Agreement Between John Nicholson and Alexander Hamilton, Abijah Hammond, and Nicholas Low, 8 February 1794
Agreement Between John Nicholson and Alexander
Hamilton, Abijah Hammond, and Nicholas Low1
[Philadelphia] February 8, 1794. “… in Consequence of certain Agreements between Alex Hamilton Esq of Philadelphia City and Nicholas Low and Abijah Hammond of the City of New York Merchants of the One part, and John Campbell now or late of Patterson in the State of New Jersey of the other part and which have by Mutual Consent since been disolved, the party first herein named deem it necessary to have some indemnification against damages … by reason of the Agreements above refered to. Now these presents Witnesseth that John Nicholson of the City of Philadelphia Esqr doth hereby Covenant and agree to and with the said Hamilton, Low and Hammond … that the said Nicholson shall and will … save harmless and keep indemnified the said Alexander Hamilton Nicholas Low and Abijah Hammond … from all Costs charges … and damages.…”
Copy, Division of Public Records, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg.
1. Nicholson was comptroller general of Pennsylvania; Hammond was a director of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures; and Low was governor of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures.
This document was drawn up at the insistence of H, Hammond, and Low to forestall future claims against them in their capacity as directors of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures.
For background to this document, see “Contract with James and Shoemaker,” November 5, 1792; “Agreement with John Campbell and Receipt from John Campbell,” November 9, 1792; H to Low, June 14, 1793.
Nicholson, who was a member of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures, owned a cotton manufactory in Reading, Pennsylvania, which was operated by William Pollard. In January, 1794, working through Pollard, Nicholson agreed with Campbell to take over Campbell’s stocking weaving project at Paterson, New Jersey, as well as to retain Campbell and the workers he had brought to the United States with him from Scotland (Pollard to Nicholson, September 8, 1795; Pollard to Nicholson, March 28, 1794; Campbell to Pollard, January 30, 1794 [John Nicholson Papers, General Correspondence, 1772–1819, Division of Public Records, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg]). Campbell agreed to move his machinery and the workers to Pennsylvania, originally to Reading and later to Philadelphia, where in March, 1795, the stocking manufactory was located at 451 North Front Street and was known as the Fleecy Hosiery Manufactory (Pollard to Nicholson, March 28, 1794; Campbell to Nicholson, November 4, 1794 [John Nicholson Papers, General Correspondence, 1772–1819, Division of Public Records, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg]). Nicholson paid fourteen hundred dollars to free Campbell from his contract with the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (Campbell to Pollard, January 30, February 6, 1794 [John Nicholson Papers, General Correspondence, 1772–1819, Division of Public Records, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg]).