American Dredging Company incoming correspondence

Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2014
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: American Dredging Company incoming correspondence
Dates: 1870-1881
Collection Call Number: mssAmericanDredgingcorrespondence
Creator: American Dredging Company
Extent: 140 letters in 1 box
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The incoming correspondence of the American Dredging Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Language of Material: The records are in English.

Administration Information

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], American Dredging Company incoming correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased from Michael Brown in June 2014.

Historical Note

The American Dredging Company was originally incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1867. John Somers was the president and Franklin B. Colton was the treasurer. It is one of the most famous dredging companies in American history. After operating independently for over 125 years, it was purchased by Weeks Marine in 1993.

Scope and Content

This incoming correspondence deals mostly with the company's work on the Dutch Gap on the James River Improvement Project in Virginia, their work with the U.S. Engineer's Office on the Philadelphia Navy Yard at League Island, and their work with the Coosaw Mining Company in Charleston, South Carolina. The correspondence also deals with several other projects. Most of the correspondence is written to Somers and Colton. Correspondents include: William P. Craighill, William Ludlow, Franklin C. Prindle, Robert Ransom, Andrew Adger, David Lopez, Benjamin Maillefert, and Grantham Israel Taggart, Sr. (list is not exhaustive). The correspondence had previously been bound together (now separated). There is some water damage to the letters; some letters are stuck together. Fragile condition.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Indexing Terms: Added Entries

Personal Names

Adger, Andrew Moffett, 1846-1915.
Colton, Franklin B., active 1871, recipient.
Craighill, Wm. P. (William Price), 1833-1909.
Lopez, David, 1809-1884.
Maillefert, Benjamin S. H., 1813-1884.
Prindle, Franklin Cogswell, 1841-1923.
Ransom, R. (Robert), 1828-1892.
Somers, John S., 1816-1894, recipient.
Taggart, Grantham Israel, 1828-1905.

Geographic Areas

Philadelphia (Pa.).

Corporate Names

Coosaw Mining Company.
James River Improvement Company.
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Indexing Terms: Subjects

Subjects

Dredges.
Dredging.
Engineers--United States--Correspondence.

Genre

Business records--Pennsylvania--19th century.
Correspondence--United States--19th century.


Box 1

American Dredging Company Incoming Correspondence 1870-1881

Physical Description: 1 box
Folder  1

Correspondence (1870, April - 1871, March)

29 items
Folder  2

Correspondence (1871, April)

24 items
Folder  3

Correspondence (1871, May - June)

30 items
Folder  4

Correspondence (1876 - 1880)

28 items
Folder  5

Correspondence (1881)

29 items