Joseph Dobbins correspondence regarding charitable bequest, 1789

Joseph Dobbins correspondence regarding charitable bequest, 1789

1789

ChristChurch.CorporationCorrespondence_4-2-0-11

4.2.0.11; F499

Correspondence between William White, Joseph Dobbins, and the corporation regarding tracts of land in and around Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania--Philadelphia

Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA

4 documents

tiff

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

eng

Text

This collection documents Joseph Dobbins's charitable bequest to Christ Church's fund for distressed widows in 1789. Writing from Sherriff Hall on Wappoo, four miles from Charleston, South Carolina, Dobbins addresses Bishop William White, Rev. Robert Blackwell, and church warden Robert Towers regarding his offer to donate property for the benefit of Dr. John Kearsley's Bounty for poor distressed widows [image 1, image 3]. Dobbins specifies that he is donating a lot on 5th Street, property near the Schuylkill River (No. 4 from Schuylkill), and approximately 500 pounds held by his friend John Drinker [image 3]. In exchange, Dobbins requests a quarterly annuity of forty Spanish Mexican dollars for his lifetime, with the annuity ceasing upon his death [image 1, image 3]. The collection includes a copy of Dobbins's original letter dated January 28, 1789, along with an acknowledgment from William White, Robert Blackwell, and Robert Towers accepting the offer on behalf of the United Churches of Christ Church and St. Peters [image 3]. A subsequent letter from Dobbins dated September 8, 1789, expresses his concern about delays in finalizing the arrangement and his insistence on receiving payment in Mexican silver dollars rather than bills of exchange or depreciated paper money, noting the unfavorable exchange rates in Charleston where guineas sold at 22 shillings and cut gold at 6 shillings 8 pence per pennyweight [image 7]. Dobbins also mentions additional debts owed by Mr. Hamilton and Paul Esling that should be added to the fund [image 7].

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