Collection search - Official and personal correspondence and despatches of the 8th Earl of Elgin [textual record (microform)]

Record information – Brief
1
Official and personal correspondence and despatches of the 8th Earl of Elgin [textual record (microform)]

Hierarchical level:

Sub-series

Date:

1819-1858 (predominantly 1847-1854).

Reference:

R977-8-5-E, MG24-A16

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

127133

Context of this record:

Show detail Hide detail

James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, and family fonds

8th Earl of Elgin - Public Life

Official and personal correspondence and despatches of the 8th Earl of Elgin
Link to this record

Add to My Research

Link to this record

This link identifies the web page describing this particular record. Unlike the temporary link in your browser, this link will allow you to access, and reference, this page in the future. To link to this descriptive record, copy and paste the URL where ever needed (wiki, blog, document).

Sign in

Sign in to start saving records using My Research

Sign in
Record information – Details

Date(s):

1819-1858 (predominantly 1847-1854).

Place of creation:

Various places

Extent:

6 microfilm reels.

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

Show detail Hide detail

The sub-series consists of bundles of records chosen to be microfilmed in 1958 present a narrower focus on the Canada-related records of the 8th Earl of Elgin than does the original material acquired in 2010. Criteria used in selecting the correspondence for filming emphasized the Earl's political and diplomatic responsibilities during his tenure as Governor-in-Chief administering the Province of Canada, 1847-1854, and concurrently as Governor General promoting co-operation amongst the provinces of British North America, as well as his service as Plenipotentiary negotiator of the Reciprocity Treaty on behalf of those colonies. Those criteria consciously excluded materials considered to duplicate records then available at the Public Archives of Canada (notably Elgin's drafts of Private Letters to Lord Grey), and included only one major sequence of personal correspondence, the letters to his wife. Microfilm reels A-396 to A-401.

While the sequence of filming in 9 "bundles" obscures the original arrangement created by or for Lord Elgin, close analysis will reveal its essential framework - notably its segregation into series (tied in bundles for storage) of diplomatic correspondence with the British Minister at Washington and the Foreign Secretary; of correspondence with fellow governors across British North America, the Commanders of the Forces, and senior officials within the province he governed; and of the official Despatches and the Private Letters exchanged with the Colonial Secretary. Within bundles, incoming and outgoing correspondence generally form separate chronological sequences. Most confidential prints remained with the covering letters, but a number were gathered to form the artificial Bundle 7. A brief statement of content prefaced each bundle, but the absence of running heads or page numbers has made tracing from the finding aid to the documents challenging.

Finding aid:

Show detail Hide detail

(Paper) MSS Finding Aid 129 (part 1) provides an item-level description of author, recipient, date and subject for the documents in the order of their appearance on reels A-396 to A-400, but only the outside dates for the bundle of letters on reel A-401. Nor does it identify links to the correspondence of the 3rd Earl Grey (MG 24, A 10), records of the Governor's office (RG 7) or of the Colonial Office (MG 11, CO 42 and 43). MSS FA0129 (99: Closed pending processing)

Additional information:

Show detail Hide detail

Custodial history:

Microfilmed for the Public Archives of Canada in 1958 from the original records preserved in the Bruce family archives at Broomhall, Dumfermline, Fifeshire, through the National Library of Scotland. All originals, except the three letters in Bundle 9, were acquired in 2010.

Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

Show detail Hide detail

MG24-A16
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Show detail Hide detail

Textual records: microform

[Consultation90 Open]

Microfilm reel A-396--A-401

[Consultation 90 Open]

You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.

Cannot visit us on site? You can purchase a copy to be sent to you. Some restrictions may apply.

Report a problem on this page

Date modified:: 2024-06-12