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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Merrill, Benjamin, fl. 1811 to Aaron Hobart

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06313.04.010 Author/Creator: Merrill, Benjamin, fl. 1811 Place Written: Salem, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 October 1811 Pagination: 3 p. : address : docket ; Height: 25.1 cm, Width: 20.5 cm Order a Copy

Shares his experience of working as an attorney in Lynn, Massachusetts. Mentions he lived in Lynn for three years and moved because his business was not increasing. Because Lynn is so small, a lawyer "residing there will receive almost all the business and for the same reason clients never come from other towns." Although he was the first to open an office there, the business was not enough to sustain a family. Also notes that several others are now planning on opening an office in Lynn. Concludes by advising Hobart that in his opinion, Marblehead is the "most eligible place in this Country for an Attorney."

Merrill, Benjamin, fl. 1811
Hobart, Aaron, 1787-1858

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