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COLLECTION Identifier: Mss:733 1816-1885

Thatcher Magoun business records

Overview

Records of merchant and shipowner Thatcher Magoun and his son Thatcher Magoun, Jr., of Boston and Medford, Mass., relating to their involvement in international trade and shipping, 1816-1885.

Dates

  • Creation: 1816-1885

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.

Extent

6 linear feet (40 volumes, 11 cases, 2 boxes)

Papers of Thatcher Magoun , Sr., and Thatcher Magoun, Jr. , merchants of Boston and Medford, Mass., relating to trade in many parts of the world. Includes correspondence, journals, waste books, ledgers, invoice books, and ships’ books. The Magouns sent their ships to ports in Europe, South America , West Indies , Chincha Islands , India , Singapore , Honolulu , Manila, San Francisco , and southern ports in the United States. The commodity most extensively dealt in was guano , which they procured from the Chincha Islands and shipped to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Havre, and Great Britain.

Biographical / Historical

Thatcher Magoun in Massachusetts in 1775. He began his career as a carpenter in Boston and Salem. He eventually opened his own ship building firm and the first in Medford, Mass. on the Mystic River. He retained shares in the ships he built amasssing enough wealth to make him one of the richest men in Medford.

Physical Location

MANU

Related Materials

The Mystic Seaport Collections and Research Center in Mystic, Connecticut, also holds a collection of Thatcher Magoun records.

Author
Baker Library
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
bak00126

Repository Details

Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository

Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.

Contact:
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 01263 USA
(617) 495-6411