Vault A45, Stow, Unit 1
Lease, Nathan and Cyrus Stow to Ebenezer Hubbard, for "yellow shop" formerly used by John Thoreau and Company, 1828 (with annotation of receipt of payment, 1829).
EXTENT: 33 items (1 container)
ORGANIZATION: Organized into five series: I. Ebenezer Stow papers; II. Nathan Stow (1744 or 1745-1810) papers; III. Nathan (1783-1831) and Cyrus Stow papers; IV. Cyrus Stow papers; V. Papers of Mary (Polly) Barrett Stow and of Lydia B. Stow.
BIOGRAPHY: Family of Concord, Mass. Thomas Stow, the original Stow settler in Concord, arrived before 1640. Ebenezer Stow, currier, cordwainer, and owner of a farm on Lexington Road, flourished from about 1740. Ebenezer’s son Nathan (1744 or 1745-1810) inherited the Lexington Road property from his father. Nathan, quartermaster and lieutenant during the Revolution, was a butcher, school teacher (in winter) from the 1770s to the 1790s, and, in old age, a maker and mender of boots and shoes. Nathan married Abigail Meriam (Merriam) in 1780. Their children: Abigail; Nathan (1783-1831); Rebecca (Nathan’s twin; married Nathaniel Hapgood of Acton, 1810); Cyrus (1787-1876). Nathan, son of Nathan, married Mary (Polly) Barrett of Bedford in 1814. Their children: Mary (born 1816); Lydia B. (born 1817); Harriett (born 1821); Nathan Brooks (born 1822); Sarah (born 1824); Caroline (born 1827). Cyrus married Matilda Wyman in 1843; they had no children. Nathan and Cyrus were partners in business. They worked as butchers on the family farm on Lexington Road, their cousin Ephraim Meriam (Merriam) joining them. They left the farm for Walden Street around 1813, eventually selling it to Sampson Mason (1832). The Stows, who added soap and candle manufacture to their business, achieved a position of financial security and public respect. During the 1820s, the Town of Concord contracted with them and with their cousin Ephraim Meriam to care for the town’s poor in exchange for the use of the Hugh Cargill farm and for a financial consideration. Around 1821, Cyrus became involved with Charles Dunbar (J.C. Dunbar; brother of Mrs. John Thoreau and uncle of Henry David Thoreau) in the mining of plumbago in Bristol, N.H., for use in pencil manufacture. (The building used by Dunbar and Stow for pencilmaking in Concord was later used by John Thoreau and Company, eventually leased to Ebenezer Hubbard, and finally moved to become a part of the Reynolds/Everett/Tuttle house on the corner of Walden and Everett). Cyrus Stow was Selectman, Assessor, and Town Clerk in Concord, a benefactor of the town, a member of the Social Circle in Concord from 1832 to 1871, and a Representative to the Massachusetts legislature in 1835 and 1836.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Papers, 1740-1862, of four generations of the Stow family. Ebenezer Stow papers, 1740-1768, consist of six deeds (John Fox, Thomas Monroe, Jonathan Ball, Jonas Minot(t), Ephraim Hartwell, and Thomas Jones to Ebenezer Stow) and will. Nathan (1744 or 1745-1810) Stow papers, 1766-1812, contain: military appointments; receipt for payment by "State of Massachusetts Bay" for "supporting Alexander Calder a prisoner of war and family"; Nathan Stow’s military record and account book, including mileages and innkeepers on march to Ticonderoga, 1776, Committee of Safety records (with references to Tory Daniel Bliss and his land), and later financial accounts generated by teaching school, boot- and shoemaking, etc., 1776-1794; deeds; Benjamin Prescott accounts and receipt; and will. Nathan (1783-1831) and Cyrus Stow papers, 1813-1829, consist of: memorandum book recording promissory notes; deed; agreement of Stows and Ephraim Meriam with Town of Concord for care of town poor; and two leases, including one from Stows to Ebenezer Hubbard for "yellow shop" formerly used by John Thoreau and Company. Cyrus Stow papers, 1811-1862, include: military appointment; letter, M.H. Bradley and Ichabod Bartlett to J.C. (i.e. Charles Jones) Dunbar and Cyrus Stow, forbidding digging across land in Bristol, N.H.; letter, Nathaniel G. Upham to Samuel Hoar, regarding Dunbar and Stow’s rights to plumbago mine in Bristol, N.H.; two letters, Ezra Ripley to Cyrus Stow; deed, Concord Mill Dam Company to Cyrus Stow and Lorenzo Eaton; letter, Eben[ezer] Meriam to Cyrus Stow, 1862 Apr. 8, recalling Concord circa 1800 and concerning Onondaga and Oneida Indians. Papers of Mary (Polly) Barrett Stow and Lydia B. Stow, 1812-1833, include: eulogy for Deacon George Minot, copied in the manuscript hand of Polly Barrett; letter, Joseph Barrett to Mrs. Mary Stow; receipt for payment on account by Mrs. Mary Stow to Nathan Brooks; poem copied in the hand Lydia B. Stow.
PROVENANCE: Acquired by the Concord Antiquarian Society from the estate of Miss Mary S. Eaton.
SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Deposited by the Concord Antiquarian Society, 1971; converted to gift, 1974.
NOTES/COMMENTS: All items from CAS D-1193, D-1195, and D-2019.2.
PROCESSED BY: LPW; finding aid prepared 7/15/97; prepared for mounting on the Web by CM, 06/04.
CONTAINER LIST
Folder 1:
SERIES I. EBENEZER STOW PAPERS, 1740-1768 (7 items):
Deed, John Fox of Littleton to Ebenezer Stow, 1740 Oct. 22.
Deed, Thomas Monroe to Ebenezer, Stow, 1748 July 15 (annotated 1757).
Deed, Jonathan Ball to Ebenezer Stow, 1757 July 2.
Deed, Jonas Minot(t) to Ebenezer Stow, 1758 Apr. 12.
Deed, Ephraim Hartwell of Lincoln to Ebenezer Stow, 1758 Apr. 27.
Deed, Thomas Jones to Ebenezer Stow, 1764 Jan. 9.
Will of Ebenezer Stow, "A true Copy of Record," 1768 Oct. 15.
Folder 2:
SERIES II. NATHAN STOW (1744 or 1745-1810) PAPERS, 1776-1812 (10 items):
Appointment of Nathan Stow to Quartermaster, Lincoln regiment of foot, 1776 Jan. 23.
Appointment of Nathan Stow to Lieutenant, "to reinforce the army in… Canada," 1776 Aug. 7.
Receipt for payment by "State of Massachusetts Bay" to Nathan Stow, for "supporting Alexander Calder a prisoner of war and family" (including lying-in of wife), 1777 Aug. 28.
Nathan Stow’s military record and account book, including record of mileages and innkeepers on march to Ticonderoga, 1776, Committee of Safety records (including references to Tory Daniel Bliss and his land), and later accounts generated by teaching school, boot- and shoemaking, etc., 1776-1794.
Deed, Nathan Stow to Phineas Lawrence of Waltham for wood and tillage land called "Poland" in easterly part of Concord, 1787 Apr. 19 (recorded 1787 June 5).
Will of Nathan Stow, 1804 Jan 10.
Account of Benjamin Prescott with Nathan Stow, 1803-1804.
Account of Benjamin Prescott with Nathan Stow, 1804-1805.
Deed to land in Croydon, N.H., Nathan Stow to children Nathan, Abigail, and Rebecca, 1805 Nov 2.
Receipt for payment by Benjamin Prescott to [estate of] Nathan Stow, receipted by Nathan’s son Cyrus, 1812 Jan. 10.
Folder 3:
SERIES III. NATHAN (1783-1831) AND CYRUS STOW PAPERS, 1813-1829 (5 items):
Memorandum Book/Note Book of Nathan and Cyrus Stow, recording promissory notes, 1813-1814.
Deed to land in easterly part of Concord called "Poland" to Nathan and Cyrus Stow, 1819 Jan 18 (witnessed 1819 Jan. 28).
Agreement, Nathan and Cyrus Stow and Ephraim Meriam with the Town of Concord, regarding care of town poor, 1820 June 1.
Lease, Mary Heywood to Nathan and Cyrus Stow and Ephraim Meriam, 1820 (with annotations of receipt of payment, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823).
Lease, Nathan and Cyrus Stow to Ebenezer Hubbard, for "yellow shop" formerly used by John Thoreau and Company, 1828 (with annotation of receipt of payment, 1829).
Folder 4:
SERIES IV. CYRUS STOW PAPERS, 1811-1862 (7 items):
Appointment of Cyrus Stow to Ensign, 1811 Sept 10.
Letter, M.H. Bradley and Ichabod Bartlett to J.C. Dunbar (brother of Mrs. John Thoreau) and Cyrus Stow, forbidding digging across land in Bristol, N.H., 1824 Apr. 10 (or Apr. 16?) (relating to rights of plumbago mine).
Letter, Nathaniel G. Upham to Mr. [Samuel] Hoar, via Cyrus Stow, regarding rights to plumbago mine in Bristol, N.H., 1824 May 21.
Letter, Ezra Ripley to Cyrus Stow as Chairman of Selectmen of Concord, 1836 Sept. 27.
Letter, Ezra Ripley to Cyrus Stow, 1838 Dec. [--?].
Deed, Concord Mill Dam Company to Cyrus Stow and Lorenzo Eaton, 1843 July 12 (recorded 1847 Jan 21).
Letter, Eben Meriam to Cyrus Stow, Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., 1862 Apr. 8 (recalling Concord ca. 1800 and after and regarding Onondaga and Oneida Indians).
Folder 5:
SERIES V . PAPERS OF MARY (POLLY) BARRETT STOW (WIFE OF NATHAN STOW (1783-1831) ) AND OF LYDIA B. STOW (DAUGHTER OF NATHAN AND MARY BARRETT STOW), 1812-1833 (4 items):
Eulogy for Deacon George Minot (d. 1808 Apr. 12), in manuscript hand of Polly Barrett, dated 1812 Feb. 6.
Letter, Joseph Barrett to Mrs. Mary Stow, n.d.
Receipt for payment on account by Mrs. Mary Stow to Nathan Brooks, 1833 Apr. 15.
"God’s image in his works, written by D.H. Howard at 12 years of age," manuscript poem copied in hand of Lydia B. Stow, n.d.
Mounted 19th June. 2004 -- Webmaster note: use FrontPage to edit.
c2004.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the Concord Free Public Library.