Richard Dorsey, Legal Papers-runaway slaves, 1809 - 1830

Richard Dorsey (1780-1850) was a tobacco inspector until ca. 1822 and in his subsequent dealings was a merchant, financier, and farmer. He was a resident of Baltimore. The bulk of this collection is the incoming correspondence of Richard Dorsey. The items dating from 1809-1810 relate to the confinement and treatment of his sister, Rebecca Dorsey, for insanity and opium addiction. Benjamin Rush, James S. Lewis, and W. Hammond are the correspondents. Correspondence of 1830 relates to Dorsey's efforts to retrieve three runaway slaves in New York City. Later items discuss the settlement of the Rebecca Dorsey and Elizabeth Dorsey estates, including inventories of land, slaves, and stock in the Mechanics Bank and the Fredericktown Turnpike Company.