Burrage Yale (1781 – 1860) was an American tin ware manufacturer and Justice of the Peace from

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-nor ...

. 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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and the cofounder of

South Reading Academy South Reading Academy is a historic former school building at 7 Foster Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts, US. Built in 1828–29 for the First Baptist Church, the building has served as a religious school, public high school, clubhouse, and com ...

, 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 Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

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. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...

, the son of

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

Amerton Yale and Sarah Merriman, members of the

Yale family Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges char ...

.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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, and was at

Tryon's raid Tryon's Raid occurred in July 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, in which 2700 men, led by British Major General William Tryon, raided the Connecticut ports of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. They destroyed military and public sto ...

in 1779. His grandfather, Nash Yale, was also a soldier of the Revolution. Yale was a cousin of abolitionist lawyer Barnabas Yale, inventor

Linus Yale Sr. Linus Yale (April 27, 1797 – August 8, 1858) was an American businessman, inventor, metalsmith, and politician. He was a founder of Lamson, Goodnow, and Yale, an American manufacturer of bank locks, and served as the first Mayor of Ne ...

of the

Yale Lock Company Yale is a lock manufacturer and a subsidiary of Assa Abloy, except in the United States and Canada where the brand has been owned by Fortune Brands Innovations since 2023. The global company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Its initial p ...

, and of Louisa D. Wilcox, family of millionaire Congressman Chester W. Chapin 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 Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Other cousins included Capt. Josiah Yale from the Revolutionary War, and Col. Braddam Yale of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. His nephew was Dr. Leroy Milton Yale Jr. of the New York Etching Club. He was distantly related to the Yales of the Britannia ware factories in Yalesville, Connecticut. Members of this branch included merchant William Yale, Gen. Edwin R. Yale and Senator Charles Dwight Yale, 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

, 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 tin ware industry as a tin

peddler A peddler (American English) or pedlar (British English) is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of good (economics), goods. In 19th-century United States the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exem ...

, and thereafter, as a

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

in a small shop that he established in 1802. In 1808, Yale married teacher Sarah S. Boardman, daughter of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

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 most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

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

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

. Buchanan married secondly to Mary Macferran, sister of Lt. Col. William K. Macferran of the 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, part of General

George Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army and the Union army as Major General in command of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War from 1 ...

'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 Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

factories were operated by Mr. Richardson and Mr. Boardman. He then became a

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

dealer of

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

plates, and a large commodity dealer during the

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 The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

. He became Wakefield's town treasurer and Justice of the Peace for number of years. He was also town moderator.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 A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

named the Burrage Yale Inn, next to his factories in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, and on March 16, 1827, he became the first

of South Reading, Massachusetts, 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. In 1828, Yale became one of the founders and founding trustees of

, which was affiliated with

Newton Theological Institution Newton Theological Institution was a Baptist theological seminary founded on November 28, 1825 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Newton adopted the graduate education model and three-year curriculum pioneered by Andover Theological Seminary, wit ...

, and obtained the approval by Gov. Levi Lincoln Jr. and the Senate. Other trustees included Rev. Lucius Bolles, 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 missionari ...

, 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 upTypical drinkware. This list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware), tableware used to set a table for eating a meal and generally glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory ...

manufacturers in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, 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 Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

with thousands of citizens. The change came with the creation of the

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

, which linked the city to

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

, 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

s, selling tin ware articles with

covered wagon A covered wagon, also called a prairie wagon, whitetop, or prairie schooner, is a horse-drawn or ox-drawn wagon used for passengers or freight hauling. It has a canvas, tarpaulin, or waterproof sheet which is stretched over removable wooden ...

s and horses throughout New England, and used his newly acquired wealth to build a large

General store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

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

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s 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 Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Death and legacy

Yale gave his name to Wakefield's

fire department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

, named the Yale Engine House, or the Yale Fire Station, which he erected, and his former estate became the

Yale Avenue Historic District The Yale Avenue Historic District is a residential historic district near the center of Wakefield, Massachusetts. It encompasses eight residential properties, all but one of which were developed in the 1860s and 1870s, after the arrival of th ...

. 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 The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

to be the fire agency of Wakefield. It would remain the only

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

house in the city until the

. 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 Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

. Yale died on September 5, 1860, at 79 years old. One of his daughters, Sarah A. Yale, married Dartmouth's graduate, William Heath, pastor of

.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, father of American

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

. Baldwin's brothers were prominent engineers in Boston, involved with

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

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 Bal ...

, 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 and cancer researcher, best known for starting Gratwick Research Laboratory in 1898, which is now known as Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Biography Roswell Pa ...

, founder of

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded by surgeon Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. Th ...

.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

, and was behind most of the 2 million weapons manufactured to the Union Army of

, mainly through their conversions of industrial factories into gun-making manufacturers. They also obtained special government contracts from the

Lincoln administration Abraham Lincoln's tenure as the 16th president of the United States began on March 4, 1861, and ended upon his death on April 15, 1865, days into his second term. Lincoln, the first Republican president, successfully presided over the Union ...

, manufacturing

muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

under their own brand, such as the

Springfield Model 1861 The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket used by the United States Army during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" (after its original place of production, Springfield, Massachusetts). It was the ...

, 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 and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Col ...

, and dealing with Lincoln's Secretaries of War,

Simon Cameron Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Ameri ...

and

Edwin Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's manag ...

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