Fonds P25 - The Thomas White Collection

Identity area

Reference code

IE 2135 P25

Title

The Thomas White Collection

Date(s)

  • 1702-1720 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

2 items

Context area

Name of creator

(1676-1742)

Biographical history

Thomas White was born in Darlstone [Dalston], Hackney, Middlesex in 1676 to Stephen White (1633-1681) and Hester née Drake. His father was a successful London merchant, who worked in partnership with his uncle, Sir Steven White (d. c. 1678), and three brothers, two of whom were living in Oporto, Portugal. From his uncle, Stephen inherited £3,000 together with lands and tenements in the parish of Aldham, Essex, ‘which lys about 5 mile on this side of Colchester & within a mile of the London road’.

Thomas was one of four children, two of whom died in infancy. His surviving sister, Hester, married Bedingfield Heigham in 1694. As the only surviving son, Thomas inherited considerable wealth from his father following the latter’s premature death from illness when Thomas was five years old. He appears to have trained as a solicitor, with chambers in the Temple, and to have accrued additional land holdings, including ‘an Estate in the Barrony of Clonnelloe in the County of Lymrick, I think within 5 miles of the City containing 1469 acres 12 Rood & 38 pearch Plantation Measure’. He married on 3 June 1718 Olive Western (1699-1753), daughter of Maximilian Western of Abington Hall, and by her had three children, Thomas (1720-1808), Frances (1721-1778) and Olive (b. 1723). He died on 23 November 1742, ‘possessed of a very large Estate’ in Suffolk, as noted by Stanford Mercury (25 November 1742).

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Item P25/1 was purchased from De Búrca Rare Books on 26 February 2016. Item P25/2 was purchased from a private seller on 29 January 2024.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

This collection comprises two folio manuscript letter books bound in vellum containing copied letters from Thomas White to various named persons between 1702 and 1719. White writes mainly from London, and the letters are mainly concerned with the letting and management of his extensive portfolio of farms and properties, some in England but including a substantial number in County Limerick. Hovering in the background is the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), and the letter book provides insights into the effects of the on-going conflict on rents and land transactions. There is also a more personal side to the letter books, with several copies of letters to an aunt and cousins, rich in detail, with frequent references to court gossip, political and current affairs and personal family matters. The letter books open a vivid and multi-faceted view into the life of the prosperous middle class in the first decade of the eighteenth century.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

All records have been retained.

Accruals

No accruals are expected.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Unrestricted access to all items.

Conditions governing reproduction

Standard copyright regulations apply to all items. For photocopying or reproducing material, please consult with the staff.

Language of material

  • Béarla

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    Physical characteristics and technical requirements

    Two bound manuscript volumes, one (P25/1) in good condition except for a partly detached endpaper and one partly detached page, the other (P25/2) with damaged covers and minor worming to pages but in otherwise good condition.

    Finding aids

    A hard copy of the descriptive catalogue is available at the Special Collections and Archives Department, Glucksman Library, University of Limerick.

    Allied materials area

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    Related descriptions

    Notes area

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Access points

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    Name access points

    Genre access points

    Description control area

    Description identifier

    Rules and/or conventions used

    This description follows guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd edition (2000), Irish Guidelines for Archival Description (2009), National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names (1997) and EAP Guidance on Data Protection for Archive Services (2018).

    Status

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        Archivist's note

        Papers arranged and described by Anna-Maria Hajba in October 2022.

        Accession area