David Ames (colonel)#Paper Manufacturing

David Ames was born to John Ames (captain) (April 7, 1738 - June 17, 1805) and Susanna (Howard) Ames (May 14, 1759 - January 11, 1821), both of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. His father was a prominent blacksmith who manufactured shovels and guns both prior to and during the American Revolution. His younger brother, Oliver Ames Sr. (April 11, 1779 - September 11, 1863), founded the Oliver Ames Shovel Company of North Easton, Massachusetts, in 1803. Other siblings include Susannah (Fobes), Keziah (Packard), Huldah (Willis), Abigail (Lazell), Cynthia and John. Susannah had triplet siblings, both died in infancy.Chaplin 2004, p. 74

At fifteen years old, David held a commission in the local militia during the American Revolution. Having apprenticed under iron worker and gunsmith Hugh Orr of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, he gained knowledge of colonial artillery and supplied guns and shovels valuable to the war effort.Chapin 1893, p.15Galer 2002, p. 19-20

Records show that he and Oliver assisted their father in shovel sales outside Bridgewater. In 1796, Oliver delivered 15 dozen shovels to David, who was to sell them for at least eight dollars per dozen in Hartford, Connecticut.Galer 2002, p. 18

File:Historic Springfield Armory.jpg

File:David Ames tablet.jpg

The Springfield Armory provided the American Armed Forces with weapons and state-of-the-art weapons engineering for nearly two hundred years. George Washington appointed David to Superintendent of the newly created Armory in 1794. He resigned on October 31, 1802.

In 1802, David bought a mill on the bank of the Mill River (Northampton, Massachusetts) in Springfield, MA. He tore down the original mill and erected a new one that would last for 75 years. Sons David Jr. and John went on to become successful in the paper manufacturing business under the name D. & J. Ames Paper. The Ames family established mills in Suffield, Connecticut, Northampton, South Hadley Falls and Chicopee Falls.Western 1910, p. 3 John obtained the Ames Cylinder Paper-Making Machine patent on May 14, 1822.Weeks 1969, p. 187 The patent documentation on sheepskin was signed by President Andrew Jackson.Republican 1917 It revolutionized the process by which a constantly moving cylinder was covered in mesh and, half submerged in the vat of pulp, produced a continuous sheet of paper material. It enabled one man to do the work of thirty.Chaplin 2004, p. 134-135Stone 1930, p. 483 On May 18, 1917, the Connecticut Valley Historical Society commemorated the Ames achievement as first paper manufacturers in the Connecticut Valley. Four generations of descendants were in attendance for the unveiling of a tablet, located at the corner of Maple St. and Mill St. in Springfield, Massachusetts.Republican 1910

David married Rebecca Johnson (December 26, 1758 - June 29, 1834), daughter of Major Isaac and Mary (Willis) Johnson of Bridgewater, MA, on November 15, 1781. They had nine children:Chaplin 2004, p. 134-138

• Lucinda Ames born February 15, 1782, married Benjamin Lamphear
• Mary Ames born September 9, 1784
• Rebecca Ames born December 5, 1786, married James Wells
• Susanna Ames born July 23, 1789, married Edward Pynchon
• David Ames Jr. born August 24, 1791, married Mary Orr Mitchell
• Abigail Ames born August 3, 1794, married Robert McDermott
• Galen Ames born July 21, 1796, married (1) Eliza Kent, (2) Elizabeth Wilson Little
• Charlotte Ames born September 5, 1798, married (1) Nathan Oakes, (2) Ephraim Bullard
• John Ames born September 2, 1800

{{Reflist}}

• {{Citation

| title = Tablet Unveiled David Ames Honored Pioneer Paper Maker

| newspaper = The Republican

| location = Springfield, MA

| date = May 19, 1917

| page = 2E

}}

• {{cite journal

| author =

| date = December 1910

| title = Western New England

| url =

| journal = Springfield Board of Trade

| volume = 1

| issue = 1

| pages = 3

| doi =

| access-date =

}}

• Chapin, Charles, W. (1893), Sketches of the Old Inhabitants and Other Citizens of Old Springfield of the Present Century, and It's Historic Mansions of "Ye Olden Tyme", Springfield, MA: Press of Springfield printing and binding company.
• Chaplin, Ann T. (2004),Descendents of William Ames of Braintree, Massachusetts, Newbury Street Press {{ISBN|0-88082-182-5}}.
• {{Citation

| last = Galer

| first = Greg

| title = Forging Ahead: The Ames Family of Easton, Massachusetts and Two Centuries of Industrial Enterprise, 1635-1861

| publisher = Massachusetts Institute of Technology

| date = 2002 }}

• Stone, Orra L. (1930),History of Massachusetts Industries: Their Inception, Growth, and Success, Vol. 1, Boston-Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company {{ISBN|0-88289-048-4}}.
• Weeks, Lyman H. (1969), A History of Paper-Manufacturing in the United States, 1690-1916, Ayer Company Publishing {{ISBN|0-83373-715-5}}.
• {{Citation

| last = Whittlesey

| first = Derwent, Lt.

| title = A History of Springfield Armory

| publisher = University of Chicago

| date = 1920 }}

• [https://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm/index.htm Springfield Armory]
• [http://lostnewengland.com/2016/04/david-ames-jr-house-springfield-mass/ David Ames, Jr. house]

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Category:1760 births

Category:1847 deaths

Category:People from Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Category:People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution

Category:Butler–Ames family

Category:Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution