Story Family Papers

STORY FAMILY PAPERS, 1830-1846, undated

Series List

Scope and Content Note

The Story Family papers consist of lists of vessels built in Essex, Massachusetts. It has been organized in to two series.

Series I. Abel Story (1791-1868) Papers contains handwritten lists of vessels built by Abel Story and several carpenter's certifications. The carpenters include Benjamin Woodberry, Thomas Hardy, and Abel Story.

Series II. Lewis H. Story Notebooks consists of seven paper-bound notebooks listing vessels built in Essex, Massachusetts, and including various facts about the vessels. It is unknown when Lewis Story created the notebooks.

Series III. Lewis H. Story Loose Notes on Vessels consists of a 5 ½ x 8 ½" sheet of paper for each vessel built in Essex arranged alphabetically within the year built. The sheets contain information such as year vessel enrolled, weight, names of owner and master, physical description, ownership history, place built, and final disposition. It is unknown exactly when Lewis Story created these notes. They were used in a book written by Dana Story (see below).

Biographical Sketches

Abel Story was born in 1791, in Ipswich, Massachusetts, to Jacob Story, Jr. (1766-1848) and Lucy (Haskell) (1766-1835) Story. He was a shipbuilder of mostly two-masted wooden fishing schooners in Essex, Massachusetts. In 1813 he married Martha Burnham (1792-1822) and they had 7 children. After her death, he married Thankful Burnham (1790-1843) and they had 6 children. He died in Essex on May 5, 1868.

Lewis Henry Story was the grandson of Abel Story from his second wife, Thankful. Born in Essex, Massachusetts, in 1873, to Newton Story (1832-1890), Lewis was a shipwright, carver, designer, modeler, researcher, and a maritime historian. He died in 1948.

Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in Philcat. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Preferred Citation

Story Family Papers, MH 214, Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Provenance

This material was donated by Mr. George S. McIntire on August 19, 1960 (acc #15,201).

Processing Information

Collection processed by Tamara Gaydos, October 2016.

Related Material

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum, Inc. "Lewis H. Story." Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Essex Shipbuilding Museum, 2016. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. http://www.essexshipbuildingmuseum.org/lewis-h-story-21.html

A catalog of the vessels, boats and other craft built in the town of Essex 1870 through 1980 / this work is based upon the research and listings of Lewis H. Story; the listings have been edited and expanded by Dana A. Story. VM25.E87 S767 1984