Chapter XL

I have mentioned the names of strong merchants that contributed during the last war with England, in 1813, to support the Federal Government, and sustain it vigorously. Upon the list will be found the names of John Rathbone & Son for $20,000.

That house was in existence and did business in 1804—long before the war, and long after. Its patriotism prospered it, and has not deserted the name now, for John Rathbone, No. 3, great-grandson of the old founder, still does business under the firm of Rathbone & Havens, at No. 11 Nassau street.

When the house first started, it was at No. 96 Front street, and the old gentleman lived at 45 Dey street—a fashionable part of the town in 1805. He was born in Stonington, Ct., in 1751, and removed to this city soon after the close of the Revolutionary war. He clerked it for some time, as is usual with Connecticut boys, and then entered into business upon his own hook about 1795. He died in 1843, in this city, 92 years old. He had two sons and one daughter.

His eldest son, John Rathbone, jr., who was taken into the concern of John Rathbone & Co. in 1804, was a gentleman of extraordinary good sense and sound information. He was a member of our State Legislature in 1823, and made a reputation for himself in politics.

John Rathbone & Son were largely engaged in the salt trade, as well as in general merchandizing. All their operations were upon an immense scale, and were conducted with such sagacity and prudence as to yield the two partners a handsome fortune. The Rathbones, father and son, were warm supporters of the Government, and would have sacrificed every dollar they were worth if the United States had needed it. Their names stand at the head of the list published a short time ago.

Saml. B. Ruggles, ex-Canal Commissioner, &c., married the youngest daughter of old Mr. Rathbone, and, of course, was a brother-in-law of John, jr., and Thomas. The two were very active in getting a charter and establishing the present Bank of Commerce. Both were among the first directors elected. Thomas Rathbone died early. He left a son named E. Beverley Rathbone. He married a daughter of Capt. Whetton, of the Sailor's Snug Harbor. E. B. R. is dead. He left a son, alluded to as still in business here.

John Rathbone, jr., never married. He died at Albany in 1842. He was on his way home to New York. His age was sixty-eight years.

His father, the old John, who died in 1843 aged ninety-two, was descended from a brother of Col. John Rathbone, who was a colonel in the Parliamentary army of 1658. He was noted for his devotion to Republican principles. So active had been this brave fellow, during the civil war, that he was excepted, by name, from the general amnesty for political offences granted by Charles II, when he mounted the throne.

Col. Rathbone escaped pursuit, and took refuge in "Whitefriars," or Alsatia, where he remained concealed several years. He was finally apprehended, with other ex-officers of the Commonwealth, tried at the Old Bailey, found guilty, and with seven other officers beheaded at Tyburn, on the 26th of April, 1666—almost 200 years ago. His brother, more fortunate, got over to Connecticut, and was the founder of the old New York merchants we have alluded to.

Another of the same old stock and also born in Stonington, was the well known Captain John Rathbone. For many years he commanded vessels out of this port. What a splendid fellow was Captain Jack. He entered upon a sea-faring life at an early age, and was before the mast in the first English packets in 1804. He was destined in after years to command the finest ships in the line.

When he first came here, the "British Packets," as they were designated, were of about 179 tons burthen. Their sailing to and from the United States was as follows: Their station was at Falmouth, England. The mail for New York, Quebec and Halifax was made up the first Wednesday in the month, and the packet sailed on the following Saturday.

The sailing of the packet from New York frequently depended upon adventitious circumstances, but as often as it could be done, the mail was made up on the first Wednesday, and the packet sailed the Saturday following for Falmouth.

The packets sailed for New York direct from Falmouth in November, December, January and February; the other eight months they went and returned by way of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The return of the American packets was calculated at fifteen weeks to New York and back to Falmouth.

The following is a list of the regular packets employed in 1805 between Falmouth and New York:

"Lord Auckland," Captain Schuyler; "Earl of Leicester," Captain Peell; "Townshend," Captain Dodd; "Princess Elizabeth," Captain Kidd; "Marlborough," Captain Ball, captured in the West Indies by the French but afterward retaken; "Princess Amelia," Captain Stevens; "Princess Charlotte," Captain Ker; "Chesterfield," Captain Blight; "Lord Charles Spencer," Captain Catesworth; "Duke of Kent," Captain Dennis, captured by the French in the West Indies; "Lady Arabella," Captain Porteus; "Lady Hobart," Captain Fellows, lost upon an island of ice; "Prince Ernest," Captain Petre; "Prince Adolphus," Captain Boulderson; "Queen Charlotte," Captain Mudge; "Windsor Castle," Captain Sutton.

It seems almost incredible that twenty-four years after the Independence was acknowledged, that the city of New York depended upon English packets for communication. Yet so it was. Those little cock boats not so large as a North River sloop made about two voyages a year. Fancy such a list of names to come poking into New York.

The names of all old King George's family—wife, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, ministers and officers of the crown.

What a change since! New York could not sport ships then. Why? Because in 1805 New York contained but a few thousand people. It was a little bit of a place comparatively speaking.

I am preparing a list of the vessels and changes that occurred slowly in the packet arrangements from the year 1804 to the time when great ships of a thousand tons were placed in the English trade as regular liners.

I do not know how long Captain Jack Rathbone was an apprentice to that old line of royal names. This I do know: some eight years later, he commanded a small coasting vessel during the last war with Great Britain, and was one of the foremost in managing "the torpedo affair," with a view of blowing up the British fleet at anchor off his birthplace, old Stonington.

In this enterprise the Captain exhibited the greatest coolness and daring. He afterwards commanded several ships; among them the packets "Crawford," "Talma," "Kentucky," and "Nashville;" and he made voyages out of this port to nearly every port in the known world. When ashore he lived up Hester street, at Nos. 81 and 56, from 1815 until 1830.

In one of his voyages in the "Crawford," during a tremendous hurricane, the ship struck on the "Bahama Banks." She had a large number of passengers on board, and the greatest consternation prevailed among them. Every one seemed to give way to the expectation of being lost, except Captain Rathbone himself. With the greatest perseverance, coolness, and presence of mind, he succeeded in landing safely every person on board, and his conduct on the occasion has been spoken of in the highest terms of commendation.

Captain Rathbone was appointed to the command of the "Oxford," one of the old line of Liverpool packets in 1834. I have given the line in which he sailed in 1804. I will now give the list thirty years later of the Liverpool packets alone. In the Old Line, or Black Ball Line, as it was called, ships "Columbus," De Pey- ster, master; "Hibernia," Wilson; "South America," Barstow; "England," Waite; "Orpheus," Bursley; "Oxford," Rathbone; "North American," Hoxie; "Europe," Marshall.

They sailed from New York and Liverpool on the 1st and 16th of each month. Goodhue & Co. and C. H. Marshall were the agents in this city.

A second line was ships "Roscoe," Delano, master; "Independence," Nye; "Washington," Holdridge; "Pennsylvania," Smith.

Grinnell, Minturn & Co., were the agents. The ships left New York on the 8th, and Liverpool on the 16th of each month.

A third line was ships "United States," Holdredge, master; "St. Andrew," Thompson; "Virginia," Harris; "Sheffield," Allen.

Robert Kermit was agent of that line. It left New York on the 24th, and Liverpool on the 8th of each month.

There was yet another, called the "New Line." Some called it the "Dramatic." It consisted of the ships "Shakespere," Collins, master; "Siddons," Palmer; "Sheridan," Russell; "Garrick," Robinson.

E. K. Collins was agent of that line.

There were twenty ships, to take the place of three little English packets of 179 tons.

Some of the above ships were of 1,000 tons. Who does not remember their gallant captains? Where are they all now?

Captain Rathbone continued in the "Oxford" until May, 1846, when he was transferred to the "Columbia," a ship built expressly for him. He was in the "Oxford" during the great gale at Liverpool in 1837, when the "Pennsylvania," "St. Andrew," "Victoria," and a number of other vessels were lost. On that trying occasion, when his ship was dragging her anchors and rapidly drifting ashore, his coolness, decision, and admirable management saved the ship and every person on board.

Captain Rathbone was washed overboard from the ship "Columbus" on the 13th of January, 1847.

Another large house was that of Jenkins & Havens, shipping merchants. They did business at 198 Front street, as early as 1804. The original partner in founding the house was Philetus Havens. He continued in it a few years, and then, in 1811, Jenkins left Philetus to carry on business at the same spot, which he did to about 1818. Jenkins removed to 189 Front street, and there carried on the same style and firm of Jenkins & Havens, but with Rensselaer Havens for a partner, instead of Philetus.

The latter was a person of somewhat extraordinary character. He was born at Shelter Island, Suffolk county, in this State, where his ancestors emigrated in 1699 from Rhode Island.

Rensselaer Havens had an elder brother, Jonathan Nicoll Havens, who was a member of Congress during Jefferson's administration, and was noted for his fine intellectual attainments.

Rensselaer came to New York in 1794, when just of age, and commenced clerking it with the then great house of Minturn & Champlin, who did business at 214 Front street as early as 1792, and up to 1815 at 286.

I have spoken of the great shipping house in a former chapter. They endorsed Jacob Barker's note for $18,000, and the proceeds went to the Government loan in 1813.

After Rensselaer left the employ of M. & C., he entered into a large dry good business upon his own account, at 169 William street. He continued in that until he became a partner of the old house of Jenkins & Havens, alluded to above, at 189 Front street. His residence was at 100 Chambers street. The house of Jenkins & Havens did a very extensive shipping business. The partnership lasted until after 1815. During the war they fitted out the private armed brig "General Armstrong." Her desperate fight against superior odds in the port of Fayal, has become a matter of history.

This privateer took eighteen prizes during the war, and some of them were of great value. It may not be generally known that during that short war our privateers took from England sixteen hundred and ninety-four prizes.

The claims against the United States for the loss of this dashing privateer in a neutral port, still remains unsettled. Other privateers were fitted out by this firm during the war.

In our list of contributors to the loan of $16,000,000 in 1813, there stands the name of Rensselaer Havens, for $20,000. He came forward promptly when President Madison became embarrassed for want of means to carry on the war.

In 1815, after the war, Mr. Havens withdrew from active commercial life, and devoted himself mainly to works of philanthropy. He assisted in the foundation, and became a trustee of the Public School Society, the New York Sunday School Union, and Mariner's Church, and for more than a quarter of a century, he served as an elder in the old Brick Church, under the care of Rev. Dr. Spring. The Times building now occupies the site of the old church and graveyard.

In 1819 Mr. Havens was appointed on a committee of prominent New York merchants, to enter into a correspondence with citizens in various parts of the Union, with a view to devise some plan for checking the spread of African slavery. Archibald Gracie, General Clarkson, and Henry Rutgers served upon the same committee.

In 1825, Mr. Haven obtained the charter of the Howard Insurance Company. He was chosen president, and held the office twenty-nine years, or until his death in 1854.

He carried that company safely through the terrible fire years, 1835 and 1845, when the city suffered so fearfully, and many fire companies were ruined. He established that institution firmly in public confidence. It has stood over thirty-five years, and now is in as great favor as any company in the city, and has, as it had when Rensselaer Haven was its president, a superior Board of Directors.

When he died he was eighty-one years of age. He left a large family, having been twice married. His first wife was a Miss Jenkins, of Hudson, N. Y. General Worth was a near relative of this family. His second wife was a Miss Webb, of this city. One of his sons is a partner in the firm of Rathbone & Havens, and that concern, not less patriotic than their ancestors of fifty or sixty years ago, are getting up a military company to join the New York legion.

No merchant or citizen ever stood higher in this city than the venerable Mr. Haven. In his old age, his appearance was grand and striking. His death was felt as a public loss.

Some one has sent me a paper of 1805, showing that Peter P. Goelet was one of the directors of the Western and Northern Canal Company. I was under the impression that the Goelets never had their names as directors of public institutions. Of course I am corrected. I certainly cannot make out what canal company that was. Peter Schuyler was president, and John Murray, the merchant described in those chapters, was vice-president. Thomas Eddy was secretary and treasurer. Probably it was the father of the Erie canal. Townsend, Vanderbilt & Co. were extensive grocers at 165 Fly Market. The head of the firm, Thomas Townsend, kept in the same locality from 1804 to 1815, and lived at 22 Cliff. He afterwards moved to 176 Front, and lived at 92 Beekman, a few doors from his store.

Mr. Joseph Lawrence, a well known merchant, for many years was a partner of the firm of Hicks, Lawrence & Co., and Lawrence & Trimble. He was brother of old C. W. Lawrence. Old Thomas S. Townsend had a son named John Q. Townsend, president of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company until he died, in 1846. He was forty-six years of age. The elder Townsend was probably the principal capitalist of the house of Hicks, Lawrence & Co., when it first started.