Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Rathbone (William) Correspondence
mssHM 80363-80395
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: William Rathbone correspondence
Creator:
Rathbone, William,
1757-1809
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 80363-80395
Physical Description:
2.16 Linear Feet
(1 box, 1 volume)
Date (inclusive): 1760-1809
Abstract: A collection of the correspondence of
William Rathbone, English ship-owner and merchant.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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.
[Identification of item]. William Rathbone correspondence, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Dawson's Bookstore, February 1974.
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.
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.
Processed by Gina C Giang, in August 2013. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the electronic
finding aid derived from the earlier finding aid.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.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
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
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 18th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Manuscripts
Hancock, John,
1762-1823
Shackleton, Abraham
Ballitore School