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Potter, Simeon (1720-1806) to Christopher Whipple

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.432 Author/Creator: Potter, Simeon (1720-1806) Place Written: Providence, Rhode Island Type: Letter signed Date: 29 December 1774 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 33.6 x 21 cm. Order a Copy

Cosigned by John Read and John Jenckes, who own the ship Liberty with Potter. Whipple, Captain of the Liberty, signs at the bottom of the page, promising to obey the orders contained within the letter and attesting that the text is a true copy of his orders. The Liberty's owners instruct Whipple to sail for the Island of Dominico (present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), to sell his cargo there, to purchase "Two Hundred & ninety Half Barrels of Good Pistol Powder," and to sail elsewhere in the Caribbean if he can not buy powder at a reasonable price in Dominico. Inform Whipple of the price of powder per barrel Amsterdam, and instruct him to refer to this price when purchasing powder in the Caribbean. Order Whipple to purchase lead and arms.

Jenckes, a Providence merchant, served as a member of the General Assembly (Deputy) c. 1774, a member of the Committee of Correspondence. Jenckes also owned the Putnam, a ship. Simeon Potter, owner the King George, was a prominent figure in Rhode Island business and politics, serving as a member of the General Assembly.

Jenckes, John, fl. 1774-1776
Potter, Simeon, 1720-1806
Read, John, fl. 1774-1776
Whipple, Christopher, fl. 1774-1777

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