Pierson Iron Merchants Account Books [In progress]
Scope and Contents
Item 1A: Mercantile account book measures 20 x 17 x 2 cm, badly stained, scuffed brown leather spine, faded marble paper over board, 184 very filed pages.. Contains accounts of people buying assorted general store merchandise. Contains names of hired laborers, money paid them, numerous consumer goods furnished them including foodstuffs such as coffee, chocolate, sugar, meats, tobacco, textiles and rum; labor contracts, drayage of goods…
Item 2A: Receipt book of Henry L. Pierson Sept. 7, 1829 to Feb 21, 1870 New York; measures 9.5 x 16 x 2 cm, very scuffed brown leather - front cover separated from spine, items glued onto pages. Contains many receipts that seem to account for settling mortgages, debts, Isaac Pierson and H.L. Pierson names appear most frequently.
Item 2A: Summary of the Inventories of J.G. Pierson & Brothers 1801 - Ramapo Works - 1800-1820 Account of Grain Consumed at Ramapo Works 1808-1820; Inventory of the Personal Property of Jos. G. Pierson & Bros. Dec. 4, 1800; measures 31 x 16.5 x 2 cm, very scuffed cover brown leather spine, stained marbled paper over board, covers separated from spine, smokey smell, 233 plus pages. Contains accounts of Ramapo Works expenditures and property holdings and Pierson in New York.
Item 2B: Inventory for Real Estate of Jeremiah H. & Isaac Pierson appertaining to Ramapo Works, N.Y. etc.1795 - 1842; measures 32 x 20 x 1 cm scuffed marbled brown paper over board, leather spine, black and red ink used, folio very worn.
Offers a clear picture of the company's worth.
Item 3: Pierson & Co. 1 August 1836; measures 33.5 x 20.5 x 3 cm scuffed brown calf leather over board, dark brown embossed embellishments on covers, end papers diagonal, marbled blue, red, tan, two torn ledger pages 60-64 tucked inside front cover, folio very worn and dusty - spine is separate and designated “Item 3 Spine Fragile.” Emphasis on the New York operation.
Dates
- Creation: 1795 - 1845
Biographical / Historical
Josiah Gilbert Pierson (1764-1797) was born in Newark, N.J. son of Benjamin Pierson (1739-1796) and Sarah Gilbert (1740-1834). The family moved to Richmond, Massachusetts in 1772. Josiah had great executive ability, indefatigable industry, and a mechanical genius. In 1787, he came to New York City from Massachusetts and started a factory in lower Manhattan making nails by hand and by 1792 invented machines for their manufacture, becoming the first manufacturer of cut nails by machinery in America. He was founder of Pierson & Co. He became so successful with his inventions and business that he sent to Massachusetts for his younger brothers, Jeremiah H. and Isaac Pierson and associated them with himself under the firm name of Josiah G. Pierson & Brothers. In 1795 the firm was doing a large business in cut nails but also selling bar, bundle and hoop iron. The brothers decided to establish their own rolling-mill and enlarged nail factory at Ramapo, Rockland County, N.Y.; bought land, built a dam across the Ramapo River. Josiah and Isaac remained in New York City when Jeremiah moved to Ramapo in 1795. Josiah died in New York City.
Jeremiah Halsey Pierson (1766-1855) born in Newark, N.J. attended public schools in Richmond and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, completed preparatory studies and studied law, was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts. He moved to Ramapo, N.Y. in 1795, practiced law and engaged in mercantile pursuits and manufacturing with his brothers. He was a Justice of the Peace from 1800 to 1811, 1807 he was appointed Ramapo postmaster, was an associate justice of Rockland County Court in 1808, elected to the 17th United States Congress holding office from 1821 to 1823 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 3rd congressional district. . Afterwards he resumed his former pursuits. He was largely instrumental in securing the construction of the Erie Railroad through Rockland County. He was married to Sarah Jabez Colt (1771-1820), they had seven children - his sons Josiah G. Pierson (1797-?) and Henry Lewis Pierson (1807-1893) were admitted in 1830 to the firm of Josiah G. Pierson & Brothers. Henry L. Pierson was a surveyor on the building of the Erie Railroad. By 1830 Jeremiah and his two sons were the majority owners of the company which rapidly expanded into the production and sales of pig iron and railroad materials. In 1839 Jeremiah retired from the company. In 1836 Josiah G. (1797-?) retired and the name changed to Pierson & Co. In 1839 Jeremiah H. Pierson retired from the firm. Jeremiah was buried at Ramapo.
Isaac Pierson (1770-1848) born in Newark, N.J. married in 1793 to Helen Maria Fort (1781-1820) of Suffolk County, N.Y.. He and brother Josiah continued business in New York City selling the goods made at Ramapo. Isaac sold his share of the business in 1830 to brother Jeremiah and went to Canandaigua, Ontario County, N.Y. where he died in 1848.
The sons and grandsons of Jeremiah Halsey Pierson (1766-1855) eventually took over running the business: Jeremiah Halsey Pierson (1800-1851) and Henry Lewis Pierson (1807-1893) whose son J[ohn] Fred Pierson (1839-1932) served in the American Civil War with the New York Volunteers 7th Regiment in the corps of engineers was captured at Chancellorsville. By 1901 J. Fred Pierson Jr. a grandson of Jeremiah H. Pierson retired and in 1904 H.L. Pierson Jr. also a grandson of Jeremiah H. Pierson retired and in 1909 Charles M. Porcher admitted to the company in 1897 also retired. In 1909 Henry L. Pierson, son of Jeremiah retired. In 1910 the firm consisted of J. Fred Pierson, who was also president of the Ramapo Manufacturing Company which was incorporated in 1822 and issued bonds. The Ramapo Iron Works, located near present-day State Route 17 at the base of Terse Mountain in Rockland County, produced cut nails, wood screws, cotton cloth, and spring steel. Its founder Jeremiah Halsey Pierson (1766-1855) was influential in building the Nyack Turnpike and the New York & Erie Railroad across the county. In 1916 what became State Route 59 reached from Nyack to Spring Valley in 1915 was extended to Suffern and Hilburn. [Emily Warren and Washington Roebling are buried in Spring Valley, N.Y. See Special Collections Washington Roebling papers]
Ramapo, N.Y. name came into being in 1829 (formerly known as New Hampstead) was formed from a part of Haverstraw in 1791). During the American Revolutionary War, George Washington is said to have climbed the Ramapo Torne [mountain pass] with a telescope to watch the July 24, 1777 sailing of the British fleet off Sandy Hook, N.J.. General Washington and his troops set up an encampment in Suffern, N.Y. in the west of Ramapo due to its strategic location. The first railroad line across Rockland County was built in 1841 and ran from Piermont to Ramapo. By 1851 the line extended to Lake Erie and was considered an engineering marvel.
Extent
2 Linear Feet ([1] record center box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
A group of account books relating to the early history, organization and business history of the J. G. Pierson & Co noted iron and steel manufacturers of New York. The company was founded in 1787 by Josiah G. Pierson who came to New York City from Massachusetts and established in lower Manhattan the first mechanized American nail factory. To expand his business he took in his brothers Jeremiah H. and Isaac Pierson and the business took the name Josiah G. Pierson & Brothers. They established their own rolling-mill and enlarged factory for nails and selling bar, bundle and hoop iron. This enlarged factory was established in Ramapo, Rockland County, New York.
- Status
- In Progress
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Lehigh University Special Collections Repository
Lehigh University
Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem PA 18045 USA
610-758-4506
610-758-6091 (Fax)
inspc@lehigh.edu