Scope and Contents
Contains letters from Philadelphia merchant Robert Morris to business partners James Wilson (1742-1798) and John Nicholson (1757-1800), dated 1789-1799. A letter to Wilson in 1789 acquaints him with Alexander Davey, who had brought Morris a letter from Samuel Chase (1741-1811) about land claims of the United Illinois and Wabash Land Companies, in which Morris, Wilson, and Chase were investors. Morris suggests he and Wilson participate in lobbying the newly formed federal government on behalf of the company to secure the claims. Most of his letters to Nicholson were written from debtors’ prison, where Morris was confined from 1798 to 1801; he references the auction of Georgia lands they owned through the North American Land Company and any plans to circumvent the sale, and discusses their former business partner James Greenleaf (1765-1843), who was to be released from debtors' prison. Morris also writes about his Chestnut Street mansion, designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant (1754-1825), as well as merchants William Sansom (1763-1840) and Standish Forde (1759-1806). The Chestnut Hills property was purchased by Sansom, and Forde and his partners acquired Morris’ country house, "The Hills", at a sheriff’s auction.
Dates
- Creation: 1789-1799
Creator
- Morris, Robert (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information on access procedures and reproduction services.
Extent
.25 linear feet (1 oversize folder)Biographical / Historical
Robert Morris (1734-1806) was a Philadelphia merchant and land speculator who helped finance the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, and he signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. From 1754-1779, he was a partner in the import-export business of Willing, Morris & Company; the firm briefly engaged in the slave trade in the 1760s. Morris also was a member of the Pennsylvania state assembly (1778-1781, 1785-1787), and a United States senator (1789-1795). With John Nicholson and James Greenleaf, he formed the North American Land Company in 1795, with options to purchase six million acres of land in the District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. The company was authorized by the government to issue stock based on the amount of land it owned, but struggled to sell shares. In addition, some of the titles to the land it claimed were unverified, and certain lands were barren and difficult to sell. Morris and his partners each fell into debt, and unable to pay his creditors, Morris was imprisoned from 1798 to 1801. He died in Philadelphia on May 8, 1806.
Physical Location
MANU
Processing Information
Processed: May 2021 By: Baker Library Special Collections Staff
Creator
- Morris, Robert (Person)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak01412
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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