3. Provenance 5. Inventory 6. Subjects |
Merchant of East Greenwich, Rhode Island Papers, 1752-1816 Size: 6.5 linear feet Catalog number: MSS 71 Processed by: Lori Salotto, January 2000 ©Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division |
Historical note:
Colonel William Arnold (1739-1816) was born to John Arnold (d.1801) and Desire (Joyce) Arnold (d.1777) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He married Alice Wilcox on May 2, 1765 and they had nine children: Ardelisa, Lydia, Desire, Perry Greene, Hannah, William, Phebe, Alice, and John.
Upon reaching the age of majority, William's son, Stephen (1765-1821), joined his father in the mercantile partnership of William Arnold & Son. They owned fishing vessels, such as the sloop Polly and the schooner Roby, and were engaged in trade mostly in the Caribbean and northern South America (Surinam and French Guiana). They also conducted some coastwise trading as well. William's other son, Perry Greene (1772-1819), spent his life as a mariner in command of trading vessels owned or employed by William Arnold & Son.
William and Stephen were also involved in textile manufacturing and retail sales. In addition, William was the owner of an inn in East Greenwich called "The Bunch of Grapes." The inn and the Arnold home were destroyed by fire in 1788, but were rebuilt with the help of friends. Stephen kept the inn running after his father's death in 1816. In 1877 the inn became the Updike Hotel.
Bibliography
Arnold, Elisha Stephen. The Arnold Memorial: William Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet, 1587-1675: And a Genealogy of His Descendants, 111, 147-148 and 191-192. The Tuttle Publishing Company, 1935.
Kemble, Harold. Guide to the William Arnold Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society Library, 1987.
Scope and content:
This collection, covering the years 1752 to 1816, is arranged into two series and several subseries. The first series consists of the personal papers of William Arnold and is broken down into four subseries: correspondence, business accounts, inn accounts, and miscellaneous. The correspondence series is arranged chronologically and contains mostly business letters and three personal letters from son Perry to his parents, one from daughter Hannah, and one from son-in-law Daniel Updike. The business accounts include both accounts books and loose accounts. The miscellaneous series contains deeds, an inn license renewal, a navigation book, and information regarding the Ohio Company, a land company William and his son Stephen were involved with. The navigation book is unique in that it has a functional cardboard replica of an instrument that is used to find changing tides and the variation of the compass (box 2, folder 12).
A letter of interest in this series pertains to a fire that destroyed the dwelling of William Arnold, as well as the inn that he ran. The letter was signed by many individuals who agreed to help him get back on his feet. They write, "whereas Col. William Arnold of East Greenwich hath lost his dwelling house and other valuable property, by fire, in consequence whereof, a worthy family is reduced to great inconvenience, and the public deprived of almost the only house of entertainment in that place: we the subscribers, therefore, as well to alleviate the misfortunes of the said Col. Arnold, as to assist him in being prepared to entertain the worthy part of the community, as here to fore, do each one for ourselves, promise to deliver unto him, or such other person he shall appoint, the money or other articles annexed to our respective names"(box 1, folder 1).
The second series consists of the records of William Arnold & Son. This series is broken down into three subseries: correspondence, business accounts, and maritime documents. The correspondence consists of business letters and letters from Perry Greene Arnold discussing his various voyages, economic markets in the various ports, and business transactions. Other related letters from Perry can be found in the Stephen Arnold Papers (Mss 75). The business accounts consist of both account books and loose accounts. The maritime documents relate to trade in the Caribbean and on the northern coast of South America (Surinam and the port of Cayenne in Guiana). This series consists of articles of agreement, bills of lading, bills of sales, and insurance policies. There is also a log book for the schooner Lydia & Margaret, November 26, 1806 to April 4, 1807. However, it is missing the dates December 22nd to January 5th and January 23 to February 5. It chronicles the schooner's journey toward the Turk Islands, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, around Cuba, toward the Bahamas, and finally docking in Wilimington, North Carolina. Other records pertaining to maritime trade can be found in the Stephen Arnold Papers (Mss 75). There are also items pertaining to the sloop Providence. If looking for more information on the sloop Providence there is a logbook in the Perry Greene Arnold Papers (Mss 74). Also found within the records of William Arnold & Son are loose accounts and maritime documents relating to two fishing vessels that William and Stephen employed, the schooner Roby and the sloop Polly.
A letter of interest found in this series comes from the governor of the island of St. Bartholomews. He writes to William Arnold & Son in 1812 about considerable damage to their schooner Lydia & Margaret. He explains that a survey will be done to examine the damage to the vessel and its goods and what will be needed for repairs (box 2, folder 20).
Provenance:
These records are believed to have arrived as part of the "Albert C. and Richard W. Greene Collection." The actual date of the accession is not known for sure, but the collection was in hand by the late 1940s. Therefore, the date of 1948 was assigned to the collection.
Processing note:
This collection was originally processed circa 1987 by Harold Kemble. It was reprocessed in 2000 by Lori Salotto. At this time, the correspondence and maritime documents were separated from the financial accounts, and were put in separate folders. Then the collection was divided into two series, several subseries, and arranged chronologically.
Researchers should be aware that some items filed as the personal papers of William Arnold may pertain to Arnold & Son and vice versa. Great effots have been made to properly distinguish among them, but the papers were at one point improperly interfiled.
The log book of the schooner Lydia & Margaret is in poor condition. Parts of it are torn, there are missing section, and there is water damage.
Many items have been transferred to other collections. A detailed transfer list can be found in the collection file.
Inventory:
Series 1: William Arnold Records
Series 1, Subseries 1: Correspondence
Box 1, folder 1. 1780-1789
Box 1, folder 2. 1792-1798
Box 1, folder 3. 1801-1814
Series 1, Subseries 2: Business accounts
Loose accounts
Box 1, folder 4. 1752-1758
Box 1, folder 5. 1760-1769
Box 1, folder 6. 1770-1778
Box 1, folder 7. 1780-1789
Box 1, folder 8. 1790-1794
Box 1, folder 9. 1795-1799
Box 1, folder 10. 1800-1805
Box 1, folder 11. 1806-1816
Box 1, folder 12. Undated
Bound volumes
Box 1, folder 13. Account with spinners, 1811
Box 1, folder 14. Cash book: store, 1795-1811
Box 1, folder 15. Cash book: store, 1811-1815
Box 1, folder 16. Daybook, 1777
Box 1, folder 17. Daybook, 1791-1793
Box 1, folder 18. Daybook, 1791-1796
Box 1, folder 19. Daybook, 1811-1814
Oversized vol. 1. Daybook, 1815
Box 1, folder 20. Index for unknown ledger, 1782
Box 1, folder 21. Inventory book, 1799 including one page of cash accounts
Box 1, folder 22. Labor account book: work done on house, 1771
Oversized vol. 2. Ledger, 1774-1788
Box 1, folder 23. Ledger, 1791-1793 (with separate index)
Box 1, folder 24. Ledger, 1796-1799 accounts of William Arnold's children: Alice, Ardelisa, Hannah, Lydia, Perry, and Phebe.
Box 1, folder 25. Memoranda book, 1785-1804
Individual accounts, 1785-1804
Invoices of tobacco and rum on board the ship Belle, 1785 (pp. 19-20)
Box 1, folder 26. Notes receivable books, 1774-1794
Series 1, Subseries 3: Inn accounts
Loose accounts
Box 1, folder 27. 1758-1770, Thomas Pearce and Daniel Howland
Box 1, folder 28. 1774, found in Leger, 1772
Box 1, folder 29. 1775, found in Ledger, 1774-1775
Box 1, folder 30. 1775-1789, John Rice
Bound volumes: ledgers
Box 1, folder 31. 1763-1765
Box 1, folder 32. 1768
Box 1, folder 33. 1768-1771
Box 1, folder 34. 1769-1771
Box 1, folder 35. 1772
Box 1, folder 36. 1774-1775
Box 1, folder 37. 1775-1776
Box 2, folder 1. 1776-1778
Box 2, folder 2. 1779
Box 2, folder 3. 1779-1781
Box 2, folder 4. 1782-1783
Box 2, folder 5. 1784-1785
Box 2, folder 6. 1786-1787
Box 2, folder 7. 1788-1791
Oversized vol. 5. 1789-1791, fragment
Box 2, folder 8. 1792
Box 2, folder 9. 1793
Box 2, folder 10. 1794
Box 2, folder 11. 1795-1796
Box 2, folder 12. 1799-1801
Box 2, folder 13. 1803-1805
Box 2, folder 14. 1806-1807
Box 2, folder 15. 1807-1809, and undated
Oversized vol. 6. 1810-1812
Oversized vol. 7. 1813
Oversized vol. 8 1814
Oversized vol. 9. 1815
Oversized vol. 10. 1816
Series 1, Subseries 4: Miscellaneous
Box 2, folder 16. Deeds, 1787-1809
Box 2, folder 17. Inn license, 1778
Box 2, folder 18. Navigation book, 1761
Box 2, folder 19. Ohio Company, 1787-1795 and undated
Series 2: Arnold and Son Records
Series 2, Subseries 1: Correspondence
Box 2, folder 20. 1795-1798
Box 2, folder 21. 1799-1800
Box 2, folder 22. 1801-1802
Box 2, folder 23. 1803-1805
Box 2, folder 24. 1806-1807
Box 2, folder 25. 1808-1810
Box 3, folder 1. 1811-1814
Box 3, folder 2. 1815-1816, and undated
Series 2, Subseries 2: Business accounts
Loose accounts
Box 3, folder 3. 1784-1788
Box 3, folder 4. 1790-1794
Box 3, folder 5. 1794-1795, schooner Orange
Box 3, folder 6. 1795-1798 and undated, sloop Providence
Box 3, folder 7. 1795-1796
Box 3, folder 8. 1797-1798
Box 3, folder 9. 1799
Box 3, folder 10. 1800
Box 3, folder 11. 1801
Box 3, folder 12. 1802
Box 3, folder 13. 1803
Box 3, folder 14. 1804
Box 3, folder 15. 1805
Box 4, folder 1. 1805-1809, sloop Polly (fishing vessel)
Box 4, folder 2. 1806
Box 4, folder 3. 1806-1807, brig Betsy
Box 4, folder 4. 1806, horses
Box 4, folder 5. 1806-1808, schooner Roby
Box 4, folder 6. 1807
Box 4, folder 7. 1807, ship Perseverance
Box 4, folder 8. 1807-1811 schooner Lydia & Margaret
Box 4, folder 9. 1808
Box 4, folder 10. 1809
Box 4, folder 11. 1810
Box 4, folder 12. 1811
Box 4, folder 13. 1812
Box 4, folder 14: 1812, goods bought at Boston
Box 4, folder 15: 1812, goods bought at New York
Box 4, folder 16. 1813-1814
Box 4, folder 17. 1815
Box 4, folder 18. 1816
Box 5, folder 1. 1816, ship Commodore Perry in Gothenberg
Box 5, folder 2. 1816, ship Commodore Perry in London
Box 5, folder 3. 1816, ship Commodore Perry in New York,
Box 5, folder 4. Undated
Box 5, folder 5. Undated, brig Lydia & Margaret
Bound volumes
Box 5, folder 6. Brig Betsy, 1804, 1806
Box 5, folder 7. Checkbook, 1806-1819
Box 5, folder 8. Daybook, 1796-1797, including beef, pork, and sundries accounts,1795-1799
Oversized vol. 3. Daybook, 1809-1812
Oversized vol. 4. Daybook, 1809 and sales accounts, 1795-1799
Box 5, folder 9. Deeds, 1804, 1809
Box 5, folder 10. Ledger, 1783-1813
Box 5, folder11. Ledger, 1785-1798, page at the end has 1804-1807 account of Hannah Greenleaf
Box 5, folder 12. Letter book, 1799-1817 including sloop Providence accounts, 1795-1796
Box 5, folder 13. Memoranda books: brig Betsy, 1801-1803
Box 5, folder 14. Memoranda book, 1800-1815
Cargo records, 1803-1815
Copies of portage bills, 1812
Individual accounts, 1800-1806
Box 5, folder 15. Memoranda book, 1807
Account of sundry goods shipped on board the sloop Alice
Inventory of goods
Box 5, folder 16. Memoranda book, 1808
Cash payments
Individual accounts
Inventory of goods
Box 5, folder 17. Memoranda books, 1815-1816
Cargo records, 1815-1816
Account labor on brig Lydia & Margaret, 1816
Potato/Hay/Corn accounts, 1815-1816
Box 5, folder 18. Rhode Island Central Bank, 1796-1815
Box 5, folder 19. Sales: beef, 1806-1807
Box 5, folder 20. Schooner Roby (fishing vessel), 1806
Box 5, folder 21. Schooner Lydia & Margaret and brig Harriot, 1812
Box 5, folder 22. Schooner Lydia & Margaret , 1813
Box 5, folder 23. Seamen, 1815-1816
Box 5, folder 24. Settlement book: sloop Polly, 1809
Subseries 3: Maritime documents
Box 5, folder 25. Articles of agreement, 1796-1815
Box 5, folder 26. Bills of lading, 1794-1816
Box 5, folder 27. Bills of sales, 1794-1809
Box 5, folder 28. Insurance policies,1795-1812
Box 5, folder 29. Log of the schooner Lydia & Margaret, 1806-1807, Perry G. Arnold, master
Itinerary:
Rhode Island to the Turk Islands 11/26/1806 - 1/22/1807
Jamaica to the Cayman Islands 2/28/1807 - 3/4/1807
Cayman Islands to Bahamas 3/7/1807 - 3/12/1807
Bahamas to Wilmington, N.C. 3/13/1807 - 3/17/1807
At anchor in Wilimington, N.C. 3/17/1807 - 4/4/1807
Subjects:
Arnold, Isaac A. (b. 1780)
Arnold, Perry Greene (1772-1819)
Belle (ship)
Betsy (brig)
Brandywine (sloop)
Bunch of Grapes Inn (East Greenwich, Rhode Island)
Caribbean Area - Commerce
Commodore Perry (ship)
East Greenwich, Rhode Island - Commerce
Fisheries - Rhode Island - East Greenwich
French Guiana - Commerce
Harriot (brig)
Hawk (sloop)
Holmes, Silas (1785-1860)
Greene, Benjamin
Greenleaf, Hannah (b.1775)
Log books (1806-1807)
Lydia & Margaret (schooner/brig)
Mary Ann (schooner)
Merchants - Rhode Island - East Greenwich
Navigation - Study and Teaching
Perseverance (ship)
Phebe & Polly (brigantine)
Polly (sloop)
Providence (sloop)
Roby (schooner)
South America - Commerce
Surinam - Commerce
Taverns (Inns) - Rhode Island - East Greenwich
Updike, Daniel (1761-1842)
End of finding aid - return to top
RIHS1822