Main content

Dutilh and Wachsmuth papers

Notifications

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
0184
Repository:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Extent:
1.5 linear feet (; 4 boxes, 1 flat file)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Dutilh and Wachsmuth Papers (Collection 0184), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Date:
1780-1800 (bulk) and 1704-1859 (bulk 1780-1800) (inclusive)
Creator:
Dutilh, Etienne, 1748-1810. and Wachsmuth, John Godfried, 1748-1828.
Abstract:
Étienne Dutilh emigrated from France to Philadelphia in 1783 and one year later became involved in a string of merchant firms bearing his name. In 1790, Dutilh forged a partnership with John Godfried Wachsmuth and the pair operated the mercantile house of Dutilh and Wachsmuth. Their firm was mainly engaged in the trade of coffee and sugar with the West Indies, Asia, and several European countries, such as the Netherlands and England. The Dutilh and Wachsmuth Papers span from 1704 to 1859 with the bulk of the materials dating between 1780 and 1800. The collection, which consists of four boxes, traces the activities of merchants Étienne Dutilh and John G. Wachsmuth and is rich in information about Atlantic shipping activities of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Most of the papers are bills, receipts, and shipping invoices relating to the mercantile house. These financial records as well as cargo lists, correspondence, and legal documents offer insight into the trading that occurred in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries between the West Indies, North America, and Europe. About a quarter of the documents in this collection are in French.

Dun, James Alexander. “What avenues of commerce, will you, Americans, not explore!": Commercial Philadelphia's Vantage onto the Early Haitian Revolution, William and Mary Quarterly 62 (July 2005). Available: History Cooperative; Address: http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/wm/62.3/dun.html.(August 2007). Rau, Louise. Dutilh Papers, Business Historical Society Bulletin 13 (November 1939). Available: Rutgers University Library; Address: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/index.shtml. (August 2007).

The materials in Box 1 and Box 2 folders 1-8 were purchased, Dreer Fund. The materials in Box 2 folders 9-23, Box 3, and Box 4 were a gift of Ferdinand Dreer.

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Abraham Dubois Papers, Collection 1636. http://www.hsp.org/sites/www.hsp.org/files/migrated/findingaid1636dubois.pdf Claude Unger Collection, Collection 1860A. John Stamper Letterbook, Collection 625. Leonard T. Beale Collection, Collection 1735. Powel Family Papers, Collection 1582. http://www.hsp.org/sites/www.hsp.org/files/migrated/findingaid1582powel.pdf French West Indies Collection, Collection 219. http://www.hsp.org/sites/www.hsp.org/files/migrated/findingaid219frenchwestindies.pdf

At other institutions: Dutilh and Wachsmuth Papers at the Hagley Museum and Library. Dutilh Papers in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library. Étienne Dutilh Papers at the Special Collections Library, Duke University. http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/rbmscl/guide/inv/ Merchants Collection (MS 206) at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University. http://ead.library.jhu.edu/ms206.xml Papers Relating to the British Seizure of American Ships (MS 82-4) at Wichita State University Library. http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/ms/82-04/82-4-A.HTML Peter Stephen DuPonceau Collection (Collection B D92p) at the American Philosophical Society. http://www.amphilsoc.org/mole/style/pdfoutput/Mss.B.D92p-ead.pdf

People
Organization
Subject
Occupation

Publisher
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Joanne Danifo
Finding Aid Date
August 2007
Sponsor
This finding aid was updated during the Digital Center for Americana Project Phase II, which was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Richard Lounsbery Foundation.
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Collection Inventory

Account statements, 1762-1799.
Box 1 Folder 1-2
Bills and invoices, 1791-1794, undated.
Box 1 Folder 3
Jacob Graff estate papers, 1768-1793.
Box 1 Folder 4
Charles Graff papers and covenant with Benedict Shipper, 1829-1856.
Box 1 Folder 5
John Dutilh estate paper, 1780-1806.
Box 1 Folder 6
Passenger and merchandise manifests, 1784-1794.
Box 1 Folder 7
Bond from Edward Dutilh to the Overseers of the Poor of Philadelphia, 1788.
Box 1 Folder 8
Stockar and D’Eberz: Correspondence excerpts, 1788 July.
Box 1 Folder 9
Bill of sale, article of agreement, and account statement, 1792-1801.
Oversize 1 Drawer 1
Journal from a voyage, 1789-1790.
Box 1 Folder 10
Bills and receipts, 1793-1808.
Box 1 Folder 11
Wastebook, 1795-1796.
Box 1 Folder 12
Fair American vessel papers, 1801-1804.
Box 1 Folder 13
Nottnagel, Montmollin and Company v. Joseph Coulon, 1802.
Box 1 Folder 14-15
Palmer and Higgins v. Dutilh, 1804.
Box 1 Folder 16
Palmer and Higgins v. Dutilh: Bills of Equity and interrogation papers, 1804.
Box 1 Folder 17
Palmer and Higgins v. Dutilh: Depositions, 1804.
Box 1 Folder 18
Palmer and Higgins v. Dutilh: Evidence list and agreement, 1804.
Box 1 Folder 19
Palmer and Higgins v. Dutilh: Isaac Lockwood evidence and deposition, 1804.
Box 1 Folder 20
Palmer and Higgins v. Dutilh and Insurance Company of Philadelphia v. Dutilh, 1804.
Box 1 Folder 21
Proceedings in the Court of Vice Admiralty of the Bahamas for the Nancy, 1804-1805.
Box 1 Folder 22
Case between Dutilh and Andrew Sequin regarding the Speedwell, 1807.
Box 1 Folder 23
John A. Dutilh membership certificate for "La Triple-Espérance", 1807 May 8.
Box 1 Folder 24
Instructions for the Minerva, undated.
Box 1 Folder 25
Miscellaneous, 1760-1838.
Box 1 Folder 26
Miscellaneous, 1771-1788.
Box 1 Folder 27
Miscellaneous, 1773-1837.
Box 1 Folder 28
Miscellaneous, 1789-1792.
Box 2 Folder 1
Miscellaneous, 1793.
Box 2 Folder 2
Miscellaneous, 1796-1800.
Box 2 Folder 3-4
Miscellaneous, 1801-1807.
Box 2 Folder 5-6
Miscellaneous, 1810-1842.
Box 2 Folder 7
Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 2 Folder 8

Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1746, 1776, 1780-1788.
Box 2 Folder 9
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1755-1768.
Box 2 Folder 10
Receipts, 1759-1778.
Box 2 Folder 11
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1776-1785.
Box 2 Folder 12
Receipts, 1780-1785.
Box 2 Folder 13
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1786-1787.
Box 2 Folder 14
Receipts, 1786-1789.
Box 2 Folder 15
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1788-1789.
Box 2 Folder 16
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1790.
Box 2 Folder 17
Receipts, 1790-1792.
Box 2 Folder 18-19
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1791.
Box 2 Folder 20
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1792.
Box 2 Folder 21-22
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1793.
Box 2 Folder 23
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1793.
Box 3 Folder 1
Receipts, 1793-1799.
Box 3 Folder 2
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1794-1795.
Box 3 Folder 3
Bills, receipts, invoices, and miscellaneous documents, 1796.
Box 3 Folder 4
Bills, receipts, and miscellaneous documents, 1797.
Box 3 Folder 5
Agreements with Walns and miscellaneous memoranda, 1798.
Box 3 Folder 6
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1798.
Box 3 Folder 7
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1799.
Box 3 Folder 8
Account statements and balances, 1799.
Box 3 Folder 9
Cargo lists and memoranda, 1799.
Box 3 Folder 10
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1800.
Box 3 Folder 11
Bills, receipts, and miscellaneous documents, 1800.
Box 3 Folder 12
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1801.
Box 3 Folder 13
Misecellaneous documents, 1801.
Box 3 Folder 14
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1802.
Box 3 Folder 15
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1803.
Box 3 Folder 16
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1804.
Box 3 Folder 17
Receipts, 1804-1821.
Box 3 Folder 18
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1805.
Box 3 Folder 19
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1806.
Box 3 Folder 20
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1806.
Box 3 Folder 21
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1807-1809.
Box 3 Folder 22
Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1810-1811.
Box 3 Folder 23
Bills, receipts, invoices, and miscellaneous, 1812-1846.
Box 3 Folder 24
1789-1796, undated.
Box 3 Folder 25
1796.
Box 3 Folder 26
1796-1797.
Box 4 Folder 1
1799-1800.
Box 4 Folder 2
1801-1804.
Box 4 Folder 3
1806-1810.
Box 4 Folder 4
1750-1800.
Box 4 Folder 5-9
1784-1793, undated.
Box 4 Folder 10

Print, Suggest