Joseph Peabody was an American mariner, merchant and shipowner. He was also a Revolutionary War privateer officer.
Background
Joseph Peabody was born on December 12, 1757 in Middleton, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. He was descended from Francis Peabody who emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1635 and settled at Topsfield, about ten miles from Salem. Joseph Peabody was the ninth of the twelve children of Francis Peabody, a farmer, and Margaret (Knight) Peabody.
Career
A youth at the time of the outbreak of the Revolution, Joseph Peabody marched toward Lexington with the Boxford minute-men but they arrived too late for the battle. He then served aboard the Salem privateers Bunker Hill and Pilgrim. Determined to follow the sea, he realized that education was necessary for advancement, so he spent a year ashore studying at Middleton with his future father-in-law, the Rev. Elias Smith. He served for a brief period in the militia without seeing action, and then went to sea again on the privateer Fishhawk, which was captured. Exchanged after being imprisoned at St. John's, Newfoundland, he became second officer on the letter-of-marque Ranger. One night as the ship lay in the Potomac laden with Alexandria flour, she was attacked by a band of Loyalists who outnumbered the crew three to one. Peabody, in his nightshirt, led so spirited a defense that they were beaten off, though he was severely wounded. At the close of the war he was captain of a Salem merchantman and before long purchased the schooner Three Friends which he commanded for several years in the West Indian and European trade.
By 1791 Joseph Peabody had amassed enough money to come ashore and engage as a merchant shipowner. From small beginnings he built up a tremendous business under his single control. He owned a large number of vessels, some of which were built to his order and all of which he freighted and operated. He did considerable business with the Baltic, Mediterranean, and West Indies, but his richest ventures were with India, China, and what Morison terms the "Salem East Indies, " dealing in indigo, opium, tea, pepper, and similar products of that region. His little Sumatra of 287 tons paid more than $400, 000 in duties in three years. His favorite ship, the 328-ton George had been built in 1814 for privateering, with unusually fast lines. He bought her at a bargain for $5, 250. Between 1816 and 1837 she made twenty voyages to Calcutta and one to Gibraltar, the total duties amounting to $651, 743. 32. It is likely that the profits were fully equal to the duties. She brought more than half of the 1, 500, 000 pounds of indigo which Peabody imported from Calcutta between 1807 and 1840. It is said that Peabody employed altogether between 6, 500 and 7, 000 seamen.
Joseph Peabody was a generous employer, always ready to reward merit, and thirty-five who entered his service as boys rose to be masters of ships. Practically his only ship to come to grief was the Friendship, the crew of which were massacred by the natives at Quallah Battoo in the East Indies, leading to punitive measures by the U. S. S. Potomac. He was loyal to Salem even at the expense of profit, building his ships in Salem yards instead of to the eastward, and bringing his cargoes to Salem to be distributed along the coast instead of sending them to the larger markets at Boston or New York.
Joseph Peabody was a director of the Salem Iron Works but confined himself chiefly to shipping. His wealth was immense for the day, and he paid annual taxes of some $200, 000. Peabody's reputation was such that his credit, it is said, was equal to the government's. He was so fair in his dealings that he never resorted to litigation. In charity, he was generous but unostentatious. In spite of a hasty temper, he generally maintained the dignified reserve reflected in his portrait. He was a devout member of the Unitarian Church. He took no part in politics. In 1812 he helped to frame Salem's petition against war, but once war was declared, supported the government. Joseph Peabody died on January 5, 1844.
Achievements
Connections
Joseph Peabody married Catherine Smith, daughter of his old tutor, on August 28, 1791. After her death two years later, Peabody married her sister Elizabeth on October 24, 1795, living very happily with her for nearly a half century. He had six sons and one daughter.