Andover Biography - Abraham Marland

Abraham Marland, born in Ashton Lancashire in 1772, was one of the founders of the textile industry in New England. He apprenticed in Lancashire and then emigrated to America in 1801, working first in the cotton mills in Byfield. He eventually settled in Andover because of the water power manufacturing cotton first and changing to wool. During the War of 1812 his company manufactured blankets for the army. After the war he began to manufacture woolens and leased land on the Shawsheen River and erected a brick mill and tenement houses. By 1832 after aquiring more and more land on the Shawsheen River, he built the Marland Manufacturing Company. Marland Manufacturing Company was sold to Moses T. Stevens of North Andover in July of 1870. Stevens continued to produce flannel and woolens.

He founded Christ Church donating the land and building a rectory in 1835.

--Eleanor 16:05, December 26, 2012 (EST)

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