William Wilson letter book

Description data TOP

unitid

{"value"=>"24505", "type"=>"local_mss"}

{"value"=>"b21515947", "type"=>"local_b"}

{"value"=>"MssCol 24505", "type"=>"local_call"}

unitdate

{"value"=>"1757-1760", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1757/1760"}

unittitle

{"value"=>"William Wilson letter book"}

physdesc

{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 folder", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>".1 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}], "supress_display"=>true}

repository

{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Manuscripts and Archives</span>"}

abstract

{"value"=>"William Wilson (1739-1816) was a Philadelphia Quaker merchant. He was the son of George and Mary Wilson and the stepson of merchant Solomon Fussell (1704-1762), formerly a chairmaker. William Wilson's letter book at Philadelphia, 1757 June 23-1760 October 5 (1 volume in 1 folder), contains copied letters sent to merchants and ship captains trading chiefly in the West Indies and Great Britain, and along the eastern North American coast. Letters typically give instructions followed by lists of goods ordered or bills for goods shipped. Most letters are from Wilson, but a few are from merchants Solomon Fussell and Robert Parrish, or from Wilson on their behalf. Letter recipients include James Verree of South Carolina, John and Samuel Gould of Rhode Island, Tristram Coffin and Christopher Starbuck of Nantucket, ship captain Nathaniel Donnell, and British merchants William Neate and the firm of Devonshire, Reeve, & Lloyd. Commodities include flour, sugar, molasses, coffee, cotton, whale oil and bone, mackerel, indigo, rice, and iron bar, as well as clothing, hardware, and household goods."}

langmaterial

{"value"=>"English"}

origination

{"value"=>"Wilson, William, 1739-1816", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"cre"}

bioghist

{"value"=>"<p>William Wilson (1739-1816) was a Philadelphia Quaker merchant. He was the son of George and Mary Wilson and the stepson of merchant Solomon Fussell (1704-1762), formerly a chairmaker.</p> <p>At an early age, Wilson engaged in mercantile ventures on his own behalf and in collaboration with Fussell and merchant Robert Parrish (1727-1815), as represented in Wilson's letter book dated 1757-1760. In his letter of August 23, 1760 to William Neate, Wilson describes himself as a young man engaged in trade, about to conclude his apprenticeship with Thomas and William Lightfoot. With the encouragement of the Lightfoots and Solomon Fussell, he is considering opening a store. Advertisements for imported dry goods at William Wilson's store on Market Street appeared later that year in the <span class=\"title\">Pennsylvania Gazette</span>.</p> <p>Although Wilson identified Fussell as his father-in-law in his letters, he was, rather, his stepfather. Solomon Fussell and Mary Wilson, both widowed, were married in Philadelphia on October 12, 1751. Among the witnesses were members of the Wilson, Fussell and Lightfoot families, prominent merchant Israel Pemberton, and Robert Parrish, the husband of William Wilson's sister Mary. William Wilson married Abigail Mott in Philadelphia on January 27, 1763, with members of the same families attending.</p>"}

scopecontent

{"value"=>"<p>William Wilson's letter book at Philadelphia, 1757 June 23-1760 October 5 (1 volume in 1 folder), contains copied letters sent to merchants and ship captains trading chiefly in the West Indies and Great Britain, and along the eastern North American coast. Letters typically give instructions followed by lists of goods ordered or bills for goods shipped. Most letters are from Wilson, but a few are from merchants Solomon Fussell and Robert Parrish, or from Wilson on their behalf. Letter recipients include James Verree of South Carolina, John and Samuel Gould of Rhode Island, Tristram Coffin and Christopher Starbuck of Nantucket, ship captain Nathaniel Donnell, and British merchants William Neate and the firm of Devonshire, Reeve, & Lloyd. Commodities include flour, sugar, molasses, coffee, cotton, whale oil and bone, mackerel, indigo, rice, and iron bar, as well as clothing, hardware, and household goods.</p>"}

acqinfo

{"value"=>"<p>Purchased from Scott & O'Shaughnessy, Inc., 1916.</p>"}

processinfo

{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Susan P. Waide</span> in <span class=\"date\">2018</span></p>"}

note

{"value"=>"Formerly part of the Mercantile Collection."}

date_start

1757

keydate

1757

date_end

1760

date_inclusive_start

1757

date_inclusive_end

1760

extent_statement

.1 linear feet (1 folder)

prefercite

{"value"=>"William Wilson letter book, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library"}

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