Historical note
Huie, Reid and Company was a merchant firm trading in tobacco, sugar, salt, and other commodities, in Dumfries, Virginia, in the late eighteenth century. The company may have been among the numerous Virginia firms with mercantile connections to Glasgow, Scotland. Huie, Reid, and Company conducted business in Prince William County and nearby counties, including Fauquier County, Virginia. Chartered in 1749, Dumfries is the oldest continuously chartered town in Virginia. Situated in Prince William County, Dumfries was established at the head of the harbor of Quantico Creek. The town grew into one of the most prominent ports in colonial America, reaching its peak in terms of size in 1763. Upland tobacco was shipped through Dumfries, and the port bustled with activity throughout the later part of the eighteenth century. The Revolutionary War and the shift from the tobacco to the wheat and sugar trade contributed to the decline of the port. Huie, Reid and Company conducted business with members of many of Virginia's most notable families, which ordered a variety of products from the firm. This particular collection contains several order requests signed by members of the Brent family, a noteworthy family in Virginia's history. Five order requests signed by Eleanor Brent, the sister of Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, are contained in this collection. Three order requests signed by Richard Brent, member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1788, 1793-1794, 1800-1801) and the U.S. House of Representatives (1795-1799, 1801-1803), are also included. In addition, two order requests from Daniel Carroll Brent are preserved. Along with its ties to the Carroll family of Maryland, the Brent family had genealogical connections with the Mason family of Virginia. Aside from the Brents, the Huie, Reid and Company Collection includes receipts from the following families: Ashby, Bruce, Carter, Forbes, Payne, and others.
