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(1847) New York NY 359b (R-6) Houghton & Merrell & Co Merchant Token Umbrellas. Obverse die is the same as the W H Richardson tokens of Philadelphia. Vf Ef. Plain Edge, 27mm, Brass.
Edward Livingston Houghton was born October 27, 1818, in Guilford, Vermont. The genealogical record shows him in New York as an umbrella manufacturer as early as 1841, when he is listed at 154 Wooster Street, with the business address 152 Pearl Street. By the mid-1840s his business location had moved to the Cedar Street area.
Jedediah Stark Houghton, born July 12, 1827, also in Guilford, Vermont. The family research specifically identifies him as an umbrella manufacturer associated with Houghton, Merrell & Co.
Jedediah Stark Houghton died August 25, 1851, only about four years after the directory entry.
Brutus R. Merrill (also recorded as Merrell) was born between 1810 and 1820, probably in Vermont. The Houghton Surname Project derives the estimate from the 1850 and 1855 Vermont censuses.
In January 1852, a newspaper reported the failure of Houghton, Merrill & Co., described as a large umbrella-dealing firm.
The 1879 Theodore W. Riley collection specifically calls the piece:
“Houghton, Merrell & Co., 48 Cedar St., N.Y. Umbrellas and Parasols. Brass, Very rare.”
