George Howe (merchant)
Encyclopedia
George Howe of Boston
was a 19th century merchant
, industrialist, and investor
. He was, with David Nevins, Sr.
, co-owner of Pemberton Mill
when it collapsed in what is "is likely the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history". According to later court testimony reported by the New York Times, Howe escaped just as the structure was falling.
The Massachusetts Historical Society
is now the custodian of papers:
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
was a 19th century merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
, industrialist, and investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
. He was, with David Nevins, Sr.
David Nevins, Sr.
David C. Nevins, Sr. was a wealthy New England industrialist. Born in Salem, New Hampshire, he owned the Pemberton Mill in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts...
, co-owner of Pemberton Mill
Pemberton Mill
The Pemberton Mill was a large factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which collapsed without warning on January 10, 1860 in what is likely "the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history"...
when it collapsed in what is "is likely the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history". According to later court testimony reported by the New York Times, Howe escaped just as the structure was falling.
The Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
is now the custodian of papers:
...pertaining to his business, George Howe and Co.; his role in the direction of New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
textileTextileA textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
mills, including Pemberton Manufacturing CompanyPemberton MillThe Pemberton Mill was a large factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which collapsed without warning on January 10, 1860 in what is likely "the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history"...
, Cocheco Manufacturing Company, Hooksett Mills, Massachusetts Mills, Blackton Mills, Stark Mills and Cordis Mills; interaction with other Boston merchants such as grocer S.S. Pierce Co.; real estate ventures in Boston and RoxburyRoxbury, MassachusettsRoxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
, Mass.; cottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
trade with cotton brokerage firms in the SouthSouthern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
; financial donations to Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
and Amherst CollegeAmherst CollegeAmherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
; and the settlement of his estate by B. M. Stillman. Business records include correspondence and letters, account books, 1828-1856, sales ledgers, 1828-1861, real estateReal estateIn general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
notes, deeds, fabricFabricA fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...
samples, invoices, receipts, and memoranda books. Also includes ship agreements, 1819-1822, pertaining to trading voyages on the ship Mentor to ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Pacific, and the western coast of the United StatesWest Coast of the United StatesWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, listing name and rank of crew, duties and restrictions, and wages.