Benjamin Newton business records

The Benjamin Newton papers contain personal and professional correspondence, shipping, and financial records pertaining to Newton's work as supercargo for various merchant firms involved in the China trade during the 1840s to 1860s. The bulk of Newton's business papers are financial and shipping records consisting of charters, agreements, bills, invoices, accounts, and accounts current with specific merchant firms.

The correspondence includes letters to well-known firms including Gordon & Talbot of New York City, Olyphant & Co. of Canton, and Augustine Heard & Co. of Canton. The letters highlight the movement of goods, market prices of merchandise, and the overall economic climate. Newton traded various goods including tea, rattan, spices, firecrackers, silk, and oils. Letters from Newton's nephew John B. Newton relate to his travels to California to seek business opportunities, the arrival of ships loaded with goods, sales of merchandise for profits, and overall economic climate in San Francisco, California. Benjamin's brother James and his nephew John B. collaborated in a San Francisco wholesale dry goods and commission merchant business and with Benjamin's connection to Augustine Heard & Co. the firm was able to import goods from China. Also included are personal letters from family members including his brothers Edward and James, 1844-1864.