Christopher Champlin
Records and Correspondence, 1762-1797
SC529

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Historical Note:

Christopher Champlin and Aaron Lopez were general merchants in Newport, Rhode Island, during the late eighteenth century. They acquired many of their goods from wholesale importers and merchants in New York City and Long Island. Aaron Lopez drowned in an accident at Scott's Pond, five miles outside of Providence, Rhode Island, on May 28, 1782.

Scope and Contents Note:

These papers consist chiefly of correspondence relating to the business affairs of Christopher Champlin and Aaron Lopez, general merchants in Newport, Rhode Island. These two individuals were not in partnership. The correspondence is primarily incoming letters from importers and merchants in New York City and Long Island concerning goods imported from England, etc., as well as domestic locations. These papers also include plans for overseas voyages, announcements of available goods, arrangements for orders, discussions of prices, and debit-credit accounts.

Among the correspondents to Christopher Champlin are members of the Livingston family. Most prominent is the correspondence from Peter R. Livingston (May 8, 1737-November 15, 1794), a member of the Provincial Congress of colonial New York and an officer during the Revolutionary War. These papers also include a small number of letters from his brothers Robert Cambridge (1742-?) and Walter (1740-1797). Walter was also prominent in public life, serving in the Provincial Congress in 1775 and in the Assembly in 1777-1779. He became Commissioner of the United States Treasury in 1785. Some of these letters claim that the master of their ship has swindled them, and instruct Champlin to apprehend him when the ship arrives in Newport. The collection includes three letters from Peter R.'s uncle, John Livingston (1714-?), a New York merchant and governor of King's College.

The final item of correspondence to Aaron Lopez is dated February 21, 1782. Lopez drowned in an accident at Scott's Pond, five miles outside of Providence, on May 28, 1782. These papers contain a few miscellaneous items, including an inventory of the estate of John Baker dated June 28, 1797, and a handwritten copy of Chapter 25 of "Candide." These papers are valuable for the study of business practices among wholesalers and importers in the eighteenth century.

Calendar of Documents:

Items listed below are correspondence except as noted otherwise.