Wyeth, Nathaniel J. (Nathaniel Jarvis), 1830-1916

Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth was born near Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 29, 1802, the son of Jacob Wyeth and Elizabeth Jarvis. He had at least three siblings, including Jacob and Leonard. The elder Jacob Wyeth operated the Fresh Pond Hotel. Nathaniel joined him in managing the hotel in the mid-1820s and married Elizabeth Jarvis Stone, a cousin, in 1824. During the winters, he collected ice from a nearby pond, which led to his invention of a horse-drawn ice cutter; he sold the patent in 1832. In 1831, he organized an expedition to Oregon with his brother Jacob and his cousin, John Bound Wyeth, with the intention of exploring trade possibilities. After several unsuccessful attempts to enter the fur and salmon trades, Nathaniel finally returned east in 1836, living in Cambridge and working in the ice and shipping industries for the remainder of his life. Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth died on August 31, 1856.

From the guide to the Nathaniel J. Wyeth collection, Wyeth, Nathaniel J. collection, 1831-1853, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)

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