General Port Papers, 1754-1918

Scope and content:

This series consists of the official papers of the Port of Savannah, Georgia. It mainly contains ship clearance papers, cargo lists, and other documents that were a part of customs operations at the time. The documents date from 1754 to 1918, but the bulk of the items are from the early to mid-1800s.The manifests detail cargo entering and leaving the port. The Returns of Seamen papers list the crews shipping on the vessels. There are also import customs papers, which detail the customs due on each item. The Warehouse Withdrawal papers are permits to withdraw stored items from warhouses. Importers were allowed to place liquors and otherarticles in bonded warehouses until sold and then pay the duty as they withdrew them from the houses. Also included are lists of ship stores. The crew bonds are bonds binding vessel masters to return to port with the same crews with which they ship out, unless some be discharged in foreign ports with permission of the U.S. Consul in that port. There are also salary receipts of the various United States officials necessary to administer the work of the District of Savannah, and receipts and disbursement accounts of various sorts for the Port of Savannah, District of Savannah.

Of these papers, by far the largest part are manifests, either of a part of the cargo or of the whole cargo. The next largest groups include Returns of Seamen and Import Custom papers, and the other items are in much smaller proportions.

Several interesting observations arise from a study of this collection. One of these concerns the chief items of export from Savannah during the years of this set. The one item which composed the largest part of the export trade was up-land, or short-staple colton. Most of this went to Liverpool, and the return cargoes consisted largely of iron, steel, and manufactured goods.There was some Sea Island Cotton to export, but not nearly so much of it as of the upland. Two or three manifests, one in 1851, show that often ships came down from Boston and New England with cargoes of ice. The 1851 manifest shows a cargo of 124 tons of ice from Boston to Savannah. Most of the other cargoes from New England consisted mainly of food.Two other items occur often in the export manifests from Savannah. One is rice. This commodity formed a part of many cargoes, and quite a few times was the whole cargo. The other item was lumber, notably pine, in the form of boards and shingles. Much of this went to Liverpool, and much of it to Barbados, Havana, and other island ports, but, interestingly enough, a considerable quantity was sent North to New England ports. Much wine was imported from Madeira and then exported again to European ports, notably Liverpool. The main European ports receiving Savannah exports were Liverpool and Havre.

Items are arranged chronologically. There are several boxes of oversized documents also arranged chronologically.

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