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Title Correspondence between David Cobb and others regarding land and development
Archival Reference Ms. N-1000
Sub-collection David Cobb Papers  
Author Cobb, David  Wass, David  Knox, Henry (1750-1806)  Danforth, Asa  
Date 2-29 Sep 1795
Document Type Correspondence; Business and financial document
Contents Includes:
Letter from David Wass (Epping) to David Cobb about the ownership of various lots of land, 2 Sep. 1795
Letter from David Cobb (Penobscot, Me.) to Henry Knox about William Bingham and the construction of a road north from Gouldsboro, Me., 17 Sep. 1795
Receipted account of Asa Danforth with Leonard Crocker, 24 Sep. 1795-8 July 1797
Letter from David Cobb (Gouldsboro, Me.) to Ebenezer Hunt advising him to purchase lands in Maine and suggesting that he steer emigrants from Massachusetts there, 26 Sep. 1795
Letter from Henry Knox (Duck-trap [Lincolnville], Me.) to David Cobb about Dr. [Ebenezer] Hunt's attempt to purchase a township from William Bingham and Bingham's reluctance to sell land on those terms, 29 Sep. 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 Land Transaction and Property  Construction and Building  Migration  Settlers and Settlement  Towns and Cities  Travel and Transportation  Banking and Finance  
Places Epping; Penobscot; Gouldsboro; Maine; Massachusetts; Lincolnville; Duck-trap
People Cobb, David (1748-1830)  Bingham, William (1752-1804)  Knox, Henry (1750-1806)  
Themes Government & Politics; Land & Property
Library Massachusetts Historical Society  
Copyright Massachusetts Historical Society