The Cozens/Byrnes Merchants Networks Project - Updated 18 February, 2020

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Future work and problem people

Follows in increasingly developed contexts a list of names which are still (by mid-2017) found difficult to work on, which are resistant to research using either the Internet or older, paper based information trails. The names are mostly to be found in Britain if not in London, and/or connected with names who mostly were Londoners. There are distinct historical problems, some small, some large, arising from this neglect, which do not become fully apparent until research is re-launched.

Who was John Rose in colonial America? More to come.

Re William Richards of Southwark London and some names from lists of London's dissenting clergymen ...

Re the convict contractors, the Larkins family of Blackheath ...

Who was John Locke of America Square, London?

John Locke of America Square, associated with two convict transports to early European Australia, we have just found out from the Internet that he probably died in 1816. Who was his wife? The husbands of his two daughters are known but information on them are evidently no help in progressing information on John Locke himself.

The convict contractors listed above are listed chronologically, but the same cannot be said necessarily for their associates. (See below for more on problem people for researchers.)

Who was John Lane in London by 1787?

Often cited online is the document: William Molleson and John Lane, The Reports of the Commissioners, appointed to examine, take, and state the Public Accounts of the Kingdom. London, Cadell, 1787. Is this John Lane of the bank Lane, Son and Fraser which failed in 1793? John Lane who had been debt collecting for his father Thomas in the former American colonies after the Revolution? John Lane (1743-1829) married to Eleanor Everitt (1747-1827) the son of Thomas Lane (c.1707-1784) and Margaret Unknown, a banker of Lane, Son and Fraser. The 1780 Commissioners for these Public Accounts were Sir Guy Carleton, Thomas Anguish, Arthur Pigot, Richard Neave, Samuel Beachroft, James Tierney, George Drummond, William Molleson and John Lane. (Item lodged 6-7-2017)

Australia invaded or not?

This file is for snippets only by way of reference to individuals, situations, members of half-identified networks which Ken Cozens, Dan Byrnes, or any of their e-mailers wish to follow-up in future. With luck, names noted below may one day become subject of new files on the Merchants Networks Project website. Names are presented chronologically where possible.

E-mailers can feel free to let the webmaster know of their research interests so an item can be placed here in due course. The most problematical names will be rendered in bold type

The producers of this website, Dan Byrnes and Ken Cozens, are currently co-writing a book. After recent discussions, a decision has been made to one day rotate some early versions of some chapters of the book on this website. As might be guessed, the book is largely about Merchant Networks. The chapters will be footnoted in the usual way. ... On merchant and financier-names of the period of the American Revolution or the first few decades after it, re US history and wider-world history generally ... as mentioned in many contexts, with an aim here, if possible, of expanding the usually-given lists in a useful way (1770-1790) (-Ed)

Who was British opium trader of the 1770s, Richard Griffith?

Who was British opium trader of the 1770s, Richard Griffith? Was he as below? Prakash p. 69 (See Om Prakash, ‘Opium Monopoly In India and Indonesia in the Eighteenth Century’, Indian Economic and Social History Review, 24, 1, 1987., pp. 65-66) suggests that the true beginnings of the EICo Bengal opium monopoly can be traced at September 1775, when the opium contract for the area about Babar, Bengal, India was awarded to one Richard Griffith, who locked up access to opium for his own agents. However, by 2016 I have found reason to distrust the genealogies given on the Internet for Richard Griffith (whose forebears were from Dublin, Ireland via Wales in earlier days) as it is not clear if he was the son named Richard Griffith (1752-1820 an East India Co accountant who became wealthy and later an Irish MP of note?) or the wandering husband (named Richard Griffith) of the otherwise better-known Anglo-Irish writer, Elizabeth Griffith (1727-1793), whose career is given via many websites by 2016. This Elizabeth Griffith was daughter of Dublin theatre manager Thomas Griffith (died 1744, of a Welsh background) and Jane Foxcroft; one view is that Elizabeth had married a cousin in 1751 but so far this is not provable. Prakash, pp. 70-71, says the EICo's direct involvement in opium helped stem the drain of specie from India to China, so that finally, Indian opium and cotton became the main medium of payment for Chinese tea. Further, the opium trade became the principal vehicle for transmission home of profits earned from India, as proceeds from the China sales of opium at the disposal of EICo factors in Canton became Bills payable in London. Prakash's remarks generally are consistent with those of Chung. (Tan Chung, ‘The Britain-China-India trade triangle, 1771-1840’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. XI, No. 4, Dec. 1974., pp. 411-431.) (some words missing as this field will not take many words). [Question posted On Linked-In on 27-7-2016, little response so far]

Follows an updated list of March 2017 of problem people for current research efforts. Just one of the problems to be noted with such names, given here alphabetically, not chronologically (sorry if that is confusing), is that they are often given in various books commonly cited in economic history, even in classic old books, but nothing new or additional can be found on them. Most of these problem names are those of English or British-colonial merchants, Despite maybe years of Internet development since 1996, given that many of the said books of economic history would already have been published by 1996. What we do not know, and cannot assess, is whether ignorance of these names will interfere with a discussion that seems otherwise to be of reasonable quality. It remains difficult to know if these names can be seen as important or not? Some problem names are those of Lord Mayors of London, though they are not given in this listing.
... Names Arkwright as connected with New Zealand Co (NZCo). Parents of British army General Charles Auriol, more on the name Auriol generally. JP of England Alfred Backhouse 1822-1888 married to Rachel Barclay.
Slaver investor John Banckes about 1678. John Barkworth merchant of Hull active say 1810-1815 (an emailer has sent data on this name).
Newcastle merchant Joseph Barnes. Sir Hercules Beckwith married to Miss Ferrers. Director of Bank of Bengal, William Berners. British shipbuilders Bilbe. Dirk Birch-Reynardson and Mary Bulteel. Thomas Bird of Barton and wife Elizabeth Bird. Before 1700 Royal Africa Co. (RAC) investor James Blake.
Garnham Blaxcell 1778-1817 died Batavia. Barrister Richard Bligh 1785-1817. Sydney wool dealer about 1846, W. C. Botts. An East India Co. (EICo) name of Madras, James Dewar Bourdillon.
MP Robert Edward Boyle active 1844 married to Robarts. Africa Co. name of 1696 John Braithwaite. James Brander and Mary Mangles. Hamburg merchants Braumsters. EICo name about 1788 William Broderick. MP and Russia merchant John Brogden d.1800. RAC name died 1712 John Brookes of London. Whaler Thomas Brown. Assam tea producer Charles Alexander Bruce died 1871. Governor of Bank of England Cornelius Buller died 1849. Wife of Charles Rousseau Burney. EICo director Joseph Burnley. Charles James Busk of Blackheath Kent and Cape Town. Various of the name Calthorpe.
Horace Walter Calverley born 1863. Harriet Diana Calvert active 1844. Investor in Australian Agricultural Co. (AACo) John Campbell (1778-1840) of London. A Campbell of Jamaica married to Rebecca Launce. London barrister Richard Capper. Major-General Sir Burgess Carnac. MP General John Carnac died 1800. MP George Caulfield married to Taverner. EICo name Sir Thomas Chambers active 1664. London merchant about 1650 Robert Charlton. Major-General Sir Harry Chester married to Harriet Clinton. London banker Richard Child about 1610. London alderman and EICo name Sir George Clarke about 1642. Thomas Clarke nd, slave factor at Oprah, West Africa. Barbados planter(s) about 1674 named Clements. Parents of Colonel John Clerk died 1919. Genealogy surname Coldstream. About 1792 an India-China free trader named Colt. Sir Robert Cordell Baronet died 1680. Cowper married to Dorothy Pepys. Robert Cowper and Elizabeth Buxton. General Spencer Cowper. Alexander Templar Cox. Rt. Hon. James Craggs. John Stephens Creed. London merchant (probably) Colin Currie active 1770 and same for one David and for Isaac Currie of New Broad Street. Sir D. Currie (?). Major-General Thomas Dallas KCB. Lane Son and Fraser of London bankrupted 1792-1793, presumably merchant bankers. More on the Twinings tea family seen as bankers.

Below are other lists of problem people.

Britain during the Napoleonic Wars

The following alphabetical list of merchant names who contracted to the British government to provide good and services to the British army and navy during the Napoleonic Wars is drawn from a variety of sources, but mostly from Roger Knight and Martin Wilcox, Sustaining the Fleet, 1793-1815: War, the British Navy and the Contractor State. Woodbridge, Suffolk, The Boydell press, 2010. ISBN 978 1843835649. 262pp. And from an associated online database, Sustaining the Empire database, Contracts.

Sustaining the Empire: Contractor List2 updated. Identifiable convict contractors [to Australia] ]are asterisked. Abbott and Treffry (grocers of Plymouth 1812). William Adams (?). Abraham de Horne. James Allen/Allan (?) William Allen. Robert Anderson (?). Thomas Appleton. Robert Ardle/London Flour Company. John Arlot. William Arlot (brothers or relatives?). John Armitage. William Ashby. Smyth Atcheson. Abraham Atkins. John Atkins of 36 Old Jewry in 1794. Atkins, French and Co. George Atkinson (?). corn factor Christopher Hale Atkinson (1738-1819). William Atkinson. George Augustin. John Joseph Bacon. James Balfour (1775-1845) of Madras with Joseph Baker, who took over from Basil Cochrane in 1806. James Ball and Co (?). [John] St Barbe and Co/Reeve and Green.*. Stephen Barney and also Thomas Barney (relatives?). Richard Barton. Charles Bell (1805-1869) of Throgmorton St London 1794. Cheese contractor Thomas Bell of 34 Bread St London. Andrew Belcher London merchant 1815. Joseph Benbow. Peter Berthon. Peter Bletchford/Blatchford. William Bignell *. William Birt of Tavistock Street Plymouth 1812. James Blake and Samuel Blake (relatives?). W. H. Bayly. John Bridges. Nicholas Brown. William Brown. Bogle French and Co. (need to be watched). Thomas Bolton (1752-1753-1834) married to a relative of Lord Nelson. Walter Borrows of 25 Mincing Lane in 1794. Engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel. James Brymer (and Andrew Belcher). John Bunn. Robert Burge. Daniel Callaghan Jnr. Gerald Callaghan. Richard Cathery maybe related to Desbrow Cathery. Carpenter and Gill. Matthew Chambers. William Champion. William Clancy (presumably in Ireland). Richard Henry Clarke. Channon and Burt. Basil Cochrane (East Indies contractor who is uncle of Captain Thomas Cochrane, brother of John, went to Madras as a junior writer for EICo.). UK barracks Builder Alexander Copland. Gabriel Copland. Richard Cozens. William Cozens, also S. and W. Cozens. William Collier of Southside Street Plymouth Dock in 1812 maybe related to John Collier same address. Nicholas Crimp and Nicholas Crimp Jnr. Nicholas Cummins and/or Cummins and Son. N. and M. Cummins. Edward Curling. George Curling. Robert Curling. Thomas Curling. William Curling. Jacob Curtis. Arthur Cuthbert. Late notes of July 2008 on Davison and Newman, to be regarded as contractors of the Napoleonic War era. Henrique Teixeira de Sampaio in Portugal. Alexander Donaldson maybe of Jamaica with George Glenny of London partnerships dissolved by 1804 (see separately Alexander Glennie). Christopher Dunkin of London. Maybe Thames lighterman John Dunkin. John Elill. Edward Ellice. John Fell London corn and meal factor, 11 St Mary Overy´s Dock 1794. French, Atkins and ?, or French and Co. of 3 Copthall Court, Throgmorton Street 1794 plus other names French. Joseph Flight of London (bisket meal). Charles Flower (London Lord Mayor) and Jordaine and other names Flower. Sir William Fletcher. James Bogle-French. John Garland and Co. Joshua Gibbons. Richard Ginger. James Godwin. Godwin and Co. John Gray. John Green and Sons. Madras contractor William Hart. Harrison and Co. William Harrison. Thomas Hearn baker of Isle of Wight. David Heatley. Richard Hingston. Thomas Hubbert and Rowcroft 1794 London shipbrokers, Sailmakers and Wharfingers of 121 Bishopsgate Within. John and/or Isaac Jacob. Zephaniah Job (based at Polperro) who often traded with Jonathan Binns of Looe corn merchant or maltser and also dealt with Robert Grigg of Looe a corn merchant and see also Job and [Robert] Grigg of Polperro; Job also dealt with grain trader Giles Welsford of French Lane Plymouth in 1812. Andrew Jordaine and Co of London. Andrew Jordaine and Richard Shaw partners since 1768, contractors during American War of Independence/ Jordaine and Shaw. Edward Jukes. Kellaway being Henry, James Jnr., Thomas Kellaway. William King. John Kingdom. Edward Knapp Jnr. Edward and Joshua Knight. John Lance of Lance and Auber Meal and Corn factors at 3 Gould Square Crutched Friars in 1794 and also a C. Lance. Richard Lake. Thomas Larkin (sic not Larkins). McIntosh Lachlan. Alexander Learmouth of Learmouth and Lindsay merchants of 30 Nicholas Lane London 1794. Lyons being Dennis, James Jnr and Dennis Jnr Lyons. William Matthews. Henry Marsh. Thomas Marsh. Peter Mellish and W. Smith, supply contractors during American War and later agents for Victualling Board. William Mellish with William Smith. Charles and Robert Milward London corn dealers of 123 St John´s Street Smithfield of 1794 and maybe John Milward. Mant and Co. Samuel Paget. Thomas Pinkerton. Christopher Potter. Thomas Neave. William Nutt. John Phillips. Thomas Phillips. George Quested. William Randall. Joshua Reeve? Reeve and Green of London at 30 Canterbury Square Southwark of 1794*. William Richardson. George Robson at Plymouth. Ridley Robson. Nathan Meyer Rothschild supplied specie to Wellington´s troops. Thomas Rowcroft ship and insurance broker of London at 121 Bishopsgate Within of 1794 (maybe named in writings by Frost?). Possibly a different Thomas Rowcroft of London. James Russell. Nicholas Salmon. Thomas Salmon. James Saunders. Claude Scott London a corn factor at 17 Fenchurch Street 1794, engaged by government to buy wheat from abroad. Scott Idle and Co., London Wine and Brandy merchants of 381 Strand 1794. Benjamin Shaw. Christopher Shaw. Tallow merchant Richard Shaw. Thomas Shepherd. Isaac Solly. Many names Smith. D. O. Sullivan. Alexander Thomson and Grant (1815, Thomson in London, Grant in Jamaica, maybe a man surnamed Alexander?). John Thomson Jnr of Leith. Navy contractor Alexander Tullock. Thomas Weston. Various names Westlake. Archibald Windeyer 1815 Biscuit Maker maybe of Chatham. Richard Windeyer. George Young. Isaac Young.

From 1680++

1625: Sir John Dutton Colt - Preceding the emigrant to America John Colt (1625-1730) married to first wife Mary Finch, of a West England background.

1687: Thomas Carroll Jnr married to Rebecca Fisher with daughter Mary Carroll (1687-1728) married to John III Sturgis (died 1758)

This file first placed on the Net on 25 July 2006

(From Pieter Dickson)

Dear Merchants Networks,
Many thanks for copy of the Campbell genealogy. The whole concept of this web site is a tremendous lift and the best news of the year; I've already had a note from a current correspondent (a Samuels, originally from Lucea, now living in USA) who has already hit the site and I've no doubt it will grow for years. As to my own research interests, please see below ...

  Jamaica: County of Cornwall, especially Hanover parish, c.1690-1900.
Families: Dickson, related to Crooks, Brown, Malcolm, Sharp, Donaldson. Campbell (influence & trade connections).
Activities: mercantile, marine, farming, professional and trade.  

Scotland: Midlothian especially, c.1690-1850.
Families: Dickson, related to Reid, Thomson, Simpson, Veitch, Murray, Muir. Clerk of Penicuick (land lords, especially Clerk and Campbell relatives in Argyll with Jamaica connections).
Activities: mercantile, farming, professional and trade.

Aim: to glean a sight, from within, of their activities in Jamaica and of what turned their lives "beyond the seas"– kinship connections, business engagements, external events.  

Why? A G-G-G-G-grandson of John Dickson & Ann Crooks of Jamaica thinks that the pre-eminence given to the sugar economy and its movers veils much detail that is revealing and valuable in the record. There is no doubt that speculation surrounding sugar drew many to Jamaica, but their descendants went beyond that first horizon, adapted and survived as a result. The interest is in Daniel Defoe's "middling sort", generally sober, industrious, diligent and god-fearing in their affairs but not without the usual sprinkling of scoundrels.  
All the best (on 26-7-2006), Pieter Dickson

1708: Thomas Green of Witham Co, Boston married to Anne Calef (born 1708) of Boston daughter of clothier Robert Calef (1674-1722) and Margaret Barton.

Sir Stephen Evance (1654/1655-1712 a suicide), financier to government, goldsmith, Governor of Hudson's Bay Company, and had many business partners. Confusions still exist on the Internet as to whether he was married (to Hester Goodyer?), and about the genealogy of the husband (Sir Caesar Child) of the daughter of Stephen's brother, John Evance, Hester Evance.

1720: South Carolina: Born about 1720, Mary Clapp married to David Deas born about 1720. The entire Deas line in South Carolina needs work to beyond 1800. Similar for Lavinia Randolph Deas (1836-1898) who married Randolph Fitzhugh Mason.

Active 1725: London tobacco trader Benjamin Bradley.

Circa 1730: England, John Flowerdewe (no dates, probably a trader in American tobacco) married to Mary Scott, and had son a tobacco merchant Thomas Flowerdewe (no dates).

From 1750

Dan Byrnes is seeking more information on the family history of his own cousins in Australia named D'Elboux, a name from Marseilles, France, emigrating after the 1750s to England, then to Brazil, and Australia. Some descendants also live in New Zealand. Family legend for the D'Elboux families in Australia, more than any facts, indicate that one Francois Louis D'Elboux worked as a cook in the later 1700s in the household of "Lady F. Leveson-Gower" - all that has been written down, as far as is known at present. This was perhaps (simply a guess) Frances Boscawen, who had a family of seven or so children with Hon. John Leveson-Gower, (1740-1792), MP and Lord Admiralty. Dan Byrnes and relatives would appreciate any extra information on this Leveson-Gower family, more so as a Lord Admiralty might have been involved.
Thanks, Dan Byrnes, July 2006.

Circa 1750: London Lombard Street banker Atton or Aston Lee and family generally.

1753: Forebears of Margaret Galbraith born 1753 who married Lloyd's underwriter and whaling investor John St Barbe of Blackheath (1741/1742-1816).

Born 1753: American merchant Jacob Ammidon.

More to come

1759: Re Townsend White the father of Anna White (born 1759) who married to New York merchant William Constable (1752-1803), this White family generally.

Circa 1760

More to come

More to come

Circa 1761

More to come

More to come

Circa 1762

More to come

More to come

Circa 1763

1763: John Barnes, British governor for Sengeal 1763-1766, an Africa merchant into the 1780s.

More to come

Circa 1764

1764: John Carr (1764-1817) of County Durham England married to Hannah Ellison (1780-1846).

More to come

Circa 1765

More to come

More to come

Circa 1766

More to come

Circa 1767

1767 Virginia: Frances Burwell (1767-1839) married to Wlliam Nelson.

Active 1767, Gerard Williams Beekman with daughter Elizabeth born 1767 married to Peter William Livingston of the New York Livingstons.

Circa 1768

Active 1768: New England merchant John Amory.

Circa 1769

More to come

Circa 1770

Active circa 1770: London merchant William Backhouse married to Eleanor St Barbe, daughter of Massachusetts merchant George St Barbe and Elizabeth Wyatt.

Circa 1771

Circa 1772

1772: Based in London/Britain, Francis Baring, Bird, Alexander Fordyce (speculator in East India stocks): June 1772, a financial bubble burst in June 1772 when a London Scot merchant Alexander Fordyce, whose operations were mostly financial, lost a fortune in speculating on EICO shares, and absconded, bringing down his merchant house Fordyce Grant and Co, and his bank, Neale, James, Fordyce and Down. A panic ensued and many Scottish firms in London

1772 - . Colonial merchants objecting to Britain's stance were John Hancock, Thomas Wharton and John Dickinson of Philadelphia.

1772 - in 1772 John Hancock deals with Hayley and Hopkins in London. in Philadelphia, Charles Wharton imports Dutch tea using New York firms Ten Eyck and Seaman, John and Cornelius Sebring and John Vanderbilt.

1772 - A Philadelphia merchant Gilbert Barkley (and his partner also of Philadelphia, John Inglis), wanted EICo to establish warehouses in American towns, peferably their towns, to auction tea as was done in England. With an opinion was Thomas Walpole, nephew of famous Robert Walpole, a London merchant-banker, who wanted tea centred in Philadelphia, he is associated with Benjamin Franklin and the Whartons, other prominent Philadelphians in the Vandalia Land Company re Illinois.

1772 - James and Drinker of Philadelphia, . Tea for Philadelphia was jointly for James and Drinker, Thomas and Isaac Wharton, Jonathan Browne (with a brother George in London) and Gilbert Barkley. Quaker merchants of Philadelphia were Abel James, Henry Drinker (deals with Fred Pigou Jnr in London), Thomas and Isaac Wharton (plus brother Samuel in London). After the Boston Tea Party, Whartons urged their London correspondents to drop James and Drinker and replace them with William and Morris.

Circa 1773

Upper James River area, Virginia, the 1773-1775 exporters of tobacco from Upper James included: William Allen, Jerman Baker, Burwell Bassett, Robert Bolling, Thomas Bolling, Carter Braxton, William Byrd, Charles Carter, Colonel Edward Carter, Archibald Cary, Wilson Miles Carey, Rev Wm Coutts, Francis Eppes, Charles Gilmore, John Harmar, William Harwood, Henry Henderson, William Lightfoot, Henry and Edmund Lyne, John Mayo, David Meade, Everard Meade, Richard K. Meade, Joseph Montfort, Robert Munford, Robert Carter Nicholas, John Pankey, John Paradise, John Pleasants, Thomas Prosser, Brett Randolph, John Randolph, Richard Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, William Randolph, Henry Skipworth, James Smith, John Throgmorton, Richard Tunstall, Robert Turnbull, Abram Venable, Benjamin Waller, John Wayles, Cary Wilkinson. See pp. 100ff of Nagel, Lees of Virginia, Braxton here by 1776 allied with one Benjamin Harrison. By 1775, the top seven tobacco importers in London were William and Robert Molleson, C. Court and T. Eden, Lyonel Lyde and Co, Dunlop and Wilson, Gale, Fearon and Co, Wallace, Davidson and Johnson, and various other and unknown accounting for 44.3 per cent of overall trade. (Jacob Price, p. 180.)

Circa 1773

In 1773, Annapolis merchants James Dick and Anthony Stewart were in debt to John Buchanan and Sons in London for at least L6775, and declared as unfounded a rumour they were in debt for 10,000. (T. Thompson note 26) - See Emory G. Evans, 'Planter Indebtedness and the Coming of the Revolution in Virginia', William and Mary Quarterly, Series 3, Vol. XIX, Oct. 1962.

1773 - May and later, (letter pers comm Pennie Pemberton of 12 Aug, 1990, she has listed merchants we did not notice in Labaree, involved in the EICO tea deal for the North American colonies. Brook Watson of Watson and Rashleigh, Garlick Hill, London. Joshua Winslow of Boston (late of Nova Scotia), Robarts, Payne and Roberts, Kings Arms Yard (was this Robarts later banker partner with Curtis?). At Charleston, South Carolina, Andrew Lord and George Ancrum; George Hayley and John Blackburn; William Palmer of Devonshire Square; John Nutt, New Broad Street Buildings; and Roger Smith of South Carolina. Were the South Carolina names associated with Abel and Macaulay who later lost over 5000 pounds by the American Revolution? At time of Boston Tea Party, William Palmer of London, in 1773, he sent tea to Gov Thomas Hutchinson qv. See Schlesinger on Uprising against the EICo.

Circa 1774

October 1774, Russell had been directly involved in the affair of the ship Peggy Stewart. (Jacob Price, p. 192 and note 94 and see Papenfuse, In Pursuit Of Profit), the Peggy Stewart affair re dispute, see Maryland Gazette 20 October, 1774, between Wallace firm, and the tea importers, Williams and Co, both of Annapolis. After the stoppage of the John Buchanan ship in 1773, the Annapolis firm of Dick and Stewart, owners of the Peggy Stewart, transferred most of their business to Buchanan. Russell was the rep in London, and he had decided to hide parcels of tea in Peggy Stewart. As early as 1771, Joshua Johnson in London had warned his Annapolis partners Charles Wallace and John Davidson, that Russell and others were shipping tea. In 1774, Joshua Johnson warned his partners again re tea and Russell's moves, and this warning led to destruction of tea via the burning of the Peggy Stewart. Wallace had an inflammatory role here. In the aftermath here, Capt Lambert Wickes of the Neptune had once refused to carry tea to Maryland sent by the same London merchant supplying the tea to Russell, Amos Hayton, to the same Annapolis house, Williams and Co.

1774: James Pagan, Sketches Of The History Of Glasgow. Glasgow, 1847. cited in T. Thompson note 14, and Pagan notes that at least 46 different Glasgow firms alone were dealing in the American tobacco trade in 1774.

1774: increase in European prices for American tobacco.

George Washington opposed non-payment of American debts. See Thomson, Upper James River, p. 407, noting DC never received tobacco from Upper James River area, the 1773-1775 exporters of tobacco from Upper James included, William Allen, Jerman Baker, Burwell Bassett, Robert Bolling, Thomas Bolling, Carter Braxton, William Byrd, Charles Carter, Colonel Edward Carter, Archibald Cary, Wilson Miles Carey, Rev Wm Coutts, Francis Eppes, Charles Gilmore, John Harmar, William Harwood, Henry Henderson, William Lightfoot, Henry and Edmund Lyne, John Mayo, David Meade, Everard Meade, Richard K. Meade, Joseph Montfort, Robert Munford, Robert Carter Nicholas, John Pankey, John Paradise, John PLeasants, Thomas Prosser, Brett Randolph, John Randolph, Richard Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, William Randolph, Henry Skipworth, James Smith, John Throgmorton, Richard Tunstall, Robert Turnbull, Abram Venable, Benjamin Waller, John Wayles, Cary Wilkinson. (See pp. 100ff of Nagel, Lees of Virginia.) Braxton here by 1776 was allied with one Benjamin Harrison of Virginia. (But there about four Benjamins Harrison of Virginia who might have been involved here.)

In London on 18 March 1774 a merchant committee headed by Champion (Richard, of Bristol?) and Dickinson, Hayley and Hopkins, Lane Son and Fraser, to discuss Boston matters and they offered surety of 16,000 pounds to cool things down, offer not taken up. Citations: (Labaree, letters between Thomas and Adrian Hope to Thomas Hancock, Boston, in 1745-1755, page 268 of Notes). In (page 268), John Kidd in London writes and vice versa to William Gough of Philadelphia in October 1754. John Kidd in Philadelphia writes to Rawlinson and Davison in London in 1761. There is a John Kidd Letterbook extant. Henry Lloyd in Boston p. 268 writes to Aaron Lopez of Newport in 22 march, 1756. John Hancock (p. 270 notes) writes 3 Sep-2 Nov 1767 to George Hayley London and to William Reeve, London. On 10 May 1768 Richard Clarke and Sons London write to London dealer Peter Contincen (sic). John Reynell (Reynell and Coates) of Philadelphia (Labaree, p. 271 notes), writes 25 Aug 1768 to Mildred and Roberts, London, and on 5 Nov 1768 to Welch, Wilkinson and Startin of London. Dennys DeBerdt often writes to Thomas Cushing of Boston. Labaree (Notes, p. 276) has Alexander Mackay of London writes to James Bowdoin Boston on 7 April 1770. In London are merchants Robert and Nathaniel Hude (Huth?) p., 277 of Labaree's notes. Abraham Dupois London writes to Boston merchants Samuel and Stephen Salisbury, Sep 1773 (Labaree pp. 278-282 notes note 27 for pp. 68-74 of text) that William Palmer as tea dealer had objected to Herries' tobacco marketing plan from the start. Labaree (Notes, p. 290) that Brook Watson London has letter from Benjamin Faneuil of Boston of November 1773 (there is little on Brook Watson's partner, Rashleigh.) Labaree's notes (p. 301) hae John Norton of London writes to Peyton Randolph US 6 July 1773. See Francis N. Mason, (Ed)., John Norton and Sons, Merchants of London and Virginia. Richmond, Va, 1937. Richard Champion of Bristol writes to Willing and Morris p. 303 of notes on 30 Sep 1774. Labaree (Notes p. 311), Richard Lechmere of Boston to Lane, Son and Fraser (LSF), London on 30 May 1774.

December 1774: (Olson, London Mercantile Lobby. pp. 35-36), the merchant lobby failed to act quickly in December 1774 when the latest Congress' non-importation of British Goods measure reached London, On Dec 19, 1774, the Wilkesite committee members, wanted a mass meeting of merchants and other Londoners for 23 Dec, when they probably wanted to present a pro-America petition, the wealthier conservatives being on their holidays in the country. But on the day of the meeting for 23 Dec, a conservatives wing, Blackburn, Barclay and Champion put an advertisement in a paper, another meeting for 4 Jan, 1775, so the conservatives finally dominated the meeting. A middle-wing consisted of Samuel Athawes, John Sargent, Brigden, Norton, and Russell, who arranged for a conservative, the respected Lane, to preside, get supportive letters from outports and prepare a non-Wilkesite petition.

17 October, 1774, Duncan Campbell to Messrs Abraham Lopez and Son, re their favour of 14 June, re a lading of 12 Terces Sugar per the Britannia, the sugar of a mean quality, the market is glutted. (See Dickinson on Falklands Sealing and Pares, Yankees and Creoles, pp. 162ff, re Lopez here.) In 1765 Lopez owed 10,000 pounds to the son of Henry Cruger being Henry Cruger Jnr, a merchant of Bristol, taking 4-5 years to extinguish it. Lopez built an even larger debt to Hayley and Hopkins, to whom he transferred his biz via London, in 1774 Lopez owed Hayley Hopkins some 12,000 pounds. Lopez dealt also to West Indies, owned several ships, one in trade Jamaica to London; eg Lopez to Cruger in Bristol, Nov 1770; Pares finds it impossible to quantify any of merchants' dealings such as those of Lopez re capital formations, etc. George Washington (Pares, p. 3) visited Barbados in 1751-1752 and commented on planter indebtedness there. p. 5 James Reynell a Philadelphia merchant of a later generation 1730-1760 in Pares, Yankees, p. 5.

Virginia: Some of the 1773-1775 American exporters of tobacco from the Upper James River area included: William Allen, Jerman Baker, Burwell Bassett, Robert Bolling, Thomas Bolling, Carter Braxton, William Byrd, Charles Carter, Colonel Edward Carter, Archibald Cary, Wilson Miles Carey, Rev William Coutts, Francis Eppes, Charles Gilmore, John Harmar, William Harwood, Henry Henderson, William Lightfoot, Henry and Edmund Lyne, John Mayo, David Meade, Everard Meade, Richard K. Meade, Joseph Montfort, Robert Munford, Robert Carter Nicholas, John Pankey, John Paradise, John Pleasants, Thomas Prosser, Brett Randolph, John Randolph, Richard Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, William Randolph, Henry Skipworth, James Smith, John Throgmorton, Richard Tunstall, Robert Turnbull, Abram Venable, Benjamin Waller, John Wayles, Cary Wilkinson.

Circa 1774

1774 - Among the London tea dealers were Walter Mansell and Co, Arthur Lee, Thomas Walpole, the later alderman Brook Watson and his partner Rashleigh, Champion and Dickinson, Hayley and Hopkins, Lane Son and Fraser, Davidson and Newman, Abraham Dupois, Pigou and Booth; and John Fothergill. Merchants who may have been Londoners, or Americans, it is difficult to say, included James Hall, Hugh Williamson and John D. Whitworth, who with William Rotch later contacted the Privy Council on 19 Feb, 1774 [Labaree, p. 295, Note 36; pp. 89-95].

Circa 1775

1775++: Based in France, see financier Ferdinand Grand, Vergennes, the French Farmers-General as buyers of American tobacco.

Netherlands: Hope(s) and Co. of Amsterdam. Jan (and Jan Jnr.) and Wilhelm (and Wilhelm Jnr.) Willink (Amsterdam bankers). Nicholas van Staphorst. Jan Gabriel van Staphorst.

1775++: Mostly resident in America: Robert Morris,an early partner of Robert Morris being Thomas Willing (Morris and Willing, Philadelphia tobacco traders), John Parish a connection of Robert Morris. William Constable. Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson (politician/commentator). John Adams (politician, negotiator for Dutch loans). Carter Braxton (of Virginia), Daniel Parker, William Parker, Benjamin Franklin, Gouvenour Morris. Agents for Hope and Co. of Amsterdam, John Holker, Francis Rotch (whaling industry), Matthew Ridley, merchant John Hancock of Boston. John Jay (negotiator of Jay Treaty). One-time partners of Robert Morris were Wallace, Johnson and Muir.

1775 - See Alison Olson, London Mercantile Lobby, p. 26, both James Russell and Dennys DeBerdt Jr. both signed the extreme October 1775 petition urging government to take steps to restore peace with America. ... p. 27, Core of the American merchants included Edward Athawes, dean of the Virginia tobacco merchants since the 1750s, John Norton, Quakers David Barclay and Daniel MIldred, the Marquis of Rockingham's friend Sir William Baker and his lawyer son, Carolina merchants John Nutt (and Nutt a pro-American) and Edward Brigden, New England merchants Alexr Champion and Thomas Lane, Maryland merchants James Russell and William Molleson, the Virginia merchant Duncan Campbell, plus traders New York-Penn being William Neate and Frederick Pigou.

1775: Dallas D. Irvine, 'The Newfoundland Fishery: A French objective in the War of American Independence', Canadian Historical Review, 13 Sept., 1932.

1775++: Georges Lemaitre, Beaumarchais. New York, 1949.

1775++ See also, Margaret L. Brown, William Bingham, Agent of the Continental Congress in Martinique', Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 61, 1937.

1775++: Derek Jarrett, The Begetters of Revolution: England's Involvement with France, 1759-1789. Totawam NJ, 1973.

1775++: Britain: Sir James Cockburn MP for Linlithgow, had valuable contract to supply 100,000 gallons of rum to the troops. (Colley, Britons, p. 126.)

In 1775, Lopez, Jarvis, Francis Rotch and one Richard Smith decided to station vessels at the Falkland Islands for the duration of Ameeican Rev hostilities. Whaling mostly, sealing when possible. There was a danger of starvation on Nantucket in 1775 due to shipping blockades. (From Dickinson on Falklands sealing), In Sept 1775 Rotch joined with Leonard Jarvis of Dartmouth, Richard Smith of Boston, Aaron Lopez of Newport for whaleships, see firms of Champion and Hayley, Champion and Dickason. See Dickinson on the Falklands re the affair that Mary Wilkes had with Rotch after George Hayley died. Mary Wilkes also had liason with (American?) whaler Patrick Jaffrey who remains little known.

in 1775-1776- the British Treasury Board contracted with Anthony Merry, merchant, to supply livestock to troops at Boston and New York.

Pre-revolution, 1775, some of the leading Glasgow merchants with influential connections in American colonies are Alexander Speirs and William Cunninghame.

1775 - Jacob M. Price, 'The Economic Growth of the Chesapeake and the European Market, 1697-1775', The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 24, No. 4, 1964., pp. 496-516, [note also that nearby that issue, maybe 1963 or 1965 is an article on French merchants at Lyon which maybe we should read. on p. 499, Note 3, Price writes, "It is virtually impossible to compile a good, long term series of London tobacco prices." (p. 499), since 1670 the Chesapeake tobacco to London was re-exported to markets the Virginians knew little about. there were 100 million pounds shipped annually to Britain in 1771-1775, about 85 per cent of which was re-exported. and p. 502, Note 5, Price cites papers on French Farmers-General, noting that they tend to neglect "commercial and political-personal factors".

Active 1775: Virginian planter Colonel William Brockenbrough.

Circa 1776

Names relevant to pre-revolutionary North America

Gilbert Barkley (sometimes given as Barclay). A tea dealer associated with the tea cargos ruined by the Boston Tea Party. (Died 1799 in England.)

Anna Cuyler and Anthony van Schaick. B. Ledyard Cuyler. Sir Cornelius Cuyler first Baronet (c.1740-1819). Cornelius Cuyler and Margaret Ledyard. New York merchant Philip Cuyler.

John Duncan, an early partner of the notable firm of fur traders, Phyn and Ellice.

Background of merchant in America in the time of the American Revolution, Stephen Girard

Abel James, partner with Henry Drinker in the firm James and Drinker, time of Boston Tea Party.

Lane, Son and Fraser (which failed in London 1793 and created negative ripples as it did so). Hopes and Co. of Amsterdam (which survived to about 1814).

Merchant of Amsterdam John de Neufville, assisted supply of Washington's Continental Army, later emigrated to America.

Other names in Britain to examine further

Alexander and Benjamin Champion, investors in the English south whaler fishery roughly 1776-1786. Surprisingly little is available on their genealogy and careers.

Lane, Son and Fraser (see below re North America).

Vice-Admiral Clark Gayton(died 1787), at one time in command of the naval station at Jamaica. (May relate to work on Lane, Son and Fraser as below, by about 1787.)

Samuel Peach (1725-1790), Bristol banker and MP, bankrupted in 1781, and his lineage generally.

Re George Chalmers - 1776 - Re Virgin Islands, for some time rather unsually had a Liverpool agent, (in Penson, Colonial Agents, pp. 106ff), at one time it was thought Sir William Meredith should go out, by 1776, but he was then Controller of the Household, so it was decided to appoint John Pownall, under-sec of State in the American Dept and secretary to Board of Trade. the appointee was one George Suckling. a certain London group had been intriguing about the appoinment. In 1783, Henry Rawlinson of Liverpool was appointed. Penson, (Colonial Agents, p. 167) says George Chalmers a later agent for the Bahamas was appointed after 1782 chief clerk to the committee of Privy Council known as Board of Trade, a Bahamas man till he died in 1825. Chalmers (p. 168) in his day regarded as a notable opinion on the history of the revolt of the Americans. in Penson, Colonial Agents, p.168 citing George Chalmers, An Introduction to the History of the Revolt of the American Colonies. 2 Vols. Boston, 1845. Chalmers also wrote on Britain's Treaties with other powers.

A Robert Morris had partner in 1776 dealing with Martinique, William Bingham, American commissioner; and on Santo Domingo, Morris had his (Secret Committee) agent, Stephen Ceronio. In Williamsburg was Benjamin Harrison Jnr. David Stewart worked at Baltimore. At New Orleans was Oliver Pollock, also dealing for Willing and Morris. Charles Willing was on Barbados. In 1776, one firm was Willing, Morris, (Swanwick) and Co. Operating in Europe were Silas Deane, John Ross and Samuel Beale. Morris had regular European associates, Samuel and J. H. Delap at Bordeaux, Andrew Limozin at Le Havre, Clifford and Teysett of Amsterdam. Deane and Ross began to deal with LeRoy de Chaumont a procurer of supplies for the French army, and John Holker, later the agent of the French navy in America.

29 Feb, 1776, Beaumarchais wrote to king of France, true words, "The famous quarrel between America and England, which will soon divide the world and change the system of Europe ... and he warned the king, if America and England made up, they would attack the French West Indies to make up their losses, so he recommended that France assist the Americans without compromising France - while Vergennes felt that helping the Americans would reduce the power of England, maybe give back the fisheries of Newfoundland the French had long resented losing ... So Vergennes wanted any French aid to America kept secret. Meanwhile the British had brought off the secretary of the weak-and-despised London French ambassador, Guines, and had planted a renegade Jesuit in the French embassy who knew of Canadian affairs, Roubaud (sic ok), and Roubaud as a double agent kept in touch with Lord Dartmouth and John Pownall (an America-hater) - the undersecretary for American Affairs, Roubaud gulled Guines about plans for an Anglo-French alliance against the Americans, saying to the English it was a French idea, so this fuelled British arrogance against the Americans, and Lord Sandwich at the Admiralty sent copies of such a false document to America as a warning to the Americans, but the upshot was the Louis decided to help the Americans. (Fleming, 1776 Illusions, pp. 110-113.)

Feb-March 1776, Secret commerce men meeting with French merchants Penet and Pliarne, eager to supply munitions to America, indeed, anything else. gunpowder by the ton, committee chose Silas Deane, aged 39, as representative to go to France. (Fleming, Illusions, pp. 132-133.)

1776, April, (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 158), Beaumarchais the Frenchman, associate of Arthur Lee, sending supplies to US via West Indies, with the semi-fictional company of Hortales and Co. (Ferguson, Purse, p. 42, Note 42), See Louis Leonard de Lomenie, Beaumarchais and His Times. New York, 1857., surmising p. 278 "that French merchants other than Beaumarchais got subsidies from the French Court in order to give aid to America." Also, the "booming" war trade to the West Indies is described in J. Franklin Jameson, 'St Eustatius in the American Revolution', American History Review, 8, (1902-1903), pp. 683-708.

April 1776, profit on Statia gunpowder had jumped 120 per cent, some shipped to America by Marylander Richard Harrison, and Abraham von Bibber spent time on Statia, Much powder bought with borrowed French money with Statia merchant Isaac van Dam active here, admitting he caried out his trade on behalf of Frenchmen; and in London, Lord Rochford sec of state for Europe accused France of gunrunning to America, and Vergennes disagreed about any breach of agreements here. (Fleming, Illusions, pp. 210ff.)

2 April, 1776, Louis of France decided he would help the Americans separate from England, he ordered the navy to begin rebuilding and army to purchase new equipment. And on 2 May he agreed to back Beaumarchais' dummy company, Roderigue Hortalez and Co, which would supply munitions to Americans. but Louis also decided to dispense with Turgot. whereupon Turgot with great prescience warned Louis of the fate of the necks of kings, and exit Turgot. Vergennes then persuaded Spain to assist Hortalez, and so in all, the French supported a revolution that would lead to the re-arrangement of France! (Fleming, 1776 Illusions, p. 113.)

By May 1776, (Ver Steeg, p. 19), Robert Morris' half brother Thomas went to London to settle the affairs of Willing and Morris (Ver Steeg p. 205 Note 31, about 10,000 pounds), overall, he was a bungler, ending back at Nantes. Some of Robert Morris contacts were with French firm De Pliarne, Penet and Gruel, rather a questionable firm. Eventually Deane complained of Thos Morris indulging in the good life, Morris at Market Street in Philadelphia, and Morris appointed John Ross a Philadelphia merchant to replace Thos Morris for Willing and Morris. Ross here handling deals worth 70,000 pounds sterling by may 1778.
Ferguson, Purse, p. 83, and Note 27, p. 84 Note 29, To Sept 1776, Morris suggesting Deane do deals with Thomas Walpole in Britain, Chaumont in France, and Legrand with branches in France and Holland, to sop up the neutral or indirect trade(s) between Britain and America. Deane tried to interest Delaps in this. p. 83, The British Govt itself connived at the trade, Ferguson writes, which was enabled by transferring ownership and registry of ships to make them appear to be owned by partners in other countries. such arrangements lasted till 1779. By 1781, Ferguson p. 127, many goods acquired by the US in Europe were of British origin.
Aug 1776, Ver Steeg on Morris, p. 206 Note 39, a British merchant Thomas Walpole has his name implicated in a US idea, Morris realised that the American armies could not be adequately supplied except by Great Britain, therefore an idea to set up with 400,000 pounds sterling to include a group of London merchants including Thomas Walpole, some French merchants such as Chaumont, plus Morris and his associates, citing T. P. Abernethy, Commercial Activities of Silas Deane, American Historical Review, XXXIX, p. 478. But Ver Steeg feels the link was much more with French merchants.
(Ketchum, p. 43), By May 1776 the French and Spanish had set up a dummy company, Hortalez (sic) and Cie, to conduct a clandestine arms and munitions business with the Americans so as not to embarrass their governments, one of the American contacts here was Silas Deane, whose life is a confusing story, the son of a Connecticut blacksmith who graduated from Yale in 1758.
Ferguson, Purse, pp. 195-196. Late in 1777 re Beaumarchais, he sent an agent, de Francey to American to collect money due to Beaumarchis for supplies, but discrepancies were in de Francey's accounts, congress dealing with Alderman Arthur Lee was unsure if supplies had not been a gift of the French court, but Congress wanted to settle with Beaumarchais, Silas Deane a dealer here. Beaumarchais paid to January 1782. Matter still not clear, although B's heirs paid something in 1835. Thomas Barclay here reviewed accounts, etc.

Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 158-159, May 3, 1776, Vergennes in France wrote to Grimaldi the Spanish minister that France intending to advance one million livres for aid to the American colonies. Govt would not appear in it, a merchant would arrange matters. Meanwhile a US arrangement from Secret Committee dealing with Penet, Pliarne and Co, interested with the French Farmers-General in American tobacco. Arthur Lee involved here. Silas Deane buying munitions.

William Bingham, aged 24 in 1776, re fitting of the American army due to Abraham van Bibber, Richard Harrison, Thomas Burch (sic) and/or William Bingham, who worked in the West Indies and by mid- 1776 had supplied Wshington with enough gunpowder. (Fleming, Illusions, p. 205.) Also, see Robert C. Alberts, The Golden Voyage: The Life and Times of William Bingham. Boston, 1969.

By 3 June, 1776, Committee of Commerce had sent young William Bingham to Martinique to do business, on American war ship, Reprisal, Capt Lambert Wickes, who actually had a mostly British crew! Wickes who had sailed merchant ships for Willing and Morris. At Martinique a British warship challenged Reprisal and Reprisal sent a broadside, the ships duelled, the British lost, and a minor diplomatic incident occurred, with the British speaking diplomatic tosh and the French saying so, and about now, one American ship operated (half-owned) by Abraham von Bibber was Balitmore Hero. Bingham meantime had a small fleet of privateers and made phenomenal profits he shared with Robert Morris, in one week his men got fourteen prizes. (Fleming, Illusions, p. 213), see Robert C. Alberts, The Golden Voyage: The Life and Times of William Bingham. Boston, 1969.

Mid-1776, by now, Thomas Burch head of Thomas Burch and Co had shipped 50 tons of gunpowder to Thomas Mumford of Groton, Connecticut, a relative of Silas Deane. (Fleming, Illusions, p. 211.)

In the later 1770s, Baltimore merchants worked with a popular party in Maryland led by Charles Carroll of Carrolltown, Samuel Chase, and others, while more radical were John Hall, Mathias Hammond and Rezin Hammond. In 1776, some Baltimore merchants formed a Whig Club, devoted to an idea of deporting anyone opposing independence, which increased general political support for independence. (T. Thompson, p. 23.)

1776: (Ferguson, Purse, p. 83), and Note 27, p. 84 Note 29, To Sept 1776, Morris was suggesting Deane do deals with Thomas Walpole in Britain, Chaumont in France, and Legrand with branches in France and Holland, to sop up the neutral or indirect trade(s) between Britain and America. Deane tried to interest Delaps in this. p. 83, The British Govt itself connived at the trade, Ferguson writes, which was enabled by transferring ownership and registry of ships to make them appear to be owned by partners in other countries. such arrangements lasted till 1779. By 1781, (Ferguson, Purse, p. 127), many goods acquired by the US in Europe were of British origin.
(Ferguson, Purse, p. 89, Note 44), a close friend of Deane was Edward Bancroft, a British spy whom Deane and Franklin employed unwittingly. Bancroft made frequent trips across the Channel and it was said that these trips were linked with stock speculations in which Deane participated, the principal English associate being Thomas Wharton. See Carl Van Doren, Secret History of the American Revolution. New York, 1941.

(Ferguson, Purse, p. 80, Note 19), re firms such as Benjamin Harrison paymaster of the Continental army in Virginia, Carter Braxton, Jennifer and Hooe, J. H. Norton and Samuel Beale of Virginia, Hewes and Smith of North Carolina, John Dorsius of Charleston, John Wereat in Georgia. Circa 1776, another Morris agent was David Stewart at Baltimore.

About July-August 1776, (Ferguson, Purse, pp. 78-81), Morris' partner in 1776 to Martinique was William Bingham, American commissioner, and on Santo Domingo, Morris had his (Secret Committee) agent, Stephen Ceronio. In Williamsburg was Benjamin Harrison Jnr. David Stewart at Baltimore. At New Orleans was Oliver Pollock, also dealing for Willing and Morris. Charles Willing was on Barbados. In 1776, one firm was Willing, Morris, (Swanwick) and Co. In Europe were Silas Deane, John Ross and Samuel Beale. Morris had a regular European client, Samuel and JH Delap at Bordeaux, Andrew Limozin at Le Havre, Clifford and Teysett of Amsterdam. Deane and Ross began to deal with LeRoy de Chaumont, procurer of supplies for French army, and John Holker later the agent of the French navy in America. Clifford and Teyset of Amsterdam.

1776 - (A. Dickinson, Falklands sealing, p. 37), citing Lt Samuel W. Clayton, An Account of the Falkland Islands', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, LXVI (1776).

1776, Tobacco merchant Molleson's Maryland agent was Matthew Tilghman, a Maryland Congressman. Russell's agent in Maryland was John Grahame of Nantes, presumably related to Charles Grahame. Molleson at William and Robert Molleson, of No 1, America Square, his residence also there. (Jacob Price, p. 196.)

Early 1776 - There was a Virginia firm dealing with Robert Morris (Ver Steeg, p. 21), JH Norton, CM Thurston and Samuel Beale, and Morris using a Capt Ord who had sailed to St Eustatius, and Morris by now was encouraging some privateers. Morris brought tobacco from Carter Braxton of Virginia. Also in tobacco was Benjamin Harrison.

1776: Turgot, his views, one of "the Physiocrats", served Louis XVI, believed all wealth came from the land, eschewed war for commercial advantage in guise of political rivalry, had little interest in foreign policy, wanted to see a France whose wealth and fertility from the soil surpassed perfidious Albion. Did not want paper wealth as created by the Bank of England. Meantime the Farmers-General was "a corporate entity which was virtually a state within a state", with the right to collect the taxes of France, and things were, Turgot's views on reform of tax sent the tax-evasive French aristocracy into hysteria. Turgot especially warned the king against war, as any gunshot would drive the state into bankruptcy! So he did not advise the young Louis in early 1776 to assist the American rebels. at the time the French ambassador to England was Count de Guines, there had been diplomatic veerings in 1775 between England and France over 1775, the upshot with France's foreign minister Vergennes was that France would assure England it would not help the Americans, and then it would secretly help the Americans. Vergennes was wanting cheaper loans from the Dutch to offset the murderous interest rate of the Farmers-General, and as Louis waffled about not stabbing Geo III in the back, Vergennes needed another man and found him in England, Pierre Augustin Canon de Beaumarchais, aged 44. and in 1774 he had the confidence of French officials, unofficial envoy to Spain, secret agent for Louis XV in London, where (apart from adventures with the gender-mysterious French spy, for Louis XV, Chevalier Charles d'Eon de Beaumont) (six ok correct spells) Beaumarchais met radicals John Wilkes Lord Mayor of London and Arthur Lee the American. [Wilkes, said mockingly, he had never been a Wilkite) (Fleming, 1776 Illusions, pp. 102-108ff.)

About mid-1776, when Guines the French ambassador been in London, he had tried unsuccessfully to play the stock market, his bankers being Huguenots Baurieu (sic) and Chollet (sic) who threatened to sue the French king for Guines' debts once courts found in Guines' favour, and Necker soothed them with promises of their handling some millions as he handled France's finances. (Fleming, Illusions, p. 446.)

About mid-1776, Aug-Oct 1776, Vergennes in France seeing Silas Deane, and Necker fitting out French revenges against England. (Fleming, Illusions, p. 447.)

1777: (Greenberg, p. 21), by about 1777, two large China merchants re Canton were Messrs Hutton and Gordon, Chinese owed them about $1,176,000. One Abraham Leslie an aggressive China resident. A noted semi-pirate was Captain MacClary.

1777, early in year, Admiral Gayton commanding the Jamaica naval station, his yard needs masts and bowsprits. (Albion, Forests and Sea Power, p. 307.)

(Ferguson, Purse, p. 88, Note 42), re Pliarne, Penet and Co, Oct. 1777. a dubious company, also linked with J. Gruel.

(Ferguson, Purse, pp. 195-196.) Late in 1777 re Beaumarchis, he sent an agent, de Francey to America to collect money due to Beaumarchis for supplies, but discrepancies were in de Francey's accounts, congress dealing with Alderman Arthur Lee was unsure if supplies had not been a gift of the French court, but Congress wanted to settle with Beaumarchis, Silas Deane a dealer here. Beaumarchis paid to January 1782. Matter still not clear, although B's heirs paid something in 1835. Thomas Barclay here reviewed accounts, etc.

1777 - (Oberholtzer, p. 323), Dutch bankers so helpful to Morris were Willink and Co.
(Ver Steeg, p. 208, Notes 42- 48), Morris deals with John Parish of Hamburg (who is almost impossible to retrace)) via John Ross who handled Morris and Willing abroad, and Ross had an account with John Parish of up to 200,000 pounds sterling. Ross dealt in his own private capacity with British trade via John and William Craig, Delap and Conyngham. (Ver Steeg citing Account Book of John Ross, PHS, p. 1. p. 59.)

(Ver Steeg, p. 15), Feb 1777, Bingham wrote Morris re they were buying tobacco for France "pretty deeply". But there were few good judges of tobacco commerce to rely on.

(Ver Steeg, pp. 16-18), the trade between North Carolina and Southern states and Martinique quite helpful by April 1777, dealing with Chaumont in France, an influential French merchant,

End of 1777, (Ver Steeg, pp. 28-31, firm of Willing and Morris broke up, but this not announced till 28 July, 1778. Willing wanted to wind up English affairs, Morris disliked working with the French, and between 1778-1781, Morris became acknowledged as the premier merchant in US, now completely private, he continued with Bingham working at Martinique, privateering tapered off, Capt Ord went back to ordinary sailing, and Morris teamed with a partner, Jonathan Hudson, who speculated in salt, then tobacco, then the two did business with tobacco, rum, plantations, lands, Hudson being rather impetuous, and also linked to Peter Whitesides and Co., from July 1778. Hudson buying eg., 2000 hogsheads a time. Morris also dealing much with the French merchant John Holker (There are forty volumes of Holker Papers in the Library of Congress), Morris dealt for Holker in Philadelphia, Virginia and Maryland.

1777 - (A. Dickinson, Falklands sealing, p. 50) - Francis Rotch's ventures to Falklands terminated when Rotch returned from the Falklands in 1777. Charles Hayley died that year, too. (citing Stackpole, but does he mean George Hayley here?) Dickinson says Rotch in 1777 became business adviser to the Company and to Mary Hayley, new widow. Mary Hayley wished to continue as a whaler, although on a reduced scale. Dickinson (p. 51) suggests Hayley and Rotch became romantically involved, and he may have induced her to try the Falkland Islands plan again. Francis' brother William Rotch disliked the plan, William wanted sea otter skins from the Northwest Pacific Ocean to Canton, which would have entailed sailing around Cape Horn.

Battle of Long Island. p 33, Sept 1777, Sir William Howe, Brit, sailed up Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware and occupied Philadelphia. (Tuchman, The First Salute: 1988), p. 122, at least some of the American naval supplies and gunpowder were bought with the proceeds of sales of American tobacco and indigo. >>> p. 159, America used to trans-ship some supplies through Portugal. (Tuchman, The First Salute. 1988, p. 176), Edward Bancroft was a spy for British espionage, he was a correspondent of the American commissioners. Tuchman, The First Salute: 1988., p. 301, Naval officers were generally Whiggish in outlook. Tuchman, The First Salute, 1988., pp. 308-309, Brit's attitude to American War was a matter of planlessness and carelessness, complacency, and the navy was riddled with factionalism. Tuchman, The First Salute: 1988., p. 313, Britain calculated an ending to the American Revolution, by the spring of 1777 - and of course, was wrong.
Tuchman, The First Salute: 1988., p. 332, Graft was a way of life to the English officials.

Circa 1777

1777-1778, Navy in London decides on timber supplies from Canada, St John River in New Brunswick, still a part of Nova Scotia, Colbert wanting to supply France from New France. but failed here. Extensive timber trade from Nova Scotia, the timber pioneer at New Brunswick was William Davidson, who began in 1779, an initiative from commissioner at Halifax Andrew Snape Hamond, Davidson worked from Fort Howe. (Albion, Forests and Sea Power, p. 291.)

1777-1778, Scammell went from London, went to the Baltic, St Petersburg for masts, and had made a contract with Riga merchants Wales, Pierson (sic) and Co. of Riga for more masts and that supply lasted for the war. (Albion, Forests and Sea Power, pp. 287-288.)

Circa 1778

To about 1778, the most-named British contractors helping prosecute the American war seemed to be, Nesbitt Drummond and Franks, Mure, Son and Atkinson, Anthony Bacon, John Amyand, Hennicker, Wheler/Wheeler, Wombwell and Devanes, James Bogle French John Durand, see AO Bundles, 197-208. Also, Jones, Smith, Baynes and Atkinson, from www.americanrevolution.org/britisharmy4.html -

New notes from Klingelhofer, after 1779, Matthew Ridley became involved in a new importing business with John Holker Jnr (who had made many enemies in France), Robert Morris, Jonathan Williams, Joshua Johnson (an associate in London of the American William Lee), Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont a shrewd French businessman dealing with the Americans, Edward Bancroft a doctor and a spy for the British at times, sometimes Benj Franklin's secretary, Simeon Deane a merchant in Virginia and others. p. 96 and Kling says, John Holker Jnr. lived in France with his Jacobite father till sent in 1777 by French Govt to report on conditions in US, later he was appointed consul-general in Philadelphia and he helped equip French men-o'-war in American ports and fit French armies, and as an active or silent partner in many businesses he made and lost fortunes, he was a partner with Robert Morris till 1784, when recriminations began, John Holker Papers are in the Library of Congress, (Klingelhofer, p. 96), Thomas Digges was sent by Lord North on a mission to Holland to talk with John Adams on idea of a truce in March 1782, Klingelhofer, p 97, Ridley in a new phase when in March 1781 he was appointed agent for Maryland to obtain a loan for the state in Europe, and he also took two of Robert Morris' sons (Robert and Thomas), to Europe for their education, so Ridley went to France in November 1781, Ridley at times also dealt with Gouvenour Morris, Ridley got no loan in France but after dealing with John Adams in Holland got a loan from Nicolaas and Jacob van Staphorst in Amsterdam. Ridley back in France in August 1782 and became friends with John Jay. few secrets were kept from Ridley, about September-October 1782 when Britain and US negotating, terms of the Jay draft learned in London on October 8, 1782, he knew of animosity between Jay and Franklin, Ridley observed the high level powerplays between France, Spain and Britain which threated to swamp US interests,
Klingelhofer, p. 101, Aug 28, 1782, M Ridley sees Dr Bancroft, Robert Morris p. 102 prefered to deal with French financier Ferdinand Grand. Klingelhofer, p. 102, 31 Aug, 1782, M Ridley sees John Jay and discusses eg Robert Morris dealing with French financier Ferdinand Grand, Klingelhofer, p. 103, 3 Sept., 1782, Matthew Ridley sees Mr Thomas Barclay of the Philadelphia firm of mercantile Barclay, Moyland and Co, and Barclay here is also American consul in France, Klingelhofer, p. 119, on 12 Oct, 1782, Ridley dined with Mr Richard Neave and Son and they complained of Samuel Wharton a Philadelphia merchant, who had let them down as Neaves had backed a firm Boynton, Wharton and Morgan, matter of 33,000 pounds sterling, Wharton of Philadelphia and also a land speculator. Mr Neave now failed. Same discussions on Oct 13, 1782 with Neaves.
Klingelhofer, Matt Ridley knows by 27 Nov, 1782, Thomas Townshend and lord mayor of London been concerned to prevent speculation in the city re war news and ideas about negotiations with America,

Swiggett, p. 207, an example once of Pickering's way of doing things, [during the Rev?] a Philadelphia merchant named Charles Derby received a bill of exchange of the Dutch banking house Hope and Co, in payment for goods purchased by John Pigeon. Pigeon could not be found to exist. Pickering protested the bill, feeling it was a forgery.

Circa 1779

1779 - (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 129), Carter Braxton seems to have stepped into the gap in tobacco-handling business created when the Scots factors had been thrown out of the colonies, and merchants such as DC and Christopher Court were unable to trade. Jan 1779, Braxton complains of low price of tobacco and wanted to trade with Holland, via Antigua or St Eustatius.

See Pierre Vilar, A History of Gold and Money, 1450-1920. London. Verso. 1991. pp. 268ff, There was a Roux company in Marseilles. Other financiers p. 275 included the Perregaux, Mallets, Hottinguers, Vernes. Royal or Court bankers before french Rev included Paris-Duverney and De Laborde. see here PAF notes re Robert Morris.
Necker an employee of Thellussons, from Lyon then to Geneva, Necker became a great Paris financier, did much business with England as well as with the French EICo, Necker dealt for credit with the English house of James Bourdieu and Samuel Chollet (who are little known), in 1760s, and the enemy of Necker was Isaac Panchaud, who was familiar with English institutions, who had many failures, a Paris bank also was Cottin (sic) at time of American Revolution, Pierre Vilar, A History of Gold and Money, 1450-1920. London. Verso. 1991., pp. 277-278.

France got silver especially from Cadiz, some finance houses involved being English companies Gough and George Browne, and French companies Jolif, Magon and Lefer of Saint-Malo (were Catholics not Protestant), Le Couteulx (Catholics) of Paris and Rouen and (see especially Vilar, p. 276) on them, they were very cautious about the Law system), Lenormand and Cie, Casaubon and Behic, Gilly Freres, Fornier Freres, some Paris bankers were Waters, who dealt with the Gough company of Cadiz where English transactions were considered, (Pierre Vilar, A History of Gold and Money, 1450-1920. London. Verso. 1991., pp. 268ff.) There was a Roux company in Marseilles. Other financiers (p. 275) included the Perregaux, Mallets, Hottinguers, Vernes. Royal or Court bankers before the French Revolution included Paris-Duverney and De Laborde.

Circa 1779

1779 - France - Re Pierre Augustine Caron de BEAUMARCHAIS, died 1799, a dramatist and watchmaker by trade. Wrote two comedies which influenced Rossini, re Barber of Seville; and re Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro which was taken as an attack on privileges of aristocracy. In 1775-1775 he was used as an agent by Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, sent supplies by the dummy company Hortalez and Cie, some payment to be in tobacco never forthcoming, and (B was a noted litigant who wrote wittily about his cases) matters not resolved till 1835 when heirs of B were reimbursed by Congress. See E. S. Kite, Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence. (See Sainsbury, Pro-Americans, p. 437.)

Circa 1780

1780-1786: Free trader firm working India about 1780, Sulivan, Jourdain and de Souza. Who were they? Sulivan was presumably the London-based EICo chairman Laurence Sulivan died 1786. Jourdain unknown, the de Souza might have been Sir Miguel de Souza of Bombay (husband of Anna Maria) who had died by 1810 if not earlier. But none of this is clear.

Circa 1780: Lawyer of Hartford Co., Maryland, Aquila Hall (no parents), married to Ann Tolley daughte of Walter Tolley of Long Green Valley and Unkown.

1780++: (Maybe spurious info?) See Richard Kelly Hoskins, War Cycles - Peace Cycles. nd Virginia Publishing Co. PO Box 997, Lynchburg, VA 24505. USA. in Nexus Magazine, Feb-March 1994. pp. 30ff, in 1780 the ejection of the British left a banking vacuum in America, Alexander Hamilton presented three arguments for a central bank, to do for the US what the Bank of England had done for England, done by himself and his backers some of whom were reputed to be Rothschilds and their Bank of England (were Rothschilds in England at the time?). In 1781 the private Bank of Pennsylvania was replaced by Bank of North America [among those in the original subscription were Benj Franklin, Thos Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, John Jay, John Paul Jones, Commodore John Barry; a leading force was Robert Morris; this bank opened on 1 January, 1782 with capital assets of $335,000; in four years it had grown 600%; it grew to 68 branches; it possesses the oldest cheque drawn in US dated 18 March, 1782. In 1784 was founded Bank of New York, a Hamilton creation. Later was formed Bank of Massachusetts, Virginia settled her areas named Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. In 1786 came first major depression in US as new banks took interest. Banks foreclosed debtors forcing them into poverty and debtors prison. Many farmers ruined. Led by Capt Daniel Shay some 2000 men seized Worcester, Massachusetts and other towns, threatening the establishment of interest-charging banks in US. Gov of Mass took field against "Shay's rebels". on 27 Feb 1787. in 1787 the Constitution was put together in Philadelphia the home of Bank of North America. in 1791 was chartered the First Bank of the US, a private bank to which all govt's money was entrusted with a charter for 20 years and opposed by James Madison of Va on Feb 2, 1791. Its successor was Second bank of the US, discovered about 50 years later to have 64% of its 25,000 shares owned by foreigners, mostly British, friends of the Bank of England. In 1793, George Washington put down what he called "the Whiskey Rebellion",

1780

Circa 1780: Nantucket Island or nearby: Parents of Mary Rotch Eliot who married whaler William Rotch son of William James Rotch and Emily Morgan.

After November 9, 1780, (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 252), William Lee is mentioning the name of the Dutch banker, Van Berkel, and a contract. and Laurens knows of this. Sumner (p. 252) says that British knowledge of this contract became the immediate reason for the war between Britain and Holland.

1780ff - Ver Steeg p. 51, US had out some 165 ships out privateering, with 6000 men aboard, especially from New England towns. quite a year for business confidence in US. John Holker purchased in US for the French forces, 1781 a peak year for American privateers, the number declined in 1782.

(Ver Steeg pp. 32-33-34), spring of 1780, Morris is now dealing with William Turnbull and Co, and Holker and Morris became partners with Turnbull here. Later Turnbull, Marmie and Co. Holker taught Morris much about dealing with France, Holker let Morris use considerable funds freely. Holker also made links with William Turnbull and Co, Benjamin Harrison Jr and Co, and Stacey Hepburn and Co, re tobacco,indigo and rice, Hepburn sent some goods via St Eustatius. Some of Morris words re morality and judgement by society Ver Steeg p. 35, suggest Morris might have been a Mason.

Ver Steeg p. 227, various letters from Morris to Matthew Ridley in August 1781. Ridley Papers, mostly concentrated with the Massachusets Historical Society. - In 1781, Ver Steeg p. 35, Morris linked with a new Philadelphia house Samuel Inglis and Co, from Virginia, a man ruined by the burning of Norfolk. Inglis engaged in shipping ventures, and Morris also linked with Isaac Hazelhurst to get European goods to US. Then Morris linked with Morris, Samuel Beall and John May to procure unused lands in Virginia. Morris by now linked with Carter Braxton re tobacco and shipping, John Ross for goods shipped from Europe, Conyngham and Nesbitt re privateers, Matthias Slough for commissary needs, Hewes and Smith for tobacco and shipping, and with Thomas Mumford, Thomas Russell and John Bradford for shipping. By 1780, Morris' expansion meant he had nine major partnerships to deal with. - Ver Steeg p. 58, office of Superintendent of Finance in US created by Congress on Feb 7, 1781, many eyes turned to Robert Morris.later dealing with Necker the French minister or director-general of Finance, Morris also worked out a scheme to carry Spanish silver from South America and West Indies the Spanish could not receive due to British squadrons, possibly to use the money for US purposes. Morris also became agent for Pennsylvania. - Ver Steeg, p. 74, Morris writes to Matthew Ridley re troops supplies prior to Yorktown conflict of August 1781-ish, eg 3000 barrels of flour. Ver Steeg p. 139, Matthew Ridley when in France a partner with Holker, agent of the French Marine. Ver Steeg p. 145, Ridley's name appears on scholar's lists of early American corporations. - (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 2, p. Chapter XVIII), Sumner has a highly detailed discussion of money in the colonies, exchange rates, the mint, coinage, the history of the weird uses of money, and various different forms of money, in the American colonies, all the product of Britain's ineffective financial system applied for decades to the colonies, Robert Morris being driven to obtain the best assays of the contents of various available coinage just to try to find a rational means of justifying transactions large and small. If Robert Morris had trouble here, any London merchant such as DC from, afar would have exceptional difficulty in measuring US commercial matters, and changes in commercial matters. -

early 1780, Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 239, tobacco to be requisitioned as a commodity to be accumulated and traded, to pay for import of items which could not be furnished by the US, necessary imports. By April 1781, the blockading of the Chesapeake made this almost impossible to succeed.

After November 9, 1780, Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 252, William Lee is mentioning the name of the Dutch banker, Van Berkel, and a contract. and Laurens knows of this. Sumner p. 252 says that British knowledge of this contract became the immediate reason for the war between Britain and Holland.

fix if repated Ver Steeg p. 32-33-34, spring of 1780, Morris is now dealing with William Turnbull and Co, and Holker and Morris became partners with Turnbull here. Later Turnbull, Marmie and Co. Holker taught Morris much about dealing with France, Holker let Morris use considerable funds freely. Holker also made links with William Turnbull and Co, Benjamin Harrison Jnr. and Co., and Stacey Hepburn and Co., re tobacco,indigo and rice, Hepburn sent some goods via St Eustatius. Some of Morris words re morality and judgement by society Ver Steeg, p. 35, suggest Morris might have been a Mason.

See - Ernest Samhaber, Merchants Make History: How Trade Has Influenced the Course of History Throughout The World. London, Harrap, 1963. In 1730, English drank coffee, after heavy propagandizing by the EICo they turned to tea, and from then the Co lived on the tea revenues ... On a man named John Parish, During the American War, with the British naval blockades, a British merchant John Parish worked in the free Hanseatic town of Hamburg, forbidden by Britain to send ships to the West Indies [see Tuchman on Americans getting gunpowder through Eustatia], Parish' ships flew the Hamburg flag, the British consul threatened Parish with confiscations, etc, but Parish protested the usefulness of his shipping, and his neutrality, of the trade from Hamburg, so the consul allowed Parish to keep his passport. Some of Parish' troubles were due to envious competitors in Hamburg, it's said. Hamburg was an entrepot port for British colonial merchandise for Central, northern and eastern Europe, eg in WI sugar and coffee, EICo tea, and the French were striving to obtain the customers of the British.
p. 299, Hope and Co of Amsterdam had significant holdings in Baring Bros and Co., John Parish dealt with them. (pp. 278ff), John Parish was originally a Liverpool-based son of a sea captain, who had settled in Hamburg and begun a ships chandler's business, John took it over at age of 20, about time of the Seven Years War, pp. 288, Britain supported Frederick the Great with subsidies inc WI goods, paid in silver, transferred ion goods via Hamburg, and Parish' house experienced a boom, he sold sugar, rum, tobacco and coffee, WI goods from Liverpool, to Baltic ports, he was badly hit by the Fordyce problem in 1772-1773, when Fordyce crashed, so did Clifford and Sons in Amsterdam and Terner [sic] in Bremen, Parish lost 4000 pounds sterling, he began using bills of exchange, which the banks discounted, but on which they advanced money, as security, Parish might hand over his ships bills of lading, he dealt to Baltic, England, Portugal, Spain and France, a leading grain merchant, large to America which was risky. He concealed the true nature of his dealings by camouflaging his warehouses and ultimate destinations of cargoes, at one time had had 100,000 pounds worth of bills dishonoured, very risky. Parish lost money in running cargoes to WI, losing 16,000 pounds sterling in just two ships chartered to WI. He was still in Hamburg in 1789, tried speculating in post-1789 French currency, was dealing with Hope and Co. in Amsterdam, and with Harman, Hoare and Co. in London. Parish dealt here also with a partner of the Paris firm, Boyd, Ker and Co., speculators there, and the Marquis de Walkiers, son of a crown banker of Brussels.
pp. 284ff, Walkiers was acquainted with the American banker, Morris, US ambassador to Paris, who stayed at Parish' house, Altona, just outside Hamburg, so Parish became first US Consul in Hamburg, (Foster Dulles, The Old China Trade p. 39), in 1796 the Americans began shipping tea to Hamburg.] this strengthened his capital, in Liverpool, Parish' suppliers were Richard and Mathieson, and G&H Brown, while in London the firm Burton, Forbes and Gregory, who opened up paper credit for Parish, and they supplied money to the Liverpool suppliers. the modern business term for such techniques is kite-flying, an excellent way to go bankrupt, .... a crash in Holland led to the demise of Burtons, and Parish also was damaged.
p. 285, Parish had bought large volumes of grain for British govt, drawing on Scott, the factor of the British PM, Pitt. In 1793, Parish looked as though he might crash due to being out by 2,000,000 Marks Banco [a currency unit based on silver). He also dealt with Caldwell and Co. in London, and he lost 13,000 pounds for example with Burton (5000 pounds slid away on the Hamburg rates of exchange). G. and H. Brown in Liverpool went bankrupt. pp.288, the Hamburg firm of Berenberg did business with Constantinople, Venice, Milan, Genoa, Marseilles, Algiers, Cadiz and Lisbon, Nantes, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Bristol, Copenhagen to Archangel. -- Samhaber explains bills of exchange pp. 289-290. pp.290, one firm was Berenberg and Gossler. pp. 297ff, David Parish took over from John his father and in 1809 he pulled off a stunning deal in silver that enraged Napoleon. (But we find that John Parish was not a well-known name in London of 1787. How has he escaped attention except from Samhaber?)

1780: New Englander Waity Brown married to Wyllis De Wolf (born 1780).

Active 1780: Caribbean: Marquis de la Motte married to Mary Hylton daughter of Judge William Hylton (1749-1837) of Jamaica and wife Mary Johnson.

Circa 1781

1781++ - (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 306), Virginia in anarchy due to poor administration. By June 8, 1781, Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 281, Robert Morris wrote to French Paris bankers Le Couteulx (sic) and Co. to open an account with them. at a time when US agent Henry Laurens had been thrown in the Tower of London, Le Couteulx seems to have been Morris' banker. Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 94, about Feb-March 1781, Geo III of opinion that even with French aid, the US could not restore its paper currency. Geo III generally of opinion that British credit would outlast all shocks of this war and assist a victory for the Mother Country. He was not wrong, but events proved otherwise, only just. (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 36), In 1781 the agent of Virginia complained to Washington that the Virginia troops were "so naked they could not leave their quarters." and various American historians writing on Robert Morris indicate the army was made of the waste people from the lower orders, the affluent found it inconvenient to fight with Washington. - Oberholtzer says, p. 60, Geo III regarded by 1781 the mismanagement of the American finances as his greatest ally - he cannot, (?) have been advised here by anyone but the men of the City. Just as Robert Morris was brought in to shore up American financial behaviour. - Ver Steeg p. 227, various letters from Morris to Matthew Ridley in August 1781. Ridley Papers, mostly concentrated with the Massachusets Historical Society.
In 1781, (Ver Steeg p. 35), Morris linked with a new Philadelphia house Samuel Inglis and Co, from Virginia, a man ruined by the burning of Norfolk. Inglis engaged in shipping ventures, and Morris also linked with Isaac Hazelhurst to get European goods to US. Then Morris linked with Morris, Samuel Beall and John May to procure unused lands in Virginia. Morris by now linked with Carter Braxton re tobacco and shipping, John Ross for goods shipped from Europe, Conyngham and Nesbitt re privateers, Matthias Slough for commissary needs, Hewes and Smith for tobacco and shipping, and with Thomas Mumford, Thomas Russell and John Bradford for shipping.
By 1780, Morris' expansion meant he had nine major partnerships to deal with. - Ver Steeg p. 58, office of Superintendent of Finance in US created by Congress on Feb 7, 1781, many eyes turned to Robert Morris. Later dealing with Necker the French minister or director-general of Finance, Morris also worked out a scheme to carry Spanish silver from South America and West Indies the Spanish could not receive due to British squadrons, possibly to use the money for US purposes. Morris also became agent for Pennsylvania. - Ver Steeg, p. 74, Morris writes to Matthew Ridley re troops supplies prior to Yorktown conflict of August 1781-ish, eg 3000 barrels of flour. Ver Steeg p. 139, Matthew Ridley when in France a partner with Holker, agent of the French Marine. Ver Steeg p. 145, Ridley's name appears on scholar's lists of early American corporations.
- Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 2, p. Chapter XVIII Sumner has a highly detailed discussion of money in the colonies, exchange rates, the mint, coinage, the history of the weird uses of money, and various different forms of money in the American colonies, all the product of Britain's ineffective financial system applied for decades to the colonies, Robert Morris being driven to obtain the best assays of the contents of various available coinage just to try to find a rational means of justifying transactions large and small. If Robert Morris had trouble here, any London merchant such as Duncan Campbell from, afar would have exceptional difficulty in measuring US commercial matters, and changes in commercial matters. -

1781

(Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 2, p. 221), in 1781 Robert Morris sent his two sons Robert 12 and Thomas 10, to Europe for the education, in care of Matthew Ridley, commercial agent for Maryland. The boys at Geneva and Leipsic till 1788 when they came home.

Ref Pool, 1782, In the spring of 1782, there were debates in both Houses on a Contractors' Bill designed to prevent members of Parliament from having any interest in Govt contracts. The Act was passed Act 22 Geo III c.45, providing that all persons holding Govt contracts should be incapable of being elected or of sitting in the HOC, subject to a penalty of 500 pounds per day, Every gvt contract was to contain "an express condition that no member of the HOC be admitted to any share of part of such contract, or any benefit to arise therefrom. Samuel Whitbread supported the Bill in the House. Act 22, Geo III c.45, An Act for restraining any person concerned in any contract, Commission or Agreement made for the Publick Service from being elected or sitting or voting as a member of the HOC. This is the Act Oldham speaks of. (See re Act 25, Geo III, c.19, Pitt's Bill for the Reform of Abuses in Publick Office.)

Braxton was educated at College of William and Mary, signed Declaration of Independence, in 1757-1760 he lived in England, encyc also = no mention of Robert Morris or tobacco deals. (Greene, Carter Diary, Vol. 1, p. 270), he was Burgess for King William Co, 1761-1771, 1775-1776, member of the Virginia Conventions 1774-1776, delegate to the Second Continental Congress. This man took up marketing American tobacco by arrangement with Robert Morris early in the Am Rev. See Evans, Planter Indebtedness, p. 531, this man on a list of those opposed to repaying debts to British. There is also a man of similar view, probably a relation of Landon Carter's family, Robert Carter Nicholas. By contrast, George Washington opposed non-payment. See Thomson, Upper James River, p. 407, noting Duncan Campbell never received tobacco from Upper James River area, the 1773-1775 exporters of tobacco from Upper James included, William Allen, Jerman Baker, Burwell Bassett, Robert Bolling, Thomas Bolling, Carter Braxton, William Byrd, Charles Carter, Colonel Edward Carter, Archibald Cary, Wilson Miles Carey, Rev Wm Coutts, Francis Eppes, Charles Gilmore, John Harmar, William Harwood, Henry Henderson, William Lightfoot, Henry and Edmund Lyne, John Mayo, David Meade, Everard Meade, Richard K. Meade, Joseph Montfort, Robert Munford, Robert Carter Nicholas, John Pankey, John Paradise, John Pleasants, Thomas Prosser, Brett Randolph, John Randolph, Richard Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, William Randolph, Henry Skipworth, James Smith, John Throgmorton, Richard Tunstall, Robert Turnbull, Abram Venable, Benjamin Waller, John Wayles, Cary Wilkinson.

Swiggett on Robert Morris, Sketch of Robert Morris in Howard Swiggett, The Forgotten Leaders of the Revolution. New York. Doubleday. 1955. Swiggett, t33 p. 38> Wadsworth was in France in 1783 - many men by 1777-1783 thought "Washington, Wadsworth and Robert Morris were the great triumvirate from whom anyone could borrow". Swiggett suspects that by November 1788, Morris was just beginning to find himself inextricably caught in a downward spiral of debt. t51 Swiggett p. 42, VIP In 1786, half the original stock of the Bank of North America was owned by Wadsworth and his partner Church, Robert Morris and William Bingham, also linked to the foreign cargo ventures of William Constable and Co - all the leading venture capital deals of the day were linked with this whole group.
Swiggett p. 70, Littlepage at times an associate of John Jay, been in London, a "sometime secret agent" in Europe, like Gouvernour Morris and Aaron Burr coming finally to Hamburg t45 - Swiggett p. 88-89, says Chancellor Livingston as Minister in Paris also connected with the t44 Lousiana Purchase; Monroe helped connsummate the purchase from 1803 to find that Livingston had closed the deal for five million dollars more than authorized to pay, to include Louisiana and whole western side of the Mississippi, "Tallyrand wished to cut his losses" the groundwork had been laid by Thomas Pinckney the regular minister for London, though John Jay was thought by many to be responsible, . Swiggett p. 114, in December 1776, Braxton says, "I was appointed to purchase tobacco for the [US] Army", and he said due to Robert Morris' insinuation t23 Braxton could use some money for his own purposes, various army supply deals mentioned in 1777, Swiggett said Morris would often complicate deals by adding riders which if they came off would turn extra profit, but if not, then only annoy people around him. Swiggett, p. 114, says in August 1778 when Braxton (who died 1797) was re-establishing in Philadelphia after the British evacuation, that Morris purchased some protested bills of Braxton's and then made financial claims on Braxton, possibly also converting things here into pounds sterling, but apparently still kept money out of Braxton's hands here. Swiggett p. 116, says Washington wanted one of his own nephews to join Tench Tilghman, associated with Robert Morris, for some reason, Thomas McKean the chief justice of Pennsylvania recommended Peter Whitesides about 1788 - t51 "a man of Morris-Braxton money morals", to John Adams in London as he had been concerned in trade with Robert Morris and was a skilful merchant. John Nicholson was soon to become Morris partner as Morris splitting with Willing and Morris.
Swiggett p.116 dates Morris' moral decline from 1781, and John Nicholson accelerated the process. Swiggett pp. 139 t69 in 1795 apparently, some ratification of the Jay Treaty, long chain of events, re resignation of sec of state of US, by October 24 an American serving on the American Claims Comission in London was Samuel Bayard, Bayard in contact with Tom Paine. Swiggett p. 145, 1796-1797 were years of financial ruin for Morris and Nicholson, at which time the agent for Morris in Hamburg is John Parish, asking Parish to sell US land for him. Swiggett p. 153, in Feb 1798 an action by a minor creditor sent Morris to a debtor's prison, and while he was there, John Parish in Hamburg plus Gouverner Morris made efforts (Swiggett says p 154) to extricate Morris. Swiggett p. 207, an example once of Pickering's way of doing things, [during the Rev?] a Philadelphia merchant named Charles Derby received a bill of exchange of the Dutch banking house Hope and Co, in payment for goods purchased by John Pigeon. Pigeon could not be found to exist. Pickering protested the bill, feeling it was a forgery.
Swiggett p. 258-259, 1787-1788, t51 Thomas Pinckney is in London re negotiotions re evacuation of British troops from Northwest posts, settlement of private claims by Revolution, reimbursement by Britain of slaves taken, settlement of private American debts with British merchants, wanting also freedom of the seas, a right to trade in their own American bottoms in any port of the world on a most-favored nation basis with Britain, on his arrival in London at a time when Britain at War with France, many of the rulers had known Pinckney at Westminster School, Oxford or Middle Temple before the revolution. Gouverneur Morris had the year before Pinckney's arrival here been the special agent in London. this appears to be before the Jay Treaty arranged, Pinckney was unable to conclude any arangements, so by April 16, 1794, against strong opposition, John Jay confirmed as envoy extraordinary to London to secure a settlement. so this is all pre-Jay material. Swiggett p. 271, to about 1797-1798, Rufus King the US Minister in London.

Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 2, pp. 168-169, Morris seems to have been impressed by the French interest in taking tobacco, so once he resigned he entered such trade on his own account, made a contract with the French Farmers-General of France, but it seems the French made the first overture - so was it Robert Herries working here, but we ask with Robert morris dealing with French, he may have also been attracted by Herries' habit of often paying in cash????? It seems one Jonathan Williams and his father in law, were linked here, so Morris linked with them.
By March 1784, contract re 15,000 hogsheads of tobacco per year for three years. Morris also dealing re tobacco with Le Norman receiver-general of finances of France, for 60,000 hh of tobacco in 1785, 1786 and 1787, using link with Le Couteulx in Paris. In 1785, a shipment of 2000 hh were lost, Morris and Alexander still linked, Morris by 1788 wanted the business continued, but matters lapsed, some earlier tobacco quality been poor and tobacco then quite scarce. Sumner p. 170 says these tobacco arrangements produced a clamour in Virginia due to arguments about price.

(Olson, Making the Empire work, p. 179), Christopher Court, Thomas Eden John Blackburn, Thomas Land, Alex Champion; and Davis Strahan and Co all survived the war and returned to American trade. The old tobacco merchant Daniel Mildred became a banker, as did many Quakers. William Telfair and Basil Cooper bankrupted. De Berdt, Dearman and Co became brokers for the purchase and sale of American land [one wonders if they dealt with Robert Morris?]. John Norton's heirs did not continue their trade after Norton died. Olson, Making the Empire work, p. 179, by 1783, Cooke and Ralph had gone bankrupt, and Fludyer, Hudson and Streatfield reported they had broken up. Olson, Making the Empire work, p. 175, after 1783 the Annapolis tobacco exporter Wallace revived links with Joshua Johnson in London. Thomas Jefferson considered dealing again with Carey, Moorey and Welsh "though he didn't much like them". Carey and Moore died. Olson, Making the Empire work, p. 175, from 1783, Olson writes, Christopher Court and Thomas Eden as soon as shipping was safe re-established old business with pre-war tobacco growers in Maryland. John Blackburn tried to resurrect old associations, Mary Hayley wrote to pre-war correspondents, wanting orders from her deceased husband's former clients. Some New England firms rushed back to do business with firms such as Lane, Son and Fraser, or Champion and Dickason. Some New York merchants tried Londoners such as John Blackburn (who had a new partner) or Fludyer, Hudson and Streatfield. Olson, Making the Empire work, pp. 174ff, in 1783 with the end of the Revolution, many of the pre-war interest groups, writes Olson, actually expected to re-establish their earlier associations in America. but cohesion was gone. some London interests had to work their English provinces, while some Americans sought to create new national US links.

Patrick Colquhuon, Lord Provost of Glasgow in 1782, and in 1783 founded the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.

1783: Dakin, Whalemen Adventurers, intro. Dakin places the beginning of the English South Whale Fishery, applying to the Southern Atlantic, as 1783, following the close of the American War of Revolution.

Circa 1783

1783: "The British Creditors" as a lobby group, tobacco dealer Sir Robert Herries, Benjamin and W. Vaughan. Duncan Campbell. The rather mysterious firm, Lane, Son and Fraser.

1783: Olson, Making the Empire work, p. 179, only nine of Annapolis' seventeen leading 1774 firms survived to 1783.

1783: Steven, Trade, Tactics and Territory, p. 66-67: Stackpole pp. 16-17.Sam Enderby's sons Samuel Jnr, George and Charles had recently joined their father in his work at the Enderby counting house, Lower Thames St., at Paul's Wharf. After the Treaty of Paris, a son of Samuel Enderby had gone to Boston, USA, to engage Nantucketeer whalers for employ from England. By 1785, Enderbys employed 30 Nantucketeers. Steven p. 67: "Under Pitt the whalers of the southern fishery enjoyed an indulgence that has few parallels in British economic history". After 1783, whale oil became important enough to involve international politics. Stackpole p16-17> Other London merchants following Enderby example were Alex and Benj Champion, Thomas Dickason, John St. Barbe. Alex Champion Snr. had been assoc with George Hayley Co, a "merchant of eminence" who became president of Lloyd's of London. p. 17, St. Barbe was an able entrepreneur reputed to have been a Lt in Royal Navy "also, an adventurer in [the] Whale Fishery....of a very active and enterprizing adventurous disposition, and seems very sanguine in the pursuit of it". Francis Rotch St pp. 24-25 continued as an advisor in London to Madame Hayley as she continued her husband's whaling business. > Olson, Making the Empire work, p. 246 Note 4, p. 250, Note 60, cites Mary Hayley business letter to Christopher Champlin, 1 Feb, 1783, 22 May, 1783, Commerce of Rhode Island, 1776-1880, Boston. 1915. II, p. 170.

1783: April, Complete independence of the USA ceded by Britain. In Britain with the termination of hostilities, convict transp to America became a more common sentence -- despite the practical absurdity that convicts could no longer be sent to America.

Maryland's prominent Whig merchant, George Salmon, did not know George Moore in London, but Salmon knew Philip Moore who had originally urged the business, George's brother in Philadelphia. In April 1783 Salmon wrote to George Moore, and thought selling cons had been a good business. Salmon confident of his political connections. Salmon promised he would be far from leading Moore into a scrape, Salmon to Moore April 30, October 3, 1783. Ekirch secret trade p. 1287, note 10. From Woolsey and Salmon Letterbook. p. 1287, note 10.

April 1783, with the American war nearly over, George Salmon, a leading Whig merchant with an eye for the main chance, had written to George Moore about renewed opportunities for selling British felons to local Maryland planters. The two had never met, but Salmon had been urged to write to George Moore by Moore's brother, Phillip, a Philadelphia merchant. Notes from A. Roger Ekirch, Great Britain's Secret Convict Trade To America, 1783-1784. The American Historical Review, Vol. 89, No. 5, December 1984, pp. 1287. Salmon was not unduly concerned re convicts not being permitted to land in Maryland, although he certainly was aware of earlier opposition to their importation and the growth of anti-British sentiment during the Rev. No law yet existed to prohibit the trade in felons and Salmon had confidence in his political connections. But caution suggested the mission of the George be disguised, so Salmon and Moore agreed to market the ships' people as indentured servants, to rename the vessel, and to announce in London that Nova Scotia was to be the destination. Once at sea, the ship master, Thomas Pamp, would sail to Baltimore. See Joshua Johnson to John Jay, Aug 22, 1783,; Matthew Ridley to William Paca, Sept 12, 1783, James Cheston to William Randolph, Feb 23, 1784, Feb 18, 1785. renaming the ship Swift. See Salmon to Moore, April 30, 1783, Library of Congress, Washington, Peter Force Collection, series 8D, Woolsey and Salmon Letterbook, WSLB. Note 8, p. 1287-1288, four Salmon/Moore letters dated June 11, June 29, July 20 and Aug 17, 1783, are only referred to, otherwise unavailable.

Ekirch, Convict secret, p. 1287, Note 10, Maryland merchant James Cheston a onetime trader in cons called Salmon a very high Whig in a letter to William Randolph on Feb 18, 1785. (Cheston Galloway Papers at Maryland Hist Soct. Ekirch, p. 1285, Moore's George ready to sail within weeks with 143 cons after July 12, 1783.

April, 1783: Complete independence of the USA ceded by Britain. Bligh placed on half pay as a Jnr Lt. 2/- per diem.

date is? James de Lancey the greatest landlord in South New York State, who constituted himself an agent for procuring colonists among Loyalist refugees in Nova Scotia and was disappointed when the scheme fell through.

1783: Re end of American Revolution (from http), when the Rev began, Cork was chosen as supply base for the Am rev, the British army was fed from London, did not live off the land; in 1776 the treasury apptd Robert Gordon, the surveyor general of Munster, as commissary of provisions at Cork, in 1779 he was replaced by John Marsh per Navy Board as agent victualler, George Cherry had a similar position at Deptford and Cowes in England itself. Provisions were sent fro Cork to Montreal, Quebec, Halifax for Canada, New York and Philadelphia for Middle Colonies, Charleston and Savannah for the southern colonies and St Lucia for the West Indies. Contracts came partly, originally, from Sec of state for the colonies, dealt with army contractors, not clear if there was competitive bidding, but samples of provisions were seen, apparently no public tender of bids, the views of adjutant-general Edward Harvey was much sought. Few of the actual contracts can be found today, but were from 12-16 months, provisions were deliverable at contractors risk and expense to either America or Cork, on 2 April 1776 the board contracted with Messrs Nesbitt, Drummond and Franks, for 12,000 men for16 months beginning 1 January 1776. Food but what about grog? In Nov 1776, the commissary generalat New York complained re bad good quality, bad packaging contributed, in Canada, commissary general was Nathaniel Day, from 20 March 1776 to late 1777, and also for Canada, Daniel Chamier, 1774-1777 for Canada, Daniel Wier (sic) 1777-1781 and Brook Watson, 1782-1783. Each commissary-general had staff, in 1775-1776

1783-84-85: KM Dallas usual p. 46, 36: French Government established at Dunkirk a colony of whalers with American "loyalists" from Nantucket. This would have relieved French dependence on oil bought from London merchants.

1783++: Some of the major land companies operating in America in the period included:

1783++: Cf., Mary Elizabeth Ruwell, Eighteenth Century Capitalism: The formation of American Marine Insurance Companies. New York. Garland Publishing Inc. 1993. [Per Tod Moore]. Cf., on Baring, and Gouv. Morris, p. 89 of H. C. Allen, 'The Anglo-American Relationship since 1783. London, Adam and Charles Black, 1959. Robert Morris financier of the American Revolution with some New York merchants sent his first ship to China, the Empress of China.

Circa 1783: (Sumner on Robert Morris, Vol 1, p. 73), re squabbles over US paper money, the Quakers refused to handle it as it had been issued for purposes of war, the attitude of the Nantucketeers here was particularly resented, "the accursed crime of refusing paper money", the Nantucketeers as we know from other sources also had a hard opinion on The Debt Repudiation Question.

1783 Circa: Allen Byrd (Virginia?) married to Bassett Harrison.

1783: American debtor to Britain, Baylor Bland.

Circa 1784

Kellock informs that one Nathaniel Tracy by 1783 had become linked to Lane, Son and Fraser of London. John Lane (whose father had recently died) in 1784 went to Boston from London, as in 1783 his father has unwisely loaned money to Tracy, who was verging on bankruptcy. Lane stayed five years in US, using the assistance of lawyer John Lowell and of Boston's leading banker, Thomas Russell. Lane's presence in Boston is consistent with information presented by Bhagat about Lane and Fraser's activities. (G. Bhagat, p. 9, Note 40.) See Holden Furber on US trade to India.

Michelguglielmo Torri, 'Trapped Inside the Colonial Order: The Hindu Bankers of Surat and their business world during the second half of the Eighteenth Century', Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1991., pp. 367-401. On p. 384 re David Scott of EICo in 1784 was owed 191,254 pounds by the Bombay government and owed 208,870 to his clients in India. He went to London in 1786. It is known that when Wellesley was at war in India, Scott got the military contracts.

NOTES FOR SALEM MERCHANT RICHARD DERBY, (See G. Bhagat, p. 9), this man traded to West Indies, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Gibralter, till Am Rev. Name Elias Hasket US-India DERBY Salem Merchant, died 1799, NOTES FOR SALEM MERCHANT ELIAS HASKET US-INDIA DERBY, His business was largely liquidated on his death. Cf., Marion V. Brewington, Maritime Philadelphia, 1609-1837, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. LXIII, April 1939, pp. 110-111. He had a ship to India in 1784, Grand Turk. (See Bhagat p. 10), he also sent many ships to Mauritius. at times a US India ship earned profits of 700 per cent. One of Derby's Captains was Capt Jonathan Ingersoll of Grand Turk in 1784. another captain was John Gibaut (sic) Derby's son was Elias Derby Jnr who lived in India at Madras by 1790. Other US-India traders were Benjamin and Jacob Crowninshield. by 1792. Cf., Richard H. McKey, Jr, Elias Hasket Derby, Merchant of Salem, 1739-1799, Ph.D, Clark University, Worcester, Masachuseets. 1961 not available. G. Bhagat article, p. 7, on 15 Dec 1792, Derby in India stated that his ship Grand Turk would soon sail for the US. Bhagat p. 7 notes on William Duane, an American who set up a newspaper in Calcutta, rather startling, got into trouble and in 1794 he appealed to John Jay, then in London with Jay Treaty, for assistance, to no avail. Duane was arrested and whisked out of British India. Gordinier p. 153 says that due to his immersion in US-INdia trade he became US first millionaire. See Gordinier article on US-INdia trade.

G. Bhagat, Americans and American Trade in India, 1784-1814. American Neptune. 1986, 46, 1, pp. 6-15. mentions Lane and Fraser dealing with Elias Hasket Derby of Salem in Feb 1784.

Phillis Wheatley, a slave in Boston

Findings on a researcher's disaster zone

From Dan Byrnes, the editor of this website .... written January-February 2008

The issues noted below are suitable for e-mailing to a wide range of contacts. So why not do it?

One of the problem-people issues is a symptom I find with some historical research - and it's a lose-lose, no-win symptom. It is the situation where an allegedly famous person exists, for which there is evidence for certain kinds of discussions. But where this famous person is allegedly and regularly associated with other people, who are less easy to identify and discuss. What is not clear, what is obscured, is - what would happen to our views on the famous person, if more information could be discovered about the other persons said to be in association?

In this case, it is the story of a female slave, and her owner(s). The slave (and later, a former slave) became famous, but no extra information arises on her  owner(s). Yet much of the "evidence" about the earlier life experience of the slave is quite dependent on the life of the owner(s), on whom we continue to know little. A peculiar kind of negative feedback loop is at work here. circa 1775, this is a rare case in American colonies of an educated slave, yet it remains impossible to discover more on who educated the slave, how and why. 

And it is quite easy to use fiction to generate a similar, exemplary case of the problem. Say, the case of a famous non-officer soldier in World War One, distinquished for his bravery. He later marries, say, and lives a mostly normal life. His wartime bravery continues to be discussed. But if no one asks about his wife, we will never know if he was a good or bad husband, or father, if he was a father. Say he has a son, who also distinguishes himself in battle in World War Two. Might we then wonder about the son's mother? What sort of family did the son grow up in? Was it an over-militarized family? Was the father relaxed about his short military career? Did he over-stress it? Or did he suffer post traumatic stress disorder, disrupting an otherwise normal life? Did the son consciously or unconsciously over-compete with his father in some way? Or was the son's battle courage partly an outcome of a set of coincidences during a fog of war. Courage in battle is not hereditary, but a son can be educated/trained in such matters. It might be that courage in battle is a response-to-challenge that rises up in some soldiers more than others. Say that this case of father-son bravery continues being discussed, but that other such aspects of life are not discussed. One would predict that discussions of the military aspects of the case will become lopsided, overweighted, if other details on the family remain absent from the discussion.  

I stayed up very late one night trying to sort out the amazingly mangled merchant story associated with Boston slave Phillis Wheatley. Spent hours on the Net to scratch only a few extra details. Results were mostly zilch. Very unrewarding.

In this case, we have the negative symptom noted above, illustrated by repeated reference to a Boston merchant, John Wheatley, who cannot be suitably researched as a Boston merchant, and certainly, he cannot be seen at all as part of a merchant network, as his associates cannot be identified. Yet all reports are that John Wheatley ought to have been part of affluent commercial networks it is possible to discuss. He apparently really did exist! (Is it relevant or not that a Wheatley family friend is ships captain Robert Calef? Can Calef be suitably researched as a way of finding more about John Wheatley?)

On the Net we can easily find the quite-famous story (in America) of slave Phillis Wheatley, (1753-1784), a poet. She was America's first female Afro-American poet and a tragic case. She is subject of much hero worship in USA (heroine worship?) but her life story is oddly mixed with much-mangled information. I also have to confess that personally, I don't find the reports on Phillis to be about an amazing and unexpectedly good-quality poet to be convincing. Rather, I find her an almost bizarre case of an intelligent (and probably very likable) person in a sad condition of mishandled cultural transplantation, a case not especially well-handled in her own lifetime, and badly-handled since.

Phillis was a girl of 6-7 from Senegal or Gambia. (It remains uncertain, there seem to be no linguistic clues to her region of origin, therefore, no clue as to her original tribe.) She found herself on a slave ship named Phillis, (she was owned by the moderately well-known Boston merchant-slaver Timothy Fitch) and landed in Boston. At the time, Mrs Susannah Wheatley (died 1774) of Boston wanted a slave/companion, and at the slave market one day she decided on a rather plaintive little girl (slim, inadequately dressed for the season, somewhat ill, front teeth missing, but with sweepingly intriguing eyes) whom she named Phillis after the ship. (See a Google Books Result, Carol Chandler Waldrup, More Colonial Women: 25 Pioneers of Early America, no other details yet, mentioning that Nathaniel married Mary Enderby. One wonders if it would be useful to examine on the owner of the ship Phillis, to see if the ship was named for a woman of the shipowner's family, which given shipowner behaviour re ship names, is very likely.)

The family was of New South Congregational Church, Boston, and Susanna was so enthusiastic about religion, she corresponded with Selina Hastings, Countess Huntingdon, well-known in England as "the aristocratic apostle of Methodism". The Countess was quite happy to reply to Susannah's letters, it seems. Susannah (her maiden name, her parents in colonial America, seem to remain unknown and quite unasked about) was wife to Boston merchant John Wheatley (died 1778). Reports differ on John W., who remained a Loyalist, of King Street Boston, (later a Boston city street for banks). He is variously seen as a merchant tailor, a wholesaler, a wharfinger, a man in real estate, and manager of a regular London-Boston ship, London Packet, Capt. Robert Calef. Yet with such a range of activities, he apparently had no other ascertainable associates or partners! None that we can find!

The Wheatleys had not anyway intended Phillis to ever be worked hard, she was to be a domestic, and they found her highly intelligent. So the Wheatley daughter, Mary, educated her. But on the Net, none of the voluminous heroine-worship of poet Phillis Wheatley asks a single question about how Mary was so well-educated herself, and such a good teacher, that Phillis's talents could be nurtured and allowed to grow so relatively quickly! It does seem however, that Phillis developed warmly enough in the bosom of the Wheatley family.

Phillis learned English quite rapidly, and shortly she could understand difficult passages in the Bible, and she liked Alexander Pope's lofty-toned poetry enough to try to begin to write in that style. Phillis also, hardly surprising given the enthusiasms of her religiose owner, Susannah, became rather a Christian. Temperamentally, personality-wise, poets when they are young do tend to be sponges who enthusiastically - and insightfully - soak up influences around them. Phillis Wheatly as poet was no surprise at all in this respect, she was typical.

We get nowhere asking more about the Wheatleys, yet, one of Phillis' early poems was about a family story (apparently) of the Wheatleys; how two mariner relatives named Coffin and Hussey almost shipwrecked during a storm off Cape Cod (date not given). (Coffin and Hussey may not have been relatives of the Wheatleys, merely dinner guests, it is not clear so far from reports).

But from websites at least we hear absolutely nothing more about either Coffin or Hussey that could contribute further to sorting out the Wheatley family history, except in the name of the poem. Given the state today of American genealogy websites for surnames such as Coffin and Hussey, this situation (a fairly ordinary research situation) is plainly absurd in an "only in America" way. One might easily presume Coffin and Hussey were from Nantucket Island, but with family history, nothing should ever be taken for granted, particularly not regarding John Wheatley.

Phillis' poetry impressed Boston and caused comment. Susannah W. wrote to Countess Huntingdon, and ideas arose of getting Phillis published in London, as Boston printers couldn't handle any such idea. In 1773, young Nathaniel W. took Phillis to London on London Packet Capt Calef. And no one in America today seems to ask how it was that young Nathaniel W. was so well connected that he could introduce Phillis to important people. Socially, Countess Huntingdon took a hand here. of course. Phillis for example met Brook Watson, later a Lord Mayor of London in the 1790s; and a few noted British politicians of the day. 

Her first book was a success. She was advertised in the literary press as a slave of John W. of Boston, etc. Happily, John W. manumitted Phillis in 1774 (some say, December 1773), though no one seems to note that 1774 was the year that his wife Susannah died (after an illness of 14-weeks or more, as Phillis reported in one of her letters to her black friends). The American War of Independence intervened. John W. was a Loyalist, probably the reason he repaired from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island (or to Chelsea of London, England, no one seems sure).

Phillis at least from Providence RI where she lived with Mary Wheatley and her husband, Rev John Lathrop, once wrote to George Washington; it not being explained how a Boston lass, merely a recently manumitted slave, was now on Rhode Island, and how a mere ex-slave of precocious literary talent was writing to America's newly-famous Revolutionary General-to-be. However, Phillis in general is taken to have continued to live with Mary Wheatley, which to this point in her life chronology, is the point. No one seems to bother that the genealogy of the said Rev. John Lathrop arrives in at least two versions, neither of which is entirely convincing.

From here the lines of research tend to go pear-shaped. Mary W. of Boston married a Rev. John Lathrop (nothing useful arises from American websites on his lineage). They were also at Rhode Island. Whether Mary's father (a Loyalist departing Boston), and Phillis, had actually moved in with Mary and Rev. Lathrop remains unclear from US websites; but it is a fairly ordinary domestic detail to want to know about! Mary died in 1778, the same year as her father (no one asks if they died of the same ailment, one suspects a fever (?)). Otherwise, her brother Nathaniel W. apparently married; but few of the American commentators suggest whom he married.

Well, there is nothing on the Net re genealogy of the Wheatleys (or is that, Whatley?) of Boston. There are a group of Wheatleys on the Net who married to the name Bliss. Names here begin to duplicate weirdly. We can find a Bliss genealogy website which mentions a Capt. John Wheatley (husband of Submitt Peck [sic]), who for reasons unclear in the 1760s led an expedition to Cuba. Wheatley/Peck here had a daughter Mary who married a Rev. John Lathrop, but she does not exactly seem to have a twin brother, Nathaniel. Whatever, the writer of the Bliss website thinks that this Capt. John W. was of the family that bought Phillis the slave girl/poet. Not much else ties up. The name Rev. John Lathrop here on the Bliss website is about the only common fact that might link these two different Wheatley stories. But this Rev. John Lathrop died, and his widow (who does not die in 1778) re-married to the name W. Bliss, which fails to tie anything up usefully. It seems a fact, however, that the "real" Rev. John Lathrop after Mary Wheatley died, had married as second wife, one Mary Checkeley. (From US genealogy websites on Lathrop).

Meantime, in distant Australia, an amateur historian (or family historian) in Toowoomba, Keith R. Dawson, who says he is a descendant of the Enderby whalers of London, and has e-mailed the present writer, has the view that Nathaniel the son of Susannah of Boston, and twin brother of Mary, married Mary Enderby, daughter of Samuel Enderby Jnr and Ms Goodwyn. These Enderbys being the notable Enderby whalers of the English South Whale Fishery Citing dates and suitable evidence. This Nathaniel, who was the brother of Mary the teacher of Phillis, evidently stayed in London and died in 1783, leaving several daughters and otherwise silence. None of the Americans wonder what happened to him. If Dawson is correct, the American writer of the Bliss website noting the Wheatleys is mistaken.

Dawson has suggested that American readers do not know of the link between Nathaniel Wheatley and Mary Enderby. But this is not so. See a chapter on Phillis Wheatley in Carol Chandler Waldrup, More Colonial Women: 25 Pioneers of Early America. McFarland and Co., 1999. (?) Mentioning that Nathaniel married Mary Enderby in November 1773, when Nathaniel's mother was ill, so that Mary visited Boston in early 1774 after Sussannah had died. (Prior to her death, Susannah Wheatley had been ill for 14 weeks or more, according to a letter by Phillis to one of her friends as given in Waldrup's book.) 

Also if Dawson is correct, one rather wonders if Nathaniel didn't go to London on business, or to accompany Phillis on a literary promotional tour, as much as he went to London to marry? If he indeed married eg., Mary Enderby, on which the Enderby genealogy itself is not so reliable. In Dawson's view, the name Enderby here (London-based whalers) had connections with the tea ships of the Boston Tea Party (on which topics, Dawson and the present writer disagree considerably, but that is maritime, not literary history).

One wonders why and how two family historians, one in Australia (Dawson-Enderby), one in the USA (re Bliss-Wheatley), can be so at odds with reference to just one name - John Wheatley. It is quite remarkable. Yet both wish to use the Phillis Wheatley slave-poet story to buttress their own remarks about John Wheatley. This is, quite simply, a case of fame being mis-used. Did Phillis ever meet Mary Enderby, and does it matter?

So basically, if we go not by the Bliss genealogy website story, but by the main Wheatley story, the one mostly accepted by the "literati" in the USA, Phillis unfortunately found that all her Wheatley friends died around her, one by one, all too rapidly, so that her literary situation distintegrated; and her proposed second collection of poems disappeared till about 1863. She married a failed grocer, and an odd fellow, a freed black named John Peters. It rather seems, there were relatively few freed male blacks in Boston that she could have chosen for a marriage partner, and that she chose unhappily. She had three children and died in 1784 having just given birth to her third child; mother and babe died together, it seems.

The life of poet Phillis Wheatley becomes a very sad story, but it is even more notable because for all her relative fame, it is still so very badly put together. 

There is by the way a legend retailed by one e-mailer to the editor of this website, that the Enderbys, John St Barbe, and James Mather, all noted whaling investors in London of the 1780s, were all originally from Boston and that they had kept in touch a lot when in London - which this editor does not believe at all (however, the three certainly had kept in touch in London for many years, where-ever they were from originally).

As to a wide variety of facts, if Enderby, St Barbe and Mather were indeed from Boston, the Nathaniel Wheatley story re Mary Enderby hangs together a lot better; so does John W's. decision to remain Loyalist - but this legend seems not to be true - and only better-quality family history can put any arguments finally to rest. (There is a Prof. Rod Mather on Rhode Island today, I'm told he is a descendant of this same James Mather.) 

To add research spice to this section of the tale, the remains of the famed ship of explorer Captain Cook, Endeavour, have been found to lie on harbour bottom at Newport, Rhode Island. When Cook and the British navy had finished using Endeavour, one story arises that she was bought by James Mather, a London-based whaling investor, an associate of the Enderbys, who re-chartered her to the navy. She was captured by Americans and ended being sunk as part of an American blockade to annoy British shipping (information also available on websites.)

Here, better information on the story of the Enderbys could perhaps easily be used to solidify information on James Mather, Nathaniel Wheatley, Enderbys in London, and so, Phillis the poet. But this is not the way discussions on a poet will ever run, it seems.

All this hangs together so very badly, one wonders gravely about the literary-heroine yarns regarding Phillis Wheatley as a poet worth encouraging; a precocious literary talent, in her times a rare case of a female black slave, manumitted. A young black from Africa, a poet writing in English during the time of the American Revolution; a Christian, a writer against slavery, the very first female Afro-American writer, etc etc. Who was taught by people who are only discussed, today, because she became famous, and who otherwise had largely unverifiable existences?

Phillis seems to have been an unfortunate-but-talented African person taken from her country at a tragically early age, who was literally ripped apart by cultural incompatibilites while an amazing political and military revolution proceeded around her on grounds that she couldn't well understand, or particularly identify with. She died in what might be called, "the despair of dying in childbed". 

We find in the literary treatments, nothing on Wheatley, John, of Boston, merchant, owner of a mere one ship, wharfinger; he apparently has no ancestors, or surviving progeny. We know nothing of his family that is useful. This John Wheatley is constantly mentioned on the Net, but only in connection with Phillis; but as far as website information goes, he had no real life of his own in Boston as a merchant or anything or anyone else, except for his association with Phillis. The marriage of his son Nathaniel to Mary Enderby of London is entirely overlooked, even as footnote territory.

It's all quite a Net-delivered farrago of modernistic literary-pseudo-history nonsense and mostly a literary beat-up for today's US college and university literature students intellectually besotted by the tropes of Feminism and/or Black Studies. None of which has anything to do with the actual quality of her poetry. (There is a recent book on Phillis by one Eliot.)

For history proper, history of all kinds, it may be far less important that Phillis once wrote to George Washington (and that he replied) than that slave-owner John Wheatley and his people remain quite unresearchable, except, probably, for any researcher who is on the ground and delving sceptically into the church and economic history records of Boston, Massachusetts. Can anyone can discover, for example, if Phillis ever in London or Boston met Nathaniel's fiancee, Mary Enderby? It would appear that Phillis would have met Nathaniel's wife in Boston in early 1774.

One of the problems for Americans with the Phillis Wheatley story seems to be that she lived mostly in Boston, and her owners (at least John W., the senior of the family) were Loyalists. How Phillis herself (as a freed female slave) might have viewed the justifications for the American Revolution may well have been somewhat tortured - in ways that Americans today do not wish to think about?  

And so, American Internet discussion of Phillis Wheatley, poet, remains tragically lopsided. All the indications from university and college Americana are that this will remain the case, even at the professorial level. But today, the internationalism of Net-delivered information makes it easier to identify and comment on stories which are so badly-constructed, still, as the story of Phillis Wheatley remains. (-Dan Byrnes, Feb 2008, and, it seems likely by Feb. 2008 that more information will arise on these topics, so the interested netsurfer should remain prepared to return here - bookmark now.)

1784 - Morris' efforts to open useful trade with the French had limited success, Ver Steeg p 1, p. 33, dispute between Holker and Morris interrupted the firm Turnbull, Marmie and Co.

1784: (Ver Steeg, pp. 187-188), Morris completed his transition from public financier to private merchant by November 1784, his private affairs had suffered of late, as affairs hampered by a British blockade. Morris still dealt with John Holker via William Turnbull and Co, plus Benjamin Harris and Co, Samuel Inglis and Co, and Thomas Willing, plus Jonathan Hudson now feeble. Severed with John Ross, Matthew Ridley had looked after Morris' sons being educated in France, and here Ridley dealt via Ridley, Pringle, Holker and Morris, but here, mainly Pringle and Holker. Morris in Ver Steeg p. 189 interested in ships to China, with Daniel Parker of Parker and Co also contractors for the now US army, ship Empress of China sailed for Canton in January 1784 with ginseng, brandy, wine, turpentine, and $20,000 in specie. Morris here invested some $60,000. Morris and Parker here also outfitted two ships for Europe, but by the time they got back, Morris and Parker had split, partly due to a Morris-Holker dispute. The Dec 1783-Jan 1784 China venture marked Morris re-emerging into private trade. Morris assisted a new firm in Baltimore with Tench Tilghman (an aide of Washington, says Oberholtzer), this firm enjoyed an almost vast spread of Morris' connections. Morris meanwhile had left Turnbull, Marmie and Co of Philadelphia, and Holker withdrew from Benjamin Harrison and Co of Richmond Va. Morris and Harrison here formed a new firm, Harrison, Nicholls and Co. Morris also invested in a new house in New York. Daniel Parker and Co in severe trouble by May 1784, says Ver Steeg p. 191, and owing money to a Holker-connection firm.

1784: Inauguration of the formation of the Shipowner's Society of Britain. see 27 January, 1824 for its 40th anniversary dinner.

First American consul at Canton is installed in 1784, Major Shaw, and in 1785-86, there were a mere 5 American ships at Canton.

Lane and Fraser (LSF) on 18 February, 1784 wrote to Elias Hasket Derby, maybe about shipbuilding at Boston? By the later 1780s it appeared Lane and Fraser were trying to creep back into trade to the US. Lane, Son and Fraser had earlier sent tea into the Boston Tea Party situation. (Lost citation)

Circa 1785

Circa 1785: Virginian John Armistead Jnr married to Mary Churchill, her family history.

circa 1785: Virginian John Carter married to Mary Sally Nelson.

No date but guess at 1785: - Chris Maxworthy of Sydney remains interested in merchants J. and W. Jacob.

Circa 1785

VIP In 1786, half the original stock of the Bank of North America was owned by Wadsworth and his partner Church, Robert Morris and William Bingham, also linked to the foreign cargo ventures of William Constable and Co - all the leading venture capital deals of the day were linked with this whole group.

(Ferguson, Purse, pp. 264-270), by early 1789, Robert Morris' affairs were badly deteriorated, and Gouv Morris was trying to help him. Gouv. Morris developed an idea to organise matters in Europe so that he and his friends could buy (re-finance) the entire domestic debt of the US, so he linked with Daniel Parker. They wanted to set up a group of capitalists at Antwerp and force an alliance with the "Amsterdam Society" which included Dutch houses already dealing with Parker. Robert Morris and associates would have a third (of the US). this plan much too ambitious, but Gouv Morris went to London where he spoke to various capitalists including Barings, who had already begun to invest in American securities.
Gouv Morris in London dealt with Parker and a British merchant, Samuel Rogers, plus Francis Baring, Edmund Boehm and Thomas Hinchman re $600,000 in securities. Craigie and Constable would deal in New York, Constable drew on Samuel Rogers in London. Gouv Morris then went back to the Continent. The existing plan got not much further, but then Morris had another plan, to buy the American debt to France. But he had much competition in this. others had had the idea of buying this debt, selling it to Holland and taking the gains. In 1786, a syndicate of Willinks, Van Staphorsts and Hubbard had offered France a sum for the American debt, but that failed as Congress preferred France to Holland. Later, from 1786, other schemes arose, with Dutch, French and even British capitalists.
In 1788, American merchants were alerted by the visit to US of Brissot de Warville, an agent of a Swiss banker, Stephen Claviere, who headed a group of capitalists interested in purchasing the US debt. Warville talked to RMorris and Gouv Morris, William Duer and Jeremiah Wadsworth. Parker had earlier talked with Warville. In October 1789, Gouvenour Morris in Europe and he talked formally with Necker the head of French finances. Necker had already had overtures from Dutch sources. What would Morris, Parker and Le Couteulx pay? Necker drove GMorris so high that Le Couteulx backed out. The plan needed the permission of US govt, and the Amsterdam interests whom GMorris had not yet fully consulted. Amsterdam then made Necker a different offer. Alexander Hamilton in US was informed. Unable to go further without Dutch backing, GMorris withdrew. Morris now distrusted the Dutch. See Ferguson, Purse, p. 267 Note 36, much of the debt was in fact transferred to Holland between 1790 and 1794, with eg. an American merchant James Swan involved for about $2 million. All up, about $11.4 million. due to all this, inflation hit American commerce, a US bill on London in 100 pounds sterling got only 87 to 95 pounds in US ports. Craigie and Constable by 1788-1790 were looking at handling indents and US states' debts, Daniel Parker privy to this and Hamilton could not but help leak details of what might happen to people who might thus profit.

Circa 1785

Circa 1785: In America re Holland Land Company (the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, or, the Holland Purchase by 13 Dutch investors, re the Genesee River area). Jan and Wilhem/Willem Willink are Amsterdam bankers for Robert Morris and for US Govt. Some of the 13-in-total Dutch investors in the Holland Lanc. Co were Wilhelm and Wilhem Jnr Willink, Jan and Jan Jnr Willink, Nicholas van Staphorst, Pieter van Eaghan, Hendrik Vollenhoven, Rutger(t) Jan Schimmelpennick, and later, Jan Gabriel van Staphorst and Roelif van Staphorst Jnr; Cornelius Vollenhoven, Henrik Saye and Pieter Stadnitski, all of whom hired general agent Theophilus/Theophile Cazenove, and Cazenove was succeeded by Paul Bust, Paoli Busti (1749-1824, who earlier with an Amsterdam bank) from Milan, Italy, who had married a dr of one of the Dutch syndicate members, and worked for the syndicate, resident in America, till he died in 1824. Land surveyors included brothers Joseph and Benjamin Ellicott; and later invovled were Americans, William Peacock and Gerrit Boon. See item also on answers.com. A rambling memoirs http notes others in Holland Land Co as investors included many members of Willink family, Walrave van Hencklom, Nicholas van Beeftinghle, Jan van Eeghan, Garvet Schimmelpennick, Rutger Jans Son, Van Bennebreck. Plus Moses van Campben.

Circa 1786

More to come

Circa 1787

Active 1787, London tobacco merchant Thomas Blane,

1788: America: Wife and the Parents of Dr Charles Dandridge (1788-1823) married to Miss Henry.

Circa 1788

More to come

Circa 1789

1789: New England: Who was Ruth Cunningham (c1824-1789) who married Boston Lawyer James Otis Jnr (1725-1783)?

Active 1790: Virginia: Braxton Carter Moore married to Maria Muse.

Circa 1790

Circa 1790: Maryland: George Lux (nil parents or dates) of Baltimore married to Catharine Biddle (c1762-1789). The Lux family in entirety.

Circa 1791

More to come

Circa 1792

More to come

Circa 1793

1793: London firm Lane, Son and Fraser (LSF): the firm's affairs seemed to be clearing up by 1793, when Bank of England worried about rumours of war with France and so threw out Lane's paper, so LSF failed for up to one million pounds, which began a chain of bankruptcies, yet they were not overdrawn more than 50 pounds. Had dealt earlier with eg., John Rowe in Boston. (Kellock lists.) By 1793 or so there have been suggestions that some names associated with the firm, or their associates, were friends of first governor of NSW, Arthur Phillip, but it has proved impossible to re-verify any of this. Names in that contetx include Susannah Fletcher (no dates) married to EICo Captain George Richardson (nil parents).

Circa 1794

Circa 1795

1795: Virginia probably: Anne Lightfoot (nil parents) born 1795 married to William Fitzhugh Carter. Also re William Marston Lightfoot (c.1758-1809) married to Lucy Armistead Digges.

1795: India: More on the activities in India of the partners of Fairlie and Fergusson, William Fairlie and John Fergusson. Did they have any interesting names as relatives or staff with the firm?

In 1795, (Oberholtzer, p. 308), an agent of Robert Morris in London was William Constable. By then, one of Morris' land deal partners was John Nicholson.

Active 1795: East India Co. merchant of Blackheath, London, John Pascal Larkins. Several men of that same name/family, actually. There is some association with the surname Sampson in the Blackheath/Greenwich area.

Circa 1796

Circa 1797-1798

1797-1798 - Arthur Harrison, London clothier/draper, of 37 Parliament Street, London (long before the C19th redevelopment of that area near Whitehall.) It seems almost nothing is known of him.

1798: Family of Rev DD of Philadelphia, John N. Campbell (1798-1864) married to Ann Robertson Bolling.

Circa 1800

1800: Parents of Frances Carter (C1800-1862) married to Edward Finch (Snr) Garthright (died 1867).

Circa 1800: Merchant of St Christophers (St Kitts) Alexander Adlam.

Circa 1800: London merchant Matthew Consett.

Circa 1801

Circa 1802

1804: American (Virginian?) Dr. John Brockenbrough (1744-1804).

1805: Nathan Childs (England or America?) married to Sarah Ann Smith (born 1805) daughter of Fielder Bowie Smith and his first wife Sarah Smith Plummer.

1807: American Edwin S. Burrell (1807-1830) married to Cecilia Peyton Washington (1807-1841).

1808: US politician Samuel Hooper (1808-1875) married to Anne Sturgis, parents of Alice Mason Hooper married to US Senator Charles Sumner.

1808: America: William Dabney married to Lucy Payne daughter of Colonel John Payne (born 1745 in Virginia) and Mary Coles (died 1808).

Circa 1810: America: Who was Martha Green De Wolf who married US Navy Captain Samuel Fales Hazard.

Circa 1810: US Congressman Richard Cutts married to Anna Payne (1779-1832)

1812: New York: Robert L. Cutting Snr (1812-1887) married to Juliana De Wolf.

1812: Forebears of Benjamin F. Labaree (born 1812) married to Abigail Crowninshield Very. Also re Hannah Labaree (nil parents) married to Richard King.

Born 1817, Landon Carter Berkeley married to Sarah Ann Campbell.

1820 and previous: General Robert Ransom (no dates) married to Mary Lee Hunt daughter of Dr Henry Hunt and Anna Maria Ringgold, needing more on the set of Ringgold families connected.

1825: America: Forebears of Elizabeth Fitzhugh (1825-1857) who married Jonathan Denise Ledyard (1823-1857). Also Guy Carlton Ledyard (nil parents) married to Elizabeth Morris (nil parents).

1827: America-New England: Parents of Lucy Buckminster Emerson married to Judge John Lowell.

1830 or so: New Jersey Revd Charles H. Halsey married to Elizabeth King a granddaughter of US statesman Rufus King.

1830: Salem Massachusetts: Parents of Clarissa Endicott who married mariner George Peabody (1803-1892).

1838: British-India: Background of Free trader Robert Cutler Fergusson (not Ferguson).

Active 1838, Louisiana General William H. Bailey, married to Henrietta Scott.

1852: America: James Coleman Drayton who married Carlotte Augusta Astor (1858-1920).

1854: Born 1854. America: Herbert Augustine Claiborne Jnr (b1854), the forebears of his father Herbert Augustine Claiborne Snr with wife unknown. Same for John H. Claiborne Jnr married to Helen Elizabeth Langdon Brown, active 1914.

Circa 1916: American John Templeman Coolidge who married Susanna Cunningham.

Below are items still uncollected

And for example, we now find, reading "popular" US history on the hugely-criticised C19th New York rentier, former fur trader, John Jacob Astor, that Astor had a brother always remaining in London, George, who sold musical instruments. We wonder if George acted as any kind of regular agent for John Jacob, in ways that have not yet been written up? It would have been an obvious arrangement, but we don't presently know if it was actually in place. We also didn't know that J. J. Astor had a quick and quirky sense of humour. Once, when J. J. was older, a group of men seeking donations for a charity approached the Astors. One of J. J's sons happily gave them $100, on the spot, but J. J. gave them only $50. They protested mildly, telling him that his son had given them double that amount. In his accent (Dutch via Germany, which always made him feel awkward), J. J. replied wittily, "Yes, but his father is a very wealthy man."  

Some recent work for this website: Earlier in 2007 the webmaster was uploading newly-arrived digital photographs of a wide range of old plantations of Jamaica, ruins from the old days of slavery. Other work being considered by the Byrnes/Cozens research duo plus e-mailers includes: On William Duer and/or Thomas Willing and other financiers associated with "the financier of the American Revolution", Robert Morris. US merchants involved in opium trading. Family names/genealogy recently revised and readied for upload and/or re-upload to this website include: a wide range of pre-Revolutionary family names of Colonial America, Cunliffe of Liverpool. Wright (bankers of Nottingham). Wakefield. And Fairfax, Cary and Fauntleroy of Virginia, USA. On Nicholas and Jacob van Staphorst, Netherlands circa 1780.

Some merchant networks of interest: US-China merchants 1786-1850, many involved in opium trading (not in any particular order or in any particular network). It should be understood that not all US-China merchants did deal in opium, though most did. Because of the hunger of China's economy for silver, to 1827, US merchants paid for their China trading with Spanish silver dollars from the Spanish West Indies, South America, Portugal or Gibraltar; after 1827 they paid increasingly in bills drawn on London. 

At times it is hard to put a useful date on forms of associations, simply because firms were often composed of family members in various ways at various times.  Major Shaw the first US Consul to Canton, was with Shaw and Randall by 1786. From 1795, Thomas Handasyd Perkins and his brother James Perkins. Captain William Fairchild Magee/Megee of Providence, Rhode Island. The brothers Sullivan, Joseph and John Dorr by 1800. James and Benjamin C. Wilcocks by 1804 operated for William Waln and R. H. Wilcocks of Philadelphia. [B. C. Wilcocks became US Consul to Canton/China]. Captain Hugh McPherson of Philadelphia by 1805 took opium from Smyrna, Turkey to Batavia.  

Willing and Francis by 1805 [Thomas Willing, former partner of Robert Morris]. Captain Christopher L. Garritt by 1805. William Waln by 1806. Stephen Girard by 1806. Samuel Russell. Thomas Handasyd Perkins. (Ephraim Bumstead was a figure in the early career of T. H. Perkins.) Joseph Peabody of Salem. The names Perkins, Bryant and Sturgis. Blights of Philadelphia to 1811 (? Blights are names very little-mentioned.) John P. Cushing. By 1812-1815, Joseph Walley, Langdon and Francis Coffin were operating. Minturn and Champlin linked to their supercargo  William Law by 1816. 

John Jacob Astor of New York by 1816-1819.  James Sturgis and Co. by 1818. Augustine Heard. Bryant, Paine, Cushing and Higginson. Captain William Sturgis of Bryant and Sturgis of Boston. Joseph Peabody. Joseph Coolidge (at Bombay). John Murray Forbes. Augustine Heard of Ipswich. William C. Hunter. Thomas H. Smith of New York by 1821. By 1822, some Turkish-American opium was sold in Manila or Java (and any such Manila /  Philippines connections remain very seldom discussed in the literature, as does any sourcing of silver in the Philippines by Americans, or indeed, anyone else).

William Gray of Boston (to Java - Canton) by 1824. By 1824, Samuel Russell and Philip Ammidon were Russell and Co., prior to which Ammidon had been an agent for Brown and Ives of Rhode Island. Thomas H. Smith by 1825. John Donnell of Baltimore died 1826. Issaverdes and Stith by 1827 (who included the Greek brothers John B. and George Issaverdes and Griffin Stith a nephew of John Donnell a Baltimore-China merchant). Robert Bennett Forbes. Thomas Tunno Forbes (died 1829) of Perkins and Co., which was acquired by Russell and Co. John Perkins Sturgis. John R. Latimer and James Latimer. 

Joseph Archer of Philadelphia by 1830. Abbot Abiel Low (a link to Seth Low) of Russell and Co. as a one-time partner. John N. A. Griswold of N. L. and G. Griswold of New York, was a brother-in-law of China merchant John C. Green, an agent for Griswolds of New York. By 1830 were operating John Webster Perit (a former partner of Samuel Cabot), a brother of Peletiah Perit of New York. David W. C. Olyphant and Charles W. King (did not deal opium. Olyphant and Co, operated by 1831, did not trade opium, and were part of Talbot and Olyphant of New York. Quaker Nathan Dunn (did not deal opium).  Wetmore and Co. became a successor to Nathan Dunn and Co. Wetmores operated by 1831 and were headed by William Shepard Wetmore (anti-opium) and James C. Wetmore; and included Joseph Archer, son of Samuel Archer of Philadelphia. J. B. Higginson by 1834. John Cryder by 1834. Russell, Sturgis and Co. of 1834 were part of Russell and Sturgis, which had been founded by a Cushing, and included Henry Parkman Sturgis; and George R. Russell, a son of Jonathan Russell, and a nephew of Philip Ammidon. Also, variously by now, the names Delano, Low, King of Newport, Rhode Island; Edward Carrington of Providence Rhode Island and Cyrus Butler plus Carrington's brothers-in-law T. C. Hoppins and Benjamin Hoppins.

Queries to this website, mostly via Google, and evident from our hit-counter system, indicate that some netsurfers are curious about the following names or operations we also are unfamiliar with: W. H. Webb shipyard, Liverpool Line; re Captain Cotton Dent; Deberdt genealogy (UK); Gosling's bank/bankers (UK, genealogy, difficult.) On William de Merle, bankers (of whom we've never heard at all). 

  The approach of this website is to examine merchants in terms of the networks they are part of, where concentration on individual merchants is reduced. Merchant networks tend to work in an organic way. They behave, they adapt or die. They expand or contract, or change in response to new opportunities, in response to the loss of old opportunities. They can act to exclude members who behave badly. They can actively recruit new members or passively ignore those who want to become new members. They can fade away as technology changes. Members of networks can engage in political activity to advance their interests. Merchant networks  can also, as shown by The Anglo-Chinese Opium Wars (circa 1839, as those tragedies have been called), cause serious conflict on the world stage, if not prevented by the responsible foreign policies of their home nation(s). 

This website was relaunched on the Net on 4 July 2006 at: www.merchantnetworks.com.au
E-mail the Webmaster: Dan Byrnes

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