The Rope Maker of Boston and Samuel Adams

In 1797, Isaac Davis, a rope maker of Boston officially had his name changed. To help him stand out from the crowd of other Isaac Davises,  he added a ‘P’ to his name as a middle initial: Isaac P. Davis.

I found an official copy of his name change document, written in beautiful calligraphy in the

Library’s vast Miscellaneous Personal Name Files. Although every folder in this collection contains a human story, some yield more detail than others.

This particular document contained a couple of further surprises. Down at the bottom of the perfectly preserved parchment, it is noted that the additional ‘P’ is officially approved by Samuel Adams, Governor of Massachusetts.  According to the document, the name change was “enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled.” Samuel Adams retired from public office a few months later, in July of that year.

Isaac Davis was a successful businessman, bouncing back even after a dreadful fire destroyed his and many other buildings in 1794. Rope making, which took place in long narrow lanes called ropewalks, created an incredibly flammable environment with dry dust and fibers from hemp or cotton filling the air in close proximity to open flames used for melting tar.

I found the second surprise on the back of this document. Here, we can see what looks like a hastily written draft advertisement for Davis’s cordage business with all his corrections and crossing-outs.

I wondered about this draft and had a look in the wonderful database America’s Historical Newspapers (available onsite at all Library locations). Lo and behold, not only did I find the original publication of Davis’s advertisement, but also the full text of his name-change document, published in the Columbian Centinel.

Isn’t it tantalizing to imagine Davis at the printing house, hastily editing his advertisement on the back of his certificate copy then handing it over to be typeset and printed? I wonder if it was copied out on the spot, or did he have to call back and collect his document, perhaps entrusting the task to an apprentice? If you look closely, you can see that the business location appears as no. 68 in the newspaper, but given as no. 69 by Davis. A typo perhaps?

As an aside, I would recommend to anyone to have a browse around the pages of the newspapers in the database mentioned above. The advertisements in particular paint a vivid and textured picture of life in early America.

Davis’s advertisement:

Columbian Centinel, published as Columbian Centinel.; Date: 04-29-1797; Volume: XXVII; Issue: 16; Page: [4]; Location: Boston, Massachusetts

For an article about the 1794 conflagration:

Dunlap's American Daily Advertiser, published as Dunlap and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser.; Date: 08-09-1794; Issue: 4784; Page: [3]; Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania