The first meeting of the New Bridge Oyster Company is recorded in the minutes dated February 6, 1863:

At a meeting of inhabitants of New Bridge and vicinity held at the house of Nelson H. Smith for the purpose of Forming a Company for the planting of Oysters.

The organization was a community venture. Comparison of the names of the participants with those inscribed on a contemporary land map reveals that about one-third of the realty owners in the community—farmers, a few fishermen, the owner of the net factory, and the local physician—purchased stock and participated in the company's organization and supervision. During the last year of the known existence of this enterprise, 1867-68, shareholders from neighboring villages became involved in the business.

Recently several very interesting papers concerning the Perkins and Cabots of a century ago have come to the Manuscript Department of Baker Library as a gift of the estate of the late Professor Philip Cabot. Among these papers are three which pertain not only to one of Boston's most successful merchants, Thomas Handasyd Perkins, but also to one of America's foremost statesmen and business lawyers, Daniel Webster. One of the three papers is presented below.