Browse Items · The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Letter from William Clark to Jonathan Clark, 9 November 1808

Clark writes his brother Jonathan from St. Louis discussing his frustrations with two Black men he enslaved, York and Scipio. He reports on conditions in St. Louis, various individuals, and investments in lead mining and saltmaking in the region. Reports that Meriwether Lewis was installed as master of the local Masonic lodge.

Tags Enslaved people; lead; Letters; masonry; Meriwether Lewis; Missouri; salt; stocks; William Clark; York

Note for payment for advertising sale of enslaved woman, November 9, 1813

Tags advertisement; Enslaved people; receipts

Letter from Lemuel Wells to Charles Wells, 24 November 1827

Wells writes about trading along the Ohio River, the recent sale of one of his enslaved women named Hannah for $200, current prices in Natchez and Nashville for apples, cider, flour, and other goods. Notes his location as “150 miles below the Falls” and promises to write again when he reaches Natchez.

Tags dry goods; Enslaved people; enslavement; falls of the ohio; fruit; Letters; merchant; Nashville; Natchez; Ohio River; trading; Women

Letter from Isaac Hite to Abraham Hite, 26 April 1783

Letter from Isaac Hite to his father relating his business interests in land speculation, salt works, and iron manufacturing. He discusses Native American hostilities, specifically a raid at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, in which an African American fought off the Natives and saved a white family. Tells of John Floyd's death and its effect on the defense of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Mentions his business dealings with James Sodowski, Walker Daniel, George and John May, Gilbert Imlay, Isaac Kellar, Moses Kuykendall, and George Rogers Clark.

Tags business; death; enslavement; George Rogers Clark; iron; Jefferson County; land speculation; Letters; Manufacturing; Military; Native American; salt industry; warfare

Letter from George Rogers Clark to Jonathan Clark, 11 May 1792

Letter from George Rogers Clark to his brother, Captain Jonathan Clark, discussing Native American troubles, war, and business affairs.

Tags business; George Rogers Clark; Letters; Native American; warfare

Letter from Jonathan Clark to Isaac Hite, 15 March 1803

In a letter from Jonathan Clark to Isaac Hite, Clark discusses the health of Mrs. Hite, who was seriously ill, as well as his own health and that of his white family and the people he enslaves. Clark also discusses finances, land purchases, and land grants and asks Hite not to send "grant money" to "this country." He comments on lawsuits he has pending, attorneys' qualifications, fees, and strategies for pursuing the cases. The letters are personal in tone but deal mainly with business.

Tags Letters

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