News
Events
Blogs
Reed and Forde papers
The contents of the Reed and Forde papers cover the years 1759-1829. The collection consists of twenty-five boxes of loose leaf original and copied manuscripts containing a rich quantity of correspondence to and from Reed and Forde both individually and as partners, as well as that of John Reed’s so...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Collection: | Reed and Forde Papers |
| Collection Number: | 0541 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Physical Description: |
9.5 Linear feet ; 21 boxes, 13 volumes, 4 flat files |
|---|---|
| Access: |
The collection is open for research. |
| Summary: |
The contents of the Reed and Forde papers cover the years 1759-1829. The collection consists of twenty-five boxes of loose leaf original and copied manuscripts containing a rich quantity of correspondence to and from Reed and Forde both individually and as partners, as well as that of John Reed’s son, John Reed, Jr. The boxes also contain numerous documents related to shipping as well as land papers, legal documents, and French language documents. In addition to these boxes, the collection also contains thirteen bound volumes consisting of letterbooks, ledgers, day books, waste books, and account books.
Correspondence ranges from 1789-1792, with correspondants including James Wilkinson, Daniel Clark, Daniel Cox, Captain Abner Dunn, Clement Biddle, Robert Morris, John Nicholson, J. Ball, Thomas Morgan, and numerous other merchants which illustrate the partners' business transactions and land ventures in the Floridas, New Orleans, Kentucky, Virginia, west of the Ohio, Mississippi, and other territories. Also included are land records, indentures, warrants for land in various estates ranging from 1764-1816; James Wilkinson's letter to Captain Dunn, on trade with Florida by Kentuckians, 1789; an agreement with James Wilkinson to ship goods to the Mississippi and the Spanish country, 1790; French legal papers concerning goods shipped to St. Pierre, Martinique and other places; Reed and Forde letterbooks, 1787, 1788-1790, 1793-1794, 1801-1803.
Ledgers range from 1776-1779 and 1779-1780; daybook, 1785-1791; account books, 1766-1784; daybook of Reed and Forde estates, 1808-1815; John Reed letterbook, 1808-1814; Joseph Boggs waste book, 1791-1792; Samuel Israel letterbook, 1804-1807; Joseph Graisbury (tailor) ledger, 1759-1773; Reed and Forde commonplace book, 1782-1790, which contains a list of invalids belonging to the Pennsylvania Line; memo booklets, 1777-1819.
Included among the business papers are: Forde and Reed bankbooks, Bank of Pennsylvania, 1793-1805; Bank of North America, 1782-1791; Bank of the United States, 1792-1796; Andrew Summers' bankbook of North America, 1790-1791; apprentice indentures, 1784-1795; bonds and notes, 1782-1801; lottery sale records, 1773-1802; Forde journal of a trip to New Madrid, Tenn., 1790, and one from New Madrid to New Orleans, 1790-1792; his certificate of membership in the Hibernian Society, 1793; John Reed bankruptcy papers, 1801-1814; will of Rebecca Cappers, 1793; and other items.
Also included in the collection are letters and papers pertaining to Robert Morris, ranging from 1795-1802 which deal with his financial difficulties and assignment of his property. Also included are papers and letters of John Reed, Jr. ranging from 1814-1823, describing his service in the Navy, his active duty in the West Indian waters on the U.S.S. Congress, Guerriére, Constitution, Independence, and Macedonian. The Reed and Forde papers consist of the manuscript records of Philadelphia merchants John Reed and Standish Forde, ranging from 1759-1829. The pair engaged in the importation of goods from various European countries and the West Indies, selling out of their Philadelphia store as well as trading west of the Ohio Valley and along the Spanish settlements of the Mississippi, including New Orleans. The documents mainly relate to foreign commerce and include accounts, receipts, invoices of goods, bills of lading, insurance policies, charters of vessels, with detailed accounts of business transacted in England, France, Spain, Holland, Portugal, the West Indies, and French and Spanish America. These materials describe the hazards of American shipping due to European wars, French and Spanish embargoes, capture by privateers and war vessels, litigations, trade and travel along the Mississippi and the prices and variety of goods traded, including grain, salt, furs, cloth, tea, metals, powder, rum, sugar, and wine. As a whole, this collection provides valuable information about shipping, trade, and western expansion in early modern America. |