- Title
- Robert Morris papers, 1789-1799 (inclusive)
- Morris, Robert, 1734-1806, creator
- Pennsylvania
- 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.
- 1 folder.
- English
- Bills of exchange.
Correspondence. - Books and documents
- Cottringer, Garrett
FitzSimons, Thomas
Greenleaf, James
Morris, Robert
Nicholson, John
Wilson, James
North American Land Company.
United Illinois and Wabash Land Companies.
Real property--Transactions
Real property--Pennsylvania
Debt, Imprisonment for--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Land grants--Illinois
Real estate investment
Georgia--Land speculation--History - Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
Electronic finding aid available: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/bak01412/catalog - 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.
- Robert Morris Papers. Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
- Colonial North American Project at Harvard University
- Baker Library, Harvard Business School, Harvard University
- 990151166090203941
- Title
- Robert Morris papers, 1789-1799 (inclusive)
- Creator / Contributor
- Morris, Robert, 1734-1806, creator
- Place of Origin
- Pennsylvania
- Description
- 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.
- Extent
- 1 folder.
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Bills of exchange.
Correspondence. - Digital Format
- Books and documents
- Subjects
- Cottringer, Garrett
FitzSimons, Thomas
Greenleaf, James
Morris, Robert
Nicholson, John
Wilson, James
North American Land Company.
United Illinois and Wabash Land Companies.
Real property--Transactions
Real property--Pennsylvania
Debt, Imprisonment for--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Land grants--Illinois
Real estate investment
Georgia--Land speculation--History - Notes
- Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
Electronic finding aid available: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/bak01412/catalog - Biographical / Historical Note
- 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.
- Cite As
- Robert Morris Papers. Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
- Series
- Colonial North American Project at Harvard University
- Repository
- Baker Library, Harvard Business School, Harvard University
- Record ID
- 990151166090203941
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