William Rathbone Correspondence mssHM 80363-80395
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
August 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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
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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
Box 1, Folder 1-32
William Rathbone correspondence HM 80363-80394 1760-1821
Volume 1
Theodore E. Suliot and Richard Davis. The Ballitore Magazine, 2nd Series HM 80395 1820 August 1