James Locke

James Locke: A Brief Biography

James Locke's story is a good example of some of the mysteries in the history of the men and women who experienced the Industrial Revolution. Consider the evidence in this mystery story:

Locke is listed in the New York City directory from 1831-1836.
His assets are listed in the tax assessments for 1832-1836. (He was worth between $500 and $1000, a substantial amount in those days.)
Many of his tools are marked "1818" and "New York."
One plane has been shimmed with a business card that reads "Lewis Farnham, House Carpenter and Joiner, No. 16 Provost Street." Farnham was at that address only during 1821
Locke's eighty planes can be roughly divided between those made in England before 1818 and those made in America after that date.
Most of Locke's tools look almost new, as thought they had never been used.
Locke was not a member of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, the organization of established master craftsmen.
Locke does not appear on the U.S. Census rolls.

What to make of this evidence? Perhaps Locke immigrated to this country in about 1818, bought tools to add to his British tools, and went into cabinetmaking. Urban artisans were among the first American workers to feel the changes of industrialization; at about this time cabinetmakers began to work in larger shops, specializing in one part of the work. Perhaps Locke did not approve and left the trade (that would explain the tools' excellent condition) and went to work for Farnham as a house carpenter. Not until the 1830s, when the American economy boomed, did he become prosperous enough to be listed in the city directories and the tax rolls. Perhaps the crash of 1837 bankrupted him, or caused him to leave New York to find his fortune elsewhere.

That is one possibility. Another is that the 1818 was the year Locke finished his apprenticeship. He simply bought the British tools in his kit (or inherited them, or was given them by his master) and soon thereafter left the city and trade. The Locke of the city directories and the tax rolls might be his son, or another man of the same name.

Back to the Cabinetmaker's toolchest page

Back to the main page