Z 2067.000 Bennett-Ferriday Family Papers

Z 2067.000
BENNETT-FERRIDAY FAMILY PAPERS

Caleb Prew Bennett was born on November 11, 1758, and he served as governor of Delaware before his death on May 9, 1836. His son, Henry L. Bennett, was born in New Castle, Delaware, around 1801. Henry L. Bennett later moved to Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, where he married Matilda A. Smith (b. ca. 1803) on November 26, 1833. The Bennetts had at least three children: Anne F., Catherine, and Henry C. C. (d. 1876). Henry L. Bennett was a cotton planter in Adams County, and he owned real estate valued at ten thousand dollars by 1850. He was still farming and owned real and personal property valued at fifty-five thousand dollars by 1860. Bennett had retired from farming by 1870. Henry C. C. Bennett was living with his parents and managing the family farm in 1870.

Joseph C. Ferriday was born in England around 1812, and he was living in Adams County, Mississippi, by 1840, when he became a naturalized citizen. His sister, Emily A. Ferriday, was living in New Orleans, Louisiana, by 1848, and Joseph C. Ferriday was living in New Orleans by 1849. He and his wife, Mary (b. ca. 1819), had at least five children, including J. C., John, Mary, Matilda, and William Ferriday. Joseph C. Ferriday was working as a cotton broker in New Orleans by 1850. Both Ferridays conducted business with Henry L. Bennett in Natchez. The Bennett and Ferriday families were also related by marriage.

This collection is composed of correspondence, legal and financial records, and miscellaneous papers of the Bennett and Ferriday families.

The correspondence is primarily from Joseph C. or Emily A. Ferriday of New Orleans, Louisiana, to Henry L. Bennett of Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. The sale of cotton and slaves were primary business concerns of the Ferridays. A few of their letters concern personal or social matters, including a January 30, 1849, letter from Emily A. Ferriday to Bennett discussing the spread of cholera; a February 10, 1849, letter from Joseph C. Ferriday to Bennett offering sympathy upon the death of Henry Lisle; and an undated letter from Emily A. Ferriday to Bennett indicating that Joseph C. Ferriday had advised her to sell all of her slaves.

There is one September 1848 business letter from J. Herman [?] to Henry L. Bennett. Occasional recipients of business letters include Thomas Affleck and Daniel R. Carroll.

The legal papers document a February 4, 1843, sheriffs sale resulting from the foreclosed mortgage of Henry L. Bennett, Daniel R. Hopkins, and John B. Smith. Slaves were sold along with the land, including seven who were identified by name. Another document, signed by Emily A. Ferriday on April 12, 1848, assigned limited power-of-attorney to John P. Watson. A later document, signed by Ferriday on April 27, 1848, revoked Watsons power-of-attorney.

The financial papers include an 1855 receipt from Emily A. Ferriday and two undated receipts, one to Henry L. Bennett, and the other from Joseph C. Ferriday to Walker and Pierce.

The miscellaneous papers consist of several pages of figures and two itemized lists of household furnishings.

1. Correspondence. 1848-1855; n.d. 1 folder.
2. Legal Records. 1843-1848. 1 folder.
3. Financial Records. 1855; n.d. 1 folder.
4. Miscellany. n.d. 1 folder.