 30plus prizes worth more than $1,100,000.
I
Salem erected forts and batteries on its Neck, to discourage the British warships
that cruised these waters. Ip June, 1813, off Marblehead Neck, the British frigate
Shannon defeated the U.S.' Navy frigate Chesapeake. The Federalists would not
allow their churches to be used for the funeral of the Chesapeake's slain
commander, James Lawrenpe ("Don't give up the ship!"). Almost a year later, in
April, 1814, the people gathered along the shores of Salem Neck as three sails
appeared on the horizon ,and came sailing on for Salem Bay. These vessels proved
to be the mighty Constitutil!n in the lead, pursued by the smaller British frigates
Tenedos and Endymion. ~he breeze was light, and the British vessels gained, but
Old Ironsides made it safely into Marblehead Harbor, to the cheers of thousands.
{
�On land, the war went poorly for the United States, as the British captured
Washington, DC, and burned the Capitol and the White House. Along the western
frontier, U.S. forces were successful against the weak English forces; and, as
predicted by many, the western expansionists had their day. At sea, as time wore
on, Salem's vessels often were captured, and its men imprisoned or killed. After
almost three years, the war was bleeding the town dry, and the menfolk were
disappearing. Hundreds of Salem men and boys were in British prison-ships and at
Dartmoor Prison in England. At the Hartford Convention in 1814, New England
Federalist delegates met to consider what they could do to bring the war to a close
and to restore the region's commerce. Sen. Timothy Pickering of Salem led the
extreme Federalists in proposing a series of demands which, if not met by the
federal government, could lead to New England's seceding from the United States;
but the Pickering faction was countered by Harrison G. Otis of Boston and the
moderate Federalists, who prevailed in sending a moderate message to Congress.
At last, in February, 1815, 'peace was restored.
Post-war, the Salem merchants rebuilt their fleets and resumed their worldwide
trade, slowly at first, and then to great effect. A new U.S. Custom House was built
in 1819, on the site of the George Crowninshield mansion, at the head of Derby
Wharf. Into the 1820s the \foreign trade continued prosperous; and new markets
were opened with Madagascar (1820), which supplied tallow and ivory, and
Zanzibar ( 1825), whence came gum copal, used to make varnish. This opened a
huge and lucrative trade in which Salem dominated, and its vessels thus gained
access to all of the east African p01is.
In 1816, J.C. Very was first assessed for a house (in ward two) in town valuations.
In 1815 and 1815, he had been assessed (ward two) for store and part of a wharf,
worth $900, with $500 stock and $200 income. In 1816, he was assessed for
"house, shop, stable" worth $900, with $600 stock and $300 income. So his
holdings were described until 1819, when he was assessed for "house, land, store,
wharf, 2 stables, and Joseph White Jr.'s part of White's Wharf, all worth $2000,
with stock at $1800 and income of $400.
The house on which he was assessed (ward two) in 1816 was probably the same
house that he had built on a piece of land at Allen and Webb Streets that he had
bought in 1817 (that location was evidently considered part of ward two). He also
bought another piece of land on Allen Street, and a piece nearby on Derby Street,
where he had his grocery store. It is apparent that he also leased part of nearby
White's Wharf (the part that had belonged to recently deceased Col. Joseph White
�Jr.); and once he had leased the wharf he probably received his mortgage loan of
$2000 in 1818 from Messrs. White & Devereux.
During the period 1816-1821, John Crowninshield Very was at his most successful
in business. With stables, a wharf, and a store, he was conducting business that
went beyond an ordinary grocery store, and seems to have involved merchant
activity (import-export) as.·well as transportation or hospitality (hence the stables).
The pre-war partisan politics of the town were not resumed post-war, as the
middle-class "mechanics" (artisans) became more powerful and brought about
civic harmony, largely through the Salem Charitable Mechanic Association
(founded 1817). Other organizations, like the Masons, helped to unite the various
classes of men in the town. On 22 May 1820 J.C. Very joined the Essex Lodge of
Masons. By then he and hjs wife Mary had three sons. At that time, the J.C. Very
family seems to have resided either on Allen Street or on lower Derby Street, east
of English (per 1820 censll;s, p.46). It is a virtual certainty that this house did not
then exist, for in the census of 1820 there is no listing for any resident between the
houses of Anne Foot (site, #42 English St., to the southeast) and of Lucy Hill (at
that time, the closest house, northwesterly of the site of #40).
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Salem's general maritime foreign commerce fell off sharply in the late 1820s.
Imports, which were the cargoes in Salem ships, were supplanted by American
goods, now being produce9 in great quantities. The interior of the country was
being opened for settleme~t, and many Salemites moved away to these new lands
of opportunity. To the north, the falls of the Merrimack River powered large new
textile mills (Lowell was founded in 1823 ), which created great wealth for their
investors; and in general it ;seemed that the tide of opportunity was ebbing away
from Salem. In an ingenious attempt to stem the flow of talent from the town and
to harness its potential water power for manufacturing, Salem's merchants and
·capitalists banded together'in 1826 to raise the money to dam the North River for
industrial power. The project, which began with much promise, was suspended
(before construction began) in 1827, which demoralized the town even more, and
caused several leading citiiens to move to Boston, the hub of investment in the
new economy.
I
Starting in 1822, J.C. Very~s assessment went down; and his property was
described 1822-1829 in the valuations as "house & shop" worth $900, with stock
worth $300. Evidently he \eased and sublet his other property during that period.
Among the property that he had leased to others was the house that he had built by
September, 1826 (this one, at now-40 English Street), when he mortgaged it and
\0
�described it as the place where he then resided. It must have been a short-lived
residence, for the valuations do not indicate that he had moved from the house he
had been occupying since 1817, nor would they until 1830. From the Salem
valuations, it may be seen that J.C. Very was taxed in 1828 and 1829 as a resident
of ward two, with a house & shop worth $900 and personal estate worth $300.
It would seem that Mr. Very moved from his other house into this one by the
spring of 1829. The house was built to a highly unusual plan, perhaps unique in
Essex County and certainly singular among the extant houses of Salem. The house
is three stories high, with an attic in the fourth story in the peak roof. It fronts on
the street only three bays across, with a side-porch front entrance, and an integral
lean-to roof, with rooms massed around a center chimney which does not provide
direct heat to the small northwest rooms. The original trim is found throughout the
house, which has two staircases, one for the side entry and one in the back.
On 14 May 1829 John C. Very, Salem trader, for $2500 sold to Peter E. Webster,
Salem trader, "the estate on which I now live," described as the dwelling house and
all other buildings and lot fronting 42' on English Street, and bounding southerly
80' on Anne Foot's land, and northerly 80' on land of Hill (ED 252:69). This
conveyance evidently had the effect of a mortgage; and Mr. Very would live here
for 20 years more. At nearly the same time, J.C. Very for $1100 sold to Capt.
Richard Davis of Charlestq~n his property on Allen Street and Derby Street (ED
252:69). In the 1830 censti~, John C. Very is listed on English Street in this house,
possibly with Thomas Muri)hy (and wife and daughter) as a tenant (p. 442, 1830
census). In the 1830 valuation he is listed as having moved to ward one from ward
two, with a house worth $1500 in English Street, a shop worth $100, two stores on
an old wharf and a small house ($600 total), and an acre of land worth $200. His
1831 assessment was similar but not identical. It seems likely that Mr. Very, who
had actually sold or mortgaged everything, used the money to re-assert control of
some of the property for which he had been credited in the years 1816-1822.
In 1830 occurred a horrifying crime that brought disgrace to Salem. Old Capt.
Joseph White, a wealthy merchant, resided in the house now called the GardnerPingree house, on Essex Street. He owned most of White's Wharf, of which Mr.
Very leased a part. One night, intruders broke into Capt. White's mansion and
stabbed him to death. AH of Salem buzzed with the news of murderous thugs; but
the murderer was a Cro'Yninshield (a very distant relative of Mr. Very, this
Crowninshield was a local crime-boss who, after being arrested, killed himself at
the Salem Jail). The assassin had been hired by his friends, Capt. White's own
relatives, Capt. Joseph Knapp and his brother Frank (they were executed by
I
\\
�hanging). The results of the investigation and trial uncovered much that was lurid
about Salem, and more of the respectable families quit the notorious town.
By this time, Mr. Very's three sons were growing up. The eldest, Edward, 18 in
1831, showed an interest in the ministry. The family was Baptist, and Edward,
who left town in 183 5 (per valuation records) would become a Baptist minister in·
Nova Scotia. The other two, Samuel, 16, and John C. Jr., 14, were already
working as young sailors on Salem merchant ships. On 24 Jan. 1832, Mr. Very's
father, Samuel Very, died on 24 Jan. 1832, aged 72 years. He was survived by his
second and third wives and by nine children.
As maritime commerce declined further, Salem's remaining merchants had to
move quickly to take their equity out of wharves and warehouses and ships and put
it into manufacturing and. transportation, as the advent of railroads and canals in
the 1830s diverted both capital and trade away from the coast. Some merchants
did not make the transition, and were ruined. Old-line areas of work, like ropemaking, sail-making, and ship chandleries, gradually declined and disappeared.
Well into the 1830s, Salem slumped badly.
Despite all, Salem was chartered as a city in 1836. City Hall was built 1837-8 and
the city seal was adopted with an already-anachronistic Latin motto of "to the
farthest port of the rich East"-a far cry from "Go West, young man!" The Panic
of 183 7, a brief, sharp, nationwide economic depression, caused even more Salem
families to head west in search of fortune and a better future. Salem had not
prepared for the industrial age, and had few natural advantages. The North River
served not to power factories but mainly to flush the waste from the many
tanneries (23 by 1832) that had set up along its banks. Throughout the 1830s, the
leaders of Salem scrambled to re-invent an economy for their fellow citizens, many
of whom were mariners without much sea-faring to do. Ingenuity, ambition, and
hard work would have to carry the day.
One inspiration was the Salem Laboratory, Salem's first science-based
manufacturing enterprise, founded in 1813 to produce chemicals. At the plant built
in 1818 in North Salem on the North River, the production of alum and blue vitriol
was a specialty; and it proved a very successful business. Salem's whale-fishery,
active for many years in the early 1800s, led, in the 1830s, to the manufacturing of
high-quality candles at Stage Point, along with machine oils. The candles proved
very popular. Lead-manufacturihg began in the 1820s, and grew large after 1830,
when Wyman's gristmills on the Forest River were retooled for making high-
I 1...-
�quality white lead and sheet lead (the approach to Marblehead is still called Lead
Mills Hill, although the empty mill buildings burned down in 1960s).
These enterprises were a start toward taking Salem in a new direction. In 183 8 the
Eastern Rail Road began operating between Boston and Salem, which gave the
people of Salem and environs a direct route to the region's largest market. The
new railroad tracks ran right over the middle of the Mill Pond; the tunnel under
Washington Street was built in 1839; and the line was extended to Newburyport in
1840.
By this time, the two younger Very boys were well launched on their seafaring
careers. Salem was at that time a notable whaling port. John C. Very Jr. was a
crewman on the bark Reaper, Capt. Neal, which departed Derby Wharf, Salem, on
21 Aug. 1837, to go a-whaling in the Indian Ocean on a voyage that would last
nearly two years (seep. 17,3, F.D. Robotti's Whaling and Old Salem).
!'
In 1839, Samuel Very was mate on a merchant vessel (per valuations). He lived
here, along with his father, J.C. Very, his brother, J.C. Very Jr., and one Samuel
Gardner (see 1839 valuations). Mr. Gardner, by 1841, was a trader living
elsewhere on English Stre~t, with a store on Derby Street. In 1840 Samuel Very
became a master mariner (sea captain). In January, 1841, the new ship Sooloo,
commanded by J.C. Very's son Capt. Samuel Very, cleared Salem on a voyage to
Mobile, Liverpool, Batavia, and Padang. She was owned by the firm of Stone,
Silsbee, & Pickman; and she returned from her voyage on 3 April 1842 (see PEM
logbook 1841s2; also G.G. Putnam's Salem Vessels & Their Voyages, I:l29, in
which the master is incorrectly identified).
In 1845 John C. Very Jr. married Lucy Ann Collins, literally the girl next door, and
moved in with her at the house next southeasterly (then #14 English Street, now
gone). His brother, Capt. Samuel Very, when ashore resided on Charter Street.
They may have been acql!ainted with Rev. Jones Very of Federal Street, a very
distant cousin who was regarded as the finest devotional poet in America.
In the 1840s, new companies in new lines of business arose in Salem. The tanning
and curing of leather was a very important industry by the mid-1800s. It was
conducted on and near Boston Street, along the upper North River. There were 41
tanneries in 1844, and 85 ip 1850, employing 550 hands. The leather business
would continue to grow in importance throughout the 1800s. In 1846 the
Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company completed the construction at Stage Point of
the largest factory building in the United States, 60' wide by 400' long. It was an
17
�immediate success, and hundreds of people found employment there, many of
them living in industrial tenements built nearby. Also in the 1840s, a new method
was introduced to make possible high-volume industrial shoe production. In Lynn,
the factory system was perfected, and that city became the nation's leading shoe
producer. Salem had shoe factories too, and attracted shoe workers from outlying
towns and country areas. Even the population changed, as hundreds of Irish
families, fleeing the Famine, settled in Salem; and the men went to work in the
factories and as laborers.
In the face of all this change, some members of Salem's waning merchant class
continued to pursue their sea-borne businesses; but even the conditions of shipping
changed, and Salem was left on the ebb tide. In the late 1840s, giant clipper ships
replaced the smaller vessels that Salem men had sailed around the world; and the
clippers, with their deep drafts and large holds, were usually too large for Salem
and its harbor. The town's shipping soon consisted of little more than Zanzibartrade vessels and visits frot,TI Down East coasters with cargoes of fuel wood and
building timber. By 1850 Salem was about finished as a working port. A picture
of Salem's sleepy waterfront is given by Hawthorne in his "introductory section"
(really a sketch of Salem) ~o The Scarlet Letter, which he began while working in
the Custom House.
John Crowninshield Very, having outlived Salem's seafaring glory days, died on
13 Nov. 1849, aged 65 years. Evidently he had survived his wife Mary. Of his
three sons, Capt. Samuel Very was appointed administrator of his estate. On 1
December 1849 an inventory was made: the homestead ("house and land in
English Street standing in the name of P. E. Webster") was valued at $1500. Other
real estate was a strip of land next to 43 Derby Street ($60), one-fourth interest in a
common field on Derby Street ($600), a barn and land on Webb Street ($300), pew
#19 in the Baptish Church ($10), one-ninth interest in Samuel Very's estate ($150).
The personal estate included "Bartlett's shop" on Derby Street, a mortgage note for
$300, two shares in the Ess~x Railroad, one share in the Maine Railway, cargo on
the vessel La Grange, a cla,im against the Salem Charitable Marine Society for the
rent ofFriendship Hall, old notes, and $157.50 in household furniture and clothing.
On 8 Dec. 1849 for $900 the owner of the homestead, Peter E. Webster, Salem
merchant, sold the same to Capt. Samuel Very, J.C. Very's son (ED 421:23). The
property was described as fronting 42' on English Street. In 1850 (per census,
ward one, house 230), the house was occupied as a two family, by John
Crowninshield Very (Jr.), 33, mariner, and family (wife Lucy A., 28, daughters
�Lucy A., 4, and Mary D., two) and by Frederick Teal, 28, rigger, born in Germany,
and wife Margaret, 21, b01;n in Nova Scotia.
John Crowninshield Very (Jr.), born 1817, died 1April1862, SF, Cal. Hem. 13
Feb. 1845 Lucy Ann Collins (died 31Oct.1907). Known issue:
1. Lucy Ann Crowninshield, 11Nov.1845, m Edward E. Powers
2. Mary Dwyer, 1848 (Bath, Me.), m/11868 Nathaniel B. Gray, m/2 Walter
D. Swaney
In June, 1851, Mr. William B. Gray, Salem trader, for $1500 purchased the J.C.
Very homestead from Capt. Samuel Very Jr. (ED 446:302, correcting 446:163). It
was vaguely described in a first deed, so Mr. Gray insisted on a second deed with
accurate metes and bounds. The correct boundaries were given as 43' 3" on
English Street, southeasterly 89' on land now or late of Foote, southwesterly 76' 6"
on land of Barker & of Kehew, then running northeasterly 16' 8", then running
southeasterly 30' 2" on other land of Mr. Gray, and running northeasterly 71' on
the same.
The new owner (who evidently never resided here), William B. Gray, had, in
April, 1840, for $160, purchased from the Robert Hill heirs a piece of empty land,
northwesterly of the house, fronting 27' on English Street, southeasterly about 71'
and southwesterly 28' on land of Very, and northwesterly about 69' on other land
of Hill's heirs (ED 318:162). These combined lots fronted 70' 3" on English
Street.
William B. Gray (1799-1887), who grew up in this neighborhood, resided on Allen
Street and ran a nearby gropery. He had prospered over the years, and owned
several houses, which he rented out. He rented out #40 English Street (then known
as #12) as well. In 1856, 12 English Street was the residence of Capt. John C.
Very & family, and of Eliza Powers, widow, George Powers, 24, and Stephen A.
Powers, 26, a pilot (per 1857 Directory and 1856 street book). Eliza Powers was
Eliza (Francis) Powers, widow of Joel Powers, who had come from New
Hampshire. George and Stephen were her sons. David Perrigen, mariner, was at
10 English; and Joseph Perkins, pilot, was at 14 English (per ditto).
John C. Very (Jr.) had become a sea captain in the 1850s. He made a voyage from
February, 1857, to January, 1858, in command ofthe large bark Guide, 495 tons
burden (owner John Bertram) to Madagascar, Zanzibar, Musqat, and Aden (PEM
\S
�logbook 1857G). He resided at 15 Hardy Street by 1857 (see Directory), and never
lived here again. By 1860 (per census, ward one, house 1273) this house was
occupied (in one unit) by Ittai Peny, 50, a pilot, and wife Abigail, 45, Joseph E.
Phippen, 25, a cooper, Bernard Hanscomb (a painter) & Hannah Hanscomb, and
also (in the other unit) Joseph Crandall, 27, sailmaker, and family (Mary, 27, Eliza,
4, John, 2, and Joseph, one), and Leonora Goldman, 33, a tailoress born in Prussia.
The Crandalls had been here since 1858 (see 1859 Directory). Mr. Peny, as a
pilot, had the job of going out to the incoming merchant vessels and guiding them
safely down the Bay and into Salem Harbor. He had long been a resident of the
East Parish. Mr. Phippen,.the cooper, would later reside for many years at 5 Mall
Street.
The symbol of Salem's new industrial economy was the large twin-towered granite
train station, built in 1848!9 on filled-in land at the foot of Washington Street,
where before had been t~e'.merchants' wharves. The 1850s brought continued
growth: new churches, schools, streets, stores, etc. Catholic churches were built,
and new housing was constructed in North Salem and the Gallows Hill areas to
accommodate the workers~ In March, 1853, several streets were re-named and renumbered, including the consolidation of County, Marlboro, and Federal Streets as
Federal Street.
The Civil War began in April, 1861, and went on for four years, during which
hundreds of Salem men served in the army and navy, and many were killed or died
of disease or abusive treatment while imprisoned. Hundreds more suffered
wounds, or broken health. The people of Salem contributed greatly to efforts to
alleviate the suffering of the soldiers, sailors, and their families; and there was
great celebration when the :war finally ended in the spring of 1865.
In 1862 Capt. John C. V~ry (Jr.) died in California, leaving his widow Lucy and
two daughters, Lucy, seventeen, and Mary, fourteen. Lucy (Collins) Very was,
perhaps, the niece of (the owner) William B. Gray's wife, Hannah (Collins) Gray;
and Lucy moved in here with her girls. In 1868 Mary Very, 20, married Nathaniel
Gray, son of William B. Gray, the owner. Her sister Lucy married Edward
Powers. Their mother, Mrs. Lucy A. Very, lived here with them and worked as a
dressmaker.
Through the 1860s and 18~0s, Salem continued to pursue a manufacturing course.
The managers and capitalists tended to build their new, grand houses along
Lafayette Street (these hou~es may still be seen, south of Roslyn Street). In the
1870s, French-Canadian families began coming to work in Salem's mills and
�factories, and more houses and tenements were built in what had been open areas
of the city. For the workers, they built more and more tenements near the mills of
Stage Point. A second, larger, factory building for the Naumkeag Steam Cotton
Company would be added in 1859, and a third in 1865; and by 1879 the mills
would employ 1200 people and produce annually 14,700,000 yards of cloth. Shoemanufacturing also continued to expand, and by the end of the 1870s Salem would
have 40 shoe factories employing 600-plus operatives. More factories and more
people required more space for buildings, more roads, and more storage areas.
In 1870 (per census, house 77, ward one) the house was occupied in three units:
(first unit) Edward A. Powers, 32, mariner, wife Lucy A.C., 22, child Alice B.,
one; and Lucy A. Very, 48, dressmaker; (second unit) Elizabeth Gray, 27, works in
cigar shop, Ellen McCarthy, 57 (probably Elizabeth Gray's mother), born Ireland,
owns real estate worth $1000, keeping house, and Edward W. Gray, 7; (third unit)
Hannah Sweeney, 60, born Ireland, and William Sweeney, 28, hostler.
\
Mrs. Lucy (Collins) Very continued to live here through the 1870s, and had her
dressmaker's shop at 60 Washington (see 1872 directory) and later at 71
Washington Street (see 1'874 directory, etc.). Beginning in 1873, another tenant
here was the William N. G<?odridge family. In 1873 he was a railroad freight
conductor; and he had lived at 53 Derby Street in 1871-2. Mr. Goodridge, 25 in
1873, was married to a woman named Elizabeth, also 25, born in Ireland. This was
almost certainly the Elizabeth Gray who had lived here in 1870 (even though the
ages do not math up). The Goodridges had children Edward in 1872 and Jennie in
.
1873.
In 1874 Mr. Gray sold to hi,s son-in-law, James T. Goldsmith the two parcels that
made up this homestead, separately (the one he'd bought in 1840 from the Hill
heirs and the one he'd bought in 1851 from Samuel Very) (ED 912:202-3). A plan
was made of the two lots at that time, but the wrong dimensions were given for the
frontage of the larger parcel, whose real frontage of 43' 3" was given as 53' 3".
On 14 Nov. 1876 Mr. Goldsmith sold the premises back to Mr. Gray (ED 964:69).
In the late 1870s, Mrs. Lucy A. Very moved out of this house and into the Collins
house at 42 English Street. :She would die many years later, in 1907. The
Goodridges remained here (fnd were joined (in the other living unit) by the Watts
family.
1.
In 1880, the occupants here were listed in the census (1880 census, ED 229,
p.564). In one unit resided William N. Goodridge, 32, the freight conductor, his
wife Elizabeth, 32, their children Edward W., 8, and Jennie, 7, and Elizabeth's
\"1
�mother, Ellen McCarthy, 65, born in Ireland. In the other unit resided Charles
Watts, 77, a retired baker, born in Scotland, his wife Dorothy, 69, born in Maine,
their son Charles E. Watts, 36, a railroad brakeman, his wife Kate, 37, and children
Dollie, ten, John K.W., 8, and Charles M., three. The Wattses had resided at 53
Derby Street in 1874. Mr. C.E. Watts would be dead by 1883, but his family
continued to live here.
The owner of the house, Mr. William B. Gray, died on 18 Feb. 1887, in Danvers,
while waiting for a horse car to take him back to Salem on a very cold day. He
resided at 16 Allen Street and owned the houses and land then numbered 40-42
English Street and other real estate. By his will, this property was devised to
certain of his heirs. On 4 August 1887 for $487.50, the trustee ofNathaniel B.
Gray sold a one-fomth interest in the property to James Fanning of Salem, who
also bought, that same day, for another $975, from Mrs. Caroline A. (Gray)
Florentine and Mrs. Margaret C. (Gray) Forness, a half-interest therein (ED
1202:268,269). The property on English Street consisted of the lots and buildings
that are now 36-38 and 40 English Street (ED 1202:268-270). The lot was
described as fronting northeasterly 70' 3" on English Street, and running back two
courses by land of Robert Hill's heirs, then on Garrett's land, then butting on land
of Barker & Kehew, and bounding southeasterly 89' on land formerly of Foot.
Mr. Fanning soon (April, f888) sold off the northwesterly building and land (#3638); and four years later, in March, 1892, for $1500 he sold to Thomas H. Fanning
the remaining land and buildings, meaning the present homestead at #40 (ED
1335:537). This lot was described as fronting 42' 3" on English Street, and
running back 89', and bounded southeasterly on land of Collins formerly Foot.
In 1901-2, the house was tenanted by John J. Colbert, city teamster; Mrs. Ellen
Green, widow of John Green, and also by boarders David C. Green, driver, &
Frank H.A. Green, gardener, probably Mrs. Green's sons (see Directory 1901-2).
Thomas H. Fanning sold the same lot and buildings, 40 English Street, in
November, 1905, to Ellen F. Carr (ED 1809:252), who resided here. She was the
widow of Patrick H. Carr. In April, 1907, Mrs. Carr sold the premises to Mrs.
Annie T. (wife of Bartholomew J.) Doyle (ED 1868:201); and Mrs. Carr stayed on
here. In 1909 the occupants here were Mrs. Ellen F. Carr, widow of Patrick H.
Carr; Bartholomew J. Doyle & family; Frank A. Pitman (and family), employed at
the shoe-machinery plant ofUSM Co. in Beverly (see Directory, 1910).
�After withstanding the pressures of the new industrial city for about 50 years,
Salem's rivers began to disappear. The once-broad North River was filled from
both shores, and became ff canal along Bridge Street above the North Bridge. The
large and beautiful Mill Pond, which occupied the whole area between the present
Jefferson Avenue, Canal Street, and Loring Avenue, finally vanished beneath
streets, storage areas, junk-yards, rail-yards, and parking lots. The South River,
too, with its epicenter at Central Street (that's why there was a Custom House built
there in 1805) disappeared under the pavement of Riley Plaza and New Derby
Street, and its old wharves (even the mighty Union Wharf, formerly Long Wharf,
at the foot of Union Street) were joined together with much in-fill and turned into
coal-yards and lumber-yards. Only a canal was left, running in from Derby and
Central Wharves to Lafayette Street.
Salem kept building infrastructure; and new businesses arose, and established
businesses expanded. Retail stores prospered, and machinists, carpenters,
millwrights, and other specialists all thrived. The Canadians were followed in the
early 20th century by large,numbers of Polish and Ukrainian families, who settled
primarily in the Derby Street neighborhood, although English Street was inhabited
by people of Yankee and Irish background. In 1913 the house was occupied by the
families of Clarence J. Richardson, a clerk at BSS Railroad Company, and of John
J. Mason, a metal worker (see 1914 Directory). By the eve of World War One,
Salem was a bustling, polyglot city that supported large department stores and
large factories of every description. Its politics were lively, and its economy was
strong.
On June 25, 1914, in the morning, in Blubber Hollow (Boston Street opposite
Federal), a fire started in ope of Salem's fire-prone wooden tanneries. This fire
soon consumed the building and raced out of control, for the west wind was high
and the season had been dry. The next building caught fire, and the next, and out
of Blubber Hollow the fire' roared easterly, a monstrous front of flame and smoke,
wiping out the houses of Boston Street, Essex Street, and upper Broad Street, and
then sweeping through Hathorne, Winthrop, Endicott, and other residential streets.
Men and machines could not stop it: the enormous fire crossed over into South
Salem and destroyed the neighborhoods west of Lafayette Street, then devoured
the mansions of Lafayette Street itself, and raged onward into the tenement district.
Despite the combined efforts of heroic fire crews from many towns and cities, the
fire overwhelmed everything in its path: it smashed into the large factory buildings
of the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company (Congress Street), which exploded in an
inferno; and it rolled down Lafayette Street and across the water to Derby Street.
At that point, the people here on English Street had reason to fear that even their
�neighborhood would be destroyed; however, the fire-fighters made a great stand at
a point just east of Union Street and, after a 13-hour rampage, the monster was
killed, having consumed 250 acres, 1600 houses, and 41 factories, and leaving
three dead and thousands homeless. Some people had insurance, some did not; all
received much support and generous donations from all over the country and the
world. It was one of the greatest urban disasters in the history of the United States,
and the people of Salem would take years to recover from it. Eventually, they did,
and many of the former houses and businesses were rebuilt; and several urbanrenewal projects (including Hawthorne Boulevard, which involved removing old
houses and widening old streets) were put into effect.
In 1920, the house was occupied as a two-family. In one unit still lived Clarence
Richardson, 35, a bookkeeper, and wife Grace, 32. In the other unit lived Walter
F. Andrews, 58, employed as a janitor, with wife Margaret, 62, son Walter, 30, a
shoe-cutter in a factory, daughter Mary, 28, a shoe worker, and son Albert, 22, a
shipper in a jewelry store (see 1920 census).
By the 1920s, Salem was once again a thriving city; and its tercentenary in 1926
was a time of great celebration. In August, 1923, Mrs. Doyle had sold the
homestead to Mrs. Karolina (wife of Andrej) Bakrzycki (ED 2493 :309). The
Bakrzyckis moved in and resided here into the 1930s. The property was owned in
the 1940s by absentee landlords, who sold it in 1947 o M/M Sylvio (Loretta)
Bernard (ED 3560:351), wpo owned it for many years. They sold it in 1970 for
$6500 (ED 5662:384). It has changed hands several times since, and is now
owned by Hannah and Alicia Diozzi.
After booming along thrmmh the 1950s, Salem suffered from the arrival of
suburban shopping malls .and the relocation of manufacturing businesses took their
toll, as they have with maQ.y other cities. More than most, Salem has navigated its
way forward into the present with success, trading on its share of notoriety arising
from the witch trials, but also from its history as a great seaport and as the home of
Bowditch, Mcintire, Bentley, Story, and Hawthorne. Most of all, it remains a city
where the homes of the old-time merchants, mariners, traders, and mill-operatives
are all honored as a large part of what makes Salem different from any other place.
--Robert Booth for Historic Salem Inc., 11 Jan. 2003.
-~v-k'Vv
\
�Glossary & Sources
A figure like (ED 123:45) refers to book 123, page 45, Essex South registry of Deeds,
Federal Street, Salem.
A figure like (#12345) refers to Essex Probate case 12345, on file at the Essex Probate
Court, Federal Street, Salem, or on microfilm at Mass. Archives, Boston, or at the
Peabody Essex Museum's Phillips Library, Salem.
MSSRW refers to the multi-volume compendium, Mass. Soldiers & Sailors in the
Revolutionary War, available at the Salem Public Library among other places.
MSSCRW refers to the multi-volume compendium, Mass. Soldiers, Sailors, & Marines in
the Civil War, available at the Salem Public Library among other places.
EIHC refers to the Essex Institute HistOrical Collections (discontinued), a multi-volume
set (first volume published in 1859) of data and articles about Essex County. The indices
of the EIHC have been consulted regarding many of the people associated with this
house.
The six-volume published Salem Vital records (marriages, births, and deaths through
1849) have been consulted~ as have the Salem Directory and later Naumkeag Directory,
which have information about residents and their addresses, etc.
Sidney Perley's three-volume History of Salem, 1626-1716 has been consulted, as has the
four-volume William Bentley's Diary, J. Duncan Phillips' books, some newspaper
obituaries, and other sources.
Salem real estate valuations, and, where applicable, Salem Street Books, have also been
consulted, as have genealogies.
There is much more material available about Salem and its history; and the reader is
encouraged to make his or her own discoveries.
--Robert Booth
14
�Z'-\2'.-ll.·~
·-----··-·----
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���
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
English Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
40 English Street, Salem, MA 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
Built by John Crowninshield Very, trader, between 1820 and 1826, when he mortgaged the property to Captain James Deveraux for a sum owed to Deveraux and Stephen White.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
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Historic Salem, Inc. house histories
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc.; Salem Historical Society
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Built 1820-1826; researched 2003.
Contributor
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Researched by Robert Booth.
Language
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English
1820
1826
40 English Street
John Crowninshield Very
Salem MA
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Oliver Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
23 Oliver Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
Built for Daniel Millet, tailor circa 1826
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem, Inc. house histories
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc., Salem Historical Society
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1826, 1987
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Joyce King
Language
A language of the resource
English
1826
1987
23
Daniel Millet
History
House
Joyce King
Massachusetts
Oliver Street
Salem
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10cef09bb9b106713f66da8e7b68174f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Essex Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
391 & 391.5 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
House and grocery store built for Stephen Fogg, trader, in 1826 and 1840.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem, Inc. house histories
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc.; Salem Historical Society
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Built 1826, 1840; researched 1979
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Researched by Joyce King
Language
A language of the resource
English
1826
1840
391 Essex Street
391.5 Essex Street
grocery store
Salem MA
Stephen Fogg
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584b1b0c0adea82be3b8312de943e44d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Chestnut Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
4 Chestnut Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
Built for
Deacon
John Stone
c. 1826
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem, Inc. house history
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc., Salem Historical Society
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1826, 2015
Language
A language of the resource
English
1826
2015
4
4 Chestnut
Brick
Chestnut
Deacon
Federal
John
John Stone
Lucy
Lucy Robinson
Robinson
Stone
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aa1b4a474bcbc572d611813606170dfe
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Washington Square North
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
39 Washington Square North, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem, Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem, Inc. house histories
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem, Inc., Salem Historical Society
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1826, 2009
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Booth
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
Built by William Roberts, mason, 1826
1826
2009
39
History
House
Massachusetts
North
Roberts
Salem
Square
Washington
William