Joseph Peabody

Joseph Peabody was born in 1757, in Middleton, Massachusetts. During his life he became one of the richest men in Massachusetts, advancing from farmer to international merchant and shipowner.

Peabody was born into the family of Deacon Francis Peabody (1715-1797) and Margaret Knight (1722-1806), and spend his youth helping the family with their agricultural production. During the American Revolution he served as a privateer aboard Bunker Hill and Pilgrim. After the war he turned to commercial dealings and had purchased a schooner, Three Friends, which he used for trading in Europe and the West Indies.

From 1783 to 1891 Peabody was constantly at sea, on numerous voyages to Europe and the West Indies. In those eight years he had amassed a large fortune and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, where he established himself as a merchant and carried on an extensive trade in the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the West Indies, China, and India. His company owned 63 ships and one of the most profitable enterprises was the famous pepper trade between Salem, Massachusetts and Sumatra.

Joseph Peabody died in Salem in 1844.