Barrell, Joseph

Person

Dates

Existence: 1739 - 1804

Biography

Joseph Barrell (1739-1804) was a Boston, Massachusetts merchant and importer of commodities including spices, velvet, silk, canvas, rum, and wine. He helped finance the voyages of the ship Columbia, and the sloop Lady Washington, which sailed in September 1787, bound for the Northwest Pacific Coast, where the crew was to acquire sea otter fur, which would be traded in China for tea. The Columbia returned in the fall of 1790, becoming the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. The ship made the same journey in 1791. In 1792, Joseph Barrell contracted Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844) to design a a country home, Pleasant Hill, in Charlestown, which later was the location of McLean Asylum. In 1794, Joseph Barrell retired and passed the business on to his son, Joseph Barrell (1765-1801), who partered with John Box Hoskins (1768-1824?) to create the firm of Barrell & Hoskins, which continued to operate after the younger Barrell's death. John Box Hoskins also accompanied the ship Columbia during her second voyage to China in 1791-1793.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Barrell & Company account books

FOUND IN: Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School

Collection Identifier: Mss:766 1770-1803 B271

Scope and Contents: Collection consists of seven volumes dated 1770-1803 recording business transactions of Boston, Massachusetts, importer Joseph Barrell (1739-1804) and his son Joseph Barrell, Jr. (1765-1801), who succeeded his father in business, in a partnership with John Box Hoskins (1768-1824?) in 1794. Barrell & Hoskins continued to operate after the death of the younger Barrell in 1801, and volumes contain both accounts for the company and personal accounts for the Barrell family. Volume one is a...