Samuel Meredith papers

Samuel Meredith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1741, the son of merchant Reese Meredith and Martha (Carpenter) Meredith. Between 1778 and 1783, Meredith served three terms in the Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly, and in 1786 was elected to the Congress of Confederation, in which he served until 1788. After serving less than a year as surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia, Meredith accepted an appointment as the first Treasurer of the United States, at the urging of George Washington. The Samuel Meredith papers consist of two linear feet (ca. 2,060 items) of letters, receipts, bills, checks, a deed, and account books. The majority of the papers belonged to Samuel Meredith, though a small portion of the collection represents the correspondence of Thomas Meredith, Samuel Meredith’s oldest son. The bulk of the Samuel Meredith Papers consist of bills, receipts, and cancelled checks for purchases of the Meredith Family in the late eighteenth century. These items are particularly rich in accounts for textiles and clothing.