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Title Lecture by Charles Hummel about John Richardson Latimer, the China Trader
Reference Col. 235, box 2, folder 9
Library Winterthur Library
Collection The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera
Collection Series Latimer Family Papers, 1801 - [c. 1860], bulk 1815-1844, Series III: Notes from Charles Hummel
Date n.d.
Author / Creator Hummel, Charles
Description Notes for a lecture by Charles Hummel, curator emeritus at the Winterthur Library.
Document Type Ephemera
Theme(s) Trade and Commerce
Keywords trade, biography, merchant, business, career, supercargo, voyage
Countries USA; China
Places Newport; Delaware
Ports Guangzhou, China; Philadelphia, USA
Additional Information

John Richardson Latimer was the grandson of American milling and shipping businessman James Latimer, who had emigrated from Ireland in 1736. John’s uncle George Latimer ran a counting house in Philadelphia, and it was here that John received his early training. George arranged for him to enter the China trade, and he made his first supercargo voyage to Canton in 1815. From that time until 1838 John made regular voyages between China and his home in Delaware, spending most of his time abroad. He imported tea, opium, fabric, and porcelains from China. Profits from his years in China allowed him to retire at the age of forty. He died at his home in 1865.

Please note that some of the metadata for this document has been drawn from the Winterthur Library catalogue.

Copyright Winterthur Library