Manifest duplicate (15 December 1794) of the Sloop Agnes, bound from Edenton, North Carolina, to New York, New York, carrying barrels of tar, turpentine, and pitch, Thomas Hunter and William Williams, shippers.
The Sloop Agnes was a small 79-1/2 ton sailing ship that sailed between North Carolina and New York, making stops at Williamsburg and Philadelphia and other places along the way. An advertisement in the
The cargo that the Agnes took aboard in Edenton on 15 December 1794, consisted of naval stores - tar, turpentine, and pitch - which were refined from the plentiful pine trees of the region and were typical of exports from the Eastern North Carolina region during the colonial and early national era. Colonial shipbuilders and sailors used such naval stores to make hulls, rigging, and sails waterproof and to protect them from salt water.
The term "sloop" probably derives from the Dutch term "sloep", which probably derives from French term "chaloupe." Sloops are sailing ships having one mast and fore-and-aft rigging. A sloop has a single head-sail; if a more than one head-sails, it should be called a "cutter."
Sources:
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation website: https://www.history.org/History/todayin1770s/index.cfm?SelectedMonth=04&SelectedDay=20
American Sailing Association website: https://asa.com/news/2015/05/20/whats-in-a-rig-sloop/
Dictionary.com website: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sloop
The Sloop Agnes Collection consists of a single printed form that recorded the ship's arrival and business in the port of Edenton, North Carolina. Signed on 15 December 1794, the document also recorded the ship's cargo of tar, turpentine, and pitch; the names of its master and owners; and the names of the cargo's buyers. The document was signed by the Deputy Collector of the port as a witness.
Purchased from Mike & Kelly Stiles, Kewadin, MI, 8/7/2001.
Encoded by Apex Data Services, March 2002; Processing completed by Jonathan Dembo, 5/1/2019.
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.