Wests
in Essex County, Massachusetts:
Some
Descendants of Henry West (1629-1703) of Salem
Compiled by Joy Ikelman, 2014.
Disclaimers apply. Note: The use of double dating, such as 1630/1631, reflects
the difference between the Julian and Gregorian Calendars.
Background: Judah West (b.
11 Sep 1765; d. 9 Apr 1825) was added to West DNA Family Group #5 in 2007. He
is a descendant of Thomas West (b. 1630/1631; d. 23 Dec 1720). Thomas West had
a brother, Henry West (b. 1629; d. Sep 1703). Therefore, Henry West is also
part of FG#5. This is the fourth in a series of articles about this line of the
FG#5 West families.
Currently
(March 2014) Henry West (1629-1703) is the earliest documented member of Family
Group #5.
Ten Generations
Dr. Harry
Irwin West, Jr. (1925-2004) was the foremost genealogist for Henry West
(1629-1703). In 1997, he published Descendants
of Henry West (1629-1703) of Salem, Massachusetts with some Collateral Lines of
Interest (Anundsen Publishing Co., Decorah, Iowa, 256 pages). He traced his
line back ten generations to Henry West.
Dr. West’s
publication has great detail on the dates, marriages, migrations, and lives of
this West family. The following summaries were compiled from his publication.
Saddlers
Six
generations of this family lived in Salem before the first family members moved
to “The West” (Indiana). The first three generations were mostly saddlers by
trade. Saddlers made harness, bridles, saddles, and other leather goods. The
saddler trade was taught from one generation to the next, or by apprenticeship.
Henry West (1629-1703) was a saddler. Sons Samuel and Henry were taught the
trade by their father. Grandsons Samuel, John, and Daniel were also saddlers.
Mariners
By the 1750s,
the Wests of Salem were fishermen, ship owners, master mariners, merchant
marines, privateers, and importers.
1760s: The Wests owned and
managed shipping vessels for fishing, and also for foreign trade.
1770s: West-owned merchant ships
travelled as far south as the West Indies and north to Newfoundland, carrying supplies
for coastal businesses.
During the Revolutionary
War, all
six of William West’s (1728-1803) sons became privateers: William, Nathaniel,
Ebenezer, Edward, Thomas, and John. They “played significant roles in
furthering the cause of the Revolution through their exploits on the high seas
as privateers,” and William West “played a significant role in backing such
ventures.” (West, p. 32) Ebenezer and Edward West spent several years on a
British prison ship.
1790s: Wests owned and captained
voyages to Cuba, South America, and Europe. Ebenezer West (b. 1758) was the
first captain from New England to sail to China.
1800s: Captain Thomas West
(1777-1849) sailed his cargo vessel from Boston to Calcutta on a trade route that
took eleven months to complete. Hamburg was added to the route later. He made
21 voyages. He was a privateer during the War of 1812.
1840s: George West (1810-1852)
owned 28 vessels. Benjamin West (1820-1877), brother to George West, owned 22
vessels.
The Triangle Trade
Dr. West
wrote: “William West [1728-1803] was a merchant, a distiller, and collector of
the excise tax. At that time the distilling business in Salem was quite common.
Molasses came from the West Indies by ship, in this case was landed at William
West’s wharf, jutting out from the passage way over the North River, and was
then made into rum. The rum saw ready local consumption, but most was used as
export, replacing French brandy in many parts of the world.” (West, p. 31-32.)
The West family
shipping business was part of the Triangle Trade. The rum was exported to ports
abroad where resale brought profits to the buyers. The buyers used the profits
to buy slaves from West Africa, who came through the Middle Passage to work the
sugar cane plantations in the West Indies. The molasses was then shipped to New
England to make rum. For more information on the Triangle Trade go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade.
William
West’s ships worked two sides of the Triangle Trade—import of molasses and
export of rum. New England’s profit from the Triangle Trade was one reason that
the anti-slavery clause was kept out of the Declaration of Independence.
Lt. Benjamin West (1755-1775)
Lieutenant
Benjamin West of Salem, son of Samuel and Mary Massey West died at the Battle
of Bunker Hill on 17 Jun 1775. A memorial stone is located at the Harmony Grove
Cemetery in Salem.
Benjamin Franklin West (1818-1854)
Benjamin
West, son of Thomas West and Elizabeth Mosely, was noted for his ship
paintings. His work is found at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem:
http://travelphotobase.com/v/USMAB/MALP233.HTM.
The more
famous Benjamin West, artist of Pennsylvania, is part of West DNA FG#3.
Capt. Nathaniel West (1758-1851)
Nathaniel
West, one of William West’s sons (mentioned in the “Mariners” section) was
well-respected in Salem. A miniature portrait is at the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts. View it at:
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/captain-nathaniel-west-32797
Some of the
furniture from Nathaniel and Elizabeth Derby West’s Oak Hill estate home is in
the Art of Americas Wing at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. An example:
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/interior-finish-from-the-oak-hill-parlor-38200
In 1834,
Captain West built a home on the site of the West estate in Salem. Today this
home is part of Salem Inn. http://www.saleminnma.com/thewesthouse.html.
Nathaniel West, Jr. (1788-1843)
A portrait of
this ancestor is at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was the son of Captain
West, above. View it online at: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/nathaniel-west-jr-34658.
Nathaniel West and his wife Mary Bowles West moved to Indianapolis in 1836 to
buy land. He was a lawyer, merchant, farmer and manufacturer. He owned a cotton
mill and a grist mill. He was a State Senator from 1841-1843.
Nathaniel West, III (1814-1896)
Nathaniel
West bought land in Kentland, Newton County, IN. This was the g-g-grandfather
of genealogist Dr. Harry Irwin West. Descendants moved to AL, CA, CO, FL, ID,
IL, ME, MN, ND, NH, NY, OH, SD, TX, WI, WY and also to England, France, Italy,
and Jamaica.
Line of Henry West (1629-1703) to Dr. Harry Irwin West, Jr. (1925-2004)
Here is a very brief accounting of ten
generations from Henry West to Harry Irwin West, Jr. A more complete lineage,
with additional branches of this family tree, will be posted on the West Family
DNA Project—Group #5 Web site in the future.
1. Henry West (1629-1703)
2.
Samuel West (1666/1667-1732)
3.
Samuel West (1691-1776)
4.
William West (1728-1803)
5.
Nathaniel West (1758-1851)
6.
Nathaniel West (1788-1843)
7.
Nathaniel West (1814-1896)
8.
Charles H. West (1862-1937)
9.
Harry Irwin West (1888-1977)
10. Harry Irwin West, Jr. (1925-2004)
Next: More about Thomas West
(1630/1631-1720) of Salem and Bradford
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