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Letters to Francis Seymour-Conway
Title
Letters to Francis Seymour-Conway, 1743-1784.
Physical Description
61 items ; 23 cm.
Language
English
Notes
The manuscript is accompanied by typed transcription.
Pasted into letter of Aug 22, 1744: printed and handwritten note about Cadivor ap Gwaethvord, Lord of Cardigan Iscoed.
Laid in with letter of August 11, 1748: list of contents of manuscript.
Laid in with letter of May 11, 1764: newspaper clipping from Gazetteer, dated May 9, 1764, concerning Conway's dismissal.
Vol. 2 with original binding, now housed separately. Binding: half red morocco over marbled boards. Written on cover: The Conway Correspondence. Pasted inside front cover: bookplate with Order of the Garter. Laid in with the covers are a pencilled floor plan and a page from a journal listing the numbers of foot soldiers and naval ships and guns in Europe, North America, Africa, East and West Indies, and the Mediterranean.
In English.
Provenance
Purchased from Sotheby's, June 1933.
Access and use
This material is available for research.
Biographical / Historical Note
Henry Seymour Conway (1719-1795) was an army general and politician. He fought in the War of the Austrian Succession; served in Ireland during the Jacobite Rebellion, and in Germany during the Seven Years' War. He was successively promoted to major general in 1756 and to lieutenant general in 1759. Sitting in the House of Commons from 1741 to 1774 and from 1775 to 1784, Conway became a leading member of the opposition, opposing the King's action against John Wilkes regarding general warrants in 1763. In 1765, he became secretary of state for the southern department in Lord Rockingham's ministry, where he promoted a policy of reconciliation towards the American colonies. He supported the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, and opposed the taxation policies of Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend. He criticized British prosecution of the war with the American colonies and played an important part in the House of Commons' resolution against continuing the war. In 1747, he married Caroline Bruce, countess of Ailesbury (1721-1803), and had one child, Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828). His aunt Catherine was the wife of Sir Robert Walpole, and Conway maintained a lifelong friendship and correspondence with his cousin Horace Walpole.
Francis Seymour-Conway, first marquess of Hertford (1718-1794) and older brother of Henry Seymour Conway, was a courtier and politician. He became a lord of the bedchamber in 1757 and was sworn to the privy council in 1763. He served as ambassador to France 1763-5, lord lieutenant of Ireland 1765-6, lord chamberlain 1766-1782 and again in 1783. He was also lord lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1757 until his death. From 1766-1782, he was a friend and confidant to George III. Hertford supported Lord North's administration and the war in America, in which three of his sons served, and voted against Shelburne's peace preliminaries in February 1783. He was also influential in Irish politics, owning extensive estates in County Antrim, and serving a term as lord lieutenant in 1765-6.
Summary
Collection, in a single hand, of 61 letters from Henry Seymour-Conway to his brother, Lord Francis Seymour-Conway, in which he discusses military, political, and social news between 1744 and 1784. The collection contains discussion of his military service in the Netherlands in the 1740s, including a detailed description of battle against the French in a letter dated June 30, 1743; he also mentions his campaign in Germany during the Seven Years' War, including his altercation with Col. Beckwith, his irritation with a commission he has been given, and news of a peace treaty between Austria and Prussia. In 1744 he discusses the practicality of buying a regiment, asks his brother for help raising the money, and offers to sell his own South Sea stock. He writes several letters from Dublin Castle reporting on Irish politics, including some movements in the House of Lords regarding "papists." In England, he complains about prime minister George Grenville's uncivil and unjust treatment of him and defends his decision in the affair of the Britannic Legion and in the John Wilkes affair which led to his dismissal from court and military office in 1764. Conway also occasionally mentions American affairs, including one letter in 1766 which reports the repeal of the Stamp Act, and another in 1774 in which he expresses pleasure on hearing that violent measures in America had been rejected for the present. Numerous letters make reference to friends and family, including his wife Lady Ailesbury and Conway's close friend Horace Walpole, who offers financial assistance after Conway's dismissal; becomes ill in 1765; and visits Conway after Conway's retirement in 1784.
Format
Archives or Manuscripts
Added to Catalog
April 04, 2008
References
Henry Seymour Conway, Letters to Francis Seymour-Conway. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.
Cite as
Henry Seymour Conway, Letters to Francis Seymour-Conway. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.
Subjects
Genre/Form
Correspondence.
Bookmark As
Citation
