Giles family papers
Call Number
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Abstract
The Giles Family Papers consists primarily of papers belonging to Aquila and Elizabeth Shipton Giles, their descendants, and their extended family, including correspondence, love letters between Aquila Giles and Elizabeth Shipton Giles, accounts, leases, surveys, commissions, bills, receipts, and notes. The majority of the correspondence covers the courtship of Aquila Giles and Elizabeth Shipton Giles during the American Revolution, but the collection also includes papers pertaining to Aquila Giles's military service and the business transactions of William Axtell, John Murray, and William Ogden, all of whom were related to the Giles family.
Biographical Note
Aquila Giles was born in Maryland in 1758 to Jacob and Joanna Paca Giles. His grandfather was the Maryland governor, William Paca. During the American Revolution he joined the Continental Army, eventually rising to the rank of Major under General Arthur St. Clair. He was taken prisoner and paroled in New York City, where he met and married Elizabeth Shipton in October of 1780. At the time of their meeting, Elizabeth was living at the home of her uncle, William Axtell, a Loyalist. The couple settled in Maryland and had 10 children, 8 of whom survived infancy.
In the early 1800s, Aquila Giles became involved in a legal dispute over land with the U.S. Government, which lasted for several years. Subsequent financial difficulties forced Elizabeth to return to England in 1812, with her youngest son, George Washington Giles. Aquila eventually won his lawsuit and was employed as a U.S. Army store keeper in 1817. Elizabeth Shipton and Aquila Giles both died in 1822.
George Washington Giles became a lawyer and married Elizabeth Ogden, the daughter of William Ogden and Susan Murray Ogden. John and Hannah Murray were Elizabeth Ogden Giles's uncle and aunt.
Arrangement
The Giles Family papers are organized in the following five series:
Missing Title
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1779-1851
- Series 2: Accounts, Bills, and Receipts, 1763-1821
- Series 3: Legal Documents, 1750-1841
- Series 4: Ordnance Papers of Aquila Giles, 1818-1822
- Series 5: Personal Documents, 1795-1816
Scope and Content Note
The Giles Family Papers consists primarily of correspondence between Aquila Giles and Elizabeth Shipton Giles during their courtship. Although these letters were written during the American Revolution, they are notable for the fact that they make virtually no mention of current events, but focus almost entirely on the couple's relationship and their feelings for one another. The collection also contains the business transactions and correspondence of their sons, Henry and George Washington Giles, William Axtell (Elizabeth Shipton Giles's uncle), and several relatives of Elizabeth Ogden Giles (wife of George Washington Giles), William Ogden and John Murray.
Also included in the collection are letters detailing Henry Giles's suspension from West Point, the Ordnance Papers of Aquila Giles, correspondence between Elizabeth Shipton Giles and Lords Clarendon and Cathcart upon her return to England in 1812, and a receipt for the purchase of a male slave by a William Smithe in 1783.
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Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)
Use Restrictions
Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which you wish to quote, to:
Manuscripts Curator
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as the Giles Family Papers, The New-York Historical Society.
About this Guide
Edition of this Guide
Repository
Series I: Correspondence, 1779-1851
Scope and Contents note
This series primarily includes correspondence between Elizabeth Shipton Giles and Aquila Giles, the majority of which was written during their courtship. There are also letters from Lords Clarendon and Cathcart to Elizabeth Shipton Giles, letters from Matthew White to Elizabeth Shipton Giles, letters from Juliana Scott to Aquila Giles, and letters to Henry Giles concerning his suspension from West Point.
Correspondence sent to Aquila Giles by Elizabeth Shipton Giles, 1780
Correspondence sent to Aquila Giles by Elizabeth Shipton Giles, Undated
Correspondence sent to Aquila Giles by Sally Broome with a postscript by Elizabeth Shipton Giles, 1779
Correspondence sent to Aquila Giles by Juliana Scott, 1800-1801
Correspondence sent to Aquila Giles by Cordelia Giles, 1813
Assorted correspondence sent to Aquila Giles, 1784-1821
Assorted correspondence sent to Aquila Giles, Undated
Correspondence sent by Aquila Giles to Henry Giles, 1818
Correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles by Aquila Giles, 1780-1784
Correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles by Aquila Giles, Undated
Correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles by Edmund Digby, 1809-1812
Correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles by Lord Cathcart, 1812
Correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles by Lord Clarendon, 1812-1813
Correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles by Matthew White, 1813
Assorted correspondence sent to Elizabeth Shipton Giles, 1780-1813
Assorted correspondence sent to Henry Giles, 1815-1822
Assorted correspondence sent to Henry Giles, Undated
Assorted correspondence sent to George Washington Giles, 1819-1837
Assorted correspondence sent to George Washington Giles, Undated
Assorted correspondence sent to William Ogden, 1799-1823
Assorted correspondence sent by William Ogden, 1802-1825
Assorted correspondence sent to John Murray, 1811-1831
Unsigned Note, 1789
Invitations sent to Aquila Giles, Undated
Invitation sent to Curtis Giles, 1851
Envelopes, Undated
Series 2: Accounts, Bills, and Receipts, 1763-1821
Scope and Contents note
Series 2 consists of accounts, bills, and receipts pertaining to various transactions and payments made by and to Aquila Giles, William Ogden, William Axtell, and Elizabeth Shipton Giles. Most notably, the series contains a receipt from June 27, 1783 relating to the sale of a slave to a William Smithe of Cumberland Forge.
Receipt pertaining to William Axtell, 1763
Accounts, bills, and receipts pertaining to Aquila Giles, 1786-1821
Accounts, bills, and receipts pertaining to William Ogden, 1798-1819
Receipts pertaining to Elizabeth Shipton Giles, 1812-1815
Assorted accounts, bills, and receipts, 1783-1819
Series 3: Legal Documents, 1750-1841
Scope and Contents note
Series 3 consists primarily of documents pertaining to the business and land dealing of Aquila Giles, William Axtell, the Ogden family, and the Murray family. This includes an indenture made between Aquila Giles and his son, William Axtell Giles in 1810 and also documents witnessed by Aquila Giles in his capacity as a lawyer. This series also contains a survey of land on the Susquehana River owned by Aquila Giles, pension information pertaining to Aquila Giles, a document asserting the legitimacy of the marriage between Aquila Giles and Elizabeth Shipton Giles, and George Washington Giles's certificate of admittance by the Bar of New York.
Legal documents pertaining to William Axtell, 1763-1787
Legal documents pertaining to Aquila Giles, 1795-1817
Legal documents pertaining to George Washington Giles, 1838
Legal document pertaining to Elizabeth Ogden Giles, 1841
Legal documents pertaining to the Ogden family, 1763-1815
Legal documents pertaining to John and Hannah Murray, 1808-1822
Assorted mortgages, leases, and other legal documents, 1750-1825
Survey of land belonging to Aquila Giles, 1787
List of papers belonging to the estate of Jacob Giles, 1817
Pension information pertaining to Aquila Giles, 1818
George Washington Giles's admittance to the Bar of New York, 1824
Proof of marriage between Aquila Giles and Elizabeth Shipton Giles, Undated
Series 4: Ordnance Papers of Aquila Giles, 1818-1822
Scope and Contents note
Series 4 consists of the Ordnance Papers of Aquila Giles, created when he was a U.S. Army shopkeeper. They contain detailed accounts of various goods and supplies that were sold, returned, or delivered.
Ordnance Papers of Aquila Giles, 1818-1822
Ordnance Papers of Aquila Giles, Undated
Series 5: Personal Documents, 1795-1816
Scope and Contents note
Series 5 consists of various personal documents relevant to the Giles family, including the military commissions of Aquila Giles, passports belonging to William Axtell Giles and George Washington Giles, poetry (the majority of which was written by Aquila Giles for Elizabeth Shipton Giles), and an undated image of Aquila Giles.