Oden papers

The collection is divided into six series:

Series A: Business Papers of Stephen West and Miscellaneous Plats and Accounts

Among thse papers is a series of letters, 1772-1775, from William Manduit, a London merchant. Other letters are from Daniel Dulany, Manduit, Wright & Co.'s agent in Maryland, and from John Hobson, West's London partner. The letters illustrate the strained conditions of Anglo-American commerce just before the Revolution.

Series B: Land Documents of Stephen West, Benjamin Oden, and Others

Includes documents and correspondence, 1818-1821 and 1828, about disputed property in Wood County, (West) Virginia, inherited from Stephen West.

Series C: General and Business Correspondence of Benjamin Oden

Many of these letters are from two of Oden's sons-in-law, William D[uckett] Bowie and Baruch Mullikin. Others are from William Duke, George Thomas, and John P. Ingle. Subjects of the letters include the raising and sale of tobacco, slaves, banking, and family matters, but only rarely politics. There are also three letters each from Luther Martin and Samuel Chase, Jr., and one from Reverdy Johnson.

Series D: Bonds, Accounts, and Other Business Documents of Benjamin Oden

Series E: Oden Family Letters

The majority of these letters are from Oden's daughter, Maria West Jackson, and from her son Benjamin Oden Mullikin. Of note is one from B.O. Hodges in 1836, describing his business difficulties in the wake of Jackson's war on the U.S. Bank, and referring to his son, Benjamin Hodges, an artist, who had just painted a portrait of Washington.

Series F: Material relating to Robert Bowie, Washington Bowie, and Others

Materials include correspondence, notes, and accounts.