THE MILLS FAMILY: LONDON SUGAR MERCHANTS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

The article focuses on the London, England sugar merchants of the eighteenth century. Like many other spheres of economic life in the eighteenth century, the sugar trade has left comparatively few records for the historian to evaluate. The excellent history of the Pinney family by professor Richard Pares discusses much about the organization of the Bristol sugar market. Information about London sugar merchants is restricted very largely to the letter and account books of Messrs Lascelles and Maxwell covering the years 1740 to 1769 but unfortunately only one of the letter books survived the blitz. Nevertheless, Pares was able to work upon the manuscripts prior to their destruction and record some of results of his investigations before his premature death in 1958. The discovery of the Mills family papers has opened the way to a fresh look at the London sugar trade in the eighteenth century. Tobits Wall of Abchurch Lane, London, England originally owned the London sugarhouse. Upon his death in 1744, Wall left the business to his nephew, Mathew Mills and although the London directories for the years 1746 to 1748 are missing, the firm appears in the London directory of 1749 as Mathew and John Mills of New Broad Street.