James Brown II (1698-1739) Papers (MSS 309)

The collection includes business correspondence between Brown and other merchants and letters received from the captain of his ship in the West Indies reporting on cargo sales and receipts; a letter book of copies of Brown’s outgoing correspondence; accounting ledgers and an account book. The collection also contains a small amount of miscellaneous legal documents, such as land deeds; an agreement to build a ship with building specifications; and James Brown’s estate papers.

Also included is a cyphering book, which is a series of mathematical and navigation problems designed to teach young men mathematical concepts and 18th century navigation skills. The end of the volume has a day-to-day journal of a voyage taken in 1727 by James Brown aboard the sloop Truth & Delight.