Moses Grant, Jr. Correspondence
Collection — Multiple Containers
Call Number: MS Ch. M.2.2, pt. 2
Scope and Contents
This collection, dating from 1812-1862, documents the business relationships of Moses Grant, Jr., his role in the temperance movement, and his philanthropic endeavors. Letters concerning Grant’s paper business describe debts paid and owed and forthcoming paper orders. Other papers in the collection concern the temperance movement in Boston, in which Grant was very involved. These consist of transcripts of speeches made at temperance meetings, pleas made to the Suffolk Board of Trade, printed materials about temperance lectures, and Grant’s own testimony at a temperance law hearing. Also included is material that documents Grant’s involvement in many different organizations, including the Brattle Street Church, the Asylum and Farm School for Indigent Boys, and the Howard Benevolent Society. Of particular note are two letters from Harrison Gray Otis (1765-1848), a wealthy Boston politician who corresponded with Grant about donating money to the poor.
Dates
- 1812-1862
- Other: Date acquired: 00/00/1893
Creator
- Chamberlain, Mellen (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Items in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. In most cases, the Boston Public Library does not hold the copyright to the items in our collections. It is the sole responsibility of the user to make their own determination about what types of usage might be permissible under U.S. and international copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Moses Grant, Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1785. His father, Moses Grant Sr., an upholsterer and wallpaper dealer, was one of the revolutionaries involved in the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Grant joined his father’s business after graduating from Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. After the death of his father, he went into business with his son-in-law as paper dealers and changed the name of the company to Grant & Daniell. The company name changed again to Grant, Warren & Co. after his son-in-law left the company.
Moses Grant, Jr. was a member of the Common Council (superseded by the Boston City Council) from 1835-1842, a member of the Board of Aldermen from 1848-1851, and a member of the Primary School Committee from 1819-1835. He also served as a Deacon at the Brattle Street Church.
In addition, Grant was involved in several philanthropic societies. He was a founder of the Massachusetts Bible Society and was president of the Howard Benevolent Society, the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, and the Home for Aged Men as well as vice president of the Home for Aged Women. He also performed many roles on the board of directors of the Asylum and Farm School for Indigent Boys. He died in 1861.
Moses Grant, Jr. was a member of the Common Council (superseded by the Boston City Council) from 1835-1842, a member of the Board of Aldermen from 1848-1851, and a member of the Primary School Committee from 1819-1835. He also served as a Deacon at the Brattle Street Church.
In addition, Grant was involved in several philanthropic societies. He was a founder of the Massachusetts Bible Society and was president of the Howard Benevolent Society, the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, and the Home for Aged Men as well as vice president of the Home for Aged Women. He also performed many roles on the board of directors of the Asylum and Farm School for Indigent Boys. He died in 1861.
Extent
47.00 Items
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Source of Acquisition
Mellen Chamberlain
Method of Acquisition
Donation
Processing Information
Finding aid written by Caitlin Culbertson in April 2015.
Processing Information
This electronic finding aid is transcribed from legacy data. In many cases, transcriptions were not verified against collection materials at the time of transcription. As a result, this finding aid could be incomplete and might only reflect a partial understanding of the material.
Statement on harmful description
Archival description reflects the biases of time periods and cultures in which it was created and may include direct quotations or descriptions that use inappropriate or harmful language. Creator provided descriptions may be maintained in order to preserve the context in which the collection was created and/or used. Legacy description and potentially offensive content may be made available online until a collection can be reprocessed because the access that they provide to primary source materials is uniquely valuable to the research community at large. Our efforts to repair outdated descriptions and to describe our collections more equitably are iterative and ongoing.
Creator
- Chamberlain, Mellen (Person)
- Title
- Moses Grant, Jr. Correspondence
- Date
- 06/00/2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
About this library
Part of the Boston Public Library Archives & Special Collections Repository
