Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/167

Rh owned several ships and brigantines. lie took a decided part in seeking redress from the Britisli ministry for wrongs done to American shipping by English privateers. From 1769 till 1773 he was a member of the general court, in 1774, 1776, and 1777 a member of the governor's council. In 1774-'5, his son Richard was a delegate to the Provincial congress. In the narrative of the march of Leslie to Salem it is related that Capt. Derby was owner of some of the cannon that Col. Leslie desired to seize. Meeting the old gentle- man before his house in Salem, he demanded the surrender of the cannon, and " urged him to de- liver them up without resistance." Derby's reply was as significant as that of the old Spartan : " Find them, if you can ! take them, if you can ! they will never be surrendered ! " His widow founded the Derby academy, at Hingham. His eldest son, Richard, was an ardent patriot ; and another of his sons, John Derby, was an owner of the ship "Columbia," which, on her second voyage, discovered Columbia river. By a remark- able concurrence of events, and by the uncom- mon speed of two ships, owned by his father and brother, he carried to England the first news of the battle of Lexington, returned to Salem with the first intelligence of the effect it produced in London, which he laid before Gen. Washington, at Cambridge, and at the close of the war brought to America from France the first news of peace. — His son, Elias Hasket, merchant, b. in Salem, Mass., 16 Aug., 1739; d. there, 8 Sept., 1799. In early life he kept the books and conducted the cor- respondence of his father, and he seems to have been the accountant of his family. From 1760 till 1775 he not only took charge of the books, wharves, and other property, but, imbibing the spirit of his father, and acquiring through him and his captains a knowledge of commerce, he engaged extensively in trade with the English and French islands. He made important improvements in ship- building, and warmly espoused the cause of the colonists. He loaned the government a large pro- portion of the supplies for the army, furnished boats for tlie troops, furnished the French fleet with coal, arid was the leader in building a frigate for the nation. He was also extensively and suc- cessfully engaged in privateering against British commerce. As tlie war progressed, he established ship-yards, studied naval architecture, and built a class of vessels superior in size, model, and speed to any previously launched in the colonies, which were able to cope with a British sloop-of-war. He united with his townsmen in the equipment of 158 private armed vessels fitted out at Salem, mounting more than 2,000 guns. In 1784 he opened the trade to St. Petersburg, and from 1785 till 1799 there is record of his sending at least 37 different vessels on 125 voyages, of which 45 were to the East Indies or China. In 1791 he embarked in the regular trade with India, and is called the father of Amer- ican commerce with that country. After this his ships made many voyages to foreign ports. He first displayed the American flag before the fortress of Calcutta, and his were the first American ships that carried cargoes of cotton from Bombay to China. In 1798, under President John Adams, a navy was begun, and Mr. Derby contributed $10,000 of the $75,000 raised by citizens at once. Its establishment was the result of JNlr. Derby's advice to the president and congress, which body in June passed an act authorizing the president to accept such vessels as citizens might build for the national service, and to issue a six-per-cent stock to indemnify the subscribers. Though the war seriously impaired the trade and fortunes of ship-owners, yet at Mr. Derby's death he left an estate that exceeded $1,000,000, supposed to be the largest fortune in this country during the last cen- tury; but he had contributed still more to the growth of his town, state, and the commerce of his country. His mansion, which he had occupied but a few months previous to his death, required an expensive style of living, and in consequence many of the buildings and gardens were closed for years after his death, and finally gave way to the Salem square and market-space that now bear the name of Derby. — His eldest son, Elias Hasket, Jr., mer- chant, b. in Salem, Mass., 10 Jan., 1766 ; d. in Lon- donderry, N. H., 16 Sept., 1826. His father showed high appreciation of his services, as having, by two important voyages, contributed largely to his for- tune — the one to the isle of France, the other to Naples. For ten years after his father's death he occupied the paternal mansion, but, finding his for- tune impaired by the requirements of its luxurious appointments and the adverse course of trade, he resumed business. On one A^oyage from London to Lisbon he found that large flocks of merino sheep had crossed the mountains to escape the French armies, and determined to take a flock to the United States. Until this period the export of merinos had been prohibited in Spain. The wool of this country was so coarse that an English traveller had predicted it would never rival England in cloth. Gen. Derby embarked with a flock of 1,100 meri- nos of the Montarco breed, and in 1811 landed them in New York, whence they were sent to his farm, " Ten Hills," near Boston. During the war he es- tablished the first broadcloth loom ever erected in the state. He remained a year in the isle of France in charge of his father's vessel, and was the first to display our ensign in the ports of Bombay and Calcutta, establishing the trade in those parts. After a residence of three years in India, the result of one of his voyages was a profit of $100,000 to his father. Soon afterward he sent a ship on the first voyage from the United States to Mocha, in the Red Sea. The children of the senior Elias Hasket completed the Derby wharf in Salem, extending it 2,000 feet into the harbor, contributed largely to the construction of a bridge and avenue, and levelled and improved the oommon. He received an honorary degree from Harvard university in 1803. — His eldest son, Elias Hasket, lawver, b. in Salem, Mass., 24 Sept., 1808; d. in Boston, Mass., 30 March, 1880, was graduated with high honors at Harvard in 1824, studied law with Daniel Webster, began practice in Boston in 1827, and attained reputation as a railroad attorney. Before legislative committees he encountered successfully the ablest counsel of the state, and secured the extension of many important lines of road. To his unremitting efforts was largely due the construction and completion of the Hoosac tunnel. He was also zealous in his efforts to secure the construction of iron-clad vessels during the civil war, and was active in promoting the commercial interests of Boston. As U. S. commissioner in 1867, Mr. Derby transmitted to Sec. Seward an exhaustive report on the relations of the United States with the British provinces and the condition of the question of the fisheries. It was largely through his efforts that the use of jute was introduced into the United States. He was the author of " Two Months Abroad " (Boston, 1844); "Catholic Letters" (Boston, 1856); "The Overland Route to the Pacific," and numerous articles in periodicals and newspapers, some of them under the pen-name of " Massachusetts." — Oeorge, sanitarian, nephew of Elias Hasket, Jr.,