- Call Number:
- HIL-MICL FC LFR .W3T4L4
- Category:
- Family
- Creator:
- Walker, Thomas, 1763-1811.
- Material Description:
- 1 microfilm textual records 35 mm
- Background:
Thomas Walker was the son of Thomas Walker Sr., who was commissioned a lieutenant in the 40th Regiment of Foot in 1755 and served as barrack master at Annapolis, Nova Scotia. His son, Thomas Walker Jr., was a lieutenant in the New York Volunteers, a distinguished Loyalist regiment under the command of Lt.Col. George Turnbull during the American Revolution.
In 1788, Thomas Walker was granted 265 acres of land in Clements Township, Nova Scotia, and in 1792 a water lot in Annapolis Royal. He settled there with several hundred other Loyalists, and established a business importing all manner of goods from London, Liverpool, New York, Boston, Jamaica, Saint John, and other ports.
- Contents:
The Letter Book kept by Thomas Walker is a chronological record of his business transactions between 1791 and 1799. Each entry is dated and entered at Annapolis Royal. Letters concerning business matters and orders for merchandise are recorded fully. He appears to have had business dealings with a considerable number of individuals and companies.
A few of the individuals include: James Hoyt, Isaac Bonnell, James Holdsworth, Henry Rutherford, William Taylor, Robert Browne, John Turner and Philip Sansom. The companies include: Murray and Sansom, Thomas and Reid, Rutherford and Nash, Foster and Warren, Williams and Lyon, Campbell and Stewart, Seaman and VanKeurens of New York, William Brown of London, Brooke Watson and Co. of London, and William and Thomas Pagan of Saint John. In only a few cases is the location of the company recorded in the Letter Book.
The lists of merchandise are long and extremely detailed, and provide a fascinating look at the products that were in use in a North American colony at the end of the eighteenth century. Also of interest, are the procedures by which credit, payment, insurance, and currency matters were handled locally, and with other jurisdictions.
- Originals:
The original Letter Book is held by the University of New Brunswick Archives. It was purchased by the Archives in 1961.
- Archival Ref. No.:
UNB Archives MG H74.
- Finding Aids:
Electronic version available. See Microforms staff.