15. Maritime records

Business and personal records of J. Russell Wait, Director of the Port of Houston from 1930-1947, offering a comprehensive history of the Port of Houston's construction, facilities, finances, clients and operations from 1931-1962. During this time, the Port of Houston grew from the nation's twelfth largest port to its third largest. Materials also relate to the Brazos River Harbor Navigation District, Houston Ship Channel maps, and scrapbooks on WWII and Japan.

The log covers the period February 10, 1827, through November 19, 1828, and contains daily reports at sea and in port. The initial pages, and those for the months of May and June 1827, are missing. Entries indicate that the ship departed from its usual Charleston to Boston route in August 1828 and sailed for New York, then to Vera Cruz, Mexico, arriving there three months later.

The logbook is approximately 130 pages. The first 80 pages are in Portuguese and cover voyages from Fayal in the Azores to Riga and back to Lisbon, with an additional trip from Fayal to St. Petersburg. The remainder is in English and covers a voyage from Boston to Fayal.

The papers of Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith contain letters concerning Smith's brother, John Spencer Smith, who was British ambassador to the Porte at Constantinople in the early 1790s. Correspondents include Robert Liston, British Minister to the United States. Also included is a genealogy of the Smith family, a battle order issued by Smith aboard HMS Tigre during the siege at Acre in 1799, and an invitation to the funeral of the Duke of Wellington.