This folded letter was sent from Charleston, S.C. on Dec. 14th, 1813 addressed to:
Samuel Arnold, Esq
Agent for the Coventry Mfg. Company,
Providence R.I. It was received on Dec. 27th, less than two weeks later, despite the ongoing war
with the British Empire (War of 1812).
The founding of the
Coventry Manufacturing Company is described in
The Roots
of American Industrialization by David R. Meyer:
"In 1805 an investor group started
Coventry Manufacturing Company;
it's organizers included Providence's John Pittman and
Samuel Arnold the latter who served as an agent and bought cotton and sold yarn...
The firm astutely hired premier mechanics--Perez Peck and Samuel Ogden, an
English mechanic--to build machinery, and production commenced in 1807 in a
mill housing 1,500 spindles; within two years paid-in capital totaled $61,640, and
in 1810 the firm added a six-story mill with 2,000 spindles, making it one of
New England's largest firms at the time. "
Posted 10/11/2009 9:17 pm
