Include letters written by him to his wife and family describing his voyage to California in 1849 and his work as official reporter for the state constitutional convention, and some addressed to his publishers and business associates; letters to him, some as government agent and as minister to China; journal of his 1842 whaling cruise; manuscripts and printed copies of some of his writings, including those re his diplomatic career in China; miscellaneous papers re government appointments, land holdings, royalties, etc.; papers re his service as minister to China, 1868-1869. Also included: papers of his wife, Lucy, his son, Spencer, and his daughter-in-law, Lucy, including material on China; and papers of his grandson, Spencer C. Browne, Jr., and his wife, Lina Fergusson Browne.

J. Ross Browne - author, journalist, traveller, government servant - was born near Dublin, Ireland on February 11, 1821. His father, Thomas Egerton Browne, a crusading Irish editor and publisher, emigrated to America with his family in 1833, after his prison sentence for sedition had been commuted by the British Crown to banishment. The family settled eventually near Louisville, Kentucky, where the elder Browne became editor and proprietor of the Louisville Daily Reporter.

Number of containers: 3 boxes, 5 cartons, 6 oversize folders

Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection is open for research.