Medford commerce.
The business transactions and investments of Benjamin Hall, Sr., Medford's chief merchant and trader of colonial and revolutionary times, were many and varied.
The following list of ships and their captains, and the ports to which they sailed, as found in Mr. Hall's account with Edward Payson for insurance on craft and cargo, shows how large his marine ventures were;--
Other sloops were Gloriosa, Mercury, Boston, Speedwell, Minerva. What a scene of activity the coming and going of these vessels must have given to Mystic river!
| Defiance | Parsons | to and from West Indies |
| Essex | Willcome | to and from West Indies |
| Friendship | Jackson | to and from Indies |
| Halifax | Stiles | to and from Indies |
| Polly | Barstow | to and from Holland |
| Dauphin | Smith | for France |
| Three Friends | Wood | for France |
| Neptune | Frazier | for West Indies |
| John | Stanton | for West Indies |
| Sally | Paine | for West Indies |
| Friendship | Manchester | for West Indies |
| Bella | Grinnell | for Holland |
—E. M. G
[p. 25]
