Davis Family papers
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Abstract
The collection contains family correspondence as well as financial documents regarding the Davis family mercantile businesses in New York and Peru.
Historical Note
Collection includes documents related to the "Davis Brothers" mercantile business in New York City (in 1888 located at 19 South William Street) and in Lima, Peru (Ferrari & Davis, Merchants).
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by subject and chronologically.
Scope and Contents
Collection includes correspondence, financial documents, and inventories that shed light on day-to-day operations of the "Davis Brothers" mercantile business, including supplies management, financial transactions, purchasing, etc. There are several letters of the members of the Davis family (the majority addressed to or written by Daniel H.B. Davis) which give a glimpse of their private life. Documents are in English and Spanish.
Folder 1 contains financial documents pertaining to business activities in Lima, Peru, dated 1862-1904 (bulk 1867). Folder 2 consists of business correspondence 1867-1889 in Spanish and English including copy letters on onion skin paper. Folder 3 contains domestic freight and shipping receipts dated 1862-1865, many from Camden & Amboy RR & Transportation Co. and the Coastwise Steamship Co. for freight from Philadelphia. Folder 4 consists of receipts from goods and services dated 1872-1904. Several of these receipts are for items from New York City department stores. Folder 5 contains personal notes, correspondence, and poems dated 1829-1915. Folder 6 contains documents pertaining to death and will of Dr. John Davis, who died in the spring of 1883, as well as documents relating to the death of other family members.
Subjects
Organizations
Families
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as the Davis Family Papers, MS 149, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the New Jersey Historical Society, 2001.