Frederic Tudor
Encyclopedia
Frederic Tudor was known as Boston
's "Ice King", and was the founder of the Tudor Ice Company. During the early 19th Century, he made a fortune shipping ice to the Caribbean
, Europe
, and even as far away as India
from sources of fresh water ice in New England
.
The Tudor Ice Company harvested ice in a number of New England
ponds for export and distribution throughout the Caribbean
, Europe
, and India
from 1826 to 1892.
Tudor ice was harvested at Walden Pond
in Concord
, Fresh Pond
in Cambridge
, Spy Pond
in Arlington
, Sandy Pond in Ayer, Horn Pond in Woburn, Lake Quannapowitt
in Wakefield, Haggett's Pond in Andover, Suntaug Lake in Lynnfield, Spot Pond and Doleful Pond in Stoneham
, and Wenham Lake in Wenham (all places in Massachusetts
).
, a wealthy Boston lawyer. Although his older brother William Tudor (1779-1830)
would become one of Boston's leading literary figures, Tudor spurned the chance to be educated at Harvard and from the age of 13 occupied himself with business. After a visit to the Caribbean
, he decided he could make a fortune exporting ice from the ponds of Massachusetts
.
In 1806 (age 23), Tudor bought his first brig
Favorite to carry ice cut from his father's farm in Saugus
1500 miles (2,414 km) from Charlestown to Martinique
. It left dock on February 10, 1806 to the following report in the Boston Gazette: "No joke. A vessel has cleared at the Custom House for Martinique with a cargo of ice. We hope this will not prove a slippery speculation." While he secured a cargo of ice, a vessel in which to ship it, and formulated his plan of attack, he sent his brother William and his cousin, James Savage
, ahead to obtain a monopoly from the various governments of the islands. "We wish you to procure from the gov' of Cuba
a grant exclusive in which we offer you either to take a conces' of half or procure the privilege for us & we engage to pay you one thousand dollars with reasonable charges, in obtaining it you however to determine which you will do & write to that effect as early as possible." Although a considerable amount of the ice melted during the three-week journey south, he did manage to sell much of what remained on board for a loss of $4500 overall. However in the subsequent year Tudor had severe financial losses when three shipments to Havana in the brig Trident also resulted in a loss.
Tudor had his first profits in 1810 when his gross sales amounted to about $7400, then increasing to just short of $9000; but of that he only received $1000 due to the "villainous conduct" of his agent. At this point his personal debts far outweighed his income and he spent parts of 1812 and 1813 in debtor's prison
. By 1815, however, he had managed to borrow $2100, both to buy ice and to pay for a new ice-house in Havana
. It was a double-shelled structure, twenty-five feet square on its outside dimension, nineteen feet square on the interior, and sixteen feet high, holding some 150 tons of ice. "Pursued by sheriffs to the very wharf," in Boston, Tudor set sail for Havana on November 1, 1815.
By 1816, Tudor was shipping ice from Massachusetts to Cuba with ever-increasing efficiency and decided to try his hand at importing Cuban fruit to New York. In August of that year, he borrowed $3000 (at 40% interest) for a shipload of limes
, oranges
, banana
s, and pear
s, preserving it with 15 tons of ice and 3 tons of hay. The experiment ended in disaster as virtually all the fruit rotted during the month-long voyage, leaving Tudor with several thousand dollars worth of new debt. Still, he pressed on, opening up new markets in three southern U.S. cities (Charleston, South Carolina
, Savannah, Georgia
, and New Orleans, Louisiana
).
Tudor spent the next few years experimenting with various kinds of insulation. Ice was packed aboard ship with wood shavings, sawdust, or rice chaff on its outside surfaces to insulate it against heat. The blocks were also stacked together like well-fitted masonry. He constructed icehouses throughout the tropics and created a demand there for cold refreshments.
By 1825, Tudor was doing well with ice sales, but the difficulty of hand-cutting large blocks limited his company's growth. However one supplier, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
, harnessed horses to a metal blade to cut ice. Wyeth's ice plow made mass production a reality and allowed Tudor to more than triple his production.
In 1833, fellow Boston-based merchant Samuel Austin proposed a partnership for selling ice to India
, then some 16000 miles (25,749.4 km) and four months away from Massachusetts. On May 12, 1833 the brig Tuscany sailed from Boston for Calcutta, its hold filled with 180 tons of ice cut during the winter. When it approached the Ganges in September 1833, many believed the delivery was an elaborate joke, but the ship still had 100 tons of ice upon arrival. Over the next 20 years, Calcutta would become Tudor's most lucrative destination, yielding an estimated $220,000 in profits.
However, in the early 1830s Tudor had also begun to speculate in coffee futures with his ice business as collateral. Initially, coffee prices did rise and Tudor made millions of dollars, but in 1834, Tudor fell more than a quarter-million dollars in debt, forcing him to re-focus on the ice trade. By then the ice business had expanded from New York up through Maine, and the construction of new railroad lines allowed the process of transporting ice to become more efficient. By the 1840s, ice was being shipped all over the world, and although Tudor was now just a small part of the trade, his profits allowed him to pay off his debts and resume living a comfortable existence.
Frederic Tudor died in Boston at his house on the northwest corner of Beacon and Joy Streets on Saturday, February 6, 1864. He was buried in the King's Chapel cemetery on Tremont Street in the Tudor family tomb (number thirteen), but his remains may later have been moved.
In 1790, only the elite had ice for their guests. It was harvested locally in winter and stored through summers in a covered well. Ice production was very labor intensive as it was performed entirely with hand axes and saws, and cost hundreds of dollars a ton. By 1830, though, ice was being used to preserve food and by the middle 1830s it had become a commodity. In the 1840s, it began to be used in the production of beer, and by 1850 it was used in urban retail centers. In the early 19th century the “ice box” was invented (See US Patent #3,758 dated September 24, 1844, to Kephart for a “Fruit & Vegetable Preserver” CCL/62/459). By 1865 two homes out of three in Boston had ice delivered every day.
During these years, there were ten main sources of ice around Boston. Some ice came from the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers in Maine, but most centered around Fresh Pond
, Cambridge; Smith's Pond, Arlington; Spy Pond
, Arlington; Sandy Pond, Ayer; Horn Pond, Woburn; Lake Quannapowitt
, Spot Pond and Doleful Pond in Stoneham
, Wakefield; Haggett's Pond, Andover; Suntaug Lake, Lynnfield, Wenham Lake
, Wenham and Jamaica Pond
in Jamaica Plain where, in 1880, there were 22 icehouses storing 30,000 tons of ice.
In the winter of 1846-47, Henry David Thoreau
watched a crew of Tudor's ice cutters at work on Walden Pond
and recorded these remarks in his journal: The sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well. . . . The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.
Wenham Lake ice in particular became world-famous for its clarity, and graced the tables of the aristocracy of plush London society. Tudor founded the Wenham Lake Ice Company
to promote this demand. It is said without undue exaggeration that no dinner party in London was considered complete without ice from Wenham Lake.
family. The Ice King inherited his family's grounds in Nahant, Massachusetts
. In 1825, after constructing his summer cottage in the center of town, he began a lifelong campaign to plant trees on treeless Nahant. By 1832 he had 3,358 trees growing in his nursery and within two years he had some 4,000 trees in cultivation, offering them to summer residents for free if they would plant them on their properties. The family grounds are now the Nahant Country Club.
Frederic Tudor was a child of William Tudor
(1750—1819), a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston, and Delia Jarvis Tudor. Frederic's father also served as a Representative of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court
(1781—94), State Senator (1801—02), and Secretary of the Commonwealth (1808—09), and was a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society
, whose first meeting was held in his house in Boston.
Frederic Tudor's older brother William
was a leading citizen of Boston, sometime literary man, and co-founder of the North American Review
and the Boston Athenaeum. William Tudor christened Boston "The Athens of America" in an 1819 letter.
Frederic married Euphemia Fenno (April 6, 1814, Mount Upton, New York
— March 9, 1884, Newbury, Vermont
). Frederic Tudor's oldest son, Frederic (February 11, 1845 — Boston 1902), was an 1867 graduate of Harvard College
and a member of one of the first graduating classes at St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
. The Ice King's second son, William, was also a graduate of St. Paul's School.
The younger Frederic was the grandfather of the 20th century watercolorist and book illustrator Tasha Tudor. (Frederic's daughter Rosamond married William Starling Burgess
). She was born in Boston in 1915 and named Starling Burgess for her father. She styled herself as Tasha Tudor and published under that name.
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...
's "Ice King", and was the founder of the Tudor Ice Company. During the early 19th Century, he made a fortune shipping ice to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and even as far away as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
from sources of fresh water ice in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
The Tudor Ice Company harvested ice in a number of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
ponds for export and distribution throughout the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
from 1826 to 1892.
Tudor ice was harvested at Walden Pond
Walden Pond
Walden Pond is a 31-metre-deep lake in Massachusetts . It is in area and around, located in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States...
in Concord
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, Fresh Pond
Fresh Pond, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Fresh Pond is a reservoir and park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to the Pond's use exclusively as a reservoir, its ice had been harvested by Boston's "Ice King", Frederic Tudor, and others, for shipment to North American cities and to tropical areas around the world.Fresh Pond Reservation...
in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Spy Pond
Spy Pond
Spy Pond, also known as Spie Pond in the 17th & 18th centuries, is a kettle hole pond located near the heart of Arlington, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Minuteman Bikeway.-History:-Geological history:...
in Arlington
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Sandy Pond in Ayer, Horn Pond in Woburn, Lake Quannapowitt
Lake Quannapowitt
Lake Quannapowitt is one of two main lakes in Wakefield, Massachusetts, the other being the manmade Crystal Lake. Lake Quannapowitt is a popular setting for walkers, joggers, bikers, and in-line skaters off Route 128 in Middlesex County. It is the site of many organized races from 5Ks to Ultra...
in Wakefield, Haggett's Pond in Andover, Suntaug Lake in Lynnfield, Spot Pond and Doleful Pond in Stoneham
Stoneham, Massachusetts
Stoneham is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population was 21,437 at the 2010 census, down from 22,219 in 2000. The town is the birthplace of Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan and is the home of the Stone Zoo.- History :...
, and Wenham Lake in Wenham (all places in 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...
).
Biography
Tudor was the third son of William TudorWilliam Tudor
William Tudor was a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston. His eldest son William Tudor became a leading literary figure in Boston...
, a wealthy Boston lawyer. Although his older brother William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor was a leading citizen of Boston, sometime literary man, and cofounder of the North American Review and the Boston Athenaeum. It was Tudor who christened Boston The Athens of America in an 1819 letter...
would become one of Boston's leading literary figures, Tudor spurned the chance to be educated at Harvard and from the age of 13 occupied himself with business. After a visit to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, he decided he could make a fortune exporting ice from the ponds of 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...
.
In 1806 (age 23), Tudor bought his first brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Favorite to carry ice cut from his father's farm in Saugus
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
1500 miles (2,414 km) from Charlestown to Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. It left dock on February 10, 1806 to the following report in the Boston Gazette: "No joke. A vessel has cleared at the Custom House for Martinique with a cargo of ice. We hope this will not prove a slippery speculation." While he secured a cargo of ice, a vessel in which to ship it, and formulated his plan of attack, he sent his brother William and his cousin, James Savage
James Savage (banker)
James Savage was one of the founding fathers of Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston established in 1816 as the first chartered savings bank in the United States...
, ahead to obtain a monopoly from the various governments of the islands. "We wish you to procure from the gov' of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
a grant exclusive in which we offer you either to take a conces' of half or procure the privilege for us & we engage to pay you one thousand dollars with reasonable charges, in obtaining it you however to determine which you will do & write to that effect as early as possible." Although a considerable amount of the ice melted during the three-week journey south, he did manage to sell much of what remained on board for a loss of $4500 overall. However in the subsequent year Tudor had severe financial losses when three shipments to Havana in the brig Trident also resulted in a loss.
Tudor had his first profits in 1810 when his gross sales amounted to about $7400, then increasing to just short of $9000; but of that he only received $1000 due to the "villainous conduct" of his agent. At this point his personal debts far outweighed his income and he spent parts of 1812 and 1813 in debtor's prison
Debtor's prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.-Debt bondage in ancient Greece and Rome:...
. By 1815, however, he had managed to borrow $2100, both to buy ice and to pay for a new ice-house in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. It was a double-shelled structure, twenty-five feet square on its outside dimension, nineteen feet square on the interior, and sixteen feet high, holding some 150 tons of ice. "Pursued by sheriffs to the very wharf," in Boston, Tudor set sail for Havana on November 1, 1815.
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
, oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, and pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s, preserving it with 15 tons of ice and 3 tons of hay. The experiment ended in disaster as virtually all the fruit rotted during the month-long voyage, leaving Tudor with several thousand dollars worth of new debt. Still, he pressed on, opening up new markets in three southern U.S. cities (Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, and New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
).
Tudor spent the next few years experimenting with various kinds of insulation. Ice was packed aboard ship with wood shavings, sawdust, or rice chaff on its outside surfaces to insulate it against heat. The blocks were also stacked together like well-fitted masonry. He constructed icehouses throughout the tropics and created a demand there for cold refreshments.
By 1825, Tudor was doing well with ice sales, but the difficulty of hand-cutting large blocks limited his company's growth. However one supplier, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth was an American inventor, ice harvester, and explorer and trader in the far west.-Early life:Wyeth was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Jacob and Elizabeth Wyeth...
, harnessed horses to a metal blade to cut ice. Wyeth's ice plow made mass production a reality and allowed Tudor to more than triple his production.
In 1833, fellow Boston-based merchant Samuel Austin proposed a partnership for selling ice to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, then some 16000 miles (25,749.4 km) and four months away from Massachusetts. On May 12, 1833 the brig Tuscany sailed from Boston for Calcutta, its hold filled with 180 tons of ice cut during the winter. When it approached the Ganges in September 1833, many believed the delivery was an elaborate joke, but the ship still had 100 tons of ice upon arrival. Over the next 20 years, Calcutta would become Tudor's most lucrative destination, yielding an estimated $220,000 in profits.
However, in the early 1830s Tudor had also begun to speculate in coffee futures with his ice business as collateral. Initially, coffee prices did rise and Tudor made millions of dollars, but in 1834, Tudor fell more than a quarter-million dollars in debt, forcing him to re-focus on the ice trade. By then the ice business had expanded from New York up through Maine, and the construction of new railroad lines allowed the process of transporting ice to become more efficient. By the 1840s, ice was being shipped all over the world, and although Tudor was now just a small part of the trade, his profits allowed him to pay off his debts and resume living a comfortable existence.
Frederic Tudor died in Boston at his house on the northwest corner of Beacon and Joy Streets on Saturday, February 6, 1864. He was buried in the King's Chapel cemetery on Tremont Street in the Tudor family tomb (number thirteen), but his remains may later have been moved.
The ice business
During these years, there were ten main sources of ice around Boston. Some ice came from the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers in Maine, but most centered around Fresh Pond
Fresh Pond, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Fresh Pond is a reservoir and park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to the Pond's use exclusively as a reservoir, its ice had been harvested by Boston's "Ice King", Frederic Tudor, and others, for shipment to North American cities and to tropical areas around the world.Fresh Pond Reservation...
, Cambridge; Smith's Pond, Arlington; Spy Pond
Spy Pond
Spy Pond, also known as Spie Pond in the 17th & 18th centuries, is a kettle hole pond located near the heart of Arlington, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Minuteman Bikeway.-History:-Geological history:...
, Arlington; Sandy Pond, Ayer; Horn Pond, Woburn; Lake Quannapowitt
Lake Quannapowitt
Lake Quannapowitt is one of two main lakes in Wakefield, Massachusetts, the other being the manmade Crystal Lake. Lake Quannapowitt is a popular setting for walkers, joggers, bikers, and in-line skaters off Route 128 in Middlesex County. It is the site of many organized races from 5Ks to Ultra...
, Spot Pond and Doleful Pond in Stoneham
Stoneham, Massachusetts
Stoneham is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population was 21,437 at the 2010 census, down from 22,219 in 2000. The town is the birthplace of Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan and is the home of the Stone Zoo.- History :...
, Wakefield; Haggett's Pond, Andover; Suntaug Lake, Lynnfield, Wenham Lake
Wenham Lake
Wenham Lake is a lake located in Wenham and Beverly, Massachusetts. In the 19th century the lake was famous for its ice, harvested and transported by ship throughout the world. It was reputed to be Queen Victoria's favorite...
, Wenham and Jamaica Pond
Jamaica Pond
Jamaica Pond is a kettle pond, part of the Emerald Necklace of parks in Boston designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The pond and park are in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, close to the border of Brookline...
in Jamaica Plain where, in 1880, there were 22 icehouses storing 30,000 tons of ice.
In the winter of 1846-47, Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
watched a crew of Tudor's ice cutters at work on Walden Pond
Walden Pond
Walden Pond is a 31-metre-deep lake in Massachusetts . It is in area and around, located in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States...
and recorded these remarks in his journal: The sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well. . . . The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.
Wenham Lake ice in particular became world-famous for its clarity, and graced the tables of the aristocracy of plush London society. Tudor founded the Wenham Lake Ice Company
Wenham Lake Ice Company
The Wenham Lake Ice Company, operating out of Wenham Lake in Wenham, Massachusetts, USA, harvested ice and exported it all around the world before the advent of factory-made ice. Wenham-lake ice was awarded a royal warrant from Queen Victoria....
to promote this demand. It is said without undue exaggeration that no dinner party in London was considered complete without ice from Wenham Lake.
Tudor family and Nahant
The Tudors were a Boston BrahminBoston Brahmin
Boston Brahmins are wealthy Yankee families characterized by a highly discreet and inconspicuous life style. Based in and around Boston, they form an integral part of the historic core of the East Coast establishment...
family. The Ice King inherited his family's grounds in Nahant, Massachusetts
Nahant, Massachusetts
Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,632 at the 2000 census. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by area in the state...
. In 1825, after constructing his summer cottage in the center of town, he began a lifelong campaign to plant trees on treeless Nahant. By 1832 he had 3,358 trees growing in his nursery and within two years he had some 4,000 trees in cultivation, offering them to summer residents for free if they would plant them on their properties. The family grounds are now the Nahant Country Club.
Frederic Tudor was a child of William Tudor
William Tudor
William Tudor was a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston. His eldest son William Tudor became a leading literary figure in Boston...
(1750—1819), a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston, and Delia Jarvis Tudor. Frederic's father also served as a Representative of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
(1781—94), State Senator (1801—02), and Secretary of the Commonwealth (1808—09), and was a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
, whose first meeting was held in his house in Boston.
Frederic Tudor's older brother William
William Tudor (1779-1830)
William Tudor was a leading citizen of Boston, sometime literary man, and cofounder of the North American Review and the Boston Athenaeum. It was Tudor who christened Boston The Athens of America in an 1819 letter...
was a leading citizen of Boston, sometime literary man, and co-founder of the North American Review
North American Review
The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...
and the Boston Athenaeum. William Tudor christened Boston "The Athens of America" in an 1819 letter.
Frederic married Euphemia Fenno (April 6, 1814, Mount Upton, New York
Mount Upton, New York
Mount Upton is a hamlet on the Unadilla River in the town of Guilford in Chenango County, New York, United States....
— March 9, 1884, Newbury, Vermont
Newbury (town), Vermont
Newbury is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,955 at the 2000 census. Newbury includes the villages of Newbury, Center Newbury, West Newbury, South Newbury, Boltonville, Peach Four Corners, and Wells River.-History:...
). Frederic Tudor's oldest son, Frederic (February 11, 1845 — Boston 1902), was an 1867 graduate of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and a member of one of the first graduating classes at St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
. The Ice King's second son, William, was also a graduate of St. Paul's School.
The younger Frederic was the grandfather of the 20th century watercolorist and book illustrator Tasha Tudor. (Frederic's daughter Rosamond married William Starling Burgess
William Starling Burgess
William Starling Burgess was a yacht designer, aviation pioneer, and naval architect.-Biography:William Starling Burgess was born in Boston. He was the son of Edward Burgess who died when Starling was 12. Starling attended Milton Academy and Harvard University. He was a partner in Burgess &...
). She was born in Boston in 1915 and named Starling Burgess for her father. She styled herself as Tasha Tudor and published under that name.
Further reading
- The Ice King: Frederic Tudor and His Circle, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, and Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut. 2003.
- The Frozen-Water Trade: A True Story, Gavin Weightman, Hyperion, 2003, 247 pp.
- Ice House and Ice Industry Bibliography
External links
- Ice Trade, 2003 NPR segment, featuring Gavin Weightman, author of The Frozen Water Trade
- "Cool Customer: Frederic Tudor and the Frozen Water Trade" - Failure Magazine, April 2003
- "2004 National History Day 1st Place Documentary: Frederic Tudor and the Massachusetts Ice Exchange" - 10 min. award-winning video, by Robert Griffin, Nick Hamlin, Eric Lundquist
- The Ice Trade between America and India, from The Mechanics' Magazine (1836)
- Varnam post on The Forgotten American Ice Trade - Indian perspective on the ice trade with Calcutta
- Indian perspective on the ice trade, and links - Maddy's Ramblings
- American Heritage Magazine article on the ice trade - Compiled from archival sources
- Jamaica Pond Ice Houses and Trade
- Map of ice houses along the Kennebec River, 1891 - Maine Memory Network
- White Gold, Maine Public Broadcasting 5:16 min. video segment on ice industry