University of Sheffield Library. Special Collections and Archives
Ref: MS 19, 25, 69, 172, 249
Title: Montgomery Manuscripts
Scope: Papers of James Montgomery (1771-1854), Sheffield journalist and poet.
Dates: c.1800-1850
Level: Fonds
Extent: 4 boxes
Administrative / biographical history:
The collection includes reminiscences of Montgomery, poems and manuscripts by him, printed works and illustrations. Also included is a scrapbook entitled “Negro’s album of the Sheffield Anti-Slavery Society, 1828”, and material by and about Montgomery assembled by Mary Anne Rawson (née Read).
James Montgomery was born at Irvine in Ayrshire on November 4th, 1771. His father, John Montgomery, was born in Ballykennedy, County Antrim, in 1733. He converted to the Moravian faith and became a minister, married a member of the Moravian community in 1768, and moved to Irvine to take charge of the Moravian congregation there just before James’ birth. He returned to Ireland in 1775, and in 1777 James was sent to a Moravian school at Fulneck, near Leeds. His parents travelled as missionaries to Barbados in 1783, where his father died of yellow fever in 1791, his mother having died the previous year. James left school to become apprenticed to a shopkeeper, but an attempt to make his way in London failed, and he returned to South Yorkshire, where he was appointed assistant editor to the Sheffield Register, to which he contributed extensively. Joseph Gales, the proprietor and editor of the Register, an ardent reformer, got into political trouble and absconded to America, enabling Montgomery to take over as editor. In an effort to disarm the hostility of the Government he changed the name of the Register to the Iris, and adopted a more moderate political line. In 1795, it became the property of Montgomery, who also entered into business as a general printer. Montgomery underwent two prosecutions for libel, instituted as a means of intimidating the Sheffield political clubs, each time being convicted and committed to York Prison. For some time, the Iris was the only newspaper in Sheffield, but Montgomery paid more attention to his poetry than to journalism, other newspapers came into existence, and eventually the Iris passed into other hands. The Wanderer of Switzerland of 1806, based on the French conquest of Switzerland, attracted public attention, and its success brought him a commission in 1809 from the printer Bowyer to write a poem on the abolition of the slave trade - The West Indies, which gained great popularity. Later poems included The World before the Flood (1812), Greenland (1819) and The Pelican Island (1826). He also produced numerous hymns, including “Angels from the Realms of Glory”, “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” and “Songs of Praise the Angels Sang”. Montgomery lived in Sheffield for 62 of his 83 years, and in later years was accounted a local hero, having devoted himself to religious and philanthropic undertakings. He died on 30th April 1854, and was honoured with a public funeral. A monument designed by John Bell was erected over his grave in the Sheffield Cemetery, and now stands beside Sheffield’s Anglican Cathedral. (Notes on James Montgomery based the article by Richard Garnett in the Dictionary of National Biography).
Mary Anne Rawson (1801-1887) was, in the words of Mr. R.E. Wilson “a lady of much culture and charm”. She was the daughter of Joseph Read (1774-1837), a Sheffield businessman who also had interests in Chesterfield. The Reads, according to John Holland, “had long been endeared to Montgomery on the grounds of personal piety and general benevolence”. Joseph Read had been associated with Montgomery and John Pye-Smith in their efforts to disseminate liberal principles; and it was Read and his brother who had contributed towards Montgomery’s legal expenses at the time of his trial in 1795. Until financial misfortune overtook them in the 1830s, the Read family lived at Wincobank Hall. They then moved into a more modest residence in Sheffield itself; but after the death of her father, Mrs. Rawson was able to purchase the Hall and reinstate her family there. In 1828, she married William Rawson of Nottingham. Part of the Rawsons’ married life was spent in apartments in Nottingham Castle; and from Nottingham they paid visits to Ockbrook (near Derby) where Ignatius Montgomery, the poet’s brother was a Moravian minister. But William Rawson died prematurely in 1829, leaving Mary Anne with one daughter, “my Elizabeth” (1828-1862).
Mrs. Rawson was a person of great fortitude as well as charm. The tribulations of her life do not seem to have affected her naturally public-spirited turn of mind. For a time, she and her sister provided an income for the family by running a private school at Wincobank Hall. Later she helped to raise funds to build a school on the Hall grounds; at the opening of this in 1841 a hymn especially composed by Montgomery (“A children’s temple here we build”) was sung. Mrs. Rawson was also very active in Sunday School work, and supported a number of philanthropic concerns. Her connection with the Association for the Universal Abolition of Slavery has been discussed by Professor N.B. Lewis in a paper on “The Abolitionist Movement in Sheffield, 1823-1833”, and her feeling for the “missionary spirit” pervades the correspondence she had with Montgomery concerning the labours of their mutual friend George Bennet who served as a missionary in the South Seas. Mrs. Rawson was an enthusiastic advocate of the Ladies’ Hibernian School Society (founded in 1823 as part of a scheme for ameliorating the condition pf the lower classes among the Irish population), and supported Montgomery in his efforts on behalf of the chimney-sweeping boys, to whom he gave an annual breakfast at the Cutlers’ Hall.
To the Read family, James Montgomery appeared to be the perfect philanthropist, so comprehensive was his knowledge of the possible fields of endeavour, and so fervid the religious feeling behind his day-to-day transactions. Mrs Rawson was struck by his conscientiousness and consistency: “Most men in business satisfy themselves with giving their name and their guineas to a benevolent society. Not so Montgomery. He was not content to give the sanction of his name as a ‘sleeping member’ of a committee, but where he gave his name, he really worked, heart and hand”. As it happens, there were some points of difference between Mrs. Rawson and her revered friend, who once said that she had “such extreme notions – such extreme views”. She, for instance, was in favour of total abstinence, demanded the immediate abolition of slavery everywhere, and insisted on the removal of the death penalty. She was also uneasy when she discovered that certain of the Moravians were guilty of complicity over the question of the slave traffic. But in spite of these matters, her respect for the “Christian advocate” remained unabated.
The pages of Mrs. Rawson’s material about Montgomery throw light on three main aspects of his life – his private affairs, his public work and his literary interests. In the course of the material, Mrs. Rawson makes many references to Montgomery’s work as a zealous social reformer, practical philanthropist and platform orator. Convinced of Montgomery’s essential moral goodness, she strove to magnify all his works, and to minister – effectively, but without presumption – to his general physical and spiritual welfare. His death drew from her many sanctimonious expressions of regard for “dear Mr. Montgomery”: what, she wondered, would Sheffield do without the man who had been the moving spirit in so many worthy causes? For her the question was something more than a merely rhetorical one. She had lost a friend whose place could not be taken by any living person; her collection is a tribute to the fact that for many years she helped James Montgomery to overcome a few of the limitations placed upon him by his environment and provided him with some of the intellectual stimulus which only genuine friendship can call into existence. (Notes on Mary Anne Rawson based on the article written by E.D. Mackerness – “Mary Anne Rawson and the “Memorials of James Montgomery”’. Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, Vol. VIII, Part 4, 1962).
Source: By donation and purchase from various sources.
System of arrangement: As acquired
Subjects: Slavery; Journalists - Great Britain - Sheffield.
Names: Sheffield Register; Iris (Sheffield); Rawson, Mary Anne; Sheffield Anti-Slavery Society; Sheffield, Eng.
Conditions of access: Available to all researchers, by appointment
Finding aids: Listed Itemised listing
[Box 1]
Section 1 (MS 69)
“Negro’s Album of the Sheffield Anti-Slavery Society, [Sheffield], 1828”. 264 x 215 mm. Bound in decorated imitation leather. Spine lettered “Album”. On p. [i], a manuscript slip in ink: “N 1. Sheffield Female Anti-Slavery Society[.] It is particularly requested that no book belonging to this Society be transferred from one member to another, without informing the Librarian – that so a correct entry may always be kept when, & to whom each book be lent.” On p.[ii], coloured lithograph of a slave begging, with subscriptions “Allport Lithog.” and “E. Wright delt.” The title is surrounded by a coloured decoration of foliage.
The volume is in the form of a scrapbook, the first third, generally speaking, consisting of printed matter, and the rest of manuscript contributions in prose and verse by a number of different people. There are several illustrations and ornaments.
Montgomery’s contributions are as follows: “Extracts from “A Voyage round the World”” (5 verses, beginning “The West Indies I behold…”); “Giant Despair visited in his Castle”, with the following preface, signed by Montgomery and dated 29 July 1828: “The above formidable title may with great propriety be given to the following humble and affecting narrative, in which a simple-minded disciple of the meek and lowly Jesus ventured, in his Master’s name, to encounter a personage not less cruel and unrelenting to miserable negroes that fell into his clutches, than Giant Despair himself was to unfortunate Pilgrims whom he found trespassing on his grounds”; “Africa imploring Britain to send her Children the Gospel”, a poem subscripted by Montgomery’s signature, the date Sheffield 1829, and a note: “The above lines were written in the Album of the Revd. Barnabas Shaw, Missionary to South Africa …” Some lines from his “West Indies” are not in Montgomery’s hand.
In full, the Album includes:
Image and verse from William Cowper’s ‘The Morning Dream’
Image and lines from William Cowper’s ‘The Task’
“An Extract from Colonel Arthur’s Letter”
Engraving “O my great massa in heaven. Pity me and bless my children”
Image and description of the Spanish Schooner, Josefa Maracayera, of 900 tons, 21 seamen, belonging to the Havannah, captured by the driver, Capt. Wolrige, in the Bight of Benin, on the Coast of Africa, on the 19th of 8th mo. (Aug.) 1822, with 216 male slaves on board
Supplement to the [Jamaica] Royal Gazette, Vol. XLV, no. 25, from Saturday 14 June to Saturday 21 June 1823 “Negro slavery. Argument that the colonial slaves are better off than the British easantry, answered from the Royal Jamaica Gazette, by Thomas Clarkson”
Manuscript poem “Home” “copied for the friend of Africa, James Montgomery, by Samuel Bundy. Aged 10 years, pupil in the African Free School, Lombard Street, Philadelphia”
Engraving and text “Reasons for the abolition of slavery”
Manuscript poem “Love” “copied for the friend of Africa, James Montgomery, by Francis Chew, a pupil in the African Free School, Lombard Street, Philadelphia”
Engraving and text from the Royal Gazette of Jamaica, 18 Sep 1824
Letter to the Devizes Gazette, 10 Sep 1825, entitled “Slavery in the British West Indies”
“The West Indies as they are; or a real picture of slavery, but more particularly as it exists in the island of Jamaica” by the Rev. Richard Bickell (from the Christian Observer Mar 1825)
Engraving “The driver’s whip unfolds its torturing coil. She only sulks – go lash her to her toil”
Manuscript poem “And from the pray’r of want and plaint of woe” (James Beattie)
“Chart of the world … illustrative of the impolicy of slavery”
Ladies’ Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves – Card explanatory of the contents of the Society’s work bags
Advertisement from Jamaica Gazette, 3 Jul 1824
Manuscript poems about [Granville] Sharp, [William] Wilberforce, [Thomas] Clarkson
Manuscript poem “The martyr’s grave”
“Slavery inconsistent with the Christian religion” (manuscript) by ? Smith
“Thoughts British on colonial slavery” (manuscript) by William H. Vale, 30 Sep 1828
Manuscript poem “Deplorable condition of the sons of Africa” by Frederic Fysh, 29 Aug 1833
Manuscript poem “Slavery’s prayer and freedom’s response”, by John Holland, 22 May 1828
“Christianity – the advocate of freedom” (manuscript) by James Knight, 13 Jun 1828
Manuscript text by Edward Goodwin, 23 Jun 1828 Manuscript extract from the speech of Daniel Bryan, in the Senate of Virginia. Decorated with images of flowers
Manuscript “The blessings of freedom” by M.B., 19 Jul 1828
Manuscript “The humble attempt of a foe to slavery, to excite the friends of freedom to greater exertions, in promoting the liberation of the poor negroes, in the British colonies”, by Joseph Hudson, 30 Sep 1828
Manuscript “Description of Regents-town” (Sierra Leone), 1820
Manuscript extracts from “A voyage around the world” by James Montgomery
Pencil sketch and manuscript poem “The piccaninny’s petition”, by Samuel Roberts, 2 Aug 1828
Manuscript text by Arnold James Knight, 10 Oct 1828
Extract from JM’s poems “Freighted with curses was the bark that bore…”
Manuscript poem “The slave ship”, and text, by Mary Sterndale, 5 Oct 1828
Manuscript poem from Catharine Read, Nov 1828
Manuscript “outline of the history of Hayti…”
Manuscript poem “The Captive”
Printed engraving and poem “The negro mother’s appeal”
Manuscript poem “Africa imploring Britain to send her children the gospel”, by JM, 1829
Sketch and manuscript extract from Denman’s speech, May 1828
Manuscript “Facts and testimonials to human tyranny”, by ? Craig, Jun 1829
Manuscript sonnets by Mrs. R. Taylor, Christmas 1829
Manuscript poem by Richard William Hamilton, 3 Jan 1830
Manuscript “Moral degradation of slaves and slave-holders”, by Edward Baines, 13 Apr 1830
Manuscript text by Thomas Scales, 1828
Pencil sketch
Manuscript extract from a poem by Revd. Jones, 5 Jun 1832
Manuscript “Lines by S. Buckley”, 5 Oct 1831 Manuscript poem “Negro slavery”, by Geo. Thompson, 9 Jul 1832
Manuscript text by Charles J. Jewell?, 27 Jul 1832
Engraving and poem “While this tawny Ethiop prayeth…”, by Charles Lamb
Manuscript poem “An appeal in behalf of the slaves” by Frederic Fysh, 30 Aug 1833
Manuscript poem “I join with willing heart and hand…”, 8 Mar 1838
Manuscript extract from JM’s “West Indies”, 17 Dec 1838
Pencil Sketch
Pencil sketch and manuscript “The dying slave to his master”, by Dr. D. Thompson
Image with text “Oh! let not my unoffending children endure …”, from C. Stewart
Engraving “The year of release is at hand”
Loose in pocket at front of volume: Photograph of John Brown with inscription Extract from a letter from the Cape of Good Hope Ladies’ Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves – Card explanatory of the contents of the Society’s work bags and albums “Table exhibiting the manner in which the propositions of the Government have been carried into effect” Anti-Slavery Monthly Reporter no. 16, 30 Sep 1826
Loose in pocket at back of volume Drawing of a tread-mill scene in Jamaica Anti-Slavery dial Note from R. Mallinson to M.A. Rawson, Wincobank
Section 2 (MS 69)
“A Treasury of pen and pencil memorials of absent friends”. Wincobank, Sheffield, 1821- 1829. 208 x 170 mm. Bound in light brown leather, with decorated spine and covers. Title in pencil, manuscript, with superscription “Mary Anne Read, Wincobank”. The volume consists of contributions from various friends and acquaintances of Mary Anne Read, in prose, verse or quotation. There are manuscript notes and directions in her hand, as well as several sketches.
Montgomery’s offering is a four-page poem: “A Fable”, beginning “A Star would be a Flower; So down from heaven it came …” It is signed and dated 31 May 1823. This poem does not appear elsewhere
The volume includes: Text by M.P. (Rev. Maurice Phillips, Minister of Zion Attercliffe Congregational Church), 12 Jul 1821
Poem “Winco Wood”, by D. Ball, Governess at Wincobank Hall, 18 Jul 1821
Coloured picture of orange and apple
Poem “written after hearing a sermon on Luker 7:35”, by E.S. (Ebenezer Smith, Grandfather of Mary Anne Read), 21 Aug 1821
Poem “To my sister”, by Elizabeth Read, 31 Aug 1821
Poem beginning “My Mary Ann, you ask a line”, by J.B., Feb 1822
Text by H.H.C., May 1822
Pencil sketch of Norton House, Derbyshire, the residence of “my uncle and birthplace of my sister Eliza”
Poem “A Fable”, by James Montgomery, 31 May 1823
Text, by David Bogue, 15 Aug 1823
Text by Samuel Bottomley, 15 Sep 1823
Text by N. Townley, Jun 1824
Text by Robert Hall, 18 May 1825
Coloured picture of country scene, by I.R. Walker
Text by E. Rawson, 11 Jan 1826
Coloured picture of river and hills, by I.R.W.
Poem by Richard Cecil, 24 Aug 1824
Poem “alluding to the preceding piece”, by G.B. Kidd, 24 Feb 1825
Text by Greville Ewing and B. Ewing, 7 Nov 1824
Text by Jane Cathcart
Poem by Ann Gilbert, 26 Feb 1825
Poem by Jos. Gilbert, 26 Apr 1826
Text by J.A. James, 30 Jun 1825
Pencil sketch of Worcester, by Emily Selfe Page, 30 Aug 1825
Manuscript verse about, and pencil sketch of, Thomas Clarkson, by John Rawson Poem by T.R.B., 10 Jan 1826
Text by Carlos von Bülow, 6 Feb 1826
Manuscript “Verses of a hymn in the Sandwich Island language”, by Mika Eliki and Mr. Ellis, 26 Mar 1826
Text from L.B., 17 Mar 1827
Text from W.H.B., 17 Mar 1827
Poem “To the slave”, by Rich. Wm. Hamilton, 29 Mar 1827
Text by David Parker, 23 Jul 1827
Text by E. Carey, 17 Sep 1827
Poem based on Psalm 23, “composed for a child”
Manuscript verse by Josiah Conder, 24 Sep 1827
Poem “The Shipwrecked Sinner”, by J. Marchman?, 13 Oct 1827
Poem by Mary M. Ellis, 2 Dec 1827
Poem “To Miss M.A. Read on the anniversary of her birthday”, by W.E., 22 Nov 1827
Text by Emily Vale, 6 Feb [1828]
Text by William H. Vale, 5 Feb 1828
Text by Joseph Gilbert, 11 Oct 1828
Poem by Ann Gilbert, 11 Oct 1828
Pencil sketch and text on Friar Lane Chapel, Nottingham, by Joseph Gilbert and Isaac Taylor
Text by Thomas Raffles, 17 Apr 1828
Poem by Isaac Taylor, 30 Apr 1828
Text by Frances Greaves, 1 Oct 1828
Text and verse by Elizabeth Kidd
Text by Joseph Read, 4 Oct 1828
Text by Catharine, 4 Oct 1828
Text by Elizabeth Killingley, 6 Oct 1828 Text by J. Mitchell Davidson, 7 Oct 1828
Text by Edwin Read, 10 Oct 1828
Poem “The Human Heart”, by Mary Howitt, Oct 1828
Text and poem by Elizabeth Read, 13 Oct 1828
Poem, written by Mrs. Gilbert
Poem, by Thomas Raffles, 15 Oct 1828
Text, by S.W. Daukes, 17 Oct 1828
Text by ?Eliza Clarkson
Text by R.C., 11 Jun 1829
Section 3 (MS 69)
[Album of drawings of residences, landscapes, etc., mostly in the Sheffield area, by various artists]. [Wincobank ?], n.d. 230 x 300 mm. Bound in reddish-brown simulated and embossed leather with decorated edges and spine. Spine labelled “Scrap Book”.
The album, presumably put together by Mary Anne Rawson herself, contains nothing which can be ascribed to Montgomery. There are 21 drawings, as follows:
Norton House (J. Goole). Pencil
Norton House, Oct 1820. October (F.L.C.) [i.e. Francis Chantrey]. Pencil
Norton Church. Pencil
Norton Church (Blore). Pencil
Interior of [Norton ?] church (Blore). Pencil
Norton Hall (L. Shore), July 1823. Pencil
Derwent Hall. Pencil
Ivy House near Teignmouth. Pencil
[Coastal (harbour) scene, probably Teignmouth]. Watercolour
Wortley Hall, 1818. Pencil
[Hall]. Watercolour
[Hall]. Watercolour Matlock [Bath] (F.L. Chantrey), 13 November 1818. Pencil
[Landscape, possible near Matlock]. Pencil
[Hall]. Watercolour
[River scene with church] (J. Goole). Pencil
[Landscape with monastery ?]. Pencil
Labelled “Hardwick Hall? No ?Bolsover”. Pencil Most likely Bolsover Castle
The Island, Loch Katrine. Watercolour
Near the Barracks, Newcastle (R. Turner), August 1843. Medium uncertain
Labelled “Is this Radford? Yes. Where – was born”. Pencil
[Box 2]
Section 4 (MS 69)
“Memorials of James Montgomery, consisting of portraits, letters with explanatory notes, personal recollections, and notices of some of his friends. Collected and arranged by Mary- Anne Rawson”. [Wincobank], n.d. 305 x 250 mm. Bound in blue simulated quarter leather with dark brown spine and corners. Spine lettered “Autographs Montgomery”. Metal clasp.
Taped to f. [2b], a manuscript note: “On the death of Mrs. Rawson her nephew, John Wycliffe Wilson, inherited this book. From him it has passed to his son Talbot E.B. Wilson and then to a grandson. Elizabeth Rawson, referred to in the preface, died in 1862.”
The preface to this volume reads as follows: “Many of these records would be considered trivial and egotistical by strangers, but they are intended to be read by my own family only, to whom references to ourselves will not be altogether devoid of interest. I wrote to amuse myself, and began to arrange my recollections interspersed with Montgomery’s letters, at the suggestion of my Elizabeth. They were for her – who will care for them now. M.A.R.”
This fascinating scrapbook consists of the personal recollections of Mary Anne Rawson in the form of a continuous narrative, interspersed with portraits, drawings and memorabilia of Montgomery, including many of his original letters.
Specific items include:
1. James Montgomery aged 35 (engraved by H. Adlard, after a painting by Chantrey).
2. James Montgomery Esq. (painted by J.R. Smith; engraved by C. Turner)
3. James Montgomery aged 55 (engraved by H. Adlard, from a painting by John Jackson R.A.) 4. James Montgomery, author of “The world before the flood”, “Songs of Zion”, &c.” (T.H. Ilidge; F.A. Roberts)
5. Silhouette of JM, with note beneath: “A pilgrim faint he seemed, with holy air, As tho’ he’d spent the night in secret prayer; And rising, felt a calm so sweet and deep That it was rest more permanent than sleep.” D.B.
6. [Picture of JM] “from the bust in the Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield
7. The late James Montgomery, the poet. Painted by R. Smith, from the exhibition of the Royal Academy
8. Photograph of bust of JM. (W. Ellis sculp, A. Haybal photo). “Finished Feb 1854 – in the Sheffield Infirmary”. “Aged 82”
9- Handwritten recollections by Mary-Anne Rawson, also including:
14. Engraving of Lovers’ Walk, Matlock, Derbyshire
17. Hand-coloured pencil drawing of church, houses, trees
18. Engraving of Romantic Rocks, Matlock Bath, Derbyshire
19a. Drawing of church, trees, houses
19b. Engraving of Matlock, Derbyshire
24. Letter from JM, 1 Feb 1814
26. Letter from JM, [n.d.] and letter from D. Ball, 14 Dec 1816
32. Watercolour of country scene
36. Letter from Elizabeth Read, 12 Jul 1854
41. Letter from JM, 27 Oct 1828
42. Photograph of Wharncliffe
43. Watercolour of Wharncliffe from nature, D.J.
44. “The little cloud” (poem)by JM, 30 Jun 1818
52. Engraving of church
57. Printed copy of “Hymns on prayer”
59. Letter from JM, 9 Jan 1821
60. Pencil sketch of Sharrow Head by Samuel Ford Rawson
62. Letter from JM, 31 May 1825 67. Engraving of the Iris Office, Hartshead, Sheffield
75. Letters from Sir Arnold Knight, Thomas Smith, Mary Roberts
76. Letter (indecipherable signature)
79. Printed sheet about The Montgomery Fund, 11 Nov 1825
80. Engraving of “Montgomery, Moravian Mission Station, Tobago, West Indies”
88. Pencil sketch “Body and soul”. “Soul managed to cheat us, and laughed at the trick, While Body, poor Body, gaped till he was sick”
89. Letter from JM, 16 Feb 1828
91. Letters from JM, 27 Mar [?], 5 May 1819, [n.d.]
92. Letter from JM, 21 Dec 1820
93. Letter from JM, 13 Jan 1821
94. Printed sheet publicising sermon to be preached by the Rev. George Thom in Howard Street Chapel, in behalf of the Missions of the United Brethren, 24 May 1821
95. Letter from JM, 14 Mar 1821
97. Letters from JM, 7 Apr 1821, 12 Apr 1821
99-105. Letters from JM, 4 Dec 1826, 11 Jun 1825, 21 May 1822, 13 Apr 1824, 22 Jun 1825, 20 Apr 1825, 24 Jul 1826
107. Letter from JM, 24 Jul 1826
109-111. Letters from JM, 3 Aug 1826, 16 Oct 1826, 5 Oct 1827
113. Letter from JM, 27 Oct 1827. Also small decorated card
115. Letter from JM, 29 Nov 1826, on reverse of printed sheet concerning the case of the Rev. James Mather
116. Letter from JM, 2 Apr 1827
117. Note from JM, 21 Jul 1827
120. Note referring to Bible passage, by ? Montgomery, 25 Feb 1828
121. Verse written by M.A. Montgomery, 25 Feb 1828
124. Note headed “Fredk Wm Foster”, with verse and dated 2 Jul 1828
127. Perpetual ticket for Montgomery Gallery – The world before the flood 128-129. Letters from JM, 19 Jan 1830, 3 May 1830
132. Letters from JM, [n.d.], 16 Sep 1831
134. Letter from JM, 28 Apr 1832, with “A Benediction for a Baby” (2 copies)
138. Printed copy of “Hymns to be sung on the Day of Humiliation, Wed August 2, 1832” (by JM)
139. Engraving of Sheffield Cholera Monument
140. Printed copy of “Cholera Monument on the Burial Ground in Sheffield Park: extracts from minutes of proceedings of the last Board of Health, established by Authority, in the month of July 1832 and dissolved on the 27th August 1834”. Includes “The Cholera Mount: lines on the burying place for patients who have died of cholera morbus…” by JM, 29 Sep 1832
142. Letters from JM, 24 Oct 1833, 12 Dec 1834, 27 Sep 1833
143. Letter from JM, 25 Apr 1835
144. Verses “In the hour of trial…”, by JM, 25 Apr 1835
145. Printed Syllabus of a course of four lectures on British poets … by JM
146. Letters from JM, 30 Jan 1836, 30 Jul 1836
148. Pastel drawing of rocky shore and cliffs
152. Letter from JM, 12 Aug 1836
157. Letter from JM, [n.d.]
158. Engraving of Haiburn Wyke
162. Engraving of Barbican gate and keep, Scarborough Castle
167. JM verses – Isaiah 54:10, 21 May 1837
168-170. Letters from JM, 21 May 1837 with verses on Habakkuk 3: 17-18, 28 Nov 1837, 17 Jul 1838
174. Letter from JM, 15 May 1838
179. Printed copy of “Coronation ode” by JM … to celebrate the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, 28 Jun 1838
180. Printed leaflet concerning The Aged Female Society by JM, 25 Jun 1838
184. Letter from JM, 29 Jun 1838
186. Letters from JM, 17 Jul 1838, 1 Aug 1838 189. Letter from JM, 8 Dec 1840
190. Letter from JM with “Hymn for the Chapel and School House at Wincobank, to be opened December 1840”; also letter from JM, 7 Apr 1841
191. Printed copy of Montgomery’s hymn for Wincobank School, and also one by Ann Gilbert. Dated 13 Apr 1841
202. Letter from JM, 2 Mar 1842; also from S. Gales, 3 Mar 1842
203. Verses – “The Dying Child’s Request” by JM, 16 May 1842
204. Letters from JM, 29 May 1842, 18 May 1842
208. Letter from JM, 20 Jun 1842
210. Letters from JM, 10 Jun 1842, 21 Jul 1842
211. Engraving of Irvine
215. Verse by JM “In memory of the Revd. J.W.H. Pritchard”
216. Letters from JM, [9 Dec 1842], 28 Feb 1843
217. Engraving of The Mount, Sheffield
218. Letter from JM, 29 Oct 1845
213. Letters from JM, 27 Oct 1847 (x2)
215. Letter from JM, 13 Jul 1849
216. Printed verse “On planting a tree at the Mount”, 3 Nov 1849, by JM
217. Letter from JM, 15 Jan 1850
219. Letter from JM, 1 Jul 1850
221. Letter from JM, 11 Sep 1850
225. Letter from JM, 4 Aug 1851
227. Newspaper cutting marking JM’s 80th Birthday
228. Printed “Testimonial of respect and esteem to James Montgomery Esq.” – requesting funds for “a friendship’s offering to JM on his birthday”
229. Letters from JM, 4 Nov 1851, [n.d.]
232. Letter from JM, 9 Jan 1852
236. Letter from JM, 4 Aug 1852 244. Letter from JM, 10 Jun 1853
251. Photograph
258. Letter from JM, 1 Nov 1853
271. Newspaper cuttings re. death of JM, his funeral, and his final hymn composition
281. Newspaper cutting re. funeral sermons for JM
282. Printed “Order of the Procession on the occasion of the Funeral of the late James Montgomery Esq.”, 11 May 1854
283. Engraving of Sheffield General Cemetery
284. Words and music for “Hymn sung at the funeral of James Montgomery Esq.”
285. Black-edged card “In memory of James Montgomery” … “with Miss Gales and the family’s respects”
286-287. Handwritten poem “The poet’s funeral” written by Mrs. Earnshaw, the wife of the Rev. John Earnshaw, minister of Zion Chapel, Attercliffe.
289. Printed “Ode on the death of James Montgomery” by J.W. King
291. Letter and sermon notes from F.J. Falding, 25 May 1854
298. Engraving of “monument proposed to be erected over the grave of Montgomery in the Sheffield Cemetery, from the design of John Bell, sculptor” and admittance card to view the model sketch of the monument at the Cutlers’ Hall, 21, 22 and 23 Sep 1854
299. Printed description of sketch model of Montgomery Memorial, by John Bell
303. Handwritten poem by Mrs. Earnshaw “On gathering a daisy from the poet’s grave”, and 3 newscuttings, 2 re. the inauguration of the Montgomery Monument (July 1861) and one a poem to JM dated Jan 1861
305. Printed appeal for subscriptions for the Montgomery Monument, 4 May 1857
306. Photograph of the Montgomery Monument, by Theophilus Smith
308. Printed catalogue of the Library of Jas. Montgomery Esq. “which will be sold by auction by Schofield and Son on Wednesday and Thursday 21st and 22nd June 1854”
309-310. Letter and notes from Dr. James
312. Engraving of Sarah Gales 313. Black-edged card in remembrance of Sarah Gales who died on 18 Feb 1857, and black-edged newspaper cutting reporting the death of the Rev. John James Montgomery, dated 26 Mar 1857
315. Letter from S. Gales, and 3 newspaper cuttings reporting the death of Sarah Gales
319. Silhouettes of George Bennet, Rowland Hodgson, James Montgomery and Samuel Roberts: “The four friends”
320. Engravings of Samuel Roberts aged 85, and James Everett
321. Letter from Samuel Roberts, 17 Apr 1833
323. Letters from Rowland Hodgson, 6 Apr 1820, 26 Sep [?}
324. Engraving of George Bennet
325. Printed notice announcing the death of George Bennet, 13 Nov 1841
326. Printed “Memoir of the late George Bennet Esq.” from The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle for Feb 1842
328. Letter from E. Rhodes, 24 Feb 1821
330. Small engraving labelled Chantrey.
332. Engraving of the Revd. Thos. Smith, classical tutor of Rotherham Academy, Apr 1824
333. Letter from Thomas Smith, 11 Aug 1824
334. “Stanzas written after leaving Montgomery’s ‘Greenland’” by J. Holland, 19 May 1815
335. Letter from J. Holland, 19 Jan 1855
336. Engraving of John Holland
337. Printed card “The Missionary’s Burial” – poem written by JM
338. Printed card “The Field of the World” by James Montgomery Esq.
339. Printed card “The Stranger and his Friend” by James Montgomery “composed for the Ladies’ Bazaar in aid of the Leeds Dispensary”, 27 Dec 1826
340. Letter from JM, 16 Jun 1829, and letter from Rowland Hodgson, [n.d.]
341. Printed pamphlet – “Our Saviour’s Miracles; six sketches in verse” by James Montgomery (Bristol: Wright & Albright, 1840) 342. Letter from JM, 3 Mar 1839
343. Printed pamphlet “The Sand and the Rock” by James Montgomery (Liverpool, 1834)
344. Printed pamphlet “A Message from the Moon; and other poems” by James Montgomery (Liverpool, [n.d.])
345. Printed pamphlet: “Catalogue of the pictures in the Montgomery Gallery painted by Ian Rawson Walker, from the poem ‘The world before the flood’”
346. Printed copy of Proceedings of a public meeting for the purpose of establishing a Literary and Philosophical Society in Sheffield, held at the Cutlers’ Hall, 12 Dec 1822 (Sheffield, 1822). Includes JM’s speech
347. Printed pamphlet “The death of James Montgomery Esq. with a sketch of his life and an account of his public funeral (Sheffield: Leader, Independent Office, 1854)
348. 3 newspaper cuttings marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of James Montgomery, 4 Nov 1921
349. Printed booklet “The missionary society, a dialogue”
350. Small printed booklet marking the death of Stephen Chaloner, Jun 1849
351. Printed sheet with poem “Wincobank Hill” by John Nixon, Apr 1849
352. Loose pages with engravings from Montgomery’s works: “Captive nightingale”, “West Indies”, “Greenland”, “World before the flood” and “A mother’s love”
[Box 3]
Section 5 (MS 69)
“Poems on the abolition of the slave trade; written by James Montgomery, James Grahame, and E. Benger. Embellished with engravings from pictures painted by R. Smirke Esq. R.A. London. Printed for R. Bowyer, the Proprietor, Bo. 80, Pall Mall, by T. Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street. 1809”. [xxiv], ii, 141pp. illus. 294 x 235 mm. [Contents: “The West Indies, a poem. In four parts. By James Montgomery”; “Africa delivered; or, the Slave Trade abolished. A poem. By James Grahame”; “A poem, occasioned by the abolition of the slave trade, in 1806. By E. Benger”.
Bound in mid-brown buckram with foliate decorations on spine and covers. Spine lettered: “Poems on the Slave Trade”. On front cover: “Thy chains are broken, Africa, be free”. Loose inside front boards, a photograph, with, on verso in pencil: “? W. Wilberforce”. On fly-leaf, a pasted-in bookplate: “MAR [i.e. Mary Anne Rawson] Wincobank Hall, near Sheffield”. On p. [i], in pencil: “Miss Read will please to take care of this beautiful token of my valued friend’s kindness, until it may please God to permit me to have the happiness of seeing her again. Geo. Bennet. Highfield. March 20 1821. The verses and this were one present”. At head of title page, in ink: “To Mr. George Bennet, with the affectionate regards of his friend, J. Montgomery”.
A digitised copy of this book is available on the Internet Archive (University of California)
George Bennet, born in Sheffield in 1773, was an intimate friend of Montgomery, and has been described as “a gentleman of refined manners, high Christian principles, whose whole time and wealth were devoted to the service of humanity”. Together with Montgomery, he founded in 1812 the Sheffield Sunday School Union, of which for several years he was treasurer. In middle age, in the company of the Rev. Daniel Tyerman, he made a voyage round the world as a deputation from the London Missionary Society to visit their settlements in the Pacific Islands, Australia, India and South Africa. In eight years he travelled 90,000 miles. In 1844, Montgomery edited two large volumes descriptive of the voyages; also a poem “To my friend George Bennet of Sheffield on his intended visit to Tahiti and other islands of the South Seas”. Bennet donated a large collection of objects gathered on his journey to the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society; these were later given to Sheffield Museums. He was a generous supporter of religious and charitable institutions. He died suddenly in London on 13 November 1841.
Section 6 (MS 69)
A book box containing many items relating to Montgomery, including portraits, printed material, and manuscript letters. 310 x 250 mm. Mid-brown boards and spine. Spine lettered: “Autographs”.
Contains the following:
6/1 Notes about Montgomery from John Griscom’s A year in Europe (1823). Ms. 1 l.
6/2 “A benediction for a baby” by James Montgomery. Ms. 1 l.
6/3 Leaflet publicising a public meeting about Moravian Missions, 16 Feb 1837. Printed, with ms. address to “Joseph Read Esq.” and red seal on reverse. 1 l.
6/4 Cheering sunbeams : favourite hymns by James Montgomery (Edinburgh: James Taylor, [n.d.]). Printed. 32pp. Contains words to 21 hymns
6/5 Announcement of a sale of Moravian needlework, 12 Mar 1842. Printed, with red seal on reverse. 1 l. 6/6 Engraving of “Montgomery … Aged 82”. “Engraved by H. Adlard from a photograph of the marble bust by William Elliss in the Sheffield General Infirmary”. London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, [n.d.]. Printed. 1 l.
6/7 Leaflet publicising the formation of The Irish Aid Society for Sheffield and its Vicinity, established ion 22 May 1827. Printed. 3 l. Ms. address to Messrs J. Read & Co., Attercliffe Mills
6/8 Note “with J. Montgomery’s best respects to Miss Read, May 14 1825”. Ms. 1 l.
6/9 Letter to Mary Anne Rawson from John Holland, 2 Aug 1855. Ms. 4 l.
6/10 Letter from JM to Mr. W[illiam] Rawson at Sharrow Head, enclosing a newspaper cutting reporting on a Venetian geometrician , M. Scamarella, who claimed to have solved the problem of the quadrature of the circle. Dated 18 Apr 1822. Ms. & print. 1 l.
6/11 Letter from JM and Miss Gales thanking Mrs. Read and Mrs. Rawson for “their kind gift of strawberries”. From The Mount to Mrs. Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 14 Jul 1847. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/12 Second copy of “A benediction for a baby” by James Montgomery. Ms. 2 l.
6/13 Letter from JM to Miss Eliza Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 29 May 1824. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/14 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank. Dated 12 Apr 1824. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/15 Letter from JM to Miss Catharine Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 11 Mar 1850. Ms. 2 l.
6/16 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall. Dated 21 Jan 1827. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/17 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank. Dated 15 Apr 1825. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/18 Booklet “The Great Word: a poetical meditation” by John Clarke, with a preface by JM. Printed. 8pp.
6/19 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall. Dated 15 Nov ? Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/20 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall. Dated 21 May 1824. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/21 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank. Dated 26 Jul ? Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse 6/22 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank. Dated 22 Jul ? Ms. 2 l.
6/23 Letter from JM to Mrs. M.A. Rawson at Wincobank Hall. Dated 7 May 1832. Ms. 2 l.
6/24 “James Montgomery: a memoir political and poetical” by J.W. King. From the Athenaeum 6 Feb 1858. Ms. 1 l.
6/25 Pink card bearing the poem “The Field of the World” by James Montgomery. Printed. 1 l.
6/26 “A Winter-appeal from the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor to the benevolent of Sheffield and the neighbourhood”. Sent out by Edward Smith, the Treasurer, and James Montgomery, the Secretary. Dated 22 Jan 1833. Printed. 1 l.
6/27 “Retrospect of the origin and progress of the Brethren’s Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen and of its operations during the past hundred years”. By James Montgomery. Read at the Centenary Anniversary of the Society, on 19 Nov 1841. Printed. 16pp.
6/28 Letter from JM, probably to Joseph Read. Dated 16 Dec 1820. Ms. 1 l.
6/29 Invitation to Joseph Read Esq. and Mrs. Read at Wincobank Hall to attend the Annual Dinner for the Chimney Sweepers’ Boys at the Cutlers’ Hall on 7 Apr 1828. Printed and ms. 2 l.
6/30 Flier announcing two sermons to be preached by John James Montgomery for the Moravian Brethren’s Missions on 29 Nov 1835. Printed. 1 l.
6/31 Leaflet bearing the poem “The Stranger and his Friend” by James Montgomery. Printed. 2 l.
6/32 Booklet “Our Saviour’s Miracles: six sketches in verse” by James Montgomery (Bristol: Wright & Albright, 1840). Printed. 6 l.
6/33 Newspaper cutting of poem “To the memory of Jane Taylor of Ongar”. Dated 7 May 1824. Printed. 1 l.
6/34 Invitation to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall to attend the Annual Dinner for the Chimney Sweepers’ Boys at the Cutlers’ Hall on 31 Mar 1834. Printed and ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
6/35 Booklet containing “Hymns selected chiefly for prayer-meetings 1843”. Ms. 10 l.
6/36 Engraving of James Montgomery as a young man. Printed. 1 l.
6/37 Letter from J. Julian at Topcliffe Vicarage, Thirsk, giving the information that the Montgomery manuscripts are “in the possession of Mr. J.H. Brammall of the Sheffield and Rotherham Bank, Church Street, Sheffield”. Dated 1 Oct 1907. Ms. 1 l.
6/38 Cardboard folder labelled “Recollections of Montgomery”: /1 Letter from JM to Mrs. Rawson at Wincobank Hall dated 15 Aug 1843. Ms. 2 l. Black seal on reverse
/2 Letter from JM to “The Missionary Association at Wincobank in the care of Mrs. Read”. Dated 20 Mar 1826. Ms. 2 l.
/3 Letter from JM to Mrs. Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 28 Jul 1842. Ms. 2 l.
/4 Letter from JM to Miss Read, Wincobank Hall. Dated 8 Sep 1841. Ms. 2 l. Black seal on reverse
/5 Letter from JM to Mrs. Read at Wincobank. Dated 17 Jun 1825. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/6 Letter from JM to Miss Read and her sisters, Wincobank Hall. Dated 22 Oct 1827. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/7 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. Dated 24 Oct 1833. Ms. 1 l. Red seal on reverse
/8 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall. Undated. Ms. 1 l.
/9 Letter from JM to Mrs. M.A. Rawson at Wincobank Hall. Dated 25 Jul 1832. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/10 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank. Dated 15 Apr 1829. Ms. 1 l.
/11 Letter from Jm to Joseph Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 24 Oct 1829. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/12 Letter from JM to Miss Read at Wincobank. Dated 22 Mar 1826. Ms. 1 l.
/13 Letter from JM to Miss Eliza Read at Wincobank and Joseph Read Esq. Dated 25 May 1825. Ms. 1 l.
/14 Letter from JM to unknown recipient. Dated 20 Aug 1827. Ms. 1 l.
/15 Letter from JM to unknown recipient. Dated 6 Aug 1821(?) Ms. 1 l.
/16 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall. Dated 12 Oct 1827. Ms. 1 l. Red seal on reverse
/17 Letter from JM to Miss Eliza Read at Wincobank. Dated 12 Jul 182? Ms. 1 l. Red seal on reverse
/18 Letter from JM to Joseph Read at Wincobank. Dated 12 Jul 1823. Ms. 1 l.
/19 Letter from JM to Mrs. Read at Wincobank. Dated 19 Jul 1825. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse /20 Letter from JM to Miss Eliza Read at Wincobank. Dated 26 Apr 1825. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/21 Letter from JM to Mrs. Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 25 Apr 1825. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/22 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank Hall. Dated 22 May 1827. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/23 Letter from JM to unknown recipient. Dated 23 Jan 1824. Ms. 1 l.
/24 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. Dated 15 Jun 1824. Ms. 1 l.
/25 Letter from JM to unknown recipient. Dated 22 Jan 1823. Ms. 1 l.
/26 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq at Wincobank Hall. Dated 2 Dec 1821. Ms. 2 l. Black seal on reverse
/27 Letter to Miss Read at Wincobank from Elizabeth Montgomery (JM’s niece). Dated 8 Dec 1820. Ms. 2 l.
/28 Letter to Miss Read from Elizabeth Montgomery. Dated 3 Feb 1821. Ms. 2 l.
/29 Letter from JM to Mrs. Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 7 Apr 1824. Ms. 1 l. Red seal on reverse
/30 Letter from JM to Mrs. Rawson at Wincobank Hall. Dated 11 Nov 1831. Ms. 2 l. Black seal on reverse
/31 Letter from JM to Joseph Read Esq. at Wincobank. Dated 9 Nov 1827. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/32 Letter from JM to Miss Read at Wincobank. Dated 27 Jun 1823. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/33 Letter from JM to unknown recipient. Dated 10 Feb 1834. Ms. 1 l.
/34 Letter from JM to Mrs. Read at Wincobank Hall. Dated 16 Feb 1833. Ms. 2 l. Red seal on reverse
/35 Newspaper cutting containing a letter from JM describing “The Escape of Mr. Gales in 1794”. Dated 3 Oct 1848. Printed. 1 l.
/36 Letter to JM from M. Ellis. Dated 7 Nov 1834. Ms. 3 l. Red seal on outer sheet, which JM has annotated as “Not received till the middle of December” and also forwards to “his kind friends at Wincobank” on 1 Jan 1835.
6/39 Cardboard folder labelled “Montgomery”. Contains notes of recollection about JM. Ms. 11 l. 6/40 Part of a printed booklet concerning the founding of a Literary and Philosophical Society in Sheffield, which alludes to JM. Printed; p.9-p. 31
6/41 The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent 6 May 1854. Contains obituary and remembrances of JM. Printed. 8pp.
6/42 Document addressed by JM to Mrs. Rawson at Wincobank Hall. Petition from Scarborough dated 28 Jan 1833 concerning the “Observance of the Lord’s Day”. Printed and ms. 2 l. Red seal on front
6/43 Letter from JM to Joseph Read. Dated 25 July 1827. Enclosing ms. document. Ms. 2 l.
6/44 Newspaper cutting reporting the death of Lord Byron. Dated 14 May [1824]. Printed. 1 l.
6/45 Newspaper cutting reporting the proposed Montgomery Monument. Dated 18 Oct 1856. Printed. 1 l.
6/46 Second newspaper cutting reporting on the proposed Montgomery Monument. Dated 18 Oct 1856. Printed. 1 l.
6/47 Order of the Procession on the occasion of the Funeral of the late James Montgomery Esq. at the Sheffield General Cemetery, 11th May 1854. Printed. 1 l.
6/48 Newspaper cutting giving the obituary of Lord Byron. Dated 18 May 1824. Printed. 1 l.
6/49 Newspaper cutting entitled “Corner Sketches No. 4: Hartshead”, mostly about JM. From The Sheffield Times, n.d. Printed. 1 l.
6/50 Envelope labelled “Montgomery Newspaper scraps” containing: cutting on the completion of the Montgomery Monument; cutting about the length in power of British Prime Ministers; cutting beginning “Fraser is very savage on Messrs. Holland and Everett for their interminable memoirs of Montgomery…”. Printed and ms. 4 l.
6/51 Letter from J.E. Rodgers to Mrs. Rawson at Wincobank Hall. Dated 26 Jan 1855. Ms. 9 l.
6/52 Miscellaneous notes about JM and memories of him, possibly in the hand of Mary Anne Rawson. Ms.
6/53 Four empty envelopes addressed to Miss Read/Mrs. Rawson, in JM’s hand. Ms. Two with seals on reverse
The provenance of items 1-6 (MS 69) is not wholly clear. A manuscript note tipped into item 4 reads: “On the death of Mrs. Rawson her nephew John Wycliffe Wilson inherited this book. from here it has passed to his son Talbot E.B. Wilson and then to a grandson …” The late Dr. Eric Mackerness, of the Department of English Literature in the University of Sheffield, says in his article ‘Mary Anne Rawson and the “Memorials of James Montgomery”’ (Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, Vol. VIII, Part 4, 1962) that the volume in question was at that time in the possession of Ronald E. Wilson. The University Library’s accessions register records the acquisition in 1964 of 5 volumes and 1 box of Montgomery material, but states that this was deposited by R.M Wilson. However, in spite of the absence of any corroborative evidence in the pages of the University’s annual reports, it seems most likely that items 1-6 were all presented by Ronald E. Wilson.
Wilson, who joined the Sheffield Smelting Company in 1913, joined the board in 1925, and became a director, was the great-great-great-grandson of John Read (1744-1803) who founded the company in 1760. Wilson was also a descendant of Mary Anne Rawson, and inherited the Montgomery memorabilia. He was also a noted writer of articles on local history, and author of “Two Hundred Precious Metal Years” (1960), issued on the occasion of the company’s bicentenary.
[Box 4]
Section 7 (MS 19)
A first printed edition of “The Pelican Island, and other poems …”; a manuscript fragment of part of the poem; an engraving of Montgomery; and 136 illustrations by John Holland Brammall. Dark blue box with, on spine, a yellow label lettered “James Montgomery. The Pelican Island. Montgomery Mss.” Inside cover, a label inscribed in manuscript: “Ms. fragment. James Montgomery. Engraving of J.M. “Pelican Island” by J.M. 136 illustrations by John Holland Brammall”. Date: Nov 18th 1929”.
7/1 Single sheet of paper with pencilled inscription “Pelican Island Ms.” On 1a, lower half contains a preliminary version of the first two stanzas of the first canto of “Pelican Island”. Top half contains four verses of a hymn beginning: “Heaven as a tent thy hand displayed…” On 1b, lower half contains another version of the first two stanzas of the first canto of “Pelican Island”, and top half the above-mentioned hymn, in pencil, at top of which, also in pencil, is written “Thorp Arch”.
7/2 Within a tray, an octavo-sized holder containing a first edition of “The Pelican Island”: “The Pelican Island, and other poems”, by James Montgomery … London: Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Greene, Paternoster Row, 1827. xii, 264pp. 16 cm. Bound in mid-brown buckram, with dark green corners and spine extensions. Gold-style embossed spine. Marbled edges. On front board-paper, a printed Sheffield University Library bookplate, with, in ink, accession number “11559 ”, and, in pencil, “*821.79”. In typescript: “Presented by Miss Ellen C. Shrewsbury”. n p. [i], in ink: “J.H. Brammall, The Mount, Sheffield”. In poor condition
7/3 In the main well of the box, a sheet of paper with a label inscribed: “136 illustrations of “Pelican Island”. By John Holland Brammall. Inscribed by the artist”. Each illustration has on verso the page number from the poem together with the relevant quotation.
7/4 In a folder, carrying a label inscribed “Engraving of James Montgomery from a portrait by Westoby”, a portrait measuring 124 x 96 mm. This is a threequarter left upper-half profile of Montgomery, right hand in coat, holding a book, with a copy of “The Pelican Island” at his side.
Item 7 (MS 19) was donated to the Library by a Miss Ellen C. Shrewsbury in 1935. Nowhere does there appear any clue as to its provenance.
Section 8 (MS 172)
Manuscript copy of “The Wandered of Switzerland” by James Montgomery. 28 l. Most probably not in Montgomery’s hand, although contemporary.
Item 8 (MS 172) was purchased in July 1993 from Professor Ralph Maud, of the Department of English, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. Professor Maud had in turn purchased the manuscript from the antiquarian bookseller Jabez Elliott of Ringwood in 1966.
Section 9 (MS 25)
Three letters and two poems in Montgomery’s hand:
9/1 “Isaiah LIV. The mountains shall depart./ The hills shall be removed …” Signed “J. Montgomery, The Mount. May 27 1837”
9/2 “Verses to Miss G. aged thirteen years, written at Scarborough, in the autumn of 1811. Marg’ret! We never met before,/ And Marg’ret, we may meet no more, …” Signed “J.My.” In pencil at foot “James Montgomery” (MS 25(21))
9/3 Letter from JM to Mr. Alfred Pettet. 2 l. “Dear Sir, I have made myself tenfold your debtor for the handsome present of your later musical publication, by neglecting to thank you for it long ago. If my heart had a hand it would answer every letter I receive as soon as I have read it, and then my answers would be less unworthy expressions of my own feelings, or of the acceptance of my numerous and kind correspondents. But somehow or other, I cannot give a creditable reason why, and therefore I will give none, my hand – the hand with which I write – is so far off from my heart, - perhaps by being placed on the contrary side – that although it feels the impulse to its fingers’ ends, the sensation soon passes away, and then my hand might be palsied for any good it does my heart. - However I could mention several circumstances which actually have caused my procrastination in the present instance, though none may excuse it. I have been much from home, and my mind has consequently been proportionately dissipated, for I find that ordinary duties are very easily neglected when the mind is extraordinarily engaged or excited either at home or abroad; and I can assure you I have had little of temperate feeling for the last three or four months. All this however is nothing to you, and nothing to the purpose of my present letter, which is to relieve you from some painful suspense which my unwarrantable inattention may have occasioned you, as well as to tell you how very acceptable your elegant gift has been, though I have as yet had little opportunity of acquainting myself with its merits. There are however names connected with it, which are a sufficient passport without any very minute scrutiny of its internal credentials. Those distinguished composers who have condescended to give “resounding grace” to my poor harmonies, have done themselves as much honour I trust as they have done me, thereby securing the best reward of their labours. I might perhaps quarrel with the slight alterations which have been made in my words in one piece, but not with the person who made those alterations, though I take it for granted that I could convince him he was quite wrong in meddling with my verse, - and I suppose he will equally take it for granted that he could convince me that he was quite right. I believe therefore that the convictions had better rest as they are till we meet face to face – if we do so before the last day – when the matter may be settled by accommodation without either of us surrendering the least tenable point on which we differ. Will you be so kind to present my best regards to Mrs. Opie who so kindly interested herself on your account, and from [whom] I received a note which I greatly esteem in your behalf. May the success of your publication equal your hopes and exceed your expectations. I am truly your obliged friend ---- Montgomery.” (MS 25(22))
Address panel: “Mr. Alfred Petter, Publisher of a Musical Work at Norwich. Paid ---? July 4”; and postmark: “----Jy 4 1827 163”.
9/4 Note from JM to Messrs. Geo. Willis & Co., 26 Rutland Square, 3 Oct 1842. 2 l. “Sirs Enclosed you have second half of Bank of England note first acknowledged for a/c of Miss Montgomery. Your obed. Serv Montgomery”
[At head] “Ackd” [At foot] “Messrs Deo Willis & Co.” [At end] “J. Montgomery 3 Oct 1842” (MS 25(23))
9/5 Letter from JM to unknown male recipient, 23 Feb 1828. 1 l. “Sheffield Feb 23 1828 Dear Sir I can give only one answer to your application, Yes: though had not I felt myself under personal obligations to you, I believe I must have said No. I am so much persecuted, I may assert, with requests for poems for such publications as you project (as well as many other kinds), and I feel as little satisfaction, and suffer so much in credit by compliance, that I have been driven in absolute self defence to refuse in every instance wherein I can do so, without being liable to a charge of ingratitude. I am certainly no judge of such things, but I can not at present think that you are wise in venturing upon another bubble-book, - gaudy, glittering and evanescent as these pageants are – and successful as I understand they have been in some instances. However I wish your wisdom may be established by your good luck. You may not expect anything from me before Autumn – my Muse’s bank will not ---- a bill ------months, being too ------. I am, ---- your friend ---- J. Montgomery” (MS 25(25))
Item 9 (MS 25) forms part of a collection of 25 autographed letters of which section 3 comprises manuscripts of well-known figures with a Sheffield connection – Sir Francis Chantrey, Ebenezer Elliott, John Holland, Joseph Hunter and Montgomery himself. The provenance is unknown.
Section 10 (MS 249)
Holograph poem “A Mother’s Gift” by James Montgomery, 4 Dec 1826
Items donated by Richard Harland:
Section 11
Photocopied extracts from A Catalogue of Miniature Portraits from the Collection made by Walter and Marian Harland: Part 1. Portraits & other miniatures by – or attributed to – Edward Westoby (1784-1873) by Richard Harland & Trevor Croucher (Grassington: Richard Harland, 2001).
Section 12
Colour photocopy of watercolour sketch of ‘James Montgomery, May 1823’ by Edward Westoby, listed as item no. 065 in the Catalogue at Section 12
Addenda:
Section 13
Colour photocopy taken from Down Memory Lane with the Star, 21 Mar 1983. Reproduction of picture painted by Arthur Wilson in 1895, showing the Hartshead office of Sheffield’s newspaper The Iris, as Wilson believed it to have looked in 1848, with James Montgomery shown crossing the street Section 14
Photocopy taken from Central Sheffield by Martin Olive (Tempus, 1994), depicting the Montgomery Tavern, Hartshead, Sheffield, in 1862. JM printed The Iris there: after his retirement, it became a beerhouse, and by 1862 offered meals and beds to carters