Thomas Hunt & Company

Thomas Hunt & Company was a ship chandler, dry dock and commission merchant firm based on the Pearl River near Whampoa, China with satellite offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm was founded by Salem, Massachusetts native Thomas Hunt in the mid 1840s and initially only carried dispatches between Canton and Whampoa. Hunt soon expanded his packet boat business to include a ship chandler. The company furnished American vessels with ship supplies and assisted in unloading goods and supplies for shipment to Canton to be sold at market. After having made a fortune, Hunt sold his business to fellow Salem natives James Bridges Endicott and James P. Cook in 1854 and returned home to Massachusetts. Thomas Hunt & Co. expanded business after Endicott and Cook took over, establishing a commission merchant business in Hong Kong with offices in Whampoa and Shanghai.

From the guide to the Thomas Hunt & Company business records, 1860-1869, (Baker Library, Harvard Business School)