William Kenner and Co. letterbook

Collection — Reel: 90-124

Identifier: SC-304-MS

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Manuscript volume of copies of mostly unsigned letters sent by the firm to various business associates in such cities as Natchez, Baton Rouge, Charleston, Savannah, New York, Philadelphia, Havre, London, and Liverpool. One letter, to Senator James Brown of Louisiana in Washington (dated October 27, 1821), discusses a pirate attack on a vessel carrying property belonging to Brown. Other topics include cotton, sugar, slaves, shipping, markets in general, and the financial condition of the nation. There is very little of a personal nature in these letters.

Dates

Creation: 1822-1823

Creator

William Kenner and Co. (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Available on microfilm to registered researchers by appointment. Original documents are closed for research.

Requesting Materials

Materials Request Guidelines

Conditions Governing Use

Reproduction or use of materials is prohibited without the permission of the City Archives & Special Collections. Please review the Archives' Permission to Publish note.

Biographical / Historical

Merchants of New Orleans, La. The firm was established prior to April, 1813 by William Kenner and Richard Clague. The former was a native of Virginia who was in New Orleans by 1801. He owned several plantations and was a partner in the firm of Kenner and Henderson (later Henderson & Co.) with Steven Henderson prior to formation of the present concern. He was the father of Duncan F. Kenner, president of the 1852 state constitutional convention and a member of the Confederate congress. Clague, the father of the Louisiana artist of the same name, was a native of England who came to New Orleans in ca. 1803. A third partner, John Oldham, had joined the firm by 1822. Following Kenner's death in 1824, the firm apparently continued in operation for several years under Clague's management.