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