Letter describing the purchase of enslaved people
Scope and Contents
This letter is dated from Boston, Massachusetts, on April 3, 1797. It is signed by Benjamin Cobb and Benjamin Homer, both Boston residents, who owned the schooner Fair Lady. The letter is from the boat’s owners and sent to the captain, Joshua Delano Jr., and Mr. Durant, a merchant. The ship was travelling from St. Croix to Havana, Cuba, to sell enslaved persons. The letter gives advice about port choice and describes the ideal type of enslaved person they should purchase in St. Croix to sell in Havana. (Information from Black Americana Collectibles)
Dates
- Creation: 1797
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Historical Note
This letter surrounds the trade of schooner Fair Lady, owned by Benjamin Cobb and Benjamin Homer of Boston. During the Revolutionary War, this vessel had been commissioned as a gunboat, but this letter comes from its second life as a cargo ship. The boat traded many types of cargo along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. It also trafficked enslaved persons.
Extent
.01 linear ft. (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This letter is dated from Boston, Massachusetts, on April 3, 1797. It is signed by Benjamin Cobb and Benjamin Homer, both Boston residents, who owned the schooner Fair Lady. The letter is from the boat’s owners and sent to the captain, Joshua Delano Jr., and Mr. Durant, a merchant. The ship was travelling from St. Croix to Havana, Cuba, to sell enslaved persons. The letter gives advice about port choice and describes the ideal type of enslaved person they should purchase in St. Croix to sell in Havana. (Information from Black Americana Collectibles)
Arrangement
One item in one folder.
Acquisition
Letter describing the purchase of enslaved people was purchased by Haverford College for class use.
Processing Information
Processed by Anna Neuheardt; completed April, 2019.
- Title
- Letter describing the purchase of enslaved people, 1797
- Author
- Anna Neuheardt
- Date
- April, 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Find It at the Library
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