Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Hubert S. Smith Naval Letters and Documents collection is made up of individual manuscripts relating to naval and commercial maritime operations.

The Hubert S. Smith Naval Letters and Documents collection is made up of over 380 manuscript letters and documents relating to maritime military, commercial, financial, and legal subjects from the 15th to the 20th centuries, primarily concerning Great Britain and America. The collection includes materials relating to Continental European wars, the American Revolution, the African slave trade, the Civil War, and exploratory ventures. The collection also reflects day-to-day ship operations and naval employment, diplomacy, marine technology, the purchase and sale of ships, insurance, and publications and books relating to maritime affairs. While primarily focused on English and American navies, the contributors discuss a wide variety of places, including continental Europe, the Baltic region, Russia, Asia, Turkey, South America, and Africa.

The first section of this volume contains 73 pages of accounting records for the New York and Canada Line, which shipped cargo on the Northeast Atlantic seaboard and along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The entries date from 1869 to 1873. A second section of the volume contains accounting and inventory records for an unidentified slate company, between 1889 and 1910. The final page contains a single entry by an unknown party for a lumber purchase in 1921.

The first section of this volume contains 73 pages of accounting records for the New York and Canada Line, which shipped cargo on the Northeast Atlantic seaboard and along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The entries date from 1869 to 1873 and they contain varying levels of detail, such as boat names; Captains' names; expenses (such as towing and freight fees); Captains' compensation; monetary details (such as monies exchanged by cash or check, and rates based upon a gold standard); and cargo (such as salt, coal/egg coal, pitch, rosin, clay, tobacco, and provisions).

Destinations referenced include:

• Albany, New York
• Burlington, Vermont
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Cornwall, Canada
• Fort Edward, New York
• Hillsborough, New York
• Montréal, Canada
• New York, New York
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Québec, Canada
• Richelieu, Québec, Canada
• Whitehall, New York

The second section of the volume, consisting of 24 pages, contains accounting and inventory records from 1889-1910 for an unidentified slate company.

The final page contains a single entry by an unknown party for a lumber purchase in 1921.