Charles Apthorp
Encyclopedia
Charles Apthorp was a British-born merchant in 18th-century Boston
, Massachusetts
. He ran his import business from Merchants Row
, and "in his day he was called the richest man in Boston." He acted for the British government, and supported King's Chapel
.
. "After the death of his father [he] came to New England." In 1726 he married Grisselda "Grizzel" Eastwick (1710–1796).
Among the goods imported and/or sold through Apthorp on Merchants Row in Boston were "choice madera wines, ... a parcel of Russia duck
and several sorts of European goods"; "British duck of all sorts"; "choice good sea coal, ... several second hand cables, little the worse for wear, and anchors suitable, with window glass of most sorts, and a parcel of lead and shot"; "a good new still
and worm
of about 600 gallons"; "Connecticut pork by the barrel"; salt; "a parcel of guns, 4-pounders, with carriages and shott, also a parcel of swivel-guns
with shott suitable;" a "well fitted" 50-ton sloop"; and "a brigantine
about 90 tuns, and three years old, now lying at the Long Wharfe
". In the 1730s and 1740s he repeatedly traded in slaves, for instance: "a parcel of likely negros just imported".
In 1733 Apthorp acted as agent for a man seeking his servant, Hannah Smyth, who had run away with a stolen diamond "and has lately been seen here in Boston." He performed a similar role in 1742, authorized to furnish "five pounds reward" for the return of a "negro man named Jack about 35 years old" to "his master Capt. Stephen Eastwick." In 1756 Apthorp & Son served as agent for someone looking for an anchor lost on Cape Cod "with two iron clasps on one of the flukes, a solid pine buoy, and buoy-rope."
Along with Thomas Hancock
, Apthorp represented the British government in its efforts to recruit personnel to Nova Scotia
-- ship pilots, bricklayers, carpenters, land settlers, etc. He also served as "paymaster and commissary under the British Government of the land and naval forces quartered in Boston." He was "one of the first wardens of Trinity Church
" and donated some 1,000 pounds to the "rebuilding" of King's Chapel.
Apthorp and Hancock together supplied many of the boats used to ethnically cleanse
Nova Scotia of the Acadians in the Great Upheaval
. The firm also lent money to finance the operation. The poor quality of the ships led to widespread malnutrition, disease, and death among the deported Acadians.
Apthorp's eighteen children included: Charles Ward Apthorp (later of Apthorp Farm
); East Apthorp; John Apthorp; Rebecca Apthorp; Susan Apthorp (mother of architect Charles Bulfinch
); Thomas Apthorp; and William Apthorp. Among his grandchildren were Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton
.
Portraits were made of Charles Apthorp by Joseph Blackburn; John Singleton Copley
; and Robert Feke
. Among the Apthorp's personal possessions were "a set of eight chairs ... probably purchased from the chairmaker and upholsterer Samuel Grant, [with] carving ... attributed to John Welch."
Apthorp died suddenly in November, 1758; he complained "of a slight cold a few minutes before he expired." A New England newspaper reported "the greatest merchant on this continent is gone." His "funeral was attended by very many gentlemen of distinction and principal inhabitants of the town. The streets and windows of the houses, as the solemnity passed along, were thronged with spectators. ... [At King's Chapel] the Reverend Mr. Caner preached a suitable sermon to a crowded audience." A wall marker carved by Henry Cheere
memorializes Apthorp inside King's Chapel; it "is crowned by a cherub weeping over a cinerary urn."
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He ran his import business from Merchants Row
Merchants Row (Boston)
Merchants Row in Boston, Massachusetts is a short street extending from State Street to Faneuil Hall Square in the Financial District. Since the 17th century it has been a place of commercial activity. It sits close to Long Wharf and Dock Square, hubs of shipping and trade through the 19th century...
, and "in his day he was called the richest man in Boston." He acted for the British government, and supported King's Chapel
King's Chapel
King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
.
Life and career
He was born in England in 1698 to John Apthorp and Susan Ward. He attended Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. "After the death of his father [he] came to New England." In 1726 he married Grisselda "Grizzel" Eastwick (1710–1796).
Among the goods imported and/or sold through Apthorp on Merchants Row in Boston were "choice madera wines, ... a parcel of Russia duck
Cotton duck
Cotton duck , also simply duck, sometimes duck cloth or duck canvas, commonly called "canvas" outside the textile industry, is a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric...
and several sorts of European goods"; "British duck of all sorts"; "choice good sea coal, ... several second hand cables, little the worse for wear, and anchors suitable, with window glass of most sorts, and a parcel of lead and shot"; "a good new still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
and worm
Worm drive
A worm drive is a gear arrangement in which a worm meshes with a worm gear...
of about 600 gallons"; "Connecticut pork by the barrel"; salt; "a parcel of guns, 4-pounders, with carriages and shott, also a parcel of swivel-guns
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
with shott suitable;" a "well fitted" 50-ton sloop"; and "a brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
about 90 tuns, and three years old, now lying at the Long Wharfe
Long Wharf and Customhouse Block
Long Wharf and Customhouse Block is a historic area located at the foot of State Street on Long Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. The area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.See main articles:...
". In the 1730s and 1740s he repeatedly traded in slaves, for instance: "a parcel of likely negros just imported".
In 1733 Apthorp acted as agent for a man seeking his servant, Hannah Smyth, who had run away with a stolen diamond "and has lately been seen here in Boston." He performed a similar role in 1742, authorized to furnish "five pounds reward" for the return of a "negro man named Jack about 35 years old" to "his master Capt. Stephen Eastwick." In 1756 Apthorp & Son served as agent for someone looking for an anchor lost on Cape Cod "with two iron clasps on one of the flukes, a solid pine buoy, and buoy-rope."
Along with Thomas Hancock
Thomas Hancock (merchant)
Thomas Hancock was a merchant in colonial Boston. He got his start in the book trade, and expanded into importing and exporting throughout the British Empire. He was also a smuggler, evading the British Navigation Acts by trading with Holland, which was forbidden...
, Apthorp represented the British government in its efforts to recruit personnel to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
-- ship pilots, bricklayers, carpenters, land settlers, etc. He also served as "paymaster and commissary under the British Government of the land and naval forces quartered in Boston." He was "one of the first wardens of Trinity Church
Trinity Church, Boston (Summer Street)
Trinity Church was an Episcopal church in Boston, Massachusetts, located on Summer Street. It housed Boston's third Anglican congregation...
" and donated some 1,000 pounds to the "rebuilding" of King's Chapel.
Apthorp and Hancock together supplied many of the boats used to ethnically cleanse
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
Nova Scotia of the Acadians in the Great Upheaval
Great Upheaval
The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from present day Canadian Maritime provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
. The firm also lent money to finance the operation. The poor quality of the ships led to widespread malnutrition, disease, and death among the deported Acadians.
Apthorp's eighteen children included: Charles Ward Apthorp (later of Apthorp Farm
Apthorp Farm
The Apthorp Farm that lay on Manhattan's Upper West Side straddled the old Bloomingdale Road, laid out in 1728, which was re-surveyed as The "Boulevard" – now Upper Broadway. It was the largest block of real estate remaining from the "Bloomingdale District", a rural suburb of 18th-century New...
); East Apthorp; John Apthorp; Rebecca Apthorp; Susan Apthorp (mother of architect Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
); Thomas Apthorp; and William Apthorp. Among his grandchildren were Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton
Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton
Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton was an American poet.She was born in Boston to a successful merchant family . In 1781, she was married to Boston lawyer Perez Morton at Trinity Church, Boston, and the couple lived on a family mansion on State Street...
.
Portraits were made of Charles Apthorp by Joseph Blackburn; John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
; and Robert Feke
Robert Feke
Robert Feke was an American portrait painter born on Long Island, New York. Little is known for certain about his life before 1741, which is the year he painted his first portrait, Family of Isaac Royall. Sixteen portraits in total are known to be by Feke, and an additional 50 are disputed to be...
. Among the Apthorp's personal possessions were "a set of eight chairs ... probably purchased from the chairmaker and upholsterer Samuel Grant, [with] carving ... attributed to John Welch."
Apthorp died suddenly in November, 1758; he complained "of a slight cold a few minutes before he expired." A New England newspaper reported "the greatest merchant on this continent is gone." His "funeral was attended by very many gentlemen of distinction and principal inhabitants of the town. The streets and windows of the houses, as the solemnity passed along, were thronged with spectators. ... [At King's Chapel] the Reverend Mr. Caner preached a suitable sermon to a crowded audience." A wall marker carved by Henry Cheere
Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet was a renowned English sculptor and monumental mason of the eighteenth century, and older brother of John Cheere, also a notable sculptor.-Personal life and career:...
memorializes Apthorp inside King's Chapel; it "is crowned by a cherub weeping over a cinerary urn."
External links
- WorldCat. Apthorp, Charles 1698-1758
- Portrait of Mrs. Charles Apthorp (Grizzell Eastwick Apthorp). By Robert Feke, 1748
- Newberry Library, Chicago. Charles Apthorp's outgoing correspondence to London merchant, John Thomlinson, dated from April 1738 to April 1739 and August 1751.