Wessel Duval & Company

{{Short description|Shipping Company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Wessel, Duval & Co.

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| foundation = {{start date|1825}} Boston, Massachusetts, United States

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|defunct =

| area_served = World Wide

| industry = Shipping, Transportation

| products =

| revenue =

| key_people = Augustus Hemenway, Hector Beeche, Charles P. Hemenway, T. Quincy Browne

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| homepage =https://wesselduval.com

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}}

File:Wesselduval_chile.jpg

File:CompaniaSudAmericanadeVapores_WesseDuval.jpg

Wessel, Duval & Co. was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1825 Augustus Hemenway (Edward Augustus Holyoke Hemenway) (1805-1876) as Hemenway & Co.. Augustus Hemenway started the shipping company to move his timber products to markets. Augustus Hemenway had timberland in Maine and started his schooner shipping company to take timber to Eastcoast ports. Later he opened a sugar plant in Cuba, his ships would take lumber to Cuba and bring back sugar. Next, he expanded his timber products to Argentina and other Western South American ports. By 1828 the company expanded to Valparaiso, Chile. Augustus Hemenway married into a Boston merchant family, marrying Mary Tileston (1820-1894) in 1840.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Hemenway/6000000021135185111|title=Mary Porter Hemenway|website=geni_family_tree|date=2 March 2015 }} In 1865 Héctor Beéche (?-1914) became a partner in the firm and a subsidiary company, Wessel, Duval y Cía, was founded in Chile by Charles P. Hemenway, Augustus's brother. Charles had acted on Augustus' behalf in other matters as needed and became a partner in 1870. T. Quincy Browne became a partner in 1870 also and for a few years the firm was called Hemenway & Browne. In 1875 William Muller joined as a partner, the name returned to Hemenway & Co. Augustus Hemenway died in Cuba in 1876.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Hemenway/6000000021135281859|title=Edward Augustus Holyoke Hemenway|website=geni_family_tree|date=6 December 2016 }} The partnership continued as Hemenway & Co. till 1885. In 1885 Muller retired and Carlos Wolff joined the partnership, the company name was changed to Hemenway, Beeche and Co.. In 1888 Peter "Perdo" M. Wessel (1851-1821) joined the partnership and the company name was changed to Browne, Beeche and Co..

In 1891 a New York City office was opened on 68 Brad Street, and most key workers moved to New York. The next year the Boston office was closed. In 1896 Wolff retired and in 1897 George L. Duval (1855-1931), W. L. Parker, and q became partners. With the new partners, the company name was changed to Beeche and Co.. In 1905 T. F. Budge and Robert Jaffray became partners. In 1907 the company name was changed to Wessel, Duval & Co. In the 1900s the company moved from sailing ships to steamships and opened a new West Coast Line at 47 Cedar Street, later moved to 1 Broadway. The West Coast Line started regular service from New York City to Valparaiso and Callao, Peru. West Coast Line main cargo was railroad and mining equipment to the expanding business in Chile and Peru, along with general cargo. The Chile rail firm, Ferrocarril del Llano de Maipo in Santiago used Wessel, Duval & Co. to import their railroad equipment in 1890.[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ferrocarril_del_Llano_del_Maipo Photos of Ferrocarril del Llano de Maip train, shipped by Wessel, Duval & Co.] The return cargo from Chile was nitrate of soda. The West Coast Line chartered steamship as needed and was the US manager and agent for other shipping lines. West Coast Line also shipped UK and US coal for coal ships and to nations. For the West coast of South America both the steamer and sail ships used the starits of Magellan, this changed on August 15, 1914, with the opening of the Panama Canal, some routes began to use the Panama Canal cutting about 10,000 miles off the trip. The outbreak of World War I changed service, some charted ships were requisition by their home country, and the United States Shipping Board, gave some ships to the Line to operate for the War effort. Normal operations did not return till 1924, all post-war work have been completed. In from 1920 to 1932, West Coast Line was the US agent for Compania Sud Americana de Vapores, the South America Steamship Company of Chile. South America Steamship Company had luxury passenger service to and from Chile and New York City, on a fleet of luxury steamers: SS Renaico, SS Aconcagua and SS Teno.[http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/archive-web/csav/CSAV-1b.jpg Compania Sud Americanade Vapores service from Chile to New Your through agent Wesse Duval and Company][http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/archive-web/csav/CSAV-1i.jpg Photos of Compania Sud Americanade Vapores ship interior][http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/archive-web/csav/CSAV29.jpg Map of Compania Sud Americanade Vapores-Wessel Duval & Company ports] During World War II Wessel Duval & Company operated ships to support the war in the Pacific War and European theatre.The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels, by Greg H. Williams, page ] Wessel, Duval & Co. operated some ships in the support of Korean War in the early 1950s. As ships aged and were retired Wessel, Duval & Co. has moved into media, advertising and marketing.{{Cite web|url=https://wesselduval.com/about|title=Our Company|website=wesselduval.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-lCAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Augustus+Hemenway%22+%22Wessel%22+%22Duval%22&pg=PA3|title=A Centennial Review of the Business Founded by Augustus Hemenway of Boston in 1825 and Now Conducted by Wessel, Duval & Co: New York, Valparaiso, Chile and Lima, Peru with Collateral Branches : 1825-1925|date=January 28, 1925|publisher=Wessel, Duval & Company|via=Google Books}}A Centennial Review of the Business Founded by Augustus Hemenway of Boston