Jeremiah Wadsworth business and commissary records, 1759-1847.

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Jeremiah Wadsworth business and commissary records, 1759-1847.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/276407578

Primarily correspondence, bills and receipts, and accounts of a Hartford, Connecticut, merchant and Commissary General for the Continental Army during the Revolution. The correspondence covers such topics as trading and shipping goods to Hispaniola and the West Indies, the inexorable steps to war with Britain, Wadsworth's appointment as commissary, reports to Commissary General Joseph Trumbull, the difficulty of securing and transporting provisions for the troops, purchasing sailing vessels, the progress of the war, securing funds to pay suppliers and teamsters, the entry of the French into the war and provisioning their army and navy (for which Wadsworth was appointed agent), the negotiations for peace with Great Britain, establishing commercial ties with merchants in France and Great Britain, and ratification of the constitution. There are also the occasional letters to his wife Mehitable and his children Harriet and Daniel. A portion of correspondence is related to Wadsworth's involvement in settling the estate of General Nathanael Green and caring for his wife Catharine. After the war, topics of the letters turn to wool and cotton mills in Hartford, growing silk, settling land in what was known as Genesee Country in New York States, and the Western Reserve in Ohio, and the halting progress of the newly formed government. Wadsworth found himself commissary for troops in Springfield, Massachusetts, during the period of Shay's Rebellion. Correspondence with Alexander Hamilton documents Wadsworth's participation in the creation of the Bank of the United States. Bills, receipts and accounts cover similar topics--provisioning American troops and later the French troops, and his own merchant ventures. Often the distinction between government-related and personal activities is not clear. Wadsworth was in partnership with Barnabas Deane and later with John Carter in the firm called Wadsworth & Carter. Some of the correspondence and financial records relating to the firm were separated from the business records and filed in their own boxes, as were some of the records regarding the French army. The final 18 boxes in the collection are not as organized as the first ones. There can be found Wadsworth and Carter accounts and the sale and purchase of land in Vermont. He was also involved in settling the estate of Maurice Rondineau.Correspondents included Joel Barlow, Joseph Trumbull, Thomas Mifflin, Benjamin Tallmadge, John Jeffrey, Henry Champion, Jonathan Trumbull, and the Marquis de Lafayette among many others.

24 linear feet (40 boxes).

Connecticut Historical Society

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7245265

Related Entities

There are 25 Entities related to this resource.

Tallmadge, Benjamin, 1754-1835

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Wadsworth, Jeremiah, 1743-1804

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sq9408 (person)

Delegate of the U.S. Continental Congress, U.S. representative and legislator, army officer, and banker from Connecticut. From the description of Papers of Jeremiah Wadsworth, 1775-1833. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71067840 Merchant, soldier, and commissary general in the Continental Army; resident of Hartford, Connecticut. From the description of Jeremiah Wadsworth papers, 1776-1802. (New York University, Group Batchload). WorldCat record id: 58780060 ...

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