Records of ante-bellum southern plantations - LexisNexis

Thomas Baylie Cropper had two sisters, Elizabeth (Eliza) and Ann. Eliza married a
schoolteacher, Joseph Gibb, and lived with him in several Accomack County locations, including
Drummond Town, Pungoteague, and Metompkin Island. The Gibbs had six children: Elizabeth
(Lizzy), Ann, Catharine T., John J., William J., and Tom. Ann first married George Arbuckle, then,
in 1838, Major John Savage. The Savages lived in Gargotha, in Accomack County, and had at
least one daughter, Lizzie.
Cropper had two brothers, P. W. (fl. 1832) of Assawamaw, and Coventon (C. H.), who farmed
on Thomas Baylie Cropper’s farm, Edgehill, in Accomack County. Coventon, called Covey,
married a woman named Leah, who died in 1838, soon after the birth of their daughter, Isabella.
He then married a woman named Sarah. Coventon possibly had another daughter, Kate.
Thomas Henry Bayly, superior court judge between 1842 and 1844 and U.S. congressman
from 1844 until his death in 1856, was a cousin to Thomas Cropper. U.S. Congressman Henry A.
Wise was also a cousin.
Series 1. Correspondence (1832–1868 and undated)
Family and business letters received by Captain Thomas Baylie Cropper while commander of
several merchant vessels between 1832 and 1848, and scattered family letters received by
Rosina Mix Cropper in the 1850s. One item appears addressed to Mrs. Mix, Rosina’s mother, in
1868.
Captain Cropper sailed out of Philadelphia between 1832 and early 1838, and early letters
are addressed to him in care of Philadelphia merchants Robert Williams, Thomas Cope & Co.,
and H. & A. Cope, and in Liverpool at the Starr and Garter Inn. Beginning in the spring of 1838,
he sailed out of New York, where he received mail at the Astor House, in care of his employer,
Charles H. Marshall, and in care of Goodhue & Co. Beginning in 1846, he and his family took up
residence on East 14th Street. He also received letters through Baring Bros. in Liverpool.
Subseries 1.1. (1832–1839) This subseries comprises about two-thirds business letters
received by Capt. Thomas B. Cropper, while he commanded the merchant vessels Montezuma,
Algonquin, and Susquehanna, sailing between Philadelphia and Liverpool, and during the first
year of his command of the Columbus, sailing between New York and Liverpool. The remaining
third are letters from Cropper’s relatives in Accomack County, Virginia.
Most of the business letters pertain to Cropper’s activities as a sea captain and include letters
of introduction; inquiries concerning sailing schedules, passenger rates, and items shipped;
letters of thanks from passengers; and requests from friends and associates for Cropper to
procure English goods for them. Of particular interest among the letters is one, dated 29 May
1838, from Cropper’s employer, Charles Marshall, which discusses Cropper’s salary and his
taking command of the Columbus. Also of note is a letter from Thomas T. Cropper in New York,
dated 29 September 1838, pertaining to a vessel the writer was having built and requesting a
recommendation for a Captain Coalbern. Thomas T. Cropper seems to have been in the shipping
business. A final item of interest is a letter of 26 January 1839 from A. Graham of Easton,
Virginia, concerning the possibility of his son, George, becoming an apprentice seaman aboard
the Columbus.
Cropper also received letters concerning his personal financial ventures. Two associates,
Edward Taylor Randolph of Philadelphia and Paschall Morris of Allentown, Pennsylvania, wrote
him frequently in 1837 and 1838 concerning the importing and breeding of English cattle, an
activity in which the three engaged together. They were particularly interested in the Durham
Short Horned and Ayrshire breeds.
Family letters give mostly news of relatives and friends in Accomack County, noting
courtships and marriages, illnesses and deaths, visits, local church news, and quarrels within the
family and neighborhood. Frequent writers include Cropper’s sisters, Eliza Gibb and Ann
Arbuckle Savage; his niece, Catharine F. Gibb; his friend, S. Edwards; and his cousin, Catharine
K. B. Joynes.
Of interest among the early letters is one, dated 14 August 1832, from Cropper’s brother, P.
W. Cropper in Assawamaw, Virginia, which mentions a recent promotion Capt. Cropper had
received. This is the only letter appearing in the collection from P. W. Cropper, who may have
died soon after. Also of interest is a letter, dated 21 September 1837, from a friend, William
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