Found 24 collections related to Merchants -- New York (State) -- New York

Henry S. Leszynsky (1822-1902), born to a Jewish family in Goslin, Prussia (now Murowana Goślina, Poland), was a New York City wine and liquor merchant. Established as a dry goods merchant in Manhattan by 1850, he married Amelia H. Godfrey (1833-1912) in 1852. Leszynsky soon prospered as a dealer in wines and liquors, and was able to continue in the trade after bankruptcy in 1869. He and his family resided in Manhattan. The collection consists of one volume, the bulk of the content comprising personal and business cash book entries for Manhattan merchant Henry S. Leszynsky, 1867-1869 (pages 2-147). The volume also contains corporate minutes documenting the formation of the Bay Ridge Steamship Construction Company, 1883-1884 (pages 160-201). The Company was incorporated in March, 1883, to build and repair ships at a shipyard to be located in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The remainder of the 721-page volume is blank; there is no apparent connection between the two sets of records. less

Taylor & Newman was a grocery firm in New York City. The collection comprises five letters received by the firm regarding mercantile transactions: one each from John McCrea at Londonderry and John Holmes at Philadelphia, and three from Captain Alexander Hamilton at Halifax and Madeira. McCrea's letter refers to orders for flaxseed and potash. less

Jeremiah Briggs (1791 or 1792-1876) was a New York City sea captain and shipping merchant who served in the U.S. Flotilla during the War of 1812. He was born on Block Island to John and Mary Briggs and resided in New York City and Sag Harbor, Long Island. In 1829 he married Jane Hedges of Sag Harbor. Briggs ran a freight service in New York with sailing vessels serving Philadelphia and Baltimore. He eventually formed the partnership of J. & N. Briggs with his cousin Nathaniel Briggs, and founded the Swiftsure Line. Jeremiah Briggs retired to a farm in Richmond Hills, Queens County, where he died on May 28, 1876. Letters received by Captain Jeremiah Briggs at New York, Philadelphia, and Suffolk County, Long Island, 1832, 1846-1852, are written by sea captains N. Willis, E.C. (Eathon C.) Briggs and Nathaniel Briggs; other business associates such as his Philadelphia agents Jackson & Israel; and close family members. The bulk of the letters date from 1832 and largely concern sailing and freight details for vessels leaving or returning to New York, such as the Diana, the Waterloo, and the Valiant. Letters from W.A. Jones and E.C. Briggs,1849-1852, pertain to their experiences settling as farmers in Kinsman, Ohio. The collection also includes an 1846 letter from C.L. Briggs at Newport to Captain B. Briggs at Baltimore, Maryland. less

William R. Rodman (1786-1855) of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was a merchant whose family was associated with the establishment of the whaling industry there. Jacob Barker (1779-1871) of Nantucket made his fortune in New York City as a shipping merchant and banker. A prominent member of the Tammany Society, he helped finance the U.S. government during the War of 1812, and served briefly in the New York State Senate. Business and legal troubles led to Barker's move to New Orleans in 1834, where he became a practicing lawyer and continued various business pursuits. He died in Philadelphia in 1871. The collection comprises letters written by William R. Rodman at New Bedford, 1835 August 31-October 9, to Jacob Barker in New York and New Orleans, Louisiana regarding oil and candle transactions and their business arrangements for the whaling ship Mobile. Also included is copied correspondence, dated 1838-1839, regarding a dispute over the Mobile. The Mobile left New Bedford for the Pacific Ocean in August 1836, returning there in September 1839. The ship had completed an earlier voyage to the Pacific with its landing at New York in early March 1836. The collection also contains a copy of an undated agreement between Rodman and Barker regarding the Mobile, and a shipping invoice for oil consigned to Baker, signed by William R. Rodman, 1835. less

Rufus Backus and James Backus (1764-1816) were merchants in Norwich, Connecticut. The partnership of Rufus & James Backus dissolved in 1796. The collection comprises eight letters to the firm dated 1794 March 19-September 7, written chiefly by Gilbert Saltonstall at New York, as well as John D. Blanchard at Philadelphia, and William Stewart at New London. Letters refer to the British seizure of American vessels trading in the French West Indies, the resulting U.S. embargo of March 26, 1794, and the depressed domestic trade in provisions. less

William Coit (1735-1821), known as Captain William Coit, was a shipping merchant from Norwich, Connecticut. Coit was the son of Samuel Coit and Sarah Spalding Coit and the captain of a Connecticut militia regiment during the American Revolution. His daughter Eliza married Dwight Ripley of Norwich. He is sometimes confused with Captain William Coit (1742-1802) of New London, Connecticut, a militia officer and sea captain during the Revolution, and the son of Daniel Coit, town clerk. The collection chiefly comprises letters received at Norwich and New York City from his son, merchant William Coit (1761-1785), at Hartford and New York City, regarding business matters, 1782-1785. Among the commodities mentioned are flour, onions, salt, sugar, spices, rum, and wine. Additions to the collection consist of a letter from William Coit Jr. to his father dated 1784 July 8; a dinner invitation from the senior William Coit to Mr. Caduggin (Cadogan), 1785 November 24; and a statement of account between William Coit and his son, 1784 (25 pieces in all). less

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

David W. (David Woodhull) Wetmore (1798-1879) was a New York City iron merchant. David W. Wetmore letters and documents, 1822-1869, consist of letters addressed to David W. Wetmore at New York, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and Liverpool, England, 1845-1869, and Wetmore's certificates of appointment for the 75th Regiment of Infantry, N.Y.S. Militia, as ensign, captain and major, 1822-1827. Letters, in chronological order, chiefly concern his iron business, particularly production and sale of iron for the railroad and whaling industries. Correspondents include Henry Brevoort Jr., Stephen Vail, Lawrence Grinnell and other New England merchants, and Liverpool merchants Brown, Shipley & Co. There are letters to him from his wife and children (1847 June 22 and September 25), and other family members. Also included are six letters from his son-in-law Richard H. Chapell of New London, Connecticut, to Wetmore's son Jacob S. Wetmore concerning his father's whaling ventures and family matters, 1869. less

John Ripley (1738-1823), of Hartford, Connecticut, was a merchant, shipowner and military officer. He was the son of Joshua Ripley and Mary Backus of Windham, Connecticut and the uncle of Dwight Ripley (1764-1835) of Norwich. Ripley was major of a Connecticut state regiment during the Revolution, and major of the 13th U.S. Infantry from 1799-1800. The John Ripley letters, 1795-1798, chiefly consist of letters addressed to him at Coventry and Hartford, Connecticut; Bath, Maine; and New York City. These are written by American merchants; his Liverpool agents Anderson, Child & Child; and Captain David Jewett, master of the ship Alliance. A letter from Ripley at Boston to merchant Henry Huntington at New York, and a letter from Cordis & Langdon to David Trufant, 1795, both referring to the construction and fitting of a new ship in which Huntington and Ripley were invested, are included. Jewett's letter of 1798 September 13 at Liverpool concerns business related to the capture of the Alliance by a French privateer and its recapture by British ships, with comment on the French invasion of Ireland, the imprisonment of Americans in France, and piracy on the seas. A letter from Roylance Child at Boston, 1796 October 13, is written on the back of a bill of prices current from his partners in Liverpool. An additional undated bill from the same firm is possibly the enclosure to Jewett's letter. less

Letter book of Sampson Fleming, kept between 1782 and 1790, containing letters written to William Edgar and to friends and relatives (primarily in Ireland and Montreal). Topics include general business, personal matters, a proposed land lottery in Pennsylvania, debts due from Mrs. Margaret Smith and William S. Smith, the ships Jay and the Empress of China (later known as the Edgar), Chinese trade, and stock in the Bank of North America. Also includes accounts of the Deputy Commissary for Detroit and Canada, 1777 less

Prominent New York City merchant Frederick Henry Wolcott kept this diary (2 vols.) from November 5, 1849 through January 2, 1854. Prior to his retirement on January 1, 1852, he was partner in the dry goods firm Wolcott and Slade. Diary entries includes genealogical data on the Wolcott and Howland families; records of business transactions and conditions, failures, the prices of cotton goods, and other matters; current events of local, national, and international interest; notes concerning the proceedings of Congress regarding the admission of California and Texas as states; the arrival and departure of ships, particularly those bringing treasure from California via Chagres; some account of his brother, Henry Wolcott, and his China trade; mention of a Sharpless portrait of George Washington owned by Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, and a Cheney portrait of the author's wife less

Fisher, Blashfield and Company was a wholesale dry-goods firm active on Pearl and Cortlandt Streets in Manhattan during the mid to late nineteenth century. The firm did business with other firms located chiefly in New York State, but also in New England, the South, and the Midwest. The firm was succeeded by Fisher, Cushing and Henderson; Fisher, Cushing and Co.; and Cushing, King and DeGraw. Collection consists of records of the firm and its sucessors. Included is business correspondence; customers and firm accounts; sales books; shipping records; and customers credit ratings. Records provide a detailed picture of the dry-goods business including type of item sold, prices, business procedures, names and addresses of wholesalers and retailers, and the volume of business during the period in New York City. less

The Dash family included a number of prominent New York merchants including Bowie Dash, notable for becoming one of the earliest importers of coffee into the United States. The file contains papers belonging to members of the Dash family, predominantly John Bowie Dash (Eighteenth century) and Daniel Dash, collected and compiled by J. Bowie Dash (b. 1873). Material includes notes of exchange, a small quantity of correspondence, and a receipt dating from 1784 relating to the sale of a slave less

Letters and family papers (1837-1884) collected by Josiah Orne Low (New York City merchant), including correspondence from Low's brother (William Henry Low) while he was involved in mercantile trading in China; Low's sister (Harriet Low Hilliard); a cousin (E. E. Porter); Low's father (Seth Low); and other members of the family. Correspondence relates to family affairs, politics, and other assorted topics. Also included are miscellaneous accounts and other records of the Low family less

The common ancestor of the American Van Zandt family was Jacobus Van Zandt. His son, Wynant, served as a commissioned agent of Charles I of England to Amsterdam. He immigrated to New York in the late seventeenth century. One of his descendants was Wynant Van Zandt, Jr., born circa 1765, a New York City merchant and Alderman. Prior to his death in 1831, Wynant Van Zandt, Jr. founded the Zion Episcopal Church in Little Neck (now Douglaston, Queens) The papers consist of 4 folders of correspondence and business documents, such as receipts and promissory notes, predominantly addressed to Wynant Van Zandt, Jr. Correspondence relates both to business and family matters less

Noah Scovel (1759-1821) and his son Noah Scovel, Jr. (b. 1781), were merchants of Saybrook, Connecticut, and New York City. Noah Scovel's papers include letters, accounts, receipts, invoices, sailing orders to Captain Isaiah Pratt of the brig "Peggy," and lists of prices of goods relative to the trade with England, France, Barbados, British Guyana, and Cuba. His son's papers include letters and papers relating to the New-York Dry Dock Company, of which he was a founder less

Roland T. (Roland Taylor) Ely (1924-2014) was an American historian, known for his work on New York City merchant and banker Moses Taylor (1806-1882) and sugar production in 19th-century Cuba. The Roland T. Ely papers, 1951-1961, contain his slide presentation "Moses Taylor and the Cuban Trade, 1832-1882," describing his use of The New York Public Library's Moses Taylor Papers and his research in Cuba while a doctoral student. Also included are some of Ely's research computations on Moses Taylor's business finances; typescripts of his academic writings on contemporary United States-Latin American relations; documents relating to a film project promoting inter-American relations by Student-to-Student, Inc. with the Princeton Film Center; copies of awards received from the governments of Argentina and Ecuador; and copied news clippings relating to Ely's professional activities and his research in Cuba, with some loose printed matter. A few items are in Spanish. less

David G. (David Greene) Hubbard (1773-1825), a New York City merchant, was born in Norwich, Connecticut to William Hubbard and his first wife, Lydia Coit. He was established in business in Manhattan by the mid-1790s. In 1825 he also became a director of the New-York City Insurance Company, headed by Elisha Coit. In 1799 David G. Hubbard married Lucy Manwaring (1778-1868) of New London, Connecticut; they had ten children surviving infancy. He died on December 29, 1825. The David G. Hubbard letter book (1 volume, with index) contains Hubbard's copied outgoing business letters and some personal letters dated January 3, 1822 to November 30, 1825, recording wholesale dealings in commodities such as coffee, tea, molasses, sugar, rice, indigo and cotton; the buying and selling of stocks, chiefly shares in American banks; trading in currency; and other investments. Hubbard wrote frequently to Charles E. Dudley of Albany, merchant and politician; Gardiner Greene, a Boston merchant; and the firms Macdonald & Ridgely of Baltimore, and J.D. & M. Williams and Munson & Bernard of Boston, giving detailed reports on prices and current economic conditions. Also included are letters to Coit and Hubbard family members and friends, notably his half-brother, jurist Samuel Hubbard (1785-1847), of Boston. Some concern business matters, but most are written to or about Hubbard's children and his wards, the children of Daniel Jepson, regarding their activities and upbringing. His son and assistant David M. Hubbard (1804-1884) wrote letters on his father's behalf during the City's Yellow Fever epidemic in 1822, and after his own return from a voyage to South America in 1823-1824 as a supercargo. David G. Hubbard's correspondence in the latter part of 1825 reported increasing local business failures and money scarcity, reflecting financial crisis in London, and the impending Panic of 1826. The rear loose endpaper contains a brief note, dated June 1825, recording C. E. Dudley and H. D. Sedgwick's recommendation of Joseph Cogswell and George Bancroft as teachers. less

Caleb Alonzo Burgess (1817-1896) was a commission merchant in New York City from the late 1840s to the late 1870s. By 1880, Burgess had established himself as a capitalist in mining ventures in San Francisco, where he died on May 24, 1896. The C. A. Burgess receipt book, 1855-1864, contains written and pasted receipts acknowledging Burgess's payments, chiefly at New York, to numerous merchants, their agents, and others for commodities such as cotton, raw silk, rice, flour, sugar, cocoa, pork products, and whiskey; services such as cartage, brokerage and storage; and interests in shared ventures. Entries, dated 1855 November-1864 April, include place and date of payment, quantity and type of goods, signature of payee and, occasionally, destination or point of origin, and ship. Locations mentioned include San Francisco, Mobile, New Orleans, and Australia. Transactions from 1860 forward, roughly three-quarters of the volume, pertain mostly to cotton, identifying quantity, cost, and payee. Also found are payments for mining and telegraph stock, City of San Francisco bonds, office rent, and a few personal expenses. The volume, labelled "Receipts No. 3 C.A.B." on its spine, with an interior ownership note "C. A. Burgess No. 3," is interleaved with blotting paper containing pasted items. less