Gouverneur & Kemble cash book

1800-1805 D

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.