Until
now the number 77 might conjure up memories of
that early television show 77 Sunset Strip, at
least for those of us who have reached middle
age. If however you enjoy the study of wood
planes and their makers, 77 Weybosset Street
in Providence, Rhode Island might be of
greater interest, as it was out of this shop
that three separate plane making firms were to
sell their wares: "Cumings & Gale" ( the
co-partnership of Samuel R. Cummings &
Jonas R. Gale ), "The Plane Manufactory" ( the
new firm begun by Jonas R. Gale after Cummings
left ) and later "Bigelow & Barrus" ( the
co-partnership of Leonard B. Bigelow &
Nathan L. Barrus.
Samuel R. Cummings (
planemaker ) is the first of these makers to
appear in Providence. He does so in the 1828
Providence Directory. ( the information for
which was gathered in 1827) He may have
arrived sooner as the Providence directories
only listed males who were white and over the
age of 21. His place of business is given as
62 Weybosset Street, a few doors down and
across the street from our 77. In the
following directory published in 1830 Samuel
R. Cummings and the firm of "Cumings &
Gale" can both be found at 62 Weybosset
Street. Jonas R. Gale makes his appearance as
well, except at a different address. In this
1830 directory the firm of "Cumings &
Gale" appears at the back in a list of "late
entries". That would appear to narrow the
beginning of this firm to late 1829 or early
1830. During 1831 and 1832 Samuel & Jonas
jointly purchased two pieces of property -
first a lot with a dwelling and then a vacant
lot. Neither of the lots was on Weybosset
Street. For the first time the 1832 directory
shows Samuel R. Cummings, "Cumings &
Gale", and Jonas R. Gale all at their new
address at 77 Weybosset Street. In 1833 Samuel
sold his interest in both properties to Jonas,
which would appear to end the business
relationship between the two.
Neither the firm
of "Cumings & Gale", nor Samuel R.
Cummings appear in the 1836-37 directory. (
the data for which was entered in 1835 ). The
only entry was Jonas R. Gale, carrying on the
business under the name of "The Plane
Manufactory" and still at 77 Weybosset. It
might be assumed that he continued making
planes up to, or near November 1,1836. This
was the day that the co-partnership notice for
the firm of "Barrus & Bigelow" first
appeared. ( the planes are stamped Bigelow
& Barrus ) The notice states "for the
purpose of carrying on the Plane making
business in Providence. They have taken the
stand formerly occupied by Jonas R. Gale.
No. 77 Weybosset Street, where may be found
tools of every description." At the
time Leonard was approximately 32 years of age
and Nathan 25. If my guess is correct, the
business was extremely short-lived as the
co-partnership notice appeared every day up
to, then abruptly ended on, December 21,1836.
On that day at 7 pm a fire occurred at #77
Weybosset Street doing $400.00 worth of damage
and "we understand no insurance".
(Providence Courier) The co-partnership notice
never reappeared and so it is conceivable that
the ill-fated firm of Bigelow & Barrus
existed for less than two months. Certainly
the rarity of the "Bigelow & Barrus" stamp
might bear this out.
Bigelow seems to
have struck out on his own and continued to
call himself a planemaker until 1853 according
to the Providence directories. Oddly enough,
in the 1850 census, he is listed as a
bookkeeper, age 46, from Connecticut. He
appears to have remained close to his former
partner, as in 1846 he married Nathan's sister
Prudence C. Barrus thereby becoming Nathan's
brother-in-law. The 1854 and 1855 directories
list Leonard B. Bigelow as a machinist working
for the Providence Tool Co. He disappears by
the 1856 directory.
Meanwhile Nathan
L. Barrus appears to have moved back to
Warren, Rl, his place of birth, for he is
listed there as a planemaker in the 1845
Warren Almanac. By 1850 he is listing himself
as house-wright and by 1876 a railroad agent.
Jonas R. Gale is more elusive as he disappears
from both the Providence directories and the
census in 1840, yet served as a deacon of The
Central Baptist Church in Providence from
1843-1856.
Until further
information comes to light I hesitate to
venture an opinion as to who learned the trade
of planemaking from whom. However my guess is
that only Nathan L. Barrus, who was a native
Rhode Islander, learned his trade in
Providence ( perhaps from Jonas R. Gale ) and
that the other three makers learned the trade
of planemaking before coming to Rhode Island.
I would estimate the working dates for
these three planemaking firms to be:
Cuming & Gale - late 1829 -
1833
The Plane Manufactory ( Jonas R. Gale )
1833 - 1836
Bigelow & Barrus - Nov. 1,1836 - Dec
21,1836