18th-century spelling of names has been preserved.
All correspondence dates are standardized rather than transcribed, viz: yr mo/day.
Dates of an individual are given in parentheses; dates of materials within a container are given without parentheses.
Though not all letters are listed individually, those that are highlighted are done so on the basis of content of the letter or historical importance of the letter writer. Contents notes are often provided at the point of introduction of a new box or folder.
Abbreviations used: ES Sr.= Edward Shippen Sr.; ES Jr.= Edward Shippen Jr.
Effort has been made to separate letters and other documents of Edward Shippen Sr. and Edward Shippen Jr., but because they lived at the same time, especially because their career paths were so similar, and because as letter writers they did not always specify Jr. or Sr., and finally because handwriting of Jr. and Sr. are not always easy to differentiate, for all these reasons, researchers may find some mixing of Jr. and Sr. materials.
Some of the documents in this collection had been damaged by fire prior to their donation to Haverford College. Some documents are in fragile condition.
Materials are arranged in the following series:
Edward Shippen Sr. (1703-1781) was born in Boston, MA and died in Lancaster, PA. In 1725, he married Sarah Plumly. He was in business with James Logan in 1732 and later with Thomas Lawrence in the fur-trade business. In 1744, he was elected mayor of Philadelphia. From 1745 and for several years, he was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1752, he moved to Lancaster where he served as a prothonotary (chief clerk of a court, including recorder of deeds) until 1778. Shippen was also paymaster for supplies for British and Provincial forces, a county judge under the provincial government. He founded Shippensburg College and was a founder of the College of NJ (Princeton), Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society, an original subscriber to the University of Pennsylvania and was the first chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Edward Shippen Jr. (1728/9-1806) was born and died in Philadelphia. At the age of 17, he began to study law, completing his studies in London at the Middle Temple. He was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1750. He was appointed judge of the Vice-Admiralty in 1752, prothonotary of the Supreme Court from 1762-76, a member of the Provincial Council from 1770-75. He became the president judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1784 and simultaneously, judge of the Court of Error and Appeals from 1784-1806. He was made justice for the dock ward in Philadelphia in 1785, president of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Peace and Oyer and Terminer in 1785, Associate Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1791-99 and Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1799-1805. He was a treasurer of the College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania) in 1764 and was a trustee of the university from 1791-1800 wrote the first law reports in Pennsylvania in 1790 and received an LL.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Shippen Jr. often worked on behalf of his father, both in business and personal matters.
Edward Burd (1750/1-1833) was a lawyer, practicing in Reading, Pa. until 1776 when he joined the colonial army as a volunteer. Appointed to the High Court of Errors and Appeals, he was also Prothonotary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court until 1805.
James B. Hubley (b. 1788) was a practicing attorney for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held at Lancaster.
The Bank of PA was founded in 1781.
(Information from Appleton’s Cyclopedia, University of Delaware website and internal evidence)
The collection consists primarily of the papers of the Burd, Hubley, Patterson, Schall and Shippen families. The main protagonists are Edward Shippen, Sr., Edward Shippen, Jr., and Edward Burd. An additional, significantly-represented correspondent is James B. Hubley. Historically-prominent letter writers include: David Bacon, Owen Biddle, William Bradford, Benjamin Chew, George Clymer, Tench Coxe, John Dickinson, Josiah Dickinson, Henry Drinker, John Fothergill, Reuben Haines, Thomas Holme, Benjamin Levy, James Logan, Timothy Matlack, Thomas McKean, Anthony Morris, Israel Pemberton, John Penn, Plumsted, William, David Rittenhouse. Benjamin Rush, Nicholas Scull and Conrad Weiser. The collection as a whole provides an important view, especially of 18th-, but also 19th-century Philadelphia. The greatest emphasis of the collection is on legal matters with the range of cases appearing before the Pennsylvania Courts: divorce, assault, trespassing, murder, theft, counterfeiting, burglary, and property. There are also personal financial accounts, which provide a picture of life in 18th-century Philadelphia for people of means. The series on individual or family papers includes wills and property documents, such as for the estates of John Alford, William Allen and Humphrey Morrey, Edward Hubley and James B. Hubley. Included in Edward Burd’s court accounts filed in box 4 is a list of payment to witnesses in the trial of John Roberts and Abraham Carlisle, the two Quakers who were executed for treason during the Revolutionary War. The Patterson family papers in box 8 include correspondence of Francis H. Patterson, with the US Patent Office and Scientific American in 1887-8 relating to his new photographic camera and patent process. Edward Shippen, Sr. correspondence in box 9 is primarily on legal matters, some indicating how he and his son, Edward Shippen, Jr. worked together. There are also some legal documents and accounts as well as some personal accounts, the latter indicating household purchases for himself, family and servants, or services retained. Edward Shippen, Jr. letters in box 10 relate to both family and business matters, especially land and money. There are also some personal and business accounts, as well as some documents on legal matters, including the shipment and sales of goods. There are some documents reflecting the association of both Edward Shippen, Sr. and Jr.’s involvement with the College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania). The series on financial accounts include Supreme Court (Pa.) or other legal costs (box 14), Corporation or City of Philadelphia accounts (box 15) which relate primarily to the building and maintenance of the city, taxation and fines, but also to civil affairs, and some miscellaneous personal, court or other legal financial records. The City Tavern in Philadelphia was used, at least in a quasi-capacity, for official hearings, e.g. when subpoenaed witnesses appeared before referees appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The series on legal documents (box 17) relates to court, mostly criminal, matters. The legal documents point to the range of cases appearing before the Pennsylvania Courts: divorce, assault, trespassing, murder, theft, counterfeiting, burglary. The series on organizational papers, graphics and miscellaneous (box 18) includes information on the establishment of the Bank of Pennsylvania, on Philadelphia business, including petitions to the mayor and on city services; also a list of subscribers to the Turnpike Road Company at Lancaster; an unattributed diary of a business trip to PA and NY; some genealogical and biographical information on the Evans, Gregg, Hubley, Patterson, Potter and Schall families; and some miscellaneous graphic materials. The series on shipping, land and monetary documents includes documents relating to cargo, sale, ownership, accounts, insurance and condemnation of vessels, as well as agreements of sale for land in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Berks, Bucks and Schuylkill Counties and some personal promissory documents.
Gift of December 1999.
April 2001
©April 2001
Accession #6227.
Note: Edward Shippen, Jr., was executor of John Alford’s estate.
Note: Primarily letters to Edward Burd, some on personal, some on legal matters pertaining to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and other court matters. These are arranged alphabetically. Also letters from Edward Burd, in the periods 1762-1823, and Edward Burd, Jr.
Many of the letters relate to legal matters.
[relates to an indictment around 1778 following the violent abduction of a Negro man]+
Chester, 1783 10/? [requests Burd have printers insert information in their papers about Supreme Court Judges and Attorney General traveling around the state]
[condolence on the death of his grandfather (James Burd’s father) and request for a horse to be brought to him]
[refers to Delancey’s divorce and more recent marriage]
[upon the death of their nephew, H.B. Grubb, discusses the financial situation of his family and estate]
[requests Burd to let Mr. Bradford know that a subpoena had been served and requests a copy of the court judgment against Negro London convicted of man slaughter by the (Pa.) Supreme Court and costs of the process] +
[availability of boards in various woods and cost]
[on the marriage of their children]
[Burd’s servant Caspar has absconded with the servants of the Chief Justice and Mr. Lea and the mortgage Burd had written was missing]
[examinations of individuals involved in court cases]
[thanks Burd for his loan which allowed him to set himself up in business and is befriended by the Secretary at War]
[Lewis can “put off some paper money equal to gold and silver”, so Burd can send him some money to pay his fees in the case of Pemberton vs. Roberts] +
[the movement of the enemy being unknown, the Council has decided to send public records, books and papers to a safe place, and Burd should get his records ready to be removed; this order is confidential and alarm should not be raised among citizens] +
[requests certificates of officers who have served & relates the motto suitable to the present occasion “now or never”] +
[Burd owes the state of Pennsylvania from the time it was a Province for items furnished by the Commissioners for Indian Trade] +
[has been imprisoned, made an escape, was caught again, and asks that Burd put his case before Council so he could leave the state or states] +
[questions whether attorneys should have access to writs of certiorari and habeas corpus or whether the Prothonotary should not be responsible for them] +
Accounts relating to improvements on Burd’s home, purchase of fabric, paper and art supplies, payment (“subsistence”) to workers; painting coaches
Note: Official documents in this file offer a view of the kinds of cases that came before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- testimonies (including by Thomas Mifflin, 1783);
- receipt of deed for a house on Market Street signed by Thomas Paine, 1795);
- Burd’s list of legal precedents in the prosecution of a case (1803);
- lists of the types and numbers of cases appearing before the court (n.d.);
- a list of cases (“executions”) in Schuylkill Co. (Pa., n.d.);
- legal diary summarizing cases, probably kept by Edward Burd, ca. 1819-1825
Note: Edward Burd was Prothonotary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and in that capacity created or retained financial accounts relating to court cases. The accounts provide an understanding of the numbers of cases being heard, and in some instances the kinds of cases.
Included here is the Dec. 28, 1778 list of payment to witnesses in the trial of John Roberts and Abraham Carlisle, the two Quakers who were executed for treason during the Revolutionary War on the slight evidence that they were Tory sympathizers. + There are lists of executions of legal documents (any document that went before the court, including indentures, land transactions, etc. had to be executed to be processed), such as the list of wills, e.g. April – September 1787 with payments indicated in pounds The document docketed “List of Jurors fined, January Term 1789 Philada County” gives some insight on 18th-century jury system +
[discusses selling her fishery and buying a house] +
Note: James Burd (1726-1793) was a commissioner in laying road to Ohio. He served in the army for 20 years, attaining the rank of colonel in 1758, fighting in the French and Indian War. He left the army after some incidents and criticism and became a county judge. Burd married Sarah Shippen (1730-1784), daughter of Edward Shippen, in 1748. Includes financial accounts, correspondence, including with his wife, child and brother, land indentures
[re his business which took him to Jamaica, ships coming from London and pleasures of life]
[100 L in Pennsylvania currency received as part of his wife’s legacy from Humphrey Morrey (Murrey) estate] +
[account indicates purchase of specific books, articles of clothing, school tuition (son Edward attended a French school) and business expenses] +
[letter of resignation from the army]
Notes on a report relating to the gravestones of Col. Burd and his wife, Sarah.
Note: This James Burd married Sarah – (d. 1855)
[Burd’s son has assessed brother Edward’s lands and suggests they are very poor, that the Negro who lives there can hardly make a living, neighbors are almost all Catholic] +
[on Burd’s resignation from the a survey post in (Dept.) of Revenue for the Third District]
[supports his brother, Joseph, in his support of order and good government, this being necessary by the “people to the Westward should make these arrangements necessary”] +
Note: Almost exclusively personal accounts, there are also 3 letters written by Burd to her daughter, Sally Yeates, advertisement (1836), fine from the Library Company (1836); published will of Sarah Burd, 1855
Note: Included are two series: correspondence (dealing with land sales, legal matters, such as estates and personal news) and documents (primarily legal)
Note: Primarily relate to sales of his property and legal issues
[family news; a dance to be held in honor of General Washington, which probably won't be well-attended, as the greater part of the ladies have become very religious and disapprove of dancing]+
Note: Primarily relate to family news, property and legal business
[practicing attorney for the Supreme Court of Penna. held at Lancaster, but necessity requires admission to practice at the Supreme Court of NY and Col. Burr has made application for him to be admitted] +
[communicates Clement Biddle’s analysis of the escheat laws of Pennsylvania which he believes to be defective and which Hubley describes]
[acting on his resolution not to accept any command in the militia in time of peace, he is resigning his appointment as 1st Lieut. of the 3oth Regiment of the Penna. Militia]
[smallpox raging in Phila. and people are being vaccinated; fond of the grape and has made some wine]
[murder conviction and insanity of the convicted]
Note: Humphrey Morrey was a Philadelphia distiller. William Allen and Edward Shippen were executors of his estate.
[old graveyard to be taken over by Presbyterians, and asks if Patterson wants to have some of his ancestors removed to the new cemetery] +
Partly printed.
Appointment of Burd Patterson to the World’s Fair Committee, exposition to be held in London, 1851.
[re Patterson’s new photographic camera and patent process]+
[allowing mining for clay on Pawling’s property for 3 years]
[has presented Patterson’s patent for a machine] +
Promissory note signed by Patterson.
[Agreement allowing Bryson to board at James Patterson’s house]
Abstract of a deed from James Burd Patterson to Richard Hear.
Note: Letters are regarding land and estates written as a lawyer, sometimes to his son, as well as personal to his son, Edward Shippen, Jr.
[for her health’s sake, cautions her not to go out before breakfast; how gossip spreads]
[gives his son 166 £ for his sister]
Added to this letter are letters to other people, all of which are copies.
[gives description of life-style, recommending it to son, especially not to abuse drink, nor to be idle, “pleasure is only for crowned heads”] +
[wealth not as important as good family life]
[spoke with the Governor and succeeded in preventing a “pernicious” bill from passing]
[Order to open the road from Elizabeth Furnace to the mine hole.]
[sends copy of a lease from Anthony Morris; deed for lot of cooper’s shop in Morris Alley]
Note: Primarily on legal matters: land, bonds, wills, estates
[law about land holdings]
[news received of Indians and French in a “large body in the cove” and ready to attack; in need of arms and ammunition to fight enemy; hope for help from Philadelphia donations]
[re will of Col. Alford giving some money towards “gospellizing” the Indians] +
[re Samuel Wallace’s bond]
[reports to Shippen on his success or lack of success in the sale of land]
[Charles Pettit, who chose to side with the wrong side in the Revolutionary War ended up in reduced circumstances, resulting in his selling of his mills and land]
Note: I. Some accounts or receipts in ES Sr.’s hand. Some indicate how father and son, Edward Shippen Jr., worked together. II. The personal accounts indicate household purchases for himself, family and servants, or services retained. III. Some are signed by ES Sr. in the capacity of prothonotary or other posts.
Letters relate to both family and business matters, especially land and money. The document (1793) advises of a meeting of the trustees of the Academy of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Philadelphia.
[in view of depreciating state of Continental currency, Allen’s brother, executor of H. Morrey’s estate, wishes to invest the money]
[suggests he could make a device to prevent counterfeiting of bank bills, having given a sketch of his ideas to Mr. Rittenhouse] +
[business suffered during the long siege of British troops in Philadelphia] +
Personal accounts and receipts for such items as home and family staples and maintenance.
Personal accounts and receipts for such items as home and family staples and maintenance.
Note: Letters or other documents of Joseph Shippen, William Shippen. These are primarily financial accounts, but also an extract of the will of William Shippen.
Note: Shipments include sugar, and include from and to Antigua. Edward Shippen Jr. served in his capacity of Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court.
Note: Some documents may be E.S. Sr., most E.S. Jr.; the former was a subscriber, the latter was Treasurer of the College in 1764-65
Note: Documents in the A-Z boxes include: financial accounts, legal documents, letters, manuscript renderings of tracts of land, petitions, promissory notes, receipts
(except William Allen and (Col.) Alford: see separate box)
[petition to appoint him (Allen) Officer for Sizing and Sealing of Measures]
[accounts of individuals paid to the city and for services such as ringing the bell, sweeping streets, stall rents at the market]
[describes attractions in Texas in which he has just settled]
[relates story of a sailor on board the Roxanne who was drunk and deserted the ship and was punished]
[Bradford's financial account includes "Acadamy [sic] lottery tickets" and prizes of dollars]
[proposes to give £50 to maintain dock landings]
[requests settlement of accounts with City Tavern]
[re leasing of Ferry for his residence from city of Philadelphia]
[land deeds relating to Ege's property]
[certificate indicating that the ship Snow Industry had transported troops and its captain had been paid by the King's instruction] +
[account indicating Griffitts paid by the Corporation of Philadelphia for the purchase of fire engine buckets]
[promissory note signed by Hart and others, including Benjamin Levy for a debt owed Abraham Taylor, deputy collector of his Majesty's Customs in the port of Philadelphia as payment for the Brigantine Elizabeth and its furnishings] +
[requests portion of prize money for their sloop the Diana which had 49 hands and 14 guns mounted the the prize was taken] +
[poem received by Heydrick in German and set to music; shows and-painted musical notes and text]
[inventory of estate of Arnold Nufnail and partition of the land among 4 siblings, female sibling's part conveyed to her husband; payment by Hoofnagle (Hufnail) to siblings for portion of estate] +
[petition to mayor of Philadelphia to assist in repair of street damaged by flooding]
[recommends a person under his command in the Pennsylvania Regiment of Artillery for a post at the City Tavern]
[deed for 3,000 acres of land in Philadelphia for Randolph Janney]
[discusses the fair division of land among all of them, but if necessary she will take the matter to court]
[business concerns and weakened economy in Philadelphia, including: 1793 5/24: regarding his business and the purchase of linens from Dublin and rum, and noting the "disturbed state of things in Europe"] +
[account with the city of Philadelphia for supplies and rent of areas in the city which depict the life and geography of the city
[signed copy of sketch of property belonging Jacob Wyler]
[1782 ¼: having served in the army to the detriment of his business, he became deranged and now wishes to become a tenant in the City Tavern]
[regarding a portrait of his grandfather painted by Rembrandt Peale; (on the same paper is a letter by D.J. Porter (also a copy) stating that his grandfather's portrait was painted by Charles Peale]
[receipts, including 3 ground rents received]
[requests Paine sell his house in Philadelphia and convert to stocks or bills, for if the war continues, and it is likely that "West India and American produce will answer better"] +
[relates to establishment of an Office of Clerk Of the Estreats (?) to recover and collect fines, forfeitures and the like]
[re land owners in Lebanon (Pa.) Township who were killed by Indians] +
[financial accounts, receipts; 1742: agreement to pay Jane Grant 97 pounds four shillings "of current lawful money of America according to an act of Parliament made in the sixth year of her late Majesty;s reign for ascertaining the rates of foreign coins in the plantations" +]
[glad he (cousin) is with the Captains Commission departing for Martinico [Martinique?) to help acquire it for England; gives genealogical information and discusses his inheritance]
[working to pay creditors; when some of his pictures in Philadelphia faded, he worked to remedy the defect, and again had trouble with creditors, though established a name for himself in Phila.; many Tories have arrived in England and Scotland who fear repercussions for not signing an association; knows General Washington, a quiet but purposeful, moderate, industrious and prudent man, well; Gen. Gage thinks "we" are too strong for them; hopes war will be concluded happily soon]
[memorandum regarding loan of £ 1,000 to the managers for the building of the City Tavern (signature cut out)
[informs him and Corporation of Phila. that purchase of an island off Philadelphia and improvements to wharves, etc. may be injurious to the navigation of the (Delaware) River or to the port] +
[receipts signed by Rittenhouse as Pa. State treasurer)
[financial account of Roberts with Corporation of Philadelphia, 1723-24 & settled in 1731]
[financial account of Robinson with Corporation of Philadelphia, 1732-34 & settled in 1734; signed also by Israel Pemberton, John Jones and Peter Roys]]
[incident between Schetter and another soldier, both in the company of Col. Weiser, in which the second soldier was killed, but the perpetrator reporting that Indians had shot him] +
[account of Scull with 1744-47 with Corporation of Philadelphia
[accounts of William Plumstead and Franks, 1763-1766, with Simon and letters re]
[bill of sale of 2 "Negro" slaves, the property of the deceased General Thompson]
[listing & evaluation of some part of the Griffey estate by J. Warder & Co.]
[report of a woman who complained of a cold, but gave birth in his house]
[regarding sales of property, such as buildings and land (e.g. portion of Baskino's Island in 1779); estates; actions of the Supreme Court of Penna. and legislature]
[re independence and French Court on peace accord] +
[re business matters and reference to (Anthony) Benezet and Hugel]
[1843 7/12: statement regarding his separation from his wife Eliza Buckley Yeates +]
Note: Humphrey Morrey (d. ca. 1746) was a Philadelphia distiller. William Allen and Edward Shippen were executors of his estate.
Note: Edward Shippen, Jr., was executor of John Alford's estate.
[old graveyard to be taken over by Presbyterians, and asks if Patterson wants to have some of his ancestors removed to the new cemetery] +
[re Patterson's new photographic camera and patent process] +
[allowing mining for clay on Pawling's property for 3 years]
[has presented Patterson's patent for a machine] +
[Agreement allowing Bryson to board at James Patterson's house]
[re Patterson's mortgage]
[requests money due him so he can make a relocate to the West]
Note: Primarily letters to Edward Burd. These are arranged alphabetically. Also letters from Edward Burd, in the periods 1762-1823 & and Edward Burd, Jr., 1798-1827
[relates to an indictment around 1778 following the violent abduction of a Negro man] +
[requests Burd have printers insert information in their papers about Supreme Court Judges and Attorney General traveling around the state
Note: Edward Burd was Prothonotary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and in that capacity created or retained financial accounts relating to court cases. The accounts provide an understanding of the numbers of cases being heard, and in some instances the kinds of cases.
[discusses selling her fishery and buying a house] +
Note: James Burd (1726-1793) was a commissioner in laying road to
Ohio. He served in the army for 20 years, attaining the rank of colonel in
1758, fighting in the French and Indian War. He left the army after some
incidents and criticism and became a county judge. Burd married Sarah Shippen
(1730-1784), daughter of Edward Shippen, in 1748. Information from the
University of Delaware, Burd Collection
[re his business which took him to Jamaica, ships coming from London and pleasures of life]
[100 L in Pennsylvania currency received as part of his wife's legacy from Humphrey Morrey (Murrey) estate] +
[account indicates purchase of specific books, articles of clothing, school tuition (son Edward attended a French school) and business expenses] +
[letter of resignation from the army]
Note: Burd married Sarah - (d. 1855)
[Burd's son has assessed brother Edward's lands and suggests they are very poor, that the Negro who lives there can hardly make a living, neighbors are almost all Catholic] +
[on Burd's resignation from the a survey post in (Dept.) of Revenue for the Third District]
[supports his brother, Joseph, in his support of order and good government, this being necessary by the "people to the Westward should make these arrangements necessary"] +
Note: The Bank of Pennsylvania was established in 1784.
[on the importance of well-run banks, and the question of consolidating national and state banks] +
[re stockholders' meeting]
[establishing two Penna. banks would not be in the best interests of the state and the appointment of bank directors] +
Note: Items include petitions to the mayor for personal business requests, some signed by individuals, others by groups of people, a number of them dealing with the ferry and wharves on the Schuylkill River; documents signed by the mayor; minutes of the Common Council of Philadelphia directing action on a citizen's petition; reports on city services
[appointing Benjamin Shoemaker of Philadelphia as city solicitor]
[dealing with a citizens' complaint about regulation of water conveyed in the area of High (Market) St.]
[address or petition to the mayor relating to the market in High (Market) Street]
[re survey of land in Berks Co. by Nicholas Scull]