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| Archive Reference / Library Class No. | D8760/F/FEG/1/17/1 |
| Former Reference | D3287/31/8 |
| Title | Letter from Mary Richardson, second wife of John Richardson, to her cousin Eleanor Isabella Franklin, just after Eleanor's arrival back in England from Tasmania, including references to Eleanor's engagement and Sir John's Franklin's grievances involving Lord Stanley |
| Date | 21 Jun [1844] |
| Description | If Eleanor's father wil pay £28 10s in to Stilwell's hands, she will pay the bills here; he lives in Arundel Street, Strand, and is John's agent. They are glad to hear Lord Stanley has seen her uncle and is sure he will have been gracious and anxious to please "as cheaply as he could": she hopes for the settlement of her uncle's grievances. She encloses a note from Mr Price's sister about Mary and her brother, and another from a married sister, to whom he would send answer about her knowledge of Mr [?]Fisher; she asks Eleanor to get her uncle to read her notes and send her a reply for Mrs Johnson. She had heard that Mrs Buckland expected her uncle and Eleanor's Mama down to Oxford and was glad Eleanor went as well. She has good accounts of Mr Gell; she is copying part of a letter from Eleanor's father's acquaintance, Mrs Davy, being a praiseworthy person of no common intellect or character; she lives close to Mrs Arnold and is intimate with her. The extract from Mrs Davy's letter is copied out, rejoicing that Mary's uncle is home, the pleasure being shared by Mrs Arnold, who also rejoiced in what she had learned of Miss Franklin; she only heard the day before of her engagement to their friend Mr Gell, who could not be higher in the opinion of Dr Arnold, as can be seen from his 'Memoirs'; Dr Arnold made it an exception in not destroying Gell's letters as soon as he had answered them; she thought his aims and capacities were most like those of Dr Arnold than anyone else she had known; Eleanor is therefore a very happy and fortunate person; she asks for the congratulations of the Davys and best regards to be given, as well those of her mother and sisters. The copied lines were also sent to Mrs Kay as testimonials for her future nephew. Mary asks to be told if her uncle can reply to Mrs Johnson and of any news about Lord Stanley. She is afraid Eleanor will be "knocked up with London hours": Mary is expecting his brother, his wife and 5 children for the next two weeks, but after that they will be alone.
Date is only given as 21 June; the year 1843 has been added in pencil, but as the Franklins only returned from Van Diemen's Land to England in June 1844 , it means that the year must be 1844. |
| Extent | 2 sheets |
| Level | Item |
| Repository | Derbyshire Record Office |
| Full Catalogue List | Click here to view a full list for this collection |
| Sender | Mary Richardson |
| Sender Location | Royal Haslar Hospital [Hampshire] |
| Recipient | Eleanor Isabella Franklin |
| Recipient Location | No address |
| Archive Creator | Eleanor Isabella Franklin, later Eleanor Gell (1824-1860) |
| Gell family of Hopton Hall, Wirksworth |
| Term | Colonialism |
| British Empire |
| Letters (documents) |
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