1829 Handwritten Manuscript Letter From Virginia Bank Cashier to a Prominent New York Merchant Regarding Debts of His Bankrupt Former Business Partner

On offer is a letter written by a cashier at the Farmers Bank of Virginia to a well-off client regarding the debt consolidation of a former business associate who declared bankruptcy.

The letter, dated April 10, 1829, is written and signed by William Nekervis, cashier for the Farmers Bank of Virginia. Nekervis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (date unknown) and, prior to becoming a bookkeeper and then cashier in Virginia, it is believed that he is the same William Nekervis who was a co-founder of the Philadelphia Society for the Instruction of Indigent Boys, which became the Philadelphia Society for the Establishment and Support of Charity Schools. Nekervis died in Virginia in August, 1837. 

In this letter, Nekervis writes in his role as cashier of the Farmers Bank of Virginia to Tobias Isaac Tobias (1786-1861), a merchant based in New York City. He writes:

 “...Since I last wrote to you, two of Mr. Judah's notes have been consolidated and reduced to $240. The debt is now $455, in two notes, $240 and $215, both due 27/30 April”.

We believe that Nekervis is writing about Mr. David Judah (1789-1866). On June 23, 1823, Virginia newspapers reported that David Judah, Tobias [Isaac] Tobias and Edward Pollock had become business partners in David Judah & Company, a Virginia-based dry goods company. Less than five years later, New York newspapers reported that on February 4, 1828, T.I. Tobias & Co. of New York legally separated from Virginia’s David Judah & Co by "mutual consent". 

It is clear that, following the dissolution of his company, Judah was in financial distress. In March of 1829, Judah sold off all of his possessions, including his home and its contents, his four female slaves (one of whom was a nine-year-old) and over 184 acres of land. The Kaplan Collection, which holds some of Tobias' and Judah's correspondence, reports that following his financial collapse, Judah moved to Maryland.

The letter offered here was written only months after a January, 1829 letter held in the Kaplan Collection, in which Nekervis responded to Tobias' question about Judah’s outstanding debts owed to the bank. 

This letter adds to the knowledge of 19th century Jewish-American merchants and the burgeoning banking industry that funded their business ventures in the Jeffersonian-era. 

This letter is one page + integral stampless address leaf, and measures 8 x 10 inches. Horizontal and vertical folds; light soil; some weakness at folds; large docketing note on address leaf; Good condition overall.