Benjamin Titcomb Shipping Papers

Overview

Abstract

Scope and Contents

Biographical Note

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

General shipping business

Vessel papers

Contact us about this collection

Title:
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Benjamin Titcomb Shipping Papers, 1763-1782

Primary Creator:
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Titcomb, Benjamin (1726-1798)

Extent: 1.0
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Boxes

Arrangement: The papers grouped into two series: Series I. General Shipping business and Series II. Vessel papers.

Date Acquired: 01/06/2005

Subjects:
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Accounts, Bills of sale, Cumberland (vessel type unknown), Endeavor (Sloop), Fame (Vessel type unknown), Freight and freightage, Hawk (Vessel type unknown), Lively (Sloop), Lumber-trade, Portland (ME), Rum, Ship captains, Shipping, Sugar-trade, Titcomb, Andrew, Titcomb, Benjamin, Union (Sloop), Wages

Languages:
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English

Benjamin Titcomb was born on January 14, 1726 in Newbury, Massachusetts to Joseph Titcomb (b. 1698-d. 1779) and Anne S. Smith (b. 1706-d. 1763). He married Anne Pearson (b. 1729-d. 1800) in Standish, Maine in 1753.¹ Anne Pearson was his cousin. She was the daughter of Joseph Titcomb’s sister Sarah Titcomb Pearson.² They had children Eunice (b. 1750-d. 1798), Andrew Philips (b. 1754-d. 1818), Moses (b. 1755), Joseph (b. 1757-d. 1836), Benjamin (b. 1761-d. 1848), Anne (b. 1763), Henry (b. 1766-d. 1829), William (b. 1767-d. 1786) and Mary (b. 1769).¹ 

Benjamin Titcomb was involved at the siege of Louisburg as an ensign at about twenty years of age. In 1746 he came to Portland, Maine at the prompting of Moses Pearson. Titcomb was a blacksmith by trade.  After he married Anne the daughter of Moses Pearson in 1753, they built a house on the corner of Plum and Middle Streets in Portland. This is where the Falmouth Hotel later stood. He had a blacksmith shop on the breast-work from Central Wharf.³

Benjamin Titcomb was a ship merchant as well. He corresponded with captains, ship brokers and ship agents concerning shipments. Titcomb also arranged for the repair of vessels. This was for smaller vessels such as sloops. Vessels were the Cumberland (Vessel type unknown), Endeavor (Sloop), Lively (Sloop), Union (Sloop) and the Hawk and [Fame] (Vessel types unknown). He procured shipments to Falmouth from Boston and St. Eustatius. Vessels voyaged to Demerara, Antigua, London, Piscataqua, Portsmouth and Baltimore for cargo. He had a particular interest in the West Indies. Cargos included sugar, molasses, rum, coffee, lime, lumber, paper, staves, cord wood, clams, shingles, fish, spars, pork and bread.  Titcomb was also a ship owner. In 1763, he purchased the sloop Endeavor with Samuel Lowell for one hundred and six pounds, thirteen shillings and four lawful money from Nathaniel Blanchard.⁴  In the  New England Family History: A Magazine Devoted to the History of Families of Maine and Massachusetts it is recorded that one of his ships carried some:

<p style="margin-left:.5in;"> “[negros] as frait from the island of St. Eustatius to Baltimore, the master of the ship paying the charges and duties on the frait.”²

Moreover, Titcomb was a militia captain fourth in command under James Sullivan. After the burning of Falmouth by the British fleet under the command of Henry Mowatt on October 18, 1775, Titcomb sustained a loss of £316 19s.¹ He was co-owner of the privateer Fox (Ship) with John Fox and others, which captured a letter of marque of 18 guns with a valuable cargo. This vessel was taken to Boston where the arms and equipment were confiscated for use.⁵

He was chosen Deacon of the First Parish Church in 1769 and became known as “Deacon Benjamin Titcomb.” He was also a selectman of Falmouth (Portland) for three years. In 1784, he became a representative with Joseph Noyes to the General Court.³ He was also a member of the Committee of Safety at Falmouth and member of the Committee of Correspondence and Inspection. Titcomb died on October 15, 1798 in Stroudwater, Maine at seventy- two.¹ He left a valuable estate of £10,000. This included a tract of land of three acres extending from Congress Street to Back Cove just below the meeting house of the First Parish Church. His wife died on July 8, 1800.²

His son, Benjamin Titcomb Jr,. was a printer and co-publisher of the first newspaper in Maine. He was a partner with Thomas B. Wait. At 23 years of age, Titcomb Jr. printed the Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advisor. Not only was this the first newspaper printed in Maine, but it was the first piece of paper printed at the first printing office in the state.  The paper was published once a week by Titcomb Jr. and Wait. This partnership with Wait dissolved after about a year. Titcomb Jr. continued to publish until 1798.  He later became ordained as a Baptist preacher and changed his career. Titcomb Jr. became a preacher of the Baptist Church in Brunswick. He was also elected a delegate to the convention that formed the Constitution of Maine. He was an original trustee of Waterville College, now Colby College. He retired at 83 and then died at his home in Brunswick on September 30, 1848 at the age of 87.⁷ He is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Brunswick, Maine.¹ 

Another son of Titcomb Sr., Joseph Titcomb, was an active shipmaster and commanded a large privateer out of Portland during the Revolution. He was also ten years a selectman and nine years a representative of the town to the General Court.³  Joseph died on August 6, 1836.¹

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Accounts
Bills of sale
Cumberland (vessel type unknown)
Endeavor (Sloop)
Fame (Vessel type unknown)
Freight and freightage
Hawk (Vessel type unknown)
Lively (Sloop)
Lumber-trade
Portland (ME)
Rum
Ship captains
Shipping
Sugar-trade
Titcomb, Andrew
Titcomb, Benjamin
Union (Sloop)
Wages

Repository: Maine Maritime Museum Manuscript Collection Online Catalog

Access Restrictions: There are no restrictions on the use of these materials for study or research.

Use Restrictions: The material described herein is the physical property of the Maine Maritime Museum Library. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or the various items, or to their legal representatives

Physical Access Note: The sleeved papers were loosely organized in an archival box. Descriptive information for each document was written on a label and adhered to each sleeve. Manuscripts are late eighteenth-century documents on cotton rag paper. Many have stains either caused indirectly by migration from other materials or directly by ink or water-based substances. Some documents have extreme surface dirt, as well as creases or tears on edges or fold lines. Those with heavier crease lines were gently flattened with a tacking iron at low to medium heat. A number of manuscripts have small missing pieces.

Acquisition Source: Purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books on January 6, 2005 with funds donated for the purpose by Charles E. Burden, accession no. 2005.2.1

Acquisition Method: It is unknown at this time where Dan Casavant Rare Books acquired the Benjamin Titcomb shipping papers.

Preferred Citation: Titcomb Benjamin Shipping Papers, MS-380, Research Library, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine

Processing Information:

The papers came chronologically organized by the seller. All papers were already sleeved and labeled with information. Papers were left sleeved and organized into two series—general shipping business and vessel related papers. Papers follows a standardized sequence to simplify access.

General shipping business papers could not be linked to any specific vessel. They were chronologically organized by creation date. Vessel papers are alphabetically arranged and then chronologically organized by creation date. An appendix was created of captain’s names that appeared in the collection.

Other Note: An index of Captain’s names with corresponding folders is included with the finding aids. Ask reference librarin for assistance.