JOHN PERKINS CUSHING
Name: John Perkins Cushing
Born: 22 April 1787
Died: 1862
John Perkins Cushing (b. April 22, 1787 - d.1862), called "Ku-Shing" by the
Chinese, was a very wealthy Boston sea merchant, opium smuggler, and
philanthropist. His sixty-foot pilot schooner, the Sylph, won the first recorded
American yacht race in 1832, and the town of Belmont, Massachusetts is named
after his estate.
Perkins was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Robert and Ann Perkins (Maynard)
Cushing. His sister Nancy later married Henry Higginson. When his mother died of
smallpox, Cushing was raised by his uncle, Thomas Handasyd Perkins, and in 1803
at age 16 sailed for China to become clerk in his uncle's counting house. The
head of the firm in China soon fell ill and died at sea. Cushing thus arrived in
China to find himself Perkins & Company's sole agent. There he remained for
nearly 30 years.
Cushing managed the affairs of the firm skillfully and was soon taken into
partnership. Under Cushing, the firm of Perkins & Company was formally
established in Canton in 1806. At one point he made a good profit during a
famine in China by importing rice. During the War of 1812, the family loaned
their money out--at 18 percent interest--to other merchants in Canton. But the
fur trade paled and when hard cash grew harder to come by, a search began for a
substitute for the furs and specie that had been foundations of Boston's China
trade. Opium seemed the ideal commodity. By the 1820s Cushing was known as the
most influential of all the foreigners in Canton, and had struck up a close
relationship with the hong merchant Houqua, who at his death in 1843 was said to
be the richest man in the world.
In 1820 Cushing brought on his cousin Thomas Tunno Forbes to train for the
business. Forbes, however, died in 1827 before assuming control of the firm.
Cushing, eager for retirement and lacking a suitable replacement, made
arrangements to dissolve Perkins & Company by an 1827 consolidation with Russell
& Co (created by China trader Samuel Russell in 1823).
He returned to Boston in 1830 with Eastern manners and manservants, and soon
married the only daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner of Trinity
Church, Boston. It was rumored at the time that there was much disappointment
among the young ladies of Boston, who, as some one expressed it, "beset him like
bumblebees about a lump of sugar."
Cushing built himself a handsome mansion on Summer Street, acquired a splendid
200-acre (0.81 km²) estate in Watertown named "Bellmont" (now part of Belmont,
which is named after his estate), and erected one of the finest conservatories
in New England. His house was one of the finest and most comfortable of any in
or near Boston. It was a double one a house within a house and thus warm in
winter and cool in summer. Its spacious grounds and beautiful gardens were open
to the public, and thousands of visitors went out there each year. Once when the
assessors called upon him to question him as to his taxes, he asked, "What is
the entire amount to be raised?" The sum was named by the assessors, whereupon
Mr. Cushing said, "You can charge the whole amount to me."
Cushing was very fond of the Perkins family, and often brought to the house
presents of large boxes of the finest white sugar. He spent much time at their
house, and when one heard "deuce, ace, tray", it was safe to assume that either
William Appleton or Cushing was engaged in a backgammon contest with Colonel
Perkins.
Name: John Perkins Cushing
Born: 22 April 1787
Died: 1862
John Perkins Cushing (b. April 22, 1787 - d.1862), called "Ku-Shing" by the
Chinese, was a very wealthy Boston sea merchant, opium smuggler, and
philanthropist. His sixty-foot pilot schooner, the Sylph, won the first recorded
American yacht race in 1832, and the town of Belmont, Massachusetts is named
after his estate.
Perkins was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Robert and Ann Perkins (Maynard)
Cushing. His sister Nancy later married Henry Higginson. When his mother died of
smallpox, Cushing was raised by his uncle, Thomas Handasyd Perkins, and in 1803
at age 16 sailed for China to become clerk in his uncle's counting house. The
head of the firm in China soon fell ill and died at sea. Cushing thus arrived in
China to find himself Perkins & Company's sole agent. There he remained for
nearly 30 years.
Cushing managed the affairs of the firm skillfully and was soon taken into
partnership. Under Cushing, the firm of Perkins & Company was formally
established in Canton in 1806. At one point he made a good profit during a
famine in China by importing rice. During the War of 1812, the family loaned
their money out--at 18 percent interest--to other merchants in Canton. But the
fur trade paled and when hard cash grew harder to come by, a search began for a
substitute for the furs and specie that had been foundations of Boston's China
trade. Opium seemed the ideal commodity. By the 1820s Cushing was known as the
most influential of all the foreigners in Canton, and had struck up a close
relationship with the hong merchant Houqua, who at his death in 1843 was said to
be the richest man in the world.
In 1820 Cushing brought on his cousin Thomas Tunno Forbes to train for the
business. Forbes, however, died in 1827 before assuming control of the firm.
Cushing, eager for retirement and lacking a suitable replacement, made
arrangements to dissolve Perkins & Company by an 1827 consolidation with Russell
& Co (created by China trader Samuel Russell in 1823).
He returned to Boston in 1830 with Eastern manners and manservants, and soon
married the only daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner of Trinity
Church, Boston. It was rumored at the time that there was much disappointment
among the young ladies of Boston, who, as some one expressed it, "beset him like
bumblebees about a lump of sugar."
Cushing built himself a handsome mansion on Summer Street, acquired a splendid
200-acre (0.81 km²) estate in Watertown named "Bellmont" (now part of Belmont,
which is named after his estate), and erected one of the finest conservatories
in New England. His house was one of the finest and most comfortable of any in
or near Boston. It was a double one a house within a house and thus warm in
winter and cool in summer. Its spacious grounds and beautiful gardens were open
to the public, and thousands of visitors went out there each year. Once when the
assessors called upon him to question him as to his taxes, he asked, "What is
the entire amount to be raised?" The sum was named by the assessors, whereupon
Mr. Cushing said, "You can charge the whole amount to me."
Cushing was very fond of the Perkins family, and often brought to the house
presents of large boxes of the finest white sugar. He spent much time at their
house, and when one heard "deuce, ace, tray", it was safe to assume that either
William Appleton or Cushing was engaged in a backgammon contest with Colonel
Perkins.