George Chalmers collection

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Collection Data

Description
George Chalmers (1742-1825) was a British historian, civil servant, and author. He was a lawyer in Baltimore until the American Revolutionary War. After he returned to England, his positions included chief clerk at the Office for Trade in London and colonial agent for the Bahamas. He wrote biographies, poetry and pamphlets on the American colonies and collected a large library of books and manuscripts. The George Chalmers collection, dated 1606-1817, consists of documents relating to the American colonies, writings, and correspondence. Documents include materials on Canada, the Carolinas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Florida, and Indians in North America. Also included are notes for a history of the revolt of the colonies, introductory volume about America under George II, and related materials.
Names
Chalmers, George, 1742-1825 (Creator)
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1606 - 1817
Library locations
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Shelf locator: MssCol 507
Topics
Canada -- History -- 1763-1867
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France)
Connecticut -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Florida -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Georgia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Great Britain -- Colonies -- America
Maryland -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
New York (State) -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
North Carolina -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Nova Scotia -- History -- 1763-1867
Nova Scotia -- History -- To 1763
Pennsylvania -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Rhode Island -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
South Carolina -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Colonies -- America
Indians of North America -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Historians
Genres
Documents
Notes
Funding: Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation.
Ownership: This collection was originally part of the library of George Chalmers. When Chalmers died in 1825, the library was inherited by his nephew, James Chalmers, and kept intact until his death in 1841. James Chalmers' sister then sold the original Chalmers library to Messrs. Evans, dealers in London. A large portion was purchased by London bookseller Thomas Thorpe, and Colonel Thomas Aspinwall purchased a number of volumes pertaining to the American colonies from him in 1843. Samuel L. M. Barlow later purchased the Aspinwall volumes, which were purchased by the Lenox Library in 1890 after Barlow's death. The remainder of the volumes were purchased from the estate of George Bancroft in 1893.
Physical Description
Extent: 4.01 linear feet (2 boxes, 27 volumes, 2 oversized folders)
Type of Resource
Text
Identifiers
MSS Unit ID: 507
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11822957
Archives collections id: archives_collections_507
RLIN/OCLC: NYPW93-A180
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 7cf43260-a5b8-0132-dcbb-58d385a7b928
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