Archibald Chisholm
(c.1740s-1810)
MSA SC 3520-16848
Biography:
Birth: c.1740s in Scotland. Marriage: Elizabeth Waters, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 1777.[1]
Evidence of the Chisholm clan in the highlands of Inverness, Scotland along with several birth records of Archibald Chisholms in Edinburgh would indicate that Annapolis cabinetmaker Archibald Chisholm was born sometime around the mid-1740s and arrived in Annapolis in the 1760s, around the same time as fellow Scottish cabinetmaker John Shaw. The earliest known record of Chisholm in Annapolis dates to a 1770 Anne Arundel County land record in which he took William Carter on as an indentured servant.[2]
In Annapolis, Archibald Chisholm partnered with John Shaw in 1772 and the two established themselves as well-respected cabinetmakers, creating the biggest firm in the city.[3] The pair also worked with other craftsmen of Annapolis including blacksmith Isaac Harris and musical instrument-maker Joshua Collins. During the Revolutionary War, Chisholm and Shaw manufactured muskets for the Continental Army and began to conduct regular business with the state in the trade of goods and unspecified work.[4/5/6] Chisholm and Shaw completed both public and private commissions during the war years. Edward Lloyd IV was a frequent customer, and his accounts between 1780-1795 indicate a preference to Chisholm over Shaw. Apart from cabinetmaking, Chisholm and Shaw also repaired items and imported luxury goods. In her master's thesis on the Lloyd family, Alexandra A. Alevizatos also notes an organ repair done by Chisholm for Edward Lloyd IV which "substantiates the notion that Chisholm distinguished himself as a maker of musical instruments in Annapolis."[7]
Chisholm and Shaw both worked in a neoclassical style of cabinetmaking that fit within the "neat and plain" aesthetic popular in Annapolis. A letter from Chisholm to Governor Johnson in 1777 noted that Chisholm had been "abroad" on business only a few weeks before the composition of the letter. Thus, there remains a possibility that Chisholm had traveled back to Britain and had been influenced by the modern styles of the period in his own work.[8]
In 1776, Chisholm and John Shaw dissolved their partnership and Chisholm relocated his shop to Charles Peale's house on Church Street in Annapolis.[9] Chisholm largely worked independently after the dissolution of Shaw & Chisholm, though he and Shaw resumed business for one year in 1784 after Shaw's shop burned. In 1777, Archibald Chisholm married the well-connected Elizabeth Waters. Chisholm retired from cabinetmaking in 1794 and lived on the land he acquired in his marriage in West River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Chisholm died in 1810 a wealthy and well-respected member of his community.[10]
[1] Barnes, Robert, Maryland Marriages 1634-1777. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1975, p.33.
[2] ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY COURT (Land Records), 1770-1771, vol. IB#2 p.81-82, MSA CE 76-25.
[3] The Maryland Gazette, 25 February 1773.
[4] Maryland, Council of Safety, "February 23." American Archives Series 4, Volume 5, Page 1538, accessed 21 August 2013.
[5] GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL (Proceedings), 1777, vol. 16 p.412, MSA S 1071-23.
[6]AUDITOR GENERAL (Journal), 1785, MSA S 150-5, Peter Force Collection B-2, MSA SC 4391, p. 444.
[7] Alevizatos, Alexandra A., "Procured of the Best and Most Fashionable Materials:" The Furniture and Furnishings of the Lloyd Family, 1750-1850. Master thesis for the University of Delaware, Spring 1999, p.206.
[8] MARYLAND STATE PAPERS (Red Books), 1777, vol.14 p.104, MSA S989-20.
[9] The Maryland Gazette, 14 November 1776.
[10] Barnes, Robert, Marriages and Deaths from the Maryland Gazette, 1727-1839. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1979, p.32.
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