Robert Morris papers - NYPL Digital Collections

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Collection Data

Description: Robert Morris (1734-1806) was a Founding Father of the United States, a businessman, and statesman. As a Philadelphia merchant, Morris helped to finance the American Revolution with the wealth he acquired through his real estate and shipping business. He was one of the rare Founding Fathers to have signed all three of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. The Robert Morris papers, dated 1751-1802, consist of correspondence, financial and legal papers. The correspondence pertains mostly to Morris's business affairs. Other letters concern his Revolutionary War activities, his service as Superintendent of Finance of the United States and as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, and some personal matters. The financial and legal papers include receipts, accounts, stock certificates, and land records.
Names: Morris, Robert, 1734-1806 (Creator); Bondfield, John (Correspondent); Brown, John (Correspondent); Cranch, William, 1769-1855 (Correspondent); Deane, Silas, 1737-1789 (Correspondent); Harrison, Benjamin, approximately 1726-1791 (Correspondent); Hoops, Adam, 1709-1771 (Correspondent); Hopkinson, Francis, 1737-1791 (Correspondent); Jay, John, 1745-1829 (Correspondent); Lee, Charles, 1731-1782 (Correspondent); Livingston, Muscoe (Correspondent); Nicholson, John, 1757-1800 (Correspondent); Parr, William (Correspondent); Peters, Richard, 1743-1828 (Correspondent); Ridley, Matthew, 1749-1789 (Correspondent); Sage, Alexander (Correspondent); Tilghman, Tench, 1744-1786 (Correspondent); Willing, Morris & Company (Correspondent)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1759 - 1802
Library locations: Manuscripts and Archives Division; Shelf locator: MssCol 2066
Topics: Morris, Robert, 1734-1806; Business enterprises -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia; Finance -- United States; Land speculation -- United States; Shipping -- United States; Merchants; Pennsylvania -- History; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Genres: Stock certificates; Correspondence; Records (Documents); receipts (financial records)
Notes: Biographical/historical: Robert Morris (1734-1806) was a Founding Father of the United States, a businessman, and statesman. As a Philadelphia merchant, Morris helped to finance the American Revolution with the wealth he acquired through his real estate and shipping business. He was one of the rare Founding Fathers to have signed all three of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. He went on to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1789 through 1795. In 1781, Congress appointed him the first Superintendent of Finance of the United States. He later invested much of his fortune in land speculation in western New York but went bankrupt after the Panic of 1796-1797. He was imprisoned for debt in Philadelphia from February, 1789 to August, 1801. His release was a result of Congress passing the Bankruptcy Act of 1800. Upon his release, Morris spent a quiet life of retirement until his death in 1806.; Content: The Robert Morris papers, dated 1751-1802, consist of correspondence, financial and legal papers. The bulk of the correspondence pertains to Morris's business affairs. Other correspondence within the collection concerns his Revolutionary War activities, his service as Superintendent of Finance of the United States and as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, and some personal matters. Financial and legal papers include receipts, accounts, land records, and a stock certificate for the Delaware and Schuylkill Navigation Company. Significant records of Morris's land ventures In Genessee County, NY are also included. Other items of note included papers pertaining to the Asylum Company, a company started by Robert Morris and John Nicholson that attempted to purchase and resell tracts of land in western Pennsylvania.; Funding: Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation.
Physical Description: Extent: 1.1 linear feet 4 boxes, 1 oversized folder
Type of Resource: Text
Identifiers: NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11974876; MSS Unit ID: 2066; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 6036e800-e238-0133-e118-00505686d14e

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