Guide to the Godfrey Malbone oath, 1763

Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Published in 2014

Collection Overview

Title:	Godfrey Malbone oath
Date range:	1763
Creator:	Malbone, Godfrey, 1724-1785
Extent:	0.01 linear feet (1 folder)
Abstract:	This collection contains a printed oath filled in and signed at the Custom House at Newport, Rhode Island, certifying that Godfrey Malbone (1724-1785) and his brother John (1735-1795) were the owners of the brig Catherine.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Redwood Library and Athenaeum
Collection number:	RLC.Ms.552

Scope & content

This collection contains a printed oath filled in and signed at the Custom House at Newport, Rhode Island, and witnessed by Governor Stephen Hopkins (1707-1785) and collections officer, Joseph Wanton (1705-1780) on June 3, 1763. John and Godfrey Malbone, Jr. are listed as the owner of the brig Catherine, built in Warren, Rhode Island, and John Duprey as master. The verso of this document has the certification that Isaac Cowdery is now master of the Brig replacing the late John Dupey, signed by Wanton and Benjamin Wickham.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Cowdery, Isaac
• Duprey, John
• Hopkins, Stephen, 1707-1785
• Malbone, Godfrey, 1724-1785
• Malbone, John, 1735-1795
• Wanton, Joseph, 1705-1780
• Wickham, Benjamin

Subject Organizations

• Catherine (Brig)

Subject Topics

• Customhouses--Rhode Island--Newport
• Maritime law--Great Britain--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
• Shipping--Rhode Island--Newport--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest
• Government, Politics and Law

Document Types

• Oaths

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in chronological order.

Biographical note

Godfrey Malbone (1724-1785) was born on September 3, 1724, in Newport, Rhode Island, and was the son of Godfrey Malbone, Sr. (1695-1769), who was at one time one of the wealthiest men in Newport due to his involvement in privateering and the triangle trade. As an investment, Godfey’s father purchased over three thousand acres of land in the towns of Pomfret and Brooklyn, Connecticut. When his businesses began to dwindle, Godfrey, Sr. mortgaged the property to Charles Paxton (1707-1788), a Loyalist in Boston, and signed a bond for the payment of the debts with his sons Godfrey and John (1735-1795). In 1766, Godfrey, Sr. relinquished his claim on the land to his sons and Godfrey, Jr. moved to Pomfret to live and help sell other Malbone land holdings. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the land mortgaged to Paxton was confiscated by the state of Connecticut due to his Loyalist inclinations. As a result, the Malbones and others, to whom he had sold land, lost their title to the land, since the mortgage had not been paid. Godfrey and John petitioned the General Assembly of Connecticut and ultimately the land was signed back to the Malbones. Godfrey Malbone died on November 12, 1785, in Pomfret and was buried in the Old Trinity Cemetery in Brooklyn, Connecticut.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Use of the materials:	This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Preferred citation:	Godfrey Malbone oath, RLC.Ms.552, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Contact information:	Redwood Library and Athenaeum 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Tel: (401) 847-0292 Fax: (401) 841-5680 email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Gift of Mrs. Reginald B. Lanier, 1962 Feb 7
Processing information:	This document had been placed in a frame at an unknown date and was found within the Steel Cabinet Collection: Drawer 7. During processing in 2014, the frame was removed and the document was housed according to archival standards.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Delmage 2014 September 16
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Funding for processing and cataloging this collection was provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation.

Additional Information

Related material:	Godfrey Malbone letter, RLC.Ms.551, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Malbone family collection, MSS 549, Rhode Island Historical Society.
Bibliography:	Preston, Howard W. Godfrey Malbone’s Connecticut Investment,” Rhode Island Historical Society Collections (October 1923): 115-120.

Inventory

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Manuscripts Box 1

Brigantine Catherine Custom House oath

1763 Jun 3