Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Spinner, Francis Elias (1802-1890) to M. Hoffman

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03410.03.01 Author/Creator: Spinner, Francis Elias (1802-1890) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 26 May 1846-31 May 1846 Pagination: 4 p ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Contains three letters written by Spinner, auditor and deputy naval officer in charge of the port of New York (1845-1849). Spinner writes from the Naval Officer Custom House. Pages two and three contain a letter written 28 May 1846. Page four contains a letter written 31 May 1846 from No. 7 Greenwich Street. All letters pertain to business and financial matters related to the port. On page four, Spinner cites "... no authority or sanction is intended to be given to any allowance to the Naval Officer... over and above the true prorated rate of his compensation as fixed by law..." Possibly written to Murray Hoffman, a New York jurist who specialized in the laws of the City of New York.

General Spinner served as a United States Representative from New York 1855-1860 and Treasurer of the United States 1861-1875. Hoffman served as judge of the superior court in New York 1853-1861.

Spinner, Francis Elias, 1802-1890
Hoffman, Murray, 1791-1878

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