Guide to the Collection of Redwood family papers, 1710-1999 and undated

(bulk 1729-1796)

Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Collection of Redwood family papers
Date range:	1710-1999 and undated, (bulk 1729-1796)
Creator:	Redwood family
Extent:	1.8 linear feet (1 half document case, 1 flat box)
Abstract:	This collection consists of letters, legal documents, accounts, family histories, and other papers related to the Redwood family and its descendants, particularly Abraham Redwood (1709-1788), the founder of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Redwood Library and Athenaeum
Collection number:	RLC.Ms.029

Scope & content

This collection consists of letters, legal documents, accounts, family histories, and other papers related to the Redwood family and its descendants, particularly Abraham Redwood (1709-1788), the founder of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Ellery, Abraham Redwood, 1773-1820
• Fisher, Redwood, 1782-1856
• Fisher, Sarah Redwood, 1759-1847
• Franklin, Susan B., d. 1956
• Marchant, Henry, 1741-1796
• Redwood, Abraham, 1665-1728
• Redwood, Abraham, 1709 or 1710-1788
• Redwood, Abraham, 1742-1788
• Redwood, Abraham, 1764-1838
• Redwood, Hannah, 1759-1796
• Redwood, Henry, 1848-1923
• Redwood, Patience, 1687-1745
• Redwood, William, 1726-1815

Subject Organizations

• Redwood Library and Athenaeum

Subject Topics

• Sugar plantations--Antigua
• Sugar trade--Antigua

Geographical Names

• Antigua--Commerce
• Newport (R.I.)--Commerce
• Newport (R.I.)--History
• Philadelphia (Pa.)--Commerce
• Redwood farm (Portsmouth, R.I.

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest
• Business
• Social Life and Customs

Document Types

• Accounts
• Coats of arms
• Deeds
• Genealogies (histories)
• Legal documents
• Obituaries
• Maps
• Poems
• Photographs

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

• Series 1. Correspondence, 1710-1881
• Series 2. Legal papers, 1741-1955
• Series 3. Financial records, 1732-1815
• Series 4. Family histories, 1788-1997 and undated
• Series 5. Miscellaneous, 1756-1999 and undated

Items within series are arranged in chronological order.

Biographical note

Abraham Redwood (1665-1728) was born in Bristol, England, in 1655. He worked as a merchant and was involved in the sugar trade between England, New England, Africa, and Antigua. In 1687, Redwood went to the island of Antigua, where he met his future business partner and father-in-law, Jonas Langford, who owned a prosperous sugar plantation called Cassada Garden. This plantation, and the slaves that worked on it, eventually became Abraham’s possession through his marriage to Mehetable Langford (d. 1715), daughter of Jonas Langford, sometime before 1697.

Abraham and Mehetable had the following children: William (1697-1712), Mary (1698-1763), Ann (1700-1742), Sarah (1702-1791), Jonas Langford (1706-1724), Abraham (1709-1788), and John (1710-1713). The family traveled frequently between Antigua and New England so that Abraham could manage his business, but by 1712, they moved to America and lived in Newport, Rhode Island. Mehetable Langford Redwood passed away on April 30, 1715, and was buried in Newport. Redwood remained in Newport until 1717, and then moved to Salem, Massachusetts.

Abraham Redwood married his second wife, Patience Howland Phillips (1687-1745), on June 14, 1716. The couple had the following five children: Patience (1717-1772), Rebecca (1719-1804), Mehetable (1722-1761), Lydia (b. 1724), and William (1726-1815). In 1720, Redwood purchased land and a house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and the family lived there until his death in 1728. Following the death of Abraham Redwood, Patience and Joseph Whipple (1687-1750), the husband of Abraham’s daughter Sarah (1702-1791), administered Abraham’s estate. As a result, Patience was appointed the guardian of all of their minor children and disposed of the farm in Marblehead before moving back to Newport. She also signed a dower release, signing over all of her rights to the Cassada Garden plantation and its slaves in Antigua to her eldest step-son, Abraham Redwood (1709-1788). Patience Redwood died on December 11, 1740, in Newport.

Abraham and Mehetable Redwood’s son, Abraham (1709-1788), was born in Newport on February 15, 1709. On February 8, 1726 or 1727, Abraham Redwood married Martha Coggeshall (1709-1760) of Newport and they had the following children: Abraham (1728-1736), Jonas Langford (1730-1779), Mehetable (1731-1794), Martha (1733-1734), William (1734-1784), Elizabeth (1735-1735), Martha (1740-1740), Abraham (1742-1788), and Martha (1745-1746).

Prior to officially inheriting his father’s estate in 1730, Abraham Redwood was involved in the sugar trade from the plantation well before then. From the age of sixteen or seventeen, Abraham corresponded with the manager of the plantation and also acted as an agent in Newport to sell the sugar from the plantation to England and other local merchants. It was not until 1737 that he was able to travel to Cassada Gardens for the first time, staying there for three years. Through the course of his lifetime, Redwood was able to improve upon the already successful sugar plantation, making him one of the most respected and wealthiest merchants in Newport at the time. His wealth and reputation also led to one of his greatest achievements – the establishment of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in 1747.

In 1743, Redwood purchased 140 acres of land in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He also owned a house on Spring Street and one on Thames Street with a wharf that extended to the harbor, which helped facilitate his business activities. Later on, he also purchased a farm in Mendon, Massachusetts, where he also lived regularly until his death. Abraham Redwood died on March 7, 1788, and was buried in the Coggeshall family cemetery. His estate was passed on to his surviving children.

Abraham Redwood’s half-brother, William (1726-1815), was born on October 21, 1726, and was the son of Abraham Redwood (1665-1728) and his second wife, Patience. William Redwood worked closely with his brother Abraham in the sugar trade and later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1772 to continue his mercantile pursuits. From 1782 to 1787, William lived at Cassada Garden to help take care of the plantation after his nephew, Jonas Langford Redwood (1730-1779), had died. He returned to Philadelphia in 1787, where he remained until his death on January 16, 1815. William Redwood married first to Hannah Holmes (1737-1767) of Newport on November 7, 1754, and had the following children: Sarah (1755-1847), Hannah (1759-1796), Samuel Holmes (1765-1790), and Elizabeth (1767-1767). He married his second wife, Sarah Saunders of Philadelphia, on January 18, 1776, and had the following children: Mary (1776-1777), and William (1778-1838). His daughter, Sarah, married Miers Fisher in Newport on December 18, 1755, and she was the sole inheritor of all of his property in Rhode Island.

The descendants of Abraham Redwood (1709-1788) thrived and lived throughout the United States and Europe, marrying into other notable families such as the Whipple, Ellery, Wanton, Hazard, and Fisher families.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Use of the materials:	This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Preferred citation:	Collection of Redwood family papers, RLC.Ms.029, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Contact information:	Redwood Library and Athenaeum 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Tel: (401) 847-0292 Fax: (401) 841-5680 email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	When the source of an acquisition for part of this collection is known, it is listed below; otherwise, acquisition information is unknown. Gift of James A. Tyson: Letter dated September 2, 1734, from Giles Duluke Tidmark to Abraham Redwood.Gift of Benjamin and Hannah Hazard, July 12, 1851: “Memoir of the Redwood Family,” signed by Sarah R. Fisher, December 18, 1842.Gift of Miss Maria M. Anderson, April 2, 1888: Print of a portrait of Abraham Redwood.Gift of the heirs of David King, October 27, 1906: Deed between Abraham Redwood and the Redwood Library, August 13, 1834.• Gift of Mrs. William Grosvenor, November 1964: Letter dated July 11, 1772 from Henry Marchant to William Redwood.Gift of Mrs. Sydney L. Wright, October 5, 1975: Photocopy of “Genealogical Sketch of the Redwood Family,” undated; letters from Abraham Redwood, Sr. and William Redwood.Gift of Mrs. John H. Benson, September 7, 1994: Copy of a pen and ink drawing of William Redwood, undated.Gift of Maris S. Humphreys, March 1999: Photographs and negatives of the site of Cassada Garden in Antigua. Photographs taken in March 1999 by Maris S. Humphreys.Purchase from Stuart Lutz Historical Documents, Inc., 2002 December 3: William Redwood’s bonds, signed by William Ellery, dated November 25, 1772.Gift of the Nancy Hay estate, 2004 April 4: Last will and testament of Sarah Pope Redwood dated July 12, 1796.
Accruals:	Future additions are expected.
Processing information:	Prior to the processing of this collection in November 2013, majority of the papers currently found in this collection were housed within the Library’s steel cabinet drawers (Drawer 4, Folder 8 and 10). These papers and other single items related to the Redwood family were gathered together to create this collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Delmage 2013 November 21
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Funding for processing and cataloging this collection was provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation.

Additional Information

Related material:

The Holy Bible containing the Old Testament and the New (Abraham Redwood family bible), BS 185 1690 .L5, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Abraham Redwood family bible, l315 +1769, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. William Redwood family bible, l315 +1693, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Birckhead collection of Redwood family papers, RLC.Ms.025, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Elinor A. Leonberger collection of Redwood, Ellery, and other related families, RLC.Ms.026, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. William Redwood account books (Amb .7256), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Bibliography:

Lippincott, Bertram, III. Genealogy of the Redwood family. Newport, RI: Redwood Library and Athenaeum, 1993. Redwood. “Genealogy of the Redwood family,” The Newport Historical Magazine 1, no. 1 (July 1880): 7-16.

Inventory

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