Call Number:

C0230

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.4 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Elias Boudinot Collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1773-1950 (inclusive) and 1777-1820 (bulk)

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Boudinot, Elias, 1740-1821

Form:

Letters.

Abstract:

Elias Boudinot was a lawyer and Revolutionary statesman, serving as member of the Continental Congress (president, 1782), secretary of foreign affairs (1783-84), New Jersey congressman (1789-95), and director of the U.S. Mint (1795-1805). The collection consists of miscellaneous letters and documents of Boudinot, many of which concern his land dealings.

Elias Boudinot was an American lawyer and public official who represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress. Born in Philadelphia in 1740, Boudinot became a lawyer in 1760. At the onset of the American Revolution, he became a member of the Revolutionary Party although he was a conservative Whig. He served as deputy in the New Jersey provincial assembly and then as a New Jersey representative in the Continental Congress. He later served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1789 to 1795 before becoming director of the U.S. Mint from 1795 to 1805. Boudinot died in 1821.

Consists of miscellaneous letters and documents of Boudinot, many of which concern his land dealings. Historical figures and significant New Jersey correspondents represented in the collection include Samuel Bayard, Elias Dayton, John Dickinson, Ashbel Green, William Livingston, James Madison, James Morris, Lewis Pintard, and George Simpson. Included are Boudinot's drawing and description of the Boudinot coat of arms and his letter (23 Oct. 1782) to New Jersey governor William Livingston regarding congressional discussion then in progress concerning the admission of Vermont as the 14th state in the Union.

The following standard abbreviations, or their variation, are used to identify materials in this collection: ALsS = autograph letters signed and ADS = autograph document signed.