Guide to the D'Wolf Family Papers, 1786-1880
(bulk 1790-1840)
Bristol Historical & Preservation Society
PO Box 356
48 Court Street
Bristol, RI, 02809
Tel: 401-253-7223
email: info@bhps.necoxmail.com
Published in 2013
Collection Overview
| Title: | D'Wolf Family papers |
| Date range: | 1786-1880, (bulk 1790-1840) |
| Creator: | DeWolf, James, 1764-1837 |
| Extent: | 20 cubic feet |
| Abstract: | The D'Wolf family of Bristol, Rhode Island became Bristol's most prominent family in the period after the Revolutionary war, initially engaging in maritime businesses that include the slave trade, privateering, and whaling. They branched out into many fields that eventually included a rum distillery, banking, an insurance company, a textile factory and sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba. Members of the family assumed positions of political leadership including John, who served in the State Legislature and became a judge, and James, who became a United States Senator. |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | Bristol Historical & Preservation Society |
| Collection number: | D'Wolf Family Papers |
Scope & content
The bulk of this collection is composed primarily of the papers of John D'Wolf (b. 1760) and secondarily of his brother, Senator James D'Wolf (b. 1764). John, who married Susan Reynolds (b.1759) is often referred to as "farmer John" because of his skills running a farm in Bristol. However, he was also a partner in many D'Wolf enterprises, including the slave trade, the Arkwright Mill in Coventry, and the Bank of Bristol. As a young man, he fought in the Revolutionary War aboard armed privateers, and, like James, was captured by the British and imprisoned. After the War of 1812, he was appointed the Principal Assessor for the First Rhode Island District, and this collection includes extensive correspondence regarding this.This collection is primarily a financial one, and approximately three-quarters of it consists of bills, orders, receipts, promissory notes and agents' statements, many related to the D'Wolf ships.
John, like his brother James, was a powerful person in Bristol and a trusted member of the community, serving on local town commissions. He was often given power of attorney for ships captains and more than once served as guardian for children who were orphaned when their parents died or were incapacitated. This is most notable in the case of Captain John Sabens, one of the D'Wolf's slaving captains. After Capt. Sabens died on a slaving voyage in 1807, John D'Wolf became guardian of his daughter Sarah. Thus, this collection includes not only the records of Captain Sabens, including the probating of his will, but also those related to his daughter's education, subsequent marriage to another captain, Joseph Oliver Wilson, and then extensive correspondence from when they moved to Cuba in 1818. John D'Wolf managed their affairs in the United States, including boarding their eldest son when he came to the United States to attend school.
Other family members represented in this collection include William, Levi, and Charles and their father, Mark Anthony. There is extensive correspondence related to John D'Wolf, Jr. (who became known as the "Professor" and taught at Brown University, and his son John D'Wolf III, their nephew, George, whose failure brought down the Bank of Bristol in 1825, and caused a financial panic in Bristol, is also represented.
The Slave Trade
The slave trade is well represented in this collection. It includes navigational logs to Africa, bills of sales for slaves, orders to captains, and other materials which document the family's participation in the slave trade from 1786-1808 although it was illegal under Rhode Island law. Some documents in the collection suggest that the D'Wolfs continued to make slaving voyages after the enactment of the Federal law in 1808, which made participation in the slave trade an offense punishable by death. The collection also contains information about the D'Wolf sugar and coffee plantations, and of the expatriate community that grew up in Cuba. The letters of Sarah (Sabens) Wilson contain many mentions of slaves, including glimpses of their daily life, an account of a slave uprising in Cuba and a cholera epidemic that killed many.
Access Points
Subject Topics- Slave trade--Africa, West--History.
- Slave trade--Rhode Island.
- Slave traders--New England
- Whaling--United States--History
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 2 series.
Series 1: John D'Wolf
- Account Books, Ledgers, Daybooks, 1770-1823
- Ships Documents, 1786-1840
- Agents, Banks and Insurance Companies, & Arkwright Factory Correspondence, 1796-1841
- General Correspondence, 1792-1836
- Correspondence between John and James D'Wolf, 1812-1838
- Bills, Orders & Receipts, 1796-1841
- Related Families: John Sabens, 1796-1814; Sarah and Oliver Wilson, 1814-1842
Series 2: Ledgers, Ships' Books, & Account Books of James, William, Mark Anthony and Unidentified D'Wolf Family Members
Biographical/Historical note
The D'Wolf family of Bristol, Rhode Island became Bristol's most prominent family in the period after the Revolutionary war, initially engaging in maritime businesses that include the slave trade, privateering, and whaling. A large, enterprising family, they branched out into many fields that eventually included a rum distillery, banking, an insurance company, a textile factory and sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba. Members of the family assumed positions of political leadership including John, who served in the State Legislature and became a judge, and James, who became a United States Senator.Access & Use
| Access to the collection: | There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. |
| Use of the materials: | Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Bristol Historical & Preservation Society. |
| Preferred citation: | D'Wolf Family Papers, Bristol Historical & Preservation Society. |
| Contact information: | Bristol Historical & Preservation Society PO Box 356 48 Court Street Bristol, RI, 02809 Tel: 401-253-7223 email: info@bhps.necoxmail.com |
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION | |
| Acquisition: | Due to a number of reasons, including a fire in the 1960s, accession information at the Society is not complete. It is unknown where the major portion of the collection came from. John D'Wolf's correspondence with Sarah Sabens Wilson, Capt. Oliver Wilson, and the materials related to Capt. John Sabens, were apparently, put on permanent loan to the Society in the 1950s by Miss Alice Herreshoff one of the Society's founders, who was a direct descendent of John D'Wolf. Provenance of other papers is as follows. Ledger No. 2, October, 1797 - September, 1810 was the gift of the Haffenreffer Family. Brig Yankee was loaned by Agnes M. Herreshoff. Account Book of New Hope Cuba, 1859-1860 and Letter Book of the Ship Roger Williams kept by W.H. Mosher (Master, 6/I4/1825-June 1, 1830 were presented by Geo L. Howe. General Jackson Log Book was the of the Haffenreffer Family. Governor Fenner Log Book was the gift of the Haffenreffer Family. |
| Processing information: | Both Alice Almy, one of the original founders of the Bristol Historical and Preservation society, and Helen Tessler, the society's librarian, until her death in 1997,worked on organizing the D'Wolf papers. Ms. Tessler made extensive notes about the contents of the files. When she died in 1997, processing of the papers was not completed. In the years following her death, no further organization was done and they became quite disordered. In 2007, re-processing the papers began. All were placed into archival folders and boxes. Miss Tessler's research notes were kept in the files. For most of the volumes, archival boxes were made to order. Because of the complexity of the collection, some series were entered into an Access database. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Nancy Kougeas. |
| Encoding: | This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013 |
| Sponsor: | Processing of this collection was made possible by grants from the R.I. State Archives, and by the Archive, Document, Display and Disseminate Fund of the Rhode Island Foundation. |
Additional Information
| Related material: | Related collections at the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society.
|
Inventory
The inventory for this collection is available as a PDF document. Click here to view the inventory.