The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 2 | Page 4

the town.
The question of an employment coming up for decision, it was
determined by his friends that the lad should go to Boston and enter the
shop of his eldest brother, John David, as an apprentice to the art of
whip making. At that time no machinery was employed in the business,
and the apprentice was taught every part of the craft.
Before the termination of his apprenticeship, his brother John David,
was removed by death and an opportunity was presented of taking the
stock and tools and carrying on the business. He was ambitious and his
early experiences had made him self-reliant and courageous. The

opening was promising, but he had neither money nor credit. In this
exigency a partnership was formed with Mr. Samuel B. Melendy, who
had some knowledge of the craft. With the beginning of the year 1821,
the firm of Melendy and David raised a sign in Dock Square. The
young men were willing to labor and they determined by industry and
economy to win success. For a time the room, which they hired, served
a two-fold use as they worked and slept in the same apartment. They
lived cheaply and the work benches were cleared at night to furnish a
place whereon to rest. Having no one to endorse a note for the firm in
Boston, they had recourse to Mr. William Melendy, who had recently
retired from business in the city and returned to Amherst, New
Hampshire. By the most direct route, the distance from Boston must
have been over forty-five miles, but Mr. Melendy, starting in the early
morning on foot, reached his destination at night, and securing the
signature of his brother returned the next day.
Such pluck insured success. The business became profitable, the firm
had a reputation for promptitude, and were soon able to command
capital. Retaining the store in Dock Square as a salesroom, the young
men adopted a more comfortable style of living. They were unlike in
their tastes and temperaments, the staid, cautious and steadfast
conservatism of the older partner, making an admirable combination
with the enterprising and hopeful spirit of the younger. Mr. David was
sagacious and ready to employ every advantage that would enlarge the
manufacture, or perfect the workmanship, or promote the sale of whips;
while his associate had a practical oversight of the shop and materials
which prevented any waste. The demand for their goods increased
rapidly, and with a view to larger facilities for the manufacture, and
diminished expenses, Mr. Melendy came to Amherst and commenced
work in the Manning Shop, so called, about a mile south of the village,
and a larger number of hands were employed. In the course of three
years, a salesman was placed in Boston, an agency started in New York,
and the business of manufacturing wholly transfered to this town.
There was an element of romance leavening these various transactions,
as in December on the twenty-second, 1825, Mr. Melendy was married
to Miss Eveline Boutelle of Amherst, and on the twenty-fifth of the
same month, Mr. David was married to Elizabeth Welch Melendy, a

sister of his partner. These were fortunate marriages. The parties were
not only happy in each other, but what is worthy special notice, a few
years later in 1831, very eligible houses were bought, one for each
family, at joint expense, which were occupied without interruption till
both couples had commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of their
marriage. During all this period, the property was held in common, and
the expenses of each family, however enlarged, were paid from the
common fund.
In 1830, stimulated by a desire to perfect his knowledge of the business
and secure any improvements in methods or machinery to be found in
England, Mr. David sailed for Liverpool.
As might be anticipated, in subordination to this main interest Mr.
David sought to enlarge his knowledge of English men and English
institutions. He became familiar with their commercial habits, visiting
public buildings and places of historical importance, so that fifty years
afterwards he could speak of parks, streets, and sections of the city of
London in which any recent event occured as if he had been an eye
witness. He was present at the opening of the Liverpool and
Manchester Railway when Lord Huskinson was killed, being crushed
by the wheels of the locomotive. At this time he saw the Duke of
Wellington, with other distinguished men, members of Parliament, and
nobility. On his return to America, he brought a machine for winding
whip-stocks, the first ever used in this country. The machine was
subsequently duplicated, and proved a valuable accession to the trade.
He also introduced some new materials, and enlarged the variety of
fashions. In other respects the manufacture was unchanged. The
prosperity of the firm had