Research Catalog

Silas Deane letters

Title
Silas Deane letters, 1767-1785.
Author
Deane, Silas, 1737-1789.
Supplementary Content
Collection guide and digital images

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Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.

Mixed materialRequest in advance MssCol 4310Schwarzman Building - Manuscripts & Archives Room 328

Details

Additional Authors
  • Cushing, Thomas, 1725-1788
  • Mumford, Thomas, 1728-1799
  • Webb, Sarah, 1752-1832
  • Webb, Samuel Blachley, 1753-1807
  • Emmet collection.
  • Ford collection.
Description
.1 linear foot (1 folder)
Summary
Silas Deane (1737-1789) was an American lawyer and merchant, member of the Continental Congress from Connecticut, 1774-1776, and Congressional agent and diplomat in France, 1776-1778. Recalled in 1778 under controversial circumstances, Deane returned to Europe in 1780 as a private citizen and died in 1789 en route to America. Silas Deane letters, dated 1767-1785, are addressed to his stepchildren Sarah (Sally) Webb and Samuel Blachley Webb, and friends Thomas Mumford and Thomas Cushing, New England merchants and politicians. Letters to Sally in Boston, 1767-1769, mention her mother's illness and offer advice for Sally's education and self-improvement. His 1778 letter to Thomas Cushing in Boston asks him to assist Sally, now the widow of John Simpson, a Loyalist. Letters written at Philadelphia to Thomas Mumford in Connecticut, 1774-1775, tell of Congressional business and colonial disputes, his participation in the Secret Committee to obtain support from Europe, and the need to develop an American naval force. Deane's letter of July 16, 1785 at London to Samuel Blachley Webb gives a careful study of American commercial prospects and Great Britain's rising manufacturing economy. A letter dated March 7, 1779 addressing "my Dear Col[onel]," and referring to an exchange, may be directed to Samuel Blachley Webb, at that time an American army colonel and prisoner of war.
Subjects
Access (note)
  • Apply to Manuscripts and Archives Division for access at http://www.nypl.org/mssref.
  • Digital images must be used in lieu of originals.
Additional Formats (note)
  • Available as digital images.
Funding (note)
  • Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation.
Source (note)
  • Donated by John S. Kennedy as part of the Emmet collection, 1896, and J. Pierpont Morgan as part of the Ford collection, 1899, and purchase, 1934.
Provenance (note)
  • Most material in the collection was originally received as part of the Emmet and Ford collections.
Call Number
MssCol 4310
OCLC
850537882
Author
Deane, Silas, 1737-1789.
Title
Silas Deane letters, 1767-1785.
Restricted Access
Apply to Manuscripts and Archives Division for access at http://www.nypl.org/mssref.
Digital images must be used in lieu of originals.
Additional Formats
Available as digital images.
Funding
Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation.
Provenance
Most material in the collection was originally received as part of the Emmet and Ford collections.
Finding Aids
Collection guide available in repository and on internet.
Source
Donated by John S. Kennedy as part of the Emmet collection, 1896, and J. Pierpont Morgan as part of the Ford collection, 1899, and purchase, 1934.
Connect to:
NYPL Digital Collections
Collection guide and digital images
Occupation
Diplomats.
Lawyers.
Merchants.
Politicians.
Soldiers.
Statesmen.
Added Author
Cushing, Thomas, 1725-1788, recipient.
Mumford, Thomas, 1728-1799, recipient.
Webb, Sarah, 1752-1832, recipient.
Webb, Samuel Blachley, 1753-1807, recipient.
Emmet collection.
Ford collection.
Research Call Number
MssCol 4310
View in Legacy Catalog