Manuscript Group 110 – James Abeel (1733-1825), Deputy Quartermaster General Papers

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Manuscript Group 110,
James Abeel (1733-1825), Deputy Quartermaster General

Papers, 1761-1819, 0.5 linear
feet / 1 box

Call Number: MG 110

Summary

• Biographical
  Note

• Provenance
  Note

• Scope
  and Content Note

• Related
  Collections

• Folder
  List

Summary:

Correspondence and records of James Abeel,
primarily concerning his service as Deputy Quartermaster General, New Jersey
Continental Line.  Prior to being assigned to his post, Abeel was an
officer in the First Battalion, New York City Militia.  Includes
correspondence of:

Biographical
Note:

James Abeel (1733-1825) was born and
raised in New York City where he pursued a commercial career as a young
man.  During the American Revolution, he served in the First Battalion of
the New York City Militia, the Continental Army, and by 1777, as deputy
quartermaster general at Morristown, New Jersey.  He dealt with the
Continental Army’s provisions during their two Morristown encampments, the
Middlebrook and Pluckemin encampments, and Valley Forge.

After the war, Abeel and his wife,
Gertrude, secured profits from Revolutionary War certificates and acquired land
in Washington County, New York.

Provenance
Note:

The source of this collection is unknown.

Scope and
Content Note:

This collection consists of 0.5 linear
feet of correspondence, quartermaster records, and personal financial documents
dating from 1761-1819.  The collection documents the process by which the
Continental Army was provisioned in and from New Jersey, especially during the
years 1777-1781.  It records the kind and quantity of supplies needed,
their price, suppliers, and mode of delivery.  The post-war material
provides information concerning the financial history of New York during the
1780s and 1790s, especially through the exchange of war certificates and
investment in real estate.

Series Description:

This collection is organized into three
series: Correspondence, Business records, and Personal finances. Each series is
arranged chronologically.

Series I. Correspondence, 1777-1782, n. d.

This series consists of 14 folders of
letters received by James Abeel during the years 1777-1782. The letters concern
such issues as supplies, the cost of various items, and the needs of the troops
(tents, horses, camp kettles, and so forth), as well as private reports on such
events as the British evacuation of Rhode Island, and a visit to Martha
Washington.

Series II. Business records, 1776-1778.

This series consists of 7 folders of
quartermaster records from the years 1776-1778.  These items include
receipts, accounts, and invoices for various services and supplies.

Series III. Personal finances, 1761-1819.

This series consists of 3 folders of
documents that represent the financial activities of James Abeel as a private
individual.  These items include deeds, releases, and receipts; the sale of
military rights, 1791; an account of payment for quit rents on the Cathoun
patent, 1817; accounts of taxes paid by Abeel in various years; land surveys;
and affidavits.

Related
Collections:

James Abeel’s Letterbook, Call Number: EN
171 (Ely Collection)

For more information on quartermasters in
the American Revolution see:

Manuscript Group 163,
Hugh Hughes (fl. 1782), Deputy Quartermaster of New York, Daybook

Folder List:

Processed by Irina Peris, December 1999 as part of the “Farm to City”
project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.

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