Series I. Acosta Family

The material documents a variety of Maryland families, many of which were tied by marriage or business associations. Other families in the collection include the Bensley, Brice, Carroll, Cheston, Chew, Chisolm, Colston, Dandridge, Earle, Fehsenfeld, Galloway, Hanson, Howard, Murray, Robinson, Russell, Smith, Smyth, Taylor, and Tilghman families. The majority of the correspondence and receipts relate to merchant business conducted in England. Some of the letters do discuss the Revolutionary War’s impact on trade. The collection also holds more personal items, such as the letters between Samuel and Benjamin Galloway, which discuss both business and family matters and an album of photographs taken by John Ridgely of the family’s manor, Hampton. The Acosta papers show Eliseo de Acosta’s illustrious medical career in America and internationally. Acosta, a Spaniard, married into the Carroll family and was friendly with the Archbishop of Westminster.

The collection is broken down into series for each family group, which are ordered alphabetically. The material is then subdivided into six groups, genealogical information, land documents, legal agreements, financial records, correspondence, and ephemera, by family member when possible. Series XXIV-XXVIII contain miscellaneous legal documents, correspondence, and ephemera from individuals.