Nathaniel Silsbee

Silsbee was born on January 14, 1773 in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, then a part of British America. He was the eldest child of Capt. Nathaniel Silsbee (1748–1791) and Sarah (née Becket) Silsbee (1750–1832). Among his younger siblings were Zachariah F. Silsbee, who married Sarah Boardman (a daughter of Capt. Francis Boardman). Through his brother Zachariah, he was uncle to Caroline Silsbee, who married fellow Salem merchant Dudley Leavitt Pickman. At the age of fourteen, to support his family upon the financial failures of his father, he went to sea and learned navigation. His able seamanship won him, at the age of nineteen, command of Elias Hasket Derby's Sloop "Sally". Silsbee continued commanding Derby vessels and had many interesting adventures and exploits with privateers, French Consuls, and such. In 1795, he became part owner of the Schooner "Betsy" and continued to prosper and master his own vessels. He founded Silsbee & Pickman, one of the largest Salem trading houses, operated by Silsbee and Dudley Leavitt Pickman.