Description:

William Ellery
Newport, RI, ca. June 21, 1790 to June 30, 1791
William Ellery Collects Customs On Slave Ships in Newport, Signed, 1790-91
ADS
A signed sheet of "Abstracts of Bounties on Exports from Newport" when William Ellery was appointed Collector of Customs for Newport. 1p, measuring 13.25" x 16.25", Newport, dated June 21, 1790 to June 30, 1791. Signed "Wm Ellery Collector." Each entry lists the name of the vessel, the date it left Newport, the nation to which it traveled, and the quintals of dried fish and barrels of pickled fish it carried. Two of the ships were also directly involved in the African slave trade: Brig. Happy Return and Sloop Good Intent. In brown paper cover; extensive toning; some water and mold staining, affecting some of the text. Boldly signed.

Before the American Revolution, Newport was Rhode Island's leading slave-trading town. During the Revolutionary War, the slave trade was suspended, but it resumed in the 1780s. From 1790 until the final abolition of the slave trade in 1807, Bristol surpassed Newport as the state's chief slaving port. In 1787, the Rhode Island General Assembly made it illegal for any Rhode Islander to be involved in the African slave trade anywhere. However, these laws generally went unenforced, and in February 1789, several Rhode Islanders, mostly Quakers, organized an Abolition Society. Members took it upon themselves to enforce the laws against the slave trade. William Ellery was a confirmed abolitionist by the time President Washington appointed him as the customs collector for Newport in 1790.

Most of the ships loaded with fish that left Newport were bound for the West Indies, where plantation owners purchased the fish to feed their enslaved laborers. Despite the legal prohibitions and Collector Ellery's personal opposition to slavery and the slave trade, several of these ships were directly involved in the African slave trade between trips to and from the West Indies. For example, the sloop Good Intent appears on Ellery's export list on May 17, 1791, bound for the French West Indies. The same sloop Good Intent sailed from Bristol in June 1799 and again in November 1799 on slaving voyages. Likewise, the brig Happy Return undertook a slaving voyage on January 1 and June 18, 1791 from Newport, bound for the French West Indies.

William Ellery (1727-1820) was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from Harvard College in 1747. He returned to Newport where he worked as a merchant, customs collector, and clerk of the Rhode Island General Assembly. He began practicing law in 1770. He was active in the Rhode Island Sons of Liberty and replaced the deceased delegate Samuel Ward in the Continental Congress in 1776 and served until 1781. As a member, he signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Articles of Confederation in 1777. He served as a member of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, both as associate justice (1780-1781) and chief justice (1785-1786). By 1785, he had become a vocal advocate for the abolition of slavery. President George Washington appointed Ellery as the first federal customs collector for the port of Newport in June 1790, and he held the position until his death in 1820. He was twice married and had 19 children.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 13.25" x 16.25"
  • Medium: ADS

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