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Title Correspondence relating to land and settlement, and bills for shipping and supplies
Archival Reference Ms. N-1000
Sub-collection David Cobb Papers  
Author Powell, John Hare  Richards, John  May, Joseph  
Date 31 May-6 Jul 1819
Document Type Business and financial document; Correspondence
Contents Includes:
Letter from John Hare Powel (Philadelphia) to David Cobb questioning Cobb's accounts for the management of Maine lands and informing him that Powel will pay a visit to Maine, 31 May 1819
Letter from D[avid] Cobb (Gouldsboro, Me.) to John Hare Powel about taxes on the lands in Hancock County, Me., under Cobb's supervision, 9 June 1819
Letter from John Richards (Boston) to David Cobb about Cobb's accounts, taxes, and a visit by John Hare Powel, 9 June 1819
Bill from Peters and Pond (Boston) to David Cobb for supplies shipped to Maine, 15 June 1819
Receipted bill from Thomas Hill of the Gouldsboro post office to David Cobb for postage due for Jan.-May 1819, 20 June 1819
Letter from John Hare Powel (Philadelphia) to David Cobb about the payment of taxes on Maine lands under Cobb's supervision, 23 June 1819
Letter from John Richards (Boston) to David Cobb about the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, 26 June 1819
Letter from Joseph May (Boston) to David Cobb about Cobb's income and proceeds from a lottery, 6 July 1819
Letter from David Cobb (Gouldsboro, Me.) to John Hare Powel about Cobb's accounts for the management of Maine lands and expenses incurred, 7 July 1819
Account of David Cobb with Barney and Rufus Hill for shoes and boots, [12 July 1819]
Letter from Thomas Cobb (Bangor, Me.) to his father David Cobb about the effects of statehood for Maine on Thomas Cobb's career, 12 July 1819
Letter from John Richards (Boston) to David Cobb about the separation of Maine from Massachusetts and Welsh settlers, 23 July 1819
Account of David Cobb with Peters and Pond, [26 July 1819]
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 Taxation  Land Transaction and Property  Borders and Boundaries  Banking and Finance  Stores and Supplies  Settlers and Settlement  Migration  
Places Philadelphia; Pennsylvania; Gouldsboro; Maine; Boston; Massachusetts
People Cobb, David (1748-1830)  Mellen, Prentiss (1764-1840)  Bingham, William (1752-1804)  Cobb, Thomas (1772-1849)  
Themes Business, Trade & Commerce; Land & Property
Library Massachusetts Historical Society  
Copyright Massachusetts Historical Society