Inventory of the Moses Brown Papers,1777-1815

Department of Special Collections

General Library

University of California, Davis

100 North West Quad

Davis, CA 95616-5292

Phone: (530) 752-1621

Fax: (530) 754-5758

Email: speccoll@lib.ucdavis.edu

Note

History--United States and North American History.

Inventory of the Moses Brown Papers, 1777-1815

D-097

Department of Special Collections

General Library

University of California, Davis

Davis, California

Contact Information

Department of Special Collections
General Library
100 North West Quad
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616-5292
Phone: (530) 752-1621
Fax: (530) 754-5758
Email: speccoll@lib.ucdavis.edu

Encoded by: Sara Gunasekara
Completed: 2004

Descriptive Summary

Title: Moses Brown Papers,

Date (inclusive): 1777-1815

Collection number: D-097

Creator: Brown, Moses, 1742-1827

Extent: 0.8 linear feet

Repository: University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special Collections.

100 North West Quad

Davis, California, 95616-5292

Abstract: Moses Brown (October 2, 1742-February 9, 1827), prominent merchant and citizen of Newburyport, Massachusetts, developed a large foreign and domestic trade, especially in sugar, molasses and distilled rum. This collection contains records relating to Brown's involvement in the rum industry in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Included are account statements, invoices, correspondence, and distillery house orders.

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Moses Brown Papers, D-097, Department of Special Collections, University of California Library, Davis, California.

Acquisition Information

Purchased in 1994.

Biography

Biographical Narrative

Moses Brown (October 2, 1742-February 9, 1827), prominent merchant and citizen of Newburyport, Massachusetts, was the youngest of thirteen children of Joseph Jr. and Abigail Brown. As a boy he was apprenticed to a chaise-maker and upon adulthood he started in business himself as a carriage manufacturer. Eventually he turned to commerce, developing a large foreign and domestic trade, especially in sugar, molasses and distilled rum. He increased his investments until he was the owner of several wharves, wharehouses, and distilleries, as well as extensive real estate in Newburyport and vicinity.

Source: Dictionary of American Biography, Volume 3. New York: Scribner, 1929. p. 147.

Scope and Content of Collection

This collection contains records relating to Brown's involvement in the rum industry in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It is arranged in four series: 1. Account statements, 2. Invoices, 3. Correspondence, 4. Distillery house orders.

Related collections

Milne Special Collections and Archives at the University of New Hampshire, the Manuscripts Department of the Library at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina also hold portions of the Moses Brown Papers.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Brown, Moses,--1742-1827

Rum industry--United States

Rum industry--Jamaica

Merchants--Massachusetts--Newburyport

Distilleries

Series 1 Account statements

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Scope and Content Note

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D Legal 1:1

1777-1801

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Series 2 Invoices

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D Legal 1:2

1791-1799

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Series 3 Correspondence

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D Legal 1:3

1795-1800

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Series 4 Distillery house orders, 1793-1815

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Distillery house orders from individuals and establishments for Jamaican rum, which were forwarded to Brown's importer in Jamaica. Arranged chronologically.

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Box 1:1

January 1793

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Box 1:2

February 1793

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Box 1:3

March 1793

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Box 1:4

April 1793

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Box 1:5

May 1793

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Box 1:6

June 1793

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Box 1:7

July 1793

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Box 1:8

August 1793

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Box 1:9

September 1793

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Box 1:10

October 1793

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Box 1:11

November 1793

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Box 1:12

December 1793

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Box 1:13

January 1794

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Box 1:14

February 1794

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Box 1:15

March 1794

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Box 1:16

April 1794

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Box 1:17

May 1794

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Box 1:18

June 1794

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Box 1:19

July 1794

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Box 1:20

August 1794

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Box 1:21

September 1794

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Box 1:22

October 1794

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Box 1:23

November and December 1794

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Box 2:1

1801

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Box 2:2

1801

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Box 2:3

1801

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Box 2:4

1803

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Box 2:5

1803

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Box 2:6

1803

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Box 2:7

1803

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Box 2:8

1814-1815

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Box 2:9

1815

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Box 2:10

1815

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