Contributed by Patten Free Library
Description
This deed documents the 1806 transfer of a "water lot" from William King, Denny McCobb and John Richardson to William P. Ledyard and Edward S. Palmer, Merchants. This lot was on the north side of Union Wharf, an extension of Union Street out into the Kennebec River, on the south side of Bath. This was one block from the the city's first central business district at the foot of South Street. In 1806, Union Street had only been accepted by the town for one year. Building stores on wharves was taking advantage of the primary "highway" of the period, the river. [Front Street, the heart of Bath's current downtown had only been accepted since 1802, with its first bridge at the foot of Elm connecting Shaw's Point to the rest of the community.] In the deed, William P. Ledyard and Edward S. Palmer are assuming the ownership of the lot on which they had already built a store in cooperation with the proprietors of the wharf. The legal description includes references to both Water Street, where this street no longer exists, having been engulfed by the twentieth-century expansion of Bath Iron Works, and the foundation or cob-work that supports the wharf.
Members of the Ledyard and Palmer families remained business partners in the dry goods business for some 70+ years. Edward S. Palmer died suddenly in his late twenties in 1809, while William P. Ledyard died in 1812 at the age of 38. The business appears to have passed to Edward's brother Asa Palmer who also was the father of William P. Ledyard's wife Mercy and named guardian of the young children. Later generations of Ledyards including still another William and a James would join Gershom and Henry Palmer in business.
Transcription
About This Item
- Title: Deed: William King to Ledyard and Palmer, Bath, 1806
- Creator: William King
- Creation Date: 1806-11-25
- Subject Date: 1806-11-25
- Location: Bath, Sagadahoc County, ME
- Media: Ink on paper
- Dimensions: 36.2 cm x 23.8 cm
- Local Code: PFL BHS 2001.13.1
- Collection: Bath Historical Society
- Object Type: Text
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
People
- King, William
- Ledyard, James C.
- Ledyard, William P.
- McCobb, Denny
- Palmer, Asa C.
- Palmer, Edward S.
- Palmer, Gershom
- Palmer, Henry
- Palmer, Mercy
- Richardson, John
Other Keywords
For more information about this item, contact:
Patten Free Library33 Summer Street, Bath, ME 04530
(207) 443-5141
Website
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