Correspondence, 1804-1811

This series consists of eleven letters and one envelope written between 1804 and 1811. Ten of the letters were written to or received by Philip Thomas Junior, and another was received by his father Philip Thomas Esquire.

The first letter in this series was written 20 October 1807 by Charles Wharton to Philip Thomas Esquire. Wharton, apparently a close family friend and a minister, discusses the social and political climate of the United States. He insists that the nation is too irreligious:

The base selfishness wh[ich] has ruined the European Continent, appears to be daily gaining ground among us, & in the choice of our rulers, the administration of public Justice, & the adoption of maxims for public & private Conduct, rectitude of Principle seems totally out of question.

Wharton also mentions the "claim set up against you [Philip Thomas Esquire] by the Pembertons" over Thomas's mother's estate. Ann Pemberton was the sister or step-sister of Philip Thomas Esquire and apparently challenged Thomas's control of their mother's estate. A copy of Ann Thomas's 1793 will is located in Series II of this collection.

Nine letters and an envelope in this series were received by Philip Thomas Junior between 1804 and 1810. Four of the letters were written by his father, Philip Thomas Esquire, and the others by five different correspondents. One letter was written by Philip Junior in 1811 to an unknown recipient.

Six of the letters were sent to Philip Thomas Junior while he was living in Amsterdam as supercargo for the family's business; a supercargo traveled with a ship as a merchant's agent and handled business transactions while the ship was in port. The first of these letters was written by J. L. Webster on 29 March 1804. Webster seems to have been involved in the family business overseas, and the document is a letter of instruction on how the young man should conduct himself while in Holland. Webster warns Philip Junior to be careful about the company he keeps and specifically warns him away from "American Captains and Supercargoes, and English clerks and agents that come over to Holland." Webster explains that the young man has been sent overseas for two years [1804 to 1806] to improve himself and to make himself "acquainted with the Commerce of Holland and the commercial world as much as possible." Three letters were written to Philip Thomas Junior by his father. The letters, dated 24 May 1804, 10 June 1805, and 2 July 1805, discuss family social visits in Maryland, Philip Senior's fears that his son will be captured in the ongoing Napoleonic wars, the status of the family, and the excellent prospects for crops. A letter written by Lewis Philips on 23 August 1805 describes Philip's trip to Rome and Genoa and the impact the Napoleonic war is having on business. Philip Junior also received a letter dated 25 November 1805 from Captain Kerr that warns there are rumors that "Holland is likely to become the Theatre of war ere long."

Three other letters were received by Philip Thomas Junior after his return to Maryland. The first was written by his father at Cedar Dale on 2 February 1809. Philip Senior discusses his travels and visits and the illness of one of his daughters. He complains that "this part of the world is a month behind H. D. Grace [Havre de Grace] in News." The next letter was written 20 March 1809 by his god-father John Weems and discusses Weems's health and his desire to visit Philip Junior on Easter Sunday. A third letter to Philip Thomas Junior was written by Charles Wharton on 28 December 1810. Wharton writes that Thomas's sister Mary had come under the influence of religious zealots who "believing themselves to be exclusively in the way of Salvation, must consistently with their opinions, cherish above everything, a spirit of proselytizing all Persons to their communion." Apparently Philip Junior had written to Wharton at an earlier date, asking him to place his sister in a school near his home. Wharton responded that his wife was ill and that there was no school for girls in his region. Wharton concluded that Mary should be placed in another school, stating that "proper books and kind conversation [would] keep her mind from being duped by the idle dreams of superstition."

The final letter in this series appears to have been written by Philip Thomas Junior. Dated 1 January 1811 from Rockland, the letter sends holiday greetings to its unknown recipient and states that Mrs. Thomas gave birth to a daughter ten days earlier. The letter was primarily a business transaction regarding a family that Thomas enslaved.

The letters in this series have been divided into three folders by recipient or author, and then arranged chronologically.