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Title Correspondence between David Cobb and William Bingham regarding Bingham's lands
Archival Reference Ms. N-1000
Sub-collection David Cobb Papers  
Author Cobb, David  Bingham, William  
Date 12-24 May 1795
Document Type Correspondence
Contents Includes:
Letter from William Bingham (Philadelphia) to David Cobb concerning settlers for Bingham's Maine lands and warning against allowing the depredation of lumber, 15 May 1795
Draft of letter from David Cobb (Taunton) to William Bingham about the delay of [William] Shaw in departing for Maine, 12 May 1795. Enclosed in letter from Cobb to Bingham, 24 May 1795.
Letter from William Bingham (Philadelphia) to David Cobb concerning Bingham's Maine lands and discussing lottery plans and maps, 24 May 1795
Letter from David Cobb (Boston) to William Bingham about the settlement of Maine lands, 24 May 1795
Sub-collection Information This collection consists of the papers of David Cobb primarily documenting his position as land agent for William Bingham in Maine, including papers related to the settlement of Maine, logging and the lumber trade, roads, and other subjects. Also included are papers related to his service during the American Revolution and his career as a politician and judge.

David Cobb was a Revolutionary War soldier and aide-de-camp to General George Washington, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and president of the Senate, physician, judge, member of Congress, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, and a founder of the Society of the Cincinnati and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The collection contains letters to Charles W. Hare, Bingham's Philadelphia agent, and Alexander Baring, the future Lord Ashburton and representative of London's House of Baring. Also included are legal actions, financial accounts, maps, and inventories related to land development, fishing, lumbering, census reports, lotteries, the laying out of streets, and the construction of wharves, warehouses, and sawmills in Gouldsboro, Maine, which Cobb tried to develop as a major commercial port.

The collection also contains eight fragmentary diaries kept by Cobb, 1781-1818; a manuscript notebook with sketches; lists of British ships of the line; instructions for naval officers; letters to various members of the Cobb family; and letters from William Eustis, Henry Knox, Timothy Pickering, and Israel Thorndike concerning foreign relations, state politics, and miscellaneous financial matters related to the firm of Cobb and Richards, in which Cobb was partner.
Region American East  
Subjects Settlers and Settlement  Forestry and Logging  Towns and Cities  
Places Philadelphia; Pennsylvania; Taunton; Boston; Massachusetts
People Cobb, David (1748-1830)  Bingham, William (1752-1804)  
Themes Land & Property
Library Massachusetts Historical Society  
Copyright Massachusetts Historical Society