Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry shows how a diary entry from George Washington settled a New England dispute. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
As I discussed in the first part of this series (see: Genealogy Tip: Diaries), try a search looking into published diary or journal records – they will help you understand the life and times of your family.
Even if you had no idea your ancestor kept a diary or journal, there’s a chance portions of it were published – or, perhaps, snippets from the diary or journal of someone going through similar experiences in the same place at the same time as your ancestor. Newspapers sometimes printed these snippets, and an online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, is a good place to look for them.
Today I bring a diary entry that settled a controversy about where the first cotton mill in America had been established.
It seems that during America’s centennial celebrations in 1876, the Slater mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was heralded as the first cotton mill established in the new nation. The mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, Robert S. Rantoul, “being deeply interested in historical researches,” looked into this matter – and reached a different conclusion.
According to the Trenton Evening Times, Mayor Rantoul established beyond all controversy that Beverly, Massachusetts, was without question the progenitor site. His proof? He found the answer in the diary of President George Washington! Rantoul insisted the most credited source came from the written word of Washington himself.
How exactly did the inquisitive Rantoul come to this conclusion? According to this article:
“[Rantoul’s] investigation led to the discovery that the old cotton mill at Beverly, Mass., which was burned down in 1828, had been in operation for several years prior to the establishment of the mill at Pawtucket, and that no less a witness than General Washington himself could be cited in confirmation of the fact. It seems that General Washington, while on a tour of the New England states in 1789, made a visit to the old Beverly cotton mill and was so impressed with the novelty of the spectacle that he devoted several pages of his diary to its description. This old diary is still to be found among General Washington’s papers.”
Here is a transcription of a snippet from Washington’s diary entry of 30 October 1789:
“After passing Beverley 2 Miles we come to the Cotton Manufactury which seems to be carrying on with Spirit by the Mr. Cabbots (principally). In this Manufactury they have the New Invented Carding and Spinning Machines – one of the first supplies the work; and four of the latter; one of which spins 84 threads at a time by one person. The Cotton is prepared for these Machines by being first (lightly) drawn to a [thread] on the common wheel. There is also another Machine for doubling and twisting the threads for particular cloths. This also does many at a time. For winding the Cotton from the spindles, & preparing it for the Warp, there is a Reel which expedites the work greatly. A number of Looms (15 or 16) were at work with Spring shuttles which do more than [double] work. In short the whole seemed perfect, and the Cotton stuffs [which] they turn out excellent of their kind.”
Note: Diary entry from George Washington: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-05-02-0005-0002-0030)
In the same year of Washington’s visit, I found an article in the Salem Mercury praising the increasing number of American mills and factories, pointing out “There is a promising Cotton Manufactory in Beverly,” and concluding:
“Thus do the industry and ingenuity of our countrymen take off our foreign shackles, one by one.”
Washington’s tour of New England was covered by the region’s newspapers, including this article.
As this article reports:
“Our beloved President neglects no opportunity of examining whatever is new and curious in the useful arts, etc.
“When he had passed Essex Bridge, he dismounted, and returned to the draw to examine its mechanism, which was raised for that purpose. At Beverly, he visited the Cotton Manufactory.”
The Trenton Evening Times article shown above concludes with this paragraph:
“As the researches of Mayor Rantoul seemed to settle the matter beyond all controversy, the residents of Beverly, Mass., caused a handsome tablet to be erected on the site of the old [cotton] mill, commemorating the establishment of the first enterprise of its kind ever inaugurated in the United States.”
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