Supplying Rochester in the age of the Erie Canal: an examination of the inventories of ceramic and glass merchant Benjamin Seabury
Date
2018
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University of Delaware
Abstract
Benjamin Seabury was a ceramics and glass merchant operating in Rochester, New York and New York City from 1827 until his death in 1833. During this time, the United States was expanding rapidly, both geographically and demographically, which prompted a shift towards increasing merchant specialization, especially in larger cities where the population could support more merchants. Seabury’s only extant business records—two inventories—provide insight into how one merchant operating in New York City and Rochester New York navigated and combined complex business practices to build two successful businesses in two different cities. ☐ Rochester, whose growth was due in large part to the Erie Canal, serves as a case study for developing business practices in other western cities. Seabury’s stock in Rochester is similar to his stock in New York City, indicating that western cities had access to the newest styles of goods. Thus, western cities were not hinterlands without taste. However, a close comparison of Seabury’s stock in Rochester and New York City further complicates this notion because there are distinct differences in the goods supplied to each city, especially with respect to the distribution of ware types. These nuanced differences reveal that there were particular market demands in western and eastern cities, though their differences were a matter of degree. The analysis of Seabury’s businesses serves as a case study of historical business practices and the ways in which savvy businesspeople adjusted to various markets.
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Social sciences, Ceramics, Erie Canal, Glass, Merchant, New York, Rochester