5 September 1777

Helme, R.J., fl. 1768-1778

Autograph document signed

Title: [Order to pay Timothy Coffin 103 pounds, 11 shillings]

Witnessed and signed by Helm as clerk. Ordered by the Rhode Island Council of War so that Coffin could pay the portage bill of the Sloop Diamond for a voyage to South Carolina. A note signed by Coffin on the verso attests to his receipt. Surname possibility spelt Helm.

GLC01450.412.05

January 28, 1777

Bradson, John, fl. 1777

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Esek Hopkins

Bradford discusses a matter involving Mr. Southouse. States "I think tho he had been a Revenue officer (wch I find he is not) I shou'd thought my self Justifiable to have given him what he Claimd being no more than his furniture as its Characteristic for Americans to be generous; Which from the new Connection I have had the pleasure to have with you." Requests Hopkins, Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy 1775-1778, to intervene on behalf of Southouse. Mentions Captain Hoysted Hacker. In a postscript, states "I find your officers have been misinform'd regarding the money said to on…

GLC01450.412.07

September 13, 1779

Meng, Christopher, fl. 1779

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Fisher

Meng asks Fisher, who is referred to as a Storekeeper (but who was also an assistant deputy quartermaster and military supply agent) for a marquee for Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin, who "by the late high Winds has had his old one torn to pieces."

GLC01450.412.08

March 4, 1779

Thompson, Ebenezer, 1737-1802

Autograph letter signed

Title: to George King

"Agreeable to your request" he is sending King papers relating to the cases of "Champney vs Boyd & Dennis vs. Boyd." Hopes the papers are returned, and tells King to bill Champney.

GLC01450.412.09

6 September 1777

Spear, Gersham, fl. 1777

Autograph document signed

Title: [Receipt for 200 barrel hoops]

Needed for the making of powder barrels during the American Revolution, priced at six shillings per hundred hoops. With a signed (with a mark) note indicating Thomas Frace received the hoops from the commissary, Samuel Hodgdon.

GLC01450.412.10

August 22, 1778

Marschalk, Joseph, fl. 1778

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Abraham Lewis

Marschalk saw Frederick Fine, a block maker, and says Fine would appreciate a letter from Lewis.

GLC01450.412.11

December 26, 1782

Moore, David, fl. 1782

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mary Cox

Travel to Baltimore disrupted by "the enemy." His boat was forced to return to Petersburg because the British controlled "the bay." Is informed that a ship bound for France carrying her nephew was lost, and hopes she has heard from him. Has directed Captain Skinner, a travelling companion, to stay at her house as a favor.

GLC01450.412.14

October 25, 1781

Stone, Michael Jenifer, 1747-1812

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his brother

Stone writes a long letter to his brother that includes an announcement that "Cornwallis was taken." Discusses his brother's business in Philadelphia and advises him of the benefits of continuing to cultivate a friendship with a man named Mr. Morrill. Discusses commerce and American affairs: "at present the flourishing State of American affairs gives me warm hopes that Speculation must be succeeded by a Sober and regular Spirit of Commerce." Indicates that the public prints have announced his membership in the Maryland state house of delegates. Also admits his likelihood of joining Congress,…

GLC01450.412.15

13 November 1782

Drake, William, fl. 1782

Manuscript signed

Title: [Private signals for British vessels to identify one another at sea by day and night]

Provides very specific instructions for identification procedures. Written on board the H.M.S. Perseus. Written to Captain George Darby, commander of the sloop Pylades. Based on the command of Admiral Leonard Horner.

GLC01450.412.16

April 19, 1782

Grasse, François Joseph Paul de Grasse, Comte de, 1722-1788

Letter signed

Title: to Robert Montague [in French]

Grasse thanks the captain of the Flora for his kind actions on behalf of Mr. de Reali and Mr. de Carouge. Also thanks him for provisions. Letter written on board his ship Ville de Paris after being captured by the British. After being captured on April 12, 1782 at the Battle of the Saintes the ship was towed to Jamaica and then England. Montague was the captain of the British frigate Flora which was stationed in Jamaica.

GLC01450.428

August 26, 1779

Cabarus, Leon, fl. 1779

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Barthelemy Terrasson [in French]

Letter written by Cabarus to Terrasson as French Deputy Consul in Baltimore. Docket states Terrasson responded on August 30, 1779. Letter needs translation.

GLC01450.429

1 March 1782

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Broadside

Title: [Printed resolution of recruitment schedule]

1,500 men are needed for the "Massachusetts Line." Lists quota required from each town. Also resolves that a tax will be imposed if these quotas are not met. A few handwritten calculations in the margins. [Pages 1-4 are present, but the document is incomplete, as indicated by the catch phrase at the bottom of fourth page. The Massachusetts Historical Society catalog indicates that their copy of this broadsheet is 5 pages long.]

GLC01450.430

September 16, 1779

Penn, J.P., fl. 1779

Autograph letter signed

Title: to unknown

Needs translation.

GLC01450.431

December 29, 1774

Potter, Simeon, 1720-1806

Letter signed

Title: to Christopher Whipple

Cosigned by John Read and John Jenckes, who own the ship Liberty with Potter. Whipple, Captain of the Liberty, signs at the bottom of the page, promising to obey the orders contained within the letter and attesting that the text is a true copy of his orders. The Liberty's owners instruct Whipple to sail for the Island of Dominico (present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), to sell his cargo there, to purchase "Two Hundred & ninety Half Barrels of Good Pistol Powder," and to sail elsewhere in the Caribbean if he can not buy powder at a reasonable price in Dominico. Inform Whipple of…

GLC01450.432

February 23, 1764

Hathaway, Simon, fl. 1764

Document

Title: [Land survey of a 69 acre plot beside the road between Rochester, Massachusetts and Waveham, Massachusetts, and a narrative explanation]

Includes the names of the surveyors: Isaiah Hatch, Joseph Haskell, and [illegible]. Narrative explanation details the owners of various parts of the plot. Hand drawn map includes distances and environmental boundary markers. Docketed on reverse as "Simon Hathaway's plann" dated April 16, 1764.

GLC01450.434

23 July 1777

Clapp, Jonathan, ?-1815

Document signed

Title: [Return of Major Jonathan Clapp's Regiment]

Docketed 19 March 1779 by David Lyman. Lyman states that Captain [Hampten?] is to pay John Lyman $50, and to charge the sum to David Lyman. Contains several other dockets, notes, and mathematical figures on verso.

GLC01450.435.01

26 April 1775

Blaney, Aaron, 1745-1824

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Receipt for 120 pounds of bread and 140 pounds of pork]

Deputy Commissary Blaney indicates that the food was received from Captain Jabez Ellis "for the use of the Provincial Troops Station'd in Roxbury."

GLC01450.436.01

April 22, 1775

Stanley, Daniel, fl. 1775

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jabez Ellis

Stanley says he has sent food gathered from the townspeople to support Ellis' troops. "Don't give up the cause but go on and the Lord be with you," he prays for the troops.

GLC01450.436.02

1775-1783

Ellis, Jabez, 1733-1808

Manuscript document signed

Title: Capt. Ellis's Class their Proportion of Silver Money Given to their Soldier as annexed to their Names

Lists soldiers and the amount of silver and paper money they received. Travel costs are listed on the verso. Signed by Ellis on the verso.

GLC01450.436.03

January 1780

Greenleaf, Moses, 1755-1812

Manuscript signed

Title: [Records of court martial of Samuel Shattuck]

Record of the court martial trial of Sergeant Samuel Shattuck. Lists other men set to stand trial, and gives details of Shattucks case. Includes tesstimony of two witnesses who testified that Shattuck knowingly left the service before his time was up. Also states that he was convicted of mutiny and desertion, and punished with a reduction in rank and lashes. States that Captain Moses Greenleaf was the "Judge and Advocate" in the case, and that Major Moses Knap was the President. Verso signed by Greenleaf. Marked "triplicate." Dated January 9, 1780 - January 11, 1780.

GLC01450.438

25 November 1776

Cooke, Nicholas, 1717-1782

Printed document signed

Title: [Certificate establishing Joseph Hopkins as ensign of a state militia regiment]

Signed by Cooke as Governor of Rhode Island. Signed by Henry Ward, Secretary of Rhode Island. Docket indicates that Hopkins was an ensign in Captain Malachi Hammet's Company.

GLC01450.444.01

1777-1789

Header Record

Title: Receipts pertaining to the Hopkins family [Decimalized .01-.10]

GLC01450.444.02

21 June 1781

Clarke, Joseph, 1719-1792

Autograph document signed

Title: [Order to collect twenty eight pounds from the treasurer of Middletown, Rhode Island]

Explains that the money is owed the state treasury for the costs of procuring beef to provision Revolutionary War soldiers. Orders the sheriff of Newport to collect the money from Thomas Peckham, the Middletown treasurer, and if he does not supply it, to take him into custody. SIgned as the General Treasurer of Rhode Island. Two notes on the verso indicate the monies were paid.

GLC01450.447.01

16 September 1776

Gilbert, Thomas, 1723-1788

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Instructions to Moses Hitchcock on arranging a Brookfield, Massachusetts town meeting]

Signed by the eight Select Men of Brookfield (two names illegible). Orders Hitchcock, as constable of Brookfield, to inform all the town's freeholders and those qualified to vote to meet on 30 September 1776. Provides instructions on the agenda, which will include Revolutionary War financing, the town budget, preparations for the small pox epidemic, taxation, and arms manufacturing. A note signed Hitchcock on the verso indicates his compliance.

GLC01450.447.02

1766-1787

Jabez, Champlin, fl. 1766-1787

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Accounts for Jabez Champlin due from the estate of Joseph and William Wanton]

Mostly various cleaning, mending, and chimney sweeping activities. One entry for "Drawing Tooth for your Negro." Accounts from 1766-1770, and two from 1774. A 12 April 1785 note on the verso indicates that Champlin personally verified the account and another note dated 5 May 1787 and signed by Champlin indicates he received the account. J. Barker attests that Champlin has made the claim under oath.

GLC01450.447.03