Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- A collection of correspondence, manuscripts and documents related to Sir William Pulteney, 5th Bart.; material deals primarily with his family, business dealings and political work.
- Extent:
- 2,087 items in 36 boxes
- Language:
- The material is in English and French .
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The bulk of the collection consists of letters addressed to Sir William Pulteney, and an additional several hundred letters addressed to Sir James Murray-Pulteney (written 1790-1811). The collection includes the Johnstone and Pulteney families, including accounts of the death of Sir William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, and the publication of his Memoirs; also, numerous letters from Sir William Pulteney's brothers, sister, and father relating to family affairs. A large number of letters and documents deal with the administration of Sir William Pulteney's property in Scotland and his wife's properties in Bath, as well as letters from several agents discussing farming, limestone quarries, coal mines and mining. The collection also includes letters and documents dealing with the political affairs in Great Britain, 1765-1785, including Shropshire elections and politics, electioneering in general, and the American Revolution. In addition there is material that covers The East India Company, the Pulteney Bridge at Bath, the Birmingham Canal, road conditions in Scotland, liquor smuggling, Tobago under Governor George Ferguson and the organization of local militias (1800-1810).
- Biographical / historical:
-
William Johnstone, afterward Sir William Pulteney (1729-1805), 5th Bart., M.P. for Cromartyshire (1768-1774) and for Shrewsbury (1885-1805), and the author of several political pamphlets. He was the son of Sir James Johnstone, Bart. of Westerhall Co. Dumfries; in 1760 he married Frances Pulteney, the heiress of the estates of Sir William Pulteney, Earl of Bath (d. 1764) and General Harry Pulteney (d. 1767). After her death in 1782, Sir William Pulteney married Margaret, widow of Andrew Stewart of Castlemilk. Pulteney's "principal interests were in financial and economic matters, which encompassed American and East Indian affairs, agriculture, fisheries, and transport throughout Great Britain" (DNB); at the time of his death, William Pulteney was reputedly the wealthiest man in Great Britain. After Pulteney's death in 1805, his fortune passed to Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, his only daughter and heir; in 1794 she married her cousin, Sir James Murray of Hillhead Co. Midlothian, Bart. (ca. 1751-1811) who assumed the additional name of Pulteney.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Maggs Bros. Ltd, London, June 18, 1952.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is organized in the following series: Correspondence, Manuscripts and Documents (Boxes 1-36); Ephemera (Box 36); arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Note:
-
Cataloger's Notes
1.Thomas W. Newton sorted and arranged a portion of the William Pulteney Papers, as noted in his letter to Frederick Ouvry, July 29, 1880 (PU 2087). In the process of arranging the material, Newton numbered each item in red ink; these numbers were not used by the Huntington cataloger, nor were they noted on the folders or in the finding aid.
2. The Huntington Library cataloger was not always consistent when writing some names on folders. In creating the finding aid, it was decided to use one form of a name consistently throughout the finding aid for purposes of searching and research.
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Administration of estates -- Scotland -- 18th century
Administration of estates -- Scotland -- 19th century
Agriculture -- Scotland -- History -- 18th century
Agriculture -- Scotland -- History -- 19th century
Coal -- Scotland -- History -- 18th century
Limestone industry -- Scotland -- History -- 18th century
Mines and mineral resources -- Scotland -- History -- 18th century
Politicians -- Great Britain -- Correspondence
Documents -– Great Britain -- 18th century
Documents -– Great Britain -- 19th century
Family papers -– Great Britain -- 18th century
Family papers -– Great Britain -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) –- Great Britain -- 18th century
Letters (correspondence) -– Great Britain -- 19th century
Manuscripts -– Great Britain -- 18th century
Manuscripts -– Great Britain -- 19th century
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
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1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191