Samuel Page Papers, 1777-1871
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Not requestable
Scope and Content Note
The Samuel Page papers document the shipping and civic interests of Capt. Samuel Page of Danvers, Massachusetts. The collection is divided in to two series.
Series I. Shipping Papers include ships' papers for vessels partially or solely owned by Page and receipts, accounts, and correspondence generated by his shipping business. The ships' papers contain invoices, accounts, bills of lading, insurance policies, correspondence, and receipts for Pages' ships. (See Appendix II for a listing of vessels, masters, ports, and cargo.) Of note are the papers for the ship Putnam mastered by Nathaniel Bowditch, and the damage claim for the schooner Clarissa, which was captured by the British in 1794. Included are accounts and correspondence that dealt with more than one vessel as well as those generated by his general shipping activities. Bills and receipts for the warehouses are located in box 2, folder 8.
Series II. Business and Personal Papers record Page's warehouse business, civic, legal, and personal activities. The bulk of the business papers (B2 F3) contain accounts and receipts for the warehouse; however, shares of the Danvers and Beverly Iron Works are also filed here. The civic and military papers include the 1779 journal kept by Page during the Revolutionary War, North Parish Church records, and correspondence regarding Danvers civic and political affairs. Include here is a printed eulogy for Samuel Holten, a friend and associate, and documents relating to the Society for the Suppression of Intemperance.
The bulk of the legal papers contain the records of estates administered by Page. Also found here are any of Page's own deeds and agreements. Of interest are the 1794 petition by Page on behalf of Danvers residents to the Court of General Sessions and a 1795 agreement with Nathan Read. The petition asked the Court to order the County treasury to pay for the new road and bridge over Waters River in Danversport. The 1795 agreement stipulated that Read would built the bridge.
The Page family correspondence (B2 F8) contains letters to Page's in-laws, Joshua Goodale and John Green. Also found here are some William P. Page letters.
Dates
- Creation: 1777-1871
Creator
- Page, Samuel, 1753-1814 (Person)
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical Sketch
Captain Samuel Page, a Danvers, Massachusetts, ship owner and merchant, was born in 1753, the son of Captain Jeremiah (ca. 1722-1803) and Sarah (Andrews) (d. 1776) Page. During the Revolutionary War he captained the 7th Company of the 8th Essex County Regiment. He later served under General Washington at Valley Forge and the Battles of White Plains and Monmouth.
After the war, Page and his wife, Rebecca Putnam (ca. 1753-1838) settled in Danversport, where he operated a shipping business. Page owned thirteen vessels, docks, and warehouses. His ships sailed to the Grand Banks, on fishing voyages, and to France, Holland, Russian, Spain, and the West Indies for salt, grains, hides, oil, and sugar. Page was also president to the New Hampshire Iron Company and director of the Salem Iron Works.
Active in Danvers civic and political affairs, Page served as a Danvers selectman for nine years, was on the school board, a Representative to the General Court, and a counsellor for the Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance. Until his death in 1814, he also served as a legal arbitrator and administrator of estates.
Extent
1 linear foot (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Samuel Page papers document the shipping and civic interests of Capt. Samuel Page of Danvers, Massachusetts.
Series List
SERIES I. Shipping Papers
SERIES II. Business and Personal Papers
Physical Location
Phillips Library Stacks
Provenance
The collection is a reorganization of documents originally mounted into scrapbooks as part of the Harriet Putnam Fowler Collection. The documents were donated on May 2, 1900, by Miss Fowler. All original locations are located on the verso of each manuscript and recorded in the Fowler Separation Sheet.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Nancy C. Barthelemy, March 1985. Updated by Tamara Gaydos, February 2016.
Subject
- Goodale, Joshua (Person)
- Holten, Samuel, 1738-1816 (Person)
- Page, William P. (William Putnam), 1790-1878 (Person)
- Read, Nathan, 1759-1849 (Person)
- Danvers and Beverly Iron Works Company (Organization)
- Society for the Suppression of Intemperance (Organization)
- Augusta (Brig) (Organization)
- Betsy (Schooner) (Organization)
- Clarissa (Schooner) (Organization)
- Dolphin (Schooner) (Organization)
- Dove (Schooner) (Organization)
- Eliza (Schooner) (Organization)
- Esther (Schooner) (Organization)
- Five Sisters (Schooner) (Organization)
- Hawk (Schooner) (Organization)
- Jeremiah (Schooner) (Organization)
- Nancy (Schooner) (Organization)
- Polly (Schooner) (Organization)
- Putnam (Schooner) (Organization)
- Ranger (Schooner) (Organization)
- Rebecca (Brig) (Organization)
- Rebecca (Schooner) (Organization)
- Sally (Schooner) (Organization)
- Two Brothers (Schooner) (Organization)
- Two Brothers (Sloop) (Organization)
- Two Sisters (Schooner) (Organization)
- William (Brig) (Organization)
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- SAMUEL PAGE PAPERS, 1777-1871
- Author
- Processed by: Nancy C. Barthelemy; Updated by: Tamara Gaydos; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Conservation and processing of this collection were funded by a grant from Mrs. Edwin O. Norvell and Mrs. Richard Rendleman.
Repository Details
Part of the Phillips Library Repository