Henry family papers 1209
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Manuscripts and Archives PO Box 3630 Wilmington, Delaware 19807 [email protected] URL: http://www.hagley.org/library Henry family papers 1209
Table of Contents
Summary Information ...... 3 Historical Note ...... 3 Scope and Content ...... 5 Administrative Information ...... 6 Related Materials ...... 6 Controlled Access Headings ...... 6 Collection Inventory ...... 7 Bound volumes ...... 7 Day books ...... 7 Ledgers ...... 7 Cash books ...... 9 Order books ...... 10 Boulton Gun Works ...... 10 William Henry, Sr...... 11 Ordnance - Revolutionary War ...... 12 Lancaster County Treasury ...... 12 Estate papers ...... 13 James Henry ...... 13
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Summary Information
Repository: Manuscripts and Archives Creator: Henry family Title: Henry family papers ID: 1209 Date [inclusive]: 1758-1909 Physical Description: 12 Linear Feet Language of the English . Material: Abstract: The Henry family were armsmakers who operated a family gun manufactory in eastern Pennsylvania for five generations. The records of the Henry family document the line leading from the first William to Granville, with some records of William, III. The main body of records deals with the operation of the Boulton Gun Works, its predecessor operation at Nazareth and the associated gun shop and store in Philadelphia.
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Historical Note
The Henry family were armsmakers who operated a family gun manufactory in eastern Pennsylvania for five generations.
The business was founded by the first William Henry (1729-1786), the son of John Henry, an early immigrant from Ireland. In 1744 William moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was apprenticed to a gunsmith. He soon achieved great expertise in the craft, and from 1750 to 1760 he conducted the business in partnership with Joseph Simon (1813-1888), a merchant and Indian trader. During the Indian wars from 1755 to 1760, Henry served as the principal armorer for the colonial troops. After 1760 he conducted business alone. The Henry rifle, the prototype of what later became known as the Kentucky rifle, was famous for its quality.
William Henry also served as Treasurer of Lancaster County from 1777 until his death; as Assistant Commissary General and Disbursing Officer for the District of Lancaster County during the Revolutionary War; and as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784. He joined the American Philosophical Society in 1768, along with his close friend, David Rittenhouse. He invented a screw
- Page 3- Henry family papers 1209 augur, a steam-heating system, a "sentinel register" for regulating the flue damper in furnaces, and is often credited with trying to develop a steamboat. He died in Lancaster on December 15, 1786.
Three sons of William Henry carried on the family tradition of gunmaking. Abraham Henry (d. 1811) and John Joseph Henry (1758-1811) continued to work in Lancaster. William Henry, Jr., (1757-1821) apprenticed under his father and opened his own rifle-making shop at the Moravian community of Christian Spring, Pennsylvania in 1778. In 1780 he moved to nearby Nazareth. Like his father, he was involved in local politics and was made justice of the peace and associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County. He was involved in the early operations of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company (1792-1798), and for a while was its chief agent in the field. Around 1794 he laid out the town of Lehighton, Pennsylvania with Charles Cist. His son, Matthew Schropp Henry (1790-1862) became an ironmaster and built the Catharine Furnace nearby. M. S. Henry also wrote a history of the Lehigh Valley and a dictionary of the Delaware Indian language.
William, Jr., brought his other two sons, John Joseph (1786-1836) and William (1794-1878), into the business. John Joseph moved to Philadelphia in 1808, where he set up a branch gun shop and handled sales for the works at Nazareth. William was sent to Philadelphia as an apprentice to his older brother.
In 1808, William Henry, Jr., contracted to supply the U.S. government with 10,000 muskets and bayonets at a fixed price of $10,750, payable in advance. The arms were to be delivered at the rate of 2,000 per year. The government furnished the patterns, but the inspector rejected the first shipment and demanded changes, which Henry complied with. In 1812-1813, Henry constructed a much larger factory, the Boulton Gun Works, on Bushkill Creek at nearby Jacobsburg in anticipation of war orders and William, III, returned to supervise the work. However, the controversy with the government deepened. The alterations requested increased the costs to the Henrys to below profitability, and the cost of the Boulton Works constituted an additional burden. Eventually, William, Jr., refunded the entire advance. The government also blocked the Henrys from receiving further government contracts, although they did get orders for the state militias of Maryland and Delaware. In March 1817 William, Jr., retired to Philadelphia and sold the works to his two sons.
William, III, continued to operate the works, while John Joseph remained in Philadelphia, but the firm was further hurt by the depression of 1819. The brothers finally won some partial compensation from the government in 1820-1821. In 1822 William sold his interest to John Joseph, who came up from Philadelphia. John Joseph achieved a limited prosperity, primarily supplying rifles to Astor's American Fur Company. At his death in 1836, the works passed to his son, James (1809-1894). Regular operations ceased in 1895, although his son, Granville Henry (1834-1912), maintained the property during his lifetime.
William Henry, III, then operated a store at Wind Gap, Pennsylvania from 1822 to 1828. He then joined with his nephew, John Jordan, Jr., to build Analomink Forge, which was to refine iron made by his brother Matthew's furnace. The brothers quarreled, and in 1832 William took a lease on Oxford Furnace in New Jersey to secure a supply of pig iron. He later brought his son-in-law, Selden T. Scranton (1814-1891), into this operation. Henry spent a great deal of time promoting railroads to open the territory and in experimenting with smelting iron with anthracite coal. He designed the first Lackawanna furnace during 1840 and 1841, but was blamed by his partners, the Scrantons, for its failure and forced out of the venture in 1842. He spent the remainder of his life in a series of minor jobs, often on charity from his former partners and relatives.
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Scope and Content
The records of the Henry family document the line leading from the first William to Granville, with some records of William, III.
The main body of records deals with the operation of the Boulton Gun Works, its predecessor operation at Nazareth and the associated gun shop and store in Philadelphia. There are fragmentary account books (1807-1881), including day books, price books, sales ledgers, receipt books, factory rules, Boulton farm accounts and company store records. There are also wage books (1832-1839), day work and boarders' accounts (1817-1842), and workmen's ledgers (1833-1881), which include production lists and lists of grinders, welders and laborers.
There are scattered financial papers and correspondence of William Henry, Sr. (1760-1784). Correspondence of William Henry, Jr.(1757-1821), is fragmentary, with the best coverage on the operation of the Gun Works and the contract dispute with the federal government. There is no material on his outside activities with the Lehigh Coal Mine Company. Correspondence increases with John Joseph Henry (1758-1811), including exchanges with the American Fur Company, with orders, specifications and details of shipments. Also included is correspondence from sales agents in Nebraska, Texas and Ohio, particularly with George W. Ewing in the last named state. Other letters detail the Henrys' efforts to lobby Washington for a higher tariff on imported firearms. Sketchbooks of John Joseph and William Henry, Jr., include designs for firearms including decorative cartouches and other markings.
There are three account books of William Henry, III, documenting the operations of Oxford Furnace by Henry, Jordan & Company. One volume contains drawings of the iron mines at Oxford and Port Colden, New Jersey.
Henry family personal papers (1758-1902) include private accounts, correspondence, deeds, indentures and miscellany of the five generations of the family.
There is a separate series of volumes and papers documenting William Henry's role as Treasurer of Lancaster County (1777-1810). He was succeeded in office by his wife, Ann Wood Henry, who served until 1796. Her papers include official records as county treasurer and well receipts for personal goods and services and the inventory of her estate.
Another special series is William Henry's Revolutionary War papers, when he served as Assistant Commissary General and also Superintendent of Arms and Accoutrements, a position in which he established workshops in various parts of Pennsylvania and directed the making of boots, shoes, hats and firearms. The records include correspondence, accounts, and receipts concerning weapons, shoes, leather, tallow, clothing and recruits.
The final series consists of Lancaster County Court papers (1770-1795), consisting of court record books and dockets.
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Administrative Information
Publication Statement Manuscripts and Archives
PO Box 3630 Wilmington, Delaware 19807 [email protected] URL: http://www.hagley.org/library
Access to Collection Collection is open for research.
Existence and Location of Copies Also available in a microfilm, edition made in 1971. Not all items were microfilmed.
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Related Materials
Related Material E.T. Lukens collection (Accession 1250), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library.
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Controlled Access Headings
• Firearms • Ordnance -- Manufacture - Page 6- Henry family papers 1209 • Iron industry and trade. • Boulton Gun Works
Collection Inventory
Bound volumes Controlled Access Headings: • Account books • Daybooks
Day books Title/Description Instances John Joseph Henry, 1807-1812 volume A
John Joseph Henry, 1813-1819 reel 6 Scope and Contents note
Philadelphia.
John Joseph and William Henry, Jr., 1815-1820 volume C
John Joseph and William Henry, Jr., 1820-1822 volume D
John Joseph Henry and Gun Works, 1820-1822 volume E Scope and Contents note
After 1822.
Boulton Gun Works, 1840-1845 volume F
Waste Book, Joseph Henry, 1818-1821 volume G
Ledgers Title/Description Instances Ledger A, John Joseph & William Henry, Jr., 1814-1815 volume J
Ledger B, John Joseph & William Henry, Jr., 1815-1822 volume K
Volume 1, John Joseph Henry, Bouton Gun Works, 1824-1833 volume L
Ledger, 1872-1882 box 2
Essay of a price book, Boulton, 1815 box 2
Price Book #2, 1822-1826 box 2
Sales made by John Joseph Henry, 1823-1848 box 2
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Boulton Gun Works, Sales Records, 1853-1866 box 2
Sales Ledger, 1866-1882 box 2
James Henry, Sales Agent List, 1882 box 2
Receipt Book, John Joseph Henry, 1833 box 2
Receipt Book, James Henry, 1866-1868 box 2
James Henry Accounts, 1836-1881 box 2
Boulton Farm Accounts, 1831-1833 box 2
Boulton Farm Accounts, 1853-1860 box 2
Boulton Farm Accounts, 1860-1883 box 2
John Joseph Henry Sketch Book box 2
William Henry of Nazareth Sketch Book box 2
Dr. Thomas Sites Ledger, 1905-1907 box 2
Wage Book, 1832-1839 box 3
Day Work Accounts, 1833 box 3
Day Work Accounts, 1835 box 3
Day Work Accounts, 1842 box 3
Boulton Gun Works Day Work & Boarders Accounts, box 3 1817-1822
Boulton Gun Works Day Work & Boarders Accounts, box 3 1823-1831
Workman's Ledger, 1833-1836 box 3 Scope and Contents note
Production lists included.
Workman's Ledger, 1836-1839 box 3 Scope and Contents note
Lists grinders, welders & laborers.
Workman's Ledger, 1846-1848 box 3
Workman's Ledger, 1852-1855 box 3
Workman's Ledger, 1855-1857 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1856-1859 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1864-1867 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1866-1869 box 4
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Workman's Ledger, 1869-1871 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1870-1873 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1873-1878 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1870-1874 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1872-1881 box 4
Workman's Ledger, 1880-1881 box 4
Production Records, 1838 box 5
Company store Records, 1849-1852 box 5
William Henry, III - memorandum book box 5
Oxford Furnace, 1841 box 5
Blotter Book, 1833-1837 box 5 Scope and Contents note
Oxford Furnace.
William Henry, III - Oxford Furnace letter book box 5
Iron Works lands, 1840 box 5
Granville Henry - Sunday accounts, 1888 box 5
Stock Accounts, 1868-1872 box 5
Expenses for house at Boulton Landing, 1820-1836 box 5
Circuit Court Records Chamber's Lancaster Docket, 1781-1789 volume 6A
William Henry I, Pennsylvania and Continental Tax list, Tape 6B 1778-1783
William Henry I, Circuit Court record book, 1783-1789 volume 6C
William Henry II, ledger, 1820-1835 volume 22
John Joseph Henry, ledger, 1836-1872 volume 23
Joseph Henry, ledger, 1809-1836 volume 24
Cash books Title/Description Instances John Joseph Henry, 1817-1825 box 7
John Joseph Henry, 1829-1849 box 7
John Joseph Henry, 1852-1860 box 7
John Joseph Henry, 1835-1853 box 7
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Order books Title/Description Instances Order book, 1818 box 7
Order book, 1850 box 7
Order book, 1852 box 7
Order book, 1855 box 7
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Boulton Gun Works Controlled Access Headings: • Receipts (Financial records) • Correspondence. Title/Description Instances Financial records, 1760-1783 box 8 folder 1
William Henry correspondence, 1766-1784 box 8 folder 2
William Henry, II business correspondence, 1830-1842 box 8 folder 3
William Henry, III business correspondence, 1830-1842 box 8 folder 4
J. J. Henry & William Henry, II Deed to Gun Manufactory, 1817 box 8 folder 5
J. J. Henry & William Henry, III, Accounts, 1814-1819 box 8 folder 6
J. J. Henry & William Henry, III business correspondence box 8 folder 7 regarding controversy with U. S. Army over sale of guns, 1808-1819
J. J. Henry, III, business accounts box 8 folder 8
J. J. Henry correspondence, 1809-1836 box 8 folder 9 Scope and Contents note
Some with American Fur Company.
James Henry, accounts receivable, 1879-1881 box 8 folder 10
James Henry, bills payable, 1864-1892 box 8 folder 11
James Henry correspondence, 1837-1884 box 9 folder 1
JameS Henry & Sons correspondence, 1876-1884 box 9 folder 2
Granville Henry correspondence, 1878 box 9 folder 3
Granville Henry lock plate patent, 1866 box 9 folder 4
James Henry of Detroit correspondence, 18011803 - Page 10- Henry family papers 1209
box 9 folder 5
Patents Granville Henry, 18221891-1894 box 9 folder 6
Advertising Material, 1879-1888 box 9 folder 7
William Henry, Sr. Commission appointing him Assistant box 10 folder 1 Commissary General of Pennsylvania - related correspondence, 1778-1782
Anne Henry estate records of William Henry box 10 folder 2
Anne Henry Lancaster County tax records, 1786-1795 box 10 folder 3
J. J. Henry, personal correspondence, 1781-1811 box 10 folder 4
William Henry, II, personal correspondence, 1796-1820 box 10 folder 5
J. J. Henry II, personal correspondence, 1824-1836 box 10 folder 6
William Henry to J. J. Henry, 1814 August 25 box 10 folder 7
James Henry, personal correspondence, 1855-1893 box 10 folder 8
Granville Henry, personal correspondence, 1865-1902 box 10 folder 9
Reuben Henry, personal correspondence, 1847-1898 box 10 folder 10
John Jordan, personal correspondence, 1823-1841 box 10 folder 11
Abraham Henry, personal accounts, 1786-1792 box 10 folder 12
Benjamin Henry, accounts, 1796 box 10 folder 13
Elizabeth Henry, accounts, 17791780 box 10 folder 14
Matthew Henry, accounts, 1830 box 10 folder 15
J. J. Henry, I, personal accounts, 1789-1811 box 10 folder 16
William Henry, II, personal accounts, 1787-1811 box 10 folder 17
J. J. Henry, personal accounts, 1809-18311836 box 10 folder 18
James Henry, personal accounts, 1878-1884 box 10 folder 19
Granville Henry, personal accounts, 18781884 box 10 folder 20
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William Henry, Sr. Scope and Contents
This series holds William Henry's Revolutionary War papers, when he served as Assistant Commissary General and also Superintendent of Arms and Accoutrements, a position in which he established workshops in various parts of Pennsylvania and directed the making of boots, shoes, hats and firearms. The records include correspondence, accounts, and receipts concerning weapons, shoes, leather, tallow, clothing and recruits.
Controlled Access Headings: - Page 11- Henry family papers 1209
• Ordnance.
Ordnance - Revolutionary War Title/Description Instances Weapons - Revolutionary War accounts & receipts, 1778-1787 box 11 folder 1
Ordnance, correspondence, 1771-1782 box 11 folder 2
Ordnance, shoes, lether tallow accounts & receipts box 11 folder 3
Ordnance, shoes, lether tallow correspondence box 11 folder 3
Clothing box 11 folder 4
Recruits, listings and correspondence, 1777-1783 box 11 folder 5
Ordnance, correspondence, 1777-1786 box 11 folder 6
Circuit court records, 1785-1795 box 11 folder 7
War Office, Office of Counsel correspondence box 11 folder 8 Scope and Contents note
Includes letters of Horatio Gates, David Rittenhouse & Anthony Wayne.
Miscellaneous accounts, 1777-1786 box 11 folder 9
Lancaster County Treasury Title/Description Instances Accounts & receipts, 1779-1781 box 12 folder 1
Accounts & receipts, 1782-1784 box 12 folder 2
Accounts & receipts, 1785-1787 box 12 folder 3
Plans to raise funds to finance the Revolutionary War, box 12 folder 4 1777-1785
Lancaster County tax records, 1786-1810 box 12 folder 5 Scope and Contents note
William Henry & Executors.
Tax assessments & individual accounts, 1779-1782 box 12 folder 6
Tax book, 1786-1789 box 12 folder 7
Anne & James Henry accounts, 1788-1789 box 12 folder 8
Miscellany, 1781-1783 box 12 folder 9-10
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Scope and Contents note
Includes: Payments made to state treasury; Accounts of militia fines; List of grand jurors; statement of the sinking fund; and Accounts of gratuities & bounties paid.
J. J. Henry, Lancaster Treasury, 17901807 box 12 folder 11
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Estate papers Scope and Contents
This series of volumes and papers document William Henry's role as Treasurer of Lancaster County (1777-1810). He was succeeded in office by his wife, Anne Wood Henry, who served until 1796. Her papers include official records as county treasurer and well receipts for personal goods and services and the inventory of her estate.
Title/Description Instances William Henry, 1786-1829 box 13 folder 1
Anne Henry, 1814-1815 box 13 folder 2
Matthew Henry, 1787-1788 box 13 folder 3
Jane Henry, 1814 box 13 folder 4
Benjamin Henry, undated box 13 folder 5
William Henry, II, 1824 box 13 folder 6
William Jason Henry, 1767-1774 box 13 folder 7
Will - William Frederic Sauter, 1819 box 13 folder 8
Miscellaneous indentures, 1797-1853 box 13 folder 9
Extract from the life of William Henry by John Joseph Henry, box 13 folder 10 1770-1772
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James Henry Scope and Contents
This series holds Lancaster County Court papers (1770-1795), consisting of court record books and dockets.
Controlled Access Headings: • Correspondence. • Receipts (Financial records) Title/Description Instances
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Correspondence with American Fur Company; some with William box 14 folder 1 Astor, 1828-1850
Boulton Gun Works sales records, 1840-1884 box 14 folder 2
Boulton Gun Works accounts, 1836 box 14 folder 2
Boulton Gun Works orders, 1836-1879 box 14 folder 3
Orders, 1881-1884 box 14 folder 4
Bills and receipts, 1876-1885 box 14 folder 5
James Henry, personal correspondence, 1870s1880s box 15
James Henry, Granville Henry, John Henry, 1880-1907 box 16 Scope and Contents note
Includes: miscellaneous accounts, advertising material, and correspondence.
James Henry, Personal papers, accounts, bills, receipts, postcards, box 17-21 1870s1880s
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