Sault Ste. Marie and Port Mackinac records

This collection is composed of shipping documents from the Sault Ste. Marie area and nearby ports from 1804-1866. Among these documents are shipping manifests, clearance documents, bills of sale, enrolment bonds, Treasury Department circulars to custom collectors at the Port of Sault Ste. Marie and nearby ports, and personal and business correspondence.

Early period documents involve clearance documents and manifests from the English-held Port of Queenston and the surrounding American and English ports nearby. Later documents starting in 1800 move toward the Sault Ste. Marie region, also composed of similar clearance documents and manifests. Throughout this earlier period of documentation lie significant portions of documentation that dealt with the American Fur Company. A majority of shipping manifests, from small hand- written pieces of parchment for canoe-sized craft to printed manifests for more substantial vessels, listed the cargo these ships carried for the firm.

After the United States solidified control of the region after the War of 1812, a significant portion of business documentation, correspondence, and shipping documents belonged to the personal papers of three prominent individuals in the Sault Ste Marie region, Peter B. Barbeau, Myron W. Scranton, and George Johnston. The former two individuals were prominent businessmen, the latter was an Indian agent in the area and eventual governor of Michigan. The documents of Peter B. Barbeau and Myron Scranton are a useful supplement to the researcher concerned with business and economic documentation associated with Sault Ste. Marie in the nineteenth Century. The documents of George Johnston are equally useful to researchers concerned with Indian Affairs in the Lake Superior region. In addition to details about the amount of commercial traffic that passed throughout the region, other forms of nautical commercial activity were recorded via enrolment documentation, Treasury Department Circulars, and bills of sale from the period.

Document types:

CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE

This document form varies in style and composition depending upon the time period, ranging from printing to simple handwriting. It bears the signatures of one or more customs officials.. All display the name of the district and port of clearance as a heading. "Clearance" or "General Clearance" is often found, as is the statement "hath entered and cleared his said vessel according to law".

A typical form indicates the names of the vessel, its master, registered tonnage, guns mounted (if any), number of crew members, country in which the vessel was built, and the destination of that particular voyage. A general description of the cargo might be included, and the date of issue is usually found near the bottom of this one-page document. Some examples may contain small engravings or have relevant information printed on the backside. Customs stamps or seals are often present. Any vessel that departed for a foreign port without obtaining a Clearance Certificate was subject to a heavy fine.

To obtain Clearance papers the master would present a Manifest to the Customs collector and swear to the accuracy of the information contained in the papers, usually concluding with the phrase "so help me God." Vessels licensed for coastwise trade were not required to formally enter and clear if they were proceeding to another domestic port. However, they had to produce Manifests, or duplicate Manifests if their cargo included foreign goods, before they received permission to proceed.

SHIP'S MANIFEST

Printed documents of various sizes and formats. This was the official document consulted when any legal action might be necessary relative to a vessel's cargo. The Manifest, properly made out and sworn to by the master, had to be presented to the collector, consul, or other appropriate authority, before a ship entered or cleared port. A typical Manifest would have columns for marks and numbers, packages and contents, numbers of entries, shipper, consignee, etc., in addition to the vessel's name and home port, tonnage, owner's names, and the ports of departure and destination. Most of the manifests within this collection fall into the category of 'Clearance' Manifests.

Included also is a sworn statement of accuracy (which is usually included with the aforementioned Clearance papers in this collection), signed by the master, and verified with a statement signed by the collector.

LICENSE

Printed document of various sizes and formats. "License" was often prominently printed near the top of the document, as is the case for this collection. Signatures of Customs officials are present, and there is a general absence of decorative engraving.

The License was a product of the Act of 1783 entitled, "An Act for enrolling and licensing Ships or Vessels to be employed in the Coasting Trade and Fisheries, and for regulating the same." It was issued through the Customs Service to vessels, regardless of size, authorizing them to engage in either fishing or the coastal trade for a period of one year. Any vessel licensed fo these trades that exceeded 20 tons would also need to have an Enrollment Certificate. Registered vessels were not required to have a license. These documents are frequently found in maritime collections, with the current collection not an exception to the rule.

ENROLMENT

Printed document of various sizes and styles, even within this collection, as aesthetics vary by period and port of issue. Enrolment (spelled with one 'l' on the document), contained some variation of the phrase "...in conformity to an act of the Congress of the United States of America entitled, An Act for Enrolling and Licensing Ships or Vessels..." The world "Enrolment" is often printed prominently, and engraved eagles and other embellishments are frequently found on earlier documents. The signatures of various Customs officials are present, along with the official stamps and seals.

By the Act of 18 February 1793, all vessels over 20 tons engaged in the domestic coasting trade of the fisheries, in order to be entitled to the privileges of ships of the United States, had to be enrolled. The document was issued by the Customs surveyor, or the collector, and the enrollment qualifications and procedures were the same as those for registering ships. "And the same duties and authorities are given and imposed on all officers respectively in relation to such Enrollments...and the ships so enrolled, with the master or owner; are subject to the same requisites, as are in those respects provided for ships registered." In addition, enrolled vessels carried a license for either fishing or coastal trade. A cash bond, the amount of which depended upon the size of the vessel, was necessary to enroll a vessel, and they could be revoked if the conditions of the document were violated. Enrolment Certificates are fairly common maritime manuscripts, and they can provide valuable information about a vessel or her owners.

BOND FOR DUTIES

Bonds for duties on imported goods were fairly standardized printed documents with little or no ornamentation. If the duties for an imported cargo were over $200, the owner or consignee of the cargo could either pay immediately or sign this document, which bonded him for twice the amount of the duties. Blunt's 1837 edition of Shipmaster's Assistant states that the regulations at that time indicated one-half the duties were to be paid within three months from the importation date.

BONDED VOYAGE PERMITS

Enrolled vessels were also bonded, to insure that the "...vessel shall not be employed in any foreign trade during the continuance of the act entitled 'An Act laying an Embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbours of the United States'..." It also states, after the sum is verified, that the vessel can now "...depart this port, and pursue her lawful business," on a specified date of issue. Document contains the signature of the Deputy Collector, and a Customs seal.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR

These Circulars (i.e. printed letters or announcements), were issued by the Treasury Department and sent out to the collectors at ports throughout the nation. It was the primary method used to keep each district abreast of the latest legislation and conditions affecting custom administration. Circulars often contain the signature of the Secretary of the Treasury.

SICK PAY

On Roll 9, there are several documents that appeared to be indications of payment towards a spouse or relation to a specific sailor who was incapacitated. It contained details on payment, duration of payment, and explanation of why the payment was issued.