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William Pulteney papers
mssPU 1-2087  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administration Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Arrangement
  • Scope and Content
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: William Pulteney papers
    Dates: 1638-1880
    Bulk Dates: 1750-1818
    Collection Number: mssPU 1-2087
    Extent: 2,087 items in 36 boxes
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2191
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    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.
    Language of Material: The material is in English and French.

    Administration Information

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Publication Rights

    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 Pulteney Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Acquisition Information

    Purchased from Maggs Bros. Ltd, London, June 18, 1952.

    Biographical Note

    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.

    Arrangement

    The collection is organized in the following series: Correspondence, Manuscripts and Documents (Boxes 1-36); Ephemera (Box 36); arranged chronologically.

    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).

    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.

    Indexing Terms

    Personal Names

    Bath, William Pulteney, Earl of, 1684-1764
    Ferguson, George, active 1781
    Pulteney, James, Sir, approximately 1751-1811
    Pulteney, William

    Corporate Names

    East India Company -- History -- 18th century
    East India Company -- History -- 19th century
    Tobago (Colony). Governor (1781 : Ferguson)

    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

    Geographic Areas

    Bath (England) -- History -- 18th century
    Bath (England) -- History -- 19th century
    Birmingham Canal (England)
    Great Britain -- Colonies -- America
    Great Britain -- History -- 18th century
    Great Britain -- History -- 19th century
    Scotland -- History -- 18th century
    Scotland -- History -- 19th century
    United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1754-1763
    United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783

    Genre

    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