Overview
The Hale family of Dover, New Hampshire, engaged in retail trade, shipbuilding, and farming in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Hale family business records, dated 1787-1886, primarily contain ledgers, journals and daybooks, cash books, and letter books of Dover, New Hampshire, merchant William Hale, Jr., and the partnership of his father and uncle, Samuel & William Hale.
Dates
- Creation: 1787-1886
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1818-1856
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information regarding access procedures.
Extent
7.5 linear feet (54 volumes)The Hale family business records, dated 1787-1886, primarily contain ledgers, journals and daybooks, cash books, and letter books of Dover, New Hampshire, merchant William Hale, Jr., and the partnership of his father and uncle, Samuel & William Hale. The bulk of the collection consists of the records of a store in Dover operated by George Piper (1797-1881) and William Hale, Jr., which dealt in general merchandise in the 1820s, and by 1835, specialized in hardware with Hale as the sole proprietor. There are also records from William Hale, Jr.'s other business ventures, including fifteen ledgers and daybooks of the Bellamy Grist Mill in Dover. The Samuel & William Hale daybooks document sales of molasses, rum, sugar, and other commodities from a general store in Barrington, New Hampshire. One ledger containing legal fees is attributed to William Hale, Sr., but includes accounts of the estate of his brother John Hale (1762-1796; Harvard AB 1779), who was an attorney in Portsmouth and may have been the creator.
Biographical / Historical
The Hale family of Dover, New Hampshire, engaged in retail trade, shipbuilding, and farming in the 18th and 19th centuries. William Hale (1765-1848) and Samuel Hale (1758-1828) were born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Mary Wright and Samuel Hale (1719-1807; Harvard AB 1740). They established the business of Samuel & William Hale, operating a general store in Barrington, New Hampshire, in the late 1780s, which traded in dry goods, lumber, rum, molasses, tea, and tobacco. The brothers also owned a shipyard in Dover. William Hale served as a United States Representative (1809-1811; 1813-1817), invested in real estate in New Hampshire, and was a shareholder in the Cocheco Manufacturing Co. Hale married Lydia Rollins, and they had six children who lived to adulthood, including William Hale, Jr. (1804-1877), who also became a merchant in Dover, operating a general store and later specializing in hardware.
Physical Location
MANU
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Hale family business records were received by Baker Library Special Collection as a donation from James C. Sawyer in 1944.
Processing Information
Processed: August 2018
By: Brooke McManus
Preservation and description of the 18th century material in the collection were supported by the Colonial North America at Harvard Library Project.
Subject
- Hale, William (1765-1848) (Person)
- Hale, William (1804-1877) (Person)
- Hale, John (1762-1796) (Person)
- Hale, Samuel (1758-1828) (Person)
Source
- Samuel & William Hale (Firm) (Organization)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- bak00655
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.
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