| Notes |
- Seth Whiting
1787-1849 , Shrewsbury, Medfield, & Phillipston, MA; Rindge & Fitzwilliam, NH; Southborough, MA
Seth Whiting was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts on April 4th 1787, the oldest son of John Lake and Olive Wyman Whiting.
Seth Whiting began learning the brushmaking business by apprenticing with Artemus Woodward, a brushmaker in Medfield, Massachusetts, probably as early as 1807/8 (Seth would have been 22). "From Medfield, Mass., have come many brush manufacturers, the first of whom was Artemus Woodward, who began in 1807 making brushes in a small way, two of his apprentices being John W. Adams (a cousin of former President John Quincy Adams) and Seth Whiting (father of John L. Whiting)." ["Historical Sketch of the Paint, Oil, Varnish, and Allied Trades of Boston, Since 1800 A.D." by George L. Gould, 1914] "In 1808 Artemus Woodward founded a business in Medfield, Massachusetts to make his own brushes and it was reported to have been a 'business new to this section of the country.' At the time that his enterprise was begun brushes were usually imported from England and were quite expensive, although such items were lacking in quality. As a remedy, some skilled workers from Germantown, Pennsylvania were hired and worked under the supervision of Woodward. Seth Whiting and John Wickliffe Adams would acquire their brush making skills from these men. Woodward's business, however, lasted only a few years." [History of the Whiting-Adams Brush Company; http://www.efn.org/~marwes/en/projects/brush.htm]
After leaving Artemus Woodward's shop, Seth Whiting and John Wickliffe Adams briefly went into business together: "John Wickliffe Adams was possessed of remarkable mechanical skills, as well as a good education. He established in 1811 at his homestead a brush manufacturing business and for a long time he conducted a thriving business selling the output to merchants in Boston. (Because the War of 1812 had caused the importation of brushes to be curtailed, his business prospered from its inception.) At about this same time Seth Whiting joined Adams, but their partnership existed only for a few years and upon its dissolution...Whiting went to Phillipston, Massachusetts." [History of the Whiting-Adams Brush Company; http://www.efn.org/~marwes/en/projects/brush.htm]
On November 28, 1811, Seth Whiting married Susan Harding (daughter of Elias Harding of Medfield). The couple had 3 sons, all of whom died in infancy: twin sons died on March 22 and 23, 1813 at the age of 2 weeks old; a third son died on April 26, 1814 at 13 days old. Susan Harding Whiting died on April 19th 1814 of "puerpal fever" (fever caused by complications of childbirth).
Seth Whiting's partnership with John W. Adams must have been over early in 1813, when he moved to Phillipston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Vital Records show that Seth's infant sons died in Phillipston in March 1813. Seth started his own brushmaking business in Phillipston. The following ad appearing in newspapers in November, 1813: "Hog's Bristles Wanted. Cash and the highest price given for BRISTLES--Also, all kinds of Brushes made and fo'd, Painters' Brushes in particular, warranted equal to any made in America. Orders for Brushes carefully attended to, and favours thankfully acknowledged. Seth Whiting. Gerry, Nov. 15, 1813." ["Gerry" is the old name of Phillipston, Massachusetts]
Seth Whiting married Mary (Meribah) Kendall on November 30, 1815 in Phillipston, Massachusetts. According to Phillipston town records, marriage intentions were declared on November 11th, 1815. They had the following children:
Henry and Seth Whiting (twins), b. 10/26/1816 in Phillipston, Massachusetts. Henry died 7/26/1819 in Phillipston. The Kendall genealogy mentions Seth, but I can't find any mention of him in Massachusetts Vital Records (although his brother Henry's birth and death both appear).
Susan Harding Whiting, b. 10/25/1818 in Phillipston. She married Elihu Coburn of Hopkinton on August 24, 1842 in Southborough.
Lucius Henry Whiting, b. 6/16/1821 in Phillipston. He never married. The 1880 Federal census shows him as a "retired salesman" and boarder at a home in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. He does not appear in the 1890 census. According to Southborough Rural Cemetery records, he died in 1893. He and his brother Jonas are buried with their parents at the Southborough Rural Cemetery.
John Lake Whiting, b. 3/28/1823. Married Mary Betsey Sawin, and followed his father into the brushmaking business.
Mary Kendall Whiting, b. 9/2/1825. She married Charles Dustin Marcy on 11/22/1849 in Southborough, and died on April 6, 1900.
Jonas Miles Whiting, b. 9/13/1827 (Royalston, MA). He never married. The 1880 Federal census shows him as being an inmate at Worcester Lunatic Hospital. According to Southborough Rural Cemetery records, he died in 1893. He and his brother, Lucius Henry Whiting, are buried with their parents at the Southborough Rural Cemetery.
Ira Stratton Whiting, b. 9/25/1829 in Shrewsbury or Phillipston, Mass. (mentioned in the Kendall genealogy, but I find no record of him elsewhere)
Anstis Amelia Whiting, b. 4/12/1832 probably in Rindge, New Hampshire. She married Thomas Henderson Roberts on May 17, 1855 in Boston, and died September 23, 1887.
Olive Matilda Whiting, b. 10/10/1834 in Rindge, New Hampshire. She married Merrill Davis on July 28, 1854 in Boston, and died January 21, 1869 in Worcester.
By February 1817, Seth Whiting was in business with his brother-in-law, Reuben Foster Blood (husband of Relief Whiting). The following ad appeared in newspapers: "Copartnership formed. The subscribers respectfully inform the Inhabitants of Phillipston, and the Public, that they have formed a connection in business, under the Form of WHITING & BLOOD, a few rods north of Phillipston Meeting-House, where they offer for sale a general assortment of English, West-India, & Hard-Ware GOODS; Crockery, Glass, and Hollow Ware; Window-Glass; Brass Kettles; Andirons, etc.--Also, Cut and Wrought Nails; Dye-Stuffs, and Paints. They also manufacture and keep constantly for sale, BRUSHES of all kinds, and of the first quality. The above named Goods they offer cheap for Cash, or approved Credit; and they humbly solicit the patronage of the Inhabitants of Phillipston, and the Public,--All orders shall be strictly attended to, and the least favor gratefully acknowledged, by the Public's humble Servants, Seth Whiting, Reuben F. Blood, Phillipston, February 1, 1817. N.B. Cash given for Bristles."
By the following year, the partnership was dissolved: "NOTICE!! The Copartnership heretofore existing between the Subscribers, under the Firm of WHITING & BLOOD, is this day dissolved.--All persons having demands against the said Firm, are requested to exhibit them; and all persons indebted to the said Firm, are requested to make payment to SETH WHITING, who is duly authorized to settle the concerns of the late Partnership. SETH WHITING, REUBEN F. BLOOD, Phillipston, January 19, 1818." The ad goes on to say: "SETH WHITING informs his Friends and the Public, that he continues his business at the Store formerly occupied by Whiting & Blood, where he has for sale--a general assortment of ENGLISH & W.I. GOODS and GROCERIES--Hard and Hollow Ware--Paints and Painters' Oil--Dye-Stuffs, &c, &c, &c, which he will sell on good terms for Cash, Produce, or liberal credit. N.B. Cash, and the highest price, given for HOGS' BRISTLES."
The 1820 Federal census shows Seth Whiting as living in Phillipston, Massachusetts, along with:
1 male under the age of 15 (Seth, Jr.?)
1 male under the age of 18 (?)
4 males under the age of 25 (?; Seth's brother Henry was 24 at the time and might have been living with them)
1 male between 26 and 45 (Seth Whiting was 33 at the time)
1 female under the age of 9 (Seth & Meribah's daughter, Susan, aged 2)
1 female under the age of 18 (?)
2 females under the age of 25 (Meribah was 26; Seth's sister Sarah was 23)
1 female under the age of 45 (? Seth's mother Olive would have been 58 at the time)
I don't really know the make-up of this large clan of people. Some might have been members of Seth or Mary Kendall Whiting's families. The four males under the age of 25 might have been apprentices.
Seth and his family moved around a lot during the 1820s and 1830s. Land records for Stratton, Vermont show that Seth Whiting was living in Templeton, MA in 1822: "363 – Seth Whiting of Templeton, MA (brush maker) to John Sanderson of Petersham, MA east half of 1L2R (previously deeded to John Sanderson by Nathaniel Moulton in 1818) on 2/13/1822."
By 1823 (the birth of John Lake Whiting), the family was in Shrewsbury. By 1825 (the birth of Mary Whiting), they were in Royalston, where they probably stayed until the early 1830s. I can't find Seth Whiting in the 1830 census.
The following piece about Seth Whiting's nephew, Charles Emerson Blood, appeared in the Congregational Quarterly (1866): "Rev. Charles Emerson Blood was born in Mason, N.H., March 1, 1810. His father's name was Reuben Foster Blood. His mother's maiden name was Relief Whiting. While he was a mere child, his father died, leaving the family with very limited means of support. After spending several years on a farm, he went to Royalston [in 1827] to learn the trade of brush-making [presumably with his uncle, Seth Whiting]. There he had little opportunity to gratify an ardent desire for mental improvement, and his associations were such as to greatly endanger his morals. Referring to that period, he afterwards said, 'I have wondered many times that I did not become a confirmed drunkard.'" [http://books.google.com/books?id=S-nNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA302&lpg=PA302&dq=%22Reuben+Foster+Bl ood%22&source=bl&ots=q7pO4SGvyR&sig=w-Dztt_EhasmViU5CEMnv9MxFTE&hl=en&ei=f9BuTOC sJ8Hflgf6ovzvDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CA8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage& q=%22Reuben%20Foster%20Blood%22&f=false]
Sometime in the early 1830s, Seth and his family moved to Rindge, New Hampshire. They were definitely there by 1832 (the birth of Anstis Amelia Whiting). From the History of Rindge, NH: "Brushes of many styles were formerly made by Seth Whiting. He commenced the manufacture in the building connected with the dwelling-house of Miss Millie Walker, and subsequently built a large shop on the site of the wheelwright shop of E. B. Cutler. He removed from the town about 1836, and the business was not continued by other parties." ("History of the Town of Rindge, New Hampshire From the Date of the Rowley Canada or Massachusetts Charter to the Present Time, 1736-1874" by Ezra S. Stearns. Boston: 1875, p. 308-309.)
The Whitings next moved to Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. "In the spring of 1836 Seth Whiting, a brushmaker, came to Fitzwilliam from Rindge. His chief business here was the preparation of the palm-leaf for the hat-braiders and the manufacture of brooms from the waste material of the palm-leaf. Later he removed to Boston and resumed the manufacture of brushes." ("History of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, From 1752 to 1887" by John Foote Norton and Joel Whittemore, 1888, p. 414.) "One unusual 'cottage industry' that thrived for 45 years in Fitzwilliam was the making of palm leaf hats. Women and children wove them in their homes from about 1830 to 1875. So active were the women in this sideline that Reverend Sabin stated in 1835 (in an historical lecture) that this was the most profitable occupation in town. One of the dealers in palm leaf was Seth Whiting, a brushmaker who came to town in 1836. He lived in one of the houses previously referred to on Upper Troy Road near the Inn, importing, preparing, and supplying the palm leaf to the women who braided it into hats. Whiting then made brooms from the waste material of the palm leaf. The advantages to the town's housewives and the marketability of these hats can be seen in an advertisement Dr. Wittemore published for his general store. He offered to sell or barter goods in exchange for "CASH, produce, Palm Leaf Hats or Good Credit." [From Living Places-Fitzwilliam Common Historic District: http://www.livingplaces.com/NH/Cheshire_County/Fitzwilliam_Town/Fitzwilliam_Common_Historic_District .html]
I'm not sure when they lived in Boston, but by 1840 Seth and his family were living in West Boylston, Massachusetts (1840 Federal Census). By August 1842 (the date of Susan Harding Whiting's marriage to Elihu Coburn), the Whitings were living in Southborough (Fayville), Massachusetts, where Seth Whiting died on April 3, 1849 of lung fever. He was 1 day short of his 62nd birthday. He and his wife, Meribah Kendall Whiting, and two of their sons[Jonas Miles Whiting and Lucius Henry Whiting] are buried in the Southborugh, Massachusetts Rural Cemetery.
The following appeared in the Clyde, New York Democratic Herald sometime between 1896 and 1899 (found in http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html): "Brush making was a crude affair until American ingenuity became interested in it. The first great inventor of methods used in brush making in this country was Seth Whiting, who in 1807 was a brush manufacturer in Medfield, Mass., and as early as during the War of 1812 obtained such a foothold with dealers in Boston that it has been impossible for English manufacturers to ever regain their hold on the American market. Since his day, many other improvements have been made, but methods invented by him are still at the foundation of the business."
MarieBirdsall added this on 5 Aug 2008
Information on Seth Whiting's life
|
.jpg)
1783 - 