James Latimer, born May 19, 1719, was the founder of the Latimer family mercantile and political interests in America. In 1736, he and his father, Arthur, emigrated from Ireland to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. James moved to Delaware and became one of the founders of Newport in New Castle County. He married Sarah Geddes in 1749 and shortly thereafter built a home and store. His business activities expanded to include milling and shipping grain and flour. James and Sarah had eight children. The oldest two, George (b. 1750) and Henry (b. 1752) both became prosperous in their own right. While Henry remained in Newport, George settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After receiving a B.A. in 1770 and A.M. in 1773 from the College of Philadelphia, Henry attended medical school in Edinburgh. Returning to Delaware in 1777, he received a commission as a surgeon in the Continental Army and for the hospital of the United States Army in 1781. Long a distinguished surgeon, Henry also participated in local and national politics. He served in the Delaware state legislature and then as a Representative in the U.S. Congress from 1793 to 1795. He was a Senator from 1795 until he resigned in 1802. Henry helped found and became the first president of the Agricultural Society of Delaware in 1804. He was a member of the Delaware State Society of the Cincinnati. Henry was also engaged in mercantile activities with his brother, George, and nephew, James.

Henry was thirty-three when he married Ann Cathcart. She died in 1785 and he married Ann Richardson on February 26, 1789. The two had five children: Sarah, John Richardson (b. 1793), Mary Richardson, Henry (b. 1799), and James, all born and raised in Newport, Delaware. When Henry died in 1819, Henry, Jr. and John Richardson served as executors of his estate.

Sometime before 1816, John Richardson Latimer went to Philadelphia to receive training in a counting house, probably that of his uncle, George. George arranged for John and his son, James, to enter the China trade. John made his first supercargo voyage to Canton in 1815. From that time until 1838 John made regular voyages between China and his home in Delaware, spending most of his time abroad. Profits from his years in China allowed him to retire at the age of forty. In 1838, he and his wife, Elizabeth Caldwell Keppele, moved to an estate known as "Latimeria." (Winterthur Museum has a small pantry from Latimeria installed adjacent to the Port Royal Parlor.) During his retirement years, John was elected to the Delaware constitutional convention, served as president of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati, and was a member of the executive committee for the Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg. He died at his home in 1865.

Like his brother, Henry also seems to have received early training in his uncle's counting house. He took an interest in agriculture and spent his early years farming family land. Henry was the most settled of the Latimer children. When John was abroad, Henry held his power of attorney and invested his profits in the stocks and bonds of American firms. On June 6, 1822, he married Sarah Anne (Sally) Bailey, daughter of Joseph Bailey, president of the Bank of Delaware. They resided at Woodstock, near Newport, the family home he had inherited from his father. The following year, Henry became a director of The Bank of Delaware. In 1841, he became its president, a position he held for thirty-one years. He remained active in Delaware affairs until his death in 1885.

The collection is comprised of documents relating to the Latimer family which fit into three series. The first series, household expenses, consists of bills, receipts, and other documents that pertain to household purchases and expenses, including schooling for Latimer children in 1801 and 1815, clothing, household furnishings, china, silver, kitchenware, and passes for tolls on Delaware roads. The bulk of the bills and receipts are for items purchased by or for Sally Anne Bailey Latimer in preparation for her marriage to Henry Latimer and in the first few months of her marriage. Also featured is the estate inventory of Dr. Henry Latimer. The appraisal was done in the form of a room by room listing on April 6, 1820. Also of note is a receipted bill for a coal stove purchased by Henry Latimer in 1839 that includes a printed warranty.

The second series, China trade, relates primarily to John Richardson Latimer's activities importing tea, opium, fabric, and porcelains from China. Included are an invoice for merchandise shipped (china, textiles, and tea) and bill of lading for the same shipment with ten samples of silk, imported by James Latimer, Jr. and John Stocker, Jr. in 1807; two letterbooks used by John Richardson Latimer and George Latimer from 1815 to 1820 to record letters to customers about orders and market conditions; a record book (1828-1834) listing dates of arrival and departure of American ships at Canton, their destinations, and products being imported and exported; John Latimer's cashbook used in 1822 and 1823 and his daybook used from 1828 to 1833; a price and order book used in 1833; and other items showing imports, exports, and values of products.

In the third series are photocopies of letters from John Richardson Latimer to his family (with some transcriptions), and a manuscript of a lecture on John Richardson Latimer by Charles Hummel.

The collection is organized into three series: Household expenses, China trade, and notes on the Latimer family collected by Charles Hummel; each series is arranged chronologically.

None

Gifts and purchases from various sources.

Thill, Joan Kerr Farley. "A Delawarean in the Celestial Empire: John Richardson Latimer and the China Trade," thesis, University of Delaware, June 1973.

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Extent: 0.6 cu.ft. Date range: 1801-ca.1860; bulk dates 1815-1833 Related materials Thill, Joan Kerr Farley. "A Delawarean in the Celestial Empire: John Richardson Latimer and the China Trade," thesis, University of Delaware, June 1973. Creator: Latimer family Title: Papers Dates: 1801-ca.1860, bulk 1815-1833 Call No.: Col. 235 Acc. No.: [various - see detailed description] Quantity: 2 boxes Location: 15 K 2

The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera