Samuel Nightingale II Papers

(part of the Nightingale-Jenckes Papers)

Merchant, Providence, R.I.

Papers, 1759-1802.

Size: 3 linear feet

Catalog number: MSS 588, sg 2

Processed by:

Rick Stattler, August 1996

USE MICROFILM E445 .R4, part 2, reels 13-15

©Rhode Island Historical Society

Manuscripts Division

Historical note:

Samuel Nightingale II (1741-1814) was the son of Samuel Nightingale (1714-1786), born in Pomfret, Conn. He was raised in Providence, R.I. after 1752, and became a successful merchant, operating a store in Providence. He invested in the East India and coastal trade, and was supposedly associated with the firm of Brown & Ives. He also served as treasurer for the town of Providence from 1797 to 1814, and as a deacon in the First Congregational Church of Providence. He was active in raising money for the church via lottery. He served on a committee to evaluate the possibility of public education in Providence in 1767, and in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party in 1774 was appointed to a correspondence committee. He did not serve in the Revolution, though he served on a committee to plan defenses for Providence in 1775, served as chair of the town's Committee of Inspection, and his schooner La Committee was captured briefly by British privateers.

Samuel Nightingale II was usually denoted "Jr." until father's death in 1786, and sometimes denoted "Sr." after son entered business ca. 1800. By his wife Susanna Crawford (1741-1790) he had 6 surviving children:

Abby (1768-1853, unmarried);

Susan (1771-1841) (m. William F. Megee);

Mary (1773-1841) (m. Ebenezer Jenckes);

Candace (1778-1832) (m. Horatio G. Bowen);

Eliza (1780-1863, unmarried) and

Samuel III (1782-1851).

Bibliography:

Chapin, William Waterman. Genealogy of the Nightingale Family (typescript at the R.I.H.S., compiled 1912).

Cutter, William Richard, ed. New England Families: Genealogical and Memorial New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1915. Volume 1, p. 491.

Field, Edward. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History Mason Publishing: Boston, 1902.

Staples, William R. Annals of the Town of Providence, from its First Settlement to the Organization of the City Government. Providence: Knowles & Goff, 1843.

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Scope and content:

This collection includes a partial correspondence file from 1766 to 1791, and extensive accounts from Nightingale's mercantile activities. There are also accounts from his work on the First Congregational Church lottery. A memorandum book from the 1760s, sometimes referred to as a diary, contains notes on accounts and an occasional mention of weather. One of the most interesting items is an account for Nightingale's involvement in a July 4th celebration from 1788. This is apparently the same celebration that the Providence press described as drawing out 5000 revelers. Nightingale coordinated the loan of immense quantities of forks, knives, plates and platters from many of the town's leading citizens, and kept careful account of how many items were lost or damaged during the festivities.

Prominent among the correspondents are Benjamin Mason, Benjamin Bourne and Aaron Lopez. Nightingale's involvement in the case of the privateer La Committee also caused him to correspond with financier Robert Morris and Virginia statesmen Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Theodorick Bland. There are two signed Madison letters in this collection, as well as one from Jefferson. There is another unsigned letter apparently in Madison's hand.

Related items in other collections at the R.I.H.S.L.:

Christopher Champlin Papers Letter from S.N. II, 11/24/1788

Cushing Papers Deed from S.N. II to Nath. Cushing, 1787

Field Papers, p. 43 Bill of groceries from S.N. II, March 1764

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Provenance:

This collection was probably donated by George A. Holbrook on May 8, 1900 as part of what became known as the Nightingale-Jenckes Papers. The evidence for this is somewhat circumstantial, and interested parties can consult a lengthy essay on the subject that is available in the collection file at the repository.

The account book dated 1766 to 1767 was donated by Henry A. Manning in 1892. A large collection of family deeds and other papers was donated by Mrs. Norman Baker in 1969. This donation included mostly material relating to later generations of the family, but some earlier material is included here; the only items definitely from this accession are Ebenezer Jenckes deeds. A letter to Nightingale from James Madison and Theodorick Bland dated 1780 was donated by Romeo Elton in 1846; a 1781 letter from Thomas Jefferson appears to be from the same gift.

Three items were found among the Society's miscellaneous papers; accession is unknown: the letter from John Collins dated 8/31/1775; the complaint vs. Ezekiel Warner dated 1776; and a page from an account book dated 1775.

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Processing note:

These papers were originally interfiled with the large body of Nightingale-Jenckes Papers, until reprocessed in 1996. It was somewhat difficult to determine which Samuel was referred to in papers dated before 1786 or after 1800. The particularly thorough researcher may want to consult the papers of Samuel Nightingales I and III to be absolutely certain that nothing was misattributed.

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Inventory:

Correspondence.

Box 2, folder 1. 1766-1767

Box 2, folder 2. 1768-1769

Box 2, folder 3. 1769 (moldy)

Box 2, folder 4. 1774-1778 (no 1770-1773)

Box 2, folder 5. 1780-1781 (no 1779). Mostly re schooner La Committee.

Box 2, folder 6. 1782-1788

Box 2, folder 7. 1791, undated (no 1789-1790)

Loose accounts.

Box 2, folder 8. Joseph Bennett accounts, 1759-1760

Box 2, folder 9. 1766-1769.

Includes accounts with Aaron Lopez; Clark & Nightingale; Nicholas Brown; and others.

Box 2, folder 10. 1770-1779

Includes accounts with Nicholas Brown & Co.; sloop 3 Sallys; and others.

Box 2, folder 11. 1781-1789

Includes accounts re schooner La Committee, Providence Gazette, and with father's estate.

Box 3, oversized folder 1. R.I. state note accounts, 1782-1793

Box 3, oversized folder 2. Accounts for July 4th celebration, 1788.

Box 3, oversized folder 3. Miscellaneous accounts, 1766-1784

Includes accounts with Nicholas Brown & Co.; the Spermaceti Manufactory; John Brown and others.

Miscellaneous.

Box 2, folder 12. Complaint vs. Ezekiel Warner for note unpaid, 1776

Quitclaim deed to Ebenezer Jenckes, 1798.

Box 2, folder 13. Deed from Ebenezer Jenckes to Lydia Allen, and then to S.N. II, 1803.

Box 2, folder 14. Memoranda re sloop 3 Sallys and Capt. Simons, ca. 1770. 4 pages.

Box 3, oversized folder 4. Letter testamentary re father's estate, 1787

Daybooks.

Box 3, oversized volume 1. Daybook B, 1763-1764

Box 3, oversized volume 2. Daybook C, 1762-1764

Box 2, folder 15. Daybook D, 1764-1765

Box 2, folder 16. Daybook, 1766-1767

Ledgers.

Box 4, oversized volume 3. Ledger, 1762-1763.

In rear, accounts of Bennet & Nightingale, 1761-1766.

Box 4, oversized volume 4. Ledger D, 1764-1768

Box 4, oversized volume 5. Ledger E, 1766-1774

Box 3, oversized folder 5. Ledger [F?], 1767-1802. Disbound and incomplete. Very large.

Box 2, folder 17. Petty ledger 1, 1767-1775.

Box 2, folder 18. Index to petty ledger, 1769.

Blotter books.

Box 2, folder 19. Blotter, 1766-1770

Box 4, oversized volume 6. Blotter book B, 1769-1771

Box 2, folder 20. Blotter, 1772-1777

Invoice books.

Box 4, oversized volume 7. 1769-1773. Accounts with Hayley & Hopkins of London, and Clark & Nightingale of Providence.

Box 4, oversized volume 8. 1761-1766 and 1786, 1788.

First Congregational Church lottery accounts

Box 2, folder 21. ` Book, 1771-1772

Box 2, folder 22. Book, 1771-1772

Box 2, folder 23. Book, 1773

Box 2, folder 24. Book, 1774

Box 2, folder 25. Loose accounts, 1772-1774 and undated

Miscellaneous.

Box 2, folder 26. 1762-1770, inventories, memoranda and accounts.

Box 2, folder 27. 1765-1785. Meeting house lottery accounts, state note accounts

Includes accounts for gunpowder in Revolution.

1761-1766. Memoranda and "diary".

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Subjects:

Bland, Theodorick (1742-1790)

Bourne, Benjamin (1755-1808)

First Congregational Church (Providence, R.I.)

Fourth of July celebrations - Rhode Island - Providence

Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1836)

La Committee (schooner)

Lopez, Aaron (1731-1782)

Lotteries - Rhode Island

Madison, James (1751-1836)

Merchants - Rhode Island - Providence

Morris, Robert (1734-1806)

Providence, R.I. - Business records

Spermaceti

United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783 - Rhode Island

In addition, all of the items in the following index are cataloged locally.

Index to correspondents

All correspondents are indexed, except for one undated letter fragment for which the signature was illegible. Selected names from the accounts and other papers are also indexed.

Allen, Lydia. Widow of Providence.

Deed from Ebenezer Jenckes, 1803, then to S.N. II.

Allin, Thomas. Of Warren, R.I.

1767: 3/24

Amory, John & Jonathan. Of Boston.

1767: 12/23

1768: 1/8

Bennet, Joseph. Of Coventry, R.I.

1767: 3/17 (to Valentine Wheeler)