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Call Number:MS 539
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Scope and Contents
The Samuel Blachley Webb Papers consist of letterbooks, correspondence, journals, notebooks, orderly books, papers, and military records documenting the personal life and military career of Samuel Blachley Webb, who served in the American Revolutionary forces under Israel Putnam and George Washington. Notable correspondents include Joseph Barrell, Silas Deane Nathanael Otis, Timothy Pickering, Jonathan Trumbull, George Washington, and Catharine Hogeboom Webb. SERIES I, LETTERBOOKS, 1764-1807, consists of two sections: General and Webb, Catharine Hogeboom. General contains nine volumes of correspondence and papers relating to Samuel Webb, his family, military and mercantile career from 1764-1807. Volumes one through eight are arranged in chronological order (boxes 1-8). Volume nine (box nine) contains material spanning the years 1773-90. Webb, Catharine Hogeboom contains two volumes (boxes 10-11) of correspondence Webb and his second wife exchanged from 1787-1801. SERIES II, CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS, 1756-1819, is arranged in two sections: General and Barrell, Joseph. General (box 12) consists of letters written to Webb, as well as his copies of selected outgoing correspondence. Barrell, Joseph (box 13) consists of correspondence and papers from Joseph Barrell to Samuel B. Webb, 1778-1801. SERIES III, JOURNALS, NOTEBOOKS, AND MISCELLANEA, 175T-1805, is arranged in three sections: Webb, Samuel Blachley; Leslie, Alexander; and Lyman, Phineas. Webb, Samuel Blachley consists of a diary, journals and notebooks dating from 1775-1803. Diaries include the printed text for Stoddardfs Diary (The Columbia ALMANACK) from 1796-1803 and Webb's personal entries for scattered periods throughout these same years. Descriptions of family life, including the untimely death of his eldest daughter, and his local participation in the presidential election of 1802 are included. A journal (1776-77) maintained by Webb from March 1, 1776 to December, 1777 describes his military actions and that of the American Revolutionary forces during this period, and includes information on British troop activities. A journal of orders, June 21, 1776 - August 8, 1776, contains a detailed recording of military orders, practices, and observations while Webb was in the service of General George Washington. Notebooks :for the years 1775-1807 generally detail the personal expenses Webb incurred. Leslie, Alexander contains an orderly book of the British army captured at some point in 1776, and apparently the property of Brigadier General Alexander Leslie. Lyman, Phineas contains an order book of this Major General and Colonel of "the troops raised by the Colony of Connecticut to act in conjunction with his Majesty's Regular Troops, under the command of his Excellency the Earl of Londoun."
Dates
- 1756-1819
Creator
- Webb, Samuel Blachley, 1753-1807
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected correspondence is published in Family Letters of Samuel Blachley Webb (1912). Selected correspondence and journals are published in Correspondence and Journals of Samuel Blachley Webb (1893-1894), 3 vols.
Conditions Governing Use
Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Webb Papers were given to Yale University Library by Mrs. William Seward Webb, Col. G. Creighton Webb, F. Egerton Webb, and the children of General Alexander Stewart Webb in 1936. The papers were originally given as The Webb Papers. They have been divided into three collections: The Samuel Blachley Webb Papers, The Alexander Stewart Webb Papers. The James Watson Webb Papers.
Arrangement
Arranged in three series: I. Letterbooks, 1764-1807. II. Correspondence and Papers, 1756-1819. III. Journals, Notebooks, and Miscellanea, 1757-1805.
Extent
16.5 Linear Feet (15 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The Webb papers consist of letterbooks, correspondence, journals, notebooks, orderly books, papers, and military records documenting the personal life and military career of Samuel Blachley Webb, who served in the American Revolutionary forces under Israel Putnam and George Washington. Notable correspondents include: Joseph Barrell, Silas Deane, Nathanael Greene, Alexander Hamilton, Robert Morris, Samuel Otis, Timothy Pickering, Jonathan Trumbull, George Washington, and Catharine Hogeboom Webb.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Blachley Webb was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut on December 15, 1753. His mother later married Silas Deane, whom Webb served as private secretary. In 1775 Webb was appointed aide to General Israel Putnam and in 1776 was made aide-de-camp to General George Washington, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He wrote the order making public the Declaration of Independence, was a prisoner of the British for three years (1777-1781), served as grand marshall at Washington's inauguration, and was a merchant from 1789 until his death in Claverack, New York on December 3, 1807.
Appendix: List of Correspondents
- Account books
- Ames, Fisher, 1758-1808
- Barrell, Joseph, 1739-1804
- Deane, Silas, 1737-1789
- Diaries
- Greene, Nathanael, 1742-1786
- Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804
- Heath, William, 1737-1814
- Husband and wife
- Livingston, Brockholst, 1757-1823
- Livingston, Edward, 1764-1836
- McDougall, Alexander, 1732-1786
- Merchants
- Morris, Lewis, 1754-1824
- Morris, Robert, 1734-1806
- New York (State) -- Economic conditions
- Otis, Samuel Allyne, 1740-1814
- Peekskill (N.Y.) -- History
- Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829
- Pinckney, Charles, 1757-1824
- Pintard, Lewis, 1732-1818
- Soldiers
- Spencer, Ambrose, 1765-1848
- Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von, 1730-1794
- Trumbull, Jonathan, 1710-1785
- United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
- United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- Wadsworth, Jeremiah, 1743-1804
- Washington, George, 1732-1799
- Webb, Samuel Blachley, 1753-1807
- Title
- Guide to the Samuel Blachley Webb papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Date
- July 2008
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/
Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
beinecke.library@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
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Citation
Cite Item
Samuel Blachley Webb Papers (MS 539). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.
Cite Item Description
Samuel Blachley Webb Papers (MS 539). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/resources/3094 Accessed August 31, 2024.
