1766-1820; bulk: 1774-1775
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of merchant John Greenough of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, including papers related to his 1774 censure for trading in East India Company tea.
Biographical Sketch
John Greenough (1742-1781) was the son of prominent merchant and deacon Thomas Greenough (1710-1785) of Boston, Massachusetts. John earned his B.A. from Yale College in 1759, his M.A. from Yale in 1762, and an ad eundem M.A. from Harvard College in 1763. In 1766, he married Mehitable Dillingham (d. 1798) of Harwich, Massachusetts. The couple settled in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and had eight children.
John Greenough served as town clerk of Wellfleet from 1767 to 1774, taught grammar school there from 1768 to 1774, was commissioned a justice of the peace in 1771, and worked as a merchant. He was censured in 1774 for trading in East India Company tea, violating a town resolution "not to purchase any imported articles on which Government has imposed any unconstitutional and unlawful duties." Greenough later publicly apologized. He was elected as a representative to the Massachusetts General Court, serving from 1777 to 1778.
Sources
Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, ed. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College with Annals of the College History, Vol. II, May 1745-May 1763. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1896. pp. 584-585.
Swift, Charles F. Cape Cod, The Right Arm of Massachusetts: An Historical Narrative. Yarmouth, Mass.: Register Publishing Co., 1897. p. 172.
Collection Description
This collection contains papers related to the sale of East India Company tea from the shipwrecked William by John Greenough, 1 January 1774-14 March 1775. Included are letters and town resolutions reflecting the response of local townsmen, his brother David Stoddard Greenough, and his father Thomas Greenough, such as letters urging John not to sell the tea in Boston and censures from the towns of Eastham and Wellfleet. The collection also contains responses from John criticizing the Sons of Liberty, defending his sale, and describing riots in Eastham, as well as a letter written by John to East India Company cosignees Richard Clarke and Sons explaining the loss of tea.
The collection also includes letters written by Thomas Greenough to Shute Shrimpton Yeamans discussing Noddles Island and the repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766-1768; a letter received by Thomas from son William while at Yale College, 22 June 1774; a document authorizing payment from the Massachusetts Board of War to John Greenough for supervising salvage work on the British man of war Somerset, 2 February 1779; and Greenough family genealogical information compiled ca. 1820, among other items.
All of the letters were transcribed by Alexander Autographs, Inc. in 2001.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by purchase, 2001.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Other Formats
This collection is available as color digital facsimiles.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Note: Transcriptions are included in this collection and appear before the manuscript documents.
4 January 1774
1 March 1774
22-26 March 1774
13-16 April 1774
7 May-18 August 1774
14 March 1775
2 February 1779
Greenough family genealogy, ca. 1820
25 July 1774
6 October 1764-4 July 1768
22 June-20 July 1774
Preferred Citation
John Greenough papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.