ames Smith Colburn, born in 1780 to General James Colburn of Concord, Massachusetts, made a career choice at age twelve with his decision to work for Peter Wheeler, a storekeeper near the family home. In Boston, five years later, he entered into partnership with another aspiring merchant, Thomas Otis, and they launched the firm of Otis and Colburn. The goals of the youthful entrepreneurs were ambitious, but their initial resources were painfully limited.

When James sailed for England in 1798 to open their London office, he boarded the "Galen" with only letters of credit and introduction, modest personal funds and the garments he wore. However, one of the first stops he made after disembarking was at the shop of a fine tailor, where he outfitted himself with the proper wardrobe for a merchant in the fashion-conscious English capital. He clearly understood the importance of a first impression.

The letters he carried from Boston served him well. In addition to much-needed credit, they facilitated his acceptance into a circle of important British merchants and businessmen who graciously provided contacts and advice. And if the latter were at first impressed by the young man's earnestness and ambition, they quickly came to recognize that he was also blessed with uncommon ability.

The foreign branch of Otis and Colburn prospered from the start, making it possible, in May of 1799, for James to take in marriage Susan Lorimer, youngest daughter of a prominent London family. The nineteen- year-old bridegroom noted with satisfaction that he subsequently acquired more status as a "solid, settled London merchant."

In September, 1802, the Colburns boarded ship for a business trip to Boston. As the "Sampson", sails a-billowing, moved through the familiar waters of the English Channel toward the sea lanes of the open Atlantic, Susan fell prey to a strange form of seasickness which worsened into a puzzling and unremitting illness. Through terrible days and nights, James cared tenderly for her, hovering at her side in their cabin and disregarding his own need for rest. Each day the realization grew that someone else kept watch with him, - the Grim Specter who would not be deterred from his errand. On Sunday, October 24, 1802, Susan's suffering came to an end.

The ship, with its sad cargo, arrived at Long Wharf in Boston about eight o'clock in the evening, on October 31, and the coffin was transferred into a coach bound for the home of General Colburn. A funeral would be held the following afternoon.

At what should have been a happy reunion in Concord, Massachusetts, family and friends gathered instead to pay respects and offer assistance. People from neighboring towns, and even from Boston, joined townfolk to watch as the cortege moved from the Colburn farm to the Reverend Dr. Ripley's Meeting House. They crowded in to the church service, then stood solemnly in Concord Cemetery as Susan was laid to rest in the Colburn family tomb. There were discreet, pitying glances for her husband, left alone at age twenty- two to mull his future and restructure his life.