Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 8

This latest installment of Library Research Assistant David Swain's catalog of the British Headquarters Papers sheds light on two important topics: the social dynamics of every-day life in the army and the closing years of the British occupation of New York City. As reflected below, the majority of this microfilm covers memorials and petitions written by a range of individuals to the successive commanders-in-chief in Canada. These documents, essentially formalized appeals for assistance, provide an insight into the every-day workings of the army by revealing the numerous problems and concerns that afflicted military personnel and associated civilians, as well as giving us an indication of the mass of paperwork that came to the commander-in-chief. Carleton's orderly book for New York City, comprising the latter portions of this reel, details an almost day-by-day account of the army's operations in that vicinity for the final years of the war. As these documents show, while not engaged in active hostilities, the British Army nevertheless stayed busy with the numerous other duties that afflict a military force in garrison. Our thanks go out to David Swain for faithfully sticking with this project, which has now absorbed several months of his hard work.

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28.9 Memorials and petitions; General Sir Guy Carleton’s New York headquarters order book (Reel 7)


Summary contents:

* Military and provincial memorials and petitions to Sir Guy Carleton and General Frederick Haldimand, 1776 and with no date: 40 documents; documents 1 through 40, printed page numbers 1 through 50

* Military and naval memorials to Sir Guy Carleton, 1777: 30 documents; documents 41 through 70; printed page numbers 51 through 92

* Petitions from Royalists: 30 documents; documents 71 through 100; printed page numbers 93 through 135

* Military and provincial memorials and petitions to Sir Guy Carleton, 1778: 26 documents; documents 101 through 126; printed page numbers 136 through 175

* Memorials of Canadian and other inhabitants, 1777-1780 and with no date: 27 documents; documents 127 through 153; printed page numbers 176 through 213

* Military and provincial memorials to General Frederick Haldimand, 1779-1781: 25 documents; documents 154 through 178; printed page numbers 214 through 244

* Military and provincial memorials addressed to General Frederick Haldimand, 1782-1783: 32 documents; documents 179 through 210; printed page numbers 245 through 285

* Sir Guy Carleton’s headquarters order book, New York, Mortier House, and Lefferts House, 1782-1783: 301 documents; documents 211 through 511; printed page numbers 285a through 482

Intern's Perspective: the British General Courts Martial Project

The David Library has benefited from the services of a host of volunteers and interns this summer, whose work has helped us further the development of our collections enormously. One of our many on-going projects has been to create a database finding aid for our microfilmed British General Courts Martial Records (Film 675), the originals of which are held in the British National Archives as War Office Series 71. Steve Gorman, an undergraduate at Rider University, spent many hours going through these records and entering them into the database, advancing the project much farther and faster than we could have done without his help. In this installment, Steve provides an account of his role in the project and investigates one of the more interesting cases he encountered along the way.

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"A few years ago our Sol Feinstone Scholar, Will Tatum, traveled to England to investigate several collections of documents in the British archives containing various military court trials during the latter half of the Eighteen Century. Will took hundreds of photographs of each page of each record in the collection and then compiled the files into JPEG images. My job, in what he referred to as the “Courts Martial Project,” was to go through as much of the pictures as I could and organize the necessary information into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to be used as a guide for the Library."


"I find these trials interesting, but from time to time a particular trial stands out and decisively makes a great story. After having some difficulty attempting to select my most intriguing court case, I finally settled with the 1755 Trial of Francis McManus and Solomon Welsh in Oswego, New York."

For more, read below the fold.

Collection Guide: Early Engagements of the American Revolution

David Library Summer Intern Billy Griffith, an undergraduate history concentrator at Shepherd University, continues his series of guides to the Library's book collection with this installment on volumes relating to the early battles and engagements of the Revolution. This list should serve as an excellent starting point for those individuals who are beginning to read about the Revolution, as well as for seasoned researchers interested in the Library's holdings beyond our microfilm collection. The numbers above each entry are the call numbers for that title.


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Selected Readings of the Early Engagements of the Revolutionary War

by Billy Griffith

* Lexington and Concord: April 19, 1775

* Capture of Fort Ticonderoga: May 10, 1775

* Battle of Bunker Hill: June 17, 1775

* Siege of Boston: April 1775- March 1776

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 7

In this latest installment of his continuing series, David Swain completes his entries covering Reel 6 of these War Office 28 microfilm records from the British National Archives. This section includes correspondence from several vital posts along the British defensive line in southern Canada, as well as documents from the German regiments who comprised a significant portion of that Colony's garrison, but remain overlooked in the wake of the British defeat at Saratoga. Once again, David is improving our ability to make the Library's collections easier for patrons to use and opening up largely untapped sources for future historical scholarship.

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28.8 Three Rivers, Sorel, Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (Reel 6—second part)


Summary contents:

* Trois Rivières, returns, 1776: 26 documents; documents 1 through 26; printed page numbers 1 through 64

* Sorel, letters and papers, 1778-1781: 25 documents; documents 27 through 51; printed page numbers 65 through 123

* Germans, letters from field officers, 1781: 18 documents; documents 52 through 69; printed page numbers 124 through 176

* Trois Rivières, letters from officers commanding, 1779-1782: 7 documents; documents 70 through 76; printed page numbers 177 through 201

* Sorel, letters from the officers commanding, 1779-1783: 35 documents; documents 77 through 111; printed page numbers 202 through 292

* Carleton Island, Cataraqui, Oswego, letters from officers commanding, 1779-1783: 52 documents; documents 112 through 163; printed page numbers 293 through 416

* Germans, letters from field officers, 1783: 18 documents; documents 164 through 181; printed page numbers 417 through 467

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 6

 This latest installment of Library Research Assistant David Swain's catalog of War Office 28 continues this week with more coverage of the army's lesser-known departments. Among these are the staffs from the pivotal garrison posts of Montreal and St. John's along with the Quartermaster and Ordnance Departments, responsible for issuing equipment and ammunition to the troops. The selection of letters from Montreal and St. John's provide valuable insights into the day-to-day operations at those settlements along with a window into the social dynamics of the garrisons. The Quartermaster and Ordnance papers, meanwhile, shed new light on the operations of these largely-neglected departments.




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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 7 (begins on Reel 5)
(ends on Reel 6)


The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3—first part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3—second part, 33 documents; reel 4, 147 documents)
28.6 General Hospital Department; garrison returns; Engineers Department (reel 5—first part, 204 documents)
28.7 Montreal; St. Johns; Ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department (reel 5—second part, 183 documents; reel 6—first part, 58 documents)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6—second part)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Installment 5

In the latest installment of this special series, Library Research Assistant David Swain adds a new installment to his catalog of War Office 28. This section covers several of the more un-loved and under-studied elements of the army: the various support departments. In particular, this set of WO 28 covers the general hospital, engineers, and general staff, as well as garrison muster rolls that were the product of over-worked muster-masters hired to keep the military paperwork in order. While these departments seldom figure in conventional narratives of the war, the work they did in taking care of wounded and ill soldiers, maintaining and building roads and structures, and insuring the smooth operations of the army across the whole of Canada made a significant impact in both the course and the experience of the conflict. It is hoped that David's good work in opening these documents for more detailed exploration will help to shed light on these under-appreciated elements of the British Army.

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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 6 (Reel 5)


The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3 (part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3 (part), 33 documents; reel 4, 147 documents)
28.6 General Hospital Department; garrison returns; Engineers Department (reel 5, 204 documents)
28.7 Montreal; ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department; St. Johns; Sorel (reel 5; reel 6)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers, Part 4

War Office 28, Regimental Headquarters Papers
Swain Report Special, Installment 4


In this latest addition to his continuing series, Library Research Assistant David Swain expands his finding aid for the War Office 28 records to encompass the records of the King's Royal Regiment of New York, one of the premiere Royal Provincial Corps in Canada. David's hard work continues to bring to light important documents that add to our understanding of the British war effort from Canada, which might otherwise be overlooked. For clarification on the different Loyalist Regiment establishments in Canada at this time, please see Todd W. Braisted's entry from the beginning of April.

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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 5 (begin Reel 3)
(end Reel 4)

by David Swain

The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3 (part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3 (part), 33 documents; reel 4, 147 documents)
28.6 Engineers; garrison returns; General Hospital Department (reel 5)
28.7 Montreal; ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department; St. Johns; Sorel (reel 5; reel 6)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers Part 3

War Office 28, Regimental Headquarters Papers
Swain Report Special, Installment 3

This report is the third in the series of Volunteer Research Assistant David Swain's catalog of War Office 28, Miscellaneous Headquarters Papers of British and Provincial Regiments in Canada. As noted in previous installments, David's work is one-of-a-kind and is making this often over-looked series of documents easily accessible for the first time in its archival history.  This installment covers papers of the Royal Provincial Corps and Butler's Rangers, units consisted of American Loyalists raised for British Service. Butler's Rangers was separate from the Royal Provincial Corps, which was recognized as part of the British Army, while Butler's Corps was treated in a manner comparable to modern civilian contractors. Aside from the Walter Butler Papers at Library and Archives Canada, War Office 28 represents one of the largest assemblages of documents from this crucial unit. The papers of the Royal Provincial units provide vital material for understanding the very unique experiences of these soldiers and their families, which contrasted significantly with that of the Royal Provincial regiments with the British Army on the American east coast. In addition, this section includes files from the Canadian Fencible Corps, covering the years 1802-1805.

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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 4 (Reel 3)

By David Swain

The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2, 197 documents)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers; Canadian Fencible Corps; Jessup’s Rangers; Roger’s Rangers; Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Regiment); McAlpin’s Volunteer Corps (reel 3 (part), 223 documents)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3 (part); reel 4)
28.6 Engineers; garrison returns; General Hospital Department (reel 5)
28.7 Montreal; ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department; St. Johns; Sorel (reel 5, reel 6)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)


Note: The compiler of this annotated list has numbered the microfilmed documents consecutively within each reel. These numbers do not appear on the microfilm and are used here only to maintain a sense of order in the contents.

“Letterbooks” among these documents are not actually bound books but are folders of separate-page letters kept at the time by regiments. The microfilm copies of these letters are mostly in chronological order, with a few exceptions. Apparently at a later time, archivists added consecutive printed numbers to the letter pages within each part. These printed numbers are noted in this list for each letterbook or document set.

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers Part 2

War Office 28, Regimental Headquarters Papers
Swain Report Special, Installment 2


This post continues the special installment of the Swain Report series: while most of David Swain's reports have provided a general finding aid to the collections they cover, this series constitutes a full catalog of all items in the War Office 28 microfilm rolls held by DLAR. The miscellaneous nature of the documents, which seem to be leftover returns and correspondence from British and Royal Provincial regiments in Canada, make composing a standard finding aid difficult. A full catalog is necessary for fully realizing the importance of these sources, which help to fill in the gaps left by other collections and provide important insights into the daily minutiae of military life, and to make them more user-friendly for researchers. We are very thankful that David has undertaken this intensive task, which has already revealed a number of interesting documents that might otherwise have been lost in the shuffle. For Installment 1, please click here.


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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 3 (Reel 2)

by David Swain

The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels.

Note: The compiler of this annotated list has numbered the microfilmed documents consecutively within each reel. These numbers do not appear on the microfilm and are used here only to maintain a sense of order in the contents.

“Letterbooks” among these documents are not actually bound books but are folders of separate-page letters kept at the time by regiments. The microfilm copies of these letters are mostly in chronological order, with a few exceptions. Apparently at a later time, archivists added consecutive printed numbers to the letter pages within each part xxor reel??xx These printed numbers are noted in this list for each letterbook.


28.3. Letterbooks (Reel 2)


Summary contents:

-- 53rd Regiment of Foot field officer letters 1778: 16 letters; documents 1 through 16; printed page numbers 1 through 40

-- 53rd Regiment of Foot field officer letters 1781-1783: 22 letters; documents 17 through 38; printed page numbers 41 through 92

-- 84th Regiment field officer letters 1777-1778: 28 letters; documents 39 through 66; printed page numbers 93 through 157

-- 84th Regiment field officer letters 1778-1779: 22 letters; documents 67 through 88; printed page numbers 158 through 211

-- 84th Regiment field officer letters 1780: 27 letters; documents 89 through 115; printed page numbers 212 through 285

-- 84th Regiment Field Officers letters 1781: 28 letters; documents 116 through 143; printed page numbers 286 through 356

-- 84th Regiment Field Officers letters 1782: 34 letters; documents 144 through 177; printed page numbers 357 through 443

-- 84th Regiment Field Officers letters 1783: 20 letters; documents 178 through 197; printed page numbers 444 through 493

Swain Report Special: War Office 28, Regimental HQ Papers.

War Office 28, Regimental Headquarters Papers
Swain Report Special, Installment 1


This post begins a special installment of the Swain Report series: while most of David Swain's reports have provided a general finding aid to the collections they cover, this series constitutes a full catalog of all items in the War Office 28 microfilm rolls held by DLAR. The miscellaneous nature of the documents, which seem to be leftover returns and correspondence from British and Royal Provincial regiments in Canada, make composing a standard finding aid difficult. A full catalog is necessary for fully realizing the importance of these documents, which help to fill in the gaps left by other collections and provide important insights into the daily minutiae of military life, and to make them more user-friendly for researchers. We are very thankful that David has undertaken this intensive task, which has already revealed a number of interesting documents that might otherwise have been lost in the shuffle.

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British War Office 28—American Headquarters Records
Annotated List of Contents—Part 2 (Reel 1)

by David Swain

The David Library holds microfilm copies of the British War Office 28 Records, parts 2 through 10 (1775-1785), contained on 8 reels, as follows:

28.2 Letters, returns, etc (reel 1, 176 documents)
28.3 Letters, returns, etc. continued (reel 2)
28.4 Butler’s Rangers, Canadian fencibles, Royal Highland Emigrants or 84 Foot, Jessup’s Rangers (reel 3)
28.5 Royal Regiment of New York, Rogers’ King’s Rangers, Barrack Master General’s Department (reel 3, reel 4)
28.6 Engineers; garrison returns; General Hospital Department (reel 5)
28.7 Montreal; ordnance; Quartermaster-General’s Department; St. Johns; Sorel (reel 5, reel 6)
28.8 Three Rivers, petitions and memorials; Germans; Carleton Isle, Cataraqui, Oswego (reel 6)
28.9 Miscellaneous letters, memorials, order books, etc. (reel 7)
28.10 Miscellaneous returns etc. (reel 8)

Timothy Bedel Papers and Andrew Park Pamphlet Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 18



The Timothy Bedel Papers and Andrew Park Pamphlet

by David Swain

Introduction


In the wilds of the Canadian woods, near the St. Laurence River, the fledgling American Continental army, having taken possession of Montreal and seeking to subdue Quebec, sustained a small but psychologically painful defeat in May 1776. The Cedars was a Continental military outpost between Montreal and Quebec. When a small British force surprised its defenders, the officer in charge surrendered his force of over 400 men. Timothy Bedel, commander of the post’s force, was absent at the time but was court-martialed anyway. Andrew Parke was a lieutenant in the British contingent that “conquered” the post.

This report summarizes two related microfilm collections in the David Library. One is the Timothy Bedel Papers, which include little about The Cedars disaster itself but much on other aspects of Bedel’s extraordinary life, as well as the lives of certain of his correspondents. The second is a political pamphlet published in 1777, written partly by Andrew Parke, that provides information and perspective on both The Cedars encounter leading to the American surrender and the subsequent exchange of prisoners.

William Greene Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 17


The William Greene Papers 

by David Swain

Introduction 

William Greene (1743-1826) was a member of the large and prominent Greene family of Rhode Island—and only a distant relative to General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) of Revolutionary War fame. Still, William’s father was named Nathaniel Greene (1707-1768), and William signed his name “William Greene, son of Nathaniel.”

He had reason to do so because both he and another almost contemporaneous Colonel William Greene (1764-1829) were both merchants in East Greenwich, RI. This other William served during the Revolutionary War as commander of the Kentish Guards, an independent company of volunteer militia in East Greenwich. From the sparse information available, it appears that Colonel William did not see direct action during the Revolution, nor did his military career cross paths with that of General Nathanael—or that of yet another Greene, Colonel Christopher Greene (1737-1781), who did play an active military role with the First Rhode Island Regiment.

The original papers of all four of these Greenes reside at the Rhode Island Historical Society library. The David Library has microfilmed copies of three of these—the papers of Nathanael Greene, Christopher Greene, and the William Greene who did not serve in the military at all, whose papers are the subject of this report.

The James Grant of Ballindalloch Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 16

Library Volunteer and Research Assistant David Swain spent most of August and September carefully sifting through the James Grant Papers, creating one of the most detailed finding aids to date for this important series of documents. James Grant was one of the foremost British professional soldiers of the second half of the eighteenth century, having served in America during the French and Indian War and again during the Revolution. His papers contain a wealth of material for a variety of research interests, ranging from the institutional operations of the British Army to civil government during the era of the Imperial Crisis, when Grant was governor of Florida. David's report is attached below in .pdf format due to its size. Please contact me if you have any problems accessing the document, and our thanks, as always, to David for his essential and invaluable work in improving access to our collections.

Will Tatum


James Grant of Ballindalloch Papers

by David Swain


Introduction

James Grant was born into relative wealth and high class in the family’s Ballindalloch Castle in Banffshire, Scotland in 1720. He died there 86 years later in 1806. Grant never married and had no children. After both his brother Alexander and Alexander’s son William (James’ nephew) had died by 1770, James became laird of the family castle. Grant always remained a Scotsman and a Britisher. Although he spent considerable time in North America and in the West Indies, as a part of a long, illustrious military career, he never contemplated becoming an American resident or, God forbid, citizen.

The microfilmed James Grant of Ballindalloch papers contain selected items from the Grant Family Papers still owned by members of the family. The selected documents, which pertain to Grant’s life in America, and which are contained on 49 reels, were microfilmed in 2001, with only four sets made, one kept at Ballindalloch Castle, one at the National Archives of Scotland, one in the US Library of Congress, and one held by a private foundation. Recently, the David Library negotiated successfully to purchase a fifth set of the microfilmed Grant’s papers pertaining to America. Researchers are indebted indeed to Grant’s habit of corresponding extensively over many years, and to the care he and his descendents took to retain, preserve, and organize the voluminous papers of Grant’s career and personal life.

The Grant Papers Finding Aid in PDF format


Have something you want to share, such as a question, research find, or a personal story about the Library? Email Will Tatum at tatum@dlar.org

Abraham Whipple Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 12



Abraham Whipple Papers

by David Swain


Background Information

Abraham Whipple (1733-1819) was a native Rhode Islander and a “native” seafarer. Early in life he sailed on merchantmen, captaining a ship for wealthy Providence merchants and slave traders Moses and John Brown in the West Indies trade. During the French and Indian War, he turned to privateering, at which he was enormously successful (and lucky), capturing 23 French ships during one particularly lucrative six-month period.

By 1772, he had changed the country whose shipping he hunted from France to England—and, in the process became an early revolutionary patriot. In June 1772, he and John Brown led a party who burned the grounded British revenue cutter Gaspée off of Warwick, RI. The Gaspée had been chasing an American packet boat, seeking to enforce British customs collection and cargo inspection laws. Thus, the act of arson was recognized as a politically defiant, even revolutionary act.

In 1775, the Rhode Island General Assembly decided to take direct action against the British Frigate HMS Rose, which had been “interfering” with Rhode Island trade. It chartered two sloops to do the job, the Katy, owned by John Brown, and the Washington. Abraham Whipple was made captain of the Katy and commodore of the fleet of two. This “Rhode Island Navy” promptly captured the Rose.

As the US Navy began to be created in late 1775, the Katy became one of its first ships, renamed the Providence (a modern replica now floats by the quay in downtown Providence) Whipple also joined the nascent navy as captain of another ship, the USS Columbus. Both ships participated in a 1776 raid on the British military garrison at Nassau, Bahamas, successfully seizing supplies badly needed by the Americans.

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.

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.)

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.

Christopher Greene Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number 7

Christopher Greene was an important figure in the American Revolution. Raised in Rhode Island and a member of a prominent New England family, Greene served in various capacities throughout the Revolutionary War, but is most noted for serving as a Colonel in the Rhode Island militia, where he organized a regiment of former slaves to support the Revolution. Greene was killed in battle leading this regiment in 1781. In 2009, the DLAR acquired his papers from the Rhode Island Historical Society. Below, David Swain gives a detailed account of Greene’s life and of the collection’s content, most of which relates to Greene’s military service.


Patrick Spero


Christopher Greene Papers

by David Swain

Biographical Information

Christopher Greene (1737-1781) was a member of the large and prominent Greene family of Rhode Island, a third cousin to General Nathanael Greene. Christopher’s father died when he was 24, leaving him the family mill estate and business, which he ran until he joined the Rhode Island contingent of the Revolutionary Army in 1775 at the age of 38. Before the Revolution, he also served several terms in the Rhode Island colonial legislature.

Edward Hand Papers Finding Aid

The Swain Report, Number Six

In this edition of the Swain Report, David relays some fascinating finds in a small but potentially rich collection of Edward Hand Papers that the David Library recently acquired from the Pennsylvania State Archives.


Patrick Spero

Edward Hand papers

by David Swain

Edward Hand (1744-1802) was a physician in Lancaster, PA. During the Revolutionary War, he was a brigadier general and, by 1781, adjutant general to George Washington. After the war, he served in the US Congress (1784-1785) and PA Assembly (1785-86).

The microfilmed papers owned by the David Library, made from manuscripts owned by the Pennsylvania State Archives, consist mostly of general correspondence but also include a few military papers.

Burd-Shippen Collection

The Swain Report, Number Five

In his most recent Swain Report, David writes about the Burd-Shippen collection the Library recently acquired from the Pennsylvania State Archives. The Collection contains a wide array of documents from the Burd, Shippen, Yeates, and Hubley families. These families were among the most prominent Pennsylvanians in western Pennsylvania, especially Lancaster and Cumberland Counties, during the colonial and revolutionary eras. The families were involved in all aspects of society, and their papers touch on important matters relating to law, business, and politics.


Patrick Spero

Burd-Shippen Family Collection

by David Swain

Introductory Information

The David Library owns two reels of microfilmed documents of the papers of the Burd and Shippen families, which are owned by the Pennsylvania State Archives.

The papers contain letters/documents of several generations of several closely intermarried families, including the Burd, Shippen, Yeats, and Hubley families. Overall, the papers cover the period from 1704 through 1900 (with a number of gaps, notably between 1834 and 1899).