William Coventry (1715-1774) was a prominent merchant of New York City and the island of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) in the West Indies. He married Elizabeth Hart in 1739. The collection contains letters written to him at New York and St. Kitts,...
more
William Coventry (1715-1774) was a prominent merchant of New York City and the island of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) in the West Indies. He married Elizabeth Hart in 1739. The collection contains letters written to him at New York and St. Kitts, 1750-1768, and legal documents, 1758 and 1766, chiefly concerning business matters to be handled by Coventry while at St. Kitts. Correspondents include members of the Reade, Livingston and Beekman families of New York writing from various locations, especially David Beekman on the island of St. Eustatius. Two powers of attorney, 1758 and 1766, appoint Coventry to collect debts at St. Kitts; the 1766 document is by David Beekman and Nicholas Cruger, merchants at St. Croix. There are also letters with a related power of attorney concerning the Dutch ship Stadt Rotterdam, libelled at the Vice-Admiralty Court at St. Kitts, dated 1758. It was captured by the privateer sloop-of-war Tyger, whose owners included Joseph Reade, John Waddell, and John and William Livingston. The collection also contains a letter dated May 18, 1758 from Sarah Garnett to Coventry's wife Elizabeth with her response written on it, and two brief letters to Elizabeth Coventry from George Coventry at Albany, 1759, regarding monies sent.
less