The author’s intention is to provide an historical account of a little-known part of American history in the Port of Liverpool by illustrating the life of James Maury, an American tobacco merchant from Virginia who became the first American Consul to the Port of Liverpool.

Maury, who had arrived in Liverpool in 1786 to establish his tobacco house, went on to become American Consul to the port from 1790 to 1829. As Consul, Maury was issued with two prime directives. He was to protect all American citizens and their interests within his consular jurisdiction and to promote the necessary trade between the two nations. This Maury did in exemplary fashion. Maury’s day-to-day duties consisted of dealing with impressments, desertions, assisting sick and distressed mariners, and in the issuing of passports.

Maury as Consul was the prime architect in establishing the American Chamber of Commerce in Liverpool in 1801, in order to collectively fight and protect all merchant members in the American trade from unfair excessive dock and customs charges. And for his efforts Maury was elected the Chamber’s first chairman and president. The Chamber then became the catalyst for organised mercantile, commercial and trade networking between the Liverpool and American merchants during the nineteenth century.

In 1821, due to the volume of sick and distressed American mariners arriving at the port, Maury established and administrated an American Hospital with great success. As an entrepreneur, Maury had established a successful Virginian tobacco house, and from the proceeds he became a very wealthy man and the owner of five ocean going vessels. Maury was also a family man, who met and married an educated English woman, a Margaret Rutson, and together they raised five children on an English education.

The story is compiled from the many consular and personal letters of James Maury, and also from the letters of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, all of whom had written to Maury whilst he was Consul at Liverpool. The personal letters of Maury’s daughter Ann are also included.

James Maury, an American patriot who became an English gentleman, was a religious and benevolent man, who did so much for all American citizens and mariners who passed through his Consular District. From my many years of research, I firmly believe Maury played a significant, and indeed pivotal, role in the advancement of the port of Liverpool in the American trade and also made a considerable contribution to the improvement of Anglo-American trade relations from the period 1790 to 1829.