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3. Provenance 5. Inventory 6. Subjects |
(part of the Nightingale-Jenckes Papers) Somerset, Mass. and Portsmouth, N.H. Papers, 1767-1833 Size: 0.25 linear feet Catalog number: MSS 588, sg 7 Processed by: Rick Stattler, August 1996 ©Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division |
Historical note:
Somerset, Mass. merchant Jerathmael Bowers (d. ca. 1798) and his wife Mary (Shurburn) Bowers had five children. Among them was Hannah (Bowers) Borland, wife of physician Francis Borland of Somerset and of Portsmouth, N.H. Francis Borland's mother later remarried and became Anna Knight. Francis and Hannah apparently had several children, including one named after her father, Jerathmael B. Borland.
Another of the Bowers daughters was Mary, who married Joseph Jenckes of Providence. Their daughter Mary B. Jenckes (1800-1862) married a cousin, Edwin T. Jenckes, and settled in Florida.
Scope and content:
These papers contain very little of interest to Rhode Island, but are important for determining the provenance of the other Nightingale-Jenckes Papers. The most interesting item is probably an account book of merchant William Knight of Portsmouth, New Hampshire dated mostly 1772 to 1774; many of its pages have been ripped out. Also interesting is a folder of receipts and other papers of Dr. Francis Borland, who practiced in Somerset, Mass. They include some mundane correspondence, including one letter dated from a Rhode Islander, his in-law Joseph Jenckes.
Provenance:
This collection was probably donated by George A. Holbrook on May 18, 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.
Processing note:
Inventory:
Box 12, folder 1. Dr. Francis Borland papers, 1771-1820.
Also two items regarding his mother, 1822 and 1823.
Box 12, folder 2. Widow Hannah Borland lease, 1828
Jerathmel B. Borland accounts with Francis Borland, 1804-1814
Joseph S. Borland documents, 1827 and 1833
Box 12, folder 3. Jerathmel Bowers accounts with Benjamin Penhallow, 1796-1798
Estate of Jerathmel Bowers accounts with " ", 11799-1800
Box 12, folder 4. William Knight account book, 1767-1774. Pages through 1772 ripped out.
Box 12, folder 5. Joseph Sherburn papers. 3 receipts for him and his estate, 1775-1787.
Subjects:
Bowers, Jerathmel
Jenckes, Joseph
Knight, William
Somerset, Mass. - Business records
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RIHS1822