1.   Historical note

2.   Scope and content

3.   Provenance

4.   Processing note

5.   Inventory

6.   Subjects


    List of finding aids

    R.I.H.S. Library page

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 William Arnold Papers

 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.



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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).


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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.



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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. 


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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

 



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Subjects:


Alice (sloop)

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)



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RIHS1822