Scope and arrangement
The Jonathan Lawrence papers, 1765-1810, contain letters written by Jonathan Lawrence, documents, and two account notebooks pertaining to the mercantile and shipping affairs of Lawrence and members of his family, 1779-1810, with two peripheral business letters, 1765-1766.
Letters written by Lawrence comprise three letters to his partner at Lawrence & Tom in Dover, New York regarding shipments sent via the Hudson River, 1783-1784; a letter to Henry Livingston, 1788; and a letter to Captain Peter Hodgkinson, 1793. His business partner was likely Nathaniel Tom, identified in a 1784 account. Documents consist of loose invoices and accounts for Jonathan Lawrence, Lawrence & Tom, and John Ireland, including customs documents for imports by Lawrence from St. Croix and St. Eustatius, 1783-1796 and undated; an order to deliver the brig Seaflower, 1787; and land conveyances by family members for property in Manhattan, 1806 and 1810. A notebook, dated 1779 at Fishkill, contains accounts with the unidentified writer's father and mother, and Thomas Fanning. A notebook for the brig Olive Branch, 1789, contains accounts for Jonathan Lawrence Jr. and Samuel Tibbals, both identified as captains, and others.
The papers also include a letter from John M. Scandrett at St. Eustatius to an unidentified recipient, 1765, referring to Mr. Thomas who will look over some accounts, and a letter written to merchant Thomas Thomas at St. Eustatius by John Ewetse at St. Croix, 1766, mentioning the sale of the sloop Betsey by Mr. Lawrence. Loose accounts in the collection mention Thomas Thomas; the Lawrence family traded in the West Indies at that time.