An Outward Manifest lists the items that are being transported out of a port for sale somewhere else. This manifest shows that the Two Friends was bringing a cargo of fish, beef, S hooks, hoops, oil, candles, and vegetables to the West Indies.
The Two Friends and Slavery
A deposition connected with a customs violation case revealed that the ship’s captain was instructed to buy only as much sugar as the worth of the human chattel he sold in Havana. A quick query to the Beverly Historical Society gave light to Captain’s orders and an “account of slaves” bought and sold between the island of Haiti and Cuba. While the ship brought back to the US only sugar and molasses at the end of its journey, it held enslaved people through the Caribbean. Read the documents linked below to learn more about this relationship between maritime trade in Essex County and slavery. Although slavery had been abolished in Massachusetts by 1791, local merchants continued to operate slave ships outside of the United States.
Related Documents:
Captain’s Orders for the Two Friends, 1791
Account of Sale of Slaves, the Two Friends, 1791
Deposition of the Two Friends first mate Osmon Gage, 1793
Drawing of the Two Friends.
“
A true MANIFEST of all the Goods, Wares and Merchandize, shipped on board the Sch.1 Two Friends, Nicholas Thorndike, Master, bound for the West Indies
| Marks | Numbers | Packages and Contents | Shippers | Residence2 | Consignees3 | Residence |
| Ninety-five Casks of Fish | ||||||
| Forty barrels Mackerel | ||||||
| Five barrels Beef | ||||||
| One hundred sixty nine S hooks | Brown & | Beverly | N Thorndike | Beverly | ||
| Thirty four hundred Hoops4 | Thorndike | |||||
| Thirty Caskets [Oil] | ||||||
| Fifteen Boxes Spermacetti Candles5 | ||||||
| Twenty Four barrels Roots6 | ||||||
| One hundred bushels Potatoes | ||||||
| Nicholas Thorndike | ||||||
| Sworn, October 11th 1791 | ||||||
| Jos. Hilton, Collector |
1 Sch. = ”schooner”
2 Residence = place where they live
3 Consignee = person who is selling the goods
4 Hoops = iron hoops used to hold barrels together, a cooper, or barrel maker, was on board to make barrels for the goods they would ship home
5 Spermaceti candles = candles made from whale oil
6 Roots = probably root vegetables like carrots, turnips, parsnips, etc.
Citation
Outward Manifest of the Two Friends (October 11, 1791). National Archives, Waltham, MA.
Using Essex History 
You must be logged in to post a comment.