Chatham Sea Captains in the Age of Sail by Joseph A. Nickerson Jr

Author:Joseph A. Nickerson Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

David brought his family into the firm. His brother Rufus, and Rufus’s twin sons, Morris and Curtis, as well as their brother Maurice, were all active in setting up manufacturing locations. Curtis was in Raleigh, North Carolina. A short column in the Chatham Monitor, dating from July 12, 1881, notes:

A schematic of the Smith Transparent Ice Factory shows how ice was made in congealing boxes using a process involving ammonia to freeze the water into blocks of ice. Joseph A. Nickerson Jr. Collection.

Mrs. David Smith of this town, now of Washington [DC], was a witness from a window across the street of the attempted assassination of the President [James Garfield]2 and saw the would-be murderer marched away.

The Smiths considered Chatham their home base, but the men traveled a great deal due to the ice business. An unmarked Cape Cod newspaper clipping in 1884 noted that Maurice, living in Washington, D.C.,

has been visiting his home at Chathamport a few days. He now goes to New Orleans to remain during the [1884 World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial] Exposition in that city in charge of the Smith Transparent Ice Co.’s exhibit.

Captain David Smith died on December 13, 1886, of heart failure. He was in New Orleans supervising the building of what was to be the largest ice-making machine in the world at that time, capable of manufacturing a hundred tons of ice per day. His obituary, as it appeared in the Chatham Monitor, shows the respect with which he was remembered at his death:

A young man of integrity, honesty and sterling worth, characteristics, which he carried with him all through life. He was a member of the Congregational Church, taught in its Sabbath School, was a member of the church choir and was a deacon of the church. Funeral services were conducted at the home of his brother, Rufus. He was 62 years of age.

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