Primary Resources

Primary Sources Connected to 2009 Working Summer Institute Workshops

This is a page designed to help you locate local Essex County resources. They are linked to lessons which were created especially for the Essex LINCs seminars. You can access the lesson plans on the Lesson Plans page. Primary Sources listed here were located by our museum educator, Rebecca Zimmerman. Please contact us if you have any comments or questions regarding these documents.

(All images link to .pdf files)

July, 2009 & 2010 Summer Institute Workshop
George Peabody House, Peabody, Mass.

Documents for the Entrepreneurship In Essex County (.pdf) Lesson

This lesson was designed to allow students to examine the concept of “entrepreneurship” and how businesses are conceived, formed and developed. It encourages students to think about the many factors involved in creation of a business; from finding a location, obtaining materials, advertising, and building a clientele and nurturing an expanding business. It also asks students to consider how wealth is used within a business and as a means of philanthropy.

Specifically the lessons examine the establishment and growth of a barbershop owned by an African American in Lynn, Phillip Ruffin, and the career of a noted merchant, banker and philanthropist from Peabody, whose influence is evident in Essex County and across the nation. Both men show the traits of an “entrepreneur” albeit in very different ways. The opportunities and paths chosen by these men show some similarities and many marked differences. Yet both are indicative of an American spirit that is often cited in the story of 19th century economic history.

The ABC book activity described here may be used as a model for a culminating piece to allow students to show what they have learned about a study of Essex County “work” in a general way. It is planned to come at the end of a unit, but may be adapted by the teacher to assess understanding at any point. In fact it might be a good activity to assign at the beginning of a unit and then monitor work throughout the block of lessons, setting benchmark positions as the exploration of the topic progresses. While the primary source used as a model highlights the topic of shoe making, the activity itself take a broader look at “Work in Essex County.”

Documents from the... Peabody Institute Library, Peabody, MA

Images of George Peabody
George Peabody was a financier and philanthropist. He was born in S. Danvers ( present day Peabody, MA) and became a wealthy businessman. Though he moved to Baltimore and then England, he never forgot his hometown and made many generous gifts to Danvers, Peabody and surrounding towns.He is known to have given away more than $8 million during his lifetime. The above images are from the Peabody Institute Library. The first image is from 1814

Primary Sources ...from the Lynn Museum and Historical Society, Lynn MA

Lynn City Directory for 1856
This page of the directory lists Phillip Ruffin as a barber working on the South Common.

Bill for Barbering, 1848
Before arriving in Lynn, Ruffin worked as a barber in Norfolk, VA. This is a bill for his barbering services.

Bill of Sale for Barber's Tools, 1852
Phillip Ruffin bought barber's shears and other tools of his trade upon moving north to Massachusetts.

Tax bills for Phillip Ruffin, 1855
Bills for poll, real estate and personal estate taxes for the year 1856.

Bill for Newspapers, 1856
A subscription to the local newspaper was important for a business that had a waiting room and wanted to attract customers who would linger. This document also includes a bill for more barbering tools bought in Boston.

Shop Rent for Phillip Ruffin, 1856
Ruffin rented his shop by the quarter year.

Transcript (pdf)
Listing of Contents of the Ruffin Barber Shop, 1856
In 1856, Phillip Ruffin died and a listing of the contents of his shop was compiled, probably for estate purposes. Nothing is know of what happened to his family.

Funeral Expenses for Phillip Ruffin, 1856
This bill for funeral expenses lists the costs for the coffin and the carriages which would take mourners to the funeral.

Primary Sources ...from the Haverhill Public Library, Haverhill, MA

Shoe Primer, 1914 - pages 1-2
An ABC book of shoe related words - this salesman sample can be used as a jumping off point for a simple ABC book to explain "Working in Essex County".