John Welsh, Jr., Letter Book

Résumé du livre

Letter book containing copies of correspondence of Boston, Massachusetts, merchant and general store owner John Welsh, Jr., dated from 1781 to 1786. Letters concern ships' voyages and trade in the United States, Europe, and the West Indies of commodities including tobacco, Havana cigars, coffee, cocoa, Spanish indigo, fish, salt, Russian duck, bar iron, and looking glasses. Welsh sought to acquire items like glass, lead, nails, and English stationery. Other topics include the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the relocation of his shop in Boston, privateering, and sale and manufacture of paper hangings. He also writes about the exchange of pet birds and his efforts to obtain a goldfinch. Frequent correspondents included his brother, Jacob Welsh (1755-1822; Harvard AB 1774), and Joseph Ketchum, also merchants.