Microform Collections
British Records Relating to America in Microform Collections
This series of microfilm collections is published by Microform Limited (formerly EP Microform) of East Ardsley, Yorkshire, England in conjunction with the British Association for American Studies. The series ranges in time from the colonial period to the twentieth century, and in place from Quebec to the West Indies. The collections relate to trade, industry, plantations, agriculture, immigration, the anti-slavery movement, politics, and military affairs. Located in various British archival collections, the papers selected contribute to the understanding of American history usually through the business and personal affairs of British subjects. Introductions at the beginning of each filmed collection explain the provenance and the historical background for each collection.
Guides:
Raimo, John W. (ed.). A Guide to
Manuscripts Relating to America in Great Britain and Ireland.
Z1236.C74 1979
The guide briefly describes various collections in this series. Each collection in Ellis Library is listed in the card catalog and/or MERLIN, the online catalog, although individual theses and dissertations are not yet listed in MERLIN.
106 - 118 of 118 resources. Page: < 1 2 3 4
TUDWAY OF WELLS ANTIGUAN ESTATE PAPERS, 1689-1907.
East Ardsley, Yorkshire, England: Microform Academic Publishers, 1999.
British records relating to America in microfilm
30 reel(s)
The records included in this collection cover over three centuries of the operation of an Antiguan sugar plantation, providing the most complete surviving private records pertaining to these plantations. The plantation, called Parham and located on the eastern part of the island of Antigua in what was the British Caribbean, was owned by the Tudway family of Wells Somerset and was in operation by 1689, contributing to the sugar boom experienced by the island in the 1680s. The Tudway family, a prosperous middle-class family, acted as absentee owners who rarely visited the plantation; thus, they did not witness the slave-labor source of their wealth. Records in these papers cover the years 1689 to 1920 and consist of a virtually complete set of annual accounts during those years, correspondence dating from 1717 to 1898 written from both Britain and Antigua, paylists, slave registers, and records of sugar cane experiments from 1905 to 1907. The records provide full details on all operating aspects of a sugar plantation as well as attitudes on absentee landlords and legislation affecting the sugar business and are valuable for reconstructing the social and economic history of the British Caribbean.
Guides:
Morgan, Kenneth. The Tudway of Wells Antiguan estate papers, 1689-1907 : a brief introduction to the microfilm edition of the Tudway of Wells estate papers.
Vassall, William. VASSALL LETTER-BOOKS, 1769-1800.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Micro Methods for the British Association for American Studies, 1963.
British records relating to America in microform
2 reel(s)
William Vassall's letter books are primarily concerned with the operation of his family's sugar plantation in Jamaica. He administered the plantation from his home in the United States and later from England, where he lived after his Jamaican income was cut off by the American Revolution. The chief correspondents were Long, Drake, and Long of London (one of the oldest firms in the Jamaican trade) and James and John Wedderburn, managers of his Jamaican plantations. Also included are letters concerning Vassall's numerous legal disputes, notably his suit against the state of Maine over the confiscation and sale of his property during the war. The first letter book covers the period from November 1769 to July 1786, and January 1798 to March 1800. The second book covers the period from June 1786 to January 1791.
A description of the collection is on the first reel.
NOT IN MERLIN
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Vernon, James, 1646-1727. LETTERS FROM JAMES VERNON TO THE DUKE OF SHREWSBURY, 1696-1708: FROM THE SHREWSBURY PAPERS IN BOUGHTON HOUSE, NORTH HAMPTONSHIRE.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: E.P. Microform Limited, 1980.
British records relating to America in microform
3 reel(s)
James Vernon served as private secretary and then as under-secretary to Charles Talbot, 12th Earl and Duke of Shrewsbury (1660-1718). Though he had served under both Charles II and James II, Shrewsbury had contributed money to William of Orang and was a major catalyst in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Shrewbury was twice secretary of state, in 1689 and 1694. In 1700 he withdrew from public affairs and went to Rome. Vernon's letters kept his patron well-informed of state affairs, such as parliamentary proceedings and the activities of the increasingly important Secretariate. His incisive discussion of events preceding the Treaty of Ryswick and extending into the War of Spanish Succession makes his letters indispensable to both domestic and early modern European historians. Topics discussed include treason cases, Admiralty affairs, finance, Irish affairs, disbandment, the visits of the French ambassadors, trade, taxes, the East India Company, and military affairs. In 1710 Shrewsbury helped bring about the fall of the Whigs and was made Lord Chamberlain. In 1712 he was ambassador to France and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. At the crisis of the death of Queen Anne, Shrewsbury was treasurer and Lord Justice.
An index of letters is on the first reel.
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Guides:
Rubini, Dennis. Letters from James Vernon to the Duke of Shrewsbury 1696-1708 : from the Shrewsbury papers in Boughton House, Northamptonshire.
The guide provides a calendar of correspondence with an indication of contents.
WALES AND AMERICA: AMERICAN MATERIAL FROM THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform, 1984.
British Records Relating to America in Microform
19 reel(s)
This collection contains a wide selection of items, relating to links between Wales and America. The material is divided into ten consecutive sections ranging from "The Colonial Years, 1600-1800" to a section on literary connections between the two countries. Section three is devoted to material relating to the legend of the Welsh prince Madoc who is said to have discovered America in the twelfth century. It contains transcripts from the papers of Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir John Hawkins concerning the legend. Within the other sections the researcher will encounter such subjects as colonial taxation and trade, the Revolutionary War, Welsh emigration to America, the Civil War, slavery, and David Lloyd George. Also included is material relating to the Welsh cultural festival of the Eisteddfod.
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Guides:
Taylor, Clare. Wales and America : American material from the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
The guide contains notes on the provenance of each of the sections. It also includes a complete annotated list of the records as they appear on the microfilm.
WALT WHITMAN COLLECTION.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform Academic Publishers, 2001.
British records relating to America in microform
12 reel(s)
The Walt Whitman Collection (1880-1948) consists primarily of correspondence between members of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship and with other English and North American Whitmanites, correspondence with Whitman himself, addresses and lectures composed by various members of the group, journal and newspapers articles, and photographs. Whitman (1819-1892), noted American journalist, essayist, and poet, garnered a loyal following in Britain, especially in Bolton, Lancashire where James William Wallace (1853-1926) and a group of educated working class and lower middle class admirers met as the "Eagle Street College" (later known as Bolton Whitman Fellowship) to discuss literary works, especially Whitman's poetry, and social and political issues. The group was drawn to Whitman by the revolutionary, democratic ideas in his essays and poetry. Other figures prominent in the collection include John Johnston, Charles Frederick Sixsmith, and Edward Carpenter. This collection will be of interest to scholars studying Whitman, the reception of Whitman's poetry, early British socialism, and utopian visionaries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The original material is held at the John Rylands University Library Manchester, England.
Guides:
Masel, Carolyn. The Walt Whitman collection : introduction to the microfilm edition.
WELD PAPERS, 1839-1889, LETTERS AND OTHER PAPERS OF THE WELD FAMILY OF LULWORTH CASTLE, EAST LULWORTH, WAREHAM, DORSET.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Micro Methods and British Association for American Studies, 1963.
British records relating to America
1 reel(s)
Owned by the Weld family, the Maryland and New York Iron Company, Mount Savage, Maryland, and its successor, Mount Savage Ironworks, are early examples of direct English investment in a United States company. The company initiated the exploitation of the rich coal reserves of the Cumberland region for the manufacturing of rails. About 160 letters and business documents are filmed.
A description of the collection appears at the beginning of the reel.
NOT IN MERLIN
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WEST INDIES RECORDS OF THE UNITED SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 'E' SERIES, 1901-1950.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform Academic Publishers, 1987.
British Records Relating to America in Microform
13 reel(s)
FILM
Guides:
The guide gives a description of each chronologically arranged reel, and a bibliography.
WEST INDIES RECORDS OF THE UNITED SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL, 1710-1908.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform Limited, 1984.
British records relating to America in microform
19 reel(s)
The material in this collection covers the growth of the Society and its work in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbadoes, Antigua, Trinidad, British Guiana (Guyana), Honduras, and the Mosquito Coast. A central issue for several reels concerns the Codrington bequest to the Society for creation of an institution to convert and educate slaves.
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Guides:
West Indies records of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, c. 1710-1908 [guide].
The guide contains the provenance of the collection, background information on the Society and a description of its records, a list of contents for each reel and a bibliography of related works, both primary and secondary. The guide is reproduced at the beginning of reel one.
WHARNCLIFFE MANUSCRIPTS RELATING TO THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR 1864-1872: IN THE SHEFFIELD CITY LIBRARY.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: EP Microform, 1975.
British records relating to America in microform
1 reel(s)
Letters to the third Lord Wharncliffe relate to the Confederacy during the Civil War. Lord Wharncliffe, like many aristocratic Englishmen, was a strong southern sympathizer and had business interests in southern cotton. Letters concern the Committee for the Relief of Southern Prisoners of War, chaired by Wharncliffe from 1864 to 1865. In 1864, the committee raised 17,000 pounds for southern prisoners of war held in the North. United States secretary of state, William Seward, refused the money on the grounds that it was unnecessary. Letters to Lord Wharncliffe after this refusal tell of southern hardship and alleged atrocities of the North. Other correspondence concerns the business affairs of Alexander Collie, a blockade-runner during the later stages of the war, and James Spence, a British supporter of the South.
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Whitbread, Samuel, 1764-1815. WHITBREAD PAPERS, 1807-1815.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Micro Methods in conjunction with the British Association for American Studies,
British Records Relating to America in Microform
1 reel(s)
Whitbread was a member of the English Parliament from 1790-1815 and was a spokesman for causes connected to civil and religious liberties. He denounced slavery and urged negotiations with France. He was a friend to the U.S. and opposed the War of 1812. Most of this collection is political papers in the form of letters, some with reports.
FILM
William Davenport and Company. PAPERS OF WILLIAM DAVENPORT & CO. (1745-1797).
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Microform Academic Publishers, 1998.
British Records Relating to America in Microform
3 reel(s)
These papers provide a remarkably full account of the eighteenth-century British slave trade. Born in London in 1725, William Davenport was apprenticed to a Liverpool merchant and later set up his own overseas trading company there. His business involved commerce in the Mediterranean area, especially trade in beads in Venice, and to Virginia, Grenada, and Dominica, as well as Cameroon, the Bight of Biafra in the Niger Delta, and Calaba in Africa. An important figure in the British slave trade, Davenport died in 1797.
Included in the collection are trading invoices and accounts of ships owned by Davenport and his associate William Whaley from 1761 to 1784. Also contained in the collection are letter and bill books, waste books, ledgers, and other account books. The more detailed of the accounts include data on voyage costs, supplies of trade goods, demographics, markets, and proceeds. From these records, the financial history of well over half of Davenport's slaving voyages may be reconstructed. The collection offers insights into the impact of geographical change in the pattern of slaving in Africa on profits in the British slave trade.
Guides:
Richardson, David The papers of William Davenport & Co., (1745-1797) : a brief introduction to the microfilm edition of the William Davenport papers.
The guide contains a brief biography of Davenport, contents of the three reels, and bibliological references. (Filmed from the collection owned by Keele University Library, Special Collections and Archives, Staffordshire, England)
Wodrow, James, 1730-1810. WODROW-KENRICK CORRESPONDENCE, 1750-1810.
Wakefield, England: Microform Limited, 1982.
British records relating to America in microform
2 reel(s)
This collection consists of correspondence between James Wodrow (1730-1810), a Scottish Presbyterian Minister, and Samuel Kenrick (1728-1811), a Dissenting English banker. Up to 1774, the correspondence concentrates on personal matters. From 1774 to 1782, it focuses on the American War of Independence. From 1789, the two men discuss the phenomenon of the French Revolution and its impact on the domestic British scene. The letters also touch upon such topics as Presbyterianism in Scotland, dissent in England, banking in the industrializing West Midlands, and the affairs of the University of Glasgow.
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Guides:
Bonwick, Colin, 1935- Wodrow-Kenrick correspondence c 1750-1810 : in Dr. Williams's Library, London (DWL MSS 24:157).
The guide provides a calendar of the correspondence listing all letters and summarizing their content.
WYKEHAM MARTIN PAPERS: MATERIAL RELATING TO THE PROBLEMS OF SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.
East Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England: Micro Methods, 1969.
British records relating to America in microform
1 reel(s)
In 1649, along with other cavaliers, John Culpeper was granted the Northern Neck in Virginia by Charles II. At the Restoration in 1660 he returned to England. When he died the same year, the estates passed to the related Fairfax, Martin, and Wykeham families. Papers of these families illustrate the difficulties inherent in owning American property after the American Revolution. The focus of this series is the large property in Virginia, which finally escheated (reverted to the government) after the war. The papers include family correspondence dealing mostly with the finances of the estate (rents, debts, revenues) and with the attempts to regain the property after the War of Independence. Some of the letters describe current events like the wars with the French in the 1740's and 1750's, the unrest in America after the Stamp Act, Indian incursions, the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland in 1745/46.
A description of the collection and its arrangement appears at the beginning of the reel.
NOT IN MERLIN
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