Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Rathbone, William, 1757-1809
- Abstract:
- A collection of the correspondence of William Rathbone, English ship-owner and merchant.
- Extent:
- 2.16 Linear Feet (1 box, 1 volume)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. William Rathbone correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of 33 items from 1760 to 1809, it consists largely of a series of letters written from 1800 to 1807 by William Rathbone to Abraham Shackleton. The letters concern items of general Quaker interest, including Quaker principles and doctrine, and particularly the controversial publication of Rathbone's "A Narrative of Events...in Ireland..." The collection also includes a small number of manuscripts, notes, and one volume.
- Biographical / historical:
-
William Rathbone IV (1757-1809) was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool, England. He was the son of William Rathbone III and Rachel Rutter; he was a Liverpool ship-owner and merchant, involved in the organization of American trade with Liverpool. Originally a member of the Society of Friends, he felt compelled to write the "Narrative of Events in Ireland among the Quakers in 1786" in protest against religious intolerance in the Society, which resulted in his being disowned by the Hardshaw monthly Friends meeting at Manchester in 1805. He would never join another religious body, though he occasionally worshiped with local Unitarian congregations. As a committed opponent to slavery, he was a founding member of the Liverpool Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Rathbone married Hannah Mary Reynolds (1761-1839), they had eight children, four of whom lived to adulthood. Rathbone died on February 11, 1809, and was buried at Liverpool Friends' Burial Ground. Abraham Shackleton was a leading Quaker who ran a Quaker school in Ballitore, County Kildare, Ireland.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Dawson's Bookstore, February 1974.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Gina C Giang, in August 2013. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the electronic finding aid derived from the earlier finding aid.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Quakers -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century
Quakers -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century
Quakers -- Ireland -- History -- 18th century
Quakers -- Ireland -- History -- 19th century
Society of Friends -- Doctrines
Society of Friends -- Great Britain
Society of Friends -- Ireland
Society of Friends -- History -- 18th century
Society of Friends -- History -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Manuscripts - Names:
- Ballitore School
Hancock, John, 1762-1823
Shackleton, Abraham - Places:
- Ballitore (Ireland) -- History -- 18th century
Ballitore (Ireland) -- History -- 19th century
Ballitore (Ireland) -- Social life and customs
Great Britain -- History -- 18th century
Great Britain -- History -- 19th century
Ireland -- History
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. William Rathbone correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191