Guide to the Collections held by the Bedfordshire Record Office (as filmed by the AJCP)
M591, M821, M1659-M1660
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2018
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Bedfordshire Record Office
- Title
- Collections held by the Bedfordshire Record Office (as filmed by the AJCP)
- Date Range
- 1774 - 1945
- Collection Number
- M591, M821, M1659-M1660
- Extent
- 159 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
Collections microfilmed by the AJCP held at the Bedfordshire Record Office include:
Logbooks and papers of Captain Richard Bastard; Papers of Dodson Family; Papers of Richard Dillingham; Diary of Jemima Hitchcock; Quarter Sessions records (Befordshire transportations; Poor Law Union records (Bedford Union); Papers of Lord Bute; Correspondence of William Wilshere; Correspondence of Samuel Whitbread; Papers relating to Howard Spensley; Letters of Henry Badcock; Letters of Oscar Lines; Papers of Squire Family; Papers of Kennedy Family; Papers of Newman Family; and Papers of Field Family.
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-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-987654321)
Archival History
Material selectively filmed at the Bedfordshire Record Office as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project 1964, 1971, 1986. (AJCP reel M591, M821, M1659-M1660). Original microfilm digitised as part of the NLA AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.
Existence and Location of Originals
Bedfordshire Record Office, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.
The Bedfordshire Record Office has had several name changes. In 2015 it became the Bedfordshire Archives and Record Service.
For further information see Bedfordshire Archives (http://bedsarchivescat.bedford.gov.uk/)
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-vn7857654] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.
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 2018. 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.
Advisory Note
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this Finding Aid contains material and descriptive information which may be considered culturally sensitive and may cause distress, including names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased. This Finding Aid contains terms that reflect authors' views or those of the historical period, but which may not be considered appropriate today. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context.
Subjects
Abbott, Edward (Sydney); Adelaide Observer, newspaper; Adventure, HMS (ship); Arnold, Mr; Ballarat, Victoria; Barnes, Mr; Bastard, Richard, Lieut.; Beardsley, Richard; Bedfordshire Quarter Sessions; Bedfordshire Times, newspaper; Bennett, R.H.; Bligh, William, Capt.; Board of Guardians (Poor Law Amendment Act); Broken Hill, New South Wales; Campbell, Lady Jemima, Marchioness De Grey; Campbell, William; Cartwright, Charles; Convict ships; Convicts; Convicts: New South Wales; Convicts: Tasmania; Convicts: women; Croxford, Joel; Culpin, Albert H.; Dillingham, Richard; Dodson, George; Emigrant voyages; Feazey, John; Field Family (London); Field, John; Field, Octavius; Gascoigne, J.; Geelong, Victoria; Gold and goldfields: New South Wales; Gold and goldfields: Victoria; Great Barrier Reef; Great Britain. Colonial Land and Emigration Commission; Great Britain. Poor Law Commission; Gympie, Queensland; Harkins, Norman; Hitchcock, Jemima; Huxley, Priscilla; Illawarra, New South Wales; Ironbarks goldfield, New South Wales; Jorgenson, Jorgen; Kennedy, Donald; Kennedy, Duncan; Kennedy, Jessie; King, William; Land: New South Wales; Land: New Zealand; Land: Tasmania; Land: Victoria; Lord Wellington, convict ship; Lucas, Jemima, Marchioness de Grey; Macqueen, Thomas P.; Marshall, Henry; Martell, Fred; Martell, Henry; McDouall, J.C.S.; McDouall, W.; Melbourne, Victoria; New South Wales; New South Wales: immigration to; New Zealand; Northwood, William; Palmer, Thomas F.; Phillips, G.C.H., Rev.; Phillips, Gerard; Quarter Sessions; Roscoe, William; Royal Navy: voyages; Scots in Australia; Scottish Martyrs; Sir William Bensley (convict ship); Smith, George; Spensley, Howard; Strikes; Sydney, New South Wales ; Tasmania; Timber and timber trade: Australia; Torres Strait; Trade: Australia; Transportation of convicts; Victoria: economic conditions; Victoria: politics and government; Waikato, New Zealand; Whitbread, Samuel; Wilshere, William; Witt, George, Dr; Wool and woolgrowing: export
Bibliography
Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 31, p. 10.
Item Descriptions
Fonds X240. Logbooks and papers of Richard Bastard, 1819 - 1820
2 itemsPapers of Liet. Richard Bastard including 1819 logbook of Lord Wellington en route to New South Wales and notes (1820) made by Bastard when passing the Great Barrier Reef and through Torres Strait.
[This collection has been withdrawn from the Bedfordshire Records Office.]
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Lieut. Richard Bastard. Remarks made while passing through Torres Strait on a voyage from Sydney to India (12pp), 2 May 1820 - 14 May 1820 (File 15)
Richard Bastard. Logbook of the transport Lord Wellington on a voyage from Deptford to Rio de Janeiro en route to New South Wales, 13 March 1819 - 25 September 1819 (File 19)
The log begins as a journal recording the fitting out of the ship, receipt of stores, the embarkation of convict women, the departure from Deptford (28 May 1819), the embarkation of further convicts at Plymouth and Cork, punishment of convicts and the departure from Ireland (6 July 1819). It then becomes a log, with hourly entries recording the ship's position, winds, and course, with brief references to the employment of the crew, the serving of lime juice to the convicts, disturbances among the convicts and punishments.
Fonds X263. Papers relating to Richard Bastard and his family, 1816 - 1819
2 itemsPapers relating to Richard Bastard including logbook of convict ship Sir William Bensley and 1819 list showing number of female convicts and children.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Logbook of the Sir William Bensley, commanded by Richard Bastard, on a voyage from Deptford to Sydney and the return voyage to Calcutta and England, 12 August 1816 - 16 June 1818 (File 1)
The logbook contains daily entries recording the embarkation of convicts at Deptford, the departure from Deptford (12 Sept. 1816) and Portsmouth, weather, misdemeanours and conflict among the convicts, inspections of convicts' possessions, offences by crew members, encounters with other ships, arrival at the Cape of Good Hope (24 Dec. 1816), exercise of convicts, arrival at Sydney (11 March 1817), the disembarkation of the convicts, the departure from Sydney (18 May 1817), passengers including Judge Jeffery Bent and the family of Ellis Bent, the voyage to India via New Britain, New Guinea and Timor, arrival at Calcutta (17 Aug. 1817), a survey and refitting of the ship, the departure from Calcutta (12 Jan. 1818) and the voyage to England via the Cape of Good Hope. (140pp)
Fonds X256. Letters deposited by Mrs L. Robinson, 1842 - 1844
2 itemsSelect correspondence of Charles Cartwright, Wollongong, New South Wales.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Charles Cartwright (Wollongong) to his wife Elizabeth Cartwright (Ampthill, Bedfordshire), 8 April 1842 (File 2)
Cartwright's detention in government employment since his arrival as a convict in 1838; hopes that sentence might be mitigated; village of Wollongong; Aborigines; countryside; food prices; wages.
Fonds BD. Barnard of Bedford Collection, 1851
1 itemSelect copying of papers relating to Dr George Witt (Sydney).
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds L. Lucas of Wrest Park Archive, 1864
2 itemsSelect correspondence of Joel Croxford, Ironbarks Goldfields.
Part of the Papers of Amabel Hume-Campbell, 5th Baroness Lucas, was created Countess de Grey in 1816. Her successor Thomas Robinson, who became 2nd Earl de Grey, built the great house at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, in 1834-1839.
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds X275. Stapleton Family of Elstow, 1886 - 1914
3 itemsSelect correspondence of Priscilla Dodson (later Hurley), Gympie, Queensland, 1886 and 1893 and press cuttings relating to Australia, 1914.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Priscilla Dodson (Gympie) to her aunt Ann [Stapleton], 6 June 1886 (File 1)
Family news; purchase of lacework; Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London; Queen Victoria; W.E. Gladstone; shipwreck on New South Wales coast.
Priscilla Hurley (Gympie) to her great-aunt, Ann [Stapleton], [1891] (File 2)
Death of Hurley's husband; family news; Gympie mines; floods.
Newspaper cuttings, 1 August; 27 October 1914 (File 10-12)
The first cuttings, from the from Adelaide Observer, contain a photograph and article entitled 'Two pioneers: fifty years in South Australia'. It refers to Mr and Mrs George Dodson of Clarendon, South Australia, who emigrated from Elstow, Bedfordshire, in 1863.
The following cutting is probably from the Bedfordshire Times, referring to the Adelaide Observer article.
Fonds HW. Harvey of Ickwell Bury, Northill, 1793
1 itemJohn Harvey, a lawyer, bought the manor of Ickwell in Northill, Bedfordshire, in 1680. The family acquired properties of the Fyshe Palmer family at Northill in 1842.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds AD. Ancient deeds, or additional deposits, 1844
1 itemSelect correspondence of Joseph Feazey, Melbourne.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds WJ. Wade and Jackson, solicitors, of Shefford, 1858
1 itemSelect copy of 1858 Mortgage mentioning Gerard Phillips and William Norwood, timber merchant, for part of original town grant near Market Whard, Sydney, New South Wales.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds SA. Saunderson Archive, 1840
1 itemSelect copy of mortgage on property of Thomas Potter Macqueen. Macqueen, a Bedfordshire landowner and member of Parliament (1816-1830), owned extensive property in New South Wales.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds BS. British Records Society Deposits, 1876
1 itemSelect copy of probate of Henry Marshall, Bedford. Codicil refers to property in New Zealand.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds X695. Richard Dillingham Letters, 1831 - 1839
1 itemCorrespondence of Richard Dillingham, a convict in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) to his parents in Flitwick, Bedfordshire.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Richard Dillingham (Woolwich, Hobart) to his wife and his father Joseph Dillingham (Ampthill?, Bedfordshire), August 1831 - November 1839 (File)
Preparations for departure from England; voyage to Australia on transport Katherine Stewart Forbes; work as a convict in Van Diemen's Land assigned to David Lamb; food prices; climate; family news; promise of a ticket of leave. (11 letters)
Archival History
The letters were lent for copying by Mr and Mrs Bamford of Flitwick, Bedfordshire.
Fonds. Jemima Hitchcock diary, 1853
Diary kept by Jemima Hitchcock, a passenger on the Star of the East, on a voyage from Liverpool to Sydney, 4 July 1853-4 October 1853. The unusually detailed diary records her journey from Buckingham to Liverpool, preparations for the voyage, the departure, weather, seas, meals, church services, complaints of passengers, relations with other passengers, fights between passengers, Captain Robertson and other ship's officers, sightings of porpoises and whales, reading, dances, games of whist, church services, storms, arrival at Port Phillip, labour shortages in Melbourne, impressions of Melbourne, the voyage up the New South Wales coast and arrival at Port Jackson. The final page contains a list headed 'things useful on a long voyage'.
Archival History
The diary was lent for copying by Mrs Marsh of Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire.
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M591.
Fonds QS. Quarter Sessions Records, 1801 - 1878
2 itemsSelect items from Bedfordshire Quarter Sessions records, Criminal Statistics of Bedfordshire, 1801-1878 relating to transportation to Australia.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Fonds PU. Poor Law Union Records, 1837 - 1858
42 itemsSelect copies of inwards correspondence of the Board of Guardians mainly from the Poor Law Commission, London and the Land and Emigration Commission, London relating to Australia.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Series PUBC2. In-letters (Bedford Union), 1837 - 1858
42 items
Lord Glenelg to Samuel Wing, Clerk to the Guardians of Bedford Union, 6 January 1837 (File Vol. 2/113)
Ship for emigrants to New South Wales.
Lord John Russell to Wing, 24 December 1839 (File Vol. 4/50)
No more emigrant ships to New South Wales before spring.
S. Walcott (Colonial Land and Emigration Commission) to Wing, 19 February 1845 (File Vol. 5/221)
Does not know when passages will be again granted for Australian colonies.
S. Walcott to Wing, 4 January 1847 (File Vol. 5/559-60)
There will be frequent vessels to Australia in next few months.
S. Walcott to Wing, 13 January 1848 (File Vol. 5/725-26)
Officer to attend meeting of Bedford Union Board of Guardians.
George Nicholls (Poor Law Board) to Wing, 3 October 1848 (File Vol. 5/869-71)
Emigration of children.
Lord Ebrington (Poor Law Board) to Wing, 13 October 1848 (File Vol. 5/877-78)
Workhouse children to be sent to South Australia.
W.G. Lumley to Wing, 31 October 1848 (File Vol. 5/893-94)
Qualifications for child emigrants to Australia.
S. Walcott to Wing, 3 November 1848 (File Vol. 5/897-99)
Qualifications for selection of women emigrants to Australia.
W.G. Lumley to Wing, 15 January 1851 (File Vol. 6/247-48)
Emigration of people of Yieldon to South Australia.
Although described individually, this letter was originally microfilmed with a page from another letter. The last page of the letter described can be found at the beginning of nla.obj-762216142
Lord Courtenay (Poor Law Board) to Wing, 26 March 1851 (File Vol. 6/275-76)
Thomas Ellington to go to South Australia.
Lord Courtenay to Wing, 16 April 1851 (File Vol. 6/309-10)
Raising money for emigration in parish of Milton Ernest.
W.G. Lumley to Wing, 25 November 1851 (File Vol. 6/455-56)
Sending list of persons assisted to emigrate in 1851.
R.F. Grey (Poor Law Board) to Wing, 29 November 1851 (File Vol. 6/459-60)
Girls from workhouse school for emigration.
Sir George Grey to Wing, 9 January 1852 (File Vol. 6/465-66)
William Garrett to go to Van Diemen's Land.
J. Walpole to Wing, 12 June 1852 (File Vol. 6/561-62)
Ann Williamson and daughter to go to Van Diemen's Land.
Fonds G/DDA. Luton Hoo, papers of the Bute Estate, 1841 - 1846
11 itemsSelect correspondence of W McDouall to Lord Bute relating to the property of J C S McDouall and his father, W McDouall, in New South Wales and New Zealand.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
W. McDouall (Copt Hall) to Lord Bute, 16 January 1846 (File 168)
News of his daughter, niece and son John, and of William's ordination.
W. McDouall (Peterborough) to Lord Bute, 25 May 1846 (File 177)
William's sermon; money advanced by Bute and McDouall in Australia all spent, due to maintenance of 15 labourers.
W. McDouall to Lord Bute, 12 June 1846 (File 180)
Thanks for sympathetic view of John; Bishop's visit and confirmation.
Fonds H/WS. Wilshere Family of Welwyn, 1818 - 1823
13 itemsSelect correspondence of William Wilshere as Chairman of the Bedfordshire Quarter Sessions. Convicts mentioned include: Richards Beardsley, Mr Arnold, Mr Barnes, WilliamKing, J. Gascoigne, George Smith and Norman Harkins.
William Wilshere (1754-1824) was a lawyer, banker and magistrate and a close associate of the reforming politician, Samuel Whitbread.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Richard Beardsley to Curtis (Cambridge), 8 December 1818 (File 1222)
Seeking help from Hibbert and Dr Ramsden regarding sentence of seven years' transportation for robbing a dove house. With accompanying note to William Wilshere as chairman of Bedfordshire Quarter Sessions.
Thomas Warner (Bedford Gaol) to W. Wilshere, 24 April 1819 (File 1244)
Requests that he apply to Lord Sidmouth for removal of seven convicts sentenced to transportation. With draft of letter from Wilshere to Sidmouth.
W. Wilshere to Lord Sidmouth, 14 April 1820 (File 1273)
Transportation of William King and J. Gascoigne.
Thomas Warner to W. Wilshere, 21 January 1821 (File 1294)
Requests early application to Home Secretary for removal to hulks of three poachers, sentenced to transportation.
Arran Smith (Newport Pagnall). Testimony of good character of convict George Smith, 26 October 1821 (File 1306)
With copy of letter from William Cockerill.
Thomas Warner to W. Wilshere, 15 September 1821 (File 1317)
Requests application to Lord Sidmouth for removal orders.
Thomas Warner to W. Wilshere, 1 November 1821 (File 1318)
Requests application for removal of George Smith, sentenced to seven years' transportation.
W. Wilshere to Sir Robert Peel, 22 January 1822 (File 1327)
Recommends reduction of sentence of Norman Harkins to seven years' transportation.
Thomas Warner to W. Wilshere, 22 March 1822 (File 1354)
Request to Home Secretary for removal of convicts to the hulks.
Fonds L. Lucas of Wrest Park Archive, 1774 - 1864
4 itemsSelect correspondence of Joel Croxford, Ironbarks Goldfields, New South Wales and De Grey correspondence from Jemima, Marchioness Grey and Baroness Lucas, regarding HMS Adventure and the death of Captain James Cook.
Jemima Campbell (1723-1797), 2nd Marchioness Grey (succeeded 1740) married Philip Yorke, later 2nd Earl of Hardwicke. Their daughter Amabel Yorke (1750-1833) married Alexander Hume-Campbell, Viscount Polworth.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Joel Croxford (Ironbarks Goldfields, NSW) to his brother and niece, n.d. (File L.5/1006/1)
Success at goldfields; travels during last six years; would like to visit England.
Archival History
This letter also appears on reel M591.
Joel Croxford to his brother and sister, 30 November 1864 (File L.5/1006/2)
Death of their mother; visit to New Zealand; good life in New South Wales.
Archival History
This letter also appears on reel M591.
Fonds W. Whitbread of Southill Archives, 1793 - 1814
23 itemsSelect correspondence and other papers of Samuel Whitbread, MP, regarding the transportation of convicts, their employment in New South Wales, conditions on board the hulks, and the deposition of Governor Bligh. Correspondents include Jorgen Jorgenson, Edward Abbott, R. H. Bennett and Thomas Fysche Palmer.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Whitbread (1764-1815) was born in Bedfordshire, the son of a brewer. He was elected to the House of Commons for the town of Bedford in 1790 and held the seat for the rest of his life. A close associate of Charles Fox and other Whig leaders, he was an outspoken advocate of parliamentary reform and civil liberties and an opponent of the war with France. Jorgen Jorgenson (1780-1841) was a Danish-born seaman and adventurer. He took part in the Anglo-Danish War in 1808, proclaimed the independence of Iceland in 1809, but then spent periods in English gaols for debt and other offences. In 1825 he was sentenced to transportation and he spent the rest of his life in Van Diemen's Land.
Series W1. Whitbread Correspondence, 1793 - 1814
23 items
Political Miscellaneous: William Roscoe to [Whitbread], 9 January 1809 (File 2448)
Impossibility of peace and desertion of Spain at this time; wishes to write on East Indies; has discussed subject with Thomas Creevey.
Jorgen Jorgenson: Correspondence between Whitbread and Jorgen Jorgenson, November 1811 - September 1813 (File 4831-48)
Concerning Jorgensen's writings on the Copenhagen Expedition, Christianity and the history of Iceland, his need for financial assistance, his difficulties in Portugal, plans to visit other European countries, his writings on the Iberian Peninsula, requests for interviews, ill-treatment by British ministers and his arrest and imprisonment in 1813. In addition, there is a petition on behalf of Jorgensen by officers of the Royal Berkshire Militia (4831), letters on behalf of the Portuguese Government ordering him to leave Portugal in June 1812 (4838-39), and a long essay (64pp) on the history and politics of Portugal, dated 5 Nov. 1812 (4848)
Prisons and Hulks: Lt. Col. William Speed (Woolwich). Memorandum concerning his sentence of seven years' transportation for bigamy, 11 July 1809 (File 4944)
Capper, a government official, tried to prevent Mrs Speed going to New South Wales.
Prisons and Hulks: William Speed (Sydney) to Whitbread, 2 May 1810 (File 4945)
John Capper's treatment of Speed; sends names of persons who will testify against official.
Prisons and Hulks: Joseph Boneham (Spithead) to his wife Sarah, 18 July 1810 (File 4947)
Bound for New South Wales on Indian; sorry for his conduct that led to transportation.
Prisons and Hulks: Jorgen Jorgenson (London), 24 December 1811 (File 4949)
Petition to Prince Regent on his imprisonment.
Prisons and Hulks: Lord Sidmouth to Whitbread, 17 December 1813 (File 4974)
Cannot recommend to Prince Regent to grant mercy to Thomas Coventry, sentenced to transportation.
Prisons and Hulks: Edward Abbott (Sydney) to P.G. King, 13 February 1808 (File 4985)
Events in New South Wales when Governor William Bligh was deposed and replaced by Lt. Col. William Patterson.
Prisons and Hulks: Martin Mason to Whitbread, 21 June 1811 (File 4986)
Conditions under which convicts are employed in New South Wales; good character and rectitude of conduct not always best recommendations.
Prisons and Hulks: Printed prospectus of a work by Martin Mason, surgeon, entitled The History of Botany Bay, or New South Wales, with a letter by Mason on treatment of convicts, 9 May 1812 (File 4987)
Prisons and Hulks: Correspondence of Whitbread, March 1810 - July 1811 (File 4988-97)
Concerning conditions on the Retribution and other convict hulks and accusations of acts of sodomy on board the hulks. The correspondents include Dudley Ryder, John Beckett, Aaron Graham, Richard Fryer and Thomas Thompson. In addition to letters, there are reports by Graham on complaints about the hulks, a copy of Graham's instructions to the captains of hulks regarding management and economy (4992), a statement of the daily allowance of food for convicts (4990) and a statement by Richard Fryer and seven others on the evidence regarding sodomy (4997).
Prisons and Hulks: F. Loader, 14 February 1814 (File 5002)
Former mate on a convict ship; evils and depravity of prisoners.
Prisons and Hulks: Petition by convicts on the Retribution seeking pity and help in their situation on the hulks, 24 March 1814 (File 5004)
Prisons and Hulks: A. Graham to Whitbread, [1814] (File 5005)
Surprised that Loader did not communicate with Graham when he was stationed on the hulks.
Political Offences: Lord Lauderdale, Charles Grey and R.B. Sheridan to Henry Dundas, 14 December 1793 (File 5007)
Questions legality of sentences passed on Thomas Muir and T.F. Palmer; proposes postponement of their transportation until discussed in Parliament.
Political Offences: Thomas Fyshe Palmer (Sydney) to [Whitbread?], 14 August 1797 (File 5009)
Nature of custody in New South Wales; deaths of William Skirving and Joseph Gerrald due to privations; suggests matter be brought up in Parliament.
Navy: R.H. Bennett (HMS Amphion) to Whitbread, 24 January 1801 (File 5133)
Financial affairs; is ready for India if needed; Lord St John's vagaries.
Fonds X290. Papers of the Jeffries family, 1827
1 itemSelect document (1827) containing terms upon which land was granted to settlers in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Fonds X345. Letters from Albert H Culpin to his father, 1892
1 itemSelect item: Letter (1892) from Albert H Culpin.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M821.
Fonds HN. Records of Hobourn, solicitors of Woburn, 1838 - 1943
2 itemsSelect records relating to the estate of Howard Spensley of Westoning Manor and properities of Howard Spensley in Melbourne.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Series HN2/SPEN. Papers relating to the estate of Howard Spensley of Westoning Manor, 1838 - 1943
2 itemsPapers relating to the estate of Howard Spensley of Westoning Manor. Originally Boxes 28-29.
Biographical / Historical
Howard Spensley (1870-1938) was born in Melbourne and educated at Harrow and Cambridge University. He practised as a barrister in London.
In 1905, following the death of his mother, he moved to Westoning, Bedfordshire, as the lord of the manor. He was active in local government and many local organisations. He had business and property interests in Australia and visited the country many times.
He bequeathed the manor house to the Australian Government as a country residence for the High Commissioner in London, but the bequest was declined.
Selected documents, 1896 - 1943 (File Box 28)
11 items
Deputy Registrar-General of Victoria. Resettlement and confirmation by residuary devisee under will of Samuel Staughton of hereditaments in Victoria, 11 November 1896 (Item)
Supreme Court of Victoria. Case stated by Collector of Imposts in matter of indenture of resettlement and confirmation made between (i) H. Spensley (ii) Martha T. Spensley (iii) H. Spensley (iv) S.T. Staughton (v) S.T. Staughton and F.W. Armytage, 30 October 1897 (Item)
(printed)
Deed of revocation and new assignment by Martha T. Spensley of annexe to Royal Arcade, Melbourne, 1913 (Item)
(draft)
Acknowledgment and undertaking by Ethel Spensley to Martha T. Spensley of assignment of income from property in Melbourne, n.d. (Item)
Correspondence of R. Hobourn and Blake and Riggall (Melbourne) concerning H. Spensley Trust and Royal Arcade, Melbourne, 1938 - 1942 (Item)
Selected documents, 1838 - 1943 (File Box 29)
14 items
Schedule of title deeds relating to Allotment 17 of Section 12, Melbourne (Royal Arcade), 1838 - 1896 (Item)
Settlement by H. Spensley upon himself, wife and children of hereditaments situate in Melbourne, 20 June 1901 (Item)
Copy of will of H. Spensley, 24 March 1932 (Item)
Also incudes codicil, 26 Feb. 1938. (Refers to bequest of art objects to Government of Victoria.)
Deed of disclaimer by High Commissioner of Australia concerning bequest of Westoning Manor, 1938 (Item)
(draft)
Fonds SFM. Papers of Swaffield Family of Ampthill, 1849 - 1851
1 itemSelect correspondence between Henry Badcock (Sydney, NSW) to S. Swaffield (Ampthill), 1849-1851 in the Papers relating to Samuel Swaffield (1802-1863), a farmer and land agent.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Series 2. Papers relating chiefly to Samuel Swaffield, 1849 - 1851
1 item
Henry Badcock (Sydney) to S. Swaffield (Ampthill), 1849 - 1851 (File 10-13)
Voyage to Australia; mutiny; fall in wages; visit to a station; prices; purchase of a sheep station; rumours of gold discoveries; effect of gold discoveries on pastoral industry; visit to goldfields; predicts large-scale immigration. (4 letters)
Fonds SM/E. Smyth Family of Streatley and Barton, 1836 - 1852
1 itemSelected correspondence from the Smyth Family papers between Oscar Lines and Jane Kingston.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Series 27-32. Correspondence of Oscar Lines (Pastures Farm, SA) to his mother, Jane Kingston (Harpenden), 1836 - 1852
Conditions on emigrant ship (1837); family news; farming in South Australia; visit to goldfields at Mt Alexander, Victoria; landscape of Victoria; high prices in Adelaide; economic conditions in England. (6 letters)
Fonds X417. Papers presented by Alan F. Cirket of Bedford, 1882
1 itemSelect document relating to the estate of Arthur B Purser.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Fonds X479. Records deposited by Horwood and James, solicitors of Aylesbury, 1873 - 1899
1 itemSelect correspondence and legal papers of the Squire family of Clophill and Victoria.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Series 3. Papers of Squire Family of Clophill and Victoria (21 items), 1873 - 1899
Correspondence of J. Wright (Ampthill) with Blake and Riggall (Melbourne), J.H. Squire (Melbourne) and T.H. Meynell concerning the estate of J.D. Squire and claims of D. Henry, 1898-1899. Will of J.D. Squire of Clophill, 1 April 1873; Deed of assignment from J.H. Squire (Melbourne) to D. Henry (Melbourne), 12 Dec. 1891;
Power of attorney from D. Henry (Melbourne) to T.H. Meynell (London), 12 Dec. 1891.
Fonds X518. Documents deposited by Waterhouse and Co., solicitors, of London, 1861
3 itemsSelect legal documents relating to John and Eliza Brandon (Sydney), Thomas Brandon and E Monser, Mary Morris, Ann Mordell and J Pryor.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Release of (i) E. Monser and R. Eldridge (ii) Mary Morris (Sheffield), Ann Mordell (Gravesend), John and Eliza Brandon (Sydney) (iii) J. Pryor, concerning marriage settlement of James Pryor and Elizabeth Smith, 22 November 1861 (File 9)
Fonds X537. Papers of Rev. G.C.H. Phillips of Northampton, 1926 - 1936
6 itemsSelect documents and notebook of Rev. G C H Phillips, a priest in the Diocese of Waikato, New Zealand.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Fonds X589. Records deposited by G.B. Williams of Pertenhall, 1926 - 1927
2 itemsSelect legal documents relating to Frank H Courage, Marmaduke Bethell (Canterbury, New Zealand).
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Fonds X598. Deeds relating to Garth, Colleton and Gambier families, mainly in Harrold, 1865 - 1866
3 itemsSelect legal documents relating to Gerald Gambier (New Zealand).
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Fonds X604. Documents deposited by Green & Co. of Beaconsfield, 1929 - 1931
2 itemsSelect legal documents relating to Aubrey B C Cooper (Indooroopilly, Queensland) and Elizabeth Cecil (Auckland).
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Fonds X695. Letters of Richard Dillingham, 1831 - 1839
2 itemsCorrespondence 1831-1839 of Richard Dillingham (a convict in Van Diemen's Land).
Archival History
The letters were also filmed on reel M591. Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1659.
Sarah Williamson (Ridgmount) to R. Dillingham (Woolwich), 1 September 1831 (File 1)
Best wishes for future; sends present.
Richard Dillingham (Woolwich and Hobart) to his parents, 1831 - 1839 (File 2-9)
Voyage to Australia on transport Katherine Stewart Forbes; life as a convict; market gardening; wages and prices; trees; family news; hopes for pardon; promise of ticket of leave. (8 letters)
Archival History
The letters were also filmed on reel M591.
Fonds Z136. Papers of Miss Cameron, mainly relating to Cameron and Kennedy families, 1838 - 1888
9 itemsSelect correspondence of Donald Kennedy (New South Wales), Duncan Kennedy (Fort William and Greenock), Jessie Kennedy and William Campbell in Melbourne relating to gold discoveries, wool shipments, trade, prices, colonial politics and Scots in Victoria.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reels M1659-M1660.
Series 21. Letters to Donald Kennedy, 18 May 1838 - 25 April 1848
4 items
William Kennedy (Fort William) to Donald Kennedy (Duntroon), 18 May 1838 (File 1)
Pleased that Donald is doing well in Australia.
Gray and Man to Donald Kennedy (Port Phillip), 18 February 1848 (File 2)
Adjustment of boundaries with G. Roger.
Series 22. Letters to Duncan Kennedy (d.1864) of Fort William and Greenock, 1850 - 1861
3 items
Donald Kennedy (Glenroy and Melbourne) to Duncan Kennedy, 1850-1852, 1858-1864 (File 1-3)
Family news; gold mania; elections; Duncan's return to Scotland; mutual friends; population increase in Melbourne; labour shortage; shipments of wool; changes in land regulations; prices; voyage to Australia in 1858-1859; Victorian politics; European affairs; manhood suffrage; poor calibre of parliamentarians; mail service; sale of stock; G. Cameron; W. Campbell; Sir Henry Barkly; Scots in Victoria; 1860 Land Act; leasing of farms; crops; progress of railways; weather; meeting with explorer, W. Landsborough. (72 letters)
Jessie Kennedy (Glenroy and Melbourne) to Duncan Kennedy, 1850 - 1853 (File 5)
Family news; activities of Donald Kennedy; Melbourne enveloped in dust; departure of Duncan Kennedy from Australia in 1851; picnic; trip to mountains; effects of gold discoveries; separation of Victoria from New South Wales; political candidates. (5 letters)
William Campbell (Melbourne) to Duncan Kennedy, 1859 - 1861 (File 6)
Inspection of stations in South Australia and New Zealand; Donald Kennedy; Victorian elections; social events; manipulation of Land Act by squatters; fall in prices; stagnation in trade; purchase of land in New Zealand; investments. Includes a letter from his son Finlay Campbell. (5 letters)
Series 24-29. Diaries, January 1888 - July 1888
1 item
Diary (author not known) kept on a visit to New Zealand, Australia, India, Malta, Gibraltar and France, January 1888 - July 1888 (File 29)
It contains brief and intermittent entries, with references to Hokitika, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill (Jan. 1888), Melbourne and Adelaide (Feb.-April 1888).
Fonds Z171. Anonymous gifts, 1902
1 itemSelect legal document relating to Rev Randall Leigh (Orange, New South Wales).
General
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1660.
Fonds Z251. Papers of the Newman Family of Ampthill presented by Mrs I.N. Cooper, 1932 - 1945
1 itemSelect correspondence between a Woburn solicitor and members of the Newman family regarding their brother Frederick Thomas Reed Newman. Fred Newman emigrated to Australian in 1906 and was found living in New South Wales under the name of Aubrey Chater.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1660.
Fonds Z506. Papers mainly relating to the Field Family of London and Berkshire, 1855 - 1882
8 itemsSelect documents of the Field Family, including letters of John Field in Melbourne and Octavius Field, Fred Martell and Henry Martell in Geelong, Ballarat and other towns in Victoria.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP reel M1660.
Biographical / Historical
John P. Field (1801-1881) was a gun maker and tobacco manufacturer, who retired to Dunstable in 1870. The four children of his first marriage all emigrated to Australia. His sons Octavius and John Field emigrated in 1863 and 1867. Their sisters had settled in Australia at an earlier date and Mary Ann Field married Henry Martell of Geelong.
Series 3. Correspondence from Australia, 19 July 1855 - 16 February 1882
7 items
John Field (Melbourne) to his father John P. Field, 1870 - 1876 (File 14)
Voyage to Australia in 1866-1867; various occupations; work as a saw sharpener; efforts to give up drink; Primitive Methodist Church; visits to his sister Mary Ann at Geelong; mutual friends; hopes of becoming a gun maker; rent; F.L. Fison; Henry Martell; Victorian politics; economic conditions; religious views. (16 letters)
Fred Martell (Geelong, Ballarat) to John P. Field and Elizabeth Field, 1875 - 1876 (File 15)
Family news; appointment as a drawing teacher at Ballarat; expenses; intended marriage. (8 letters)
Octavius Field (Geelong) to Jessie Field, 24 October 1864 - 26 October 1864 (File 16/1)
Work on Geelong Chronicle; lodgings; family news.
Octavius Field (Ondit) to John P. Field, 14 Aug. [1870] (File 16/2)
News of Franco-Prussian tensions; opening of Melbourne Town Hall; severe weather; school at Ondit.
Octavius Field (Puckapunyal) to sisters, 16 February 1882 (File 16/3)
Death of their father; separation of family; Martells.