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~
Two Blaney Street
This strudure was .built as it appears today for John Nash, shoemaker, in 1886.
Very early this land was part of the holdings of Henry Harwood, who died in
1664; his land was sold in 1669 to Jeremiah Butman (3:75), who sold the upper
end to John Becket before 1673, and the rest to Philip Cromwell on 11 July
1673 (4: 18), who in 1680 sold it to Edmund Bridges Sr, a blacksmith, who built
a house, shop & wharf thereon, and in 1682 sold it for 160 li to widow Elizabeth
Turner (6:49). On 28 Oct 1699 John Tunner sold the estate to William Becket,
who immediately conveyed it to blacksmith/anchorsmith Abraham Purchase,
who settled there, dying about 1724 (see Perley's Salem in 1700 , part #22) .
The old house & shop were gone by 1767, when Joseph Mas coll (who had married Ruth, daughter of Abraham Purchase) sold part of the land to Joseph
Blaney and Benjamin Pickman Jr. Mr Pickman in 1769 sold his right to Mr
Blaney, who in 1782 sold a piece of the land to Nicholas Lane, sailmaker, and
Samuel Ropes, cooper, on May 20th (139:128).
In June 1782 Mess rs Lane & Ropes divided the land, Nicholas Lane receiving
the northern half fronting on Derby Street ( 141: 185). On this land Mr Lane
built a dwelling house and store, and here he and his family lived for many
years. The store (which may have housed his sail loft) stood on the corner
- of Derby & Blaney; the house stood to the west of the store on Derby Street,
Nicholas Lane died in 1815., having mortgaged his homestead heavily. On
30 Jan 1815 for $765. 30 Samuel Derby Jr, Salem trader or grocer, bought
up the Salem Bank's mortgage right to the premises (206:140; see also 190:232),
and on 12 Aug 1817 for $364 he bought from John Osgood, merchant, the other
mortgage right (214:124; see also 181:27). These purchases gave Mr Derby
full ownership of the premises; he had bought the Samuel Ropes house in
November 1814, and there he lived; the store he ran as a general store, and
the Lane house he rented out,
Samuel Derby Jr ( 1785-1828), who was also known as a ship chandler, was
descended from one of the less affluent branches of the Derby family of Salem;
he and his wife Abigail (Buffum) had eight children, not all of whom survived
to maturity. (see"Genealogy of the Derby Family" by Perley Derby, 1861,
EIHC 3:205). He died, a trader, on 16 or 18 Jan 1828, aged 42 years, leaving
his wife Abigail and children Mary (1814), Abigail (1821), Samuel (1823), and
Charles (1826) . His real estate consisted of "the homestead in Blaney Street"
(formerly Ropes 's) worth $1600, the Lane "house in Derby Street" and its
land, worth $800, and the "store and iand, corner of Derby and Blaney Street,"
worth $1200. (#7595). The first page of the inventory of his estate details the
contents of this store (see #7595, copy enclosed).
�~
The propert~ occupied by widow Abigail and her eldest daughter Mary,
remained undiv ided among the heirs until 1863, when by two deeds Mrs
Derby and Mary acquired full rights to the estate (637:40, 646:227). On
2 Sept 1877, almost_50 years after her husband, Mrs Abigail (Buffum)
Derby died, leaving her share of the property, a "lot of land at the corner
of Derby & Blaney Streets, occupied with two dwelling houses, a store and
a barn, 11 to her son Charles of Hawaii (son Samuel had died at Hawaii),
daughter Mary Derby of Salem, and to the two daughters of her deceased
daughter, Mrs Abigail (Derby) Gould (#37369). By three deeds, Mary Derby,
the eldest daughter, acquired the property (1009:31, 1022:204, 205).
On 15 May 1886 for $850 Mary Derby granted to John Nash, Salem shoemaker,
the lot at the corner of Derby and Blaney Streets, bounded northerly 29' 9"
on Derby Street and easterly 75 1 on Blaney Street (1172: 298) . Street books_
for the time reveal that there was then a corner store here, rented from
Miss Derby by Albert P Goodhue, with a value of $500. This was probably
the Nicholas Lane /Samuel Derby store. In the summer of 1886 John Nash,
having either torn down the store or incorporated it into the new building,
caused the present structure to be built as a home for himself and his family .
On 26 July 1886, by which time the house may have been finished, he applied
to the city for 104 1 of edgestones, agreeing to have a sidewalk built aroun..
his property within one month of the installation of the edgestones (see city
book, 11 Edgestones, 1881-89, Streets, 11 at the Es sex Institute).
The 1887 Street Book shows that this place, then known as 47 Derby Street,
was worth $1200 for the house and $300 for the land, and that the male occupants
of age were John Nash, 48, shoemaker, and his sons Dennis J Nash, 21, a
baker, and John J Nash, 18, a shoemaker. Perhaps the Derby Street storefront existed then, as a bakery or cobbler's shop . John Nash, who may have
been an Irish immigrant or the son of same, died on 30 Nov 1900, aged about
61 years, leaving his wife Ellen, daughter Mary E, and son John (#87459).
On l July 1901 his heirs granted the land and buildings to Timothy J Kelley
of Salem (1645: 538). On 6 Ap 1907 Timothy granted the premises to Patrick J Kelley
of Salem (1867:271) . On 30 June 1911 Patrick granted the place to Mr & Mrs
Joseph .A Rosenthal of Salem (2091:125). On 6 Feb 1912 Mr Rosenthal granted
his right to his wife Dora L, via straw Max Goldberg (2128:227, 229). And on
11 Nov 1922 Dora L Rosenthal granted the premises to Mr & Mrs Joseph Szetela
of Salem (2535: 125) .
Robert Booth
26 Jan 1978
�NICHOLAS LANE, sailmaker, was born in Gloucseter in 1749 in the section
now called Annisquam . He came to Salem during the Revolution, and died
late in May, 1815, leaving eleven children. He struck Rev. William Bentley
of Salem, who knew. him well, as "a man of great industry, correct habits,
& a good Commonwealth's man, & of talents in his employment." His son
William carried on the sailmaker's business. (see Bentley's Diary, vol. 4,
p. 332.-3).
Note: A thorough inspection of the interior of this building would be necessary
to determining (if possible) whether it was built incorporating the old store,
or was built entirely new.
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Esquire, Judge
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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
Blaney Street
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
2 Blaney Street, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1886 for John Nash, shoemaker
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
1886, 1978
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Robert Booth
Language
A language of the resource
English
1886
1978
2
Blaney Street
John Nash
Salem Massachusetts
shoemaker
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/28828/archive/files/bb3c98d9e2feea06cb8ee327f50f5c06.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=OXMtD7EM55E0ZK8LdZMKPvPXfOh8lCjxGT8Z%7EZYo-0VjAHhcB6vt9FO-GACO1CwiLz5pCKEmOKiFi7BQhhFTD9TY0nh7lTwHiPgrjtHr%7EdpNqA%7EB3GDZyC1WYApyygLqxJaIft-voe6O4m0Tb31qxkOqtb2hORCfbSwzszXPpYhFywCaQJvSN4fh4z08-F80zHzs8aPIEh90QR%7E92o4sFxLgT8I-EjqAMkMexIRWSt21vzA-8B9%7EQpWjjezFUhOQSldvd3PSuLWVsk1ziZXsLuivDC2f44CbZba-vrvX8Qzao1TM3zD%7E3%7ElNUkT754HwAJLBTiYjGXGOf1r9UzBrRg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
93469bdbc669460ec65ba995e60d7c6a
PDF Text
Text
HISTORIC
SALEM INC
4 Blaney Street
Built for
Samuel Ropes 1782, Cooper
Researched by Robert Booth, 1976
Historic Salem Inc,
The Bowditch House
9 North Street, Salem, MA 01970
(978} 745-07991 HistoricSalem.org
©2020
�. SAMUEL ROPES
cooper
1782
.4
Blaney St
Salem, Mass.
�House & Land at
4 Blaney
Street, Salem,
~r
1•..
acs.
This house was built by Samuel nopes, Salem "cooper," in 1782
on the southern half of land that he & Nicholas Lane had bought
from Joseph Blaney in May of t hat year. The 1782 date seems
certain, for in 1781 Sqmuel Ropes (1757-1841) oimed a house &
warehouse in ward 3, and by 1783 he was living in ward one (see
Bentley's Diary, vol.· I, p 14). 'l 'he 1782 property assessment was
made ir.{spring, before Ropes had bought the land, and the 1783
.
as s essment reco1.. ds are incor!!plete , so the records of 1784/5, in
which Samuel Ropes owns a house&· shop worth 400 li in ward one,
are the first actual reference to this house. By the 1786/7
-assessment, Ropes h ad added a warGhouse to the shop & house on
, the land, so perhaps as early as this Samuel was involved as a
merchant in Salem• s ma:.ritime commerce. At any rate, business was
good, and on 30 Jan 1792 Bentley observes "Samuel Ropes forming
a kitchen back: of his house "--perhaps referring to the back lean-to
which gives the house its salt-box appearance (see Bentley's Diary,
vol. I, p 365).
Very early this land was part of the holdings of Henry Harwood,
who died in 1664; his widow & the selectmen of Salem sold Henry's
land in 1669 to Jeremiah Butman (deeds, 3:15), who sold the upper
end to John Becket before 1673, & t he rest to Philip Cromwell on
11 July 1673 (deeds, 4:18), who in 1680 sold it to Edmund Bridges
Sr, a blacksmith, who built a house, shop & wharf thereon, and,
for 160 li sold it in 1682 to widow Elizabeth Turner (deeds, 6:49).
On 28 Oct 1699, John Turner sold the estate to W iam i3eckett,
ill
.
who immedi ately conveyed it to Abraham Purchase, also a blacksmith,
who settled there, dying ca. 1724. {The :preceding information
was found in Sidney Perley 1 s Salem in 1700, part #22}. The old
house & shop were gone by 1767, when Joseph J
Yiascoll (who had
married Ruth Purchase, daughter of Abraham) sold part of the ·land
to Joseph Blaney & Benjamin Pickman Jr, who in 1769 sold his halr
to Blaney, who in 1782 sold a piece of' the l and to Nicholas Lane
& Samuel Rcpes, who soon after built this house t hereon.
Sarnuel Ropes, borp. 8 i".iar 1757, was the 6th .of the 12 children
of Benja.r.iin Ropes, a Salem cooper, & his wife Ruth Hardy. Like
his father, Samuel became a cooper, & on 27 r~ 1780 married Sarah
iay
Cheever (died 1842); their first son, Samuel Jr, was born in 1781,
& this house was built the next year. The coupl_ went on to raise
e
a family of 8 children here--5 boys & 3· r irls--although 3 of the
· boys died at age 20, two of t h em at sea ( see Bentley's Diary, volII,
p 381 ). For more information about the Ropes f amily, see the genealogy in Sidney Perley 1 s History of Salem, Nass., vol I, p 345.
B 1792, Sarnael Ropes seems to have secured a Custom House
y
position, for then Bentley calls him a 11 cooper, cutter, weigher &
gauger." (See Bentley's Diary, . vol I, p 336). Eventually, Ro:pes.
lost his position at the Custom House, but succeded in establishing
�hL~self as a trader & merchant--a man of standing , & probably
the Samuel Ropes who in Salem's election of 1806 was the sole
Federalist chosen Selectman (see Bentley, vol II, p 219).
So by 29 Nov 1814, when, after more than JO years• residence,
he sold his "lot of land with the house, barn, & al]father buildings
standing thereon," Samuel Ropes Esq. was a very successful manno longer the cooper of 1782, but a substantial political & commercial fi gure • .
Sar:iuel Derby Jr (1785-1828) now moved in with his wife
Abig8.il (Buffum), whom he had married 9 Nov 1808, and tlheir
children. Samuel's father, Sainuel (1769?-1826) was a Salem
shoemaker, and h is father, Richard (1736-77), was a brother to
the merchant prince Elias Hasket Derby (1739-99). A few months
after settling at Blaney Street, Derby bought the house & land
11with a store & other buildings thereon 11 that lay immediately
north of h is own land--meaning the Nicholas Lan~ lot . at the
corner of Derby & Blaney Sts (see deeds, 206:140 & 214:124);
thus unifying the 2 original lots of 1782, a situation that
would last until 1881.
Samuel Derby, "trader," dj,ed 16 Jan 1828 at the age of only
42, leaving to his widow Abigail and children Samuel, Charles,
Abigail & Hary "the homestead in Bl.aney St 11 ( this house & its land),
11 a house & land in Derby St, & a store & land at the corner of
Blaney & Derby Sts. 11 --the inventory of his estate reveals that
Hr Derby ran a sort of general store, cor:iplete with great
quantities of rum! (See his probate, #7595).
The property, occupied by widow Abigail & her unmarried
daughter M
ary, remained undivided among the heirs until 1863, when
by 2 deeds (637:40, 646:227) '.Hrs Derby & Mary acquired full rights.
Then, on 2 Sept 1877, al most 50 years after her husband, widow
Abigail (Buffum) Derby died, leaving her share of the property
(a "lot of land at the corner of Derby & Blaney Sts, occuoied
with 2 dwt;lling houses, a store & a b arn 11 ; probate 1¥37369) · to
her son Ch arles of Hawaii ( Samu el Jr had died in Hawaii), her
daughter Mary Derby of Salem, & to the 2 dau ghters of her de~eased
daught er Abigail (Derby) Gould. By three deeds, Hary Derby
acquired the property (deeds 1009:31, 1022 : 204 & 205).
Mary Derby did not hold it long , and on 11 Oct 1881--when
the h ouse was 99 years old--at last sold t he Samuel Ropes house
(and its original lot) out of the Derby family.
Robert Booth
3 June 1976
�Deeds relat ing to House
&
Land at 4 Blaney St., Salem, Hass.
1 Ap 1767: Joseph & Ruth ( Purchase) HASCOLL, he being a Salem
shipwright, for 11 3.6 . 8 li sell to Joseph BLA1-GY & 3enj runin PIC:U1AN Jr,
.
Salem gentlemen, as tenants in comr.1on (ea ch paying half the price)
a piece of Salem land bounded
nw 170 1 4" on a t own way bet·ween the Has colls I mansion house
& the pren ises;
neon l and of i"lilliam Becket & on l and belonging to the i1ascolls,
or to one of the Nascolls, & o thers,yet U..l'ldivided;
se on t h e channel of the South River or Harbour;
sw on Abraham ifat s on 1 s l~d.
(S o. .~ssex co. Deeds , 117:262)
. ,.
8 May 1769: Benja. in PICKH.AN Jr Esq., Salem, for 62.13.4 li sells
m
·,.;o Joseph BLANEY his half of the premises described a bove.
(Deeds, 1-31 :1.57)
20 May 1782: Joseph BLANZY', Esq, of Sal em, for 273 li in silver
sells to Nicholas LANE, Salem sail-maker, & Saiuuel ROPES., Salem coop_er,
a p iece of land 45.5 p oles square in the east parish of Salem, bounded
w. 176' 9 11 on George Dodge,
n. 75 1 6 11 on a town way,
e. 165 1 4" on sd Jo seph Blaney,
s. 73 1 7" on sd Jo seph Blaney;
with the liberty of passing & repassing with carts & other carriages
in the way on the eastward of the prer.1ises, leading from the town way
aforesaid to Blaney 1 s Wharf, said ·v:ay being 23. 5 ' wide (west to east)
& 165' 4" lomg {north to south) being the whole l ength of the premises.
(Deeds , 139:128)
June 1782: Nichol a s LANZ, Sal em sail-m2ker, and Samuel ROPES,
Salem c ooper, h ave a greed to make divinior. & p artition of the land
t hey lately purchase d of Joseph Blaney Bs q {see above, 139:128) in
t he following manner: that the sd parcel of land be divided exactly
into 2 equal parts for quantity of land, the di vision line to be
dravm east-to-west; & t hat the l and north of sd di vision line is set
off to Nich olas , & the land sou th of sd line is set off t o sd Samuel.
(Deeds, 141:185)
7 June 1791 : It i s m.utu a.lly agreed betwe en one pp_rty ( Capt Edward
ALLEN & Capt Samuel Ii:m:3:ZS0i.L, both o:f Sc.l em ) and ·the other party
{Samuel ROPES of Salem) that t he division f ence between t h e land of
s d All en & Ingersoll & t he l and of sd Ropes (being t h e southern bounds
of sd rtopes 1 land), which fence runs in a straight line with the
division fence running between All en & Ingersoll 1 s land & the land
of rtichard Pal1'rey, shall be alt ered in such a manne1• as to run at
ri ght angles, square ,..ri th t he l ane l eading to the .- h~f of sd Allen &
J
Ing ersoll. And it is altered a ccordingly.
~Deeds , 154:109)
�/
29 Nov 1814 : Sar:m el ( & w.
S£>.rah) RO?::IB 3sq, Sal e:n, for
$1300 sells
tc, .:.a111ui:,l DZ... l3Y Jr, Sal em t1•ader, a lot of l and with t he d1 elling
1
•
1
house, barn. & all other buildings standing thereon, conta ining
,
about 23 poles, on 3laney Street, bounded starting on sd Blaney St
ac these corner of Nicholas Lane 1 s l and, & then
runs sw 73' 6" by sd Nicholas Lane;
runs se 87 1 by. heirs of Joshu a Dodge dec 1 d; ·
runs n e 73 1 6 1 by land l at e of Sru~uel Ingersoll dec 1 d; as the
f ences now stand;
rLlils nw 87 1 on sd Blaney Street.
(Deeds, 205:36)
11 Oct 1881: Mary DERBY, Salem sinr;leworean, fo~ $1135 sells to
George WHEATLAND -a s trustee for Mary DURGIN, wife of John Durgin, a
Salem messuage, bounded
east 86 1 on Blaney St
south 73 ' on Rowell
west 86 1 on formerly Brookhouse
north 73' on sd Nary Derby & on Sullivan;
with the unders tanding tha t sd Wheatland shall pay over the property_'s
n e t rent &. income to sd Nary Durgin during her lifetime, & at her_
decease sd ¼'heatland shall convey & pay over the estate to whomever
·
l'iar y Durgin as signs in her will or, in default of a will, t o her heirs•
And t h en sd Wheatland mortgaged the prer,1is e s for ;p.535 to H.ary
Derby, who discharged the mortgage on 19 Nov 1883.
(Deeds, 1069:160)
6 Aug 1883 : John DURGIN of Salem, for $1 r ele ase s to Thomas DURGIN
of Salem all his right to the above r eal estate.
( Deeds , 1124:99)
1 Feb 1884: George WHEA'fJLAND, Salem, for $1, according to the will
of Ifar y Durgin deceased, gr ants to her s on Thomas DURGIN a Salem
me~s~age, bounded t h e sa..~e as above (11 Oct 1881 ); it being the
·
es"Ga-i:;e t hat Wheatl and, as trustee for I-I2.ry Durgin, bought froni Hary
Derby 11 Oct 1881, 1069 :1 60, above.
( Deeds , 1124:99)
14 Oct 1889: Thomas DURGIN, Salem, for $1600 grants to John H
CASH11AN., Salem, a Salem rr..essuage bounded
ne 86 1 on Blaney St,
se 73' on Rowell,
sw 86 1 on formerl y Brookhouse,
nw 73' on Sullivan & on now or l ate (n/1) lfary Derby;
b e i ng the sar.ie pr emises conveyed to sci Thomas D
UI1GI N by George Wheatland
in deed 1124:99, and devised to Th omas in ~he will of h is mother, I-iary
Durgin. See al so the deed f r om. John t o Thomas Durgin, 6 A 1883; t124:99;
ug
& the deed from Mar y Derby t o George .-{neatland 11 Oct 1881, 1069 :160 (incorrec t ly r e f erred t o a s 1124:99 in the deed book). (Deeds, 1 261:77)
�24 Oct 1 9 10: John J ~ i-lilJ i ain F CASIDIAn, h eir s of their decea s ed
moth er, Anastasia CASHM N of Salem, for $1 r elea se to t heir f a t her,
A
John H CASH
KAN, all their right to a Sal em me ssu age on Bl aney Street,
bounded as on 14 Oct 1889, 1261 :77.
(Deeds, 2047:148 )
24 Oct 1910: John H CASffi1AN, wi dm·.rer of Sal <::m, for $1 releases
to hi s sons J <?hn J _& Wm F CASiI:i:IA Sal em, the above r eal est ate,
.N,
subjec t t o a $1, 000 mor t gage to Sal em Co-oper a tive Bank; and sd granter
r eserve s t o h i mself al l i1i s r i.ghts t o the above r eal e s tat e a s
hu sband of t he l a te A astasi a Cashman.
n
(Deeds, 2047:149}
10 Jul y 1922 : John H CASHMAN, widower, and John J & vim F CASHMAN,
all of Sal em, gr ant to Henry L RUSSELL & Chester B SIM both of Salem,
,
a Salem n essu age on Blaney Street, bounded
ne 86 1 on Blaney St,
se · 73! on n/1 Rowell,
sw 86 • on n/1 Brookhouse,
nw 73 ' on· n/1 of Sulliv~ & n/1 of Mary Derby.
(Deeds, 2522 :89}
15 Mar 1941: In 2 de eds, Che s ter B SI H, lfar bl eh e ad, and Henry
L RUSSELL, Sal em, gr ant t o the RUSSEtLwSIM TANNING COM
PANY, t he above
r eal est a t e, r efe r r ing t o deed 2522:89.
(Deeds, 3250:465}
1 Nar 1944: RUSSELL- SIM TANNI NG CO PAJ.~, Sal em, gr ants to
M
1-In.ry A ARChlJHG of Sal em, trustee of . rlebb W ar f Associat e s, 5 p arcels
h
in Sal em wi th t he buildings t her eon , par cel #4 b ei ng t he · s ame r eferred
t o i n de ed 3250: 465.
( Deeds , 3393:482 }
15 Nov 1960: Hary
ARC
HUNG, t rus t ee of W
ebb \·n-1arf Associates,
grant s t o Jo s eph T , Her bert L., & J..fary R NACK3Y, t h e same .5 J?ai'cels
as de s cnibe d i n deed 3393:482.
( Deeds., 4722 :4)
A
18 Nov 1964 : Joseph T, Herber t L,
to THO
MAS HAC
KSY & SO
NS, U!C., the s ame
deed 4722: 4 above.
&
M
ary R M
ACKEY, Sal em, grant
5 p arcel s as des cribed i n
(Deeds, 5225 :335}
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�History ofHouse and Occupants, Four Blaney Street, Salem
By Robert A. Booth, Jr., for Historic Salem Inc., May 25, 2006.
According to available evidence, this house was built in 1782 for
Samuel Ropes, cooper.
On May 20, 1782, Joseph Blaney Esq. for 273 1i sold to Samuel
Ropes, cooper, and Nicholas Lane, sailmaker, a parcel of land at the
comer of Derby Street and the road that ran down to Blaney' s Wharf.
The parcel was bounded northerly 75' 6" on a town way (now Derby
Street), easterly 165' 4" on land of Blaney (now Blaney Street),
southerly 73' 7" on Blaney land, and westerly 176' 9" on land of
Dodge (ED 139: 128). In June, 1782, the new owners subdivided the
property, and Mr. Ropes took the parcel closest to the water (ED
141: 185). On it, he built this house, in 1782, facing across the harbor
toward the west shore ofMarblehead. By 1791, the wharf was owned
by Edward Allen and Samuel Ingersoll; and in June Mr. Ropes made
an agreement with them as to fencing the boundary line between their
property and his. The main house was given a rear addition ("leanto")
in the fall of 1791, per Rev. William Bentley, who noted in October
that "Samuel Ropes is forming a kitchen back of his house." (per
Bentley's diary, volume 1). On his northerly parcel, Mr. Lane built a
store at the comer and a house to the west of the store, on Derby
Street. The land here had been purchased jointly in 1767 by Joseph
Blaney and Benjamin Pickman; and in 1769 Mr. Blaney had bought
out Mr. Pickman.
Samuel Ropes (1757-1841) was born in Salem, the son of Benjamin
Ropes ( 1722-1790), and Ruth (Hardy) Ropes ( c.1724-1795). He was
the sixth of twelve children- Benjamin, Joseph, Samuel (died young),
Sarah, Lydia, Samuel, Hardy, Ruth, Hardy, George, Joseph, and
Timothy. He grew up on upper Essex Street, near what is now Monroe
Street (site of public library). His father worked as a cooper, and was
part of a very large extended family. On both sides, his family roots
went back to the 1600s in Salem.
Samuel Ropes' boyhood was in the 1760s, a decade in which Salem's
foreign commerce-primarily with Spain and with British Caribbean
islands- began to falter, as the British enforced their new trade
regulations. Salem' s main export was salt cod, which was caught far
offshore by Salem and Marblehead fishermen and brought back to the
1
�local fishyards, where it was "cured" until it was hard and dry and
could be shipped long distances. This was a staple food in Catholic
Europe (Spain and Portugal especially) and also in the Caribbean,
where it fed the slaves. To Europe went the fish that was
"merchantable" (high-grade), and to the Caribbean went the "refuse"
(low quality). Either sort, put into a pot of boiling water, would tum
into nutritious food. Many of the barrels that Samuel Ropes' father
made were used as containers for salt cod. Lumber, horses, cattle, and
foodstuffs were also sent to the Caribbean, whence came molasses,
sugar, cotton, and mahogany. From Europe came back finished goods
(made in India and England), iron, wine, fruit, feathers, and leather.
There was also some trade between Salem and the Chesapeake Bay
area, which provided com, wheat, and tobacco, while South Carolina
provided rice. Most Salem merchant vessels were small, under 60
tons.
The tidal South River ran along Derby Street and all the way to the
present Post Office; and in this secure deep-water inner harbor were
most of the wharves and warehouses, although some wharves were
built along the North River too. The Browne family, whose houses
stood on Essex Street between Liberty and Washington, dominated
Salem's society, and the Brownes were leading merchants, followed
by Benjamin Pickman (1708-1773), Samuel Gardner, Timothy Orne,
and, by the 1750s, Richard Derby (1712-1783). Salem's colonial
commerce was active but the imperial authorities limited the Salem
merchants to trade with designated British possessions. By smuggling
and trading with un-approved partners, the Salem merchants made
good profits.
In 1760, after Canada and the Ohio Valley were taken from the
French, the English decided to pay for the costs of war and of
sustaining a bureaucracy in America by squeezing tax revenues out of
the colonials' trade. Although they had been under royal governors for
two generations, the New Englanders had been self-governing by town
meetings at the local level and, at the provincial level, through an
elected legislature. They regarded themselves as a free people, and not
as dependents of a far-away mother country. Merchants and mariners
had always traded with the Spanish and Dutch in Europe and the
various islands of the Caribbean, regardless of their national
affiliations; and they deeply resented the British crack-down on this
trade, accompanied by privateering against American vessels by both
the French and the British.
2
�In 1761, a group of Salem and Boston merchants sued to prevent the
use of search warrants ("writs of assistance") by the Customs officials
who were trying to inspect their vessels and warehouses. Later in the
decade, Salemites were roused against the Stamp Act, and applied tar
and feathers to a couple of men who disagreed. In Boston, mobs
attacked the royal officials' houses and beat up their flunkies. The
British authorities were surprised at this resistance to their policies,
and feared an insurrection. In 1768, they sent over a small army to
occupy Boston. Now the Americans were forced to see themselves as
misbehaving colonials, and to realize that they were not free. They did
not like this picture, and the result was bitter public opposition and
more street violence in Boston. The Boston Massacre took place in
March, 1770; in short order, all of Massachusetts turned openly
against the British, and the clouds of war gathered on the horizon.
Samuel Ropes was a boy of thirteen at this time, just entering into his
indenture as an apprentice cooper, probably working for his father,
Deacon Benjamin Ropes, a leader of Rev. Dudley Leavitt's "New
Light" Church. Before the Revolution, Samuel's older sisters were all
well-married: Sarah (1752-1796) to Jerathmeel Peirce, who would
become a privateer-owner and a great merchant; and Lydia (17541835) to 1774 Capt. Ichabod Nichols (1749-1839) a shipmaster and
later a merchant of Salem and Portsmouth. His older brother,
Benjamin Ropes Jr., married Margaret Symonds and would serve as a
lieutenant in the rebel army, in which he died as a young man.
Pre-revolutionary Salem had more than its share of Tories; but the
Sons of Liberty were in the majority. Wealthy scions of families like
the Curwens, Pickmans, and Brownes, stayed loyal to the King, as did
many others who had married into the merchant families. In 1774,
military rule was imposed from England as Gen. Thomas Gage
became governor of Massachusetts and the port of Boston was shut
down in punishment for the Tea Party of December, 1773. On June 2,
1774, Salem became the new capital of Massachusetts, as a reward for
its supposed loyalty. Governor Gage and his officials relocated to the
North Shore, and the Customs operation was conducted from
Marblehead, while Salem became the major seaport ofNew England,
handling virtually all of the commercial business that Boston had
done. Hundreds of new people moved to Salem, and the legislature
met in Salem's Court House. In short order that legislature, led by
John Hancock, voted its independence from the authority of
Parliament, and set itself up as the governing body of a free state.
Gage tried to shut it down, but it was too late: he had lost control of
Massachusetts to the rebel assembly gathered in Salem. The town still
3
�had a powerful and outspoken group of loyalists, led by Peter Frye, a
prominent merchant and magistrate whose wife was a Pickman. One
night in October, Judge Frye learned just how far the rebels were
willing to go: his fine house on Essex Street was burned down and his
family barely escaped with their lives as half a block of houses and
stores and a church all went up in smoke. Next day, the rebel assembly
met again and voted to move their proceedings to Concord. Gage and
his officials moved to Boston, and many of the loyalists followed.
Outside of Boston, all of Massachusetts was under the control of the
rebels.
By January, 1775, loyalists had been purged from the Salem militia
regiment, and Col. William Browne was replaced by Col. Timothy
Pickering, who was writing a book on military drill. Samuel Ropes
was then seventeen; Pickering was a first cousin of Ropes' mother,
Ruth Hardy Ropes. One Sunday in February, 1775, the Revolutionary
War almost began in Salem. When everyone was in church, Col.
Leslie's redcoats marched overland from Marblehead and arrived in
downtown Salem, hoping to seize cannon and munitions in North
Salem. They came to a sudden halt at the North Bridge-the Salem
men, alerted by a Marblehead rider, had pulled up the draw of the
bridge. Rev. Thomas Barnard Jr., of the North Church, engaged Col.
Leslie in discussion; and Capt. John Felt, warned Leslie that blood
would flow ifhe did not tum back. Negotiations followed, and
agreement was reached: the draw went down, Leslie's men advanced a
short distance into North Salem, faced about, and marched back
through Salem's South Fields and Marblehead, whose own regiment,
led by Col. Jeremiah Lee, could have slaughtered them. Instead, the
Marbleheaders fell in behind them, marching in mockery of Leslie's
Retreat as the British made their way back to the beach and boarded
their whaleboats to return to the transport vessel.
With the battle at Lexington & Concord, April 19th, 1775, the die was
cast. Of course no one knew how the war would end, and there was
little to indicate that the colonials could actually defeat the King's
army and navy, but virtually every able-bodied Salem man and boy
gave himself over to the cause. Salem's regiment participated in the
siege of Boston, as George Washington took command of the army in
Cambridge. The British left Boston in March, 1776, never to return.
Washington's army was pushed southward from Long Island in a
series of defeats, during which Salem's Col. Timothy Pickering
became one of the General's most trusted officers, and Quartermaster
General of the army. Washington's first victory was the Battle of
4
�Trenton, on Christmas Day, 1776, made possible by the Marblehead
regiment of Gen. John Glover. Eventually most of the Salem men
came home and sailed in privateers for the duration of the war. There
is no record of military service by Samuel Ropes, so it is likely that he
sailed as a privateer, and perhaps was successful. It should be noted
that there was another Samuel Ropes in town at that time, the son of a
Loyalist judge.
In 1780, Samuel Ropes (1757-1841) married Sarah Cheever, and in
1782 he built this house, facing down the wharf, then known as
Blaney' s Wharf. Eventually the wharf was extended well out into the
harbor, probably by Ingersoll & Allen, and was known by 1820 as
Ome's Wharf, one of the largest in Salem, running out about 900'. By
1850, somewhat reduced in size, it was known as Webb's Wharf.
Samuel Ropes (1757-1841), born 8 March 1757, s/o Benjamin
Ropes & Ruth Hardy, died 5 Dec. 1841. Hem. 27 May 1780 Sarah
Cheever (1758-1842), d/o Ezekiel Cheever, died 11 Oct. 1842.
Known issue, surname Ropes:
1. Samuel, 1781, died at sea 1800, supercargo of Henry.
2. Benjamin, 1783, died 1801 by accident on board Belisarius.
3. William, 1784, m. 1811 Martha Reed, of Boston and Russia,
merchant.
4. Sally,1786
5. Hardy, 1788, m. 1824 Mary Ladd; of Boston, merchant.
6. Ruth Hardy, 1791-1837, m. Henry Prince.
7. Louisa, 18793-1842, m. 1821 Rev. Samuel Green, Boston.
8. Joseph, 1796-1816.
In 1784, Samuel Ropes' house and shop in ward one were valued at
400 Ii, and his stock & faculty at 100 Ii (per valuations, 1784-5). His
future business partner, John Page, of ward four (Federal Street), had a
house worth 600 Ii and stock & faculty valued at 300 Ii. As may be
seen, many of those who had gained during the Revolution through
privateering did not have much money by the end of the war. Their
future fortunes would depend on the prosperity of Salem's overseas
commerce, their connections to men who did have money, and their
own entrepreneurial abilities. Samuel Ropes was well connected in
Salem, through his merchant brothers-in-law. His younger brothers
were not in a position to assist his coopering business, but all three
brothers-in-law were merchants with extensive shipping interests who
stood in need of barrels as containers for their cargos as well as barrel-
5
�making materials that they might export to the wine islands and
Europe.
In 1783 Samuel's sister Ruth (1761-1850) would marry John Leach
(1741-1805), a privateer commander, shipmaster, and later a
merchant. Samuel' s younger brothers were Hardy, who became a
New Hampshire farmer; Capt. George (1765-1807), a shipmaster who
would marry Seeth Millett (1769-1823) in 1789, and would be lost at
sea in 1807; Joseph (1770-1795) lost at sea schooner Active; and Capt.
Timothy ( 1773-1848) who married Sarah Holmes and would become
a cooper and shipmaster (EIHC 7:196-9).
Samuel's father, Deacon Benjamin Ropes, died in 1790, leaving house
& land worth $1683 and a modest personal estate. His widow Ruth
survived him until 1795 (EIHC 7:150-153).
Through the memoir of a nephew, Benjamin Ropes, we get a glimpse
of Samuel's life and work (see EIHC, "Benjamin Ropes'
Autobiography"), as follows. Samuel Ropes' brother, Lt. Benjamin
Ropes, an officer in the Revolutionary army who died of camp fever
in 1778, left three small children and his wife, Margaret (Symonds)
Ropes, who, in 1788, apprenticed her son Benjamin, sixteen, to his
uncle Samuel Ropes, of Blaney Street, "to learn the cooper' s trade"making barrels and casks and buckets. Ben would serve Samuel for
two years while she provided for Ben' s "board and clothing." After
learning the trade, Ben was to teach it to his younger brother James,
who stayed at home to help their mother. Benjamin served out his time
under uncle Samuel, who thereafter employed him as a journeyman
cooper. One day in January, 1790, Benjamin went to the wharf to pack
a hogshead of fish (a hogshead was a very large barrel); "being shorthanded, (Ben) exerted himself beyond (his) strength by which (he)
sprained his breast," which caused him to cough up blood every
morning into the month of June, with continual night-sweats and great
weakness. To save his health, young Benjamin shipped out on a
fishing voyage, and returned, much stronger, in September, to find that
his brother James had lost a hand due when a gun exploded. Again,
Ben "applied to my uncle Samuel Ropes for employment." Samuel
had no jobs open, and said he was barely able to make ends meet, but
referred Benjamin to another uncle, the rich merchant Jerathmeel
Peirce, who turned down Ben's request for a $30 loan to get started as
a cooper at the North Bridge. This surprised uncle Samuel, who then
advised Ben to seek a loan from the lumber merchant Miles Ward,
6
�who cheerfully complied, and launched Benjamin on a successful
career.
In some places, the post-war loss of the former colonial connections
and trade routes was devastating, for Americans were prohibited from
trading with most British possessions; but in Salem, the merchants and
mariners were ready to push their ships and cargos into all parts of the
known world. They did so with astonishing success. By virtue of
competing fiercely, pioneering new routes, and opening and
dominating new markets, Salem won a high place in the world. Hasket
Derby, William Gray, Eben Beckford, and Joseph Peabody were the
town's commercial leaders. In 1784, Derby began trade with Russia;
and in 1784 and 1785 he dispatched trading vessels to Africa and
China, respectively. Voyages to India soon followed, and to the Spice
Islands and Pepper Islands (Java, Sumatra, Malaya, etc.). All of this
commerce was a boon to the coopers, including Samuel Ropes, who
amassed a good deal of money.
By the 1790s, the new foreign-trade markets- and the coffee trade,
which would be opened in 1798 with Mocha, Arabia- brought great
riches to the Salem merchants, and raised the level of wealth
throughout the town: new ships were bought and built, more crews
were formed with more shipmasters, new shops and stores opened,
new partnerships were formed, and new people moved to town. 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 7921 in 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 to transport 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.
Samuel Ropes secured a position as a weigher & gauger in the Custom
House, evidently, for in 1792 William Bentley, minister of the East
Church, refers to him as "cooper, cutter, weigher & gauger"
(Bentley's diary, I:336). In 1793 Samuel Ropes went into business as
a ship-chandler, with a partner, Col. John Page (1751-1838) of 112114 Federal Street. As Page & Ropes, Ship Chandlers, they operated a
large brick store that supplied provisions and supplies to vessels
bound on long voyages (per EIHC I:55). They carried everything from
groceries to cordage, quadrants, charts, tar, brandy, gin, lime stone,
sugar, and rum. Their store was leased from Hasket Derby evidently,
7
�and was located at the head of Union Wharf, on Derby Street opposite
Union Street; and in 1800 for $4000 they purchased the store and land
from the Derby heirs (ED 167:176). At the same time, it is likely that
Mr. Ropes carried on his cooper's business, with supervisor hired to
oversee the journeymen and apprentices. Page & Ropes did an
excellent business along the booming waterfront;,and in 1798 the firm
contributed $100 toward construction of a privat9ly financed Salem
frigate, the Essex, for defense against marauding French ships (EIHC
75:6).
,
a
In the late 1790s, there was agitation in Congress to go to war with
France, which was at war with England. After President Adams'
negotiators were rebuffed by the French leaders in 1797, a quasi-war
with France began in summer, 1798, much to the horror of Salem's
George Crowninshield family (father and five shipmaster sons), which
had an extensive trade with the French, and whose ships and cargos in
French ports were susceptible to seizure. The quasi-war brought about
a political split within the Salem population. Those who favored war
with France (and detente with 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, led locally by the Derby family. Those who favored peace
with France were the Anti-Federalists, led by Jefferson and his
Democratic-Republican party; they were led locally by the
Crowninshields. For the first few years of this rivalry, the Federalists
prevailed; but after the death of Hasket "King" Derby in 1799 his
family's power weakened. Samuel Ropes was a staunch and active
Federalist, and would serve as a selectman of the town.
In 1800, Adams negotiated peace with France and fired Pickering as
Secretary of State. Salem's Federalists merchants erupted in anger,
expressed through their newspaper, the Salem Gazette. At the same
time, British vessels began to harass American shipping. Salem
owners bought more cannon and shot, and kept pushing their trade to
the farthest ports of the rich East, while also maintaining trade with
the Caribbean and Europe. Salem cargos were exceedingly valuable,
and Salem was a major center for distribution of merchandise
throughout New England: "the streets about the wharves were alive
with teams loaded with goods for all parts of the country. It was a
busy scene with the coming and going of vehicles, some from long
distances, for railroads were then unknown and all transportation must
be carried on in wagons and drays. In the taverns could be seen
teamsters from all quarters sitting around the open fire in the chilly
8
�evenings, discussing the news of the day or making merry over
potations of New England rum, which Salem manufactured.in
abundance." (from Hurd's History ofEssex County, 1888, p. 65).
The Crowninshields, led by brother Jacob, were especially successful,
as their holdings rose from three vessels in 1800 to several in 1803.
Their bailiwick, this Derby Street district, seeme4 almost to be itself
imported from some foreign country: in the stores, parrots chattered
and monkeys cavorted, and from the warehouses wafted the exotic
aromas of Sumatran spices and Arabian coffee beans and Caribbean
molasses. From the wharves were carted all manner of strange fruits,
and crates of patterned china in red and blue, and piles of gorgeous
silks and figured cloths, English leather goods, and hundreds of barrels
of miscellaneous objects drawn from all of the ports and workshops of
the world. The greatest of the Salem merchants at this time was
William "Billy" Gray, who owned 36 large vessels-IS ships, 7 barks,
13 brigs, 1 schooner- by 1808. Salem was then still a town, and a
small one by our standards, with a total population of about 9,500 in
1800. Its politics were fierce, and polarized everything. The two
factions attended separate churches, held separate parades, and
supported separate schools, military companies, and newspapers.
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 between what are now
Hawthorne Boulevard and North Street). The East Parish (Derby
Street area) 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. As the 19th century advanced, Salem's commercial
prosperity would sweep almost all of the great downtown houses away
(the brick Joshua Ward house, built 1784, is a notable exception).
The Ropes family prospered in these years, but suffered double
tragedy, when the two oldest boys, Benjamin and Samuel, died in
1800 and in 1801, one at Curacao on a voyage of the Henry which he
was supercargo, aged nineteen, and one at Union Wharf, second mate
of the Belisarius, crushed to death by a falling spar, aged eighteen.
The two Ropes brothers were young men of great ability and promise,
and their deaths fell as terrible blows on their family and friends. Two
of their three younger brothers would grow up to become prominent
merchants in Boston.
9
�The Common was covered with hillocks, small ponds and swamps,
utility buildings, and the alms-house. In 1802, Col. Elias Hasket
Derby (Jr.) began a subscription drive to landscape the common and
transform it into a beautiful promenade and paracte ground, to be
known as Washington Square. Samuel Ropes gave $5 to level the
Common (EIHC 4:139), along with many others; and the project was
soon completed.
5
The town's merchants were 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 in the latest style.
While a few of the many new houses went up in the old EssexWashington 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 by the Adam brothers in England and featured fanlight
doorways, palladian windows, elongated pilasters and columns, and
large windows.
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 and editor of the Register newspaper. His 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. He had high
hopes for the future of a republican America, with well-educated
citizens. He observed and fostered the transition in Salem, and wrote
in his diary (2 Dec. 1806), "While Salem was under the greatest
aristocracy in New England, few men thought, and the few directed
the many. Now the aristocracy is gone and the many govern. It is plain
it must require considerable time to give common knowledge to the
people." On Union Street, not far from 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 and
Pacific tropics.
Salem was by no means the Federalist town that some have portrayed
it to be: the political balance was about even between the Federalists
and the Democratic-Republicans; and in 1806, Samuel Ropes was the
�)
sole Federalist chosen town selectman. In that year, the heirs ofE.H.
Derby extended their wharf far out into the harbor, tripling its previous
length. This they did to create more space for warehouses and shipberths in the deeper water, at just about the time that the
Crowninshields had built their great India Wharf at the foot of nowWebb Street. The other important wharves were Forrester's (now
Central, just west of Derby Wharf), White' s (offWhite Street), Orne's
(near White's), and Union Wharf, where Page & Ropes had its store.
Farther to the west, 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. Each had a warehouse or two, and 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, gawkers, 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.
Salem' s boom came to an end with a crash in January, 1808, when
Jefferson and the Congress imposed an embargo on all 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. In October, the Federalists of Essex
County held an anti-Embargo convention at Topsfield, at which
Samuel Ropes was one of the delegates (p.275, J.D. Phillips, Salem &
The Indies). 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 eliminated a huge amount of Salem
wealth, shipping, import-export cargos, and local employment. Gray
soon switched from the Federalist party, and was elected Lt. Governor
under Gov. Elbridge Gerry, a native of Marblehead.
At this time, Samuel Ropes and his wife decided to move out of the
east Parish, where they had resided since 1782. On 1 Aug. 1809 for
$2900 Samuel Ropes, merchant, bought from Jacob Lord, carpenter,
the westerly part of the large new house, with barn, at 134 bridge
Street, on the southerly corner ofNorthey Street (ED 187:228). Into
11
�this house Samuel Ropes and his family soon moved; and there he
would live for many years more, until his death in 1841.
After the lifting of the Embargo, Salem resumed its seafaring
commerce for three years, still subject to British predators; and in
June, 1812, war was declared against Britain. Although the merchants
had tried to prevent the war, when it came, Salem swiftly fitted out 40
privateers manned by Marblehead and Salem crews, who also served
on U.S. Navy vessels, including the frigate Constitution. Many more
local vessels could have been sent against the British, but some of the
Federalist merchants held them back. In addition, Salem fielded
companies of infantry and artillery. Salem and Marblehead privateers
were largely successful in making prizes of British supply vessels.
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
a 30-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 most successful: she
captured 30-plus prizes worth more than $1,100,000.
Salem erected forts and batteries on its Neck, to discourage the British
warships that cruised these waters. 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 vessels were captured, and its men imprisoned or
killed. After almost three years, the war was bleeding the town dry.
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.
12
�Toward the end of the war, in November, 1814, for $1300 Samuel
Ropes Esq. sold the house here on Blaney Street to Samuel Derby, Jr.
(ED 205 :36).
Samuel Derby Jr. ( 1785-1828) was a ship chandler, also known as a
trader or grocer. Born 2 Oct. 1785, he was the eldest often children of
Samuel Derby (1764-1826) & Bethiah Watts (17.67-1851) of Salem.
His father, who began his career as an artisan, became a ship chandler,
and prospered until the Embargo, which badly damaged his finances.
In the War of 1812, Samuel Derby Sr., although fifty years old, was
captain of marines on the privateer Montgomery, and fought well in
many battles at sea. Presumably Samuel Derby Jr. was raised up as a
clerk in his father's chandlery and also served during the War of 1812
on board privateers. Samuel Derby Sr. must have been friends with the
sail-maker Nicholas Lane (co-purchaser in 1782 with Samuel Ropes),
for he named his last child Nicholas Lane Derby.
Samuel Derby Jr., 23, married Abigail Buffum, sixteen, in November,
1808. She was the daughter of Joshua Buffum of Salem, and had been
born while the family resided in Connecticut, in 1792. A few years
after Samuel & Abigail's marriage, her mother, Mrs. Mary Buffum, a
widow, married, second, Nicholas Lane, the sail-maker who lived
nearby on Derby Street. Mr. Lane died in May, 1815, and Mary
survived as his widow.
Samuel and Abigail Derby had three children before purchasing this
house, Joshua (1809, died 1810), Lucy Ann (1811), and Mary (1814).
They would have five more surviving children after 1814: Eliza C.
(1817, died an infant), Eliza C. (1819, died 1828), Abigail (1821),
Samuel (1823), and Charles (1826). Soon after Mr. Lane' s death, Mr.
Derby, described as a grocer, had an opportunity to buy the adjoining
property formerly of Nicholas Lane, and did so, for $765.30 from the
Salem Bank, subject to a mortgage for $364 to John Osgood, which he
would pay off in 1817 (ED 206:140, 214:124). This gave him
ownership of the store at the comer and the house to the west of it on
derby Street, and the land belonging.
Post-war, the Salem merchants rebuilt their fleets and resumed their
worldwide trade, slowly at first, and then to great effect. Many new
partnerships were formed. 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).
13
�In July, 1817, the Derbys had a terrible accident, as their new baby,
Eliza, then three months old, was accidentally given laudanum, a
poison, from which she died right away.
Rev. William Bentley, keen observer and active citizen during
Salem's time of greatest prosperity and fiercest political divisions,
died in 1819, the year in which a new U.S. Custom House was built on
the site of the George Crowninshield mansion, at the head of Derby
Wharf. Into the 1820s foreign trade continued prosperous; and new
markets were opened with Madagascar (1820), which supplied tallow
and ivory, and Zanzibar (1825), whence came coffee, ivory, and 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 ports.
In 1820 (per census), Samuel Derby Jr. and family resided here (p. 42)
and he prospered in his business. He evidently conducted his ship
chandlery from the store at the comer of Derby and Blaney Streets;
and he had another house, formerly Lane's, leased out to tenants on
Derby Street west of the store. His chandlery eventually became a
grocery store, as fewer vessels needed outfitting for long voyages to
the Orient.
Samuel Derby Jr (1785-1828), s/o Samuel Derby & Bethiah Watts,
died 18 Jan. 1828. Hem. 9 Nov. 1808 Abigail Buffum (1792-1877),
d/o Joshua & Mary Buffum, died 2 Sept. 1877. Known issue:
1. Joshua, 1809-1810.
2. Lucy Ann, 1811, d. 12 May 1830.
3. Mary, 17 June 1815, artist, d. 19 Jan. 1900.
4. Eliza C., 1817, d. 12 July 1817, by accident.
5. Eliza C., 1819, d. 13 Feb. 1828.
6. Abigail, 1821, m. 1847 Albert A. Gould.
7. Samuel, 1823, settled in Hawaii.
8. Charles, 1826, m. Emeline ___; settled in Hawaii.
Salem's general maritime foreign commerce fell off sharply in the late
1820s. Imports in Salem ships were supplanted by the goods that
were now being produced in great quantities in America. The interior
of the country was being opened for settlement, and some Salemites
moved away. 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
14
�of opportunity was ebbing away from Salem. To stem the flow of
talent from the town and to harness its potential water power for
manufacturing, Salem's merchants and capitalists tried to harness
Salem' s tidal power for manufacturing, but the effort failed, after
which several leading citizens moved to Boston, the hub of investment
in the new economy.
On Jan. 18, 1828, Samuel Derby died, aged just 42 years. He left his
wife Abigail, 35, and six young children, one of them still a toddler.
Less than a month later, his daughter Eliza died at the age of eight. It
was a double tragedy, and a disaster for the family. Fortunately,
Samuel left a solvent estate. The probate papers (appended) show the
stock in his store at the time (worth $796.32) as well as the household
furniture. He owned one share in the Essex marine Railway
Corporation (worth $75), which was a company that hauled vessels
out of the water for repairs; and he held many notes on loans that he
had made to friends and relatives. The administrator of his estate was
his wife's brother, Samuel Buffum. Before long, the probate court set
off to the widow, Mrs. Abigail Buffum Derby, one-third of the real
estate, for her lifetime use. The "widow' s dower" (copy of court
decree appended), awarded in August, 1829, consisted of most of the
homestead (valued at $1600) here, including all of the house-lot and
all of the rooms other than the three northern lower rooms, which were
reserved to the benefit of her children. Mrs. Derby continued to reside
here with her children.
In April, 1830, occurred a horrifying crime that brought disgrace to
Salem. Old Capt. Joseph White, a rich merchant, now retired, resided
in a mansion on Essex Street. His wealth was legendary in Salem, not
least among the denizens of the nearby Salem Jail, where plots had
long been hatched to break in and steal the Captain's putative treasure
chest. One night, intruders did break in; and they stabbed him to death
in his sleep. All of Salem buzzed with rumors; but within a few
months it was discovered that the murderer was a Crowninshield (he
killed himself) who had been hired by his friends, Capt. White' s own
relatives, Capt. Joe Knapp and his brother Frank (they would be
executed). The murder, and related lurid events, tarnished Salem
further, and more families quit the now-notorious town. One month
after the White murder, Lucy Ann Derby, nineteen, died here at her
mother's house.
In 1830 (per census), Abigail Derby lived here with two boys, a young
man, a girl, two young women, and an older woman, probably her
15
�mother, Mrs. Mary Lane, widow. The house may have had as tenant
Adam Nesmith, a distiller, or Eben Hooper. In 1831 (pr valuations,
p.8), Abigail Derby owned two houses and a store (worth $2500,
valued at $1500), and she lived here with her family, while two blind
men, Joseph Black and Joseph Millett, evidently resided in the tenant
house on Derby Street, as did William Measly.
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 25 tanneries that had set up along its banks.
As the decade wore on, and the new railroads and canals, all running
and flowing to Boston from points north, west, and south, diverted
both capital and trade away from the coast. Salem's remaining
merchants took their equity out of local wharves and warehouses and
ships and put it into the stock of manufacturing and transportation
companies. Some merchants did not make the transition, and were
ruined. Old-line areas of work, like rope-making, sail-making, and
ship chandleries, gradually declined and disappeared. Salem slumped
badly, but, despite all, the voters decided to charter their town as a city
in 1836-the third city to be formed in the state, behind Boston and
Lowell. 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 1837, a
brief, sharp, nationwide economic depression, caused even more
Salem families to head west in search of fortune and a better future.
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 led to the manufacturing of high-quality
candles at Stage Point, along with machine oils. The candles proved
very popular. Lead-manufacturing began in the 1820s, and grew large
after 1830, when Wyman' s gristmills on the Forest River, at the head
of Salem Harbor, were retooled for making high-quality white lead
and sheet lead. These enterprises were a start toward taking Salem in a
new direction. In 183 8 the Eastern Rail Road, headquartered in Salem,
began operating between Boston and Salem, which gave the local
people a direct route to the region's largest market. The new railroad
16
�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.
In Salem first directory, published in 183 7, Mrs. Abigail Derby is
listed at 4 Blaney Street, as is William Measly, laborer. Joseph M.
Black, laborer, is listed at 49 Derby Street.
In 1844, #4 Blaney Street was occupied by Mrs. Abigail Derby, her
son Samuel Derby, 20, who probably worked as a sailor, and by Peter
Carraway, a laborer. The tenant house on Derby Street was occupied
by Joseph Black, George Ramsdell, 30, and Thomas Loyd, 20 (per
1844 street book). In the 1846 Directory, Mrs. Abigail Derby is listed
here at 4 Blaney. In 1847 her daughter Abigail married Mr. Gould and
moved to South Danvers; she would have two daughters before her
early death. In 1848 (per street book), the house was occupied by
Charles Derby, 21, Henry Robinson, 39, an Englishman working as a
mariner, and (technically) by Samuel Derby, who, it was noted, had
been absent for three years. Mrs. Derby was not mentioned. In 1849,
she resided here with her son, Charles, and daughter, Mary, an artist,
and with mariner Henry Robinson, all at "the foot of Blaney Street."
In the face of major economic changes, some members of Salem's
waning merchant class pursued sea-borne businesses into the 1840s;
but it was an ebb tide, with unfavorable winds. Boston, transformed
into a modern mega-port with efficient railroad and highway
distribution to all markets, had subsumed virtually all foreign trade
other than Salem's commerce with Zanzibar. The sleepy waterfront at
Derby Wharf, with an occasional arrival from Africa and regular visits
from schooners carrying wood from Nova Scotia, is depicted in 1850
by Hawthorne in his cranky "introductory section" to The Scarlet
Letter, which he began while working in the Custom House.
Although Hawthorne had no interest in describing it, Salem's
transformation did occur in the 1840s, as more industrial methods and
machines were introduced, and many new companies in new lines of
business arose. The Gothic symbol of Salem's new industrial economy
was the large twin-towered granite train station- the "stone depot" smoking and growling with idling locomotives. It stood on filled-in
land at the foot of Washington Street, where the merchants' wharves
had been; and from it the trains carried many valuable products as well
as passengers. The tanning and curing of leather was very important in
Salem by the mid-1800s. On and near Boston Street, along the upper
17
�North River, there were 41 tanneries in 1844, and 85 in 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 immediate success, and hundreds of people found employment
there, many of them living in tenements built nearby. It too benefited
from the Zanzibar and Africa trade, as it produced light cotton cloth
for use in the tropics. 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 the countryside. Even the
population began to transform, as hundreds of Irish families, fleeing
the Famine in Ireland, settled in Salem and gave the industrialists a big
pool of cheap labor. In 1849, the Gold Rush was on, and many men
from Salem took a chance at getting rich out west. Some found a little
gold and came home, others died on the way out or back, and some
never returned. Charles Derby was one who tried his luck and
eventually returned.
In 1851, Stephen C. Phillips succeeded in building a railroad line from
Salem to Lowell, which meant that the coal that was landed at Phillips
Wharf (formerly the Crowninshields' great India Wharf) could be run
cheaply out to Lowell to help fuel the boilers of the mills, whose
output of textiles could be freighted easily to Salem for shipment by
water. This innovation, although not long-lived, was a much-needed
boost to Salem's economy as a port and transportation center. Salem's
growth continued through the 1850s, as business and industries
expanded, the population swelled, new churches (e.g. Immaculate
Conception, 1857) were started, new working-class neighborhoods
were developed (especially in North Salem and South Salem, off
Boston Street, and along the Mill Pond behind the Broad Street
graveyard), and new schools, factories, and stores were built. A
second, larger, factory building for the Naurnkeag Steam Cotton
Company was added in 1859, at Stage Point, where a new Methodist
Church went up, and many neat homes, boarding-houses, and stores
were erected along the streets between Lafayette and Congress. The
tanning business continued to boom, as better and larger tanneries
were built along Boston Street and Mason Street; and subsidiary
industries sprang up as well, most notably the J.M. Anderson glueworks on the Turnpike (Highland Avenue).
18
�In 1854, Mrs. Derby and the artist Mary Derby lived here, while son
Charles was listed as having gone to California, no doubt for the Gold
Rush. Henry Robinson, mariner, was still residing here with the Derby
women (per 1855 directory), but shortly after he moved away. Charles
returned about 1852 and married Emeline; and they had a boy, Charles
A., in 1853, and another son in 1855, by which time they resided on or
near Allen Street, and Charles was working as a restorateur ( 185 5
census, house, 48, ward one). Here at #4 Blaney, Mrs. Abigail Derby,
63, and daughter Mary, 41, resided in one unit, while in the other
resided Henry Robinson, 46, a mariner, born in England, his wife
Eliza, 44, born in Maine, and their daughters Eliza G., five, and Mary
A, one year (house 106, ward one, 1855 census).
As it re-established itself as an economic powerhouse, Salem took a
strong interest in national politics. It was primarily Republican, and
strongly anti-slavery, with its share of outspoken abolitionists, led by
Charles Remand, a passionate speaker who came from one of the
city's notable black families. At its Lyceum (on Church Street) and in
other venues, plays and shows were put on, but cultural lectures and
political speeches were given too.
By 1860, with the election of Abraham Lincoln, it was clear that the
Southern states would secede from the union; and Salem, which had
done so much to win the independence of the nation, was ready to go
to war to force others to remain a part of it.
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,just as
President Lincoln was assassinated. The four years of bloodshed and
warfare were over; the slaves were free; a million men were dead; the
union was preserved and the South was under martial rule. Salem,
with many wounded soldiers and grieving families, welcomed the
coming of peace.
Through the 1860s, Salem pursued manufacturing, especially of
leather and shoes and textiles. The managers and capitalists tended to
build their new, grand houses along Lafayette Street (these houses
may still be seen, south of Roslyn Street; many are in the French
19
�Second Empire style, with mansard roofs). A third factory building for
the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company was built in 1865.
In 1862, Samuel Derby sold his 7/36 interest in the overall property
here to his mother Abigail Derby; and in 1863 Abigail Derby Gould
for $450 sold her interest to her sister Mary Derby (ED 637:40,
646:227). Charles Derby (he is listed here in the 1864 directory) and
family eventually joined his brother Samuel, who had settled in
paradise- the Sandwich Islands, which he had no doubt visited on a
cruise, which are now called Hawaii.
In 1870 Salem received its last cargo from Zanzibar, thus ending a
once-important trade. By then, a new Salem & New York freight
steamboat line was in operation. Seven years later, with the arrival of a
vessel from Cayenne, Salem's foreign trade came to an end. After that,
"the merchandise warehouses on the wharves no longer contained
silks from India, tea from China, pepper from Sumatra, coffee from
Arabia, spices from Batavia, gum-copal from Zanzibar, hides from
Africa, and the various other products of far-away countries. The boys
have ceased to watch on the Neck for the incoming vessels, hoping to
earn a reward by being the first to announce to the expectant merchant
the safe return of his looked-for vessel. The foreign commerce of
Salem, once her pride and glory, has spread its white wings and sailed
away forever" (George Batchelor in History ofEssex County, II: 65).
In 1870 (per census, house 127), this was the home of Mrs. Abigail
Derby, 78, with $2500 in real estate, and her daughter Mary, 55, who
had $1,000 in personal estate; and it was also the home of John Smith,
37, a cigar maker, wife Abba T., 36, and son James H. Smith, 3.
Salem was now so densely built-up that a general conflagration was
always a possibility, as in Boston, when, on Nov. 9, 1872, the
financial and manufacturing district of the city burned up. Salem
continued to prosper in the 1870s, carried forward by the leathermaking business. In 1874 the city was visited by a tornado and shaken
by a minor earthquake. In the following year, the large Pennsylvania
Pier (site of the present coal-fired harborside electrical generating
plant) was completed to begin receiving large shipments of coal.
Beyond it, at Juniper Point, a new owner began subdividing the old
Allen farmlands into a new development called Salem Willows and
Juniper Point. In the U.S. centennial year, 1876, A.G. Bell of Salem
announced that he had discovered a way to transmit voices over
telegraph wires.
20
�In this decade, French-Canadian families began coming to work in
Salem' s mills and factories, and more houses and tenements were
built. The better-off workers bought portions of older houses or built
small homes for their families in the outlying sections of the city; and
by 1879 the Naumkeag Steam Cotton mills would employ 1200
people and produce annually nearly 15 million yards of cloth. Shoemanufacturing businesses expanded in the 1870s, and 40 shoe
factories were employing 600-plus operatives. Tanning, in both Salem
and Peabody, remained a very important industry, and employed
hundreds of breadwinners. On Boston Street in 1879, the Arnold
tannery caught fire and burned down.
Mrs. Abigail Derby died on Sept. 2, 1877, at the age of 85, having
lived here for more than sixty years, and having survived her husband
by 49 years. Her survivors were her son Charles of Hawaii (son
Samuel had already died there), her daughter Mary of Salem, and the
two daughters of her deceased daughter Mrs. Abigail Gould. Her
daughter Mary served as administratrix of the Samuel Derby estate,
which had never been divided, and which included two houses, a
store, and barn, all worth $2300, of which Mrs. Derby' s own interest
was worth $1405, being 11/18 of the homestead (#37369). In 1878
and 1879 Miss Mary Derby bought out the interests of her brother
Charles Derby and heirs of her sister Mrs. Gould in their mother' s
property (ED 1022:204-5). This evidently left Mary Derby the sole
owner of the premises; and on 11 October 1881 she sold the
homestead for $1135 to Mary Durgin, wife of John Durgin, by Mrs.
Durgin' s trustee, George Wheatland, Esq. (ED 1069:160). The
premises fronted 86' on Blaney Street, and 73' each on its north and
its south boundaries.
Mrs. Durgin, the new owner, died by early 1884; and on 1 February
1884 the homestead was conveyed, according to her will, to Thomas
Durgin, her son (ED 1124:99). In October, 1889, for $1600, Thomas
Durgin sold the premises to John H. Cashman of Salem (ED 1261 :77).
Mr. Cashman evidently built a new house to the west of#4, and the
new house was numbered 4 rear. After his death, his widow, Anastasia
Cashman, owned the property (see 1897 atlas), which would remain in
Cashman ownership until 1922.
In the 1880s and 1890s, Salem kept building infrastructure; and new
businesses arose, and established businesses expanded. Retail stores
prospered; horse-drawn trolleys ran every which-way; and machinists,
21
�carpenters, millwrights, and other specialists all thrived. In 1880,
Salem's manufactured goods were valued at about $8.4 million, of
which leather accounted for nearly half. In the summer of 1886, the
Knights of Labor brought a strike against the manufacturers for a tenhour day and other concessions; but the manufacturers imported labor
from Maine and Canada, and kept going. The strikers held out, and
there was violence in the streets, and even rioting; but the owners
prevailed, and many of the defeated workers lost their jobs and
suffered, with their families, through a bitter winter.
In 1886, Miss Mary Derby for $850 sold off more of her property, to
John Nash (ED 1172:298), who thus acquired the comer lot and old
store, which had been leased by Albert P. Goodhue. She had moved to
103 Essex Street, where she lived out the rest of her life, and died in
her 84th year in January, 1900.
By the mid-1880s, Salem' s cotton-cloth mills at the Point employed
1400 people who produced about 19 million yards annually, worth
about $1.5 million. The city' s large shoe factories stood downtown
behind the stone depot and on Dodge and Lafayette Streets. A jute
bagging company prospered with plants on Skerry Street and English
Street; its products were sent south to be used in cotton-baling. Salem
factories also produced lead, paint, and oil. At the Eastern Railroad
yard on Bridge Street, cars were repaired and even built new. In 1887
the streets were first lit with electricity, replacing gas-light. The gas
works, which had stood on Northey Street since 1850, was moved to a
larger site on Bridge Street in 1888, opposite the Beverly Shore.
More factories and more people required more space for buildings,
more roads, and more storage areas. This space was created by filling
in rivers, harbors, and ponds. The once-broad North River was filled
from both shores, and became a 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, junkyards, 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 some of its old wharves 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.
22
�In 1890 this house was occupied by the families of John Shallow and
of James Wade, a laborer and teamster who would soon move to
Derby Street. The Shallows, John and Mary, were born in Ireland and
had moved to Canada as a young couple. Six sons and five daughters
were born to them (not all names are known to me); and in the 1870s
they moved to the United States. They probably moved into this house
in the 1880s, and would reside here for at least three decades, as
tenants of the Cashmans. John Shallow would die here in 1899, aged
about seventy.
John Shallow (1830?-1899) born in Ireland, died 16 Feb. 1899. He
m. Mary _ _ _ (1832-1916), died 4 Dec. 1916. Known issue, all
born in Canada (three others, names unknown):
1. John, currier 1890
2. Patrick J., currrier 1890
3. Mary J., 1857, came U.S. 1876, weaver
4. William A., 1860, currier 1890
5. Bridget, 1864, m. William H. Veno.
6. Catherine F., 1865
7. Annie, 1868
8. Thomas E., 1871, currier 1890
In 1900 or shortly before, William H. Veno appears as head of a
second household residing here. He was born in Washington in 1864,
of parents born in France. He married Bridget Shallow. In 1898 he
went to work for the Salem Water Department, where he came to be
an expert in water supply. He belonged to various clubs and societies,
and was a volunteer fireman and a well-liked "conscientious and
faithful" man and citizen (info from his 1908 obituary). He and
Bridget had five children.
William H. Veno (1864-1908), born Washington; he died 13 April
1908. He m. c. 1888 Bridget (Shallow) (b. 1864, Canada, d/o John
& Mary Shallow; came U.S. 1875). Known issue (three others died
young), surname Veno:
1. Mary F., 1889
2. John, 1890
3. Florence, 1897
4. Anna, 1900
5. Henry, 1905
In 1901, among the many Shallows living here, Miss Mary J. worked
as a weaver, Patrick J. was listed as "U.S. Volunteer", and Thomas E.
23
�was a clerk at V. Dooley's grocery, 122 Derby Street, while William
A. was a currier in the leather trade.
In the early spring of 1908, after responding to a fire alarm, William
Veno, 44, took ill; and he died a month later in April, leaving his wife
Bridget and five children, the youngest, Henry, only three.
Salem kept growing. 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. By the eve of
World War One, Salem was a bustling, polyglot city that supported
large department stores and large factories of every description.
People from the surrounding towns, and Marblehead in particular,
came to Salem to do their shopping; and its handsome government
buildings, as befit the county seat, were busy with conveyances of
land, lawsuits, and probate proceedings. The city's 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 one 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-well viewed from Blaney
Street-and it rolled down Lafayette Street and across the water to
Derby Street. There, just beyond Union Street, after a 13-hour
rampage, the monster died, 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.
24
�Eventually, they did, and many of the former houses and businesses
were rebuilt; and several urban-renewal projects (including Hawthorne
Boulevard, which involved removing old houses and widening old
streets) were put into effect.
The Shallows and Venos continued to reside here. Mrs. Mary Shallow
died in 1916, in her eighties. In 1922 the Cashmans sold the premises
to Messrs. Sim and Russell, owners of the Russell-Sim Tanning
Company (ED 2522:89); and they would own it until 1944.
By the 1920s, Salem was once again a thriving city; and its
tercentenary in 1926 was a time of great celebration. The Depression
hit in 1929, and continued through the 1930s. Salem, the county seat
and regional retail center, gradually rebounded, and prospered after
World War II through the 1950s and into the 1960s. General Electric,
Sylvania, Parker Brothers, Pequot Mills (formerly Naumkeag Steam
Cotton Co.), Almy' s department store, various other large-scale
retailers, and Beverly' s United Shoe Machinery Company were all
major local employers. Then the arrival of suburban shopping malls
and the relocation of manufacturing businesses took their toll, as they
have with many 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, coopers, chandlers, and mill-operatives
are all honored as a large part of what makes Salem different from any
other place.
25
�
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
Blaney Street
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 Blaney Street, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House history
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1782 for Samuel Ropes, Cooper
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
1782, 1976
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Robert Booth
Language
A language of the resource
English
1782
1976
4
Blaney Street
Booth
Cooper
Salem Massachusetts
Samuel Ropes