Scope and Content Note
The papers of William Taylor span the years 1775-1859, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1775-1822. The collection consists of the correspondence and legal and financial records of William Taylor, a Baltimore merchant who was engaged in extensive foreign and domestic commercial enterprises in the late eighteenth century and early part of the nineteenth century. William Taylor carried on a large business through Sylvanus Bourne & Co., of Amsterdam, and the accounts of that firm make up the major portion of the collection. A number of the papers of Sylvanus Bourne are also included.
The largest series in the collection, General Correspondence, contains letters sent and received with attached and related legal and financial documents. A series of Financial Records consists of accounts, statements, bills, receipts, invoices, wills, contracts, and business and financial miscellany. There are maritime items in the form of sailing lists, marine registers, port charges, and the like, including Prices Current from Baltimore, Maryland; Hamburg, Germany; Havana, Cuba; Leghorn, Italy; Liverpool, England; and Rotterdam, Netherlands. A series of Printed Matter, 1805-1807, consists entirely of Koophandel en Zeevaart Tydingen, a publication printed in Amsterdam that gives the rates of exchange and prices current at various European ports, a list of the ships lying in lading, ship tidings, and notes on the wind and tides.
Correspondents include Sylvanus Bourne, J. H. Bricker, T. I. Bullitt, David Harris, W. Lee, J. Mackey, Jonathan D. Meredith, R. Norris, and W. O. Payne.