John Carter Brown Library Collection

Item

Country: US
Name of institution (official language of the state): The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Language of name of institution: eng
Contact information: postal address: 3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220
Contact information: phone number: 01 513 487 3000
Contact information: web address: https://www.americanjewisharchives.org/
Contact information: email: Contact form
Reference number: MS-453
Type of reference number: Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state): John Carter Brown Library Collection
Language of title: eng
Creator / accumulator: The Brown Family
Date(s): 1759/1816
Language(s): eng
Extent: 4 boxes
Type of material: Textual Material
Physical condition: Good
Scope and content: The John Carter Brown Library collection of the American Jewish Archives comprises photocopies of letters and other documents held by the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island, exchanged between the Brown family (namely Nicholas Brown, Obadiah Brown, John Brown, and the firms Nicholas Brown & Co. and Obadiah Brown & Co.) and Jewish merchants living in Colonial America. Among them, there are three Sephardic merchants from Newport, namely Aaron Lopez, Jacob Rodriguez Rivera, Moses Seixas, James Lucena and his son John Charles Lucena:
- Letters from Aaron Lopez: box 1, folder 5; box 2, folder 10; box 3, folder 4; box 4, folder 10.
- Letters to Aaron Lopez: box 2, folders 2, 3 and 4; box 3, folders 1, 2 and 3; box 4, folder 4.
- Letters from James and John Lucena: box 1, folder 6.
- Letters from Jacob Rodrigues Rivera: box 1, folder 12; box 2, folder 14; box 4, folder 14.
- Letters to Jacob Rodriguez Rivera: box 2, folder 5; box 4, folder 7.
- Letters to Moses Seixas: box 2, folder 8; box 2, folder 15.
Administrative / Biographical history: Descending from one of the founders of Providence, the Brown family rose to prominence in the mid-18th century, primarily through the business success of the four surviving sons of Captain James Brown: Nicholas, John, Joseph, and Moses. Initially, in partnership with their uncle Obadiah Brown, the brothers expanded upon their father’s mercantile and maritime endeavours, building a network of family companies that came to dominate local trade, manufacturing, and investment. As eminent community members, the Browns also wielded considerable political and social influence, and the collection documents the family’s participation in Revolutionary politics, state agencies, and the establishment and development of Brown University.; (source: The John Carter Library website)
Access points: locations: Newport, Rhode Island (USA); Providence, Rhode Island (USA)
Access points: persons, families: Lopez, Aaron; Lucena, James (Diogo Carvalho de Lucena); Lucena, John Charles (João Carlos Lucena); Rodriguez Rivera, Jacob; Seixas, Moses
Access points: subject terms: Sephardim in North America; Trade and commerce; Whaling; 18th century
Access points: document types: Commercial correspondence
System of arrangement: The records are organised according to the sender or recipient of the letters.
Links to finding aids: A Finding Aid to the John Carter Brown Library Collection
Existence and location of originals: The Brown Family Business Records
Author of the description: Carla Vieira, 2022
Published primary sources: Marcus, Jacob Rader. 1959. American Jewry: Documents: Eighteenth Century. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press.

Item sets: WSD Roadmap; WSD Roadmap finais; WSD Roadmap USA

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Items with "Existence and location of copies: John Carter Brown Library Collection"
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Aaron Lopez Papers

Items with "Collections (official language of the state): John Carter Brown Library Collection"
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The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives