$¿5% tfallcurdl A Id SnM ^os«/ L lO te j/ 373 //39-^7 ; VESSELS, MASTERS, MD PCP.T3 OF CALL ASSCOIA TED " lTH SLIAS Hi-’IffiT DERBY'3 " TRADING OPERATIONS AND PERSY WHARF, i SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, JUNE 1785 to AUGUST 1799» ► t Salem i&ritime National Historic Site Salem, Massachusetts Complied and Analysed Charles W. Snell, H istorian > ! i > I » DENVER SERVICE CENTER HISTORIC PRESERVATION TEAM [- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - UNITED STATES DEPARTEMENT CE THE INTERIOR ; DENVER, COLORADO : AHtIL 197h ( \i !j r l L /• TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page Forward.................................................................................. 1 I. The Importance of Salem and the merchant Elias Basket Derby in the Foreign Commerce of the United States,, 178^-1799...........................*................................ 5 H . Chronological l i s t of E lias Basket Derby's Voyages Outboudnd from ^erby Wharf, Salem, June 1785 to August 1799. ............................................. .......................................................... 18 III. Chronological List of Elias Basket Derby's Voyages Inbound from Ports of Call to ^orby Wharf, Salem, June 1 , 1786 to end of December 179k**• • • • • • • • • • • • • . o 35 IV© L is t of 107 M asters, 1785 to 1799* who carried Cargoes for Elias Basket Derby................................... Vo Ports, of Call with which Elia3 Basket Derby Traded, June 1785 to August 179965 VT. A Catalog of 17$T^essels Associated with the Derby Family during the period/^# 1735 to 1820. ........................................ 91 VII o A Guide to the Source Material Available in the Collections of the Essex Institute and Peabody Museum at Salem, Massachusetts, for writing a Study of the Mercantile Operations of Richard and Elias Basket Derby, 1735-1799».».. • . 107 - i - \ f - FCREVÍARD The data in th is rep o rt was collected w ith the o rig in a l intention of including it as a part of the Historic Structures ^eport on Derby Wharf and Warehouses j but because of the volume of material ed foundthis information is herewith presentías su supplement to |piid Historic Structure Report. T^e writer has compiled "Vessels, Voyages, Masters, and Ports of Gall" with the hope that this study w ill l (10 provide National Park Service interpreters with an abundance of aiccurate data to be used in telling the story of Derby Wharf, and (2),to provide an advanced and solid base from which further research into the mercantile operations of Elias Hasket Derby car. be launched at some, future date. The report has been divided inte seven parts as follcws: Section I. using statistics to document his case, tlje writer has attempted to eyplain precisely why Salem and Elias Hasket Derby were truly of national significance in the foreign commerce of the United States during the period 1781|-17??o Section II is a chronological listing of virtually ever;' trading vessel that Elias Hasket Derby dispatched from Derby Wharf, Salem, from Jnne 1, 1785 until August 17?9. T^e list shows how many vessels went out each year, provides the dates.- of loading, and the names of ¿St vessels, their masters, and their destinations. Summary charts reveal faoos^cf how long Derby owned- each vessel, the number of voyages each boat made, A and the total numbers and types of vessels by Uerby from the end of the War for Independence until his death on September 8,17??. Utilizing the data presented in section II it is quite feasible to calculate when and what vessels must have been tied up at Derby Q Wharf .taking on cargo for evjry each year from 1785 to 179?. - 1 - Section III is a chronological listing of all Elias Hasket Derby inbound v e sse ls during the period June 1,1786 to December 179iu This l i s t shows how many vessels came in to Derby Wharf each y e a r, provides the date of unloading, aid the nanes of the vessels, theirmasters, and the ports from which they came# Summary charts reveal how long Derby owned each v e s s e l, the number of in-bound voages each boat made, and the total nuirber and types of vessels by Elias H# Derby from 1786 to 179U<> Utilizing this list it is possible to calculate accurately when and what Derby vessels were tied up at Derby wharf unloading their cargoes from June 1786 through December 179k» Section IV contains an alphabetically arranged list of the names of 107 master or captains who commanded vessels: carrying cargoes for Elias Hasket Derby during the period June 1,1785 to August 1799* Under is une nunogr oi cuucouna and in-bound Voyages made, the named of each vessel^, its type, date of sailing, and destination, that the captain commanded# A study of this lis t quickly reveals the names of Derby's chief mariners during the period 1785 to 1799* v Ck Section V4 provides a lis t of the por+£ of call visited by Elias Hasket DerbjM trading voyages is- the period June 1,1785 to August 1799» The ports are arranged under continents, and regions » Under the name of each port is; listed the numbers of inbound on d outbound voyages made, the namqgf of each vessel, captain, and dates of sailing 0 A summary chart reveals the full scope of E» H0 Derby's world wide-trade, 1785-1799, and a, k o the periods when this trade took place# Section VI :X is a catalog <#-listing the names of 176 vessels associated with Richard Derby, Elias Hasket Derby, and the !&&&.-latter's heirs, from 3- 1735 to 1820. The vessels are arranged in alphabetical order and under each name is to be found its type, the years when it was associated with the Derbys, and the volumes or boxes in the Derby Family ifenuscripts£ieaitDerby Family Papers of the Essex Institute that coirtain $ £ ¿ £ 4 original source material on each boat* In addition to providing an documented and f a ir ly compsAirensive list of ^erby vessels., it is believed that Section VI will greatly 'S&' facilitate further research on aas^particular vessel^or group^of vessels* of Section VII is a description,and guide to the extensive collections of source material relating to the Derbys that iSfU-t-<2 available for study in the Essex Institute and Peabody Museum at Salem, Massachusetts* T^is portion outlines the data that is available for some future study of the mercantile operations of Richarji and Elias Basket Derby during the period 1735-1799» The following three essays throw additional light on the data presented in sections I through VI of this report: (l). Elias H. Derby’s article, "Elias Basket Derby," in Freeman Hunt, e d*, The Lives of America Eferchants (New York,1858), Vol. Ilj^ *$014 pp* 20- 28, 52- 100, provides very valuable and accurate comments on 7%e. cuiX&i-' Derby voyages and business methods * -4*8' used most of the Derby papers and provides addition data. (2L). Arthur K. Dacy, with revisions by E^win W. Small, " The Derbys, Their Ships, and Shipping - A ^eport based on material in the ^erby ICS Collection at the Essex institute, Salem, ifessachusetts,"(National Park Service typescript, dated October 1938, 31 pages). T^e first 19 pages of this report contains accurate narrative that is 3> ^useful as a general introduction toJDerbyVessels, 1735- 1820* T^e lists of vessels given in Appendices A to E of this report* however* ere undocumented and cannot be accepted as reliable* 3:* John D* R* Platt* "Shipping in the Revolution*" (National Parkier vice raineograph*. Denver Service ^enter*. Colorado* August 1973 > 92 pages)* ■ Pages- 35-1+0r 5>7-59* 66- 68* and 79-88 of this report present data on Derby vessels that operated during the War for Independence* A number of people have greatly facilitated the research necessary to prepare this report* Particular thanks are due to Park Minager H*. John Dobrovolry * also to Director David L ittle and Irene Norton, eference Iabraryan* of the Essex Institute* and to Director Ernest Dodge and the library staff of the Peabody Museum* Charles W, Snell* A p ril.197U 4 Armed with the data in than report* it is extremely instructive \ fo r \ ^^"the reader to read James Duncan Phillips,. Salem and Indies* The Story of the Great Commercial Era of the City( Boston* 19l>r7), which make ' of Salmm. merchants anj^effort to treat the mercantile activities from 1783 t a 181U in ft d e ta il. - U - SECTION I THE IMPORTANCE OP SALEM AND THE MERCHANT ELIAS HASKET DERBY IN THE FOREIGN CO?S4ERCE OF THE UNITED STATES, 1781* to 1799 By- Charles W, Snell H istorian Note: Unless otherwise noted in footnotes, all facts and figures are drawn from: Charles W,Snell, Conmerce and Industry, Theme XVII-b ( 3 vols., minographed, National Park Service, WashoD.C,, 1966) Vol. I, pp. l-Uj 17-25* Prepared for the National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings* 5 6 The foreign commerce of the United States from colonial times to 1815 was the p rin c ip a l trad e of America and the chief source of profit0 It was moneys gained from this foreign commerce that provided most of the capital needed for the further development of commerce, transportation, and manufacturing in the new Republic. Prior to l 8l£, the largest fortunes in the United States were made by merchants engaged in foreign commerce and these were the men who usually provided the captial and acted central organizing agents for increased handicraft production, the domestic system, and the factory system* s h if t After 1815, however, there was a profound sft^^in the nature of American commerce* The relative importance of foreign commerce, viewed in the lig h t of n ational growth, rapidly declined and was replaced by the immense rise and development of internal or (domestic commerce* Thus while the total foreign commerce of the United States increased almost 16 times — from ?U3, 000,000 in $1790 to $687, 000,000 in i 860, the total internal commerce of the United States succeeded in reaching a grand total value estimated in the neighborhood of $ £,600,000,000 by l8£l-2.