Peter Turner Papers, 1792-1812 – MS096
Provenance: Gift of Jean Sawtelle in 2010
Citation: Peter Turner Papers (MS096), Portsmouth Athenaeum
Size: 1 linear foot (2 Hollinger Boxes)
Processed by: Courtney MacLachlan in 2011
Scope and Content
Freightbooks, logs, crew lists, cargo lists, cargo sales, a variety of expense records, letterbooks and correspondence belonging to shipmaster Peter Turner (1766-1825), who sailed for John and Nathaniel A. Haven of Portsmouth from 1792 to 1812.
Biographical Note
Peter Turner was born in Portsmouth in 1766, the eleventh of twelve children of Lewis Turner and Sarah Luce. By age 21, in 1787, he was captain of the brig Sophia belonging to Aaron Hill. He then became master of the ship Hannah, also owned by Aaron Hill, and ship Caroline, owned by Elijah Hall and himself. When brothers John and Nathaniel Haven formed a business partnership in 1792, Peter Turner sailed for them as master (and in some cases part owner) of the following Haven vessels: brig Tryall, ship John, ship Hitty Jane, ship Two Brothers, ship Tom, and ship Horace. Turner retired from the sea in 1812, the same year that he married Sarah Smallcorn Stoker Hartwell of KIttery Point (1778-1816). After retiring he owned a house in Portsmouth and also owned and managed his farm in Wakefield, New Hampshire. He kept a farm diary until his death in 1825.
Folder List
Box 1 FF01: Title: Brig Sophia Aug. 3, 1807 (inside front cover: Brig Sophia, Aug 3, 1787)
Contents: Records of voyages to Bristol, Liverpool and Nantes in brig Sophia(1787-1788). Voyages to Port au Prince in ship Hannah (1789-1790).
Box 1 FF02: Title: Sophia Freight Book Oct. 20th, 1787
Contents: Freight lists and freight marks of shippers, also logs for voyages to Tortuga, Port au Prince, George Town, Cowes, Gravesend, Savannah, Dunkirk, Cadiz, Sambrero, and Portsmouth, 1790-1793.
Box 1 FF03: Title: Ship Hannah, Savannah Mar 22, 1790
Contents: Ship Hannah’s expenses in Savannah, London, Tobago, 1790-1791. Accounts with Aaron Hill, Portsmouth, and May and Hill, Savannah, 1790-1791. Expenses of ship Caroline in Charleston, Dunkirk, Portsmouth, Cadiz, and Charleston, 1792-1793.
Box 1 FF04: Ship Hannah account of cargo sales, Port-au-Prince, March, 1790
Box 1 FF05: Bill of sale, 1/4 ship Caroline to Peter Turner, 1792
Box 1 FF06: Title: Brig Tryall Accompt Book Peter Turner 1793
Contents: Brig Tryall’s expenses in Demerary, Tobago, and Baltimore, 1793. Peter Turner’s assessment of his personal finances, 1793 and 1800. Expenses and provisions for brig Tryall in Baltimore, 1794. Sale of cargo in West Indies, 1794. Also, Turner’s farm diary in Wakefield, NH from October 1814 to December 1824.
Box 1 FF07: Correspondence to Jacob Sheafe and Peter Turner, 1794
Box 1 FF08: Title: Account Book John London 1794
Contents: Pay lists for the crew, 1794 and 1795. Ship’s expenses in St. Christopher’s and St. Kitts. Income: sale of personal belongings of a crew member who deserted, 1794. Peter Turner’s personal accounts and private expenses.
Box 1 FF09: Master’s and Mate Bond, Ship Hitty Jane, 1797
Box 1 FF10: Title: Ship John Ship Hitty Jane May 20, 1795
Contents: Ship John crew’s pay lists, 1795 and 1796, expenses for ship John in Portsmouth England, 1796. Private expenses for Peter Turner, 1796. Ship Hitty Jane expenses in Cork, Ireland. Peter Turner’s private expenses in Cork, Liverpool, and Portsmouth, 1797.
Box 1 FF11: Papers of ship John, Liverpool, 1796
Box 1 FF12: Title: The John Freight Liverpool March 4, 1796
Contents: Freight records and lists of good shipped, Liverpool, 1796. Log for voyage from Liverpool to Philadelphia, April, 1796.
Box 1 FF13: List of notes (probably due to Peter Turner), 1799
Box 1 FF14: Papers of ship Tom in Hamburg, 1801
Box 1 FF15: Papers of ship Tom in Philadelphia, 1801
Box 1 FF16: Title: Ship Tom Philadelphia 1801 Hamburg
Contents: Ship’s expenses and crew pay lists in Philadelphia, Hamburg, 1801. Freight lists, manifest, and cargo sales, 1801. Accounts with John and N.A. Haven, 1801. Peter Turner’s personal expenses and his income from sale of his adventures, 1801.
Box 1 FF17: Personal papers of Peter Turner, 1801
Box 2 FF01: Title: Letterbook Mar 29,1801-Dec.17 Ship Tom Hamburg
Contents: Correspondence written by Peter Turner to Robert Lenox, Madam Roberts, N.A. and John Haven, Thomas Wilson, Thomas Thompson, C.M Buck & Co., and John Welsh. With transcription.
Box 2 FF02: Title: Ship Tom Memo Book 1801
Contents: Freight list and cargo sales in Philadelphia. Ship’s expenses for voyage to Hamburg, 1801. Thomas Haven’s account with Peter Turner.
Box 2 FF03: Title: Ship Tom 1802
Contents: Expenses of ship Tom in Philadelphia, Liverpool, Georgetown, Alexandria, Amsterdam, Norfolk. Crew’s pay list at Liverpool, Philadelphia, Norfolk, 1802. Manifest of cargo, Philadelphia, 1802. Peter Turner’s personal accounts.
Box 2 FF04: Freight list of cargo shipped aboard ship Tom at Liverpool for Philadelphia, May, 1802.
Box 2 FF05: Papers of Ship Tom, Peter Turner, Captain, 1802
Box 2 FF06: Title: Letter Book 1802 to 1805
Contents: Correspondence written by Peter Turner, primarily to John and N.A. Haven, but also to Thomas Wilson, John Welsh, Thomas Thompson, and Terry Brothers.
Box 2 FF07: Title: Ship Tom 1803 & 1804 Norfolk & Cadiz
Contents: Ship Tom expenses in Philadelphia, Amsterdam, Norfolk, Liverpool, Rotterdam, Cadiz, 1802-1805. Bank deposits and summary of accounts with owners, 1801-2. Peter Turner’s private expenses at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Norfolk, 1802-5. Peter Turner’s adventures, 1801-1802-1804, Peter Turner’s accounts with John and N.A. Haven, John Welsh, Humble Holland & Co., and Phineas Dana.
Box 2 FF08: Correspondence and receipts, Captain Peter Turner, 1805 and nd
Box 2 FF09: Title: Acco’t Book Aug’t 1st, 1806
Contents: Family genealogy inside the front cover. Disbursements of ship Horace in Hamburg, Marseilles, Philadelphia, 1806, and Philadelphia and Cadiz, 1809. Sales of cargo from ship Horace from Marseilles, 1808, and Cadiz, 1812. Accounts with Jersey Bank, Philadelphia Bank, Farmer’s Bank, US Bank, New Hampshire Union Bank, Union Bank New York and Portsmouth Bank. Accounts of Peter Turner and John and N.A. Haven, John Welsh, Morris & Evans, Thomas Thompson. Expenses for Peter Turner’s house on Vaughn Street, purchased from Samuel Sprague on April 30, 1811. Inventory and cost of furniture for new house. Record of purchase of farm in Wakefield, NH, on November 26, 1812. Account of improvements on farm in Wakefield, 1813-1818. Records of rents that Peter Turner paid for houses in Portsmouth, 1814-1819.
Box 2 FF10: Title:1805 Ship Tom at Cherbourg, 1806 Ship Horace at Hamburg, Marseilles 1807
Contents: Disbursements for ship Tom at Portsmouth and Cherbourg, 1805. Expenses of ship Horace at Hamburg and Philadelphia, 1806. Expenses of ship Horace at Marseilles, 1807. Peter Turner’s private expenses at Isle Rhee, 1805. Peter Turner’s accounts with John and N.A. Haven, and Thomas Haven, 1805-6. Freight list of ship Horace, Hamburg, 1806.
Box 2 FF11: Title: Letterbook 1805-9
Contents: Correspondence from Peter Turner to Phineas Dana & Co., Nathaniel and John Haven, Thomas Thompson, Thomas Wilson, and Captain John Seaward.
Box 2 FF12: Papers of Ship Horace 1806-1809
Contents: Captain’s orders, bills of lading, lists of expenses
Box 2 FF13: Title: Freight Book, Horace Marseilles 1807
Contents: Freight lists on board ship Horace, Marseilles and Philadelphia, 1807, and Philadelphia to Cadiz, 1809. Manifest of cargo from Marseilles to Philadelphia, 1807, and invoice of sundries shipped on joint account of Havens and Turner, 1807.
Box 2 FF14: Title: Memo Book Philadelphia Marseilles Freight, 1807
Contents: Freight list with shippers’ marks. List of freight shipped on John and N.A. Haven’s and Peter Turner’s accounts.
Box 2 FF15: Miscellaneous papers, undated
Flat Box 8 FF08: Title: Log of Ship Tom, 1799-1805
Contents: Logs of voyages from Charleston to Hamburg, Hamburg to Portsmouth, Portsmouth to Tobago, and Tobago/St. Kitts to Portsmouth in ship Two Brothers, 1799-1800. Logs for voyages from Philadelphia to Hamburg, Hamburg to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Liverpool, Liverpool to Philadelphia, Virginia to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Virginia in ship Tom, 1801-1803. Rules for navigation. Celestial navigation in ship Tom, 1803-1805.
Flat Box 8 FF09: British release of ship John from capture, 1795
Large Manuscript Collection Oversize Box 4
Folder 6 Records of ship John, Peter Turner, Captain, 1795-1796. Includes crew pay lists, record of Captain Turner’s protest.
Folder 7 Crew lists of ship Hannah, 1789-1790, and ship Tom, 1805.
Folder 8 Records of ship Tom, Peter Turner, Captain, 1801.
Folder 9 Records of ship Horace, Peter Turner, master, 1806-1809.