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Prescott & Sherman Records

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 1792

Scope and Contents

Account books, daybooks, letter books, and other bound volumes documenting the efforts of merchants Benjamin Prescott and Roger Sherman, Jr. in the operation of their store, Prescott & Sherman, in New Haven, Connecticut, 1804-1847.

Dates

  • 1804-1847

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Prescott & Sherman Records is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Roger S. White, 2nd, 1913; source unknown.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by format.

Extent

2.68 Linear Feet (18 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.prescottsherman

Abstract

Account books, daybooks, letter books, and other bound volumes documenting the efforts of merchants Benjamin Prescott and Roger Sherman, Jr. in the operation of their store, Prescott & Sherman, in New Haven, Connecticut, 1804-1847.

Prescott & Sherman

Merchants Benjamin Prescott and Roger Sherman, Jr. founded their store, Prescott & Sherman, in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1793. The firm traded in dry goods, groceries, tobacco, leather, and Engish and Indigenous goods, with an extensive involvement in shipping and local real estate.

Prescott & Sherman remained in business through the death of Benjamin Prescott in 1839.

Benjamin Prescott (1757-1839)

Benjamin Prescott was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, on October 27, 1757. He was one of eight children born to Benjamin Prescott (1717-1778) and Rebecca Minot Prescott (1720-1761). His oldest sister Rebecca Prescott (1742-1813) married Roger Sherman (1721-1793) in 1763, and settled with him in New Haven, Connecticut.

Benjamin Prescott moved to New Haven in 1772 to live with his sister and family; in 1793 he formed a mercantile partnership with his nephew Roger Sherman Jr. He married twice, first to Hannah Blakeslie (1762-1824) and then to Jane Woodford (1788-1867).

Prescott remained a partner in Prescott & Sherman through his death in New Haven on October 23, 1839.

Roger Sherman Jr. (1768-1856)

Roger Sherman, Jr. was born in New Haven on July 16, 1768, to Roger Sherman (1721-1793) and Rebecca Prescott Sherman (1742-1813). He graduated from Yale College in 1787 and afterward studied law.

Sherman entered into the mercantile business with his uncle Benjamin Prescott in 1793, and served as a representative for New Haven in the Connecticut General Assembly in 1810 and 1811. He married Susannah Staples (1778-1855) in 1801.

Sherman remained in partnership with Prescott until 1839, and died in New Haven on March 5, 1856, at age 88.

Processing Information

Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.

These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.

Former call numbers: Z117 0135, MS Vault Sect 13 Drawers, Z117 0180f, Z117 0135c, Z117 0135a, Z117 00161b, MS Vault Shelves Prescott, Z117 00149, Z117 00148, Z117 0135d, Z117 00149d, Z117 00161e, Z117 0180, and Z117 216.

Title
Prescott & Sherman Records
Status
Completed
Author
Beinecke Staff
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.