Jisoo Chung
Professor Reagan-Lefebvre
FYSM 199
December 11, 2014
Mutually Beneficial
In Rum and Axes, Janet Siskind argues that the Watkinsons, a Connecticut
merchant family, used strong ties to expand their businesses, thereby becoming capitalists
who paralleled aristocrats of a classist society. This essay examines three legal
documents of John R. Watkinson in order to analyze the nature of the Watkinsons’
commercial and social networks. The legal documents of John R. Watkinson verified the
predominant use of family ties as a means of commercial transactions and economic
activities’ profound correlation with social activities, especially marriages. The
Watkinsons married other notable families for the sake of the businesses, through which
they further strengthened the familial connection. In other words, to the Watkinsons,
social and commercial activities coalesced completely, mutually benefitting and
fortifying each other.
The deed from May 12th of 1812 records a sale of land from Jacob Pledger to
John R. Watkinson and others.1 It documents the transaction between John R. Watkinson,
Samel Gill, and Jeremiah Hubbard Jr. and Jacob Pledger, who sold the three individuals
forty-two acres of land west of the Connecticut River and an additional half-acre east of
the Connecticut River for two thousand dollars.2 Samel Gill married Jane Watkinson, one
of John’s sisters, on May 28, 1804, and a year later, John Watkinson became a son-in-law
1
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards , May 12, 1812, Box 3, Folder 10, Watkinson
Family Papers [hereafter WFP], Watkinson Library Trinity College [hereafter WLTC].
2
Ibid.
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of Elijah Hubbard, an ancestor of Jeremiah Hubbard Jr.3 Similarly, Jacob Pledger had
voyaged to the United States with the Watkinsons as the husband of Sarah Watkinson,
John’s oldest sister. 4 All four actors of this arrangement were related to each other
through marriage, demonstrating the use of kinship as a commercial network by the
Watkinson family.
The networks underlined the role of marriage as a business alliance and a part of
networking to merchant families during this time. Further analysis of the document also
explicates the nature of assistance provided by the familial connections. In 1809, the
Watkinson family brewery, half of which belonged to Jacob Pledger, burned down. 5 As a
result, Pledger experienced a great financial despair, which could have motivated the sale
of this large piece of land to John Watkinson and others. In helping his son-in-law, John
Watkinson resorted to a business transaction rather than mere charity: John bought the
land from Pledger rather than simply giving Pledger the funds needed. Such an
assumption allows the conclusion that family ties were deeply penetrated in commercial
activities for these merchant families, whose everyday interactions translated to business
deals. Moreover, because the purchase of this land required a large sum of money,
perhaps unaffordable by John Watkinson alone, Samel Gill and Jeremiah Hubbard Jr.
shared the expense of the purchase as well as the land itself. In times of need, John
Watkinson also appealed to the network of his family. Consequently, John Watkinson
strengthened his networks through not only shared relatives but also a shared property.
3
Janet Siskind, Rum and Axes: The Rise of a Connecticut Merchant Family, 1795-1850 (Ithaca: Cornell
University, 2002), 70.
4
Ibid., 15.
5
Ibid., 71.
2
In another deed, William Johnson sold one acre of land in Middletown to John R.
Watkinson for one dollar on March 16, 1814.6 The deed describes the piece of land as
being “bounded south by Land of Mary Hubbard & north bounded by Land of Jeremiah
Hubbard”.7 The seller of the land, William Johnson, emigrated around the same time as
the Watkinsons and had been their friend and business associate for a long time.8 In fact,
in 1814, John Watkinson and William Johnson formulated a partnership to manufacture
woolen cloths, which must have instigated the purchase of this piece of land. 9
Meanwhile, the owners of the neighboring properties, Mary and Jeremiah Hubbards, had
familial ties with John Watkinson through John’s marriage to a Hubbard. Here, John
Watkinson utilized his non-familial connections, but the proximity of the lands indicated
the inescapable nature of family ties.
Despite the lack of family relations with William Johnson, John Watkinson still
relied on strong ties to conduct his businesses. Rather than finding a distant business
partner, John Watkinson resorted to a well-acquainted man, William Johnson, with whom
the Watkinsons had maintained close and regular relationship. In fact, William Johnson
sold the land for only one dollar, an abnormally small amount of money even during this
time period.10 In other words, John Watkinson took advantage of this long-established
relationship as a form of credit that the partnership would guarantee both parties profits.
Furthermore, the proximity of the lands owned by John Watkinson and the Hubbards
demonstrated the members of John Watkinson’s networks. John Watkinson had
6
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards , March 16, 1814, Box 3, Folder 10, WFP
WLTC.
7
Ibid.
8
Siskind, 77.
9
Ibid., 80.
10
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards , March 16, 1814, 3/10, WFP WLTC.
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benefitted from his marriage to a Hubbard from the beginning by gaining access to Elijah
Hubbard’s capital and connections.11 In addition, Elijah Hubbard and John Watkinson
had become partners, trading with New York, Virginia, and the West Indies.12 Even after
his father-in-law’s death, John Watkinson maintained a steady relationship with the
Hubbards, and the adjacency of their properties further confirmed these ongoing
interactions. Overall, John Watkinson depended on strong ties rather than weak ties,
which would only engage in commercial exchanges.
Finally, in the document written by James Hart to the Watkinsons, Samuel
Watkinson Sr. bestowed a piece of land with a building to his daughter, Elizabeth
Collins. 13 In 1815, after the death of her husband, Alexander Collins, on his trip to
Vermont, Elizabeth Collins was widowed with two children. 14 Samuel Watkinson
bequeathed her a piece of land on the intersection of Broad Street and Church Street in
Middletown, adjacent to Robert Watkinson, Elizabeth Collins’s younger brother, and
William Southmayd.15 Elizabeth Collins’s southern neighbor, William Southmayd, was
another of the Watkinsons’ strong ties: he had constantly appeared in John Watkinson’s
accounting book as Southmayd & Redfield. 16 Similar to William Johnson, William
Southmayd had cultivated a long-lasting friendship with the Watkinsons, displayed once
again by the geographical location of his property. Therefore, the neighborhood of
Elizabeth Collins’s inheritance represented the members of her and her family’s network.
11
Ibid., 49.
Ibid., 56.
13
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards, July 6, 1820, Box 3, Folder 10, WFP WLTC.
14
Siskind, 90.
15
Legal Document for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards, July 6, 1820, 3/10, WFP WLTC.
16
Siskind, 50.
12
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As in the case of Elizabeth Collins, familial network provided not only
connections and contacts but also physical inheritances. After the death of her husband,
Elizabeth Collins moved close to her brother, David Watkinson who continued to support
her financially when needed, and in the same manner, Robert Watkinson assisted his
sister. 17 Furthermore, the proximity in their properties reflected Samuel Watkinson’s
wish for his children to continue to utilize the familial network in their commercial
activities. In fact, David Watkinson and Robert Watkinson not only provided financial
support but also offered their skills and knowledge by becoming the directors of the
Collins Company, owned by Elizabeth Collins’s two sons.18 Although Samuel Collins’s
memoir does not mention the assistance of his family in creating the Collins Company,
the assistance from the Watkinsons played a crucial role in his success. 19 Besides
properties and capital, which became the basis of the company, the Collins inherited
knowledge, skills, and networks from their Watkinson ancestors. Hence, familial
connections, perhaps unlike weak ties of commercial networks, even provided intangible
wealth of knowledge and connections.
The deeds of property of John R. Watkinson illustrate the nature of networks
through which the Watkinsons operated. The Watkinsons’ social web comprised
completely their commercial connections, including their family members and close
friends. Often, friends, partners, and employers became a part of the family through
marriages, strengthening their commercial connections. Similarly, through business
transactions and alliances, families became closer and shared both personal and
17
Ibid., 90-91.
Ibid., 109.
19
Ibid.
18
5
commercial lives. Thus, economic enterprises became indispensable to family ties as
familial networks were crucial in executing business contracts. (Word Count: 1323)
6
Bibliography
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards, May 12, 1812, Box 3,
Folder 10, Watkinson Family Papers, Watkinson Library Trinity College.
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards, March 16, 1814, Box 3,
Folder 10, Watkinson Family Papers, Watkinson Library Trinity College.
Legal Documents for JRW and his in-laws, the Hubbards, July 6, 1820, Box 3,
Folder 10, Watkinson Family Papers, Watkinson Library Trinity College.
Siskind, Janet. Rum and Axes: The Rise of a Connecticut Merchant Family, 17951850. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002.
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