Papers of Washington Parker Gragg, 1832-1885 (bulk 1830s, 1860-1863)

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

Samuel Gragg (1772-1855) was a Boston chairmaker. He was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1772 to Major Samuel Gregg (1738-1808) and his wife Agnes (Smiley) Gregg (1743-1803). The family's last name is often seen spelled as both Gregg and Gragg, but Samuel Gragg seems to have primarily used Gragg throughout his life and business ventures. It is unknown where Gragg received his training his chair making. In his early twenties, he lived in New York for a period of four to five years until the death of his first wife, Lucinda Campbell.

Following Lucinda's death, he moved to Boston in 1801 at age 29. The same year, he married Elizabeth Hopkinson (1780-). The couple three children: twins Washington Parker (1803-1892) and Jefferson (1803-) and a daughter named Elizabeth. In Boston, Gragg went into business with experienced chairmaker William Hutchins. The pair opened a business called Gragg & Hutchins and worked together until 1808 when Gragg dissolved the partnership. On August 31, 1808, Gragg was awarded a United States patent for what he called a bentwood "Elastic Chair." He ultimately sold the patent for the innovative chair in 1810 to New York chairmakers Charles Marsh and Joseph Riley when it failed to find interest on the market. Gragg worked professionally in Boston for a number of years following this; despite the failure of the elastic chair, he continued to run a successful chair making business. He died on September 21, 1855.