Henry Mathewson defendant's account, 1820-1832

Summary

Creator:

Anonymous

Abstract:

This volume documents Henry Mathewson's accounts while he served as the master and supercargo of the ships Mercury and Superior from 1820 to 1827, likely provided as defense in legal disputes with Willard W. Wetmore who was a partner with one of the firms involved in the trading venture. It notes the expenses and income generated by voyages under Mathewson's command while at various ports in Germany, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Gibraltar, China, and others. Mathewson's accounts provide insight into general seafaring conditions, Pacific mercantile pursuits in South America and China, and speculation efforts. It records wages for members of the crew, financial transactions relating to cargo purchases along the western coast of South America, dealing with government regulations, and commissions with other merchants and travelers. The accounts also reveal particular details, such as the costs associated with purchasing military arms in Bremen, Germany, and the subsequent financial transactions with the Peruvian government for their sale. Occasional references are made in the volume linking this to Mathewson's ongoing legal disputes. The account book is an oversize volume with heavy paper covers and stab-sewn pages.

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Jayne Ptolemy, April 2023

Background

Scope and Content:

This volume documents Henry Mathewson's accounts while he served as the master and supercargo of the ships Mercury and Superior from 1820 to 1827, provided as defense in legal disputes with Willard W. Wetmore who was a partner with one of the firms involved in the trading venture. It notes the expenses and income generated by voyages under Mathewson's command while at various ports in Germany, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Gibraltar, China, and others.

Mathewson's accounts provide insight into general seafaring conditions and Pacific mercantile pursuits. For example, they record wages for members of the crew, financial transactions relating to cargo purchases along the western coast of South America, dealing with government regulations, and commissions with other merchants and travelers. The costs of ship repairs, provisioning, and withstanding quarantine are well documented (pages 6, 12-13). Insights are also provided into the types of cargoes being shipped between South America and China, including timber, cotton, silver, gold, and specie (pages 30-31, 34, 39).

The accounts also reveal more particular details, like the costs associated with purchasing military arms in Bremen, Germany, and the subsequent financial transactions with the Peruvian government for their sale (pages 2, 6, 15, 26). Several entries also relate to hassles dealing with counterfeit or "bad" money (pages 6, 30, 35, 39, 46, 55). The accounts also demonstrate some of the unanticipated challenges of trade, like a failed deal to secure 1000 reams of Spanish Paper from a merchant at Rio de Janeiro (page 18) or being robbed by a steward (page 22). Small details about shipboard life also occasionally come to the surface, like the purchase of equipment for oceanic voyages, including a chronometer and sea charts of the Pacific Ocean (page 2), charts of the coast of Peru (page 26), or recovering money from a crewmember for smuggling gin from Germany to Peru (page 7).

Occasional references are made in the volume linking this to Mathewson's ongoing legal disputes, including accounts linked to unauthorized speculation in goods in 1822 and transactions with his business partners in Rhode Island (page 6). The volume includes a second section of accounts starting on page 41, preceded by the notice: "This statement of account, is exhibited by the Defft. Matthewson, not as the account by which he claims, unless the decision should be adverse to him on the question whether the owners of the Mercury as such had the same interest in the Superior her charter & voyage as they had in the Mercury. If the decision on this question is as Mathewson contends it should be, that the owners of the Mercury had not a joint interest with him in the Superior, these accounts will not be necessary, and are therefore exhibited hypothetically. But otherwise, they are his account of the Superior's voyage & employment."

The account book is an oversize volume with heavy paper covers and stab-sewn pages.

Biographical / Historical:

From 1820 to 1826 Henry Mathewson was employed jointly by the Providence, Rhode Island, firm Edward Carrington & Co. and merchant Cyrus Butler to be the master and supercargo for the mercantile ship Mercury. He was directed to purchase military stores in Europe, ship them to Chili and Peru, and deliver and sell a cargo in Gibraltar. Upon successful completion of this voyage, Mathewson became part-owner of the Mercury and was to use the profits to continue trade, primarily along the west coast of South America and Canton, China. In 1825 following a storm at sea, the Mercury's condition was deemed unseaworthy, and the ship was sold at auction. Mathewson then chartered the Superior without the consent of his partners and continued his trade in South America and Canton, before returning to Rhode Island in 1827. During these voyages, Mathewson also performed independent business dealings in conjunction with his agreement with his Rhode Island partners.

According to the court records, the following is a timeline of Mathewson's voyages:

• April 1821: Sailed from Bremen, Germany, with military stores
• August 1821: Arrived at Valparaiso, Chile
• September 1821: Arrived at Lima, Peru. Detained for 10 months awaiting payment from the Peruvian government.
• June 1822: Chartered for a voyage to Gibraltar by way of Rio de Janeiro
• November 1822: Arrived at Gibraltar
• February 1823: Arrived at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• April 1823: Arrived at Valparaiso, Chile
• July 1823: Arrived at Callao, Peru
• October 1823: Arrived at Arica, Chile
• December 1823: Arrived at Callao, Peru
• January 1824: Set sail for Canton, China
• April 1824: Arrived at Canton, China
• July 1824: Set sail for the Americas
• October 1824: Arrived at Monterrey, Mexico
• January 1825: Arrived at Mazatlán, Mexico
• March 1825: Set sail for Lima, Peru
• June 1825: Landed at Guayaquil, Ecuador, due to damage sustained in a storm. Ship was condemned and sold.
• September 1825: Proceeded to Lima, Peru, in the steamboat Tilica which was destroyed during the passage
• November 1825: Arrived at Lima, Peru, and chartered "three fourths of the ship Superior. He claimed to do this "upon his sole responsibility and risk, and therefore to be entitled to all the profits, allowing to Butler, Carrington & Co. only the interest upon such portion of the partnership funds as were invested in the adventure."
• November 1825: Set sail for Canton, China
• March 1826: Arrived at Canton
• June 1826: Set sail for Valparaiso, Chile
• October 1826: Arrived at Valparaiso, Chile
• June 1827: Arrived at Providence, Rhode Island

In 1830, Mathewson was sued by Willard W. Wetmore, who had entered into partnership with Edward Carrington & Co. in 1821. Wetmore demanded an account of Mathewson's business as master and supercargo of the Mercury and Superior and for a discovery of all his transactions during his employment with the firm. This led to a protracted legal dispute about Mathewson's intertwined personal and business accounts and the extent of his agreement with the business partners, which was ultimately decided in the United States Supreme Court in 1848. Judgement was against Mathewson, and the profits from his personal business affairs during the period were forfeited.

Acquisition Information:

2023. M-7768 .

Arrangement:

The collection is a single bound volume.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

Carrington Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society.

Henry Mathewson Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society.

Bibliography

Howard, Benjamin C. Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States, January Term, 1847. Vol. 6. 2nd Edition. Banks Law Publishing Co.: New York, 1912.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Commerce--China.
Commerce--South America.
Sailing ships.

Formats:

Accounts.
Legal documents.

Names:

Carrington & Co.
Mercury (ship)
Superior (ship)
Butler, Cyrus, 1767-1849.
Mathewson, Henry.

Places:

Callao (Callao, Peru)--Commerce.
Gibraltar--Commerce.
Guangzhou (China)--Commerce.
Lima (Peru)--Commerce.
Pacific Coast (South America)—Commerce.
Valparaíso (Chile)--Commerce.