The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Trotter family                                     

Title:               Papers

Dates:             1741-1815, bulk 1788-1800

Call No.:         Col. 325         

Acc. No.:        61x88, 67x89, 67x90, 79x103, 12x32.3

Quantity:        1 box, 2 folders

Location:        17 L 4

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

The Trotter family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sometime before 1692.  They were part of the Quaker middle-class in Philadelphia. William (d.1699), the earliest of the Trotters in Philadelphia, was a sawyer; he was married to Rebeckah Theach.  Their eldest son, also named William (1695-1749), was a husbandman in White Marsh, Philadelphia County.  The youngest son was Benjamin (1699-1768); he became a chairmaker.  Joseph (1696/7-1770), the second son and progenitor of the line of Trotters represented in these papers, was a cutler and became a member of the Provincial Assembly.  He married Dinah Shelton in 1718; the two had ten children.  Among them was Joseph who became a chairmaker and joiner, Nathan who became a blacksmith, and William who became a shoemaker.

 

William (d. 1759) married Elizabeth Hoodt (d. 1763); the two had five sons and a daughter.  One of the surviving sons, Daniel (1747-1800), the subject of the bulk of these papers, became a cabinetmaker.  Another son, Joseph, became a chairmaker.  Joseph's son, William I. Trotter, also became a cabinetmaker.

 

Daniel was 12 when his father died.  Little is known of his childhood; however, he probably attended Quaker schools and at the age of 14 was apprenticed to cabinetmaker William Wayne.  In 1769, he was employed as a journeyman for George Claypoole.  By 1771, Daniel entered into a partnership with John Webb that lasted until 1774.  By 1775, he and an apprentice were working in a shop on Water Street, where he remained until 1797.

 

Daniel was also an active member of the Society of Friends.  He was involved with the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery and was a member of the Library Company of Philadelphia.

 

By 1786, Daniel was one of the most successful furniture makers in Philadelphia.  He is known to have employed several craftsmen, including John Howe and Robert Taylor for turning, John Morris and James Reynolds for carving, George Bridenhart, Andrew Henry, and Thomas Juacquet for upholstering.  In 1791, Ephraim Haines became an apprentice and in April 1798, the two established a partnership.  When Trotter died in 1800, the partnership dissolved.  From 1795 to 1796, Thomas Janvier worked for Trotter as a journeyman.

 

Daniel married Rebecca Conarroe in 1773.  The couple had ten children.  Daughter Elizabeth married Ephraim Haines, Daniel’s business partner.  Since William (1774-1815), his eldest son and the only one old enough to take on his father's business, had undertaken mercantile pursuits, Haines inherited the bulk of the business.

 

Two of William's younger brothers, Joseph (1783-1853) and Nathan (1787-1853), joined him in the mercantile business first as assistants and then as partners in 1809.  In 1812, Joseph left the firm for a position in the Bank of Philadelphia.  William died in 1815, leaving Nathan to carry on the business.  For the next thirty-five years, Nathan ran one of the principal metal-importing houses on the East Coast.  The business, Nathan Trotter & Company, was continued by his sons and grandsons and was still in business in 1953.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

The collection consists of a receipt book kept by Daniel Trotter from 1794 to 1799; an account book used by him from 1788 to 1799 and by William Trotter and Ephraim Haines from 1800 to 1810; bills rendered to Daniel Trotter and his estate from 1773 to 1802; bills rendered by Daniel Trotter and his estate from 1780 to 1802; inventories of Daniel Trotter's business and personal belongings at the time of his death; accounts of the administration of Daniel Trotter's estate by William Trotter and Ephraim Haines; bonds and indemnities for property owned by various members of the Trotter family; two letters from Daniel Trotter to his son William; two letters from Ephraim Haines to William; genealogical data on the Trotter family; estate inventories for Joseph Trotter, Joseph Trotter, Jr., and Ephraim Haines; a copy of the will of Benjamin Trotter (d.1768); and some business records of Nathan Trotter, particularly textile and leather samples and records of shipping iron, copper, and other metals

 

Daniel Trotter’s receipt book includes receipts for taxes, rent, lumber, advertising, upholstering, carpentry work, hauling sand, and stove plate patterns.  Daniel Trotter’s account book features 12 orders for furniture in a variety of forms, lists of boarders, and documentation of the number of yards of hair cloth sold at different times.  Bills rendered to Trotter primarily document his purchase of lumber, fabrics, and services of upholsterers and furniture painters.  Bills rendered by Trotter are for making and repairing furniture, painting furniture, and upholstering chairs.  Taken together, these items document something of Trotter's cabinetmaking business.

 

Daniel Trotter's estate records further document his business activities, particularly his partnership with Ephraim Haines.  Inventories reveal the contents of his cabinet shop as well as his home.  Also included is a list of furniture on hand at the time of his death and later sold at auction.  Accounts document inheritance received by Trotter's children.         

 

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The collection is organized into seven series: I. Daniel Trotter business records, II. Daniel Trotter estate records, III. Bonds and indemnities, IV. Family letters, V. Genealogy, VI. Miscellaneous estate records, and VII. Nathan Trotter business records.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

 

 

PROVENANCE

 

Gift of and purchased from Theodore T. Newbold, Philadelphia, a Trotter descendant.  

 

Accession 12x32.3: gift of Jonathan Trace.

 

           

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

            People:

                        Trotter, Daniel, 1747-1800.

                        Haines, Ephraim, 1775-1837.

                        Trotter, William.

                        Trotter, Joseph, d. 1770.        

                        Trotter, Benjamin, 1699-1768.

                        Wright, Caleb.

Elfreth, Josiah.

                                               

Topics:

            Nathan Trotter and Company.

            Furniture making - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Furniture - Prices.

            Furniture industry and trade - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Furniture - Repairing.

            Inventories of decedents' estates - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Decedents' estates - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            House furnishings.

            Upholstery.

            Painted furniture.

            Upholstered furniture.

            Textile fabrics.

            Quakers - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Lumber trade - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Shoes.

            Dry-goods.

            Business records - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Shipment of goods.

            Textile fabrics – Sample books.

            Metals - Commerce.

            Wholesale trade - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

            Leather.

            Hides and skins.

            Silk.

            Estate records.

            Letters.

            Receipts.

            Bills of sale.

            Account books.

            Bonds.

            Purchase orders.         

            Inventories.

            Bills of laden.

            Cabinet-makers.

            Furniture makers.

            Merchants.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 17 L 4

 

 

Series I: Daniel Trotter: Business records

 

Folder 1:          67x89.1           Receipt book, 1794-1799, 1801.

 

                        Includes receipts for taxes, rent, lumber, advertising, upholstering, carpentry work, hauling sand, and stoveplate patterns.  The majority of the entries just provide amounts paid.  There are references to many prominent Quaker families in Philadelphia.  Ephraim Haines used the volume in 1801.

                        Also on microfilm: Mic. 207.

 

Folder 2:          67x89.2           Account book, 1788-1799, 1800-1810.

 

                        Includes twelve orders for furniture in a variety of forms, lists of boarders, documentation of the number of yards of hair cloth sold at different times, and a list of plate belonging to Dinah Trotter.  From 1800 to 1810 the volume was used by William Trotter and Ephraim Haines to record rents.

                        Also on microfilm: Mic. 242.

 

 

Series II: Daniel Trotter: Estate records

 

Bills rendered to Daniel Trotter and his estate, 1773-1802:

 

Folder 3:          67x90.22         William Ashby, 1799, for making a coat, linen, and other tailoring activities.

 

                        67x90.23         Joseph Bishpham for labor, 1795-1800.

 

                        67x90.24         Peter Bob, 1802.  For bricks.

 

                        67x90.25         Browne & Co., 1798.  For pine boards, oak scantling, cedar planks, etc.

 

                        67x90.26         Job Butcher, 1794.  For sugar, molasses, coffee, etc.

 

                        67x90.27         Timothy Caldwell, 1798.  For hauling, cleaning, and day labor.

 

                        67x90.28         Dr. Cathrall, 1797-1800.  For attendance with advice.

 

                        67x90.29         Joseph Cooper, 1799.  For four sackum bottoms.

 

                        67x90.30         Joseph Copper, 1799.  For curtain, linen, thread molds, etc.

 

                        67x90.31         Jacob Downing, 1799.  For a barrel of superfine, etc.

 

                        67x90.32         Downing & Slaymaker, 1799.  For a barrel of superfine.

 

Folder 4:          67x90.33         Jeremiah Elfreth, 1794-1800.  For oak, chest boards, pine boards, fabrics, and a dough tough.

 

                        67x90.34         David Evans, 1792-1796.  For making blinds, hanging paper, painting, etc.  (Most of the work was done for others, not for Trotter.)

 

                        67x90.35         John Davis, 1786-1789.  For fabrics, stuffing chairs, and other upholstery work.  A settee was stuffed for James Bayard.

 

                        67x90.36         George Flake, 1791-1793.  For painting various types of furniture.

 

                        67x90.37         John Gardner, 1787-1800.  For painting, lettering, gilding, etc.

 

                        67x90.38         Hilyard & Pippitt, 1799.  For pantaloons for Joseph.

 

                        67x90.39         Michael Katz, 1798-1800.  For window frames, scantling, shingles, and other boards.

 

                        67x90.40         Abraham Lower, 1800.  For cups and saucers, bowls, pitches, etc.

 

                        67x90.41         Nathan Mattrian, 1794.  For tailoring.

 

                        67x90.42         Philip Meeser, 1800.  For bread and baking.

 

                        67x90.43         Benjamin Olden, 1795.  For shoes and boots.

 

Folder 5:          67x90.44         John Page, 1800.  For chair seats and stuffing.

 

                        67x90.45         Stephen Phipps, 1773-1776, 1800.  For sundries of clothing.

 

                        67x90.46         Adam Reese, 1799.  For shoes and shoe repairs.

 

                        67x90.47         John Riley, 1794-1799.  For cleaning and repairing clocks and watches.

 

                        67x90.48         William Shepherd, 1800.  For altering front door bell.

 

                        67x90.49         Leon Snowdon, 1799.  For bottles, etc.

 

                        67x90.50         Benjamin Thaw, 1784-1798.  For a wide variety of dry-goods and for making men’s and boys’ clothing.

                        (in oversize folder on shelf).

 

                        67x90.51-.52               William Trotter, 1798-1799.  For mercantile ventures.

 

                        67x90.53         George Wilson, 1795-1796.  For bed lacings, tea, sugar, coffee, brandy, etc.  The account was credited by a mahogany coffin with a folding top made by Trotter & Haines.

                        (in oversize folder on shelf)

 

                        67x90.54         Ellis Yarnall, 1798.  For yarn.

 

                        67x90.82         Jeremiah Elfreth, 1798.  Receipt for payment.

 

 

Bills rendered by Daniel Trotter and his estate, 1780-1802:

 

Folder 6:          Ph572              Thomas Ruchea, 1785.  For mending chairs.

 

                        Ph573              receipt for payment, no year, signed Isaac(?) Leech

 

Folder 7:          67x90.55         William Beavan, 1797.  For mending a stand.

 

                        67x90.56         Samuel Bispham, 1780-1795.  For making and repairing a variety of furniture forms.

 

                        67x90.57         James Carman, 1783-1792.  For putting rockers on a chair, mending chairs, etc.

 

                        67x90.58         Jacob Coates, 1794.  For mahogany furniture.

 

                        67x90.59         John Dowers, 1787-1790.  For making and mending benches, frames, blades, etc.

 

                        67x90.60         Jacob Downing of Downing & Staymaker, 1797-1798.  For a bedstead, chairs, and mending chairs and bookcases.

 

                        67x90.61         Jeremiah Elfreth, 1795-1799.  For bed pine, umbrellas, etc.

 

                        67x90.62         George Flake, 1789-1791.  For frames, chairs, tea table, and other pieces of furniture.

 

                        67x90.64         Ephraim Haines, 1798-1800.  For boarding, portion of shop rent, debts, etc.

 

                        67x90.65         Peter Kuhn, 1788-1790.  For mending chairs, fixing window rails, putting up a bedstead, etc.

 

                        67x90.66         George Markley [or Mankley], 1789-1793.  For covering a chair with hair cloth, mending a card table with new hinges, and other furniture repair work.

 

                        67x90.67-.68               Philip Measer [also spelled Meeser], 1802-1803.  For ground and cellar rent.

 

Folder 8:          67x90.69-.70               John Negus, 1786-1796.  For a variety of mahogany furniture.

 

                        67x90.71         Stephen Phipps, 1787-1794.  For making and repairing furniture.

 

                        67x90.72         Jacob Shoemaker, 1799.  For lock and padding and mahogany rulers.

 

                        67x90.73         Henry Sparks, 1797.  For mending chairs.

 

                        67x90.74         James Starr, 1796.  For putting up a bedstead and set of castors.

 

                        67x90.75         John Stroup, 1790-1793.  For mending a table and other furniture forms.

 

                        67x90.76         Amos Taylor, 1789-1795.  For coffin, mahogany, and walnut.

 

                        67x90.77         Benjamin Thaw, 1785-1798.  For a variety of furniture forms, a coffin, repairing furniture, and painting furniture.

 

 

Other estate records: 

 

Folder 9:          67x90.1           Inventory of the property of Trotter and Haines, taken by E. Haines.  Includes listing of furniture and materials in Trotter's cabinetshop, 1800.

 

                        67x90.2           Inventory of the property (furniture on hand) of Trotter and Haines, 1800.  Note on back about Dr. Cathrall and a mahogany bureau.

 

                        67x90.3           “Ephraim’s acc’t”: list of items sold, Trotter and Haines, 1800.

 

                        67x90.4           Goods divided before the vendue and taken by E. Haines; also mentions Dr. Cathrall.

 

                        67x90.5           Furniture belonging to Trotter and Haines sold at vendue.  Includes both the appraised value and amount for which items sold.

 

Folder 10:        67x90.6           Ephraim Haines to the estate of Daniel Trotter, “for sundry household goods, etc., taken at the appraisement,” including table and bed linens, books (brief titles given, one a design book), household goods, furniture, weights and scales, tools (not individually named), and a stove with pipe.

 

                        67x90.7           William Trotter to the estate of Daniel Trotter for household and kitchen furniture; includes books (brief titles given), bed, bedstead, linens, household items, mahogany table, and a silver can.

 

            67x90.8           List of china, monogrammed silver, and buckles.

 

                        67x90.9           Lists Daniel's children (Joseph, Nathan, Thomas, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Mary) and items they inherited (?), including china, silverware (some monogrammed), books, a gun, a watch, gold and silver buttons, furniture, etc.

 

                        67x90.10         Miscellaneous list of household items, with notes about what Joseph and Rebecca have.  Includes money scales, linens and blankets, household goods, tools, stove, furniture, time of two apprentices, and some books.

 

Folder 11:        67x90.11         Various notes and figuring of prices with comment: "the cash received for the sale must be first deducted from the whole sum."  Mentions Trotter and Haines and Ephraim Haines.

 

                        67x90.12         List of the “proceeds of the inventory of Daniel Trotter.”  Lists furniture, silver, notes and bonds, etc.

 

                        67x90.13         Accounts with the estate and how much was paid to each of the children.

 

                        67x90.14         List of “things sold at private sale belonging to Trotter & Haines.”  Lists various pieces of furniture.

 

                        67x90.63         Account between Ephraim Haines and the estate for shop and house rent, sundries, his half of furniture sales, etc.  Also a note about charges against the estate for clothing, educating, and boarding children.

 

                        67x90.78         Account with William Trotter and the estate, 1801.

 

                        67x90.79         "J. Williams amount against the estate."

 

Folder 12:        Ph580              Accounts of the administration of the estate of Daniel Trotter, 1800-1809.  Along with Ephraim Haines' account of his interest in the estate of Daniel Trotter paid to the heirs of Daniel Trotter; bills and receipts of money paid to the estate; account of interest payments to the estate.

 

Folder 13:        67x90.80         receipt from Thomas Stewardson to William Trotter and Ephraim Haines, August 12, 1801.  Received money and a white pine board to pay off an account owed to Stewardson by the late firm Trotter & Haines.

 

                        67x90.81         account of Ephraim Haines with Trotter’s minor children, December 31, 1803

 

                        67x90.83         receipt from Joseph Moore to Trotter and Haines for payment of Daniel Trotter’s payments to the Abolition Society for 1799

 

 

 

Series III: Bonds and Indemnities

 

Folder 14: Bonds executed by Daniel Trotter, 1792-1800, all on printed forms.

 

                        67x90.16         Daniel Trotter, cabinet maker, to Dinah Trotter, spinster [sister of Daniel], 1792, with notes of payments made 1793-1803

                        67x90.17         Daniel Trotter, cabinet maker, to Devenport Marot, spinning wheel maker, 1793, with notes of payments made 1794-1800

                        67x90.18         Daniel Trotter, cabinet maker, to Thomas Trotter, hatter, 1793, with notes of payments made 1794-1800

                        67x90.19         Daniel Trotter, cabinet maker, to Rachel Elfrith [sic, i.e. Elfreth,] widow, 1800, with note about payment, 1800     

 

Folder 15:        67x90.20         Bond to refund and indemnify Matthew and Mary West of Camden, New Jersey, and William I. Trotter, cabinet-maker in Philadelphia, legatees of the Daniel Trotter estate (William Trotter, merchant, and Ephraim Haines, cabinet-maker, administrators), 1804.  About money received by Daniel Trotter and his brothers Benjamin and Joseph, from the executors of the estate of Daniel Williams, a Philadelphia merchant.  (Mary West was the widow of Joseph Trotter.)

 

                        67x90.15         Receipt for payment to Matthew and Mary West of the money due them, as mentioned in the document above.

 

                        67x90.21         Indemnity executed by Elizabeth Trotter and William I. Trotter, 1809, for money received from estate of Daniel Williams.

 

 

 

Series IV: Family Letters and other papers

 

Folder 16:        67x90.84         receipted bill, William Trotter bought of John Horner, cedar rails, oak, stakes, and blocks, paid 1809.

 

                        67x90.85         receipt from Lambert Tow(?) to Nathan Trotter for payment of 15 pounds, 5th month 14, 1747, witnessed by Jonathan Barber.

                                    With a later penciled note on back, mentioning where the receipt was found and discussing the two Nathan Trotters who were alive in 1747.

 

Folder 17:        Ph-575             Daniel Trotter to his son, William Trotter at Joseph Ridgway's in Mount Holly, N.J., Sept. 21, 1797. 

                                    Mentions housekeeper as victim of epidemic and sends his regards to Ephraim Haines.

 

                        Ph-576             Daniel to William, Oct. 12, 1797.

                                    Mentions business and return of people to the city.

 

                        Ph-577             Ephraim Haines to William Trotter, 1799.

                                    Explains why he could not come to Mount Holly.  Mentions fever in Kensington and the fact that many are moving away.

 

                        Ph-578             Haines to William, Aug. 26, 1799

                                    Suggests meeting him the next day.  Mentions spread of the fever.

 

 

 

Series V: Genealogy

 

Folder 18:        Ph-574 Photocopies of pages from the copy book of Nathan Trotter recording family genealogy, 1747-1815.

 

Folder 19:        Ph-579 Photocopy of the marriage certificate of Daniel Trotter and Rebecca Conarroe, Philadelphia, 1773.

 

 

 

Series VI: Miscellaneous Estate records

 

Folder 20:        [no number]     Photocopy of the inventory and appraisal for the estate of Joseph Trotter, July 1770.

 

Folder 21:        Ph-82   Photocopy of the inventory and appraisal for the estate of Ephraim Haines, 1837.

 

                        Ph-87   Photocopy of the inventory of goods and chattel belonging to the estate of Joseph Trotter, Jr. Sept. 1770. (in oversize folder on shelf)

 

                        Ph-562             another copy of the inventory and appraisal of the estate of Ephraim Haines, December 11, 1837.

 

Folder 22:        Ph1065            Photostatic copy of the will of Benjamin Trotter, d. 1768

 

Folder 23:        receipt signed by Daniel Trotter, for cash received belonging to estate of Josiah Elfreth and paid on account of the estate, Nov. 11, 1799

 

 

Series VII: Nathan Trotter--Business records

 

Folder 24:        61x88.1           Account book kept by Nathan Trotter from 1806 to 1810. 

Many of the entries pertain to Caleb Wright and the "amount of leather on hand to sell for him," listing the number of skins, kind of leather, number (perhaps of the color), and cost.  In addition, there are several pages of records having to do with sheeting.

Also an envelope mentioning that the contents (the account book?) had been found at 36 North Front Street.

 

Folder 25:        61x88.2           Twenty samples of fine, colored leather, giving the number and name of each color.

 

                        61x88.5           Five samples of fine, colored leathers, two of which have tiny patterns printed on them, one a plaid, and the other a star pattern.  Other colors are mentioned, but do not have samples.  Part of the document is missing.

 

Folder 26:        61x88.3           Nine samples of changeable (or shot) silks, numbered 29-37; the name Samuel Chambers appears on the verso.  There is a blank space at number 28

 

Folder 27:        61x88.4           Eleven textile samples of bearskins and coatings with numbers and yardages of each.  (Note: these bearskins are felted wool, not real bear fur.) 

 

 Folder 28:       79x103            Bill of lading, 1839. 

            For tin, tin plates, iron, hardware, pig lead, and other metals shipped by Nathan Trotter on the Ship "Spring," and consigned to Pilcher(?) & Ball of Mobile.  The information is on a form printed by John C. Clark with an engraving of a ship.

 

Folder 29:        88x97.1-.7       Seven bills for shipping goods on canal boats, trains, or by unspecified means, 1832, 1834, 1838.  Two bills are decorated with pictures of canal boats, two with pictures of canal boats and trains, and one with a picture of a train.  Among the goods shipped are iron, zinc, tin, hardware, copper, and wire.  The shippers were Chas. Humphreys & Co., Bonsall & Rovoudt, Hand’s Line, The Despatch [sic] Transportation Co. (John White & Co.), Bolton & Co., John Dougherty, all of Philadelphia, and Abel, Housel & Co., which does not list an address.

 

                        88x98.1-.5       Six bills (three of which are attached to each other) for shipping, 1838-1839 and 1844, and a notice of a meeting of the Board of Managers of the Lehigh Coal ad Navigation Company, November 21, 1837.  As Trotter was invited to the meeting, he was either a manager or had business with them.  All six of the shipping records are from the Lehigh Transportation Company of Philadelphia, and all are decorated with pictures of canal boats.  Trotter was shipping copper, tin, iron, and hardware, to Easton, Allentown, and Mauch Chunk. 

 

                        88x100.1-.3     Three bills for shipping, 1830-1831, from the Schuylkill & Union Canal Transportation Wharf in Philadelphia.  Trotter was shipping tin, iron, wire, and copper, to Reading, Pottsville, and Meyerstown.


 

RELATED MATERIALS

 

Most of Daniel Trotter's papers are available in microfilm for use in repository, M-207 and M-242.

 

Tooker, Elva.  Nathan Trotter: Philadelphia Merchant, 1787-1853.  Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955.  (Harvard Studies in Business History, XVIII.)  Winterthur call number: HF3163 P54t.

 

Castrodale, Anne.  Daniel Trotter, Philadelphia Cabinetmaker.  University of Delaware thesis, 1962.  Winterthur call number: NK2542 T85.

 

Additional Trotter papers are in the collection of the Baker Library, School of Business Administration, Harvard University.

 

Trotter-Newbold papers are in the Thompson collection at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

 

Photographs of furniture made by Trotter in the Decorative Arts Photograph Collection, Winterthur Library.