In 1820, the Fall River Manufactury, built a little earlier, on a bank of the Quequechan River in Troy, was incorporated. David Anthony, Israel’s brother-in-law; Dexter Wheeler, his wife’s uncle; and Abraham Bowen, were behind its building, and, under the circumstances, Israel got yarn for his farmhouse weavers, as soon as it was spun in any quantity by this Fall River Yarn Mill. Making the connection still closer, it was David Anthony who took charge of the running of the mill—call him Agent or treasurer. In the year of this incorporation of the company, 1820, Anthony sent over to Israel’s Egypt store, a consignment of cotton yarn, woven at once by the weavers of Somerset into 253-1/2 yards of plaid cloth.

At another time, David Anthony as Agent, sold Israel, outright, some blue and white warp, for $77.00. And the weavers of Swansea wove it into bedticking which Israel kept for his own trading purposes.

Toward the end of his trading career, Israel bought from the Fall River Manufactury some cloth not only spun but actually woven in the mill. He bought 52 yards of checks at $.15 a yard. The downfall of Israel’s big yarn business was at hand, for this cloth, woven as well as spun in the factory, was not too bad—not too bad.

The weave books that Israel must have kept to record his trading with the yarn mill of Troy, were not in the barrel. So all the information we have on the matter is contained in a few letters and bills which passed between Mr. Brayton and Mr. Anthony, as they were careful to call each other on paper. Except, of course, the names of the Troy weavers who wove the yarn for other factories, and appear in other yarn books. And we have found in this way that a very great number of Fall River-Troy people did home weaving for Israel. The Fall River-Troy nomenclature is confusing, for all during the barrel period, that part of the present City of Fall River which lies along the banks of the lower Quequechan River, was legally called Troy. Though it had been called Fall River before 1804 and was called so again after 1834. In all the weave books “Troy” is used, always. But some of the oldest and more sophisticated concerns had letter heads with “Troy. Fall River”.

That part of the present city of Fall River which lies around Brightman Street, was in the barrel days called Freetown. And in the Weave Books are many persons listed as living in Freetown. Their names can be found on the tombstones in the old North Burying Ground. You will find 12 members of the Brightman family in the Weave Books. And 20 members of the Read family who lived at the foot of French’s Hill.

I am somewhat clumsily explaining to the present generation that most of the old families of Fall River had one or more members who took yarn from Israel Brayton and wove it up into cotton cloth right in their own homes on their own looms. And that this yarn they wove was spun in the factories of Fall River as well as in a number of small factories on the west side of the Taunton River. I am printing at the end of this book a list of the people who are known to have done this weaving, and it is surprisingly long, for the village was small. But I think, even so, it is not a complete list.

Israel had other connections with Troy, of course. He bought nails from the Iron Works as soon as the Iron Works made nails. He sold nails to the ships that were building in Somerset and Egypt. Ships had to have kegs of nails on board, of course, and Israel took to outfitting ships, getting requests for odd things, such as “a few yards of white flannel suitable for lining pea-jackets”. And “Tarpolin hats.”

The ship “Rosette” of Troy bought her stores from Israel in Egypt. The ship “Rambler” of Troy landed 240 pounds of yarn one day in Egypt, for Israel. The sloop “Reindeer” bought her stores from Israel. But the Troy ships were a bit high and mighty. Troy was beginning to grow. Hezekiah Anthony wrote from Providence to Israel in 1827:

I presume she did.

David Anthony, who was actually manager of both the Iron Works and the Fall River Factory, took the trouble to write the same little notes to Israel that the other Factory managers had written. Not many were preserved.

This was in 1825, when the first bank in Fall River was organized. The Fall River Bank and the Fall River Factory were one. As Hezekiah Anthony, David Anthony’s brother, had written to Israel in 1820: “I consider bank stock as good if not the best property you can at present have”, I think Israel took up the offer. Israel’s connections with Fall River banks were close. But he used the Warren Bank, established earlier, more often.

One odd result of Israel’s trading with everybody for everything, was that he was paid in many sorts of money. (When paid in money at all.) He used to wait until he got a bagful, and then he would send the bag to a local bank or even up to Boston and get the quoted rate of exchange. Silver dollars were not wanted by any wholesale house or bank. Though they were worth a dollar, that was conceded. But crowns, doubloons, francs, and guineas were Israel’s coin, taken in over the counter in Swansea and Egypt. Nothing parochial about Israel.

Various little business firms were just starting up in Troy during the barrel period. Israel traded with Lovell and Durfee—a certain John Brayton was their clerk—they sold Israel yellow snuff. In 1824, Cromwell Bliss of Troy sold Israel 1000 cigars.

And Israel sold some of the Swansea Paper to the Troy Merchants. Seventeen quires were returned because it was not of the first quality. “It is not the quality that you recommend it to be.”