Guide to the Collections held by the Wiltshire Record Office (as filmed by the AJCP)

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M935

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: 2019

Collection Summary

Creator
Wiltshire Record Office
Title
Collections held by the Wiltshire Record Office (as filmed by the AJCP)
Date Range
12 January 1787 - 15 November 1872
Collection Number
M935
Extent
74 items
Language of Materials
English
Repository
Australian Joint Copying Project
Sponsor
The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) online portal was created with the assistance of the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund, 2017-2020. The National Library of Australia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the other foundation AJCP partners, the State Library of New South Wales and The National Archives of the UK, and all other organisations which supported the work of the AJCP, the world's most extensive collaborative copying project, operating from 1948 to 1997.

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Wiltshire Court of Quarter Sessions records of bonds and contracts for the transportation of criminals to Australia, 1787-1789.

The Board of Guardians records regarding minute books of the Melksham Poor Law Union relating to the sponsered emigration of young females and families to Australia, 1848-1858.

Records of the Wiltshire Emigration Society including registers, cash accounts, minute book and correspondence, 1850-1851.

Correspondence relating to the business affairs of Calcutta merchant John Palmer, 1825-1829.

Correpsondence of Thomas Bate, a clerk on HMS Iron Duke, addressed to his mother and aunt. Subjects include: stay at singapore, climate, involvement in action in the pacific region, stay at Penang, visit to Manilla, Hong Kong.

Papers of the Committee for Promoting the Emigration of Females to the Australian Colonies, 1835.

Diary of William Chafyn Grove on his voyage to Australia on the Vimiera and while travelling in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, October 1864 - November 1865.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for access.

Conditions Governing Use

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred Citation

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Archival History

Material selectively filmed at the Wiltshire Record Office, Wiltshire, as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1972 (AJCP Reel: M935). Original microfilm digitised as part of the AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.

The Wiltshire Record Office, established in 1947, became the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office in 1997. In 2007 its name was changed to Wiltshire and Swindon Archives.

Existence and Location of Originals

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Cocklebury Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire.

For further information see Wiltshire and Swindon history centre. [http://www.wshc.eu/our-services/archives.html]

Existence and Location of Copies

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn725608] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Selections from the Papers of Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long, held at the Wiltshire Record Office, were listed separately and microfilmed by the Australian Joint Copying Project on reels M1114-19. [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2248317]

Finding-Aid Note

This finding aid is a revised online version of the original finding aid prepared by the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), published by the National Library of Australia in 2019. The original AJCP finding aids were unpublished typescripts or photocopies available from libraries that held copies of the original microfilm.

Dates used in this finding aid refer to the date range of the records selected for filming rather than to the date range of the Series or Files.

Subjects

Australia; Burnaby, J.; Dutch East Indies; Emigration and immigration: paupers; Great Britain; Nahys, Lieut. Col.; Royal Navy: voyages; Semarang, Indonesia.

Bibliography

Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 507, p. 196. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-397322928]

Item Descriptions

Fonds A1. Quarter Sessions Records: Wiltshire Court of Quarter Sessions, 12 January 1787 - 24 December 1789

12 items

Subjects

Wiltshire Quarter Sessions; Convicts.

Series A1/320/2. Bonds and contracts for the transportation of felons, 12 January 1787 - 24 December 1789

12 items

Filmed selectively.

Contract for three convicts, Joseph Longstreet, John Feltham and Robert Jefferies, to be sent to New South Wales, 12 January 1787 (File)
Bond for three convicts, Joseph Longstreet, John Feltham and Robert Jefferies to go on the transport Alexander, 13 January 1787 (File)
Contract for Robert Timbrell to be sent to New South Wales, 30 January 1787 (File)
Bond for Robert Timbrell to go to the transport Friendship, 5 February 1787 (File)
Contract for 19 convicts to be sent to New South Wales, 23 October 1787 (File)
Bond for the transportation of 19 convicts, 23 October 1787 (File)
Contract for a group of convicts to be sent to New South Wales, 20 June 1788 (File)
Bond for the transportation of a group of convicts, 20 June 1788 (File)
Contract for Sarah Varriner to be sent to New South Wales, 15 May 1789 (File)
Bond for the transportation of Sarah Varriner, 15 May 1789 (File)
Bond for the transportation of Sarah Varriner, 20 May 1789 (File)
Bond for the transportation of 21 convicts, 24 December 1789 (File)

Fonds H. Boards of Guardians Records: Poor Law Unions, 8 December 1848 - 19 February 1858

4 items

Subjects

Women: emigration; Board of Guardians; Melksham, England.

Series H11. Melksham Union, 8 December 1848 - 19 February 1858

4 items
Subseries H11/1. Minute books, 8 December 1848 - 19 February 1858
4 items
Volume 8, 8 December 1848 (File)
1 items

Filmed selectively.

Emigration of young females to Australia, 8 December 1848 (Item ff.119-20)
Volume 9, 28 February 1851 - 13 August 1852 (File)
13 items

Filmed selectively.

Assistance to George Usher and family to emigrate to Australia, 28 February 1851 (Item f.100)
Emigration expenses of George Usher, 14 March 1851 (Item f.102)
Assistance to John Pitman to emigrate to Port Adelaide, 9 May 1851 (Item ff. 118-21)
Emigration of John Pitman and his family, 6 June 1851 (Item ff.124-25)
Emigration of John Pitman and his family, 20 June 1851 (Item ff.128-29)
Emigration of William Cox and Frederick Pickwick to Australia, 15 August 1851 (Item ff. 139-40)
Emigration of Charles Mattocks and his family to Port Phillip, 10 October 1851 (Item ff.155-56)
Emigration of Thomas Bascombe and his family to Port Phillip, 24 October 1851 (Item f.159)
Costs of emigration of Charles Mattocks and Thomas Bascombe to Australia, 7 November 1851 (Item 163)
List of emigrants, 7 January 1852 (Item ff.170-71)
Emigration of John Moore and his family to Australia, 2 July 1852 (Item 208)
Interest of several people of Melksham in emigration to Australia, 30 July 1852 (Item f.212)
Emigration of John and William Holly and their families, 13 August 1852 (Item 215)
Volume 10, 8 October 1852 - 14 January 1853 (File)
3 items

Filmed selectively.

Emigration expenses of John Pitman, 8 October 1852 (Item 15)
Emigration of John Pitman to Australia, 5 November 1852 (Item f.19)
Emigration of John Pitman to Australia, 14 January 1853 (Item ff.33-34)
Volume 11, 5 April 1855 - 19 February 1858 (File)
6 items

Filmed selectively.

Emigration of Eliza Box to Australia, 5 April 1855 (Item f.2)
Interest of several people of Melksham in emigration to South Australia, 23 January 1857 (Item f.145)
Emigration of Stephen Hutton and his family to Australia, 6 February 1857 (Item ff. 148-49)
Emigration of Stephen Hutton and his family, 20 February 1857 (Item f.151)
Expenses of several persons wishing to emigrate to Sydney, 5 February 1858 (Item f.217)
Emigration of Richard Gale and his family to Australia, 19 February 1858 (Item ff. 220-22)

Fonds 9. Savernake Estate, October 1849 - June 1851

6 items

Subjects

Wiltshire Emigration Society; Colonial Land and Emigration Commission.

Biographical / Historical

Tottenham House and the Savernake Estate in Wiltshire was acquired by Thomas Bruce, later 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, in 1676. It remained in the Brudenell-Bruce Family until 1929-1932.

Series 9/35. Personal and family, October 1849 - June 1851

6 items

Filmed selectively.

Subseries 389-93. Wiltshire Emigration Society, October 1849 - June 1851
6 items

Biographical / Historical

The Wiltshire Emigration Society was set up in 1849 on the initiative of Lord Bruce, later 2nd Marquis of Ailesbury. Most of the 258 sponsored emigrants came from the Savernake Estate and villages south-east of Marlborough. They were sent on six ships, four to Adelaide and two to Port Phillip, between March and June 1851.

Register, January 1851 - March 1851 (File 390)

Arranged by date of application, listing the name of applicants, date of application, residence, marital state, date of birth or baptism, occupation and how long employed, recommended by, and remarks.

Cash account, 29 November 1850 - 27 May 1851 (File 393)
Minute book (16pp), October 1849 - December 1851 (File 389)
Register, December 1850 - May 1851 (File 390)

Arranged by date of application, listing the names of candidates, residence, marital state, age, date of birth or baptism, where born, destination, occupation and how long employed, remarks, approved or refused, place and date of embarkation, name of ship, and place and date of arrival.

Correspondence between the Wiltshire Emigration Society and the Colonial Land and Emigration Office (London), February 1851 - June 1851 (File 392)

With the names of emigrants, arrangements for travel and berths on ships.

Copies of printed forms (File 391)

Consisting of reminder for subscription, form of recommendation, prices of, and abstracts from Government regulations.

Fonds 34. Sir Charles Hobhouse, 1825 - 13 June 1829

35 items

Subjects

Lieut. Col. Palmer, John; Palmer, Samuel J.; Malacca, Malaysia; Bencoolen, Sumatra; Brownrigg, J.S.; Cockerell, Charles; Coffee industry and trade; Courtenay, Thomas P.; Deans, J.; Dutch in Asia; Findall, John; Hobhouse, H.W.; Hunt, M.O.; Java; Jenkins, R.C.; Merchants; Scott, Robert; Spice trade; Sumatra.

Biographical / Historical

Sir Charles Hobhouse, 3rd Baronet, was the son of Henry Hobhouse (1791-1868) and his wife Mary Anne. Mary Anne Hobhouse was the daughter of the Calcutta merchant John Palmer (1767-1836).

Series 34/30. Correspondence relating to business affairs of John Palmer, 1825 - 13 June 1829

35 items

Filmed selectively.

John Palmer to J. Deans, 27 February 1825 (File)

Refers to the Netherlands loan and possibility of sending bullion to Java. (copy)

Jacqueline de Capellen de Frijll (Batavia) to [John Palmer?], 28 May 1825 (File)

Congratulations on the marriage of Miss Palmer. (In French)

John Findall to John Palmer, n.d. (File)

Administration of Malacca and Penang.

John Palmer to John Findall, 17 June 1825 (File)

Administration of Malacca and Penang; position of the Governor-General; bullion to pay the troops.

J.S. Brownrigg (London) to Henry Hobhouse, 13 August 1825 (File)

Bad conduct of Charles Palmer who is still in business; Javanese coffee in payment of Palmer's bills of £60,000.

John Palmer (Calcutta) to Claud Queiros (Singapore), 25 May 1826 (File)

Concern about his silence; expects a large remittance. (copy)

Thomas Courtenay (London) to Robert Scott, 15 January 1827 (File)

Has decided to appropriate £40,000 for property owners in Bencoolen who have suffered from the transfer to the Netherlands Government. (copy)

Memorial of the proprietors of spice plantations and other property at Bencoolen in Sumatra to the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India (copy), n.d. (File)
Robert Scott (London) to India Board, 20 January 1827 (File)

£40,000 seems inadequate compensation for the ruin which has resulted from the transfer. (copy)

Memorial from the proprietors of spice plantations and other property at Bencoolen to the Court of Directors of the East India Company (copy), 28 February 1827 (File)
J.S. Brownrigg (London) to John Palmer, 28 March 1827 (File)

Refers to some progress with the difficulties of the Bencoolen settlers. (copy)

John Palmer (Calcutta) to J.S. Brownrigg, 8 April 1827 (File)

Difficulty with the bills of Dutch companies and the Java Government. (copy)

John Palmer to Henry Hobhouse, 1 September 1827 (File)

Personal and business news.

John Palmer (Penang) to his son Samuel Palmer, 9 November 1827 (File)

Ill health; trouble with his eyes.

John Palmer (Malacca) to Samuel Palmer, 19 November 1827 (File)

Improvement in his health.

John Palmer (Singapore) to Samuel Palmer, 25 November 1827 (File)

His health; trouble with eyes; news of friends.

John Palmer (Singapore) to Samuel Palmer, 10 December 1827 (File)

Improvement of his health; on his way to Java.

John Palmer (Singapore) to J.S. Brownrigg, 15 December 1827 (File)

Poor health; business. (copy)

Business correspondence, mostly sent from Antwerp to J. Barnaby (Samarang), 1825 - 1827 (File)

On trade in various commodities, including coffee and spices. (In English and Dutch)

Lieutenant Colonel Nahus (Maastricht), 4 January 1828 (File)

The causes of the Java War, February 1826 (29pp), with an addendum (13pp) written at Surakarta (Java).

John Palmer (Batavia) to Samuel Palmer, 24 January 1828 (File)

Family news; plans to visit Solo (Surakarta); restoration of health.

J.S. Brownrigg (London) to John Palmer, 30 January 1828 (File)

Bencoolen planters; Java Government bills and other matters.

John Palmer (Solo) to Samuel Palmer, 14 February 1828 (File)

Family matters; the rebels; when rains subside will move in small detachments between the insurgents and the Hollanders.

R.C. Jenkins (Calcutta) to John Palmer (Penang): family news, 30 March 1828 (File)
M.O. Hunt (Surabaya) to John Palmer (Batavia), 19 April 1828 (File)

Commission business has dwindled away to nothing; a business proposition.

John Palmer (Nagulan) to Samuel Palmer, 30 April 1828 (File)

Plans for return to India.

Charles Cockerell (London) to John Palmer, 23 May 1828 (File)

Refers to Dutch bills.

J.S. Brownrigg (London) to John Palmer: Affairs, 13 June 1828 (File)
John Palmer (Batavia) to Samuel Palmer, 13 June 1828 (File)

Expects to return at the end of the month.

John Palmer (Singapore) to Samuel Palmer: On his way home., 27 July 1828 (File)
J.S. Brownrigg (London) to John Palmer, 15 December 1828 (File)

Java Trust Account distribution to the Bencoolen planters.

John Palmer (Calcutta) to Samuel Palmer, 16 February 1829 (File)

Domestic and other news.

J.S. Brownrigg (London) to John Palmer, 8 May 1829 (File)
John Palmer (Calcutta) to J.S. Brownrigg, 22 May 1829 (File)

Plans to discharge himself of all substantive acts of the House except for transactions on Java; history of the failure of the House.

J.S. Brownrigg to John Palmer, 13 June 1829 (File)

Remuneration for the Bencoolen planters.

Fonds 130. Miscellaneous Wiltshire deeds and other records collected by Cecil Simpson, 8 September 1871 - 15 November 1872

15 items

Filmed selectively.

Subjects

Bate, Thomas E.; Iron Duke, HMS (ship).

Series 130/74. Letters from Thomas Bate, 8 September 1871 - 15 November 1872

15 items

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Bate was a clerk on HMS Iron Duke (Captain. William Arthur), the flagship of Admiral Charles Shadwell, the Commander-in-Chief of the China Station.

Bate (Plymouth) to his aunt, n.d. (File)
Bate (Malta) to his aunt, 8 September [October?] 1871 (File)
Bate (Bay of Biscay) to his aunt, 18 September 1871 (File)
Bate (between Aden and Trincomalee) to his aunt, 16 November 1871 (File)
Bate (towards Singapore) to his aunt, 1871-12-08; 1871-12-17 (File)

With a brief addendum at Singapore.

Bate (Selangor) to his mother, 27 December 1871 (File)

Impending departure for Penang; has been in action; Selangor a nest of pirates; account of fighting; family news; his engagement; stay at Singapore; its excessive heat.

Bate (Singapore) to his aunt, 13 January 1872 (File)

Pleasant stay at Penang; first flagship to visit Penang in 16 years; social activities; painting of Iron Duke destroying a fort at Selangor; fears of a general rising of Malays in Sumatra and the Straits Settlements; visit to Sessions House in Singapore.

Bate (at sea) to his aunt, 1872-01-28; 1872-02-20 (File)

English news; improvement in weather; monsoons; fears of a long stay in Hong Kong, a 'fever hole'; visit to Manila. Addendum refers to sighting of Victoria Peak, Hong Kong.

Bate (Hong Kong) to his mother, 3 March 1872 (File)

Hong Kong preferable to any other place on the Station; succession of entertainments; foreign ships in the harbour; domestic economy of the Chinese; impressions of Hong Kong.

Bate (Woosung) to his mother, 12 May 1872 (File)
Bate (Woosung) to his aunt, 17 May 1872 (File)
Bate (Nagasaki) to his aunt, 28 May 1872 (File)
Bate (Yokohama) to his mother, 15 July 1872 (File)
Bate (Chefoo) to his aunt, 20 September 1872 (File)
Bate (Woosung) to his aunt, 15 November 1872 (File)

Fonds 533. North Bradley Parish records, 31 January 1835

1 item

Subjects

Women: emigration; Committee for Promoting the Emigration of Females to the Australian Colonies.

Series 50. Miscellaneous letters and papers, mainly concerning poor relief, 31 January 1835

1 item

Filmed selectively.

Committee for Promoting the Emigration of Females to the Australian Colonies, 31 January 1835 (File)

Notice of free passages to single women and widows to go to the Australian colonies in the Canton, signed by Edward Forster, London. (printed, 3pp.) Inscribed to the Overseers of St Peter's, Marlborough.

Fonds 865. Papers of Chafyn Grove Family of Zeals, Wiltshire, 2 October 1864 - 11 November 1865

1 item

Subjects

Grove, William C.; Sydney, New South Wales: visits to.

Series 570. Diaries of William Chafyn Grove, 2 October 1864 - 11 November 1865

1 item

Filmed selectively.

Biographical / Historical

William Chafyn Grove (1840-1865), the son of William Chafin Grove of Zeals House, was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was an ensign and lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards. He died at Poona, India, on the return journey from Australia.

Diary kept by William Grove on the voyage to Australia on the Vimiera and while travelling in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, 2 October 1864 - 11 November 1865 (File No. 9)

The first part of the diary describes the voyage of the Vimiera from Plymouth to Australia with references the weather, winds and seas, fellow-passengers, sightings of other ships, Crossing the Line ceremonies, sightings of dolphins, albatrosses and other birds and fish, theatrical performances, views of the New South Wales coast and his arrival at Sydney (13 Jan. 1865).

The following entries record Grove's impressions of Sydney, harbour cruises, visits to the Botanic Gardens, meetings with local residents including Frederick Darley and his family, a dinner party at Government House, a Melbourne-Sydney cricket match, and a visit to Parramatta. On 11 February Grove left Sydney and sailed to Melbourne and Launceston, spent a few days in Tasmania, and then made short visits to Melbourne and Ballarat before returning to Sydney on 3 March. In March and April he travelled with his friend H.W. Hoffman into the interior of the colony, visiting Wollongong, Kiama, Gerringong, the Blue Mountains, Bathurst, Sofala and Mudgee. On 10 April they reached Llangollen Station, near Cassilis, where they stayed for nearly four months. There are references to the work of the station, shearing, stock movements, regular visits to the home of William Busby and to Collaroy Station, the home of Rowland Traill, reading, visitors, news from England, the New South Wales Land Bill, the deaths of the bushrangers Ben Hall and John Gilbert, and news of the American Civil War. Grove left Llangollen on 30 April and journeyed to Singleton, Muswellbrook and Newcastle, finally arriving in Sydney on 3 August. In his final month in the colony he made a short visit to Newcastle, attended a ball at Government House, inspected the University of Sydney, and met notable colonial figures such as Sir William Manning, William Macleay and Edward Merewether.Grove left Sydney on 22 September 1865 and sailed on the SS Northam to Point de Galle, Colombo, Kandy and Bombay. The last entry was written on 11 November, four days before his death.


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