Joseph Barrell (merchant)

[1] In 1792, Barrell was "elected to the board" of Massachusetts branch of the newly established Bank of the United States, along with "George Cabot, Jonathan Mason Jr., ... and Fisher Ames.

For instance, the Hannah, commanded by William Haydon, sailed in May 1780, probably from Amsterdam, loaded with cargo for Barrell in Boston: "German steel, ... china ware, earthen pots, house brushes, spices, linens, velvets, writing paper, children's toys (among the rest a furnished kitchen valued at over six florins), wafers, flat-irons, tea and tea-kettles and window-glass.

"[4] Around 1787, "a group of merchants led by Bostonian Joseph Barrell, having read the account of Captain Cook's third voyage, believed that great profits could be made by trading sea-otter furs, highly prized in China, for tea and other wares.

"[5] In civic life, Barrell was appointed to an official town committee in 1789 to plan festivities in honor of George Washington's visit to Boston.

[14] "In 1784, Joseph Barrell, ... [an] immensely wealthy merchant, bought a house on Summer Street in Boston and built a lovely garden that was quite famous.

This was one of Bulfinch's first commissions, and the innovative design and resulting beauty of the house helped establish his reputation as an architect of great talent and creativity.

I walked, with my beautiful mother, through long alleys shaded by fine trees, with wide flower-beds on either hand, so radiant in color that one might almost have thought a rainbow had been thrown there.... Seen through the vista of sixty years a glow still lingers on the scene.

'"[19] "It was Mr. Barrell's ambition to create an ideal country seat, adorned with all the accessories of lawns, trees, gardens, terraces, greenhouses, fish-ponds, dove-cotes, poultry-yard, stable, coach-house, a well-stocked barn, and an attractive boat-house.