Call Number:

F0175

Repository:

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

Extent:

1 item (1 page)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

MSS 0098, F0175, Robert Gilmour letter to William Young, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Date:

1794 may 16 (inclusive)

Creator:

Gilmour, Robert (Papermaker) and Young, William, 1755-1829

Form:

Letters (correspondence)

Abstract:

Delaware papermaker Robert Gilmour's handwritten and signed letter to Philadelphia printer William Young documents the birth of a Delaware paper mill in 1794.

William Young (1755-1829), a bookseller, printer, and publisher, moved from Philadelphia to Rockland, Delaware, where he opened a paper mill in the 1790s.

William Young was born in 1755 in Scotland and briefly attended a Presbyterian seminary there before becoming a bookseller. After arriving in Philadelphia in June 1784, Young opened a book store and printing shop on Chestnut Street.

According to Thomas Gravell, Young purchased a paper mould in March 1794 and by 1795 was making paper. By 1802 Young had sold his Philadelphia retail and publishing operations to William W. Woodward, and moved to Delaware. The paper mill proved profitable until a fire in 1814 destroyed the mill. Young rebuilt the business as a woolen mill, but when the business was unsuccessful, Young returned to Philadelphia, where he was active in the Associate Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

Robert Gilmour operated the Delaware paper mill at Brandywine with William Young as William Young and Co. until 1803 when Young became the sole proprietor.

McA MSS 007, Young and Woodward Business Papers. Library Company of Philadelphia. http://www.librarycompany.org/mcallister/pdf/young_woodward.pdf (accessed May, 29, 2009).Scharf, J. Thomas.History Delaware 1609-1888, Volume 2. Lewes, Delaware: Delmarva Roots, 2001.Gravell, Thomas L.American Watermarks 1690-1835. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.

Delaware papermaker Robert Gilmour's handwritten and signed letter to Philadelphia printer William Young documents the birth of a Delaware paper mill in 1794.

Dated May 16, 1794, the letter from Gilmour to Young confirms that the Delaware paper mill was operational at that time, although still under construction. In the letter Gilmour mentions financial assistance from "Benny," which may be an allusion to Benjamin Franklin Bache, who, because of his publishing business, was known to have invested in regional papermaking businesses.