Part 1 (2/2)

A Newburyport philanthropist, Tiinning in Decele-cylinder, wool-carding machine They co anized the Newburyport Woolen Manufactory

Arthur was hired as overseer of the carding and John as overseer of the weaving and also as coent for the purchase of raool A site was chosen on the Parker River in Byfield Parish, Newbury, where a building 100 feet long, about half as wide, and three stories high was constructed To the new factory were, Ar, and Guppy, under the Scholfields' immediate direction All the machinery with the exception of the loo was done by hand The enterprise was in full operation by 1795

John and Arthur Scholfield (and John's 11-year-old son, Ja a wool-buying trip to Connecticut in 1798, John observed a valuable water-power site at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River, in the town (ie, townshi+p) of Montville, Connecticut Here, the brothers decided, would be a good place to set up their own ned a 14-year lease for the water site, a dwelling house, a shop, and 17 acres of land As soon as arrangements could be completed, Arthur, John, and the latter's faure 9--IN THE COLLECTION OF THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM, DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, IS THIS ORIGINAL SCHOLFIELD WOOL-CARDING MACHINE of the early 19th century (_Photo courtesy of the Henry Ford Museum_)]

The Scholfields quite probably did not take any of the textile machinery from the Byfield factory with them to Connecticut--first because the machines were built while the brothers were under hire and so were the property of the sponsors, and second because their knowledge of how to build the machines would have made it unnecessary to incur the inconvenience and expense of transporting machines the hundred odd miles to Montville However, John Scholfield's sons reported[10] that they had taken a carding engine with them when they moved to Connecticut in 1799 and had later transferred it to a factory in Stonington The sons clais of the inally been iland However, it would have been lish one, to have been constructed ofmachines, the men at Byfield would have found it unnecessary to attelish one If it ever existed and was taken to Connecticut, therefore, thismachine manufactured by the Scholfields It ismachine remained in the Byfield mill as the property of the Newburyport Woolen Manufactory

[Illustration: Figure 10--AN ORIGINAL SCHOLFIELD WOOL-CARDING MACHINE AT OLD STURBRIDGE VILLAGE, STURBRIDGE, MassACHUSETTS It is now run by electricity (_Photo courtesy of Old Sturbridge Village_)]

During the next half century, this mill was held by a number of individuals Willia stockholders of the colish overseer who succeeded the Scholfields, and he continued to operate it for about 20 years On August 24, 1824, the mill was purchased at a Sheriff's sale by Gorham Parsons, who sold a part interest to Paul Moody, a machinist from the textile town of Lowell Moody operated the mill for the next 5 years and at his death in 1831 his heirs sold their interest back to Parsons In 1832 it was leased for 7 years by William N Cleveland and Solomon Wilde under the na the expiration of the lease in 1839, a portion of the mill was occupied for 3 or 4 years by Enoch Pearson, believed to have been a descendant of the John Pearson who had been a clothier in Rowley in 1643, and subsequently various industries occupied other portions and later the entire building, which burned with all its contents on October 29, 1859

If the first Scholfield carding machine remained a part of the property, therefore it must have been lost in that fire However, the Scholfields'

ient on the building of one successful carding ardless of whether it was the first It was the change in the scope of their business ventures after their move to Connecticut that synony in America

John and Arthur had built their woolen e in the town of Montville, and there Arthur remained with his brother until 1801, when he married, sold his interest to John, and moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts John and his sons continued to operate the es spurred hiton, Connecticut, where he built a newton, John returned to Montville and purchased another factory and water privileges He continued in the woolen manufacture until his death in 1820

Arthur, soon after arriving in Pittsfield, constructed a cardingadvertisement appeared in the _Pittsfield Sun_, November 2, 1801:

Arthur Scholfield respectfully infor towns, that he has a carding--house, where they may have their wool carded into rolls for 12-1/2 cents per pound; rease, and pick and grease it, it will be 10 cents per pound, and 12-1/2 cents mixed They are requested to send their wool in sheets as they will serve to bind up the rolls when done Also a small amount of woolens for sale

The people around Pittsfield soon realized that the mechanically carded as not only much easier to spin but enabled them to produce twice as ht their wool to be carded at his factory, Arthur was not without problems These were evident in his advertisement of May 1802, in which he stated that if the as not properly ”sorted, clipped, and cleansed” he would charge an extra penny per pound He also added that he would issue no credit Shortly after this, recognizing the need for additional carding machines in other localities, Arthur Scholfield undertook the work of h this venture he was to spread his knowledge of hout the country

The Scholfield Machines

The first record of Arthur's sale of carding machines appeared in the _Pittsfield Sun_ in September 1803 The next year, in May 1804, his advertisement informed the readers that A Scholfield continued to card wool, and also that:

He has carding-machines for sale, built under his immediate inspection, upon a new and improved plan, which he is deterive drafts and other instructions to those ish to build for themselves; and cautions all whom it may concern to beware how they are i companies, who demand more than twice as much for machines as they are really worth

Scholfieldinferior machines that did not card the wool properly

Both factors encouraged Arthur to continue the co ain advertised:

Good news for far, and carding white wool, and twelve and a half cents for -ood and cheap

And in 1806:

Double carding machines, made and sold by A Scholfield for 253 each, without the cards, or 400 including the cards Picking machines at 30 each Wool carded on the saht cents per pound for white, and twelve and a half cents for iven