Burrage Yale (1781 – 1860) was an American

tin ware Tinware is any item made of prefabricated tinplate. Usually tinware refers to kitchenware made of tinplate, often crafted by tinsmiths. Many cans used for canned food are tinware as well. Something that is tinned after being shaped and fabricated i ...

manufacturer and

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

from Wakefield, Massachusetts. He was the town treasurer and the largest employer in the city. He gave his name to Yale Avenue and Yale Fire Station. He was also the first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

recognized in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, and the cofounder of South Reading Academy, with abolitionist minister, Cyrus P. Grosvenor. His son, Burrage Buchanan Yale, became one of the founders of Lamson, Goodnow & Yale., a major gun-making machine manufacturer for Abraham Lincoln's army during the American Civil War.

Early life

Burrage Yale was born on March 27, 1781, in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.soldier Amerton Yale and Sarah Merriman, members of the

Yale family Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

.Yale Genealogy and History of Wales
Rodney Horace Yale, Milburn & Scott Co., Beatrice, Nebraska, 1908, p. 153-154-203-204-298Proceedings of the 250th Anniversary of the Ancient Town of Redding
Chester W. Eaton, Will Everett Eaton, Loring & Twombly Publishers, Reading, Massachusetts, 1896, p. 64 His father was a member of the

6th Connecticut Regiment The 6th Connecticut Regiment was raised on May 1, 1775, at New Haven, Connecticut, as a provincial regiment for the Continental Army. It then became a regiment of the Continental Line on January 1, 1776, designated the 10th Continental Regiment, ...

under Capt. Hough during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and was at Tryon's raid in 1779. His grandfather, Nash Yale, was also a soldier of the Revolution. Yale was a cousin of abolitionist lawyer

Barnabas Yale Barnabas Yale (1784 – 1854) was an American abolitionist attorney, vice-president and cofounder of the Central New-York Anti-Slavery Society, part of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He petitioned Congress in 1838 for the abolition of slave ...

, inventor

Linus Yale Sr. Linus Yale (27 April 1797 – 8 August 1858) was an American inventor, manufacturer of bank locks, and 1st Mayor of Newport, New York. His patents were signed by President Andrew Jackson. His son, Linus Yale Jr., would later found the Prem ...

of the

Yale Lock Company Yale is one of the world's oldest lock manufacturers, owned by its parent company, Assa Abloy. Over its extensive history, Yale has received patents for dozens of its products, and the company has distributed its products to more than 120 count ...

, and of Louisa D. Wilcox, family of millionaire Congressman

Chester W. Chapin Chester William Chapin (December 16, 1798 – June 10, 1883) was an American businessman, president of the Boston and Albany Railroad from 1868 to 1878, and U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts. He was a multimillionaire at his death in 1883, an ...

of Boston. Another cousin, lawyer Harvey P. Yale, was the son-in-law of Senator Truman H. Lyon, brother of Capt. Edward Lyon, proprietor of the Michigan Exchange Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. Other cousins included Capt. Josiah Yale from the Revolutionary War, and Col. Braddam Yale of the War of 1812. His nephew was Dr. Leroy Milton Yale Jr. of the

New York Etching Club The New York Etching Club, formally New York Etchers Club, was one of the earliest professional organization in America devoted to the medium of etching. Its founders were inspired by the Etching revival that had blossomed in France and England in ...

. He was distantly related to the Yales of the

Britannia ware Britannia metal (also called britannium or Britannia ware) is a specific type of pewter alloy, favoured for its silvery appearance and smooth surface. The composition by weight is typically about 92% tin, 6% antimony, and 2% copper. Britannia ...

factories in

Yalesville, Connecticut Yalesville is an unincorporated village in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. The village was founded in 1677, and was originally called "First Falls". It was renamed Yalesville in 1808. History A Committee to locate a mill at the first ...

. Members of this branch included merchant William Yale, Gen. Edwin R. Yale and Senator

Charles Dwight Yale Charles Dwight Yale (1810 – 1890), of Wallingford, Connecticut, Wallingford, Connecticut, was a Democratic Senator and businessman, co-proprietor of Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co.. During the Reconstruction era, he played a leading role in mediati ...

, among others.The Yales of Meriden and Wallingford, CT
Andrew F. Turano and Robert G. Smith, The Pewter Collectors' Club of America, The Bulletin, Winter 2006, p. 10

Biography

Yale started working at an early age, and arrived in Wakefield, Massachusetts, at the time named South Reading, in the early 1800s. He stayed at Col. Boardman's house when he arrived in town, a man who would become his future father-in-law. He started in the

industry as a tin peddler, and thereafter, as a manufacturer in a small shop that he established in 1802. In 1808, Yale married teacher Sarah S. Boardman, daughter of Colonel Amos Boardman, and became a brother-in-law of Sea Captain Amos Boardman Jr., and of Dr. Moses Long. Their only son, Burrage Buchanan Yale, would marry the daughter of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Daniel Flint, son of Colonel Daniel Flint Sr., and become a merchant in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Buchanan married secondly to Mary Macferran, sister of Lt. Col. William K. Macferran of the

52nd Pennsylvania Infantry The 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. History Formed in response to President Abraham Lincoln's calls, during the spring and summer of 1861, for volunteers to enroll for m ...

, part of General George Meade's regiment. In 1812, at the incorporation of South Reading (Wakefield), Yale was elected as one of its officers, and was nominated on a committee to help the poor and settle other matters. He was on the building committee for the erection of the New Baptist meeting house, and also operated large retail and manufacturing factories in various wares. His pewter factories were operated by Mr. Richardson and Mr. Boardman. He then became a wholesale dealer of tin plates, and a large commodity dealer during the War of 1812 with Britain. Over time, he made a fortune in his line of business. He tried his way into politics, but ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He became Wakefield's town treasurer and

for number of years. He was also

town moderator Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

.Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)
and Jayne M. D'Onofrio. Burrage Yale. Wakefield, Mass.: Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department. n.d. Web. 29 Feb 2024, Show more : Notes Starting in 1825, Yale opened a tavern named the Burrage Yale Inn, next to his factories in Wakefield, and on March 16, 1827, he became the first

South Reading, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offers ...

, and the first postmaster to be recognized in

. He kept the office for about 3 years until he let his brother, Eli. A. Yale, a partner in his ventures, take the office. Fruit peddlers with draft horses and covered wagon, St

Fruit peddlers with draft horses and covered wagon, St

In 1828, Yale became one of the founders and founding trustees of South Reading Academy, which was affiliated with Newton Theological Institution, and obtained the approval by Gov.

Levi Lincoln Jr. Levi Lincoln Jr. (October 25, 1782 – May 29, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician from Worcester, Massachusetts. He was the 13th Governor of Massachusetts (1825–1834) and represented the state in the U.S. Congress (1834–1841). Linc ...

and the Senate. Other trustees included Rev.

Lucius Bolles Lucius Bolles, D.D., S.T.D. (September 25, 1779 – January 5, 1844), sixth child of Rev. David Bolles, was born at Ashford, Connecticut. He was an 1801 graduate of Brown University and a student of theology three years with Samuel Stillman, of B ...

, abolitionist minister

Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor (October 18, 1792 – February 11, 1879) was an American Baptist minister known for his anti-slavery views. He founded the abolitionist American Baptist Free Mission Society, which did not allow slaveowners to be missionaries, ...

, College president Rufus Babcock, Rev. Enoch W. Freeman, and a few others. The school promoted access to higher education to South Reading citizens and taught courses in English and Classic learning. Over time, the school was discontinued and the land and building were sold to Yale and William Heath, who sold them back to the city in 1847. One of Yale's employees, Francis O. Dewey, became one of the largest glassware manufacturers in New England, and lived at Frank Palmer's house, the past supertintendent of the Boston Merchants Exchange. Yale was the largest employer in Wakefield in the early 19th century, and most of his fortune came from his tin ware factories.Images of America: Wakefield
Nancy Bertrand, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2000, p. 19-20-34-54 The basis of his fortune came from the growth of Wakefield from a small village of about 800 individuals at its incorporation, to a thriving suburb of Boston with thousands of citizens. The change came with the creation of the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

, which linked the city to Greater Boston, and gave Yale access to a larger customer base, while manufacturing his products in a lower cost area.Wakefield Revisited
Nancy Bertrand, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2010, p. 7 Yale would hire about 100 peddlers, selling tin ware articles with covered wagons and horses throughout New England, and used his newly acquired wealth to build a large General store in the city, with family members working under him.The Richardson Light Guard of Wakefield, Massachusetts
Barry M. Stentiford, McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2013, p. 25 For his personal affairs, he travelled by horse, as he did not have much trust in railways at the time. In addition to his 100 peddlers across New England, he had employees in his tavern and stores. Yale's businesses expanded over time, forcing him to build new facilities, and he eventually became one of the largest tin ware manufacturers in Massachusetts.

Death and legacy

Yale gave his name to Wakefield's

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

, named the Yale Engine House, or the Yale Fire Station, which he erected, and his former estate became the Yale Avenue Historic District. National Register of Historic places
United States Department of the Interior, May 23, 1989, Accessed February 29, 2024, p. 8-11-50-52-54 They acquired a William Jeffers hand-drawn tub, at a cost of about $1500 in 1852. It was named the Yale No. 1 in recognition of Yale's gift to the city, and the fire department was approved by the Massachusetts General Court to be the fire agency of Wakefield. It would remain the only fire engine house in the city until the American Civil War. Burrage Yale's Inn and the Yale Engine House are now both demolished. Number of luxurious homes would be built on his former estate on Yale Avenue by Boston businessmen. The next largest manufacturer in town was

Cyrus Wakefield Cyrus Wakefield (February 7, 1811 – October 26, 1873) was a manufacturer of rattan furniture and carriage bodies, and the founder of the Wakefield Rattan Company, the largest manufacturer of rattan products at the time. The town of Wakefiel ...

, who gave his name to the city, and became an early investor in the The Boston Globe. Yale died on September 5, 1860, at 79 years old. One of his daughters, Sarah A. Yale, married

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

's graduate, William Heath, pastor of South Reading Academy.Genealogical History of the Town of Reading, Massachusetts
Liley Eaton, Mudge & Son Printers, Boston, 1874, p. 214-251-252-346-347-348-395-396-411-421-423-557 His two other daughters, Lucilia T. and Octavia A., married to Rev. Nathan Monroe and Rev. George P. Smith. At the death of his first wife, Yale had remarried to Miss Richardson, and then, to Mary Carter Coolidge, widow of Col. Benjamin F. Baldwin, son of Col.

Loammi Baldwin Colonel Loammi Baldwin (January 10, 1744 – October 20, 1807) was a noted American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. Baldwin is known as the Father of American Civil Engineering. His five sons, Cyrus ...

, father of American Civil Engineering. Baldwin's brothers were prominent engineers in Boston, involved with

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the railroads, and were named

Loammi Baldwin Jr. Loammi Baldwin Jr. (May 16, 1780 – June 30, 1838) was an American civil engineer. His father was Col. Loammi Baldwin, a prominent civil engineer. Biography Baldwin was born at North Woburn, Massachusetts living at Baldwin House aka "The Baldw ...

, James F. Baldwin, George R. Baldwin and Cyrus Baldwin. Sarah's uncle was builder Elis Boardman of Elias Boardman House. Through Yale's third marriage with Mrs. Coolidge, he became the step-grandfather of Dr.

Roswell Park Roswell Park (May 4, 1852 – February 15, 1914) was an American physician, best known for starting Gratwick Research Laboratory in 1898, which is now known as Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 1900, the Gratwick family of Buffalo help ...

, founder of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.The Baldwin Genealogy from 1500 to 1881
Charles Candee Baldwin, Leader Printing Co., Cleveland, Ohio, 1881, p. 639 Yale's only son, Burrage Buchanan Yale, cofounded with Ebenezer G. Lamson, the gun manufacturer Lamson, Goodnow & Yale. The company had a major impact on the American Civil War, and was behind most of the 2 million weapons manufactured to the Union Army of Abraham Lincoln, mainly through their conversions of industrial factories into gun-making manufacturers. They also obtained special government contracts from the Lincoln administration, manufacturing muskets under their own brand, such as the Springfield Model 1861, in partnership with

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of r ...

, and dealing with Lincoln's Secretaries of War, Simon Cameron and Edwin Stanton.

Gallery

Burrage Yale Mansion and Yale's tin ware shop, c. 1880s, between the church and old house on the left, Wakefield, Massachusetts.png, Burrage Yale Mansion and Yale's tin ware shop, c. 1880s Yale Avenue to Lafayette Street, Wakefield, Massachusetts, Joseph Payro painting in the 1850s, Burrage Yale shop on the left.png, Yale Avenue to Lafayette Street, Yale's shop on the left, 1850s Wakefield, Massachusetts, Franklin Pole painting in 1840, Center School House, Burrage Yale tin shop in the distance.png, Burrage Yale tin shop in the distance, 1840 Wakefield, Massachusetts, c. 1860, Congregational Church, Yale Engine House on the right, then the blacksmith shop far right.png, Yale Engine House on the right before the shop, c. 1860 Yale Engine House, center, Wakefield, Massachusetts, c. 1850.png, Yale Engine House, c. 1850 Yale No, 1 hand tub, Yale Engine House, c. 1871, Wakefield, Massachusetts.png, Yale No. 1, hand fire engine, c. 1871

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yale, Burrage 1781 births 1860 deaths Yale family People from Wakefield, Massachusetts 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople American manufacturing businesspeople American businesspeople in metals American businesspeople in retailing Businesspeople from Massachusetts Massachusetts postmasters American justices of the peace