Richard P. Waters Papers

Richard Palmer Waters (1807-1887) was born in Salem, Massachusetts on September 29, 1807, the youngest child of Robert and Lydia (Gellison) Waters. Following the early death of his father, Waters assumed an adult's responsibilities at an early age. The bulk of his education was received in the counting houses of Salem, and by his twenty-fifth year, he was master of a small retail store. Throughout his life he was allied with the abolitionist cause, supporting the antislavery Crombie Street Church. In the early 1830s, Salem merchants such as Michael Shepard and John Bertram took an active interest in trade with Zanzibar. With their assistance, the endorsement of former Senator Nathaniel Silsbee, and an introduction to President Andrew Jackson by Stephen C. Phillips, Waters became the first American Consul to Zanzibar in 1837. While in Zanzibar, he acted as an agent for a number of Salem merchants, including David Pingree and Benjamin and George West. The fortune he made in Zanzibar enabled Waters to purchase the Cherry Hill Estate in North Beverly upon his return to America in 1845. Waters was elected to the State Legislature in 1855, and was an active member of the Essex Agricultural Society, the Essex Historical Society and the Essex County Natural History Society. He died unmarried at Cherry Hill on May 19, 1887.

This digital collection chiefly contains material related to Waters consulship and business dealings in Zanzibar. There are two collections of Richard P. Waters Papers at the Phillips Library. Click the Find Out More button to view the finding aids.