Henry Ledyard collection (RLC.Ms.565)

This collection consists of letters and legal documents both received and collected by Henry Ledyard. Many of the letters in this collection were written to Ledyard, unless otherwise noted, and typically concern his work in Paris, France, while working on Lewis Cass’s staff. Some of these letters are written in French. Also included is a list of the letters presented to the Redwood Library by Ledyard in October 1869.

Letters and legal documents collected by Ledyard are typically from the colonial era and document both Newport and early American history. Items of particular note include: the 1726 document signed by various Newport citizens which established a Fire Bucket Company in Newport to develop a protocol if a fire were to start in town; a remonstrance from Boston citizens to the British Parliament in 1764 addressing their concerns about stamp taxes and the sugar trade; and an 1805 letter from President Thomas Jefferson to William C. C. Claiborne, governor of the Territory of Orleans, concerning a gift of private lands in that area to General Lafayette of France.