Profile №10 BEHI-P010-PC
Paul Cuffe
1759–1817
Merchant, Shipowner, Shipbuilder, Sea Captain, Community Advocate
Overview
TAKEAWAY: Cuffe connected maritime enterprise with projects for Black economic independence. Vessel interests, trade, and expenditure are examined separately, with unresolved payments and quantities kept visible.
BEHI PROFILE — RESEARCH IN PROGRESS — UPDATED NOVEMBER 4, 2026. EVIDENCE IS CLASSIFIED CLAIM BY CLAIM; ATTRIBUTED ACCOUNTS AND UNRESOLVED RESEARCH QUESTIONS ARE IDENTIFIED THROUGHOUT.
OVERVIEW
Paul Cuffe built a maritime enterprise rooted in coastal Massachusetts and connected it to an Atlantic project for Black economic independence. Shipping, vessel interests, family partnerships and trade supported his voyages to Sierra Leone. This Profile follows the evidence from legal identity and ships to commercial correspondence and estate records, while keeping unresolved quantities and payments visible.
A maritime enterprise with an Atlantic purpose
Ships & shore
Vessel interests and access to shore facilities supported the movement of people and goods.
Merchant relationships
Partners, captains, suppliers, and buyers made the enterprise more than the work of one owner.
Community aims
Sierra Leone voyages linked commerce with plans for Black economic independence.
Sources: 1811 memoir excerpt reproduced by PBS, Westport Historical Society ships summary, and the Paul Cuffe Papers inventory. BEHI analysis: the diagram connects assets, relationships, and public purpose. It does not establish a single incorporated company, a fixed fleet held at one time, or an audited profit total.
Ownership, command and employment are distinct roles.
Trade connected American ports, Britain and Sierra Leone.
Economic activity supported community and migration projects.
EXACT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The published 1811 memoir excerpt describes Cuffe as an independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew. Original vessel certificates remain separate evidence.
Contemporary and institutional accounts connect his shipping activity with Sierra Leone and projects for Black economic independence. Voyage profit is not established by cargo value.
The Smithsonian catalog identifies a December 19, 1780 court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Verification covers the holding description, not an independent transcription of the manuscript.
Newly inspected maritime evidence
Eight inspected manuscript files document selected Ranger, Traveller, Hero and Alpha transactions: cargo shipment and sales, voyage obligations, ship expenses and an offer of sale. A September 20, 1815 paid bill connects James Forten with Captain Paul Cuffe for Traveller, totaling $51.25. These records do not establish a complete fleet, annual profits or all ownership shares. Read the source readings, citations and limits.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
A contemporary memoir excerpt, official petition catalog and archival inventories provide identifiable anchors. Underlying vessel certificates, customs lines and receipts need further inspection.
What did Cuffe own, what did a voyage cost, and what was paid? Cargo valuation, gross proceeds, personal subsidy and profit require different documents.
Earlier research is retained as a documented trail. It is not upgraded to verified original evidence when the actual page could not be reopened.
READING THE EVIDENCE
What Would Move This Profile Forward?
These are the next evidence priorities for strengthening this Profile. Each identifies a concrete research step and what it could help establish.
- Complete the maritime-account transcriptions
Fully transcribe and reconcile the inspected cargo, sales, expense and settlement files by vessel, date, unit and currency. This would move selected readings toward reliable transaction accounts without mistaking sales for profit.
- Resolve vessel ownership and transfers
Obtain dated registrations, bills of sale and ownership changes, particularly for Hero, Alpha and Traveller. These would resolve conflicting dates and shares; expense allocations and sale offers alone do not establish ownership or completed sales.
- Verify the Traveller manifest and passenger list
Inspect the complete 1815 manifest and passenger records line by line. These would establish defensible cargo measures and passenger counts with their dates and definitions.
- Reconcile the original estate documents
Obtain the original will, inventory, liabilities and settlement accounts. These would resolve inconsistencies in the published will transcription and distinguish bequests from net estate value.
Read the Research Gaps & Open Questions for the unresolved issues and evidence limits. New material is reviewed before claims or classifications change.
THE RECEIPTS OR EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THIS PROFILE
Evidence labels apply to individual claims. Read the evidence guide and content-condition definitions.
| SOURCE / LOCATOR | RECORD / CONTEXT | DATE / PERIOD | EVIDENCE STATUS | SUPPORT / LIMITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1780 court petition | Official object catalog | December 19, 1780 | VERIFIED | Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding verified; manuscript lines were not independently transcribed in this audit. Distinguish this court document from the February 1780 legislative petition. A petition is not proof of a subsequent law or sole causation of voting reform. |
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240 | Primary customs record locator | December 2, 1815 catalog date | ATTRIBUTED | NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, Paul Cuffee master, bound for Sierra Leone. Catalog date December 2 differs from voyage departure dates. Earlier $5,137.11 total remains a reinspection target: image bytes were not recovered for line-by-line reading. Manifest value is neither freight revenue nor net profit. |
| Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and Wiggins research papers | Archival finding-aid metadata | Mss 10 / Mss 178 | VERIFIED | Mss 10 inventory lists incoming/outgoing correspondence, provision lists, passenger repayment pledges, receipts and passenger lists. Mss 178 is Rosalind Cobb Wiggins's research/transcription collection, derived from multiple repositories, not the original Cuffe manuscripts. Verification applies to published holding descriptions, not every underlying item. NBFPL digital collection states written permission is required for reproduction; no manuscript images are republished here. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
Background
TAKEAWAY: A contemporary memoir describes Cuffe’s African and Indigenous family background and early maritime work. Its biographical details remain attributed rather than independently reconstructed vital records.
BACKGROUND
Born free in 1759 on Cuttyhunk Island, Cuffe came from a family of African and Indigenous heritage. The 1811 memoir describes his father’s enslavement and freedom, Ruth Moses and the family's land, then Paul's turn toward maritime work. Those reported details are attributed to that contemporary account rather than presented as independently reconstructed vital records.
Family responsibility, sea experience, and partnership
Family responsibility
The memoir recalls his father’s death when Paul was about fourteen and the family’s need to support his mother and sisters.
Learning at sea
It describes entry into whaling at about sixteen, followed by other voyages and wartime capture.
A family commercial network
The ships summary identifies Michael Wainer and relatives in roles including captain, mate, crew, and business partner.
Attributed to 1811 memoir excerpt reproduced by PBS and Westport Historical Society ships summary. These accounts show preparation and shared work; the early ages and voyage chronology still require original corroboration. A relative’s maritime role is not automatically proof of a dated ownership share.
HISTORICAL & ECONOMIC CONTEXT
Land and inheritance formed part of the early context.
The memoir connects experience at sea with trade and navigation.
Michael Wainer and relatives appear across the business trail.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
The memoir excerpt is valuable because it was published during Cuffe’s lifetime. Its celebratory perspective and early chronology still require corroboration with family and maritime originals.
Wainer relatives served as partners, captains and crew in published reconstructions. The role of each person must be attached to a dated vessel or voyage; family relationship alone does not establish ownership.
Cuffe/Cuffee spelling varies. His father Cuff Slocum, son Paul Cuffe Jr., other relatives and the British Traveller namesake must remain distinct in searches and citations.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Sunfish and Mary vessel records | Vessel register research leads | 1780s–1790s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction and WHS ships summary name Sunfish and Mary as Cuffe–Michael Wainer vessels. Sunfish 25 tons and Mary 40/42 tons appear in summaries; exact dates, register tonnage and ownership shares await dated registrations/bills of sale. Do not count all historical vessels as a simultaneously owned fleet. |
| Ranger vessel records | Vessel register research lead | 1790s–1800s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier register reconstruction reported 69.33 tons. WHS records route and Wainer-master leads. Original dated entries must establish construction, registry, ownership changes and master. Register tonnage measures vessel capacity under historical rules, not cargo weight, asset value or profit. |
| Traveller ownership and masters | Vessel register / logbook leads | 1806/1807–1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier research reports 109 tons and sole Cuffe ownership by 1809; WHS summaries use different construction/ownership dates and one 69-ton entry. Reconcile original certificates rather than silently selecting a date. Some listed masters were white; the 1811 Black crew claim does not describe every voyage. Do not confuse Cuffe's brig with the British 1804 namesake. |
| Land, education, Quaker life and estate | Institutional interpretation / primary targets | Lifetime / 1817 estate | ATTRIBUTED | Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate leads require original volume/page verification. No lifetime net worth, national wealth ranking, nationwide first-school claim or estate appraisal is adopted. Preserve his Black and Indigenous heritage and distinguish his father, son Paul Jr., and namesake mariners. |
The Problem
TAKEAWAY: Cuffe faced restrictions on citizenship, mobility, and trade. His Sierra Leone plans also formed part of a debate over the prospects of Black communities.
THE PROBLEM
Cuffe pursued commerce in an economy that constrained Black citizenship and mobility. Taxation disputes, wartime disruption and imperial trade rules were concrete obstacles. His Sierra Leone plans addressed the prospects for Black communities, but the records also reveal differing views about emigration.
Three constraints on economic independence
Citizenship
Taxation without equal civic participation prompted a petition trail involving Paul and John Cuffe.
Commercial permission
Atlantic trading required licences, customs clearance, and compliance with changing legal rules.
Community choice
Migration proposals involved differing views among Black communities, not a single shared position.
The Smithsonian petition catalog verifies the identity and December 19, 1780 date of the court document. The 1811 memoir excerpt reproduced by PBS describes a British licence. Forten correspondence remains a separate target for migration debate. This map identifies obstacles without assigning sole responsibility for later legal reform or treating voluntary migration as a universal preference.
DIMENSIONS OF THE PROBLEM
Tax liability did not guarantee equal civic power.
Ownership could not remove legal and market constraints.
Black leaders and communities did not share one migration position.
HOW THE PROBLEM SHOWED UP
Smithsonian object 2009.26.1 is dated December 19, 1780 and concerns the Taunton court. It must be distinguished from the earlier legislative petition and later Dartmouth drafts. Neither object alone proves that Cuffe caused a subsequent statewide change.
The 1811 memoir documents a British trading licence. Later voyages encountered changing rules. A licence, customs release and port permission are separate instruments; original federal correspondence remains needed for a complete legal account.
Cuffe’s voluntary trade and emigration project should be described on its own terms. The January 1817 Forten correspondence is central to testing public response and the relationship to the newly formed American Colonization Society.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1780 court petition | Official object catalog | December 19, 1780 | VERIFIED | Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding verified; manuscript lines were not independently transcribed in this audit. Distinguish this court document from the February 1780 legislative petition. A petition is not proof of a subsequent law or sole causation of voting reform. |
| Legislative tax petition and Dartmouth drafts | Primary manuscript leads | 1780–1781 | ATTRIBUTED | February 10, 1780 legislative petition, January 1781 copies and April 1781 Dartmouth drafts are distinct documents. Earlier findings and displayed collection descriptions establish research targets; complete originals and endorsements remain to be reconciled. Do not collapse them into Smithsonian object 2009.26.1. |
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Forten correspondence / colonization debate | Correspondence lead / presentation discrepancy | January 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS discussion describes Forten's January 25 letter and opposition voiced at the Philadelphia meeting. Its linked page 3h484t.html instead transcribes Richmond's January 24 resolution. Treat that mismatch explicitly; do not cite Richmond text as Forten's letter. Recover the original January 25 letter and distinguish voluntary emigration from ACS policy or unanimous Black support. |
What He Built
TAKEAWAY: Cuffe combined vessel interests, shore facilities, merchant relationships, and family labor. Ships listed at different dates should not be treated as one simultaneously owned fleet.
WHAT HE BUILT
Cuffe’s enterprise combined ships, access to a boatyard and wharf, merchant relationships and a family workforce. The fleet is best reconstructed as a series of dated ownership interests rather than a single undated list. The Friendly Society and Sierra Leone voyages extended his commercial ambitions across the Atlantic.
Reported vessel capacity: selected ships
Attributed to Westport Historical Society ships summary. The chart compares three reported historical register-tonnage figures, using a common zero baseline. Original dated registrations remain needed. These vessels belong to different moments, not one simultaneously owned fleet. Tonnage is not cargo weight or asset value, and Cuffe’s fraction of ownership is a separate measure. Conflicting Mary and Alpha figures are excluded from this comparison.
THE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
Sunfish, Mary, Ranger, Hero, Alpha and Traveller anchor the reconstruction.
Suppliers, factors and buyers connected ports and products.
The Friendly Society linked commerce with community aims.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
Earlier work also identified a minority Hope interest and an unnamed Cuffe–Job Gifford vessel. These remain explicit original-record targets. Register tonnage is not cargo weight or valuation; ownership shares and vessel rig can change over time.
Institutional accounts identify Westport wharf and boatyard property. Original deeds and tax assessments are needed to distinguish purchase cost, taxable assessment, physical facilities and later estate assets.
The research follows supply in Sierra Leone, shipment on Traveller, storage in New York and named merchant/buyer leads in Albany and Poughkeepsie. Each link needs an original letter, receipt or account before a settled sales narrative can be published.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunfish and Mary vessel records | Vessel register research leads | 1780s–1790s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction and WHS ships summary name Sunfish and Mary as Cuffe–Michael Wainer vessels. Sunfish 25 tons and Mary 40/42 tons appear in summaries; exact dates, register tonnage and ownership shares await dated registrations/bills of sale. Do not count all historical vessels as a simultaneously owned fleet. |
| Ranger vessel records | Vessel register research lead | 1790s–1800s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier register reconstruction reported 69.33 tons. WHS records route and Wainer-master leads. Original dated entries must establish construction, registry, ownership changes and master. Register tonnage measures vessel capacity under historical rules, not cargo weight, asset value or profit. |
| Hero vessel records | Vessel register research lead | Early 1800s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 162 tons; summaries differ over date, rig and Cuffe's ownership fraction. The WHS ships page gives a quarter interest with Cory partners, while other accounts give a half interest. Preserve dates and changing shares; original registers and transfers remain necessary. |
| Hope minority interest | Unreinspected vessel lead | Earlier fleet research | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier BEHI research recorded Hope at 49.33 tons with a minority Cuffe interest. No original registry page was recovered here. Hold precise fraction, dates and classification pending the original; omission from a summary page does not disprove an interest. |
| Alpha ownership and transfer | Vessel register / transfer leads | 1806–1815 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 268 tons and a later John James connection. WHS ships and voyages pages disagree internally (268 versus 258 tons). Earlier $6,500 transfer is not supported by an inspected paid receipt here. A sale agreement or consideration is not automatically cash received. |
| Traveller ownership and masters | Vessel register / logbook leads | 1806/1807–1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier research reports 109 tons and sole Cuffe ownership by 1809; WHS summaries use different construction/ownership dates and one 69-ton entry. Reconcile original certificates rather than silently selecting a date. Some listed masters were white; the 1811 Black crew claim does not describe every voyage. Do not confuse Cuffe's brig with the British 1804 namesake. |
| Unnamed Cuffe–Job Gifford vessel | Vessel identity research lead | October 4, 1816 sale lead | ATTRIBUTED | WHS chronology and prior research mention a 45-ton vessel built with Job Gifford and offered for sale. Vessel name and completed sale are unestablished. Do not rename it, merge it with Traveller or add its tonnage to a verified fleet total. |
| Friendly Society camwood correspondence | Primary correspondence targets | 1816; exact letter unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quantity/unit and identity of 'us' remain open. Letter immediately before 'Providence Aust 17 1816' is a locator, not a resolved author/date. Request and delivery status are distinct. |
| Camwood receipts and New York merchant accounts | Primary commercial record targets | 1815–1817 targets | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series E receipts and New-York Historical Society MS 297 Box 95 are earlier targets. Kizell/Friendly Society → Traveller → New York storage → Gifford/Albany and Hicks, Jenkins & Co. → Poughkeepsie buyers is a working chain. Quantities, prices, freight, storage, commission and net settlement require linked originals; do not publish a completed financial chain. |
| Poughkeepsie buyers and processing | Retrospective study / original targets | 1816–1817 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816, a February 1, 1817 dye-wood rasping patent, and Barnes & Willoughby advertising. These do not establish Cuffe as patentee, identify every Barnes, or prove a final sale price. The $100/ton purchase-versus-sale conflict remains open. |
| Land, education, Quaker life and estate | Institutional interpretation / primary targets | Lifetime / 1817 estate | ATTRIBUTED | Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate leads require original volume/page verification. No lifetime net worth, national wealth ranking, nationwide first-school claim or estate appraisal is adopted. Preserve his Black and Indigenous heritage and distinguish his father, son Paul Jr., and namesake mariners. |
Accomplishments
TAKEAWAY: Cuffe’s maritime activity and international advocacy establish significance without unsupported wealth rankings or nationwide firsts. Specific ownership and voyage claims retain their source limits.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Cuffe’s documented significance includes independent maritime commerce, vessel ownership and advocacy for the advancement of Black communities. Contemporary recognition in Britain and the Sierra Leone voyages show an international reach. The Profile does not depend on unsupported wealth rankings or nationwide firsts.
Commercial agency, organization, and public action
Independent trader
The contemporary memoir describes Cuffe entering Liverpool as an owner and master with a Black crew.
Voyage organizer
The Traveller project brought shipping, provisions, passenger arrangements, and community aspirations together.
Civic participant
The surviving petition catalog ties Paul and John Cuffe to a specific legal action in 1780.
Sources: 1811 memoir excerpt reproduced by PBS, Traveller document leads, and Smithsonian petition catalog. The memoir’s crew account belongs to the 1811 voyage context. The often-reported 38 emigrants remains attributed until the complete passenger record is counted; a provision list or passenger pledge answers a different question.
ACCOMPLISHMENT LEDGER
Dates and evidence classifications apply to the specific findings below. Economic significance is BEHI analysis; evidence limits remain attached to each entry.
| DATE / PERIOD | ACCOMPLISHMENT | ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE | SOURCE / LOCATOR | EVIDENCE CLASSIFICATION | EVIDENCE LIMITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1811 | Independent Atlantic trading enterprise The contemporary memoir excerpt describes Cuffe as an independent trader and ship owner/master entering Liverpool with a Black crew. | Places Black commercial agency within Atlantic trade. | Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt Liverpool Mercury memoir, October 1811; published excerpt. | ATTRIBUTED | The excerpt is distinct from an inspected original newspaper; crew composition applies to the described voyage. |
| 1815–1816 | Sierra Leone voyage organization The Traveller project linked shipping and passenger arrangements with an emigration initiative. | Shows the organizational work of connecting transport, provisions and community goals. | Catalogue of families aboard Traveller Catalogue of families aboard Traveller; related manifest and papers inventory below. | ATTRIBUTED | The commonly reported 38 emigrants and household count require a full passenger-record audit; listing and sailing dates differ. |
| Lifetime; specific dates unresolved | Education and community support Institutional accounts describe support for education and Quaker/community life. | Connects commercial activity with community institutions. | Land, education, Quaker life and estate Institutional account; original school and meeting records remain targets. | ATTRIBUTED | Scope, costs and national priority claims are not independently established. |
ACCOMPLISHMENT CATEGORIES
The memoir describes a Black owner/master entering Liverpool.
Traveller carried an emigration project to Sierra Leone.
Letters, logs, customs and probate preserve different parts of the enterprise.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
The 1811 published account identifies Cuffe as trader and ship owner/master with a Black crew. This supports a specific voyage context; it does not establish that every ship he owned always had the same crew composition.
Institutional accounts report 38 emigrants. Passenger, provision and pledge records allow a future audit of who travelled, who paid and who received support. The exact departure day and household count remain qualified.
Published accounts describe support for education and religious/community life. Original school and meeting records should establish dates and scope before any national priority claim is made.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240 | Primary customs record locator | December 2, 1815 catalog date | ATTRIBUTED | NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, Paul Cuffee master, bound for Sierra Leone. Catalog date December 2 differs from voyage departure dates. Earlier $5,137.11 total remains a reinspection target: image bytes were not recovered for line-by-line reading. Manifest value is neither freight revenue nor net profit. |
| Catalogue of families aboard Traveller | Primary passenger/logbook lead | December 10, 1815 label | ATTRIBUTED | NBFPL logbook page is displayed under this title. Published accounts commonly report 38 passengers; number of families differs between summaries. Count names/ages and reconcile adults, children and households from the complete original before a verified tally. Listing date is not automatically sailing date. |
| Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and Wiggins research papers | Archival finding-aid metadata | Mss 10 / Mss 178 | VERIFIED | Mss 10 inventory lists incoming/outgoing correspondence, provision lists, passenger repayment pledges, receipts and passenger lists. Mss 178 is Rosalind Cobb Wiggins's research/transcription collection, derived from multiple repositories, not the original Cuffe manuscripts. Verification applies to published holding descriptions, not every underlying item. NBFPL digital collection states written permission is required for reproduction; no manuscript images are republished here. |
| Land, education, Quaker life and estate | Institutional interpretation / primary targets | Lifetime / 1817 estate | ATTRIBUTED | Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate leads require original volume/page verification. No lifetime net worth, national wealth ranking, nationwide first-school claim or estate appraisal is adopted. Preserve his Black and Indigenous heritage and distinguish his father, son Paul Jr., and namesake mariners. |
Economic Impact
TAKEAWAY: Vessel interests, cargo, and expenditure measure different aspects of Cuffe’s enterprise. A complete profit statement, lifetime wealth total, and verified camwood settlement remain unavailable.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Cuffe’s economic record is strongest when assets, trade and expenditure are kept separate. Vessel interests show participation in maritime capital; cargo and merchant records can show the movement of goods. The available material does not yet support a complete profit statement, lifetime wealth total or verified camwood settlement.
From cargo to a commercial return
Goods acquired
Quantity, unit, currency, and purchase price must be established at the supply end.
Voyage & handling
Freight, insurance, port costs, storage, and commissions change the cost of bringing goods to market.
Settlement
Invoices, receipts, and merchant accounts distinguish an asking price, a sale, and money actually collected.
Personal support for passengers is a separate expenditure and must not automatically be labeled a trading loss.
Economic diagram · BEHI analysis. Applied to the camwood and Traveller research trail. The original settlement chain remains incomplete; no dollar-scaled profit chart is supplied. Manifest valuation, a vessel-transfer consideration, passenger pledges, subsidy, and net return are not interchangeable figures.
KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Each measure identifies its entity, period, source and evidence limits. Dollar amounts are nominal historical U.S. dollars. Assets, revenue, profit, transaction amounts and employment measures are distinct. “Not yet established” identifies a research gap, not zero or “not applicable.”
| MEASURE / VALUE | ENTITY / PERIOD | SOURCE / LOCATOR | CONTENT CONDITION / EVIDENCE CLASSIFICATION | INTERPRETATION / LIMITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo valuation Not yet established | Traveller voyage Reporting period not established | Research gap; see Evidence & Context and Receipts. | Not yet established Evidence classification: not assigned to an unresolved answer. | The 1815 manifest, NAID 53333240, requires line-by-line reinspection before adopting a total. Research Gap: Cargo valuation |
| Net voyage return Not yet established | Cuffe maritime ventures Reporting period not established | Research gap; see Evidence & Context and Receipts. | Not yet established Evidence classification: not assigned to an unresolved answer. | Requires purchase costs, sales, freight, duties and settlements; cargo value is not profit. Research Gap: Net voyage return |
| Personal net worth Not yet established | Paul Cuffe Reporting period not established | Research gap; see Evidence & Context and Receipts. | Not yet established Evidence classification: not assigned to an unresolved answer. | Requires estate appraisal and liabilities; a will’s bequests are not a net-worth statement. Research Gap: Personal net worth |
For evidence-label definitions, see the Receipts evidence guide.
CHANNELS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT
A manifest valuation is not business revenue.
Voyage subsidy is not identical to a trading loss.
A fractional ship interest is not the whole vessel’s value.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
Earlier research recorded $5,137.11 from Traveller's 1815 manifest. The catalog identity was relocated, but the original lines were not readable in this audit. The figure is retained as a research target and excluded from verified financial totals.
Sherwood’s 1923 study reports insurance, portage, supplies and passage costs and describes a subsidy exceeding $4,000 after contributions. This is an attributed retrospective account requiring original invoices, pledges and settlements. It cannot validate a separate $8,000 loss claim.
The camwood $100-per-ton statements must be tied to place, date and transaction side. A reported Sierra Leone purchase price does not establish the Poughkeepsie sale price. Freight, storage and commission can materially change net proceeds.
The earlier $6,500 Alpha transfer lacks a paid receipt in this audit. The will's bequests and asset descriptions establish testamentary intentions through a printed transcription, not estate appraisal, final distribution or lifetime wealth.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240 | Primary customs record locator | December 2, 1815 catalog date | ATTRIBUTED | NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, Paul Cuffee master, bound for Sierra Leone. Catalog date December 2 differs from voyage departure dates. Earlier $5,137.11 total remains a reinspection target: image bytes were not recovered for line-by-line reading. Manifest value is neither freight revenue nor net profit. |
| Alpha ownership and transfer | Vessel register / transfer leads | 1806–1815 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 268 tons and a later John James connection. WHS ships and voyages pages disagree internally (268 versus 258 tons). Earlier $6,500 transfer is not supported by an inspected paid receipt here. A sale agreement or consideration is not automatically cash received. |
| Friendly Society camwood correspondence | Primary correspondence targets | 1816; exact letter unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quantity/unit and identity of 'us' remain open. Letter immediately before 'Providence Aust 17 1816' is a locator, not a resolved author/date. Request and delivery status are distinct. |
| Camwood receipts and New York merchant accounts | Primary commercial record targets | 1815–1817 targets | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series E receipts and New-York Historical Society MS 297 Box 95 are earlier targets. Kizell/Friendly Society → Traveller → New York storage → Gifford/Albany and Hicks, Jenkins & Co. → Poughkeepsie buyers is a working chain. Quantities, prices, freight, storage, commission and net settlement require linked originals; do not publish a completed financial chain. |
| Poughkeepsie buyers and processing | Retrospective study / original targets | 1816–1817 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816, a February 1, 1817 dye-wood rasping patent, and Barnes & Willoughby advertising. These do not establish Cuffe as patentee, identify every Barnes, or prove a final sale price. The $100/ton purchase-versus-sale conflict remains open. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
Timeline
TAKEAWAY: The chronology separates document dates from reported events. Conflicting maritime and departure dates remain visible pending reconciliation.
TIMELINE
This chronology separates a document’s date, its reported event and the extent of verification. Early maritime dates and the December 1815 departure differ across summaries; unresolved dates remain visible rather than being silently standardized.
An Atlantic chronology with document boundaries
- 1759Reported birth
Contemporary memoir places birth on Cuttyhunk.
- 1780–1781Petition trail
Court, legislative, and Dartmouth documents remain distinct.
- 1780s–1800sVessel interests
Registrations and transfers are needed to date changing ownership.
- 1811Liverpool presence
Memoir records an independent trader and British licence.
- 1815–1816Traveller voyage
Manifest, passenger listing, departure, and arrival have separate dates.
- 1817Final records
Correspondence, will, death, and probate require different readings.
Sources and claim classifications follow in the detailed chronology. This is a sequence of reported events and document trails, not a claim that every date has been verified from an original. The December 2 manifest catalog date and December 10 passenger-page label are not automatically sailing dates.
TIMELINE AT A GLANCE
Contemporary memoir reports birth in 1759.
Vessel records trace changing interests over decades.
Will and estate records require separate readings.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
The 1811 memoir gives Cuttyhunk birth in 1759 and an entry into whaling at about sixteen. Other chronologies differ over early voyage years; original logs and family records remain the preferred anchors.
February legislative petition, December court petition, January copies and April Dartmouth drafts are separate stages in the research trail.
Sunfish, Mary, Ranger, Hero, Alpha, Hope and Traveller appear in earlier reconstruction and institutional summaries. Build, registration, purchase and sale dates must be distinguished.
The contemporary Liverpool memoir records his trading presence and British licence. Sierra Leone, Britain and return voyages should be reconciled against logs and customs documentation.
Manifest catalog date December 2; passenger-page label December 10; published departure accounts vary. Arrival is commonly reported as February 3, 1816. The dates refer to different record/event stages.
Friendly Society, New York factors and Poughkeepsie buyer/processing leads are under review. November Swift and December Hicks letters must be read in their actual trade context.
Published will transcription is dated April 18 and notes approval October 7. Institutional accounts report death September 7 in Westport. Family letters and the original probate packet remain independent confirmation targets.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1780 court petition | Official object catalog | December 19, 1780 | VERIFIED | Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding verified; manuscript lines were not independently transcribed in this audit. Distinguish this court document from the February 1780 legislative petition. A petition is not proof of a subsequent law or sole causation of voting reform. |
| Legislative tax petition and Dartmouth drafts | Primary manuscript leads | 1780–1781 | ATTRIBUTED | February 10, 1780 legislative petition, January 1781 copies and April 1781 Dartmouth drafts are distinct documents. Earlier findings and displayed collection descriptions establish research targets; complete originals and endorsements remain to be reconciled. Do not collapse them into Smithsonian object 2009.26.1. |
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240 | Primary customs record locator | December 2, 1815 catalog date | ATTRIBUTED | NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, Paul Cuffee master, bound for Sierra Leone. Catalog date December 2 differs from voyage departure dates. Earlier $5,137.11 total remains a reinspection target: image bytes were not recovered for line-by-line reading. Manifest value is neither freight revenue nor net profit. |
| Catalogue of families aboard Traveller | Primary passenger/logbook lead | December 10, 1815 label | ATTRIBUTED | NBFPL logbook page is displayed under this title. Published accounts commonly report 38 passengers; number of families differs between summaries. Count names/ages and reconcile adults, children and households from the complete original before a verified tally. Listing date is not automatically sailing date. |
| Traveller ownership and masters | Vessel register / logbook leads | 1806/1807–1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier research reports 109 tons and sole Cuffe ownership by 1809; WHS summaries use different construction/ownership dates and one 69-ton entry. Reconcile original certificates rather than silently selecting a date. Some listed masters were white; the 1811 Black crew claim does not describe every voyage. Do not confuse Cuffe's brig with the British 1804 namesake. |
| Friendly Society camwood correspondence | Primary correspondence targets | 1816; exact letter unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quantity/unit and identity of 'us' remain open. Letter immediately before 'Providence Aust 17 1816' is a locator, not a resolved author/date. Request and delivery status are distinct. |
| Poughkeepsie buyers and processing | Retrospective study / original targets | 1816–1817 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816, a February 1, 1817 dye-wood rasping patent, and Barnes & Willoughby advertising. These do not establish Cuffe as patentee, identify every Barnes, or prove a final sale price. The $100/ton purchase-versus-sale conflict remains open. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
| Land, education, Quaker life and estate | Institutional interpretation / primary targets | Lifetime / 1817 estate | ATTRIBUTED | Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate leads require original volume/page verification. No lifetime net worth, national wealth ranking, nationwide first-school claim or estate appraisal is adopted. Preserve his Black and Indigenous heritage and distinguish his father, son Paul Jr., and namesake mariners. |
No verified records are currently published in this category.
Myths & Disputes
TAKEAWAY: Fleet totals, financial claims, and migration narratives require precise sourcing. Later summaries do not replace vessel registers, petition endorsements, or correspondence.
MYTHS & DISPUTES
The audit preserves disagreements that materially affect interpretation. A compelling maritime story does not require inflated fleet totals, profit figures or a simplified migration narrative. Discrepancies in source presentation are recorded alongside disputed historical claims.
What the source supports—and what it does not
The visual summarizes the audit’s central corrections. Original registers, petition endorsements, and correspondence remain the best tools for resolving the broader claims. Neither a website title nor a repeated financial figure substitutes for the underlying document.
COMMON SOURCES OF CONFUSION
All named vessels were not necessarily held at once.
Buyer leads are not a final account.
Read community responses and original correspondence.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
WHS ships/voyages pages disagree on some Alpha and Traveller details. Other summaries differ on Mary tonnage and Hero share. Original registry dates must resolve these; do not total inconsistent numbers as verified capacity.
The memoir's 1811 crew description is event-specific. Other voyage reconstructions name white masters. Avoid converting contemporary praise into a universal first or a claim about every voyage.
A signed petition demonstrates an action, not that it single-handedly changed Massachusetts law. Different petition texts and dates should not be merged.
The page labeled Forten letter links to a Richmond January 24, 1817 resolution. That text is not Forten's January 25 letter. The original Forten letter is retained as the unresolved target.
The 1923 text repeats a $50 bequest and contains an inconsistent allocation passage. An original will/probate comparison is required before fractions or totals are treated as settled.
The $8,000 loss, Alpha receipt, $100/ton sale price, unnamed vessel and Barnes identity remain open. Cuffe’s father, son and vessel namesakes must not be merged into the founder’s record.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1780 court petition | Official object catalog | December 19, 1780 | VERIFIED | Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding verified; manuscript lines were not independently transcribed in this audit. Distinguish this court document from the February 1780 legislative petition. A petition is not proof of a subsequent law or sole causation of voting reform. |
| Legislative tax petition and Dartmouth drafts | Primary manuscript leads | 1780–1781 | ATTRIBUTED | February 10, 1780 legislative petition, January 1781 copies and April 1781 Dartmouth drafts are distinct documents. Earlier findings and displayed collection descriptions establish research targets; complete originals and endorsements remain to be reconciled. Do not collapse them into Smithsonian object 2009.26.1. |
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Sunfish and Mary vessel records | Vessel register research leads | 1780s–1790s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction and WHS ships summary name Sunfish and Mary as Cuffe–Michael Wainer vessels. Sunfish 25 tons and Mary 40/42 tons appear in summaries; exact dates, register tonnage and ownership shares await dated registrations/bills of sale. Do not count all historical vessels as a simultaneously owned fleet. |
| Hero vessel records | Vessel register research lead | Early 1800s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 162 tons; summaries differ over date, rig and Cuffe's ownership fraction. The WHS ships page gives a quarter interest with Cory partners, while other accounts give a half interest. Preserve dates and changing shares; original registers and transfers remain necessary. |
| Alpha ownership and transfer | Vessel register / transfer leads | 1806–1815 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 268 tons and a later John James connection. WHS ships and voyages pages disagree internally (268 versus 258 tons). Earlier $6,500 transfer is not supported by an inspected paid receipt here. A sale agreement or consideration is not automatically cash received. |
| Traveller ownership and masters | Vessel register / logbook leads | 1806/1807–1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier research reports 109 tons and sole Cuffe ownership by 1809; WHS summaries use different construction/ownership dates and one 69-ton entry. Reconcile original certificates rather than silently selecting a date. Some listed masters were white; the 1811 Black crew claim does not describe every voyage. Do not confuse Cuffe's brig with the British 1804 namesake. |
| Unnamed Cuffe–Job Gifford vessel | Vessel identity research lead | October 4, 1816 sale lead | ATTRIBUTED | WHS chronology and prior research mention a 45-ton vessel built with Job Gifford and offered for sale. Vessel name and completed sale are unestablished. Do not rename it, merge it with Traveller or add its tonnage to a verified fleet total. |
| Poughkeepsie buyers and processing | Retrospective study / original targets | 1816–1817 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816, a February 1, 1817 dye-wood rasping patent, and Barnes & Willoughby advertising. These do not establish Cuffe as patentee, identify every Barnes, or prove a final sale price. The $100/ton purchase-versus-sale conflict remains open. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
| Forten correspondence / colonization debate | Correspondence lead / presentation discrepancy | January 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS discussion describes Forten's January 25 letter and opposition voiced at the Philadelphia meeting. Its linked page 3h484t.html instead transcribes Richmond's January 24 resolution. Treat that mismatch explicitly; do not cite Richmond text as Forten's letter. Recover the original January 25 letter and distinguish voluntary emigration from ACS policy or unanimous Black support. |
No verified records are currently published in this category.
Legacy
TAKEAWAY: Cuffe’s legacy connects Black and Indigenous maritime history with community investment and citizenship debates. Commercial records make those relationships traceable.
LEGACY
Cuffe’s legacy connects Black and Indigenous maritime history, business ownership, community investment and debates about citizenship and migration. Preserving the commercial records makes that legacy more concrete: people, vessels, cargo, agreements and obligations become traceable.
A legacy shared by people, places, and records
Maritime ownership
The enterprise connects Black and Indigenous family history with skilled navigation and vessel interests.
Atlantic debate
The Sierra Leone project brings economic aspiration into a larger discussion of citizenship, migration, and belonging.
Recoverable business history
Logs, letters, customs records, and estate accounts can reveal partners, obligations, and commercial decisions.
BEHI analysis grounded in the memoir, vessel summaries, and Paul Cuffe Papers inventory. Preserving Cuffe’s achievement also means preserving the roles of family partners, crew, merchants, and communities whose choices differed from his. Later interpretation must retain those distinctions.
CHANNELS OF LEGACY
Ownership expanded opportunities beyond wage labour.
Trade and community aspirations crossed borders.
Archives enable a more precise future reconstruction.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
The enterprise involved Wainer relatives, Cory and Milk interests, merchant houses, suppliers and customers. Cuffe's achievement can be described without erasing partners or crew.
Voluntary migration and commerce must be considered alongside colonial authority and competing Black responses. Cuffe’s views should not be substituted for those of all Black Americans.
Priorities are dated registrations, complete customs lines, camwood settlements, Forten receipts, original will/inventory and a cleared portrait. The current Profile remains Research in Progress while those originals are reconciled.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Friendly Society camwood correspondence | Primary correspondence targets | 1816; exact letter unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quantity/unit and identity of 'us' remain open. Letter immediately before 'Providence Aust 17 1816' is a locator, not a resolved author/date. Request and delivery status are distinct. |
| Camwood receipts and New York merchant accounts | Primary commercial record targets | 1815–1817 targets | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series E receipts and New-York Historical Society MS 297 Box 95 are earlier targets. Kizell/Friendly Society → Traveller → New York storage → Gifford/Albany and Hicks, Jenkins & Co. → Poughkeepsie buyers is a working chain. Quantities, prices, freight, storage, commission and net settlement require linked originals; do not publish a completed financial chain. |
| Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and Wiggins research papers | Archival finding-aid metadata | Mss 10 / Mss 178 | VERIFIED | Mss 10 inventory lists incoming/outgoing correspondence, provision lists, passenger repayment pledges, receipts and passenger lists. Mss 178 is Rosalind Cobb Wiggins's research/transcription collection, derived from multiple repositories, not the original Cuffe manuscripts. Verification applies to published holding descriptions, not every underlying item. NBFPL digital collection states written permission is required for reproduction; no manuscript images are republished here. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
| Forten correspondence / colonization debate | Correspondence lead / presentation discrepancy | January 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS discussion describes Forten's January 25 letter and opposition voiced at the Philadelphia meeting. Its linked page 3h484t.html instead transcribes Richmond's January 24 resolution. Treat that mismatch explicitly; do not cite Richmond text as Forten's letter. Recover the original January 25 letter and distinguish voluntary emigration from ACS policy or unanimous Black support. |
| Land, education, Quaker life and estate | Institutional interpretation / primary targets | Lifetime / 1817 estate | ATTRIBUTED | Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate leads require original volume/page verification. No lifetime net worth, national wealth ranking, nationwide first-school claim or estate appraisal is adopted. Preserve his Black and Indigenous heritage and distinguish his father, son Paul Jr., and namesake mariners. |
Company Records
TAKEAWAY: These categories organize evidence of Cuffe’s enterprise, not proof of a single incorporated company. Original papers and later research or transcriptions remain distinct.
COMPANY RECORDS
Cuffe’s activities preceded the modern corporate forms used by many later Profiles. These categories organize evidence of an enterprise; they do not imply that one incorporated company or complete business archive has been established.
Which record answers which business question?
Coverage matrix based on the Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and existing source register. “Open” means further original reconciliation is required, not that no source or lead exists. Mss 10 original papers and Mss 178 later research/transcriptions must remain distinguishable. The eight Company Records categories follow below.
No verified single corporate charter adopted.
Voyages and documents have distinct functions.
Receipts and settlements remain essential.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
No inspected corporate charter establishes a single Cuffe shipping corporation. Identify individual ownership, partnerships and association arrangements from original instruments.
Manifest $5,137.11, Alpha $6,500 transfer and voyage subsidy are retained with evidence limits. Do not combine cargo valuation, sale consideration and cost into revenue or profit.
Vessel registrations, logs, masters, crew, provision lists and passenger records document different aspects of operation. Resolve build versus registry dates and founder versus namesake.
Target ship bills of sale, passenger repayment pledges, merchant contracts, camwood invoices and sale settlements. A pledge does not establish collection.
Keep legislative and court petitions separate. Customs, licences and vessel registrations require their own date, issuing authority and scope.
No patent held by Paul Cuffe is verified in this audit. Beriah Swift’s dye-wood machinery patent is a processing-chain lead; it cannot be credited to Cuffe.
NBFPL Traveller File 529 and Mss 10 Series E are original receipt targets. Resolve currency, debit/credit, due/paid, commissions and counterparty before computing totals.
Mss 10 holds original correspondence; Mss 178 holds Wiggins's later research/transcriptions. Friendly Society, Providence, Hicks, Swift and Forten letters require exact identifiers and context.
READING THE EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1780 court petition | Official object catalog | December 19, 1780 | VERIFIED | Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding verified; manuscript lines were not independently transcribed in this audit. Distinguish this court document from the February 1780 legislative petition. A petition is not proof of a subsequent law or sole causation of voting reform. |
| Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240 | Primary customs record locator | December 2, 1815 catalog date | ATTRIBUTED | NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, Paul Cuffee master, bound for Sierra Leone. Catalog date December 2 differs from voyage departure dates. Earlier $5,137.11 total remains a reinspection target: image bytes were not recovered for line-by-line reading. Manifest value is neither freight revenue nor net profit. |
| Alpha ownership and transfer | Vessel register / transfer leads | 1806–1815 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 268 tons and a later John James connection. WHS ships and voyages pages disagree internally (268 versus 258 tons). Earlier $6,500 transfer is not supported by an inspected paid receipt here. A sale agreement or consideration is not automatically cash received. |
| Friendly Society camwood correspondence | Primary correspondence targets | 1816; exact letter unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quantity/unit and identity of 'us' remain open. Letter immediately before 'Providence Aust 17 1816' is a locator, not a resolved author/date. Request and delivery status are distinct. |
| Camwood receipts and New York merchant accounts | Primary commercial record targets | 1815–1817 targets | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series E receipts and New-York Historical Society MS 297 Box 95 are earlier targets. Kizell/Friendly Society → Traveller → New York storage → Gifford/Albany and Hicks, Jenkins & Co. → Poughkeepsie buyers is a working chain. Quantities, prices, freight, storage, commission and net settlement require linked originals; do not publish a completed financial chain. |
| Poughkeepsie buyers and processing | Retrospective study / original targets | 1816–1817 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816, a February 1, 1817 dye-wood rasping patent, and Barnes & Willoughby advertising. These do not establish Cuffe as patentee, identify every Barnes, or prove a final sale price. The $100/ton purchase-versus-sale conflict remains open. |
| Traveller receipts naming James Forten | Primary receipt bundle target | File 529; date/amount unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | NBFPL Paul Cuffe Papers, Traveller File 529; earlier targets Roll 1 frames 457–530, Resolution papers Roll 2 frames 73–79, letterbook Roll 1 frames 103–154. Need exact item date, service, amount, currency and paid/unpaid status. Forten's network role is not a verified receipt total. |
| Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and Wiggins research papers | Archival finding-aid metadata | Mss 10 / Mss 178 | VERIFIED | Mss 10 inventory lists incoming/outgoing correspondence, provision lists, passenger repayment pledges, receipts and passenger lists. Mss 178 is Rosalind Cobb Wiggins's research/transcription collection, derived from multiple repositories, not the original Cuffe manuscripts. Verification applies to published holding descriptions, not every underlying item. NBFPL digital collection states written permission is required for reproduction; no manuscript images are republished here. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
ARCHIVAL CERTIFICATION & PUBLIC RECORD INTEGRITY
All company records presented in this repository have been cataloged according to the BEHI Company Records Classification System. Documents marked as Primary Sources are drawn from certified state and county archives, corporate filings, and recognized institutional repositories. Where physical scans are currently in the acquisition pipeline, verified archival metadata, source citations, and holding locators are provided to facilitate scholarly research.
| Document & ID | Evidence Type | Date | Description & Location | Source Repository | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paul Cuffe — December 1780 court petition
BEHI-P010-S1
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Legal & Regulatory
|
December 19, 1780 |
Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Legislative tax petition and Dartmouth drafts
BEHI-P010-S2
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Legal & Regulatory
|
1780–1781 |
February 10, 1780 legislative petition, January 1781 copies and April 1781 Dartmouth drafts are distinct documents. Earlier findings and ...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt
BEHI-P010-S3
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Reports & Correspondence
|
October 1811 |
PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black cre...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240
BEHI-P010-S4
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Operational
|
December 2, 1815 catalog date |
NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, ...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Catalogue of families aboard Traveller
BEHI-P010-S5
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Operational
|
December 10, 1815 label |
NBFPL logbook page is displayed under this title. Published accounts commonly report 38 passengers; number of families differs between su...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Sunfish and Mary vessel records
BEHI-P010-S6
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
1780s–1790s |
Earlier reconstruction and WHS ships summary name Sunfish and Mary as Cuffe–Michael Wainer vessels. Sunfish 25 tons and Mary 40/42 tons a...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Ranger vessel records
BEHI-P010-S7
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
1790s–1800s |
Earlier register reconstruction reported 69.33 tons. WHS records route and Wainer-master leads. Original dated entries must establish con...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Hero vessel records
BEHI-P010-S8
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
Early 1800s |
Earlier reconstruction reports 162 tons; summaries differ over date, rig and Cuffe's ownership fraction. The WHS ships page gives a quart...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Hope minority interest
BEHI-P010-S9
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
Earlier fleet research |
Earlier BEHI research recorded Hope at 49.33 tons with a minority Cuffe interest. No original registry page was recovered here. Hold prec...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Alpha ownership and transfer
BEHI-P010-S10
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
1806–1815 leads |
Earlier reconstruction reports 268 tons and a later John James connection. WHS ships and voyages pages disagree internally (268 versus 25...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Traveller ownership and masters
BEHI-P010-S11
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
1806/1807–1817 |
Earlier research reports 109 tons and sole Cuffe ownership by 1809; WHS summaries use different construction/ownership dates and one 69-t...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Unnamed Cuffe–Job Gifford vessel
BEHI-P010-S12
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
October 4, 1816 sale lead |
WHS chronology and prior research mention a 45-ton vessel built with Job Gifford and offered for sale. Vessel name and completed sale are...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Friendly Society camwood correspondence
BEHI-P010-S13
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Reports & Correspondence
|
1816; exact letter unresolved |
Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quant...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Camwood receipts and New York merchant accounts
BEHI-P010-S14
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Financial
|
1815–1817 targets |
Mss 10 Series E receipts and New-York Historical Society MS 297 Box 95 are earlier targets. Kizell/Friendly Society → Traveller → New Yor...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Poughkeepsie buyers and processing
BEHI-P010-S15
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Operational
|
1816–1817 leads |
Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Traveller receipts naming James Forten
BEHI-P010-S16
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Contracts & Transactions
|
File 529; date/amount unresolved |
NBFPL Paul Cuffe Papers, Traveller File 529; earlier targets Roll 1 frames 457–530, Resolution papers Roll 2 frames 73–79, letterbook Rol...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and Wiggins research papers
BEHI-P010-S17
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Reports & Correspondence
|
Mss 10 / Mss 178 |
Mss 10 inventory lists incoming/outgoing correspondence, provision lists, passenger repayment pledges, receipts and passenger lists. Mss ...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription
BEHI-P010-S18
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
|
April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 |
Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use right...
|
||
|
Paul Cuffe — Forten correspondence / colonization debate
BEHI-P010-S19
Paul Cuffe
|
Primary Archival
Reports & Correspondence
|
January 1817 |
PBS discussion describes Forten's January 25 letter and opposition voiced at the Philadelphia meeting. Its linked page 3h484t.html instea...
|
||
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Paul Cuffe — Land, education, Quaker life and estate
BEHI-P010-S20
Paul Cuffe
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Primary Archival
Ownership & Property
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Lifetime / 1817 estate |
Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate ...
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No verified records are currently published in this category.
Receipts
TAKEAWAY: Cuffe’s sources must be read by vessel, transaction, and date. A negative search of the 1816 bond index does not establish that no bond or other maritime record existed.
RECEIPTS & EVIDENCE
HOW TO READ THE EVIDENCE
Evidence classifications apply to individual claims. A catalog verifies the identity of a holding; a published transcription remains distinct from an inspected original. A vessel interest, gross cost or bequest does not by itself establish net worth or profit.
Follow the claim to its source, then read the evidence status and limits. A source may support one narrow fact while leaving a larger conclusion unresolved.
Content condition describes whether the question can currently be answered. Evidence classification describes the support for a documented finding.
- Documented: A finding is presented with its source, evidence classification and limits. Documented does not automatically mean Verified.
- Not yet established: The answer remains unresolved. The entry identifies missing evidence and connects to Research Gaps.
- Not applicable: The measure does not fit the person or enterprise being examined; an explanation must state why. Missing evidence alone never makes a question not applicable.
Shared section headings remain visible. Relevance that is uncertain is treated as Not yet established until resolved.
Evidence labels and source access
- Verified
- The specific fact or record described has been checked against the cited material. Read the limit: an inspected reproduction, index or catalog entry does not mean every underlying document or broader claim has been verified.
- Attributed
- The statement is credited to the named source. Independent confirmation or the underlying original may still be outstanding.
- Disputed
- Sources or interpretations conflict. Read the competing evidence and the unresolved question.
- Estimated
- The figure is an approximation or qualified valuation, not an exact measured total. Read its basis, date and uncertainty.
- Institute Analysis
- BEHI’s interpretation or calculation from identified evidence. It is separate from what the historical source directly states.
Source access: A link may lead to an original scan, a published transcription, a finding aid, or a repository page. Use the source ID, collection, box, folder and page locator where supplied. A catalog listing or repository confirmation is not inspection of the item itself.
Images and permissions: Historical support and reproduction permission are separate questions. Read each image credit and rights note; a source link does not itself grant permission to republish.
Open questions: See Research Gaps & Open Questions below for missing records and unresolved claims.
This register records both evidence currently checked and originals still needed. Verified applies to the stated catalog or holding claim, not every associated biographical or financial assertion. Attributed entries preserve the earlier research trail without disguising incomplete access.
Official metadata and available published texts.
Original financial and vessel pages.
Unsupported totals and uncleared portrait imagery.
DOCUMENTS
Inspected maritime manuscripts — eight digital files
Source and review: Cuffe Collection, New Bedford Free Public Library; microfilm scans mounted on paulcuffe.org, digital file numbers assigned by the Town of Westport. BEHI visually inspected the linked files November 4, 2026. One file may contain several documents; digital file numbers are not assumed to be original manuscript item numbers.
Evidence classification: Inspected primary-source reproductions for the limited readings below. File 687 is an undated, unattributed notation requiring corroboration. These are selected readings, not complete diplomatic transcriptions or a complete fleet reconstruction.
| Document / source image | Documented reading | Limit or unresolved question |
|---|---|---|
| File 529: Traveller — Forten supply bill and pilotage | September 20, 1815 bill names Captain Paul Cuffe for Brig Traveller and James Forten; canvas and Ravens duck are listed, with a $51.25 total and paid acknowledgment. A separate September 25 receipt records $8 from Paul Wainer for outward half-pilotage. | Specific supply purchase and port expense; no partnership, annual revenue or total voyage cost established. |
| File 168: Ranger — bill of lading | March 22, 1805 bill names schooner Ranger, master Alvan Phelps, and delivery to Paul Cuffe or assigns; corn and turpentine appear among the cargo entries. | Shipment evidence, not ownership shares. Detailed quantities and routing require transcription. |
| File 276: Traveller — Sierra Leone cargo sales account | The account identifies goods from Sierra Leone aboard Traveller, sold for the vessel owners’ account. Columns include palm oil, camwood, copal and elephant teeth; charges are listed separately. | Amounts, units, currencies and deductions require full reconciliation before any net earnings calculation. |
| File 519: Traveller — cargo, master’s terms and sales | March 15, 1817 document signed Benjamin Seabury records cargo shipped by Cuffe for North Carolina and a market; specifies five percent on West Indies sales and a twenty-barrel privilege. Accompanying North Carolina sales account totals $463.97. | A particular sales account, not voyage profit or annual revenue; compensation terms have a defined scope. |
| File 651: Hero — voyage settlement receipts | Nabby Tobey acknowledges money received from Cuffe toward her husband Samuel Tobey’s lay for Hero’s 1807 voyage around the Cape of Good Hope. Additional slips concern voyage accounts and proceeds. | Supports settlement activity, not an independently established ownership fraction. |
| File 368: Alpha — expense allocation | An account to John James dated May 5, 1814 lists ship expenses and allocates one half, $844.40, to Paul Cuffe. | Expense allocation is not automatically legal ownership. Reconcile date and arrangement with the website’s three-quarter ownership statement. |
| File 1066: Alpha — offered for sale | February 6, 1815 notice offers Alpha for sale, describes her as built by Cuffe and gives 268 tons, custom-house measure. | Seller’s description and offer, not a completed sale, purchaser or realized price. |
| File 687: Hero — construction-year note | Short manuscript notation states Hero was built in 1802 and employed in whaling. | Authorship and date unresolved. Conflicts with website summary’s 1801 date; construction year remains unresolved from these sources alone. |
Image access and rights: Links open the host’s scans. Images are not copied or embedded here. The collection page requests written permission from New Bedford Free Public Library for reproduction; no new image-publication permission is asserted.
Trace a maritime claim through four checks
Name the vessel
Resolve Traveller namesakes, spelling, rig, and dated registration.
Name the document
Identify original, transcript, catalog entry, or published interpretation.
Name the measure
Separate register tons, cargo quantity, valuation, cost, due, and paid.
Name the parties
Match owner, master, merchant, passenger, and estate representative.
Receipt-reading workflow. A manifest identifies a customs declaration; a passenger pledge identifies an obligation; a receipt may establish payment. Linking them requires matching dates, currency, quantities, and people. Source links and repository locators below preserve the route to originals without republishing restricted manuscript images.
SOURCE REGISTER & EVIDENCE LIMITS
EVIDENCE & CONTEXT
| Source | Description | Date | Evidence Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1780 court petition | Official object catalog | December 19, 1780 | VERIFIED | Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2009.26.1 identifies a Taunton court petition signed by John and Paul Cuffe. Catalog identity, date and holding verified; manuscript lines were not independently transcribed in this audit. Distinguish this court document from the February 1780 legislative petition. A petition is not proof of a subsequent law or sole causation of voting reform. |
| Legislative tax petition and Dartmouth drafts | Primary manuscript leads | 1780–1781 | ATTRIBUTED | February 10, 1780 legislative petition, January 1781 copies and April 1781 Dartmouth drafts are distinct documents. Earlier findings and displayed collection descriptions establish research targets; complete originals and endorsements remain to be reconciled. Do not collapse them into Smithsonian object 2009.26.1. |
| Liverpool Mercury memoir — published excerpt | Contemporary memoir transcription | October 1811 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS reproduces an excerpt credited to the Library of Congress. It describes Cuffe as independent trader and master/owner with a Black crew, gives 1759 birth and Cuttyhunk origin, and recounts early seafaring and tax resistance. Text inspected; original newspaper/pamphlet pages not recovered. Praise, early chronology and priority claims require corroboration. |
| Traveller cargo manifest — NAID 53333240 | Primary customs record locator | December 2, 1815 catalog date | ATTRIBUTED | NARA Boston record identified through its DPLA/Wikimedia contribution: REPORT AND MANIFEST of cargo loaded at Westport aboard Traveller, Paul Cuffee master, bound for Sierra Leone. Catalog date December 2 differs from voyage departure dates. Earlier $5,137.11 total remains a reinspection target: image bytes were not recovered for line-by-line reading. Manifest value is neither freight revenue nor net profit. |
| Catalogue of families aboard Traveller | Primary passenger/logbook lead | December 10, 1815 label | ATTRIBUTED | NBFPL logbook page is displayed under this title. Published accounts commonly report 38 passengers; number of families differs between summaries. Count names/ages and reconcile adults, children and households from the complete original before a verified tally. Listing date is not automatically sailing date. |
| Sunfish and Mary vessel records | Vessel register research leads | 1780s–1790s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction and WHS ships summary name Sunfish and Mary as Cuffe–Michael Wainer vessels. Sunfish 25 tons and Mary 40/42 tons appear in summaries; exact dates, register tonnage and ownership shares await dated registrations/bills of sale. Do not count all historical vessels as a simultaneously owned fleet. |
| Ranger vessel records | Vessel register research lead | 1790s–1800s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier register reconstruction reported 69.33 tons. WHS records route and Wainer-master leads. Original dated entries must establish construction, registry, ownership changes and master. Register tonnage measures vessel capacity under historical rules, not cargo weight, asset value or profit. |
| Hero vessel records | Vessel register research lead | Early 1800s | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 162 tons; summaries differ over date, rig and Cuffe's ownership fraction. The WHS ships page gives a quarter interest with Cory partners, while other accounts give a half interest. Preserve dates and changing shares; original registers and transfers remain necessary. |
| Hope minority interest | Unreinspected vessel lead | Earlier fleet research | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier BEHI research recorded Hope at 49.33 tons with a minority Cuffe interest. No original registry page was recovered here. Hold precise fraction, dates and classification pending the original; omission from a summary page does not disprove an interest. |
| Alpha ownership and transfer | Vessel register / transfer leads | 1806–1815 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier reconstruction reports 268 tons and a later John James connection. WHS ships and voyages pages disagree internally (268 versus 258 tons). Earlier $6,500 transfer is not supported by an inspected paid receipt here. A sale agreement or consideration is not automatically cash received. |
| Traveller ownership and masters | Vessel register / logbook leads | 1806/1807–1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Earlier research reports 109 tons and sole Cuffe ownership by 1809; WHS summaries use different construction/ownership dates and one 69-ton entry. Reconcile original certificates rather than silently selecting a date. Some listed masters were white; the 1811 Black crew claim does not describe every voyage. Do not confuse Cuffe's brig with the British 1804 namesake. |
| Unnamed Cuffe–Job Gifford vessel | Vessel identity research lead | October 4, 1816 sale lead | ATTRIBUTED | WHS chronology and prior research mention a 45-ton vessel built with Job Gifford and offered for sale. Vessel name and completed sale are unestablished. Do not rename it, merge it with Traveller or add its tonnage to a verified fleet total. |
| Friendly Society camwood correspondence | Primary correspondence targets | 1816; exact letter unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series A, Incoming Correspondence, 1816 Folder 7; Mss 178 transcription leads pp.478–480. Exact date, sender/merchant house, quantity/unit and identity of 'us' remain open. Letter immediately before 'Providence Aust 17 1816' is a locator, not a resolved author/date. Request and delivery status are distinct. |
| Camwood receipts and New York merchant accounts | Primary commercial record targets | 1815–1817 targets | ATTRIBUTED | Mss 10 Series E receipts and New-York Historical Society MS 297 Box 95 are earlier targets. Kizell/Friendly Society → Traveller → New York storage → Gifford/Albany and Hicks, Jenkins & Co. → Poughkeepsie buyers is a working chain. Quantities, prices, freight, storage, commission and net settlement require linked originals; do not publish a completed financial chain. |
| Poughkeepsie buyers and processing | Retrospective study / original targets | 1816–1817 leads | ATTRIBUTED | Sherwood's 1923 account names Peleg Howland & Sons and Swift & Barnes. Prior targets include Beriah Swift letter November 6, 1816, a February 1, 1817 dye-wood rasping patent, and Barnes & Willoughby advertising. These do not establish Cuffe as patentee, identify every Barnes, or prove a final sale price. The $100/ton purchase-versus-sale conflict remains open. |
| Traveller receipts naming James Forten | Primary receipt bundle target | File 529; date/amount unresolved | ATTRIBUTED | NBFPL Paul Cuffe Papers, Traveller File 529; earlier targets Roll 1 frames 457–530, Resolution papers Roll 2 frames 73–79, letterbook Roll 1 frames 103–154. Need exact item date, service, amount, currency and paid/unpaid status. Forten's network role is not a verified receipt total. |
| Paul Cuffe Papers inventory and Wiggins research papers | Archival finding-aid metadata | Mss 10 / Mss 178 | VERIFIED | Mss 10 inventory lists incoming/outgoing correspondence, provision lists, passenger repayment pledges, receipts and passenger lists. Mss 178 is Rosalind Cobb Wiggins's research/transcription collection, derived from multiple repositories, not the original Cuffe manuscripts. Verification applies to published holding descriptions, not every underlying item. NBFPL digital collection states written permission is required for reproduction; no manuscript images are republished here. |
| Will of Paul Cuffe — published transcription | Primary will through later transcription | April 18, 1817; approved October 7, 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | Journal of Negro History VIII (1923), pp.230–232, prints a will credited to Taunton Probate Office. Read provisions for Alice's use rights, Traveller fractions, land and executor guardianship, salt works with Joseph Tripp, and Rotch/Wing executors. Printed text repeats a Ruth Cottell $50 bequest and has an internally inconsistent one-half/one-eighth allocation passage. Do not repair silently or compute a verified distribution/net worth. Will is not inventory or final settlement. |
| Forten correspondence / colonization debate | Correspondence lead / presentation discrepancy | January 1817 | ATTRIBUTED | PBS discussion describes Forten's January 25 letter and opposition voiced at the Philadelphia meeting. Its linked page 3h484t.html instead transcribes Richmond's January 24 resolution. Treat that mismatch explicitly; do not cite Richmond text as Forten's letter. Recover the original January 25 letter and distinguish voluntary emigration from ACS policy or unanimous Black support. |
| Land, education, Quaker life and estate | Institutional interpretation / primary targets | Lifetime / 1817 estate | ATTRIBUTED | Massachusetts Maritime Academy and WHS describe a Westport wharf/boatyard, community education and Quaker life. Earlier deed/tax/probate leads require original volume/page verification. No lifetime net worth, national wealth ranking, nationwide first-school claim or estate appraisal is adopted. Preserve his Black and Indigenous heritage and distinguish his father, son Paul Jr., and namesake mariners. |
READING THE EVIDENCE
RESEARCH GAPS & OPEN QUESTIONS
ECONOMIC INDICATORS — MISSING EVIDENCE
Cargo valuation
Content condition: Not yet established. Traveller voyage
Reporting period not established
Evidence needed / present limit: The 1815 manifest, NAID 53333240, requires line-by-line reinspection before adopting a total.
Net voyage return
Content condition: Not yet established. Cuffe maritime ventures
Reporting period not established
Evidence needed / present limit: Requires purchase costs, sales, freight, duties and settlements; cargo value is not profit.
Personal net worth
Content condition: Not yet established. Paul Cuffe
Reporting period not established
Evidence needed / present limit: Requires estate appraisal and liabilities; a will’s bequests are not a net-worth statement.
The review below distinguishes inspected evidence, corrections and the original records still needed.
THE RECORD & ITS LIMITS
Prior research, the repository register and public institutional sources were compared document by document. No repository request is represented as a delivery; no unavailable scan is described as freshly inspected.
Verified: the specific official catalog/holding fact checked. Attributed: published account, later transcription or unreinspected primary lead. Institute Analysis: BEHI's interpretation. Disputed issues are identified in the text.
NBFPL specifies written reproduction permission. Source links preserve access routes; restricted manuscript pages and an uncleared portrait are not republished. No new outreach was sent.
Complete Traveller manifest and passenger list; dated registers/bills of sale; Friendly Society letter and camwood settlement; Forten File 529 receipts; January 25 letter; original will, inventory and estate accounts.
RESEARCH UPDATES & RECONCILIATION
National Archives at Philadelphia — 1816 bond-index search (October 2026)
Evidence status: The stated index search found no match. It does not prove that Cuffe or the Traveller operated without a bond.
Read full note: 1816 bond-index search — October 2026
In correspondence to BEHI, the National Archives at Philadelphia reported searching the 1816 entries in the Index to Bonds (National Archives Identifier 5585905) for Paul Cuffe and the supplied name variants. Staff found no matching entries. They also reported that none of the 1816 entries identified the Brig Traveller in the vessel column.
Evidence classification: Documented negative archival search. This establishes only the result of the stated index search. It does not prove that Cuffe or the Traveller operated without a bond or that other customs or maritime records are absent.
Research gap: Identify the relevant customs district and recover surviving vessel registration or enrollment, clearance records, manifests, and underlying bond or customs records, if extant. Source: National Archives at Philadelphia, email correspondence to BEHI, October 2026; Index to Bonds, NAID 5585905.
No verified records are currently published in this category.
Cite This Profile
The Black Economic History Institute (BEHI) Digital Archive