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Original 1803 Baltimore manuscript coal bill and payment receipt addressed to Robert Purviance, Esq., from Wm. Wilson & Sons, the Baltimore merchant and shipping firm.
Dated September 30, 1803, the account records 300 bushels of coal at 30 cents per bushel, totaling $90. A handwritten acknowledgment records payment in full on December 19, 1803. The reverse retains its period filing docket naming the firm, amount, and payment date.
The customer is attributed to Robert Purviance Sr., Baltimore’s Collector of Customs from 1794 to 1806 and a Revolutionary patriot who, with his brother Samuel, helped provision Continental naval vessels. His adult son was also named Robert Purviance, so identification of the customer as the elder man remains an attribution. Purviance is the named customer; the payment acknowledgment is signed on behalf of the merchant firm.
Wm. Wilson & Sons adopted that firm name in 1802, placing this receipt near the beginning of its history. Founder William Wilson later headed the Bank of Baltimore and provided financial support to the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812.
A tangible record of early American coal commerce, with interest for collectors of Baltimore and Maryland history, shipping merchants, banking, business manuscripts, and Revolutionary-era personalities.
One original paper document, approximately 8 x 3 inches. Age toning, scattered spotting, folds, edge wear, small edge nicks or losses, a turned corner, and fading to portions of the ink. Period docket and later pencil markings on the reverse. Please examine all photographs for condition and handwriting details.
Type: Manuscript bill and payment receipt
Year: 1803
Bill Date: September 30, 1803
Payment Date: December 19, 1803
Place: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Named Customer: Robert Purviance, Esq.
Historical Attribution: Robert Purviance Sr., customs collector and Revolutionary patriot
Merchant: Wm. Wilson & Sons
Subject: Coal trade; early American commerce; Baltimore history
Transaction: 300 bushels of coal at 30 cents; $90 total
Material: Paper
Language: English
Dimensions: Approximately 8 x 3 inches
Quantity: 1 document, writing on both sides
Signature: Merchant representative; surname uncertain
Robert Purviance: The leading candidate is Robert Purviance Sr., who died in 1806. The Maryland Center for History and Culture identifies him as Baltimore\'s naval officer beginning in 1789 and customs collector from 1794 to 1806. Its finding aid also identifies a merchant son, Robert Jr. (1779–1858). Because the receipt gives neither office nor generation, identification of the customer as the father is an attribution, not a demonstrated fact. [Source 1]
Revolutionary naval connection: A January 14, 1778 letter from Samuel and Robert Purviance discusses salt for preserving provisions for two Continental vessels they were fitting out. A January 20 letter from the Continental Marine Committee sends them a $10,000 congressional warrant and requests their accounts. These establish substantive civilian supply and financial work for the Revolutionary naval effort. They do not establish that this 1803 coal purchase was for a naval vessel or government building. [Sources 2–3]
Wm. Wilson & Sons: This matches the Baltimore shipping house. Institutional records identify William Wilson as a merchant, shipowner, and Bank of Baltimore president, with sons James and Thomas as business partners. An 1879 biography dates the firm name to 1802 and describes international shipping. It also credits William with an interest-free $50,000 advance to Navy agent James Beatty in 1814. The loan is historical biographical context; it is not the transaction recorded here. [Sources 4–5]
James [Dew?]: The signature\'s first name reads James; Dew is a tentative surname reading. Fry\'s 1812 Baltimore directory lists James C. Dew, merchant, at 87 Harford Street. That is a research lead only: no employment link to Wilson & Sons or matching signature was established. The listing therefore does not assign the signer a full identity. [Source 6]
