Table of Contents

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Grinnell Family Papers

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Biographical Note

Cornelius Grinnell (1758-1850), the progenitor of the Grinnell family of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was a prominent New Bedford whaling captain and merchant. His son, Joseph Grinnell (1788-1885), began as a clerk for his father in New Bedford and by 1810 had started his own commission merchant firm, known as Fish & Grinnell, in New York City, N.Y., in partnership with Preserved Fish (1766-1846). Initially concerned with handling the oil and candle business of New Bedford merchants, the firm later branched out into other lines including packet ships to London and Liverpool, England. Upon Fish's retirement from the firm in 1825, Joseph Grinnell's brothers, Henry Grinnell (1799-1874) and Moses Hicks Grinnell (1803-1877), joined the company under the name of Fish, Grinnell & Company. The firm was reorganized again in 1832 when Joseph Grinnell retired and Robert Bowne Minturn (1805-1866), Henry Grinnell's brother-in-law, joined as a partner in Grinnell, Minturn & Company. The company then expanded into general shipping to Latin America, Cuba, China, and England. Joseph returned to New Bedford to begin his own shipping business.

Another son of Cornelius Grinnell, Cornelius Grinnell Jr. (1786-1830), learned the commission business in New York but returned to New Bedford to raise sheep. His son, Lawrence Grinnell (1811-1893), entered business as a clerk in the offices of Fish & Grinnell. He, too, returned to New Bedford where he opened a sperm oil and candle factory, later entering the insurance business.

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Scope and Content Note

The bulk of material in this collection reflects the mercantile activities of Grinnell, Minturn & Company and its predecessors, from 1810-1892. These records encompass financial records, 1810-1841, 1884; legal documents, 1830-1843, including bills of sale for fractional interest in the ships Ceres and New England and for oil on board the Joseph Maxwell (Ship); incoming and outgoing business correspondence with William Phillips & Son and George R. Phillips, commission merchants at New Bedford, Mass., concerning the price of oil and the state of the oil market, 1821-1892; and a telegraphic key, 1877. Another substantial portion of material reflects the business activities of Joseph Grinnell and consists of incoming business correspondence, including letters from his relative, Preserved Fish, asking for Grinnell's assistance in his capacity as deputy collector of customs for the port of New Bedford, 1799-1861; financial records, 1829-1855; ship's papers, including bills of sale for fractional interests and insurance policies on cargo and catchings for such vessels as the ships Oneida and Persia; and an agreement, 1834. Other family members represented by correspondence, bills, ship's papers, and similar materials dating 1814-1859, are Cornelius Grinnell; his nephew, Charles Grinnell; Joseph Grinnell's brothers, Moses Hicks Grinnell and Cornelius Grinnell Jr.; Cornelius Grinnell Jr.'s sons, Lawrence and Francis Grinnell; and Elisha P. Grinnell.

Printed works which provide additional information on the Grinnell family and Grinnell, Minturn & Company are Ancestry Of The Grinnell Family (1931) and Howland Heirs (1919) by William M. Emery and South Street: A Maritime History Of New York (1934) by Richard C. McKay.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 50, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Individual items in this collection were given to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society by Mrs. Orin Q. Flint Sr. on 27 April 1935, and by William C. Phillips on 15 November 1938. Existing records reveal neither the source nor the accession date for the bulk of the material.

Processing Information

Processed by: Barbara E. Austen, ca. 1982

Encoded by: Kermit Dewey, 03 April 2012; box list appended by Mark Procknik, 09 April 2012

Funds for processing this collection were provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Description

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Subject Headings

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Vessel Names

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