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Woodbury Family Papers, 1667-1890

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 442

Scope and Content Note

The bulk of this collection contains account books, bills, receipts and other papers pertaining to the ships Benjamin Woodbury owned or captained. The schooner Triumph is the most documented; however, there are records for the schooner Isabella and the schooner Mechanick. The Triumph, captained by Samuel C. Elliot, was built circa 1838. Benjamin Woodbury owned a stake in the schooner along with William H. Lovett and Josiah L. Foster. The Triumph was wrecked upon the rocks at East Hampton, New York in 1857. The schooner Isabella was owned by Jonathan Bickford, John Wilson, Benjamin Woodbury and David Tibbets. The Isabella was primarily a fishing boat and had two documented ship masters: J.H. Boardman and Samuel D. Hoyt. The schooner Mechanick was built in 1819 and owned by Josiah Foster, Abraham Edwards and Richard Picket; the ship master was Richard Wilkenson.

Also included in the collection are account books and receipts from the shoe business run by Augustus Woodbury. The first series is arranged chronologically and the second series is arranged alphabetically.

Dates

  • Creation: 1667-1890

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical Sketches

Andrew Woodbury lived in Beverly, Massachusetts circa 1805. Based on the surviving documents he may have been a farmer or grocer.

Augustus Woodbury was active in Danvers, Massachusetts between 1842 and 1858. He was in the shoe making business.

Captain Benjamin Woodbury was born [November 30, 1800] in Hamilton, Massachusetts. He married his wife, Thirza, on June 1, 1824 and the couple settled in Hamilton. Benjamin was involved with fishing and shipping in Hamilton and Salem.

The date and place of birth for Washington Woodbury are unknown. He married Ida Kilbourne in 1881 in Eureka, Nevada and died January 1890 in Ventura, California.

Extent

0.5 linear feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The bulk of this collection contains account books, bills, receipts and other papers pertaining to the ships Benjamin Woodbury owned or captained. Also included in the collection are account books and receipts from the shoe business run by Augustus Woodbury.

Series List

SERIES I. Ship Papers

SERIES II. Personal Papers

Physical Location

Phillips Library Stacks

Provenance

This material was donated October 26, 1982.

Bibliography

Bibliography

A. Frank Hitchings (copier) with Stephen Willard Phillips (annotator), Ship Registers of the District of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts 1789-1900, Salem: The Essex Institute, 1906.

Vital Records of Beverly Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849, vols. 1-2, Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1906-7.

Vital Records of Hamilton Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849, Salem: The Essex Institute, 1908.

Related Collections

Samuel C. Elliot Papers, 1841-1842, MSS 0.152

Richard Wilkinson Accounts, 1810-1824, MSS 0.177

Lovett Family Papers, 1746-1911, MSS 182

Lady Brooks (Ship), Shipping Logbook and Journal Abstract, September 1822-January 1823, Log 181

Lady Brooks (Ship), Shipping Logbook, September 1822-March 1823, Log 1095

Deeds and Miscellaneous Papers of Asa and Jonathan Batchelder against Richard Wilkinson, Fam. Mss. 60

Historic Ships' Records, 1662-1980 (Isabella and Triumph), MH 259

Processing Information

Collection processed by Amanda Martinson, March 2010.

Title
WOODBURY FAMILY PAPERS, 1667-1890
Author
Processed by: Amanda Martinson; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Phillips Library Repository

Contact:
Peabody Essex Museum
306 Newburyport Turnpike
Rowley MA 01969 USA