http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf8m3nb315 No online items Thomas Clarkson Papers: Finding Aid Processed by Huntington Library staff in 1954 and updated by Vanessa Wilkie and Dorothy Auyong. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2129 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © 2017 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Thomas Clarkson Papers: Finding mssCN 1-210 1 Aid Overview of the Collection Title: Thomas Clarkson Papers Dates (inclusive): 1787-Approximately 1900 Bulk dates: 1781-1847 Collection Number: mssCN 1-210 Creator: Clarkson, Thomas, 1760-1846. Extent: 210 pieces in 5 boxes. Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2129 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org 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. Language: English. Access Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. Publication Rights 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. Provenance 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. Biographical Note 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. 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: Thomas Clarkson Papers: Finding mssCN 1-210 2 Aid • Thomas Clarkson letter to Comte de Mirabeau with the story of an African sold into slavery, November 13, 1789 (CN 35) • Thomas Clarkson letter to Roberts Vaux regarding the settlement of free blacks from the United States in Haiti, March 8, 1819 (CN 63) • William Buck Cripps letter regarding conditions of settlers and prospects for newcomers in New Brunswick, November 30, 1822 (CN 89) • William Lloyd Garrison letter on slavery in the United States, August 19, 1846 (CN 98) • John Jay letter making Clarkson an honorary member of the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, September 1, 1788 (CN 111) • Francis Scott Key letter regarding Americans who plan to visit Sierra Leone, November 8, 1817 (CN 117) • Report by J.W.C. Pennington, a free African American minister, September 25, 1844 (CN 137) • Granville Sharp letter on the formation of the settlement at Sierra Leone, October 13, 1788 (CN 147) • Philip Evan Thomas letter to James Cropper regarding slave labor in the United States, August 22, 1822(CN 182) • John Greenleaf Whittier letter regarding the progress of anti-slavery movements in the United States, July 10, 1844 (CN 190) • 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). • Correspondence and papers of Thomas Clarkson, the slave trade abolitionist, and his brother, John Clarkson, British Library (Add. Mss. 41262-41267) Arrangement The collection is chiefly arranged chronologically, followed by 4 pieces of ephemera and 1 volume: • Box 1: 1787-1818 • Box 2: 1819-1823 • Box 3: 1824-1842 • Box 4: 1843-1900 and ephemera • Box 5: [Volume] Accounts of efforts to abolish slavery (approximately 1839). Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog. Subjects Clarkson, Thomas, 1760-1846 -- Archives. Mirabeau, Honoré-Gabriel de Riqueti, comte de, 1749-1791 -- Correspondence. Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, 1777-1825 -- Correspondence. British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society. Abolitionists -- Great Britain -- Correspondence. Antislavery movements -- Great Britain. Antislavery movements -- United States. Slave trade -- Africa. Slave trade -- Great Britain. Slave trade -- United States. Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources. Great Britain -- History -- 19th century -- Sources. Sierra Leone -- History -- Sources. Forms/Genres Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain. Personal papers -- Great Britain. Alternate Authors Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, 1777-1825 Thomas Clarkson Papers: Finding mssCN 1-210 3 Aid Beaumont, John, active 1841-1842 Buller, Charles, 1774-1848 Chapman, Maria Weston, 1806-1885 Cropper, James, 1773-1840 Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879 Grégoire, Henri, 1750-1831 Jay, John, 1745-1829 Jay, William, 1789-1858 Mirabeau, Honoré-Gabriel de Riqueti, comte de, 1749-1791 Pennington, James W. C. Rhoads, Samuel, 1806-1868 Sharp, Granville, 1735-1813 Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874 Soul, Joseph Sturge, Joseph, 1793-1859 Tappan, Lewis, 1788-1873 Thomas, Philip E. (Philip Evan), 1776-1861 Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892 Wordsworth, Dorothy, 1771-1855 Wright, Henry Clarke, 1797-1870 Papers Box 1 1787-1818 Folder 1 1787, Aug. 11. Ramsay, James. Letter to Samuel Hoare. CN 140 1p. Teston, near Maidstone Kent. Folder 2 1787, Aug. 23. Price, Richard. Letter to James Phillips. CN 139 2p. Eastbourne, Sussex. Folder 3 1787, Oct. 15. Cartwright, John. Letter to Granville Sharp. CN 23 1p. Marnham, [Notts.]. Folder 4 1787, Oct. 26. Grigby, Joshua. Letter to [Thomas Clarkson?]. CN 106 2p. Drinkstone, [Suffolk]. Folder 5 [17]87, Dec. 23. Lofft, Capel. Letter to Samuel Hoare. CN 123 1p. Folder 6 1787, Dec. 29. Ramsey, James. Letter to Samuel Hoare. CN 141 1p. Teston, near Maidstone Kent. Enclosed in CN 154. Folder 7 1788, Aug. 28. Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves. Extract from minutes. CN 154 2p. New York. Contained enclosure (now CN 141) Folder 8 1788, Sep. 1. Jay, John. Letter to Thomas Clarkson. CN 111 1p. New York. Thomas Clarkson Papers: Finding mssCN 1-210 4 Aid Papers Folder 9 1788, Oct. 13. Sharp, Granville. Letter to [John Coakley] Lettsom. CN 147 10p. Wicken Park, Bucks. Folder 10 1789, Mar. 26. Extract du Registre de la Societe Royal d'Agriculture. CN 202 4p. In French. Folder 11 1789, Nov. 13. [Clarkson, Thomas]. Letter to [Honoré Gabriel Riquitti], Comte de Mirabeau. CN 35 15p. Folder 12 1789, Nov. 17. Clarkson, Thomas. Letter to [Honoré Gabriel Riquetti], Comte de Mirabeau. CN 36 10 p. Folder 13 1789, Dec. 1. Clarkson, Thomas. Letter to [Auguste Jean Baptiste] Bouvet [de Cresse]. CN 53 7p. Folder 14 1789. Dec. 7. Clarkson, Thomas. Letter to [Honoré Gabriel Riquetti], Comte de Mirabeau. CN 37 9p. Folder 15 1787, Dec. 8. Clarkson, Thomas. Letter to [Honoré Gabriel Riquetti, Comte de Mirabeau]. CN 38 6p. Folder 16 1789, Dec. 9. Clarkson, Thomas. Letter to [Honoré Gabriel Riquetti], Comte de Mirabeau. CN 39 11p. Folder 17 1789, Dec. 11. Clarkson, Thomas. Letter to [Honoré Gabriel Riquetti], Comte de Mirabeau. CN 40 9p. Folder 18 1790, Mar. 28. Villeneuve, Geoffrey de. Letter to [Thomas Clarkson]. CN 187 3p. Paris. Folder 19 1790, May 10. Pemberton, James. [Certificate of membership issued to] Thomas Clarkson as member of the Pennsylvania society for promoting the abolition of slavery. CN 135 1p. Philadelphia. Printed form, filled in. Also signed by Caspar Wistar, junior. Folder 20 [Approximately 1790]. Wilberforce, [William]. Questions to be asked witnesses before Parliament on the subject of the Slave Trade. CN 191 6p. Endorsed by Thomas Clarkson. Folder 21 1791, Nov. 16. Clarkson, Matthew. Letter to Thomas Clarkson.