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Watkins Family Papers

 Collection

Scope and Content Note

From the Collection:

This collection contains manuscript papers pertaining to the Watkins family of Kittery, Maine, New Castle, New Hampshire, and Salem, Massachusetts. Included are personal and business correspondence, prayers, indenture and power of attorney contracts, and papers documenting the construction of tombs in Salem. Also present are papers pertaining to the Clifford, Frost, and Blunt families.

Folder 1 contains the indenture contract of John Watkins (1708-1715), a letter from his granddaughter Jane Watkins (1776), and a power of attorney to Benjamin Watkins and Nathaniel Perry. Folder 2 contains nine letters and prayers to or from family members including John Watkins, John Blunt, Dorothy (Frost) Clifford, Samuel Pote Watkins, and Samuel Pote Watkins, Jr.The papers in Folder 3 document the construction of 18 tombs and a brick wall on "the Burying Ground called the Hill" [most likely the Broad Street Cemetery] in Salem, Massachusetts, by Benjamin Watkins and his partner Jacob Sanderson. Included are agreements and contracts, costs and accounts, lists of subscribers, and suggested inscriptions for some of the tombstones.

Dates

  • Creation: 1708-1830

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Extent

From the Collection: 0.25 Linear feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Repository Details

Part of the Phillips Library Repository

Contact:
Peabody Essex Museum
306 Newburyport Turnpike
Rowley MA 01969 USA