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Isaac Cushing Papers, 1811-1859, undated

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 185

Scope and Content Note

The Isaac Cushing Papers document the shipping and lumber merchant activities of Isaac Cushing of Salem, Massachusetts. The ships' papers contain records of only six of the numerous vessels Cushing used to transport lumber and coal along the eastern coast of the United States. Of interest among these papers are the brig America's 1855 protest regarding storm damage, and correspondence and accounts relating to her going aground in 1858 off the coast of New Jersey. Also included is an 1850 protest of the schooner Invincible, which was run into by another vessel. The 1840-1844 account book contains shipping and sales accounts of Cushing's lumber business which transported lumber from Maine to ports as far south as South Carolina. Cushing's business and personal papers contain correspondence, legal, and financial papers, such as bills paid for Hannah Becket, land deeds, and a contract for construction of a sea wall off the 27 Water Street wharf.

Dates

  • Creation: 1811-1859, undated

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical Sketch

Isaac Cushing was born on October 18, 1779 in Hingham, Massachusetts, the son of Isaac and Mary (Jones) Cushing. He became a shipping and lumber merchant in Salem, Massachusetts, and owned many ships. He never married. At one time he owned the Benjamin Pickman house in Salem, which he left to Hannah Becket. He died on January 14, 1859.

Extent

0.75 linear feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Isaac Cushing Papers document the shipping and lumber merchant activities of Isaac Cushing of Salem, Massachusetts.

Physical Location

Phillips Library Stacks

Provenance

This material is from an unknown source.

Bibliography and Related Collections

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Perley, Sidney. The History of Salem, Massachusetts, 1671-1716. Vol. III. Salem, MA: S. Perley, 1928. 196.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Sylvia B. Kennick, July 1985. Updated by Tamara Gaydos, February 2016.

Subject

Title
ISAAC CUSHING PAPERS, 1811-1859
Author
Processed by: Sylvia B. Kennick; Updated by: Tamara Gaydos; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
Processing and conservation of this collection were funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the Phillips Library Repository

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