10.9 Linear Feet, 10 ft. 11 in. (21 document cases, 5 in. each); (3 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (4 small flat storage
boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 5 in.); 1 reel of microfilm
Creator
Woodbridge Mercantile Company
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
.
Abstract
Letter and account books, clipping scrapbooks, and miscellaneous family papers of a pioneer, Ohio Valley, general merchandise
firm founded by Dudley Woodbridge, Sr., at Marietta, Ohio, and operating under various names for a period of more than sixty
years. The collection also includes the account books of Daniel, Richard, and John Greene, 1808-1844; account books of F.B.
Loomis, 1842-1844; a medicinal formulary book; the estate records of John Brody; records of a pension and bounty land claims
agency operated by George M. Woodbridge, 1861-1864; and justice of the peace accounts, 1832-1863. Subjects include the development
of river markets, transportation, and the livestock industry in the early Ohio Valley; fur trade and commerce with England
and Europe; the Marietta and Susquehanna Trading Company; Kanawha and Sciota salt works; Ohio Company lands; Woodbridge-Harman
Blennerhassett partnership; ginseng trade; Wheeling Cotton Manufacturing Company; ropewalk and shipbuilding in Marietta; military
land warrants; estate of George Morgan; career of William Woodbridge, United States senator and governor of Michigan; pioneer
education; Meadville Seminary; Ohio University; Miami University; Marietta Collegiate Institute; Belpre, Ohio; American Catholic
missions; early history of Marietta; the American Colonization Society; Washington County Colonization Society; churches;
Washington County Tract Society; recruiting in Marietta during the Civil War; impact of the War of 1812 on westward migration
and labor; and Woodbridge family affairs. Letters are addressed to merchants in London, France, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Charleston (West Virginia), Lexington and Louisville (Kentucky), Cincinnati, St. Louis, New Orleans, Washington, Detroit,
and Baltimore. Correspondents include Lewis Cass, Philip Doddridge, and Benjamin Reeder.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Woodbridge Mercantile Company Records, A&M 1455, West Virginia and Regional
History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
These are the records of the Woodbridge Mercantile Company and related businesses operated in Marietta, Ohio from the years
1743 to 1882. Woodbridge began the business, which included trade up and down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
to Kentucky and points in between. George M. Woodbridge's business dealt in real estate, and so indicates the growth of the
area west of Marietta. The growth of river trade and the types of goods traded are described extensively in the collection.
Other topics include aspects of life in the early nineteenth century Ohio River Valley, real estate, and other business concerns.
Prominent names in the collection include D. Woodbridge, George M. Woodbridge, and Harmon Blennerhasset.
This series includes volumes 1-10, which are letter books dating from 1801 to 1836. These books contain copies of correspondence
mostly regarding business matters of Woodbridge Mercantile Company. Subjects discussed include goods traded, ship building,
river traffic and overland transportation of goods, impact of the War of 1812, Blennerhasset Island, purchases of stock in
local banks, and land sales.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 1
Volume 1
1801 October 21–1803 December 31
Scope and Contents
Letters signed D. Woodbridge, Jr. and D. Woodbridge and Co. Includes 52 letters to Harman Blennerhassett re. company business,
goods ordered, and ship building, launching, and voyages. Cargo mentioned includes skins, hemp, ginseng, and pork taken in
trade and purchased for sale in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Also, letters to James Converse, Joseph F. Munro, Mrs. Mary Jourdan
(Philadelphia agent for Woodbridge & Co.), James Backus, William Woodbridge, Joseph Clarke, Jacob Burnet, John Daman, Andrew
and John Oliphant, R. Caldwell, and Capt. William Latimer. Subjects include purchasing and selling various goods, shipbuilding,
ropewalk business in Marietta, river traffic, instructions to agents, and Sciota Salt Works.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 2
Volume 2
1811 October 31–1814 August 11
Scope and Contents
Subjects include dissolution of D. Woodbridge & Co. partnership, purchase and sale of goods, transportation by wagon and riverboats,
salt received on commission from Donnally and Steele (Kanawha Salt Works), transactions on Ohio Company lands, ropewalk in
Marietta, purchase of shares in Pittsburgh manufaturing company, settlement of Col. George Morgan estate, transactions involving
sugar and cotton in New Orleans and Kentucky, riverboat accidents and loss of cargo, effects of war on emigration to Ohio,
the shortage of labor, Ohio banks, purchase of stock in a Canal company, and barge building in Marietta. Correspondents include:
Moses Dillon, Jeffry Price, Sen. John Lambert, John Tilford, James Mountain, Harmon Blennerhassett, George Morgan, Philip
Doddridge, Capt. Daniel Greene, Jonathan Buitteau, Benjamin Morgan, and Thomas Butler. Locations include: Philadelphia, Nashville,
Cincinnati, Charleston, Lexington, Zanesville, and New Orleans.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 3
Volume 3
1816 June 13–1816 December 7
Scope and Contents
Subjects include fur trade with London and French merchants, purcahse and sale of ginseng and other products, and re. conduct
of storage and commission business. Names include: Thomas Morgan, Samuel Murdock, Thomas L. Pierce, Sevil Scovil and Co.,
John Barr, and L. Barber. Places named include: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Lexington, New York, St. Louis, and London.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 4
Volume 4
1818 August 18–1820 September 25
Scope and Contents
Subjects include currency exchange, shipping conditions, marketing information, rental of Blennerhassett Island, and mercantile
business. Names and firms: Moses Dillon, James W. Biddle & Co., Steele, Donnally & Steele, Thomas Baker, S.&G. Trotter & Co.,
and Gelman and Ammidon. Places named include: Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 5
Volume 5
1820 June 23–1821 February 19
Scope and Contents
Subjects include routine business letters, the Lucy Backus Woodbridge estate, family correspondence, resignation of William
Woodbridge from Congress, rental of Blennerhassett Island. Business firms mentioned: Benjamin J. Gilman, W. Wilson & Co.,
Robert Fulton, R. J. Meigs, Clarissa Backus, J. W. Biddle & Co., and John Sproule. Places of business include: Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Frankfort, Lexington, Washington D.C., Zanesville, Chillicothe, Detroit, Clarksburg, and Parkersburg.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 6
Volume 6
1821 February 19–1821 December 12
Scope and Contents
Subjects include purchase of bank stock, estate of Lucy Backus Woodbridge, currency exchange, steamboat building, and family
and business affairs. Correspondents include: Jesse B. Thomas, Benjamin Reeder, E. Buckingham Jr. & Co., Elihu Chauncey, Henry
Strong, Daniel Converse, Joseph Willard, Sam A. Wescott, and Henry Northrup. Places addressed: Washington D.C., Norwich, Lexington,
Philadelphia, Pitssburgh, Wheeling, Clarksburg, Frankfort, St. Clairsville, Steubenville, Zanesville, and Cincinnati.
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 7
Volume 7
1826 March–1829 February
Scope and Contents
Unsigned letters, mainly from Pt. Harman, ordering goods for the D. Woodbridge Store. Also some letters concerning tobacco,
ginseng, dried fruit, skins, beeswax, rags, feathers, and other products shipped to eastern markets for sale.
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 8
Volume 8
1827 December 29–1834 September 16
Scope and Contents
Subjects: principally rountine business correspondence, but also includes letters to Wheeling seeking wool. Names of steamboats
and captains are mentioned in various letters. Names of persons and companies addressed: J.J. Jackson, Luther Edgerton, Jones,
Tyson & Co., W. Palmer, and D.T. Chambers. Letters addressed to: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Sistersville, Wheeling,
Louisville, Pt. Harman, Salem Ripley, and McConnelsville.
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 9
Volume 9
1829 August 10–1836 August 19
Scope and Contents
Subjects: family affairs, religion, William Woodbridge's office as U.S. Judge in Michigan, Wheeling Cotton Manufacturing Co.,
stock in Bank of the U.S. and other banks, the Morganza Tract in Pennsylvania, churches, missionary societies,Collegiate Institute,
property in Marietta, and business opportunities. Correspondents include: Lewis Cass, Thomas McKennan, Waterman Palmer, Thomas
Morgan, Rev. R.H. Bishop, William Holyoke, Rev. Artemus Ballard, Joseph Gales, and Rev. James Laurie.
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 10a
Folder 10a -- Includes notes on Marietta schools, plats, printed matter, and some letters, bills, and memos.
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 10
Volume 10
1833 December–1836 October
Scope and Contents
A few letters dated at Pittsburgh to merchants and business houses in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Louisville. Also includes
a cash book spanning Jan. 1834 to Oct. 1836.
This series includes volumes 11-89. These are all daybooks (blotters) from 1788-1862. Subjects included concern river boats,
Harmon Blennerhasset, transactions with various firms, goods traded, land warrants, and land sales.
This series contains record books other than daybooks, including volumes 90-128, 137, 138, and 141-145. Volumes 90-128 are
records of the Woodbridge Company; volumes 137-138 are the records of the Greene Company; and volumes 142-145 are the records
of the F.B. Loomis Company. Many of these contain the same sort of information as the day books, in a similar format. Years
covered are 1743-1854. Types of books include invoice books, ledgers, cash books, inventory, warehouse books, memorandum books,
sale books, receipt books, account books, and alphabetical indexes (volume 141).
This series contains only volumes 139-140. These are pension claim books of George M. Woodbridge during the Civil War. Dates
are 1861-1864 and 1863 respectively.
Mixed Materials Box: 22 Folder: 139
Volume 139 -- Pension Claim Book (G.M. Woodbridge)
This series consists of volumes 129-136, which are miscellaneous collections of George M. Woodbridge. Dates run from 1779
to 1882, but most items concern the later time period. Items included are blank notes from G.M. Woodbridge's General Agency
and Land Office; Justice of the Peace Accounts, listing notes, cash payments, unsettled notes, etc.; Woodbridge Autobiographical
memo, including a sampling of materials found elsewhere in the collection; a prescription book; a newspaper scrapbook compiled
in the 1870s; another scrapbook, containing mostly religious material; a U.S. Internal Revenue List of the Several Collection
Districts (1870); and an old manuscript book containing copies of anecdotes, stories, diary excerpts, and poems written by
George M. Woodbridge. This last includes such titles as "Marietta in 1804 or 1805," "The Blennerhassets," "Ships and Steamboats,"
and "Steamboats Built at Marietta." There are 34 such writings in the manuscript book.
Mixed Materials Box: 20 Folder: 129
Volume 129 -- George Woodbridge Receipt Book
1840
Mixed Materials Box: 20 Folder: 130
Volume 130 -- Woodbridge, Justice of the Peace Accounts
1832–1836
Mixed Materials Box: 20 Folder: 131
Volume 131 -- G. Woodbridge Autobiographical Book
1779–1882
Mixed Materials Box: 21 Folder: 132
Volume 132 -- Old Manuscript Book (essays)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 21 Folder: 133
Volume 133 -- Newspaper Clipping Scrapbook
1870s
Mixed Materials Box: 21 Folder: 134
Volume 134 -- Newspaper Clipping Scrapbook
1870s
Mixed Materials Box: 21 Folder: 135
Volume 135 -- Prescription Book
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 22 Folder: 136
Volume 136 -- List of the several collection districts
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