Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers Part 8

In the Greenough family at the present time is a bra.s.s surveying compa.s.s (fig. 42) of fine quality and of the period before or during the American Revolution. The dial is finely engraved with a Tudor rose at its center, and around it is the inscription "THOMAS GREENOUGH BOSTON Fecit." The compa.s.s face is mounted to the main blade with two copper rivets. The holding screws for the vane and tripod mounting are rather crudely hand cut with wing-nut ends.[96]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 44.--Wooden surveying compa.s.s made and sold by Thomas Greenough. Made of hickory, it is 11 in. long and has a diameter of 5-1/2 in. Compa.s.s card is of paper. Allegedly, this compa.s.s was used by Joseph Frye for surveying his land grant in what is now Fryeburg, Maine, in 1762. Loaned to the U.S. National Museum by Laurits C. Eichner of Clifton, New Jersey. USNM 315001.]

Five other surveying compa.s.ses made by Thomas Greenough are known, and all are made of wood: the one in the Franklin Inst.i.tute is made of gum (fig. 43), one in Old Sturbridge is made of maple, one in the Bucks County Historical collection at the Mercer Museum is made of cherry, one owned by this writer is made of ba.s.swood, and one on loan to the U.S.

National Museum from Mr. Laurits C. Eichner is made of hickory (fig.

44).

The compa.s.s at the Mercer Museum forms part of the surveyor's gear used to lay out the town of Weymouth, Ma.s.sachusetts. The example in hickory on loan to the U.S. National Museum, as is usually the case with the compa.s.s cards of the Thomas Greenough instruments, has the central ring printed in gilt, and the inscription has turned black, making the inscription almost illegible. This specimen was owned by Joseph Frye, who was given a land grant in what is now Fryeburg, Maine, in 1762. He allegedly used this compa.s.s for surveying that land. In 1783 he a.s.sembled a ma.n.u.script book of tables (see fig. 45) for use in surveying for his son Joseph Frye, Jr. This ma.n.u.script also is part of the loan to the U.S. National Museum.[97]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 45.--Pages from a booklet of "Tables Useful in Surveying Land, Made and presented by Joseph Frye to his son, Joseph Frye, Jr., November 18, A.D. 1783." Loaned to the U.S. National Museum by Laurits C. Eichner of Clifton, N.J. USNM 315062.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 46.--Compa.s.s card from a wooden surveying compa.s.s "Made by Thomas Greenough, Boston, New England." In collection of the writer.]

The compa.s.s card in each of these five instruments is identical, designed for use in the mariner's compa.s.s (see fig. 46). A gentleman in the dress of about 1740 stands on the sh.o.r.e using a Davis quadrant.

Offsh.o.r.e in the harbor is a schooner of the 1750 period. Minor features of the scene are touched up in red, presumably printed, since they are consistent in all of the cards.

_William Williams_

Although not one of the earliest instrument makers in Boston, but certainly one of the more significant, was William Williams (1737/8-1792). He was the son of Capt. John Williams, a shopkeeper who died on March 22, 1748, at the age of 41, and who was buried in King's Chapel Burial Ground.[98]

William Williams was born in 1737 or 1738. He was ten years of age when his father died, and he had two brothers and two sisters. His father left a substantial estate of 6,575, of which 4,544/9/4 was for the inventory of the shop merchandise. One of the appraisers for his estate, Jotham Maverick, married the widowed Mrs. Williams less than a year later, on January 20, 1748/9.[99]

In 1770 William Williams established himself as a mathematical instrument maker and clockmaker at No. 1 Long Wharf, at the Crown Coffee House, as it was then known. The shop was located on the corner of State and Chatham Streets, on premises owned by Robert Shillc.o.c.k.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 47.--Quadrant, showing signature of Thomas Greenough. Photo courtesy Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford.]

Williams may have worked as an instrument maker in Marblehead before returning to his native Boston. According to Felt,[100] an instrument maker named William Williams at Marblehead advertised in the Salem newspapers in the early 1770's. However, in 1768 Williams was producing instruments from an address in King Street, Boston. (See figure 48.) An advertis.e.m.e.nt inserted by Williams appeared in the March 12, 1770, issue of _The Boston Gazette_. It was this same issue that reported the Boston Ma.s.sacre. One of the victims was Williams' step-brother Samuel Maverick, the son of his stepfather Jotham Maverick by a first marriage.

In 1773 Williams married Joyce Shillc.o.c.k, the daughter of his landlord.

During the Revolutionary War, Williams saw active service as a private in Captain Mills' company, of Col. Jeduthan Baldwin's regiment of artificers, during the years 1777-1779. In 1780 he served in Captain Pattin's company of General Knox's artillery, which was stationed at West Point.[101]

With the conclusion of the war Williams returned to the craft of instrument-making in his shop, at No. 1 Long Wharf. In 1782 his wife, Joyce, inherited the property from her mother, the widow Hannah Shillc.o.c.k, following the latter's death in that year. In the following May it is recorded that Williams purchased the warehouse and land on the north side of State Street from Benjamin Brown, a trader. By a separate deed, he and his wife released to Brown the warehouse and land which had been the property of his father-in-law in exchange for a clear t.i.tle to one-half share of the store and land under it "which is next to the street called King Street." On February 7, 1784, he bought a share of the lower division at Long Wharf, No. 7, from Arnold Welles. On May 17 of the same year he succeeded in buying out Brown's half share of the lower division of Long Wharf at Nos. 1 and 7, and at the same time he deeded to Brown one-half share of No. 7 Long Wharf, together with all its dockage and wharf.a.ge. Finally, on January 20, 1785, Williams and his wife deeded to Brown all rights to land of No. 7 Long Wharf, reserving for himself his rights in the flats, wharf.a.ge, and dockage.

On March 23, 1787, Williams deeded to Joseph Helyer, a blockmaker, the store and land under same, and half the wharf.a.ge properly belonging to Lot No. 1. On October 20 of the same year he sold to Brown a part or share of No. 7 Long Wharf, and on March 24, 1788, he purchased land with a wooden store at State Street and Long Wharf from Benjamin Brown. On June 26 he bought the land and store of Joseph Helyer on the north side of Long Wharf.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 48.--Advertis.e.m.e.nt of William Williams in _The Boston Gazette_, March 12, 1770. Photo courtesy Harvard University Library.]

Williams engaged in only two more transactions before his death. On March 28, 1790, he mortgaged to Joseph Greene, a merchant, the land with wooden store at the head of Long Wharf on the northeast side of State Street; this mortgage was cancelled on May 29, 1793. On October 1, 1791, he deeded to Benjamin Brown a one-half share or 1/48th of all the dockage and wharf.a.ge of Long Wharf that appertained to one-half of Lot No. 1, which he had previously purchased from Welles as noted, as well as 1/48th of the proprietor's purchase of Gordon's lands and buildings adjoining the Wharf.

Williams died on January 15, 1792, at age 44. The administrator of his estate was a merchant named Abraham Quincy. By order of the Supreme Court, in order to settle his estate, Williams' store building at No. 1 Long Wharf was ordered sold at public auction. Although on the site of the Crown Coffee House, it was a new building erected in 1780 after the Coffee House had burned. The purchaser appears to have been John Osborn, a merchant, because on May 10, 1793, Quincy, Williams' administrator, deeded to Osborn the land with wooden store at Long Wharf on State Street.[102]

The only instrument made by Williams which appears to have survived is a Davis backstaff (fig. 49) marked "By Wm. Williams, King Street, Boston, for Malachi Allen, 1768"; this instrument is now in the collection of the Peabody Museum in Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts. It is to be noted from this inscription that this instrument was an early example of Williams' work, produced at the age of 20, prior to the opening of his shop at the Crown Coffee House.

In 1770, when Williams opened his shop, the carved sign of "The Little Admiral" (fig. 37) was installed in front of the Crown Coffee House, and Williams' establishment was thereafter designated by this symbol.[103]

In his shop at No. 1 Long Wharf, Williams exercised his crafts of instrument-and clockmaking, and he made and sold a large a.s.sortment of instruments, as well as time gla.s.ses which measured from one quarter minute to two hours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 49.--Detail of wooden Davis quadrant inscribed "Made by William Williams in King Street Boston" for "Malachi Allen 1768." In collection of East India Marine Hall, Peabody Museum, Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts.]

The name of Williams appears also in the Day Books of Paul Revere. Under date of April 16, 1792, there is the following entry:

Mr. William Williams Dr To Engravg plate for hatt bills 0-18-0 To 2 hund prints 0-6-0.

From June 24, 1792, to January 28, 1797, Revere entered 12 charges against Williams for 8,500 hat bills for the total amount of 14/15/0.[104]

_Samuel Thaxter_

Closely a.s.sociated with the name of William Williams is that of another instrument maker of Boston, Samuel Thaxter (1769-1842). Thaxter was born in Hingham, Ma.s.sachusetts, on December 13, 1769, the son of Samuel and Bathsheba (Lincoln) Thaxter. His father, who had been born in Hingham in 1744, was married on December 27, 1768, and he became the father of six children, of whom Samuel was the eldest. Samuel Thaxter, Sr., was apparently a man of means, for he is listed as a "Gentleman" and a loyal subject of King George. He resided on North Street in Hingham, near Ship Street. He died on the island of Campobello at the age of 44 years on May 27, 1788.[105]

Samuel Thaxter, as well as several generations of his family before him, was born in the old Thomas Thaxter mansion that was built by the settler of that name in 1652. During the Revolution Samuel's father, Maj. Samuel Thaxter, concealed Tories from the Committee of Safety in a blind pa.s.sage with a secret door in the old house. From there he smuggled them to Boston. At the ma.s.sacre of Fort William, Major Thaxter was one of those captured by the Indians. While tied to a tree, he saw two French officers, and demanded whether this was the treatment they gave to commissioned officers. They allowed him to go free and he dragged himself to Fort Edward. Meanwhile, his comrades had reported him missing in action, and Dr. Gay preached his funeral sermon in Hingham shortly before Thaxter's return. The old Thaxter mansion was torn down in 1864.[106]

Young Samuel Thaxter moved from Hingham to Boston, where he is first heard of in 1792. On June 14, 1792, Thaxter married Polly Helyer, the niece of William Williams.

Within a month after the sale of Williams' property at public auction, Thaxter acquired the instrument-making business. Apparently the new owner of the premises required the business to move, and Thaxter established himself at No. 9 Butler's Row. A month after the Williams auction Thaxter announced his new location in an advertis.e.m.e.nt (fig. 50) in _The Columbia Centinel_ of May 22, 1793.

Thaxter's new location was a wooden store structure, on the north side of Butler's Row that was owned by Andrew Hall and Eunice Fitch in 1798.

It was in the rear of the north side of State Street, running from Merchants Row to the water.

By 1796 Thaxter had moved from this location to No. 49 State Street, on the north side opposite to Broad Street, a brick store owned by Joseph Lovering & Sons, tallow chandlers. He continued to do business at this address until 1815, when he moved to 27 State Street, on the opposite side of the street. The new location was in a brick dwelling, opposite Merchants Row, that was owned by Joseph Clough, a housewright.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 50.--Advertis.e.m.e.nt of Samuel Thaxter in _The Columbia Centinel_, May 22, 1793. Photo courtesy Harvard University Library.]

In about 1825 Thaxter moved his business once more, to 125 State Street, the east corner of Broad Street. This building was occupied by Charles Stimpson, Jr., a stationer who was one of the publishers of the _Boston Annual Advertiser_, which was annexed to the Boston Directory of 1826.

The building was owned by Jonathan Phillips, the first mayor of Boston.

In the cellar of the building was a victualler named Augustus Adams.[107]

The dominating feature of Thaxter's shop from the time it was opened was the carved figure of "The Little Admiral," the trade sign first used by Williams.

The firm of Samuel Thaxter eventually became Samuel Thaxter & Son, and it continued with that name until past the middle of the 19th century.

Samuel Thaxter died in April 1842 at the age of 72 years. The entry for the firm in the 1843 City Directory listed S. T. Cushing as the new owner. From the initials, it seems likely that his full name was Samuel Thaxter Cushing, and that he was the grandson of the original Samuel Thaxter. S. T. Cushing continued to be listed as the owner of the firm until 1899, when he was succeeded by A. T. Cushing, presumably a son of the former. The old store was finally demolished in 1901.[108]

Comparison of a photograph of the building just before its demolition with a copy of Thaxter's trade card (fig. 51) of the mid-19th century shows that the building underwent little change in the period. The "Little Admiral" is barely visible in both views.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 51.--19th-century trade card in collection of the Bostonian Society.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 52.--Mahogany surveying compa.s.s made by Samuel Thaxter of Boston. Length, 13 in.; diameter, 7-1/2 in. Wooden frame slides off to permit removal of gla.s.s and adjustment of needle. Sighting bars are of boxwood. In collection of the writer.]

In 1796, shortly after his marriage, Thaxter made his home on

Fish Street (now North Street), but in 1800 he was living at 54 Middle Street (Hanover Street). By 1807 he had moved to a new home on Fleet Street. His last home address, at the time of his death, was 41 Pinckney Street.[109]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 53.--Compa.s.s card from earlier form of wooden surveying compa.s.s made by Samuel Thaxter of Boston. From an instrument in the collection of the writer.]

In the collection of the Ma.s.sachusetts Historical Society there is a receipted bill (fig. 55) from Samuel Thaxter dated July 1, 1801, to Sam Brown, for touching up and repairing nine compa.s.ses for the French corvelle _Berceau_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 54.--Bra.s.s surveying compa.s.s made and sold by S.

Thaxter & Son, Boston, in late 18th or early 19th century. Over-all length, 14 in.; diameter of dial, 6 in.; length of needle, 5-1/8 in.; height of sighting bars, 6-1/2 in. In collection of the writer.]