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PETERS, Richard, Jr. (1744-1828)
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PETERS, RICHARD, JR., A Delegate from Pennsylvania; born near Philadelphia, Pa., June 22, 1744; was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1761; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Philadelphia; register of the admiralty from 1771 until the Revolution; entered the Revolutionary Army and served as captain in 1771; served as secretary of the Continental Board of War from June 13, 1776, to June 8, 1781; Member of the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783; member of the state assembly 1787-1790 and served as speaker; served in the state senate in 1791 and was speaker; judge of the district court of Pennsylvania 1792-1828; died in Philadelphia, Pa., August 22, 1828; interment in St. Peter's Churchyard.

University of Pennsylvania
Special Collections, Van Pelt Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers: 1808-1825, 28 items.
The papers include letters from Richard Peters to Nicholas Biddle, James M. Broom, General Lafayette, John Vaughan, Roberts Vaux, William S. Warder, and Richard Wistar. There are five promissory notes to James Mease, dated 1808-1810 and three manuscript fragments. Richard Peters writes on a variety of agricultural topics, including draining salt marshes and using machinery for dressing flax and hemp, as well as letters related to the business of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, which he served as president from 1805 until 1828.

Papers: 1815, 1 item.
A letter from Robert Coleman to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1815. The letter is addressed to Richard Peters.

Papers: 1815, 1 item.
A letter from William Harris Crawford to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1815. In the letter, William Crawford writes concerning Lloyd Jones, ship commander and Philadelphia merchant, and a sample of barley and rye. The letter is also annotated by Richard Peters.

Papers: 1815, 1 item.
A letter from Richard Mendenhall to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1815. In the letter, Richard Mendenhall describes a fly which injures peach trees. A response from Richard Peters is written on the back of the letter.

Papers: 1817, 1 item.
A letter from Edward Mott to Richard Peters written in 1817. In the letter, Edward Mott discusses using oyster shells, bones, and New Jersey marl as manure.

Papers: 1815, 1 item.
A letter from Mark Reeve to Richard Peters written in 1815. In the letter, Mark Reeve writes on New Jersey geology, particularly locations of veins of marl.

Papers: 1817, 2 items.
A letter from George Abbott to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1817. In the letter, George Abbott discusses wheat smut. There is also a note with Richard Peters's comment on this item on a separate leaf.

Papers: 1817, 1 item.
A letter from Nicholas Hammond to Richard Peters written in 1817. In the letter, Nicholas Hammond describes a remedy for the deterioration of peach trees due to disease.

Papers: 1817, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Miller to Richard Peters written in 1817. In the letter, Samuel Miller describes the cultivation of sea kale and crambe maritima. The letter is also annotated by Richard Peters.

Papers: 1818-1819, 2 items.
The papers include two letters: one dated February 18, 1818 from Richard Peters to Roberts Vaux. The other letter from Richard Peters was sent on March 11, 1819 to Samuel Breck.

Papers: 1819, 1 item.
A letter from Andrew Kirkpatrick to Richard Peters written in 1819. In the letter, Andrew Kirkpatrick writes concerning using salt as a manure.

Papers: 1819, 1 item.
A letter from Lieutenant Levy to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1819. The letter is addressed to Richard Peters regarding a sample of barley cultivated near Athens, Greece, which is being presented to the Society.

Papers: 1819, 1 item.
In the letter, Charles Peirce writes to Mathew Carey on the use of salt as a manure. The letter is annotated by Richard Peters.

Papers: 1819, 1 item.
A letter from W. Dancer to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1819. In the letter, W. Dancer includes his observations on draining land, with a note by Richard Peters.

Papers: 1819, 1 item.
A letter to Roberts Vaux from an unidentified recipient written in 1819. The letter is signed "A Horticulturalist" and concerns making or increasing manure and using oyster shells for manure. The letter is also annotated by Richard Peters.

Papers: 1819-1825, 1 item.
A letter from John R. Coates to Richard Peters written in 1819. The letter consists of comments on Robert G. Johnson's report on draining salt marshes. A note on the back of the letter states that J. R. Coates's letter was read to the Society on May 18,1819. Richard Peters's response dated May 1825 is written on the same leaf.

Papers: 1820, 1 item.
A letter from John Smith to Richard Peters written in 1820.

Papers: 1822, 1 item.
A letter from George Sheaff to Richard Peters written in 1822. In the letter, George Sheaff sends a sample of battledove barley and describes its qualities and cultivation.

Papers: 1823, 1 item.
A letter from G. T. A. Hauto to Richard Peters written in 1823. In the letter, G. T. A. Hauto sends a sample and describes the culture and uses of Egyptian coffee, cyperus esculentus L.

Papers: 1823, 1 item.
A letter from William Lippincott to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1823. In the letter, William Lippincott writes concerning the causes of wheat smut. Richard Peters comments on this topic in an extended note.

Papers: 1823, 1 item.
A letter from the Agricultural Society of St. John's Colleton.to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture written in 1823. Other authors include Richard Peters.

Papers: 1824, 1 item.
A letter from Abiel Jenners to Richard Peters written in 1824. The letter was written from "near Waterford, London City," and in the letter, Abiel Jenners discusses the establishment of a new agricultural society and Richard Peters's treatises on plaster of Paris.

Papers: 1824, 1 item.
A letter of introduction from Cuthbert Powell, president of the London Agricultural Society, to Richard Peters, president of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. The letter was written in 1824. In a note written on the letter, Richard Peters describes introducing plaster of Paris as a fertilizer.

Papers: In the Robert Barclay Letters to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, 1819-1822, 2 items.
The letters are to Richard Peters from Robert Barclay of Buryhill, England regarding the London Board of Agriculture.

Papers: In the William Darlington Letters to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, 1824-1838, 2 items.
One letter from William Darlington is addressed to Richard Peters and describes the use of plaster of Paris in Chester County, Pa.

Papers: In the Reuben Haines Letters to Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, 1818-1820, 3 items.
Other authors include Richard Peters.

Papers: In the James Madison Letters, 1820-1823, 2 items.
One item dated December 17, 1823 is a letter from James Madison to Judge Richard Peters on the problem of the Hessian fly in wheat plus comments on the cultivation of potatoes.

Papers: In the North Carolina Agricultural Society Letters to Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, 1819, 2 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Papers: In the John Hare Powel Letters, 1821-1823, 5 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Papers: In the Richard Wistar Letters to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, 1819-1823, 6 items.
The letters concern Society business and resolutions from Society meetings. Other authors include Richard Peters.

American Philosophical Society Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers: In the John Vaughan Papers, 1768-1922, approximately 450 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Cornell University
Carl A. Kroch Library
Ithaca, NY
Papers: In Washington Irving's "Life of George Washington," Volume V, Miscellany, 1764-1792, 79 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Hagley Museum and Library
Manuscripts and Archives Department
Greenville, DE
Papers: In the Henry Family Papers, 1758-1909, 12 linear feet.
Subjects include Richard Peters. An unpublished finding aid is available in the repository.

Papers: In the Lea Mills Collection, 1679-1938, 13.4 linear feet.
Subjects include Richard Peters. An unpublished magazine is available in the repository.

Papers: In the Morris Family Papers, 1684-1935, 10.5 linear feet.
Subjects include Richard Peters.

Microfilm: In the United States District Court (New York: Southern District) Equity Dockets and Case Files, 1791-1846, 23 reels of positive microfilm.
Subjects include Richard Peters.

Microfilm: In the United States District Court (Pennsylvania: Eastern District) Equity Dockets and Case Files, 1790-1847, 23 reels of positive microfilm.
Subjects include Richard Peters.

Haverford College
Haverford, PA
Papers: In the Robert B. Haines III Collection, 1793-1834, approximately 359 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters. An unpublished finding aid is available in the repository.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers: 1802, 1 volume.
The legal commonplace book of Edward Shippen Burd, Philadelphia lawyer, containing notes on definitions, forms of action, and procedures drawn from Coke on Littleton and other English authorities; continued with notes on admiralty practice and a summary of a decision by Richard Peters in an admiralty case, 1802.

Papers: In the James Hamilton Collection, 1750-1899, 21 linear feet.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Papers: In the Pennsylvania Council on Indian Affairs (Easton, Pa.) Minutes, 1757, 2 volumes.
Subjects include Richard Peters.

Microform: In the Peters Family Papers, 1687-1871, 3 linear feet.
The papers for Judge Richard Peters chiefly pertain to his experiments in agricultural science, including professional and personal correspondence, daybooks, 1792-1828; bills and receipts, 1803-1828, "City Lots," 1786-1790; accounts with Joseph Kennedy relating to an island and fishery in the Schuylkill River, 1804-1813; accounts with Isaiah Kirk for William Peters' board and clothing, 1808-1819; York County lands (correspondence between Richard Peters and D. Cassat), 1816-1821; Mantua Farm, 1815-1849, promissory notes and bank checks, 1811-1819.

James Monroe Museum & Memorial Library
Fredericksburg, VA
Papers: In the Financial Records of James Monroe, n.d., 79 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers: In the Jacob Read Papers, ca. 1778-1813, 29 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union
Mount Vernon, VA 22121
Papers: In the Bushrod Washington Papers, 1779-1829, 158 items.
Correspondents include Richard Peters.

The New York Public Library
Manuscripts & Archives Section
New York, NY
Papers: In the Robert Morris Papers, 1751-1802, 1 linear foot.
Other authors include Richard Peters.

Papers: In the Caesar Rodney Correspondence, 1749-1823, 0.3 linear foot.
Other authors include Richard Peters.

New York State Library
Manuscripts and Special Collections
Albany, NY
Papers: 1768, 2 pages.
A copy of the minutes of a conference at Fort Stanwix with the Tuscarora Indians regarding a renewed complaint filed by the chief. Among the persons who witnessed the minutes is Richard Peters.

Rosenbach Museum & Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers: 1781, 1 item.
A letter from Richard Peters to Edward Hand written on June 22, 1781. In the letter, Richard Peters informs Edward Hand that there has been no resolution to the problem of providing rations to the wives and children of the soldiers.

1783, 1 item.
An extract from the minutes of the Continental Congress giving the report of a committee appointed to confer with the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania regarding a mutiny of Continental troops of the Pennsylvania line. Other authors include Richard Peters.

Papers: 1816, 1 item.
A letter from Richard Peters to Alexander James Dallas written on April 7, 1816. In the letter, Richard Peters discusses a number of issues, including agriculture, politics, and finance.

Papers: 1819, 1 item.
A letter from Richard Peters to Elkanah Watson written on August 9, 1819. In the letter, Richard Peters discusses agricultural matters, in particular a pamphlet which is being published on the subject of salt. He asks Elkanah Watson to send him a list of all the agricultural societies he knows of.

Papers: 1826, 1 item.
A letter from the Marquis de Lafayette to Richard Peters written on November 20, 1826. In the letter, the Marquis de Lafayette discusses old American friends, his farm at La Grange, and the slow progress of the republican movement in Europe. He also inquires about the planned Eastern State Penitentiary and gives his views on solitary confinement.

University of Virginia
The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
Charlottesville, VA
Papers: 1801, 2 pages.
A letter from Richard Peters to James Madison written on June 1, 1801. In the letter, Richard Peters thanks James Madison for copies of "Robinson's Cases and Strickland's Observations in American Agriculture." Richard Peters also comments on the difficulty the printer [James Humphreys] has had in selling the former, criticizes William Strickland's work and that of other traveling European "birds of passage" including a "silly book by one Weld" and one by Liancourt that have done "much mischief." He notes that George Washington was often bothered by these traveler's inquiries.

Wisconsin Historical Society
Archives Division
Madison, WI
Papers: 1777, 0.1 cubic foot.
A letter from Mordecai Gist to Richard Peters, secretary of the Board of War in Philadelphia, concerning the detainment of fifty Highlander prisoners until their final destination could be determined. The letter contains further notes on the back giving instructions on where the letter was to be delivered.

Yale University Library
Manuscripts and Archives
New Haven, CT
Papers: In the American Revolutionary War Collection, 1775-1786, 0.25 linear foot.
Subjects include Richard Peters.

York County Heritage Trust/Historical Society of York County
York, PA
Papers: In the Jacob Barnitz Papers, 1786-1806, 3 boxes.
The papers include an appointment by Judge Richard Peters dated October 16, 1806, of the physicians to examine persons disabled in the Revolutionary War.

  • Peters, Richard. Address delivered before the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Philadelphia: Clark & Raser, printers, 1823.
  • ------. Admiralty decisions in the District Court of the United States, for the Pennsylvania District, by Richard Peters, comprising also some decisions in the same court, by the late Francis Hopkinson, to which are added cases determined in other districts of the United States. Philadelphia: Published by William P. Farrand; Robert Carr, printer, 1807.
  • ------. Agricultural inquiries on plaister of Paris. Philadelphia: N.p., 1810.
  • ------. Belmont. N.p., 1854.
  • ------. Belmont Mansion. N.p., 1926?
  • ------. Collection of puns and witticisms of the late Judge Richard Peters: From MS. of Samuel Breck. N.p., n.d.
  • ------. Dialogue, etc. for the commencement in the College of Philadelphia, May 20th, 1765. [Philadelphia: W. Dunlap, 1765].
  • ------. A discourse on agriculture. Its antiquity; and importance, to every member of the community; the obligations all are under to encourage it;--and the necessity of diffusing a knowledge of its principles, and systematical practice, as the first steps towards its advancement. Delivered before the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture; at their request, on their annual meeting, the 9th of January, 1816. Philadelphia: Johnson and Warner, 1816.
  • ------. A statistical account of the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge, communicated to the Philadelphia Society of Agriculture, 1806. Philadelphia: Published by Johnson & Warner, William Greer, printer, 1815.
  • ------. A treatise on land plaster, prepared by request of Gen. Washington, January, 1797. Revised for presentation to their agricultural friends, by Smith & Harris [N.p., 1873].