AMERICAN FUR COMPANY:
An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | American Fur Company. | |
| Title: | Company records. | |
| Dates: | 1811-1876 (bulk 1820-1848). | |
| Abstract: | Microfilmed copies of a letterbook, account books, and miscellaneous records kept by the American Fur Company at its Michilimackinac post that document its business activities, interests, and transactions in the Great Lakes region. | |
| Quantity: | 2 microfilm reels ; 35 mm. | |
| Location: | M623 |
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The letter book contains copies of outgoing letters, some in French, written by company agents Ramsay Crooks and Robert Stuart concerning such issues as supply orders, trading operations, fur shipments, fur markets, accounts, apprentices, transport vessels, and company competition (1820-1825).
Two account books were kept by the Company's retail store on Mackinac Island and itemize individual accounts for the purchase of sundry hardware, dry goods, yard goods, clothing, alcohol, and munitions (1822-1827). A 1927 account book details sundries transferred to a post at Green Bay. Two later account books document the company's reorganized Northern Department and detail transactions between its internal operations, individual traders, various trading outfits, schooners, the U.S. Quartermaster, and other Company divisions (1834-1851). Profit and loss statements are included.
Miscellaneous records include land deeds and territorial documents concerning the incorporation of the borough of Michilimackinac. The collection also includes a sixth account book unrelated to the American Fur Company (1866). This book was kept by a fishery that used a warehouse formerly occupied by the American Fur Company.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. American Fur Company Records. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 11,864
The original records are held at the Stuart House, Mackinac Island State Park Commission, Mackinac Island, Michigan. The master microfilm was produced by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and additional copies are available from the Commission.
Processing Information:
Processed by: Monica Manny Ralston, November 2002
Catalog ID number: 09-00323351
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Reel | |||||||||||
| M623 | 1 | American Fur Company letterbook, June 21, 1820-July 21, 1825. 462 pages. | |||||||||
| American Fur Company account book, Retail Store, Mackinac Island, 1822-1824. 52 pages. | |||||||||||
| American Fur Company account book, September 27-October 3, 1827. 2 pages. | |||||||||||
| American Fur Company day book (pages loose and disorganized), June 17, 1830-September 16, 1831. Originally 345 pages. | |||||||||||
| American Fur Company account book, 1834-1851. 302 pages. | |||||||||||
| Account book [McLeod Fisheries?], 1866. 103 pages. | |||||||||||
| Deed to Giosson & Bertholet for land on Mackinac Island, June 24, 1811. | |||||||||||
| Proclamation by William Woodbridge setting up the Borough of Michilimackinac, March 15, 1817. | |||||||||||
| An Act incorporating the Borough of Michilimackinac, April 16, 1817. | |||||||||||
| Statute incorporating the Borough of Michilimackinac and setting meeting time signed by Lewis Cass, June 5, 1817. | |||||||||||
| Indenture and sale of land on Mackinac Island from George Moffat and Samuel Gerrard to American Fur Company, January 31, 1822. | |||||||||||
| Warranty deed, Eliza McLeod to James F. Cable for Astor buildings, September 1, 1876. | |||||||||||
| Reel | |||||||||||
| M623 | 2 | American Fur Company account book, Retail Store, 1824-1827. 373 pages. | |||||||||
| American Fur Company, Northern Department account book, 1834-1848. 236 pages. | |||||||||||
RELATED MATERIALS
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Fur trade -- Great Lakes Region.
- Persons:
- Crooks, Ramsay, 1787-1859.
- Stuart, Robert, 1785-1848.
- Places:
- Mackinac Island (Mich.).
- Michilimackinac (Mich.).
- Document Types:
- Account books.
- Microforms.
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