[Thomas Luce papers :

Date1850-1886

Object numberMss 151

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionThe Thomas Luce Papers collection contains business correspondence and primarily business receipts with some personal receipts, with dates ranging from 1850 to 1886. The collection is arranged in four series: Incoming correspondence; Receipts and bills; Ships papers; and Associated materials.The incoming correspondence is further arranged into four sub-series, correlating with the bulk of correspondence from four business associates: H. C. French (1881-1885), J. H. Robertson (1879-1883), S. W. Thompson (1881-1885), and E. C. Van Derlip (1881-1883). Through the correspondence, waybills and shipping receipts, it is possible to track how Luce operated his business, ordering materials from across the country and having them shipped by canal boat, rail, and ship. Receipts and correspondence show that he purchased primarily lumber and some staves and hoops through S. W. Thompson of Detroit, Michigan. Thompson would send the cargo across Lake Erie, where it would be tallied and transferred to a canal boat by H. C. French. The cargo would then travel to New York City, where E. C. Van Derlip would again tally the cargo before loading it onto a vessel bound for New Bedford, or in later years, by rail. Each associate included copies of receipts of shipment with their correspondence so that Luce would have a complete record of the shipments progression by the time the material reached him in New Bedford. J. H. Robertson acted as a man of business for Luce, traveling to each state where materials were sourced from to negotiate deals and secure shipping agreements. Luce then sold completed casks of various sizes and parts of barrels in bulk around the country and shipped them by sea and rail.The bills and receipts pertain primarily to the running of the cooperage business, mostly being shipping receipts and statements of payment received by local vendors, as well as Tax receipts and Insurance certificates. Some personal receipts of payment are for items like groceries, carriage repairs, dental work, magazine subscriptions, and in one case, an auction for a pew at the County Methodist Church.The ships papers primarily relate to Luces investment in whaling voyages, including a crew list for the Bark Endeavour, settlements for the officers and crew of the Schooner Irving, and agent/owner accounts for the Bark Roscius.Associated materials include an undated hand-drawing of a plot plan for the corner of Water Street and Hillman Street of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

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