Found 58 collections related to Merchants

Adolph Philipse (1665-1750) was a wealthy New York City merchant and politician with extensive landholdings in the lower Hudson River Valley. Baptised Adolphus, he was the second son of New York City merchant Frederick Philipse, first Lord of the Manor of Philipsborough in Westchester County, known as Philipsburg Manor. Adolph Philipse held important positions in the provincial government, serving as a member of the Governor's Council and as Speaker of the General Assembly. He died intestate on January 20, 1749 (1750 New Style). Joseph Reade (1694-1771), the estate's administrator, was a merchant, a member of the Governor's Council, and the husband of Adolph Philipse's niece Anna French. The Adolph Philipse estate records, dated 1749 to 1767, consist of a bound notebook maintained by Joseph Reade as administrator of the estate of Adolph Philipse, from January 24, 1749 (1750 New Style) to August 19, 1763, comprising a detailed inventory of the estate at properties in Manhattan and at Philipsburg Manor, with related accounts. The inventory lists cash and other valuables, outstanding debts, household belongings, and other property. Individual slaves at both locations are identified. Reade attested the records in 1767. less

Fort Ontario, a British Army garrison located at Oswego in New York, was constructed in late 1759 and commanded by Colonel Frederick Haldimand of the 4th Battalion Royal Americans (60th Regiment of Foot). The Fort Ontario ledger, 1759-1761, 1763, with a name index, contains entries of purchases and payments by British and colonial officers and others at the Fort, 1759 November-1761 May. The bulk of the entries are dated 1760 May-August, reflecting the buildup and departure of forces supporting Major General Jeffery Amherst's successful campaign to capture Montreal during the French and Indian War. less

Daniel Phoenix, Jr. (1761-1828) was a prosperous merchant, civic leader and militia officer who resided in Morristown, New Jersey for most of his life. He was the son of Alexander Phoenix of New York City, and the nephew of merchant Daniel Phoenix (1737-1812), for many years the Treasurer of New York City. After his father's death, Daniel was raised by his uncle, who removed to Morristown during the British occupation of New York. In his uncle's lifetime he was known as Daniel Phoenix, Jr. The receipt book of Daniel Phoenix, Jr., kept from 1784 to 1788 in New York City and Morristown, contains entries signed by recipients of money from Phoenix, either on Phoenix's own account or on behalf of others, with a few loose receipts. Payments are for financial notes, taxes, rent, the purchase of commodities such as flour and tobacco, and other items. A few New Jersey receipts are dated at places other than Morristown. less

James F. Maury (1746-1840), merchant at Fredericksburg, Virginia, before and during the American Revolution, engaged in the tobacco trade between Liverpool, England, and the U.S. after the Revolution. He served as the first American consul at Liverpool. The collection consists of letters written by Maury during his consular service in England, mainly to his brothers and sisters in Virginia, regarding family matters, business affairs and his life in England. Other subjects include the economic effects of the Anglo-French wars and the seizure of American vessels. Some of the letters are addressed to various statesmen and business associates. less

Gouverneur & Kemble was a prominent New York City mercantile firm established in the late 18th century. The Gouverneur & Kemble cash book is a record of cash transactions conducted by the firm from late November 1800 to early March 1805 as shipping and commission merchants with domestic and international interests. Entries are for cash debits and credits, each in chronological order, allocated in columns by bank account. Transactions typically concern the importation and sale of goods, including tea, coffee, salt, sugar, wine, textiles and other commodities; shipping costs; insurance; interest on loans; and paying and collecting rent. Business was conducted with many of the prominent individuals and firms in New York at that time. Among the entries are transactions with Alexander Hamilton for legal services, 1803 March 14. Also noted are personal expenses of the Gouverneur and Kemble families, including the education of children and dancing lessons. The last few pages contain lists of important notes payable and due, grouped by name, for Isaac Moses & Sons, Samuel G. Ogden and others, with additional memoranda. less

William Edgar (1736-1820) was an Irish-born merchant of Detroit, Michigan, where he was a financial agent for the British Army post. He moved to New York City in 1780 or 1781 and engaged in trade with China and East India. Collection consists of negative copies of correspondence, accounts and other papers relating to Edgar's trading post at Detroit; and correspondence concerning family and personal matters. Papers until the end of the American Revolution are dated at New York, Albany, Montreal, Michilimackinac, Philadelphia, Trenton, and elsewhere. Later papers relate to trade with London, Calcutta, Canton, China, and locations within the U.S. Correspondents include Gerard Beekman, Aaron Burr, DeWitt Clinton, Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton, Brockholst Livingston, Philip Livingston, Alexander Macomb, Gurdon S. Mumford, Henry Remsen, Henry Rutgers, and Daniel Webster. less

Robert Morris (1734-1806) was a Founding Father of the United States, a businessman, and statesman. As a Philadelphia merchant, Morris helped to finance the American Revolution with the wealth he acquired through his real estate and shipping business. He was one of the rare Founding Fathers to have signed all three of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. The Robert Morris papers, dated 1751-1802, consist of correspondence, financial and legal papers. The correspondence pertains mostly to Morris's business affairs. Other letters concern his Revolutionary War activities, his service as Superintendent of Finance of the United States and as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, and some personal matters. The financial and legal papers include receipts, accounts, stock certificates, and land records. less

William Law, Jr. was a merchant of New York City and Connecticut. Papers consist of correspondence and financial accounts, 1807-1817, generated while Law acted as agent and supercargo for the merchant firm of Minturn & Champlin of New York City. Bulk of the papers consists of letters, accounts, and notebooks relating to the cargo and voyage of the ship Lion from New York to Canton, China, December 1815 to June 1816, and its return, December 1816 to April 1817. Included is Law's correspondence with Minturn & Champlin and the ship's owner, Thomas C. Butler; list of the crew; extracts from the ship's log; and notebooks, manifests, account books, sales receipts, and invoices recording goods shipped to and purchased in China, such as tea, textiles, chinaware, opium, and furs. Other papers include Law's accounts with Minturn & Champlin, 1807-1814; claims against Denmark for the ships Resolution, Nimrod, and Swift which were captured by privateers, 1810-1811; affadavits relating to a mutiny aboard the Lion, 1816; and some correspondence and accounts regarding the sale of the Lion's cargo in New York City. less

Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a South Carolina merchant, plantation owner, and Revolutionary-era statesman. The Henry Laurens diary, 1780 August 13-1781 December 6 (1 volume) is a manuscript notebook recording his voyage to Europe as U.S. envoy to Holland, his capture at sea by the British on September 3, 1780, his transfer to England via Newfoundland, and his imprisonment in the Tower of London. Pencilled entries briefly record day-to-day experiences, serving as the foundation of a subsequent narrative compiled by Laurens of his time abroad. The last entry is incomplete. less

The colonial Courts of Vice Admiralty were branches of the High Court of Admiralty in London, upholding British maritime law by power of royal prerogative. Vice-Admiralty courts, acting without juries, dealt with such cases as claims for salvage and seamen’s wages, claims for prize vessels and cargoes taken in wartime, and violations of British trade and navigation statutes. The New York Court of Vice Admiralty had jurisdiction over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The New York Court of Vice Admiralty records, dating from 1753 to 1770, comprise one volume recording decisions chiefly on prize cases, with memoranda on commissions for privateers, at the Court of Vice Admiralty for the Province of New York. The bulk of the cases date from the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Cases were heard before Judges Lewis Morris, Jr. (tenure 1738-1762) and Judge Richard Morris (tenure 1762-1775), in New York City or places convenient for Lewis Morris at the end of his life. Records for the years 1755, 1765-1766, and 1768-1769 are not present; those entered 1753-1754 concern a prize case from 1745. less

Papers document the career of Jacob Schieffelin as merchant landowner and Loyalist; travels and literary activities of his wife, Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin; and the careers of their son, Richard Lawrence Schieffelin, and grandson, George Richard Schieffelin. less

Silas Deane (1737-1789) was an American lawyer and merchant, member of the Continental Congress from Connecticut, 1774-1776, and Congressional agent and diplomat in France, 1776-1778. Recalled in 1778 under controversial circumstances, Deane returned to Europe in 1780 as a private citizen and died in 1789 en route to America. Silas Deane letters, dated 1767-1785, are addressed to his stepchildren Sarah (Sally) Webb and Samuel Blachley Webb, and friends Thomas Mumford and Thomas Cushing, New England merchants and politicians. Letters to Sally in Boston, 1767-1769, mention her mother's illness and offer advice for Sally's education and self-improvement. His 1778 letter to Thomas Cushing in Boston asks him to assist Sally, now the widow of John Simpson, a Loyalist. Letters written at Philadelphia to Thomas Mumford in Connecticut, 1774-1775, tell of Congressional business and colonial disputes, his participation in the Secret Committee to obtain support from Europe, and the need to develop an American naval force. Deane's letter of July 16, 1785 at London to Samuel Blachley Webb gives a careful study of American commercial prospects and Great Britain's rising manufacturing economy. A letter dated March 7, 1779 addressing "my Dear Col[onel]," and referring to an exchange, may be addressed to Samuel Blachley Webb, at that time an American army colonel and prisoner of war. less

Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794), American statesman, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress and later in the United States Senate. The Richard Henry Lee letters, dated 1771-1793, are written mainly to family members, including his brother William Lee, and chiefly concern mercantile affairs, family matters and political or military news of the day. A letter to kinsman Charles Lee, August 31, 1779, discusses international alliances and mentions his brother Arthur Lee's interest in bringing a libel suit against Silas Deane for his published Address of December 5, 1778. Letters to other correspondents include a 1778 letter to Virginia statesman John Page, discussing British and American military movements and France's entry in the war, and a 1781 letter to an unidentified recipient suggesting means to secure a loan from Holland to help defray Virginia's war costs. Also present are Richard Henry Lee's letter of March 26, 1787 declining the position of delegate at the Constitutional Convention, and his resignation from the United States Senate, October 8, 1792, both letters citing poor health. less

Collin MacGregor (died 1801), known as Coll MacGregor, was a Scottish New York City merchant acting on behalf of Loyalist or British businessmen in Nova Scotia, Great Britain and elsewhere. The collection consists of letterbooks dated 1783-1784, 1786-1789, and 1793-1794 (six volumes); and a priced inventory of goods shipped to and by MacGregor, 1785 (one volume). The letterbook for 1783-1784 includes accounts for 1782-1783, and a ledger sheet for 1791-1792 is also present. Letters are written chiefly to his principal clients, dated predominantly as follows: John Mackenzie, 1783-1784; Neil Jamieson, 1786-1789; and James R. Miller (Miller, Hart & Co.), 1793-1794. He also acted for Shedden, Patrick & Co. Business dealings include an early dry goods venture in Albany, management of investments and debt collection, land speculation in New York State, and disposal of cargoes, including tobacco from his clients' businesses in Virginia. Legal consultations with Alexander Hamilton and the financial affairs of Robert Morris are sometimes noted. MacGregor's letters also describe the impact of political affairs on business, from the aftermath of the British Evacuation of 1783 to the U.S. Constitution, 1787-1789, and the embargo of 1794. A few pages are missing from the letterbooks. less

Gouverneur & Kemble was a prominent New York City mercantile firm established in the late 18th century. Collection consists of letter book with copies of the firm's business correspondence relating to the sending of ships to the West Indies, Europe and China; the effect of the war between France and England on commerce; and information about the suit of Le Guin v. Gouverneur & Kemble. less