Scope and Content of Collection
The Robert Fergusson and Alexander Hamilton papers date from 1761 to 1827, with the majority of documents dating from the 1780s and 1790s. The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence between European firms such as Glassford & Company and their Maryland representatives, primarily Robert Fergusson and Alexander Hamilton. Other documents include statements of debts incurred by planters and storekeepers with whom the factors dealt, records of the disposition of estates, and some agreements about the running of Fergusson's own estate, Nanjemoy.
The collection also includes a number of legal writs from Worcestershire, England, and several letters and poems commenting on debates carried on in the Maryland Gazette in the mid to late eighteenth century. The authorship and subjects of these political commentaries are unclear.