Charles Henry Taylor collection of privateering papers
Overview
A collection of papers relating to privateering, primarily concerning the United States.
Dates
- 1718-1928
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
Extent
4 linear feet (8 boxes and 1 volume)Contains correspondence, ships' logs, journals, a commonplace book, accounts and account books, legal and financial documents, receipts, bills of sale, invoices, safe conduct documents, cargo manifests, prize inventories, insurance policies, powers of attorney, letters of marque, lists of crews and prisoners, a photograph, and printed material and clippings pertaining to privateering.
Materials are pertinent especially to the War of 1812, but also some are from earlier and later years. Many of the vessels listed here originated from Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Includes extensive papers of the Harris family (merchants of Portsmouth, New Hampshire); the papers of Thomas G. Thornton as United States Marshal for the District of Maine; and a few papers of Enoch Greenleafe Parrott, the Naval agent for the Port of Portsmouth; and some of privateer Captain William Rice of Portsmouth; and many others. Also includes a manuscript document signed by John Hancock and one signed by James Madison and much of the material includes autograph manuscript notes by the collector, Charles Henry Taylor.
Biographical / Historical
A privateer is an armed ship that is privately owned and manned, but is commissioned by a government to fight or harass enemy ships during wartime. A government authorized a privateer by means of "letters of marque." Privateering was a way for a government to mobilize armed ships and sailors without spending treasury resources or committing naval officers. The privateer ship's crew would hope to capture enemy ships and collect the cargo as their "prize."
Charles Henry Taylor (1846-1921) was the founder and developer of the Boston Globe and its editor for forty-eight years. He was a veteran of the Civil War and had also served in the Massachusetts legislature. His son, Charles Henry Taylor, Jr. (1867-1941), was treasurer and director of the Globe Newspaper Company for forty-four years, was known as an antiquarian and collector of rare books and prints, and held memberships in many historical and literary societies and scholarly organizations. Taylor Jr. was the collector, organizer and donor of these papers.
The Harris family of Portsmouth, New Hampshire figures prominently in these papers. Thomas Aston Harris (1786-1824) and Abel Harris (1763-1829) were merchants and traders in goods with Great Britain and the West Indies and owners of various ships. Their brothers Theodore Harris and Robert Harris (1771-1822) were also involved in the shipping business. Many of the papers here are from the Harris ships which were involved in privateering.
Dr. Thomas Gilbert Thornton of Saco, Maine was the United States marshal for the District of Maine from 1803- l824. Papers from the United States marshals office for the District of Maine are included here as well as this office was also involved with privateers and their "prize cargoes."
Arrangement
Arranged into the following series:
- I. Documents, by name of ship
- II. Papers of Harris family, merchants of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by date
- III. Papers of Thomas G. Thornton as United States Marshal for the District of Maine, by date
- IV. Manuscripts concerning privateering, found loose
- V. Printed materials concerning privateering
Physical Location
b [Shelved at end of bMS Am awaiting end-processing]
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Gift of Charles Henry Taylor; received: 1928-1932.
No accession number. Transfer from Widener. [Materials in item (133) were all found in 2002 in a folder labeled "Nav" in Houghton's Old Widener stack area].
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
Processing Information
This finding aid was revised in 2023 to address outdated and harmful descriptive language. During that revision, contextualizing processing notes were added to the description of two items. For more information on reparative archival description at Harvard, see Harvard Library’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
- Title
- Taylor, Charles Henry, 1867-1941, collector. Charles Henry Taylor collection of privateering papers, 1718-1928: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02536
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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