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Title David Cobb's accounts and land affairs, including development of Bingham's lands
Archival Reference Ms. N-1000
Sub-collection David Cobb Papers  
Author Bingham, William  Cobb, David  Cony, Daniel  
Date 1-27 Sep 1800
Document Type Correspondence; Business and financial document
Contents Includes:
Letter from William Bingham (Philadelphia) to David Cobb about Cobb's instructions to Daniel Cony for developing Bingham's Maine lands, 1 Sep. 1800
Receipted bill from Thomas Dennie (Boston) to David Cobb for Madeira, port, and brandy, 4 Sep. 1800
Bill from Barney Smith (Boston) to David Cobb for cloth and furnishings, 4 Sep. 1800
Receipted account of David Cobb with Thomas Dennie for wine and spirits, 5 Sep. 1800
Bill from West and Greenleaf (Boston) to David Cobb for sundry articles, 6 Sep. 1800
Letter from David Cobb (Boston) to William Bingham about the development of Bingham's Kennebec lands and Cobb's advice to Daniel Cony, 19 Sep. 1800. Another copy printed in Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. 37, pp. 1077-1078.
Letter from Daniel Cony (Augusta, Me.) to David Cobb reporting the progress of the survey of William Bingham's Kennebec lands, 27 Sep. 1800
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 Stores and Supplies  Commerce and Trade  Textiles  Alcohol  Land Transaction and Property  Surveying  
Places Philadelphia; Pennsylvania; Boston; Massachusetts; Augusta; Maine
People Cobb, David (1748-1830)  Bingham, William (1752-1804)  Cony, Daniel (1752-1842)  
Themes Land & Property; Business, Trade & Commerce
Library Massachusetts Historical Society  
Copyright Massachusetts Historical Society