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Thompson, Cephas Giovanni. Portrait of William Rotch, Jr. (1759 - 1850). 1846, oil on canvas, Collection of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Gift of Margaret M. Burnham, 1948.4.
Enter the room off the Back Hall. This gallery focuses on Rotch’s entrepreneurism, business and social ethics, and domestic interests.
William Rotch Jr.’s grandfather, Joseph Rotch (1704 – 1784) transferred a portion of his whaling business from Nantucket to New Bedford in 1765, recognizing the potential of the mainland’s deeper harbor and access to materials and labor. By the end of the century, all whaling interests of the Rotch family were consolidated in New Bedford. There they built and outfitted whaling vessels, owned and operated trading ships, owned wharves and storehouses, made candles, and sold whale oil and bone.
Capitalizing on the accomplishments of his grandfather and father, William Rotch Jr. established himself as the preeminent whaling merchant in New Bedford and propelled the port city into the golden age of whaling. By 1850, New Bedford was touted as the wealthiest city per capita in the United States.
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