COLLECTION GUIDES

1798-1857

Guide to the Collection


Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection consists of the papers of the Boston merchant and shipping firm Bryant & Sturgis, primarily business correspondence with other merchants and shipmasters around the world. Also included in the collection are the papers of Marblehead (Mass.) merchants Robert and John Hooper, and those of U.S. Congressman and merchant William Reed, also of Marblehead.

Biographical Sketches

John Bryant was a partner in the firm of Boston merchant and shipping firm Bryant and Sturgis (Boston, Mass.) with William Sturgis for 53 years. Bryant and Sturgis traded lumber, tea, opium, sugar, and many other goods.

Robert and John Hooper were merchants of Marblehead, Mass.

William Reed (1776-1837) was born in Marblehead, Mass. He became a merchant, was elected as a Federalist to the 12th and 13th Congresses (1811-1815), and served as a member of the board of the Andover Theological Seminary and a trustee of Dartmouth College.

William Sturgis (1782-1863) was born in Barnstable, Mass., the son of William Sturgis and Hannah Mills. He sailed at an early age to the northwest coast of North America on fur-gathering expeditions and to China to trade in tea and other wares. He became a shipmaster and later a merchant. He was a partner in the Boston firm of Bryant and Sturgis with John Bryant for 53 years, a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, a state senator, and the president of the Boston Marine Society.

Sources

For biographical information on William Sturgis, see Roger F. Sturgis, Edward Sturgis of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, 1613-1695, and his descendants (Boston, 1914); and Charles G. Loring, "Memoir of the Hon. William Sturgis" (in Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, vol. VII, Aug. 1864).

Collection Description

This bulk of the Hooper-Sturgis papers consists of the business correspondence of Bryant and Sturgis with other merchants and shipmasters around the world. For an alphabetical list of Bryant and Sturgis correspondents, see Correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis below. The collection includes ships' accounts, receipt books, and a volume of accounts kept by William Sturgis for minor Wendell T. Davis. Other Sturgis papers relate to the construction of J.P. Cushing's house in Boston, designed by Asher Benjamin. The collection also contains the papers of Robert Hooper and Sons, Robert and John Hooper, and William Reed, all of Marblehead, Mass.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Ellen Sturgis Hooper, May 1907.

Custodial History

The collection most likely came together as a result of a marriage between William Sturgis's daughter Ellen Sturgis (1812-1848) and Robert W. Hooper (1810-1885). Their son Edward William Hooper (1839-1901) married in 1864 Fanny Hudson Chapin (d. 1881) and had Ellen Sturgis Hooper (b. 1872), who married John Briggs Potter in 1908.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Expand all

II. Volumes, 1804-1843

This series is divided into four subseries: A. Bryant and Sturgis receipt books; B. Bryant and Sturgis ships' accounts; C. Other account books; and D. Letterbooks. Included in this series are some account books and letterbooks of Robert and John Hooper, as well as a letterbook of William Reed.

Close II. Volumes, 1804-1843

Correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis

The following merchants, shipmasters, and others are among the correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis (Boston), 1812-1820. Each name is followed by the individual or company's principal place of residence or work, as well as the year the name first appears in the correspondence.

Abbot, George (shipmaster, various places, 1815)
Aborn, Daniel T. (Providence, 1818)
Aborn, Samuel (Providence, 1817)
Agie, G. (Antwerp, 1816)
Aiken, Barbara (Philadelphia, 1813)
Allen, John (Philadelphia, 1815; Trieste, 1816)
Ammidon, Philip (Canton, 1812)
Andrews, Joseph (Salem, 1813)
Andrews, Robert (Bordeaux, 1814)
Apthorp, Thomas (Boston, 1818)
Archbald, Henry (various places, 1814)
Astor, John Jacob (NYC, 1817)
Audra, Louis and Co. (Naples, 1816)
Austin, J.B. (Boston, 1815)
Bacon, Daniel C. (1815)
Bailey and Russell (NYC, 1816)
Bailey and Willis (NYC, 1813)
Bainbridge and Brown (London, 1815)
Ballard and Hall (Baltimore, 1812)
Bancroft, Henry (1817)
Baring Brothers and Co. (London, 1815)
Barnewall and Popham (Alexandria, 1815)
Barnard Brothers (Liverpool, 1815)
Barrell, George G. (various places, 1813)
Barrell and Co. (Malaga, 1817)
Barry, Robert (Baltimore, 1817)
Bates, Joshua (Havre, 1817)
Bennett, James (Okhotsk, 1814)
Bennett, Noah (Gloucester, 1814)
Benoliel, Judah (Gibraltar, 1817)
Blagge, S. (1815)
Blanchard, Charles, Jr. (London, 1814)
Blanchard, Henry (Salem, 1814)
Blinz, Henry (Wiscasset, 1815)
Blodget, Samuel C. (Providence, 1817)
Blodget, William (Providence, 1813)
Bloomfield and Tunis (Cadiz, 1817)
Boden, Edward (various places, 1813)
Boit, John (NYC, 1817)
Bond and Pearson (Boston, 1814; NYC, 1816)
Bowen, Isaac, Jr. (Providence, 1814)
Bowler, Charles L. (Providence, 1817)
Bowler, C.L. and M. (Providence, 1813)
Bowler and Aborn (Providence, 1817)
Bradbury, Charles (Boston, 1817)
Bradford, Joseph, (Rotterdam, 1816)
Bridge, Matthew and Charles (Boston, 1816)
Bromfield, John (various places, 1812)
Brooks, Peter Chardon (1814)
Bryant, D.M. (various places, 1815)
Buckley and Abbott (NYC, 1817)
Bulkley, John (NYC, 1813)
Bulkley, Somarindyck and Co. (NYC, 1813)
Bull, William G. (NYC, 1814)
Butler, Cyrus (Providence, 1816)
Byrne, Patrick (Philadelphia, 1816)
Cambreleng and Pearson (NYC, 1816)
Carnes and Rhodes (Boston, 1816)
Carnochan and Mitchel (Savannah, 1814)
Carrington, Edward (Providence, 1812)
Carrington, Edward and Co. (Providence, 1816)
Carter, John Sigourney (Liverpool, 1816)
Carter, John S. and Co. (Liverpool, 1817)
Carter and Storr (Liverpool, 1815)
Catlett, Charles J. (Alexandria, 1812)
Camo and Eade (Bordeaux, 1815)
Caze and Richard (NYC, 1815)
Chaffee, John (Springfield, 1812)
Chase, Francis (Portland, 1814)
Cheaver, Abijah (Portland, 1814)
Clamargeran, Peter H. (New Orleans, 1816)
Clapp, Joseph (Portland, 1814)
Clark, Nathan, Jr. (Wiscasset, 1816)
Clary, E.A. (Springfield, 1816)
Cleeman [Cliemann?] and Co. (Havre, 1816)
Clibborn, Lewis and Co. (Philadelphia, 1815, and Antwerp)
Coffin, Hector (Philadelphia, 1818)
Collinette, Abraham (Gloucester, 1814)
Collings and Maingy (Rotterdam, 1815)
Colman, Henry (Hingham, 1818)
Conant, Samuel (Penang, 1816)
Cook, Z. (Boston, 1816)
Cook and Phillips (Boston, 1816)
Coolidge, Cornelius (Boston, 1813)
Cottle, William (Holmeshole, 1815)
Cranston and Shaw (Newport, 1814)
Crocker, Asa (Barnstable, 1818)
Crocker, David (Barnstable, 1816)
Crocker, Elisha (Barnstable, 1816)
Cromeline, Daniel (Amsterdam, 1817)
Cumelin, Daniel and Sons (Amsterdam, 1817)
Curson, Samuel (Havana, 1816)
Curtis, Caleb (Charleston, 1818)
Curtis, John (Wiscasset, 1815)
Curtis, Zebina (Boston, 1816)
Curwen, Joseph (London, 1817)
Cushing, James Perkins (Canton, 1815)
Dalgas and Ott (Leghorn, 1817)
Davenport, S. and Co. (Charleston, 1816)
Davis, Elias, Jr. (Havana, 1815, and various places)
Davis, Nathaniel M. (Plymouth, 1817)
Davis, William (Plymouth, 1815)
Davis, William, Jr. (Plymouth, 1817)
Davison, Elias (Gloucester, 1815)
Davy, John B. (Philadelphia, 1816)
de Aabaw Freres and Co. (Marseilles, 1817)
de Aguirre, Max (Washington, D.C., 1818)
de Arzadun, Aniceto de (Bilboa, 1815)
de Frias, Antonio and Co. (Havana, 1815)
Dein, Daniel (seaman, 1815)
Delafield, John, Sr. (NYC, 1815)
Delafield, John, Jr. (London, 1815)
Deland, Benjamin (Salem, 1815)
Derby, R. (Philadelphia, 1817)
Dexter, Charles (various places, 1815)
Dickason, Thomas and Co. (London, 1816)
Dixey, John (shipmaster, 1817)
Dixon, Thomas (Philadelphia, 1816)
Dodge, Pickering (Salem, 1818)
Donnaldson, Edward M. (Philadelphia, 1813)
Donovan, John (Providence, 1814)
Drake, James (Havana, 1815)
Dunbar and Scott (Penang, 1816)
Duncan, Winter and McCall (New Orleans, 1816)
Dunning, L. (New Haven, 1815)
Dussumier and Co. (Bordeaux, 1816)
D'Wolf, Packard and D'Wolf (NYC, 1816)
Dyer, Benjamin and Charles (Providence, 1814)
Dyer, Benjamin and Charles and Co. (1817)
Dyer, Elisha (Providence, 1818)
Dyers and Manton (Providence, 1817)
Emerson, Joseph B. (Kennebunkport, 1815)
Emery, Nicholas (Portland, 1814)
Eves, James, Jr. (Philadelphia, 1817)
Farnandis, Walter (Baltimore, 1816)
Fenno, James W. (Framingham, 1817)
Ferrier and Co. (Rotterdam, 1815)
Fessenden, William (Sandwich, 1815)
Fettyplace, William (Malta, 1815)
Fickett, Samuel (Portland, 1814)
Field, H.W. (NYC, 1815)
Field, Richard M. (Providence, 1814)
Fisher, John and Co. (Hamburg, 1817)
Fisk, Martin and Co. (Norfolk, 1815)
Fitz, William, Jr. (New Orleans, 1818)
Fletcher, James F. (New Orleans, 1815)
Fontin, G. (Havana, 1816)
Forbes, J.M. (Boston, 1816)
Foster, Isaac (Gloucester, 1814)
Freeman [or Truman], Robert, Jr. (Philadelphia, 1818)
Frothingham, Ebenezer (Boston, 1814)
Garland, William (Portsmouth, 1814)
Gibson, A.P. and Co. (NYC, 1816)
Gibson, John G. (NYC, 1818)
Gilmore, James (shipmaster, 1815)
Goodhue, John (NYC, 1817)
Goodhue and Ward (NYC, 1815)
Goodhue and Co. (NYC, 1817)
Goodrich and DeForest (New Haven, 1816)
Grant, Samuel (Philadelphia, 1814)
Grant Hepburne and Co. (Trieste, 1817)
Grant, Pillans and Co. (Leghorn, 1816)
Grants and Stone (Philadelphia, 1815)
Gregory, John, Jr. (Lisbon, 1817)
Grinnell, Cornelius, Jr. (New Bedford, 1815)
Guebhard, Samuel and Co. (Leghorn, 1816)
Hale, James (Castine, 1818)
Hale, Thomas E. (Castine, 1818)
Hall, John (Boston, 1816)
Halsey, T.L. (Buenos Ayres, 1816)
Hammond, Samuel (Brookline, 1817)
Harris, Levett (St. Petersburg, 1815)
Hatch, Solomon (NYC, 1815)
Hatch, Solomon and Co. (Springfield, 1814)
Hathaway, Stephen, Jr., and Company (NYC, 1814)
Haven, Thomas (Portsmouth, 1816)
Hawes, John (collector, New Bedford, 1815)
Hendricks, Harmon (NYC, 1817)
Henry, Benjamin (Gibraltar, 1815)
Henry, Bernard (Gibraltar, 1816)
Henry and McCall (Gibraltar, 1816)
Higgens Moore and Company (Trieste, 1815)
Hill, David D. (Philadelphia, 1815, and various places)
Hill, Samuel (shipmaster, 1815)
Hill and Blodget (Calcutta, 1816)
Hilton, Joshua (Wiscasset, 1814)
Hinckley, Isaac (shipmaster, 1816)
Hinckley, Richard B. (Havana, 1815)
Hinsdale, John and Daniel (Middletown, 1816)
Hodston, John and Sons (Amsterdam, 1815)
Holbrook, Richard (Wiscasset, 1815)
Hopkins, Barnabas (shipmaster, 1816)
Hoppin, Benjamin and Thomas C. and Co. (Providence, 1815)
Hubbard, Samuel (Wiscasset, 1814)
Huff, Andrew B. (seaman, 1817)
Hughes, James H. (Marseilles, 1814)
Hughes and Duncan (Liverpool, 1815)
Hughes, Fettyplace and Rogers (Marseilles, 1817)
Hurd, Isaac, Jr. (Concord, 1816)
Hurd and Sewall (Boston, 1815, and NYC)
Hutchinson Travers and Co. (Lisbon, 1816)
Jarvis and Hobby (Baltimore, 1815)
Jenches, Edwin J. (Providence, 1817)
Keating, Richard (Portland, 1815)
Kelso and Ferguson (Baltimore, 1817)
Kimball, Hazen (Savannah, 1817)
Kimball, Leonard (Boston, 1816)
Kirkpatrick and Greignow (Malaga, 1815)
Kirkpatrick Grivegnee and Co. (Malaga, 1816)
Kittredge, John (Gloucester, 1814)
Knight, George (Havana, 1815)
Knowlton, Nehemiah (Gloucester, 1816)
Kulenkamp and Sons (Bremen, 1817)
Ladd, Dudley (Salisbury, N.H., 1817)
Lander, E. (Salem, 1815)
Latimer, George (Philadelphia, 1817)
Latimer, J. (Philadelphia, 1815)
Lawrence, Willis and Lawrence (Liverpool, 1816)
Lechleitner, P.G. (Philadelphia, 1815)
Lee, Francis (New Bedford, 1814)
Lehman and Smith (Philadelphia, 1815)
LeRoy, Bayard and McEvers (NYC, 1814)
LeRoy, Bayard and Co. (NYC, 1817)
Lewis, William and Samuel N. (Philadelphia, 1817)
Lincoln, Benjamin (mate, 1815)
Lippitt, William H. (Providence, 1814)
Lodge, Giles (Boston, 1815)
Lord, John (constable of Portland, 1814)
Lorman, William and Son (Baltimore, 1817)
Lovell, J., Jr. (Rotterdam, 1817)
Lovett, James (NYC, 1814)
McCall, Ogden and Co. (Barcelona, 1817)
McCoy, Isaac L. (New Orleans, 1815)
Marcial, Joseph and Anthony (St. Bartholomew, 1814)
Marcus, Jacobus (Boston, 1816)
Marder and Budden (Liverpool, 1815)
Martin, John (Wiscasset, 1814)
Martin, John D. (Providence, 1814)
Mathews, J. (Bath, 1815)
Meireles, A.V. de Souza (Boston, 1816)
Mellen, Prentiss (Portland, 1814)
Melvill and Blaauw (Amsterdam, 1816)
Mertins Mosselman and Co. (Antwerp, 1817)
Meyer and Brunner [or Bruener?] (St. Petersburg, 1816)
Miles, Henry (NYC, 1816)
Milnor, J. and E. (NYC, 1814)
Minturn and Champlin (NYC, 1815)
Miralla and Co. (Havana, 1817)
Montgomery, Robert and Co. (Alicante, 1814)
Montgomerys Fitch and Co. (Marseilles, 1816)
Morris, John (Havana, 1816)
Moulton, William (Portland, 1814)
Murphy, John and Co. (Malaga, 1816)
Musson, John and Samuel (Bermuda, 1816)
Nash, Joshua (Haiti, 1816)
Newton, Edward A. (Calcutta, 1817)
Nichols, Perkins (NYC, 1814)
Norwood, A.S. (NYC, 1816)
Nourse and Christian (London, 1815)
Nye, D., Jr. (Wareham, 1814)
Nye, Zenas, Jr. (boatbuilder, Sandwich, 1815)
Olivella, Francesco Lorenzo (Havana, 1815)
Oliver, Borland and Abbot (1814)
Onion's, John and Son (Broseley, Shropshire, 1816)
Oppenheimer, George and Co. (London, 1816)
Oxnard, Henry (various places, 1813)
Oxnard, Martha (Portland, 1817)
Oxnard, William (Portland, 1814)
Packard and Gowen (Havana, 1815)
Paine, Fred William (Canton, 1815, and various places)
Passmin and Brickhead (Philadelphia, 1816)
Peabody, S. and J. (Salem, 1816)
Pearson, I.G. (Boston, 1816)
Pearson, Isaac G., Jr. (NYC, 1815)
Perkins, Jacob (Newburyport, 1815)
Perkins, James and Thomas H. (Boston, 1814)
Perkins, Samuel G. (Rotterdam, 1815)
Perkins, Samuel G. and Co. (Boston, 1817)
Perkins and Company (Canton, 1814)
Pierce, Joseph (shipmaster, 1815)
Polchan, C. (NYC, 1817)
Pomroy, Robert (Windsor, 1816)
Porter, David (U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C., 1815)
Preble, Eben (Boston, 1816)
Puntine, William M. (Gloucester, 1814)
Rabaud [or Raubaud] Brothers and Co. (Marseilles, 1815)
Reed Bell DeYonghi and Co. (Leghorn, 1816)
Remson, Peter and Co. (NYC, 1815)
Rich, Obed (Boston, 1816)
Richards and Jones (Boston, 1814)
Robbarts, John (shipmaster, 1814)
Robert and Rogers (Marseilles, 1817)
Roberts, William and M. and Co. (Cadiz, 1817)
Robinson and Patton (Charleston, 1816)
Rodman and Waln (Philadelphia, 1816)
Rogers, H.N. (Boston, 1816)
Rogers, J.W. (Salem, 1817)
Rogers, John H. and Co. (Alicante, 1815)
Rogers Brothers and Co. (Naples, 1815)
Rollins, Ebenezer (Havana, 1815)
Rowland, William (New Haven, 1814)
Russell, J.S. (New Bedford, 1815)
Russell, Seth and Sons (New Bedford, 1814)
Russell, William (New Bedford, 1816)
Ryan, Christopher P. (Boston, 1815)
Saltonstall, N. (Baltimore, 1817)
Sampayo, H.S. (Lisbon, 1815)
Sanderson, James (Alexandria, 1814)
Schwarz, J.E. (Philadelphia, 1818)
Senn, Guebhard and Co. (Leghorn, 1816)
Severin, J.A. Sons (St. Petersburg, 1816)
Sewle, Cornelius (Providence, 1816)
Shaw, Robert Gould (Boston, 1815)
Silsbee, Nathaniel (Salem, 1815)
Skillings, Nehemiah W. (Dorchester, 1816)
Smith, George (Canton, 1814)
Smith, John C. (Philadelphia, 1814)
Smith and Riddle (Richmond, 1817)
Snow, Lemuel (Havana, 1815)
Snow, Samuel (Providence, 1814)
Sprague, Horatio (Gibraltar, 1816)
Stainer, Wesseley, and Tichy (Trieste, 1815)
Stansbury, Daniel (NYC, 1816)
Stewart, Samuel (shipmaster, 1814)
Stewart, William (Baltimore, 1815)
Stocker, Eben (NYC, 1815)
Storer, William, Jr. (Portland, 1814)
Stump and Williams (Baltimore, 1815)
Sturgis, George W. (Hamburg, 1817)
Sturgis, Henry (shipmaster, 1814)
Sturgis, Jackson (Barnstable, 1814)
Sturgis, James P. (Canton, 1814)
Sturgis, Josiah (NYC, 1814)
Sturgis, Thomas (Barnstable, 1817)
Sturgis and Burroughs (1814)
Sturgis and Lovell (Charleston, 1814)
Swett, T.H. (Calcutta, 1816)
Talcott, N. and D. (NYC, 1814)
Teasdale, Richard (Charleston, 1815)
Thorndike, Israel (Boston, 1816)
Thorndike, Nicholas, Jr. (Kittery, 1814)
Toland, Henry, Jr. (Philadelphia, 1813)
Trott, Benjamin (shipmaster, 1815)
Truman [or Freeman], Robert, Jr. (Philadelphia, 1818)
Van Baggen, Parker and Dixon (Amsterdam, 1816)
v.d. Kaa, Haskez and Co. (Batavia, 1817)
Venning, John (St. Petersburg, 1815)
Vernet, Peter Alexander (Hamburg, 1815)
Waldo, E.W. (Havana, 1819)
Ward, Gamaliel H. (Boston, 1820)
Ward, Thomas W. (NYC, 1815)
Washing (Canton, 1816)
Water, Jesse (Philadelphia, 1815)
Waters, Isaac (Batavia, 1816)
Waters, John (Batavia, 1816)
Webber, Ignatius, Jr. (Gloucester, 1814)
Welles and Williams (Paris, 1817)
Welles [or Willis?] Williams and Greene (Havre, 1817)
West and Duplessis (New Orleans, 1817)
Wheelwright and Lopez (Newport, 1815)
Whetten, John (NYC, 1815)
White, Stephen (Salem, 1820)
Wilder, Daras (Wiscasset, 1814)
Wilkins, McThaine and Co. (Lexington, Ky., 1820)
Williams, Abraham (New Bedford, 1814)
Williams, B. (London, 1817)
Williams, George (Baltimore, 1816)
Williams, James (mate, 1815)
Williams, John (Batavia, 1819)
Williams, Samuel (London, 1813)
Willis and Latham (Liverpool, 1816)
Woodmass and Offley (Smyrna, 1817)
Worsley, James (Beverly, 1815)
Wyer, Edward (St. Petersburg, 1815)
Wright, James (St. Iago de Cuba, 1817)
Wright and Blunt (Boston, 1815)
Young, Bradford (Wiscasset, 1814)

Preferred Citation

Hooper-Sturgis papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Davis, Wendell T.
Benjamin, Asher, 1773-1845.
Bryant, John.
Cushing, John Perkins, 1787-1862.
Hooper, John, b. 1794.
Reed, William, 1776-1837.
Sturgis, William, 1782-1863.

Organizations:

Bryant & Sturgis (Boston, Mass.).
Robert and John Hooper (Marblehead, Mass.).
Robert Hooper and Sons (Marblehead, Mass.).

Subjects:

Account books--1815-1843.
Account books--1821-1834.
Account books--1833-1839.
Building--Massachusetts--Boston.
China trade.
Legislators--United States.
Lumber trade.
Merchants--Massachusetts--Boston.
Merchants--Massachusetts--Marblehead.
Opium trade.
Ship captains.
Shipping--Massachusetts--Boston.
Shipping--Massachusetts--Marblehead.
Tea trade.

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