Records of John Reynell and Samuel Coates
Scope and Contents
The Records of John Reynell and Samuel Coates, dated from 1735 to 1846, document how international and domestic trade was conducted in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and provides evidence that purchased goods were associated with the transatlantic slave trade including the purchase and sale of rum, molasses, and Santo Domingo cotton. Materials consist of invoices, accounts, promissory notes, bills and a small extent of correspondence related to the purchase and trade of flour, rum, sugar, linseed oil, and textiles, and the associated shipping expenses of these goods. The bulk of the records were generated by Samuel Coates, who engaged in coastwise trade of commodities like molasses and rum between Philadelphia and Newburyport, Massachusetts, and imported textiles and other manufactured goods from Great Britain and Holland.
Some letters with English merchants pertain to the impact of the non-importation agreements implemented by the colonies in response to the 1767 Townshend Acts. Correspondents included English importer Samuel Elam (1749 or 1750-1813) and the firm Mildred & Roberts, Newburyport merchant and politician Tristram Dalton (1738-1817), and Boston merchant Stephen Gorham (1747-1826). In addition, there are ships' papers for vessels transporting goods belonging to Coates, including the brig Two Brothers, which was stranded by a broken anchor in Newcastle, England, in 1808-1809. Letters from Captain Lemuel Pearson to Coates request a repaired anchor as well as instruction on how to proceed in the wake of the passage of the Embargo Act. Merchants referenced include William Wyer of Boston, John Pemberton (1727-1795) of Philadelphia, Isaac Hazelhurst & Co., and Benjamin Hornor & Son, as well as the firm of Coates & Randolph, managed by Samuel's brother, Josiah, and Edward Randolph. Coates also conducted business with several women: he bought fabrics and foodstuffs with Catharine Roberts and Elizabeth Allen of Philadelphia.
Coates' records also include financial records of his Philadelphia brewery, and records related to his involvement with the Pennsylvania Hospital and the Library Company of Philadelphia. letters and physicians' bills addressed to Coates associated with the Marine Hospital (later called the Lazaretto), which quarantined ship passengers prior to their entry into the city, during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. There additionally are personal accounts related to Coates' family and wards, including tuition bills for his children and bills for clothing and board.
Dates
- Creation: 1735-1846
Creator
- Coates, Samuel (1748-1830) (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection is predominantly in English; materials in Dutch and French are identified at the folder level.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
2 linear feet (5 boxes)Biographical / Historical
Reynell & Coates, a Philadelphia mercantile partnership of Quakers John Reynell (1708-1784) and his nephew, Samuel Coates (1748-1830), was established in 1771. Reynell and his wife, Mary Coates Reynell (1707-1773) adopted Samuel and his siblings after the death of Mary’s younger brother Samuel Coates, Sr. and sister-in-law Mary Langdale Coates in 1748. After John Reynell retired in 1782, nephew Samuel Coates continued the family business with his brother, Josiah Langdale Coates (1747-1809), until 1791. Josiah later established his own independent shipping business with his friend Edward Randolph. Samuel eventually partnered with merchants in Newburyport, Massachusetts when engaging in shipping ventures. Coates traded molasses, flour, iron, and rum, and he imported goods from England like buckles and textiles. Coates also operated a brewery in Philadelphia. Additionally, he was treasurer of the Library Company of Philadelphia (1784-1793); secretary and then president of the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital (1786-1825); a member of the Overseers of the Public Schools of Philadelphia. (1812-1823); and a director of the Bank of the United States (1800-1812). Coates married twice and was father to seven children. He was also guardian of his friend Captain William Vicary’s four children after Vicary died in 1784.
Misattribution note: As of April 2023, staff have determined that John Reynell was mistakenly attributed as engaging in the slave trade prior to the launch of his business. There is no evidence of this based on the content of the collection.
Some details of this biographical note are from the Coates and Reynell Family Papers held at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Physical Location
MANU
Provenance:
Gift of Charles H. Taylor, 1929.
Digitization Funding
Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
Processing Information
Processed: June 2017 By: Brooke McManus
Preservation and description were supported by the Arcadia-funded Colonial North American Project at Harvard University.
Harmful content note
Users should be aware that this collection may contain offensive, misrepresentative, or euphemistic content, including description of individuals or communities using derogatory or racist language, as well as visual or audiovisual content that may be difficult to view or to listen to. Baker Library Special Collections has not censored terms used by the creator or removed or censored materials from the collection.
Processing Information
The records comprise loose materials that were originally were tipped into ten different volumes in roughly chronological order.
Remediation note
As of April 2023, Baker Library Special Collections and Archives has reviewed, remediated and enhanced the full description of this collection (including but not limited to the author/creator, title, biographical/history note, scope and content note, arrangement, folder titles, and subject headings) where necessary according to Baker Library’s Guiding Principles for Conscious and Inclusive Description. Superseded versions of the finding aid and catalog record are available in Archive-It, a web archiving tool provided by the Internet Archive. Preserving legacy finding aids and catalog records to provide transparency to researchers about how the description has evolved. Please contact Baker Library staff at specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu with any feedback.
Subject
- Reynell & Coates (Organization)
- Reynell, John (1708-1794) (Person)
- Coates, Josiah Langdale (1747-1809) (Person)
Creator
- Coates, Samuel (1748-1830) (Person)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- bak00300
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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