A Brief Memoir of John Barstow, of Providence, R.I.

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HARVARD COLLEGE
LIBRARY

THE BEQUEST OF

EVERT JANSEN WENDELL

(CLASS OF 1882)
OF NEW YORK

1918

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^ C^.^t.<i^ t^

MEMOIR

OF

JOHN BARSTOW.

t

BRIEF MEMOIR

JOHN BARSTOW,

PROVIDENCE, R. I.

ALEXIS CASWELL.

ALBANY, S. Y. :
PEINXED BY J. MTINSELL,

' >0B PBITATI DISTBlBiraiDX.

1864.

(M 14+71. r

H\8VASD COLLEGE LIBRARY

FROM

THE BEQUEST OF

IVtRT imitiN HIMiUi

till

J

MEMOIB

OP

JOHN BARSTOW.

It is the dictate of wisdom, no less than the impulse of friendshipi
to perpetuate the memory of an honorable and useful life. It is for
these reasons that the following brief memoir has been prepared.

John Barstow was born in Scituate, (now South Scituate,) Mass.,
on the 11th of February, 1791. He was the oldest son of John
Burden Barstow, of Scituate, and Betsey Eells, of Hanover, Mass.
He was a descendant of the sixth generation from William Barstow,
who, with his brother George, left England in 1635 and came to this
country in the ship Truelove. William, as appears from the public
records of Bedham, Mass., was a resident in that town, in 1636. It
is probable that he soon removed to Scituate where his descendants
have continued to reside to the present time. The parents of the sub-
ject of this memoir, while he was but an infant, bought an estate in
the town of HanoVer, known as the ** Broad Oak,'* where they built
a spacious and, for those times, a very handsome and sightly house,
which has continued to be the family residence for nearly three-
quarters of a century. They were both of them persons of large
capacities for business, of great energy of character, and of untiring
industry; and, of course, were always *' well to do in the world."
The father, Colonel Barstow, (by which title he was generally known,)
following the example of two or three of his immediate ancestors, for
many years carried on the business of shipbuilding in connection with
the cultivation of the soil. He long held a prominent place among
the citizens of his town and county. His house was always open
and noted for its hospitality. It was often the resort of men in the
pursuit of business and participated largely in the social intercourse
of the place. It was here, under the fostering care of the best of
mothers that the son spent all the earlier years of his youth. He
watched the progress of shipbuilding from the laying of the keel to
the bolting on of the last plank and the rigging of the last sail ; he
listened to the conversation and narratives of shipmasters and
voyagers ; he gathered Up unheeded many items of information

respecting commerce and trade, the perils and successes of a sea-
faring life; he looked out almost daily upon the ocean and was
familiar with its calms and storms. It is not easy to say how much
the early bent of his mind and the predilections of his later life were
determined by these circumstances. They eridently were not with-'
out a marked influence.

Of the occupations of his youth he himself has said that his " time
was divided between farming, study and teaching until the twentieth
year of his age." His first preceptress was Miss Priscilla Mann,
who taught the town school at *' Broad Oak," and who, as another
pupil of hers remarks, '* for more than half a century had been dis-
tinguished in that capacity.'* He has been heard to refer to her with
great respect except that she once punished him without just cause*
I mention this to show how early he was accustomed to govern him-
self and judge others by the principle of justice. After enjoying the
benefit of such schools as the vicinity afibrded he was sent to the
Academy in Fairhaven, then under the charge of a Mr. Gould. In
the autumn of 1806, he was sent to the Academy at Sandwich and

E laced under the instruction of Mr. Elisha Glapp, who appears to
ave possessed eminent qualifications as a teacher, and who, during
the period of his preceptorship, about twelve years, placed the Sand-
wich Academy among the best classical schools in the State. Mr.
Clapp was a graduate of Harvard College, and had been a tutor
there; and, from the testimony of more than one of his distinguished
pupils must have carried with him to the Academy a rare ability and
a genuine love for teaching.

Young Barstow entered the Academy with the intention of prepar-
ing for admission to Harvard College. He remained there probably
about two years. Several of his fellow students with whom he
formed lasting friendships, have risen to honorable distinction in pro-
fessional and public life. He was in the same class with Peleg
Sprague, the distinguished District Judge of the United States Court,
in Massachusetts, and of Jonathan M. Wainwright, late Bishop
of the Episcopal Church, in the State of New York. The Hon.
Albert Smith and the Hon. Francis Bassett, both of Boston, were
members of the Academy at the same time. Concerning his character
as a student, I venture to offer the following testimony, extracted
from a recent letter of a schoolmate, whose judgment is entitled to
high respect. He says, *^his character and habits were then as in
afterlife: — the former being noted for the high qualities of truth,
honor, and unswerving integrity, and the latter for gentlemanly
bearing and circumspection under all circumstances. In these respects.
be was acknowledged to be one of the models of the school* As a
student he was persistent, never succumbing to difficulties. He was
particularly distinguished in the mathematics.*' And, from other
testimonies I infer that he scarcely fell behind the foremost of his
class in the Latin and Greek languages. From my own observation
I can well credit the statements of his early proficiency in these
studies. Through life he retained a far better knowledge of Latin
and especially of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry than most
students, whose after lives like his, were thoroughly engrossed with

business. Ceaseless industry, and a determination to master what-
eyer study he undertook marked his character as a student. With his
high appreciation of scholarship, his love of study, and his aptitude
in learning, a noble career was open before him. The best results of
intellectual culture might well have been anticipated as the reward of
bis labor. But a sendentary life was found not to be conducive to his
health, and in his twentieth year, as before stated, he turned his
attention to more active pursuits. Brought up almost within sight
of the ocean and familiar from his boyhood with ships and shipbuild-
ing it was not unnatural that his predeliction should be for a seafar-
ing life; and upon this he soon entered, commencing at the lowest
round of the ladder and working his way up to the summit. In the
progress of a few years he became the master and owner of several
merchant vessels engaged chiefly in the European trade.

In the meantime his love of study did not forsake him, and his
intercourse with the commercial business of foreign^ ports probably
suggested to him the importance of being able to speak the French
language, then, as now, the common language of Europe. Accord-
ingly, in 1814, as nearly as I can determine, he repaired to Paris where
he spent a year in perfecting himself in the French language and in pur-
suing at the Free College of France such other studies as were suited
to his tastes and subservient to his progress in life. This was during
the closing period of the reign of the Emperor Napoleon I. He often
saw the great captain whom no one, it seems, ever saw without
carrying away a deep impression of the dignity of bis personal pres*
ence. He was in Paris during the eventful Hundred Days, in the
spring of 1815, and was present when Napoleon reviewed his grand
army, — the grandest, perhaps, which Europe had ever seen, — before
leaving his capitoi to measure himself with Wellington on the field
of Waterloo. His studies at the College of France were turned to
excellent account. Besides several branches of more general know-
ledge pursued, at the same time, he acquired such a ready use of the
French language as to be of the greatest practical service to him on
many occasions in after life.

Soon after his return from France, Mr. Barstow purchased a vessel
and sailed for Stockholm, where he disposed of vessel and cargo
and spent a large portion of the season in travels in the North of
Sweden. After a second brief visit to Paris, he again returned home.
Not long after this, probably in 1817, he formed a business connection
with Mr. Jacob Barker, of New York, then extensively engaged in
shipping, banking, and general business. During this connexion Mr.
Barstow spent three years in New Orleans, devoted chiefly to the
management of Mr. Barker*s banking and commission business in
that section of the country. It was also, I think, during this period
that he spent a year in the West Indies and one in Bermuda. Cir-
cumstances, it is believed, not altogether agreeable to him, led him
to close his business connection with Mr. Barker; and he again turned
his attention to commerce. He was again for several years engaged
in the European trade, sailing for the most part in vessels built for
him in his native town.

During this whole period of Mr. Barstow's early career his

knowledge of business, and generial character, were such as to
command the confidence of the mercantile community wherever
he was known. The war of 1812 had gone far to impoverish
the country. Capital was scarce and difficult to be obtained,
yet Mr. Barstow's credit was always sufficient to command all the
capital which he deemed it wise to employ in his business. A gen-
tleman of high standing as a merchant, and, at that time, member of
a large commercial house in New York, says in a recent letter, speak-
ing of Mr. Barstow: •* I remember that such was the entire con-
fidence of myself and partner in his integrity, ability and energy that
we did not hesitate to advance him whatever capital he wanted for
building or buying vessels." It is hardly necessary to add that during
the ten 01^ twelve years in wbich' he was engaged in these various
pursuits his success, if not equal to his wishes, was at least equal to
all reasonable expectations; and placed him in a position to enter
upon a wider field of business under the most favorable auspices.

On the first of January, 1828, he formed a copartnership with his
friend and relative Caleb Barstow, of New York, and embarked in
the general shipping and commission business under the firm of C. &
J. Barstow. In the autumn of the same year he was married to
Sarah Swoope, second daughter of Edward K. Thompson, of Provi-
dence, R. I.; and added the interesting and agreeable cares of the
household to those of the counting room. In his new business con-
nection opening as it did an extensive field of operations, he soon be-
came prominent among his commercial associates. His knowledge of
business on a broad scale, his sound judgment and his uniform cour-
tesy made him welcome in every circle where the interests of trade
were under consideration. A commercial friend speaking of him at
that time says, *' there was a high toned sense of honor about him
and a dignified presence that commanded the respect of all with
whom he had intercourse.'* He was soon elected a member of the
Chamber of Commerce, and a Director in the Bank of America, one
of the first banks in the city. He discharged the duties of both of
these trusts with high credit, the former for several years, the latter
until he left New York, in 1838. The firm of C. & J. Barstow was
continued for ten years with gratifying success. They were largely
interested in the first line of packets that sailed regularly between
New York and New Orleans. The tastes of the partners determined
their respective departments of business. The former took the
supervision of the counting room and the sale of merchandise; the
latter had charge of the shipping and of the outdoor business gen-
erally. It may be added that during the entire continuance of the
firm the warmest friendship subsisted between the partners, and was
severed only by the hand of death.

In the autumn of 1838, partly perhaps, from a desire to change his
line of business and partly in deference to the known wishes of some
of his friends, Mr. Barstow withdrew from the firm, closed his busi-
ness connections in New York and removed to Providence, R. I. This
removal involved not a cessation of activity, but only a new sphere
of action. We shall merely glance at some of his more important
business connections subsequent to this removal.

While engaged in bis prerious pursuits he had often occasion to
cultivate his mechanical aptitudes. One of the marked elements of
his mind was that of constructing and organizing. His long fami-
liarity with the building, rigging, and sailing of ships had made him
conversant with practical mechanics, as his early studies had taught
him its scientific principles. Foreseeing the great and growing de-
mand for steam power in our industrial progress, he soon connected
himself with the manufactory of steam engines, then scarcely advanced
beyond its infancy in any part of the country. He at first formed a
connection and embarked in business under the firm of Clark, Fair-
hanks & Co., which after a few years, with some change of partners
was merged in the firm of Corliss, Nightingale & Co. For reasons
which no one knew so well as himself, his name did not appear in
either of these firms. He preferred to give the prominency to others,
while it is well known that his command of capital and his rare
capacity for business were essential to their progress. Indeed, it is
not too much to say that the eminent success of the very extensive
establishment of Corliss, Nightingale & Co., second, as we presume,
to no other of the kind in this country, was largely due to his finan-
cial ability and resources and his personal influence.

He was the second president of the Providence and Worcester
Sailroad, and during the completion of its construction and in the
settlement of contested claims for land damages which were numerous
and often difiicult of adjustment, he rendered most important services
to the corporation. He was for several years the efficient president
of the Commercial Steamboat Company, which has done so much to
facilitate the transmission of merchandise between the cities of Pro-
vidence and New York. This agency, now seemingly indispensable
to our commerce, and indeed, forming an era in its history, owes its
success and present magnitude, to say the least, as much to him as to
any other single man. Every day at a fixed hour the company des-
patched a capacious boat ladened with freight to New York, and
every day, at almost as fixed an hour, another equally ladened arrived
from thence. In the construction and equipment of the very consid-
erable number of expensive boats necessary to the service, and in the
general management of the business, the sound judgment and skill of
the president were too conspicuous to be overlooked. The marked
success of the company did not inure to the benefit of the stockholders
alone, but to the commerce of the city as well. For nearly twenty-
three years he was a director in the Boston and Providence Railroad.
No office was with him a sinecure or a mere matter of form. If he
accepted a position he took it with all its duties and responsibilities.
As a director of the railroad he gave minute and personal attention
to every question of importance which came up in the course of busi-
ness. There was no negociation, no question of policy, no contract
of any magnitude which did not pass under his examination; and
few that were not benefitted by his suggestions. Outside of the offi-
cial corps, who were wholly devoted to the business of the company,
we think it quite safe to say that there was no one so thoroughly con-
versant as he, with its condition, its daily working and all its accounts.
Of these services it is remarked, by a gentleman whose official position

y

8

gives him a special right to speak, *' he discharged ererj dutj
promptly and faithfully, and the corporation is under very deep obfi-
gations to him for the energy and sound judgment with which he, for
so long a period promoted their interests.** For thirteen years prior
to his death he was the President of the Exchange Bank, one of the
old and important banks of the city of his adoption.

These are some of the positions which he occupied with honor to
himself and benefit to the public. In all of them he showed the same
soundness of judgment, the same energy, the same dignity of charac-
ter, the same high sense of just and honorable dealing. His business
habits were exact, thorough and exhaustive. Whatever once passed
his examination and approval was seldom altered by subsequent revi-
sion. He carried to every enterprise in which he was engaged such
large and versatile capacity for business, and such untiring persever-
ance as to render success almost a matter of certainty. And it was
seldom that, in this respect, he had any reason to be dissatisfied with
the results of his labors.

Mr. Barstow was well informed on the history and political condi-
tion of the country, and especially upon its financial condition and
industrial resources. He had, at the same time, a decided aversion
to politics and would never consent to be a candidate for any politi-
cal office. He seldom thought it worth while to discuss party ques-
tions with those whose opinions differed widely from his own* He
belonged to the Republican party, was highly conservative, never ex-
treme. He reverenced the constitution and held to the supremacy of
law. He had a just abhorance of the institution of slavery. But
until the breaking out of the present rebellion be held as most sensi-
ble persons did, that its management and the responsibility of its re-
moval belonged to the states in which it was established. Tet he
foresaw and deprecated its malignant and disturbing power upon the
peace and harmony of the union. On the breaking out of the rebellion
he felt himself called upon by every principle of patriotism and
humanity to sustain the government. And though be knew the
Southern character well and comprehended in a good degree the mag-
nitude of the undertaking, he never entertained any doubts that the
rebellion would, at length, be crushed and the supremacy of the con-
stitution and the laws established in all the revolted states. Nor did
he doubt that the institution of slavery would go down in the struggle
never more to rise within the limits of the United States.

Through a long and busy life Mr. Barstow's fondness for books
never forsook him. He was no reader of light literature, but found
always a fresh interest in standard works on history, geography,
scientific travels and explorations, and works on the industrial and
commercial progress and resources of different nations. On all these
topics he was well informed. He had found time, or made time for a
large amount of reading and was gifted with a memory remarkably
tenacious of whatever he had once known. He brought to the social
intercourse of life such a storehouse of general knowledge as to make
him always an interesting and instructive companion. Intellectual
activity was the habit of his mind, and at the same time a source of
real enjoyment. If a stormy day chanced to keep him at home be

imght be found with his table covered with books, settling for him-
self with the zeal of a professional student some disputed point of
history, or chronology, or some mooted problem in mechanics, or
navigation, or astronomy. Night might find him unwearied but not
satisfied ; and the inquiry would be sure to be resumed at his earliest
leisure.

The publication of a large work on English Grammar some years
since by his friend, Mr. Goold Brown, recalled his attention to that
subject. Many were the evenings that he gave to the critical exami-
nation of the rules and principles, the grammatical forms atid con-
struction of the English language. '

He was particularly interested in all the historical researches con-
nected with the early settlers of New England. He, in some in-
stances, instituted researches himself at home and abroad to elucidate
that subject. He was a liberal patron of the Historic-Genealogical
Society of New England, which has done so much to awaken an in-
terest in our ancestral history. For several years prior to his death
he was one of the vice-presidents of that society.
' One trait of character as noble as it is rare he possesned in an
unusual degree, and that was his active interest and sympathy in the
success of meritorious young men commencing business under diffi-
culties. He spontaneously advised with them, gave them the benefit
of his own extended observation and experience; and what was more,
he often added the rarer benefit of giving them credit and pecuniary
aid till their business relations had become well established. Their
success was to him a source of sinciere pleasure. M6re than one
under whose eyes this paragraph may fall will bear grateful testimony
to the truth of these remarks.

Another trait of character equally worthy of notice will be recog-
nized by all who knew him well. It was his unselfish readiness to.
serve his friends. It was never too early, never too late for them to
call upon him. He was never too busy to give them an interview
and do them any favor in his power. His own ease, or comfort, oi'
indulgence never stood in the way of a kind act that could be of real
use to a friend. Nor was his benevolence of this kind at all limited
to those who might be entitled to claim the benefits of friendship. In
erery community there will be lone persons, widows, and orphans,
who are left with a little property which is their sole dependence
for support, and which they are totally incapable of managing to ad-
rantage. It was the fortune of mjr friend to be the counselor and
helper of many such. He took the charge of their little business
and advised them with as much care as if it had been a great business
of his own. To one he recommended the savings bank, to another a
life insurance, or a life annuity as the case might be; to a third some
other investment. Nor did he stop with a mere recommendation,
which wonld often, practically, be of no use. He saw that the in-
vestments were made and the legal papers carefully preserved. In
several cases of this sort, from motives of pure kindness, he went
so far» as to collect the annual dividends for a series of yearsll
often at some little inconvenience, and pay them over to the ownv
ers.

10

In bis own numerous circles of relatires there was scarcely one
who was not the object of his care and many tlie recipients of most
liberal aid. If any of them failed of the success they aimed at, it
was not for the want of sound advise and generous assistance on his
part.

Mr. Barstow was himself an accurate and expert accountant. He
has been heard to say that if there was any one department of busi-
ness in which he felt quite at home it was in bookkeeping and in the
adjustment of complicated accounts. He often sat down to the exami-
nation of accounts of this description with all the zest that other men
sit down to a game of chess. He was familiar with the different
modes of bookkeeping in use among merchants. So important did he
deem a knowledge of accounts, that he thought every young man,
whatever his calling or purpose in life, should be taught the art of
bookkeeping so far at least as to keep an accurate account of all his
own pecuniary transactions. He held, and justly too, that it was an
important element of success. Several of the youths of his family
circle have received from him special and systematic instruction on
this subject. The course would, perhaps, be closed by the presenta-
tion on his part of a set of books prepared for the use of his pupil.

I refer to these unostentatious modes of doing good, not for their
individual importance but as indices of character. They ever point
to one who finds a sincere pleasure in promoting the welfare of
others.

In social intercourse, he retained in a great degree the character-
istics of a refined gentleman of the old school. His manner was
alwas friendly and courteous, but dignified, sometimes tending to the
formal. He was generous in his hospitality, generous in the use of his
property, and specially considerate of the poor and the unfortunate.
Every object of public or private charity was sure of his support.
The records of nearly all our benevolent institutions will bear ample
testimony to his liberality. I refrain from mentioning several dona-
tions, made unsolicited within a year or two of his death, which do
great credit to his generosity simply because it was not his wish that
any special publicity should be given to them.

In conversation, the subject of this memoir was direct and explicit.
His opinions, on most subjects, were well formed and definite; and
when he had occasion to state them he did it clearly with the reasons
and grounds upon which they rested. His manner was ordinarily
quiet, but when he became earnest in discussion it was often animated
and emphatic. His look , attitude and gesture added force to his
arguments. He was always a most respectfiil and courteous listener
to the opinions of others. It was apparently a fixed principle with
him not to interrupt a person while speaking, but to listen silently to
the end of his remarks. He was no teller of stories and had but
moderate respect for persons who were occupied in that line of busi*
ness. He sometimes referred to an illustrative anecdote, but always
briefly. Jokes and puns sometimes provoked a smile, but they were
not congenial to the bent of his mind. They subserved no purpose of
life which bad value in his estimation. His temperament was cheer-
ful and hopeful. No difficulty brought despondence to his mind, no

11

danger brought dismay. He worked on from morning till night as if
there were no obstacles in his way, and then slept.

In stature he was of medium height, with full chest, compactly
built; and, in his early life, as I judi^e, he had more than the ordinary
share of muscular strength and physical endurance. He was uni-
formly an early riser. The morning hours were turned to valuable
account not only in making his toilet, which was always done with
scrupulous care, but in arranging for the business of the day.

My lamented friend was for many years an exemplary communi-
cant in the Episcopal Church and one of its most liberal supporters.
He made every preparation for his owu departure with the utmost
composure and serenity of mind. '* The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want,'* was his remark to a friend shortly before his death, and
failing strength scarce permitted him to say more. After a some-
what protracted illness, from disease of the heart, he died peacefully
in the bosom of his family, with his mental faculties unimpaired, in
the assured hope of a better life beyond the grave. As a son, hus-
band, and father, his life in every respect was most worthy of esteem
and commendation. He left a wife and two daughters, — Lydia
Kinnicutt and Elizabeth Thompson, — and a large circle of friends to
cherish his memory, while mourning his loss.

Providence, August 24, 1864.

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