Inventor Name
Rotch, Francis
Repository
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Kendall Institute
New Bedford, MA
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/
Physical Description
9 linear ft.
Summary
Quaker merchants and businessmen, chiefly involved in the whaling industry, of Nantucket and New Bedford, Mass. Papers of William (1734-1828) and William Rotch, Jr. (1759-1850), William, Jr.'s sons, William Rodman (1788-1860), Joseph (1790-1839), and Thomas Rotch (1792-1840), and Joseph Rotch's son, William James (1819-1893), relating to various aspects of the whaling and shipping industries including outfitting and financing of voyages, candlemaking, whale oil, and wharf storage and mooring space. Includes correspondence, minutes of directors' meetings, ships' papers, legal documents, accounts, and other records, of William Rotch, Sr. & Sons (1765-1821, Nantucket, Mass.), William Rotch, Jr. & Sons (ca. 1787-1849), William R. Rotch & Company (ca. 1813-1859), Rotch Wharf Company (1831-1896), and Rotch Candle House (1839-1849); documents pertaining to other commercial interests; and business records and estate and personal papers of James Arnold (1781-1868), partner and son-in-law of William Rodman Rotch. Also contains personal papers of family members including specifications and patents (ca. 1797-1822) for improvements in whaling and fishing equipment and other devices invented by Francis Rotch (1750-1822); and correspondence, journals, and memoirs of various Rotch women including Mary Rotch (1777-1848), Anne Waln (Morgan) Rotch (1800-1884), Eliza (Rotch) Farrar (1791-1870, Mrs. John Farrar), and Anne Rotch (Hudson) Morgan (1850-1947, later known as Sister Anne Monica), relating to family life, religious attitudes, charities, travel, and social activities.