rapelye Guide to the Paul Rapelye Papers, 1820-1823 Processed by: William R. Erwin, Jr.; machine-readable finding aid created by: Stephen Douglas Miller

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Aleph Number: 000787736

Machine-readable finding aid derived from paper by means of scanning and OCR; OCR file edited for typographical errors before encoding. Date of source: January 22, 1988 Processed by: William R. Erwin, Jr. January 22, 1988; Finding Aid encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. March 28, 1997 Description is in English. 12-31-2005 PUBLIC "-//Duke University::David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library//TEXT (US::NDD::::The Paul Rapelye Papers)//EN" "rapelye.xml" converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Also, the top level of the finding aid (above the dsc) changed to conform to current Rubenstein Library and NC EAD standards as laid out in the Inventory Style Guide and in the NCEAD Best Practice Guidelines. Within the dsc, dates for series were normalized. These changes were made by Michelle Belden. Also, container TYPE and LABEL attribute values were standardized according to the Rubenstein Library EAD 2002 manual and the NCEAD eadlocal.ent by Ruth E. Bryan.The tag list inside index was changed to indexentry by Ruth E. Bryan. June 29, 1998 Updated to EAD Version 1.0 from EAD Beta by Stephen Miller Guide to the Paul Rapelye Papers, 1820-1823 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript LibraryDuke UniversityDurham, North Carolina

Descriptive Summary Paul Rapelye Papers, 1820-1823 Rapelye, Paul, fl. 1820-1823 1.5 Linear Feet 14 Items Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. English. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Use Restrictions

The status of copyright interests in these papers is unknown. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], The Papers of Paul Rapelye, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Provenance

The papers of Paul Rapelye, commission merchant from Charleston, South Carolina, were purchased by the Manuscript Department in 1979 and 1983.

Processing Information

Processed by: William R. Erwin, Jr.

Completed January 22, 1988

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Biographical Note

In October 1821, Paul Rapelye, a commission merchant, was a partner in the firm of Wm. S. Bennett and Co., of Charleston, S.C. During 1820-1823, however, he also operated variously in the firms of P. Rapelye and Co. in Savannah and Paul Rapelye in Savannah, New York City, and Manchester, England.

Collection Overview

The papers of Paul Rapelye span the years 1820-1823. They consist of eight account books, 1820-1823, one letter book, 1821-1823, and five letters, 1820-1822, that mostly concern mercantile trade. He and his associates traded primarily in cloth, cloth goods, and clothing, but also occasionally in rice, cotton, and other commodities. Rapelye traveled and conducted business in Charleston, Savannah, New York city, and Manchester, England.

In a letter of July 15, 1822, auctioneer Jacob Rapelye of Charleston discussed his business and the aborted slave insurrection led by Denmark Vesey. There is also a reference to the capture of a Portuguese slave ship and the disposition of the slaves (1820, July 27).

The collection is divided into correspondence and account books, the latter arranged under the names of the companies to which they belonged.

Subject Headings

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.

Wm. S. Bennett and Co. (Charleston, S.C.) Commission merchants Clothing trade Textile fabrics Slavery--Insurrections, etc.--South Carolina Rice trade--South Carolina Cotton trade--South Carolina Auctioneers--South Carolina Charleston (S.C.)--Commerce Savannah (Ga.)--Commerce New York (N.Y.)--Commerce Manchester (England)--Commerce Slave-trade Contents of Collection Correspondence, 1820-1822 1Correspondence Volumes 1 P. Rapelye and Co.: Inventory, 1820 Paul Rapelye: Invoice Book, 1820-1821 Invoice Book, 1822-1823 2 Ledger, 1820 -1821 Index to Ledger, 1820-1821 Daybook, 1820-1821 Wm. S. Bennett and Co.: 3 Letter Book, 1821-1823 Sales at Auction, 1821-1822 Sales at Auction, 1822