Letter from Gray Dawes and Company to Henry Shelton Sanford (August 5, 1887)

Letter from Gray Dawes and Company to Henry Shelton Sanford (August 5, 1887)

Letter from Gray Dawes to Sanford (Aug. 5, 1887)

Investments--Florida

Insurance--Florida

A letter from Gray Dawes and Company to Henry Shelton Sanford (1823-1891), dated August 5, 1887. The letter noted that Sir William MacKinnon (1823-1893), whom the loan was owed, was willing to extend the payment due date for the promissory note of £6,423.17.6. Operating under the assumption that Sanford would renew the notes for an additional amount of time, the letter indicated that a "discount" and stamps for the extension, billed at £200.14.4, were enclosed in the letter. This correspondence demonstrates the ongoing business relationship between Sanford and London-based financial institutions. Sanford, confronted with numerous financial difficulties later in life, relied on generous loans from close business partners, like Sir William MacKinnon.

Gray Dawes and Company was a London-based company founded in 1865 by business partners Archie Gray and Edwyn Sandys Dawes (1838-1903). Located at 13 Austin Friars in London, England, the company was focused, at least initially, on maritime insurance. By the mid-1870s, the company had also expanded its operations into shipping, overseeing a fleet of steamships that circulated within a trade network including London, Calcutta, Madras, and elsewhere. The company was closely linked to the Scottish shipping titan, Sir William MacKinnon. Gray was Mackinnon's nephew. Dawes, meanwhile, went on to become a close and trusted business partner to MacKinnon. As such, the firm became a useful means for MacKinnon to reward his friends and business associates. The company availed insurance accounts to these select individuals, accounts that could be used as a source of credit to be paid at a later date. The company became associated with Henry Shelton Sanford thanks to the mutual connection to MacKinnon. In 1880, MacKinnon lent Sanford, who was faced at the time with financial difficulties, some £8,000 to facilitate the founding of a Florida land investment company. The money offered by MacKinnon was in fact loaned to Sanford by Gray Dawes and Company. Additionally, at the behest of MacKinnon, both Gray and Dawes became reluctant subscribers to Sanford’s land investment scheme, the Florida Land and Colonization Company (FLCC).

Gray Dawes and Company

Original letter from Gray Dawes and Company to Henry Shelton Sanford, August 5, 1887: box 53, folder 7, subfolder 53.7.16, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers, General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

1887-08-05

Digital reproduction of original letter from Gray Dawes and Company to Henry Shelton Sanford, August 5, 1887.

Box 53, Folder 7, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers, General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

Florida Land Colonization Company Collection, Henry Shelton Sanford Papers Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

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153 KB

1-page handwritten letter

eng

Text

Gray Dawes and Company, London, England, United Kingdom

Brussels, Belgium

Donation

History Teacher

Economics Teacher

Originally created by Gray Dawes and Company.

Donated to the Connecticut Historical Society after 1901.

Loaned to the Tennessee State Library and Archives for processing until June 1, 1960.

Acquired by the General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum in 1960.

The displayed collection item is housed at the General Henry S. Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum in Sanford, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from the Sanford Museum to display this item for educational purposes only.

Fedorka, Drew M.

Munro, J. Forbes. Maritime Enterprise and Empire: Sir William MacKinnon and His Business Network, 1823-1893. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 2003.