Samuel Moore Barclay papers
Collection
0197-MDHC
Samuel Moore Barclay was a Bedford, Pennsylvania, attorney who corresponded with a number of prominent Maryland individuals and business firms on legal, political, and business matters. Among Barclay's correspondents were William Tiffany and Co., H. P. Hepburn, Jonathan M. Edgar, and C. D. Slingluff. Topics discussed include legal cases, monetary claims, and business arrangements.
This collection is open for research.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
23 Items
The Samuel Moore Barclay papers consist of twenty-three letters sent to Barclay and other Bedford County individuals by prominent Maryland businessmen, mostly from Baltimore, between 1818 and 1849. Seventeen of the letters are addressed to Barclay, and six of the letters are addressed to John Young Barclay, John Tod, Humphrey Dillon, Abraham Kerns, and the firm of T. Montgomery and Company. Subjects covered primarily include debt collection and property claims.
Samuel Moore Barclay, the youngest son of Hugh and Hetty Barclay, was born in October 1802. He was educated at the Bedford Academy and, after leaving school, worked in the office of his brother Josiah. He passed the Bedford, Pennsylvania, bar and by 1828 was practicing law with a partner, Francis B. Murdoch, Esq. Barclay's brother, John Young Barclay (1798-1841), was also a lawyer, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Samuel Barclay married Ann Eliza Sophia Morrison on January 3, 1839; she died on November 26, 1839 at the age of nineteen. Barclay may have been married several times, although solid evidence does not exist.
Barclay practiced law in Bedford, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Some prominent Bedford County residents read law in his offices, including his brother, John Young Barclay, and another prominent Bedford citizen, John Cessna. During 1833, Samuel Barclay served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly as a Representative from Bedford County.
Samual Barclay was one of the main supporters of the New Jerusalem, or Swedenborgian church in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
Samuel Moore Barclay died on January 3, 1852 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The collection is organized in a single series:
The University of Maryland Libraries purchased the papers of Samuel Barclay from Charles Apfelbaum in July 1991.
The letters were placed in acid-free folders and stored in an acid-free box.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives