Shipwrights in Essex
At first the boat builders of Essex were just fishermen who needed to build their own boats. During those Colonial times, men and women worked together to sustain the family. Their wives and children along with extended family sustained the working of the farms growing sea wheat, vegetables, and keeping animals. Usually men only went fishing in summer months, and stayed closer to home.
At first the boat builders of Essex were just fishermen who needed to build their own boats. During those Colonial times, men and women worked together to sustain the family. Their wives and children along with extended family sustained the working of the farms growing sea wheat, vegetables, and keeping animals. Usually men only went fishing in summer months, and stayed closer to home.
But as time passed and demand grew for their well-built Essex ships, they could work on building boats all year. Their wives might support them in book keeping or other tasks at the shipyard, but traditionally they were responible for raising the children and managing the household. In some locales women also helped by making rope, mending nets or weaving cloth for sails for the ships, before those skills were taken over by machines and factory mills |
With their growing businesses, shipbuilders could afford to build large houses and many are still standing in Essex. Any business done with captains who were ordering a new ship would be conducted in their parlors, where their wives might socialize along with them. These include the Epes Story House at 25 Main Street, which is now home to the Essex Historical Society.[1]
All Hand-Made... The shipwright designs the ship and depending on how big it will be, many different people contribute to it being built. In 19th century Essex, people would often make even the smallest parts like wooden nails and cloth goods at home to sell to shipbuilders. Even today, building wooden boats is a long and involved process. |
The community that helped Ebenezer Burnham build the Ada K Damon left behind a large number of documents that tell us about their daily lives and their shipbuilding.
Over 500 plans of Essex built vessels survive and are a treasured part of our maritime heritage. Maintaining the historical arts and craftsmanship of boatbuilding is an essential part of the rich maritime history of Massachusetts. |
Sources
[1] Essex Historical Society, https://historicmassachusetts.org/essex/
[1] Essex Historical Society, https://historicmassachusetts.org/essex/