Historical note:

            Asa Steere (1800-1882) was raised in Glocester but was a butcher in North Providence for most of his life. His daughter Mary E. (1825-1901) married Darwin R. Mowry (1820-1889) of Providence. They had three children, but only Florine H. Mowry (1862-1945) survived to adulthood. This information was traced through the Rhode Island Cemetery Database.

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Scope and content:

            This collection includes deeds and probate information for Asa Steere, Mary E. (Steere) Mowry and Darwin R. Mowry. Also included are five miscellaneous deeds and agreements with an unclear relationship to the Steere and Mowry families. Of particular interest are a deed from Revolutionary War officer Daniel Lyman of a factory share dated 1810, and an assignment of water rights from George Waterman to the Lyman Manufacturing Company in 1836.

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Provenance:

            These papers all apparently passed through the estate of Florine H. Mowry. She never married and left no immediate family. However, she was a good friend of Jennie (Allen) Buffum (1862-1933) and an "honorary aunt" to her family. Upon her death, the papers were passed on to her son Thomas B. Buffum (1885-1964). Thomas divided them between his sons Timothy N. and Thomas B. Buffum Jr. Timothy N. Buffum donated his portion of the papers to the R.I.H.S. in 2000, and his niece Christine Tananone eight additional items in 2001 (marked with individual accession numbers).

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Processing note:

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Inventory:

Folder 1. Asa Steere deeds, 1827-1853

Folder 2. Asa Steere will and probate documents, 1880-1882; receipt for wife's burial, 1879

Folder 3. Mary E. (Mowry) Steere deeds and estate, 1885-1889

Folder 4. Darwin R. Mowry deeds, 1847-1889

Folder 5. Darwin R. Mowry will, 1888; receipt from dentist, 1867

Folder 5a. Florine H. Mowry invitation, 1880; empty envelopes, 1875, 1886.

Folder 6. Daniel Lyman deed of mill share to Samuel G. Arnold & Co., 1810 and

            assignment of water rights, George Waterman to Lyman Manufacturing Company, 1836

Folder 7. Miscellaneous deeds:

            Deed, Richard Aldrich to Nathaniel Mowry Jr., 1809

            Deed, Samuel W. King to Parris Whitman, 1819

            Deed, Francis W. Carpenter to John L. James and Joseph Boss, 1860

Folder 8. Peck family of Westminster, Vermont:

            Deed, Nathaniel Powers to Uri Peck, 1819

            Essay by Susan Peck, 1835

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Subjects:

Lyman, Daniel (1756-1830)

Lymanville Manufacturing Company (North Providence, R.I.)

Mowry, Darwin R. (1820-1889)

Mowry, Mary E. (Steere) (1825-1901)

North Providence, R.I. - Land records

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RIHS1822