Tuesday, June 29, 2010

William Panton, John Leslie & Company Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 11




William Panton, John Leslie & Company Papers

by David Swain

Introductory Information

The University of West Florida has conducted an exhaustive research and archiving project among dozens of sources to collect, abstract, catalog, and microfilm huge quantities of documents and document copies pertaining to the operation of Panton, Leslie & Company. They have accumulated research documents that fill 525 reels of microfilm (MF 1986-10). Over 10,000 documents were selected from the much larger research collection, of which 8,357 (having received owner authorization) were abstracted and microfilmed separately. The David Library owns the 26 reels of these selected microfilmed documents and their abstracts, which are organized in chronological order (MF 946). The first 12 reels cover the years 1739 through 1800, within the time period of the David Library’s particular interest.

Note that this review pertains to only reels 1 through 12 and the time period 1739 through 1800.

Rather than consisting of a large set of business and accounting papers (although some of these are included), the contents of this collection tell a story of high intrigue and human (and political) drama. They include a great variety of papers, including government documents and letters (in both English and Spanish), personal and business correspondence, a variety of business records, and more. The microfilms display each document side-by-side with the archivist’s typewritten transcript. In addition, English translations are included for many of the documents in Spanish. Some of these translations are typescripts; others are pages from printed documents. Yet others have both typed and printed translations. For some documents in English, typescripts are also included.


Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Edward Shippen Thompson Collection Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 10



Edward Shippen Thompson Collection


Introductory Information

Edward Shippen Thompson (1869-1947) is a descendent of the Burd-Shippen-Yeates interrelated families, via several 19th Century marriages through a Patterson and other families to a Thompson family. E. S. Thompson was interested in genealogy and his family’s history, which led him to collect and keep great quantities of family papers, as well as genealogical notes and charts. These papers relate to the period from 1684 through 1941, including many kinds of materials, such as a large collection of 19th Century photographs and some newspapers. The reference to 1684 relates to genealogical information, not manuscript papers. Also, most of the papers (Folders 14-15, 17-21, and 26-221) come from the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century.

The Edward Shippen Thompson Collection is owned by the Pennsylvania State Archives (MS Group 125). The David Library owns three reels of microfilmed documents from this collection.

Note on interrelated collections: The David Library owns microfilm collections containing images of three closely interrelated sets of family papers—the Jasper Yeats Family Papers, the Burd-Shippen Family Papers (both manuscripts and transcripts), and the Edward Shippen Thompson family papers. Given the extraordinary extent to which the three complement one another and overlap one another, researching them together would be advisable. (Each set is described in a separate Swain Report.)


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Ebenezer Wild Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 9

Ebenezer Wild Papers

by David Swain

Biographical information

Ebenezer Wild was a native of Braintree, MA, born in 1758 and died in 1794 (at age 36). He served in the Continental Army throughout the Revolutionary War, rising from a corporal in 1775 to a 2nd lieutenant in 1781. In 1776, he was assigned to the 6th Continental Regiment. From 1777 onward, he was in the 1st Massachusetts Regiment.