Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 5: Early Landed Proprietors, 1924

From an account written for county history purposes by Henry B. Worth, the subjoined facts concerning the early land owners and farmers of New Bedford, two centuries ago, have been here relied upon as accurate. The details he gives have necessarily been shortened for lack of space in this work.

All New Bedford was divided into eleven farms two hundred years ago. For half a century its wealth was gained by tilling the soil, and the tracts from Clark's cove to the head of the Acushnet river, then a part of the town of Dartmouth, were opened by primitive farmers. There is no record of any commerce or whaling, and the only cloth manufacturing was the product of the hand-spinning wheels and hand-looms. Benjamin Allen owned the southwestern tract, including Clark's Point, valuable on account of its long shore front. The Ward family owned a thousand acres north and south of the Allen property, sixteen hundred acres at the head of the river, and a part of the Cuttyhunk and Nashawena. The homestead of the first Joseph Russell was the farm between Thompson and Grinnell streets. John Russell was a member of the Dartmouth Society of Friends. John Russell, Jr., owned the property between Russell and Spring streets, with his dwelling near the head of Walnut street. His son Joseph, the third of the name, was accounted the richest man in the village; his estate showed £5200 real estate, and £1200 personal. Ephraim Kempton settled in 1737, and built a one-story three-room dwelling. About this time settled Captain Seth Pope, Samuel Willis, Stephen Peckham, Samuel Jenney, John Hathaway; a little later came what are sometimes styled the settlers of 1760, including Russell and Colonel Willis, two wealthy men who owned farms and mills. The only traces of affluence are to be discovered in the probate | records, where there may be occasional mention of bonds, notes, a few books, or some other household luxury. A new order of things had been ushered in. The people were soon to engage in another industry for gaining their livelihood. Wealth no longer came from the soil, but from the riches found in the briny deep. Joseph Russell, grandson of the American ancestor of that name, inherited the homestead farm, and he also purchased a part of the Kempton tract. Russell decided to engage in the fishing industry, and especially in whaling. On the shore, near the foot of Union street, he sold off lots of land, and the village was first called New Settlement, and a few years later, Bedford, still later changed to New Bedford. With the money received from the sale of his lands, Joseph Russell possessed about $8,000. Just before the War for Independence he had sold all his shore front north of Madison except a small tract. In these days blubber was brought by whaling vessels to the home port and tried out on shore. The Russell candle works was located between Centre street and

Rose alley, west of Front street, and the try-works a short distance to the north. Before his death in 1806, Russell had sold in house lots all of his farm east of County street and north of Madison. Like most merchants in his day, he had a license to sell liquors, the same being granted from 1773 to 1775.

Bedford Village received among its residents just before 1770, three men who were of the Society of Friends, who exerted a powerful influence financially. These men included Joseph Rotch and Captain Isaac Howland. Rotch had much ability as a man to gain wealth. He appeared on the scene of activity first at Nantucket, about 1725, and in 1733 married Love Macy, in Friends' meeting. It was once written of Rotch by F. E. Sanford that "Rotch cobbled shoes in the front shop and sold West Indies goods in the other." In 1784, at his death, he was counted the wealthiest of all the settlers. His dwelling stood on the southwest corner of Water and Williams streets, and it was burned by the British in 1778. He next built at the corner of Union and Bethel. Captain Isaac Howland came from Round Hill, Dartmouth, at the end of Smith's Neck. He had been a captain on the seas, but he changed for business on land; two of his daughters married sons of Joseph Russell. In 1770 he must have been a well-todo man, for he had in 1774, as a member of the Society of Friends, to free his slaves. Others of his class had to do the same; these men were William Sanford, Peleg Slocum, John and Joseph Russell. Howland conducted a distillery on the north side of Commercial street, where the stone block now stands. Benjamin Taber, boat-builder and block-maker, in 1765 bought the lot on the north side of Union street, between Water street and the river. He built the wharf named for him, now owned by the city.

The Revolutionary War almost destroyed all industries; losses up to 1778 were estimated at near a half million dollars. Between the two conflicts with England, New Bedford not only regained all loss incurred, but grew in importance almost to become a rival of Nantucket, the center of the whale fisheries of the world. It was during this period that the foundations for the many subsequent fortunes were laid. The leaders in finance and enterprise generally were then John and Isaac Howland. Also Joseph Russell and the Kemptons were forehanded, ,and whenever they saw a chance to invest they took advantage of it and were usually highly successful. Others of financial far-seeing vision were George Tyson, who married a daughter of Seth Russell; and Captain Cornelius Grinnell, one of the incorporators of the Bedford Bank in 1803. But, towering over all others, were William Rotch and son William and the allied families of Samuel Rodman and Thomas Hazzard. The last named settled in New Bedford in 1792, engaged in whaling, and became rich. He was elected first president of the Bedford Bank, and was one of the six incorporators of the New Bedford and Fairhaven Bridge Company. Shortly after the close of the Revolution, Hazzard removed to New York City. Gilbert Russell was another successful whaling merchant, but his name seems not to have been flaunted as was the case of others engaged in like business. At his death, after having given lavishly to his children, he left an estate valued at more than $70,000.

came to be known as financial leaders, among whom was John Avery Parker. In 1816 he was one of the directors of the Bedford Commercial Bank. In 1825 he organized the Merchants' Bank, and was its president until his death in 1854. His estate was valued at $1,200,000, making him the richest man in New Bedford at that date. He made his wealth largely by whaling. At first he was associated with Seth Russell & Sons. George Howland came from J,ong Plain as a clerk in the counting room of William Rotch, but soon forged to the front and at the age of thirty-five was president of the Bedford Bank, and serving till his death. At one time he owned ten whaling ships, was connected with many enterprises, and was possessed of wealth sufficient at death to be classed among the few millionaires. Another important factor was James Arnold, who came from Rhode Island and married a daughter of William Rotch, Jr. He became wealthy as a member in the William Rotch, Jr. & Company concern. He was broad-minded and sound in financial judgment, resulting in his becoming rich, and was also noted for his philanthropy. His improvements consisted in creating "Arnold Garden," a famous point for sight-seers. His estate was estimated at his passing to be $1,400,000.

The increase of population following the Revolutionary War resulted in the building of two meeting houses. The Dartmouth Monthly Meeting of the Friends on the north side of Spring street, including New Bedford, had its meeting house at the head of the Acushnet, on the hill east of the village. Dr. Samuel West was the minister.

The public house was an important feature in every colonial village, especially on the seaboard. Then liquor was as much an article of necessity in a grocery store as molasses, and in old-time advertisements both articles are quoted together. It was then no discredit to deal out rum to customers, and as a matter of fact, its use was not abused as it has been since that time. Captain Seth Pope, Richard Pierce, minister of the gospel; Colonel Samuel Willis and his son, Colonel Ebenezer; John Wady and Samuel Sprague, were licensed retailers of liquor. John Garrish opened an inn in 1780 and continued to conduct it for thirty years; it carried the sign of the Swan. Under the sign of the Golden Ball, the large hotel at the corner of Union and Water streets was conducted as long ago as a half century; Joshua Crocker was landlord in 1810, Joseph B. Peabody had it later and | changed its name to that of the New Bedford Hotel; in 1824 it was called the Washington House. The Eagle House dated back to 1807; in 1824 Barney Corey took the house over and made it very successful. On the east side of the river were also numerous hotels, then known as inns, however.

The War of 1812 being largely a naval contest, checked all business for the time being. Abraham Russell seems to have been the only man who lost all by reason of that struggle with the Mother Country. In 1822 a local surveyor named John Pickens recorded that there were fifteen wharves and eight spermaceti factories, and the same number of wharves, at New Bedford. There were two rope-walks in the south part of town. The fortunes begun before the War of 1812 were greatly increased before the opening of the Civil War. The whaling industry was the money-maker of all others the most successfully operated. Shipbuilding never produced much in way of fortunes at this point. Ships were owned by several individuals. The agent or managing owner generally had the largest share, and he was usually a grocer or clothier. Then the sail-boat and spar-worker, cordage manufacturer and nautical men of every line, owned a fraction, and each was patronized in his particular business. One of the wealthiest men of the present century, Rodolphus Beetle, until a few years ago had a spar-yard. A few years ago Richard Curtis, a rigger, startled his friends by having an estate of $185,000, and in a few years later James D. Driggs, a ship blacksmith, left a snug fortune. Within a few years John R. Shurtleff, a sail-maker, died leaving $250,000.

After the War of 1812 one of the important events was the rechartering of the Bedford Commercial Bank, in 1816. This bank and its successor, the Bank of Commerce, had a building on the west side of Water street that occupied the south part of the lot now covered by the new Bank building that was given to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society. From 1825 on, New Bedford capital was combined in all sorts of corporations, and for a city of its size there was more wealth than in any locality in the world.