Plymouth memories of an octogenarian

by William T. Davis

The next building at the head of Davis wharf contained for many years prior to 1826 the counting room of my grandfather, William Davis, who died, January 5, in that year. After a short occupation by William Spooner, it was in 1832 occupied as a store by George Cooper. For several years before that date, and many years after 1833, Mr. Cooper was employed as a clerk, and as far as I know, was never concerned in navigation. His occupation of the store was short, and he was succeeded by Elisha Whiting and Bartlett Holmes, Jr., and William Davis Simmons and others, until it came into the possession of Jesse R. Atwood, whose son, Anthony Atwood, now occupies it for a fish market. Mr. Cooper died April 29, 1864.

Elkanah Bartlett kept a store at the northerly corner of Carver’s, now Craig’s wharf, until his death. John Darling Churchill was connected as clerk, and in other ways with Mr. Bartlett, for many years, and succeeded him in business. Mr. Churchill, like Mr. Bartlett, was engaged in the Grand Bank fishery, and with Nathaniel E. Harlow, owned the schooners Conanchet, Engineer, Oronoco and Wampatuck.

William Nye had a store a little back from the street between Carver’s wharf and Barnes’ wharf, where he bought and sold old iron and junk. My associations with his store are among the pleasantest of my youth, for there by the sale of old iron, which I most assiduously picked up for two or three weeks before that holiday which was so delightful to all boys, the old election day, I found the wherewithal for the holiday feast, which was held in the barn or carriage house of some one of our families, and consisted of election cake and lobster and lemonade in the morning, followed by a stomach ache in the afternoon. The town baker always made up a good batch of election cake or buns, for the occasion, and these articles formed as important a part in the diet of the day as succotash on Forefathers’ day. Mr. Nye would gather for his business at election time, a bag of bright new cents, and would tempt the æsthetic taste of the boys by asking them if they would take one bright cent or two dull ones. No day, not even Thanksgiving day, has such a firm seat in my memory as the old election day. It was the day of the meeting of the General Court, which until 1832, occurred on the third Wednesday in May. Mr. Nye lived in a house at the southerly end of Water street, which stood on the site of the house built and occupied by the late Rufus Churchill, who married one of his daughters. Mr. Nye came to Plymouth from Sandwich, and died February 25, 1849, and after his death, his house was moved across the street, where it now stands.

Alonzo D. Scudder, who came to Plymouth from Barnstable, began business in Water street with Lemuel B. Churchill for the sale of grain and flour, but precisely where their store was I cannot say. The partnership continued only a short time, and in 1833 Mr. Scudder became a partner with his father-in-law, Richard Holmes. He died as already stated, April 5, 1853, and Mr. Churchill died December 30, 1833.

Atwood L. Drew, I think, occupied a store, in 1832, in the basement of his father’s house, near the corner of Leyden street, and was quite extensively engaged at various times in the whale and Grand Bank fisheries, and in general navigation. In 1839 he was associated as a partner with Leander Lovell, and built the store now standing at the northerly corner of Barnes’ wharf. In later life he was associated in some capacity with his brother, William Rider Drew, an enterprising and prosperous manufacturer, who is still living, and whose extensive establishment for the manufacture of tacks and rivets is situated on Smelt Brook at Rocky Nook. Mr. Drew died November 25, 1877.

The store kept by Levi Barnes as early as 1830 was one of two in the building which stood on the southerly corner of the way leading to Middle street. In the latter part of his life he occupied the store which had been occupied by Phineas Wells. He died May 14, 1853, in the house on North street which he had owned and occupied since 1835.

Chas. Bramhall, who occupied the northerly store in the building above mentioned, was the son of Benjamin Bramhall, and one of a family of enterprising sons, five of whom I knew. His brother William was a prosperous merchant in Boston, and for many years President of the Shawmut Bank, a position now occupied by our summer townsman, Jas. P. Stearns, his son-in-law. Mr. Bramhall was actively engaged in the Grand Bank fishery, and died May 29, 1859, in the house where he had lived many years, recently occupied by B. O. Strong.

Henry Tillson was a son of Hamblin Tillson, and kept a shoe store on Water street, as early as 1828, and in 1832 removed to Market street, and died December 27, 1834.

Leander Lovell’s store on Water street I cannot locate, but he was there as early as 1827, and on the tenth of November in that year his store was entered by burglars. In 1839 he was associated in business with Atwood L. Drew, and in the later years of his life was a partner with J. H. Harlow in the dry goods business in the store on Main street, now occupied by H. H. Cole. He was Town Clerk from 1852 to 1878, and as chairman of the Board of Selectmen and Moderator for many years, I am glad to put on record my appreciation of his courtesy and fidelity in the performance of his municipal duties. He came to Plymouth from Barnstable and married a daughter of Capt. James Bartlett, and died October 1, 1879.

Phineas Wells came to Plymouth from Maine, and married in 1828 Mercy, daughter of George Ellis. He opened in 1827 a grocery store which occupied the whole front of the building opposite the head of Hedge’s wharf. He was a master of his business, prudent, methodical and industrious, and so far as salesroom and storeroom were concerned, his store has never been surpassed in Plymouth. In or about 1850 he moved across the street and fitted up a store on the northerly corner of Hedge’s wharf, where he remained until 1859, when he again moved to the store at the junction of Water and Leyden streets, where he remained until his death, December 8, 1869.