Jackson, Henry (1747-1809) to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05158 Author/Creator: Jackson, Henry (1747-1809) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 15 September 1791 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 30.7 x 18.6 cm. Order a Copy
Reports that Captain James Magee is bound for a voyage around the cape to the northwest coast of America on the 150-ton ship, "Margarett." The ship is owned by James and Thomas Lamb, James Magee, and Thomas H. Perkins, all of Boston. They intend to eventually land at Nootka Sound, and if distressed, may be obliged to land at ports of Spain. Therefore, Magee would like to have paperwork showing the ship is American. Asks Knox to use his influence to get the necessary papers. As Knox knows Magee and the ship owners, he will not go into detail about their background, but does say "they are Gentlemen of the first reputation and integrity." Says they would also like Knox to procure a sea letter for the ship.
Relates to the Boston house of James & Thomas Lamb. These two brothers formed a partnership in 1781, immediately after the death of James Lamb, Sr., who had been head of the house of James Lamb & Son for some years previous. Thomas Lamb, who was born in Boston in 1753, became agent for this latter firm in the year 1776, but when the Revolutionary War broke out he received a commission signed by John Hancock as First Lieutenant in Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment. The first notice contained in the Lamb papers of the North West Coast adventures is September 1791, and gives an account of the ship "Margaret," Captain James Magee, built in Boston, and owned by James Magee, Thomas H. Perkins, and James & Thomas Lamb. In 1792 the Lambs write to Captain Magee that Thomas H. Perkins has heard through Captain Ingraham of his success in reaching China in fourteen months, and of his cargo of fourteen hundred skins.
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