Thomas Clarkson papers, 1787-Approximately 1900, bulk 1781-1847

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Thomas Clarkson papers

Summary

Creators:
Clarkson, Thomas, 1760-1846.
Abstract:
This collection contains 210 pieces of correspondence, manuscripts, and documents of English abolitionist Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), chiefly dating from 1787 to 1847 and related to slavery and the slave trade in the United States and Africa, including the Sierra Leone colony; activities of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society; and the private affairs of Clarkson and his family.
Extent:
9 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Thomas Clarkson papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, and documents of English abolitionist Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), chiefly dating from 1787 to 1847 and related to slavery and slave trade in the United States and Africa, including the Sierra Leone Colony; activities of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society; and the private affairs of Thomas Clarkson and his family.

The papers include an unpublished manuscript of Clarkson's "History of the African Institution as connected with the Abolition of Slavery and the Foreign Slave Trade," circa 1839 (CN 33); a speech by Clarkson used in forming anti-slavery committees in 1823-1824 (CN 73); Clarkson's report on Sierra Leone, circa 1792 (CN 54); and "A letter to the Clergy and slave holders in the Southern parts of the United States of America," [1841?] (CN 78); as well as drafts of Clarkson's letters to the Comte de Mirabeau, Alexander I of Russia and others on slavery, and reports and speeches on the subject.

Individuals represented by 3 or more pieces in the collection include: John Beaumont (8 pieces); Charles Buller (3 pieces); Maria Weston Chapman (5 pieces); Thomas Clarkson (48 pieces); Henri Grégoire (4 pieces); William Jay (3 pieces); Gerrit Smith (6 pieces); Joseph Soul (4 pieces); Joseph Sturge (15 pieces); Lewis Tappan (3 pieces); and Henry Clarke Wright (8 pieces).

Notable correspondence in the collection includes:

  1. Thomas Clarkson letter to Comte de Mirabeau with the story of an African sold into slavery, November 13, 1789 (CN 35)
  2. Thomas Clarkson letter to Roberts Vaux regarding the settlement of free blacks from the United States in Haiti, March 8, 1819 (CN 63)
  3. William Buck Cripps letter regarding conditions of settlers and prospects for newcomers in New Brunswick, November 30, 1822 (CN 89)
  4. William Lloyd Garrison letter on slavery in the United States, August 19, 1846 (CN 98)
  5. John Jay letter making Clarkson an honorary member of the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, September 1, 1788 (CN 111)
  6. Francis Scott Key letter regarding Americans who plan to visit Sierra Leone, November 8, 1817 (CN 117)
  7. Report by J.W.C. Pennington, a free African American minister, September 25, 1844 (CN 137)
  8. Granville Sharp letter on the formation of the settlement at Sierra Leone, October 13, 1788 (CN 147)
  9. Philip Evan Thomas letter to James Cropper regarding slave labor in the United States, August 22, 1822(CN 182)
  10. John Greenleaf Whittier letter regarding the progress of anti-slavery movements in the United States, July 10, 1844 (CN 190)
  11. Dorothy Wordsworth letter to Catherine (Buck) Clarkson, May 10, 1808 (CN 201)

This collection complements the Clarkson Papers in the British Library (Add. Mss. 41262-41267). Both groups of papers were consulted by Earl Leslie Griggs in the preparation of his biography, Thomas Clarkson: the Friend of Slaves (London : Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1936).

Biographical / historical:

Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), the English philanthropist, devoted the major portion of his life to the cause of the abolition of slavery. His energy in organizing anti-slavery societies throughout England helped to arouse the attention of the English people to the inhumanity of the institution of slavery.

Acquisition information:

The bulk of the collection purchased from Eric M. Bonner, 1949.

The following items were purchased from Maggs Bros. (Cat. 811, items 298-300), 1952, and received in library in 1953: CN 31; CN 33; CN 36; CN 38; CN 39; CN 48; CN 51; CN 52; CN 53; CN 56; CN 67; CN 74; CN 89; CN 96; CN 99; CN 117; CN 122; CN 124; CN 125; CN 147; CN 184; CN 191; CN 193; CN 194; CN 196; CN 197; CN 198; CN 200; CN 206.

Arrangement:

The collection is chiefly arranged chronologically, followed by 4 pieces of ephemera and 1 volume:

  1. Box 1: 1787-1818
  2. Box 2: 1819-1823
  3. Box 3: 1824-1842
  4. Box 4: 1843-1900 and ephemera
  5. Box 5: [Volume] Accounts of efforts to abolish slavery (approximately 1839).
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Thomas Clarkson papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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