Special Collections Department

Andrew Clow & Co. Papers

1783 - 1814

Manuscript Collection Number: 242
Accessioned: Gift of the Moyerman Family, 1972.
Extent: .9 linear ft. (1523 items).
Content: Correspondence, checks, and receipts.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: 1991 by Lori Bridgers.

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Biographical Note
Scope and Contents Note
Arrangement Note
Series List
Contents List

Biographical Note

Andrew Clow and David Cay were the principal partners of Andrew Clow & Co., an importing/exporting firm based in Philadelphia. The firm owned several ships which traded goods in England, France, Spain, the Bahamas, and ports in the Eastern United States. While the main business of the firm was in trading textile goods, it also shipped other goods, including sugar and grain. The firm did business with many merchants at different ports, including Joseph Hadfield (London), Thomas Hadfield (Baltimore), Rathbone & Benson (Liverpool, England), Tunisey, Power & Co. (Cadiz, Spain), and Douat, Labate & Plante (Bilboa).

In 1793 both partners of Andrew Clow & Co. died, leaving William Cramond, Hugh Holmes, and John Leamy as executors of the personal and business estates of Andrew Clow and David Cay. Many suits were brought up against the estate. The two primary suits brought by Muilman & Co. (London) and Joseph Hadfield (London) were in court for many years. Jasper Moylan, attorney, was hired by the executors to defend the estate of Andrew Clow & Co.

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains business correspondence of Andrew Clow & Co., concerning orders and shipments of goods to various ports, payment for goods, and financial agreements between the firm and other merchants. Many of these letters concern business transactions between the firm and Joseph Hadfield, the main agent in London. Other correspondents include Peter Clement (London); Thomas Hadfield; Rathbone & Benson; Tunisey, Power & Co.; DeMierre & Christin (London); and Douat, Labate & Plante. The collection also includes checks and receipts of the firm, mostly regarding payment for goods or loans.

Correspondence after September 1793 (the time of both partners' deaths) concerns matters of the estate. Correspondents include Arthur Jones, attorney? (USA); Crowder & Lavie, attorneys (London); Jasper Moylan, attorney (USA); and William Cramond, Hugh Holmes, and John Leamy, executors.

Arrangement Note

The collection is arranged in two series, Correspondence and Bank Drafts, and both are in chronological order. The Correspondence series is further divided into two sub-series, General Correspondence, and Correspondence of Jasper Moylan, with the contents of each sub-series in chronological order.

Series List

I.   Correspondence, 1783-1814
     I.1  General, 1784-1811, [n.d.] (bulk dates 1790-1793)
     I.2  Jasper Moylan, 1783-1814. [n.d.] (bulk dates 1794-1799)

II.  Bank Drafts, 1785-1802, [n.d.] (bulk dates 1790-1793)

Contents List

Box -- Folder -- Contents

          Series I.  Correspondence, 1783-1814.
          Series I.1.  General Correspondence.  1784 - 1811, [n.d.].  Bulked
               dates 1790 - 1793. 
               404 items.
               Contains business correspondence of Andrew Clow & Co. with
               merchants in trading ports.  Includes carbon copies of
               letters written by David Cay and Joseph Hadfield, and hand-
               copies of letters by others.  Also includes some bills and
               receipts, and two letters with fabric samples attached
               (8/23/1785 and [n.d.]).
1
     F1   1784-1785
     F2   1786-1788
     F3   1789:  Jan - May
     F4          Aug - Nov
     F5          Dec
     F6   1790:  Jan
     F7          Feb
     F8          Mar
     F9          Apr
     F10         May
     F11         Jun 2 - 5
     F12         Jun 7
     F13         Jun 11 - 29
     F14         Jul 1 - 10
     F15         Jul 12 - 30
     F16         Aug
     F17         Sep
     F18         Oct
     F19         Nov - Dec
2
     F20  1791:  Jan - Apr
     F21         May - Jun
     F22         Jul
     F23         Aug - Dec
     F24  1792:  Jan - Feb
     F25         Mar - May
     F26         Jun - Jul
     F27         Aug - Sep
     F28         Oct - Nov
     F29         Dec
     F30  1793:  Jan
     F31         Feb 1 - 9
     F32         Feb 15 - 27
     F33         Mar
     F34         Apr
     F35         May
     F36         Jun
     F37         Jul
     F38  1793:  Aug
     F39         Sep
     F40         Oct - Dec
3
     F41  1794:  Feb - Apr
     F42         May - Dec
     F43  1795:  Mar 10
     F44         Mar - Apr
     F45         Jul - Dec
     F46  1796
     F47  1797 - 1800
     F48  1801 - 1802
     F49  1808 - 1811
     F50  [n.d.]
     F51  [n.d.]
     F52  [n.d.] [post 1793]
     F53  [n.d.] [post 1793]

          Series 1.2  Jasper Moylan, 1783-1814, [n.d.].  Bulked dates 1794-1799.
               38 items
               Contains correspondence of Jasper Moylan, attorney for the
               estate of Andrew Clow & Co.  Includes notes for the court
               cases and correspondence with Arthur Jones, an attorney(?)
               who worked on settling outstanding debts owed to the estate.

     F54  1783 - 1795
     F55  1796 - 1799
     F56  1800 - 1803
     F57  1806 - 1814
     F58  [n.d.]

          Series II.  Bank Drafts, 1785 - 1802, [n.d.].  Bulked dates 1790 -1793.  
               1,081 items.
               Bank drafts written by and to Andrew Clow & Co.  Amounts
               specified in both pounds and dollars.
4
     F59  1785 - 1787
     F60  1788
     F61  1789:  Jan - May
     F62         Jun - Dec
     F63  1790:  Jan - Mar
     F64         Apr - Jun
     F65         Jul - Sep
     F66         Oct - Dec
     F67  1791:  Jan - Mar
     F68         Apr - Jun
     F69         Jul - Sep
     F70         Oct - Dec
5
     F71  1792:  Jan - Mar
     F72         Apr - May
     F73         Jun - Aug
     F74         Sep - Nov
     F75         Dec
     F76  1793:  Jan - Feb
     F77         Mar - Apr
     F78         May - Jun
     F79         Jul - Dec
     F80  1794, 1802, [n.d.]

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