This collection contains financial documents and business correspondence concerning the affairs of James Hamilton, a shipping merchant based in Charleston, South Carolina, between 1784 and 1818. The collection also includes legal documents related to Hamilton's estate after his death in April 1829.
The first 2 items in the Correspondence and Documents series are copies of letters addressed to Blanchard & Lewis, a firm in London, England. The bulk of the material consists of receipts, bills of lading, business letters, accounts, wage agreements, and other financial records concerning James Hamilton's business affairs. The earliest items relate to gloves, blankets, and similar items that Hamilton sold; later material documents Hamilton's interests in several merchant vessels, including the Commerce. Hamilton conducted business with individuals and firms in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Some documents dated around 1796 are addressed to George Forrest, one of Hamilton's business partners. Most items predate the War of 1812, and at least one letter refers to federal legislation regarding international shipping in 1811.
The collection also includes receipts for Hamilton's pew at a Presbyterian church, as well as personal letters from his daughter Agnes and his niece, Margery Bethune (March 1812). Most of the remaining items are legal documents concerning the administration of Hamilton's estate. The documents mention individuals such as Edward S. Ingraham, Benjamin Chew, and James Hamilton Couper (or Cowper), the son of Hamilton's acquaintance John Couper. Some of the documents also mention Francis P. Corbin, Hamilton's son-in-law.
Printed Items are a copy of the London Gazette (November 6-9, 1784); a copy of "An Act concerning the registering and recording of ships and vessels" (1804); and a legal opinion regarding Corbin v. Wilson, a case about James Hamilton's disputed will (June 5, 1838).
James Hamilton was born in Scotland in 1763 and became a merchant in Charleston, South Carolina, owning shares in several ships and conducting business with other merchants in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Around 1793, Hamilton moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia, with his friend John Couper (or Cowper), where he became a successful cotton farmer. He retired to Philadelphia around the early 1820s and died in April 1829. He and his wife, Nancy Isabella Steedman (b. 1780), had one surviving daughter, Agnes Rebecca, whose husband, Francis P. Corbin (1798-1876), inherited Hamilton's Georgia plantation and later relocated to France.
