Cargo of the Sloop Olive Branch - 1770


[ Introduction ]

Account Sales of the Cargo of the Sloop Olive Branch, in a voyage to the West Indies from New York, commencing Nov. 3d, 1770.

Sold at ANT1GUA, viz:

One ton of Flour, the property of Henry Van Ranslar, weighing Nt. 30C. lqr. 4lh— sold for 21s. pr. C.— sold to Messrs. "Peterson & Hartshorn, £31 16 02
One ton ditto, the property of John Stevenson weighing, Nt. 30C. Oqr.
Sold one ton ditto, the property of Richard Van Zant, weighing 27C. Oqr. 191h, for 21s. pr. C.— Paterson and Hartshorn, 29 02 09
One ton ditto the property of Jane Van Howser, weighing 32C. Oqr. 151h— sold for 21s pr. C.— Patterson and Hartshorn, 34 04 07
One ton ditto the property of Doctr. Samuel Stringer, weighing 31C. 1qr. 14lh.— sold for 21s. 3d. pr. C— Mr. John Lindsay, 33 16 02
One ton ditto, the property of Nicholas Cuyler, weighing 27 C. 2qr. Olh. — sold for on an avernge, a 21s. 6d pr C. — different people, 29 11 03

One ton ditto, the property of Peter Silvester, Es.qr.,2harr's, wg 355 Nt. a 24s 4 05 02

1 harr. ditto, sold wg 1QOlh. Nl a 21s 2 01 02
13 harr. ditlo, wg. 243 Nt. a 21s 26 01 05 £
[Total] ..................... 223 04 07
Sales of Fish, viz :
14 barrs. Herring, the property of Col. Philip Schuyler — soldo 12s— sold to Bustie Entwitch, Esqr 8 OS 00
1 barr. do— sold Mr Carr 1 00 00
10 barrs. do , the property of Henry and Rchert Lansingh, a 12s.— Entwich, Esq. 6 00 00
20 harrs. do., the property of ditto, sold Mr. John Rose, a 20s 20 00 00
3.5 barrs ditto, the property of do., sold a 20.— Mr. Carr.... 3 10 00

total £38 18 00

Sales of Staves, viz :

7050 Nt. Thd. Slaves the property of self and comp'y, a £8 pr.M 621600
32 Ducks, sold a 33s. pr. doz'n 4 08 00
2 Turkeys, a 7s 0 14 00
3 1.2 Bushels of Pease, a 9s J 11 06
18 Pine Plank, a 2s. 6d 20500
15 Ditto Boards, a 1s. 6d 10206
An Horse Arning 1 10 00
11 empty water casks, a 8s. 3J 4 10 09
10 Caags Pease sold for Mrs. Lynot 3 00 00
l0 dittodo., for do 2 10 00
2 ditto do., for do 00506

2 ditto do., for do 0 10 00

3 harrs. of Apples sold for Isaac Van Volkenherg. a 24s 3 12 00

2 ditto, do. for do. a 20s 2 00 00

2 ditto, do. for do. a 7s. 6d 0 15 00

20 Geese sold for ditto, a 5s 5 00 00

1 ditto sold for do. a 4. 6d 0 04 06

2 harrs. Apples, sold for William Salsherry 2 08 00

2 ditto, do. for do a 12s 10400

2 ditto, do. for do. a 12s 1 04 00

1 ditto do. for do 10000

30 bunches of Onions, sold for Mr. Alex. Mac Lean, a 9d.. . 1 02 06

2 hhds. ditto, sold for ditto 4 09 00

11 Bunches dilto, sold for ditto, a 7d 0 06 05

1 Hhd. do. for do. 122 Bunches, a 6d 3 01 00

1 Hhd. do. for do. 113 do. a 7d 3 06 00

150 strings sold at vandue, for do. loose onions 0 13 00

6 empty Hhds. for do. a 8s 20800

1 small horse for self and Doctr. Stringer, 13 04 00

Sales at ST. CHR1STOPHER'S, viz : —

Sorrel horse, the property of William Hunn marked P. V. Z .................... 7 00 00
1 small Mare the property of William Pemberton .................... 14 00 00
1 Bay horse, the properly of Francis Vina, marked H. I... . 7 00 00
1 Black horse, the property ol John Ross, marked l. L. S.. 8 00 00
1 Bay horse, the property of Doctor Sum Stringer,. 13 00 00
1 Sorrel horse the property of Robert Henery 17 00 00
1 Dark Bay horse, the property of Henry Glen, marked B. V. B 13 1000
1 Black horse, the property of Mr. Wemp, marked P. M.,.. 14 15 00
1 Black horse, the property of Abraham Bloodgood, 14 00 00
2 horses, the property of Abraham Tenbrook, marked I D. &.A.T.B .................... 39 16 00
I Negroe Man, the property of Mr. Staats, .................... 51 00 00
Total, ............................................................ £591 01 09

Returns from the WEST INDIAS, viz :

19 Hogsheads Rum for James Bloodgood & Comp'y O. B., Hhd 's to contain the above Rum 21 07 06
12 Barr's Limes for do 6 08 00
Cash received at Antigua for freight, 15 10 00
9 HhJ's Rum for Sundry Shippers, pr. their several accounts, 145 17 00
81 lh. Cotton, « 6d 2 01 00
JE447 16 00

ANCIENT COMMERCE OF ALBANY

It has heen the custom with fancy scribblers, since the triumph of steam, to amuse the public with much facetia at the expense of the honest zeevaarderen who were wont to navigate the Hudson in the last century, till the youngsters of this day have become pretty thoroughly imbued with the idea that the ancient commerce of the river is only worth remembering for the amusement it affords in lhat way. The real character of the old skippers ought to he rescued from such imputations and their sturdy, honest enterprise placed in its true light. We give below the manifest of the sloop Olive Branch, Captain Abraham Bloodgood, as [one] sample of what was occasionally done in the way of distant voyages before the Revolution. Capt. Bloodgood is still remembered by some of the older citizens,* as are also most of the consignors, the memory of whom will he singularly enough awakened by this article.

The original account of sales of this voyage, from which we copy, is in the possession of Mr. Robert H. Waterman of this city. It affords a very interesting diary of the success of the adventure to Antigua and St. Christopher's with a very curiously assorted cargo of Albany merchandise, consisting of flour, herrings, horses, one negro man, and a great variety of the produce of this latitude; in exchange for which he brought hack eighty-one pounds of cotton, a much rarer article then than now, some cash, and much rum.

*He was the grandfather of simeon De Witt Bloodgood, late of this city and resided in the vicinity of the Fort Orange Hotel. He superintended the buildinhg of that house for Simeon De Witt, the surveyor-general, while the latter was abesent from the city. The original Fort Orange Hotel, it is well known, occupied the site of the old fort of that name, which stood opposite the Steam Boat Landing. The original Fort Orange Hotel fell a victim to the great fire of August 1848, and a new one has arisen from the ruins.

These ventures lo the West Indies seem to have heen more common, after the war of the revolution, to Lansingburgh and Hudson, than to Alhany, from the fact that the editor of the Albany Gazette, in 1790, marvelled lhat the citizens of Albany should remain inactive spectators while their neighbors on the north and the south were participating in all the blessings of this valuahle trade." As an instance in lhe commerce of Lansinghurgh, it was announced that the sloop Arabia, Capt. Johnson, which sailed for the West lndies in June, had sailed again in October on her second voyage thither, with a valuable cargo. On the 12th of April 1791, it was mentioned as a congratulatory event that 40 sail of vessels had arrived at this port in one day, or passed it for Troy and Lansingburgh ; that 18 vessels, of which 16 were of from 40 lo 80 tons lay at the port of Lansingburgh, and that the sloop Naucy had performed atrip from thence to New York and hack in seven days. In Novemher of the same year it was ngain announced as an extraordinary occurrence, that 42 vessels of from 40 to 100 1ons, principally ahove 70, were at anchor in 1he port of Alhany. Among other feats of sloop navigation in those days, we are told that Capt. William Van Ingen, of the sloop Cincinnati, sailed from Alhany on the 5th Decemher, 1794, and arrived at New York on the9lh ; disposed of his cargo, look in a valuahle freight, and returned lo this port on the 16lh. The navigation had then heen uninterrupted for nine months, and was still unimpeded by ice.

The examples of speedy voyages whcih were boasted of in the last century, read a little oddly now, but yet the slops under a good wind, were an overmatch for the steamboats for a long time after the latter made their appearance on the river. In the year 1794, one Col. Wm. Colbreath, sheriff of Herkimer, left this city on a Sunday morning, on a sloop for New York, and returned on Thursday afternoon, the eleventh, having performed the journey in a little more than four days, including a day and a half he was in New York" The feat was perhaps as much a matter of wonder and admiration, as when the steam hoat had heen so much improved as to make the passnge from New York to Alhany in 24 hours.


notes


Transformed by SB from an online resource that has been printed a number of times - this one (possibly the earliest) dates from 1850.

Home | Site Index | Navigation | Email | New York State Museum


privately posted posted: 3/10/08