Guide to the Samuel Brown letter, 1788
Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org
Published in 2015
Collection Overview
| Title: | Samuel Brown letter |
| Date range: | 1788 |
| Creator: | Brown, Samuel, 1753 or 1754-1825 |
| Extent: | 0.01 linear feet (1folder) |
| Abstract: | Letter from Samuel Brown (1753 or 1754-1825), a prominent Boston merchant, to William Vernon (1719-1806), regarding papers received from William Tudor (1750-1819) and a letter from a man called “Gray” about his slaves. |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum |
| Collection number: | RLC.Ms.570 |
Scope & content
This collection consists of one letter from Samuel Brown to William Vernon of Newport, Rhode Island, on April 9, 1788. In this letter, Brown refers to enclosed papers that he received from William Tudor (1750-1819), a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston, although they are not included presently. Brown also informs Vernon that he received a letter dated February 27, 1788, from “Gray,” in which he stated that "he had disposed of all his slaves bur four" and plans to leave an unidentified island in March.Access Points
Subject Names Subject Topics Geographical Names Document Types Subject TopicsArrangement
This collection is arranged in chronological order.
Biographical note
Samuel Brown (1753 or 1754-1825) was born in Newport, Rhode Island, in either 1753 or 1754. He remained in Newport until the British occupation of Newport in 1776, which led him to flee to Boston, Massachusetts. He lived and worked as a merchant in Boston until his death in 1825.Throughout his career, Brown was involved in privateering and the slave trade in America. He provided investment capital and insurance to other merchants and was a close associate of William Vernon (1719-1806), a Newport merchant also active in the slave trade. Brown was a shareholder in the Columbia and Lady Washington expeditions (1788-1790), a private trade venture which opened the lucrative trade route to China.
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: | Samuel Brown letter, RLC.Ms.570, 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: | Gift of Marc and Maria Bernier, 2014 Jul 30. |
| Processing information: | This collection was processed and housed according to current archival standards in 2014. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage. |
| Encoding: | This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2015-01-16 |
| Revisions: |
2019 Jul 3 |
| 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: | African American History collection, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan.Samuel and William Vernon collection, William L. Clements Library, the University of Michigan.Slavery Collection, MS 569, The New-York Historical Society.Vernon family records, Col. 165, Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library. |
| Bibliography: |
Inventory
| Manuscripts Box 2 | Letter to William Vernon |
1788 Apr 9 |