Rishworth Jordan Papers, 1817-1850, 1910, undated
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Not requestable
Scope and Content Note
The Rishworth Jordan papers contain correspondence, bills, ships’ papers, and other documents of this Cape Elizabeth, Maine, ship captain and state legislator. They have been divided into three series. Series I. Personal Papers and Accounts contain Jordan's personal business letters and household accounts from 1817 to 1844; accounts with the proprietors of Portland Bridge from 1832 to 1850; papers relating to the building of District School #6 at Cape Elizabeth from 1840 to 1846; papers relating to Rishworth's legal appointments; and high water and sunset tables.
Series II. Shipping Papers contain papers for the schooner Ilsley, dated 1822, and the brig Polly, which are undated.
Series III. Miscellaneous Papers consist of a 1910 memo by Fritz H. Jordan, Rishworth's grandson; a survey of Portland/Cape Elizabeth, Maine, dated 1818; and unrelated papers belonging to Acting Assistant Surgeon H. L. Cushman, U. S. Army, dated 1837.
Dates
- Creation: 1817-1850, 1910, undated
Creator
- Jordan, Rishworth, 1776-1853 (Person)
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical Sketch
Captain Rishworth Jordan was born on January 1, 1776 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, to Lieutenant Benjamin Jordan and Hannah Weiman Jordan. He was their fourth son. Jordan worked on a farm until he was twenty-two years old. He then went to sea, eventually becoming a captain. He was involved in the East India trade until he retired to his farm in Cape Elizabeth in the mid-1820s. Jordan represented his town in the state legislature before Cape Elizabeth's separation from South Portland. He also held public office in his town and was appointed a justice of the peace in 1841.
Jordan was a descendant of Reverend Robert Jordan, an early settler of the Cape Elizabeth region. Jordan was also distantly related to Captains Coan and Harvey Jordan of Brunswick, whose papers can be found in MH 132. In addition, he was appointed executor of Thomas Jordan's estate in 1828; Thomas Jordan appears to be distantly related to Rishworth Jordan.
Jordan married Mary, the daughter of Nathaniel Jones, M. D., of Cape Elizabeth. They had nine children. Jordan died on June 27, 1853 at Cape Elizabeth.
Extent
0.25 linear feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Rishworth Jordan papers contain correspondence, bills, ships’ papers, and other documents of this Cape Elizabeth, Maine, ship captain and state legislator. They also contain papers belonging to Acting Assistant Surgeon H. L. Cushman, U. S. Army, dated 1837.
Series List
SERIES I. Personal Papers and Accounts
SERIES II. Shipping Papers
SERIES III. Miscellaneous Papers
Physical Location
Phillips Library Stacks
Provenance
This material was purchased on August 21, 1943 (accession #11,104).
Processing Information
Collection processed by Jalien Hollister, October 1996. Updated by Hilary Streifer, December 2014.
Subject
- Jordan, Thomas (Person)
- Cushman, H. L. (Person)
- Jordan, Fritz H., 1848-1921 (Person)
- Ilsley (Schooner) (Organization)
- Polly (Brig) (Organization)
- Portland Bridge (Portland, Me.) (Organization)
- Title
- RISHWORTH JORDAN PAPERS, 1817-1850, 1910, undated
- Author
- Processed by: Jalien Hollister; Updated by: Hilary Streifer; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Phillips Library Repository