Overview
The Thomas Gibbons business papers document his steam ferry business and personal life in New Jersey and New York, 1803-1862.
Dates
- Creation: 1803-1862
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
0.5 linear feet (1 box)The Thomas Gibbons business papers relate to his New Jersey-based steam ferry company, managed in part by a young Cornelius Vanderbilt and run after Gibbons's death by his son William Gibbons. The bulk of the papers consist of financial records, correspondence, published materials, and contracts pertaining to his steam ferry enterprise, 1803-1862. The collection also contains a few papers related to Thomas Gibbons's personal life, 1803-1834.
Historical Note:
Thomas Gibbons was born at Mulberry Hill, his father's plantation outside of Savannah, Georgia, in 1757. In 1810, Thomas Gibbons moved north and purchased property in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He purchased a large private dock facility in Elizabethtown a few years later. After a failed partnership with Col. Aaron Ogden, Thomas Gibbons purchased the steam ferry Stoudinger in 1817 and began to operate a ferry business between Elizabethtown and New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1818, Thomas Gibbons purchased another steam ferry, the Bellona, and hired young Cornelius Vanderbilt to captain the ship. Impressed with the young captain, Gibbons in time let Vanderbilt manage much of the enterprise's day-to-day operation. Several other steam ferries, including the Thistle, Swan, and Emerald, were purchased by Thomas Gibbons over the next few years.
When Thomas Gibbons began running ferries between New Jersey and New York, legal disputes arose with Aaron Ogden. In order to operate steam ferries on the same route, Ogden purchased a license from the heirs of Robert Livingston, who had with Robert Fulton been granted a monopoly on all steam travel in the area by the state legislature of New York. Thomas Gibbons refused to acknowledge the monopoly. The case eventually made it to the United States Supreme Court, where Thomas Gibbons was represented by Congressman Daniel Webster and Attorney General William Wirt. The ruling of Gibbons v. Ogden came in 1824, with Chief Justice John Marshall declaring the New York monopoly and all such monopolies on interstate waters unconstitutional. Thomas Gibbons passed away on May 15, 1826 in New York. After his death his son William Gibbons managed the company's affairs. William Gibbons was aided in this task by Cornelius Vanderbilt until 1829, when Vanderbilt left to pursue his own interests.
Series Outline
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series I. Business papers, 1803-1862
- Series II. Personalpapers, 1803-1834
Physical Location
MANU
Provenance:
Purchase, 2012.
Processing Information
Processed: March 2013
By: Timothy Walsh
Subject
- Gibbons, Thomas (1757-1826) (Person)
- Gibbons, William (Person)
- Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877 (Person)
- Title
- Gibbons, Thomas, 1757-1826. Thomas Gibbons Business Papers, 1803-1862 (inclusive), 1803-1852 (bulk): A Finding Aid
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak00221
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
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