Nicholas Brown & Co. to Wanton, Joseph and William
Letter, dated July 19, 1765, from Nicholas Brown and Company to the Joseph and William Wanton, merchants in Newport. Two days before, the Browns had finally received a letter from Esek Hopkins, contradicting earlier reports that he and the Sally had been lost on the African coast. It appears that the news moved the brothers to take out additional insurance on the voyage. In this letter, they ask the Wantons to advance two hogsheads of sugar to a James Burney on their account, apparently as part of that insurance arrangement. The Browns also asked the Wantons to forward letters of instructions to Hopkins on ships departing from Newport for Jamaica and Barbados.

Nicholas Brown & Co. to Wanton, Joseph and William
Letter to Nicholas Brown and Company from Joseph and William Wanton, merchants in Newport. The letter, dated August 11, 1764, conveys details for a purchase of 185 barrels of rum, a portion of the 17,274 gallons of rum loaded onto the Sally before its departure for West Africa.

Nicholas Brown & Co. to Wanton, Joseph and William
Letter, dated October 12, 1765, from Nicholas Brown and Company to Joseph and William Wanton, merchants in Newport. The letter seeks the proceeds from the sale of twelve boxes of spermaceti candles that the Browns had consigned to a Captain Morris, a slave ship captain who had recently returned from Africa on a Wanton-owned ship. The candles had been used to acquire slaves. "You can Either give us the Money at what the Candles Sold for [or] we will take our proportion of what the Slaves Sold for Deducting Freight +c," the Browns write.

Wanton, Joseph and William to Nicholas Brown & Co.
Letter from Joseph and William Wanton, merchants in Newport, to the Brown brothers, June 26, 1765, discussing business affairs and offering condolences for the reported loss of the Sally and its crew on the African coast. The Wantons also share information about the state of the slave trade on the Gold Coast, which was reportedly awash in slave ships and rum. Had the Sally "proceeded down Anamaboe it would have been no better with Regard to Trade," they note, adding: "[T]here was on 6th April 17 Sail of Europeans and Rum men [i.e. Rhode Island slave ships] + the latter could not get a Slave at any price..."