Materials related to the William Dobbin journal written in 1824. William Dobbin was born in 1771 in Connagher, County Antrim and emigrated with his wife and children to Upstate New York in 1824, following two of his sons and a younger brother who had emigrated previously to Salem, Washington Co., New York. Their destination and eventual settlement was the Associate (Seceder) Presbyterian farming community that had been created by Rev. Thomas Clark, from Newbliss, Co. Monaghan in the early 1760s. Dobbin's journal covers a voyage of 45 days from Belfast to Quebec, undertaken and written in 1824 although probably revised later. The series contains Miller's research notes, a photocopy of Dobbin's journal and of John Dobbin of Connagher: Descendants by William J. Foster (1936).
Photocopied pages from William J. Forster's, John Dobbin of Connagher: Descendants., Schenectady, N.Y.: n.p., 1936, which includes, 'Journal Kept by William Dobbin During his Voyage from Ireland to America in July and August, 1824.' The reference copy of the William Dobbin journal and Miller's related research are located in P155/8/2.
Typed transcript of an 1816 letter written by William Coyne. William Coyne was a Protestant manufacturer in Belfast and he is writing to his brother, Henry Coyne, in Duchess County, New York on St Patrick's Day, 1817. Miller based his essays, 'Forging a Protestant Way of Life': Class Conflict and the Origins of Unionist Hegemony in Early Nineteenth-Century Ulster' and 'Belfast's First Bomb, 28 February 1816: Class Conflict and the Origins of Unionist Hegemony' on the letter and found it to be of great historical significance due to its descriptions of violent class conflict between Belfast's cotton manufacturers and their illegally-unionised Protestant cotton weavers following the Napoleonic wars, the conditions of which, according to Miller, 'were instrumental in generating mass migration by the Irish poor to America and Britain.'
Materials pertaining to a letter written by William Coyne, a Protestant manufacturer in Belfast, to his brother Henry Coyne in Duchess County, New York on St Patrick's Day, 1817. Included are a copy of the original letter, typed transcripts, Kerby A. Miller's correspondence with donors and colleagues, research notes, contemporary newspaper clippings, and a copy of Miller's 'Forging a Protestant Way of Life': Class Conflict and the Origins of Unionist Hegemony in Early Nineteenth-Century Ulster', which is based on Coyne's letter. Miller also based his essay, 'Belfast's First Bomb, 28 February 1816: Class Conflict and the Origins of Unionist Hegemony' on the letter and found it to be of great historical significance due to its descriptions of violent class conflict between Belfast's cotton manufacturers and their illegally-unionised Protestant cotton weavers following the Napoleonic wars, the conditions of which, according to Miller, 'were instrumental in generating mass migration by the Irish poor to America and Britain.'
Kerby A. Miller's abstracts of five transatlantic letters found in the family papers of United Irishman William Corbet (1779-1842). Corbet was expelled from Trinity College Dublin in 1798 for seditious activities and joined the French army as a captain. Arrested in Hamburg, he was brought back to Dublin and imprisoned in Kilmainham in 1799. In 1803 he escaped and rejoined the French army, becoming colonel in 1815 and later major-general. His papers consist largely of letters to his brother Frederick in New York, in addition to correspondence from other members of the Corbet and Lyons families.
TS letter from Kevin Boyle to Francis Keenan, Solicitor, Belfast, discussing the trial, sentencing and appeal of William Campbell, who was sentenced on charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition in Belfast in 1977.
Materials regarding a letter written by Irish emigrant William Brown in New Orleans to Robert Grimshaw of Belfast, 7 April 1819. Brown was from a prominent Belfast merchant family who operated on both sides of the Atlantic.
William Bennett and Graham Jackson. Concert held at the Aula Maxima, National University of Ireland, Galway. File includes printed flyer from the concert featuring brief information on the concert, musicians and sponsors (2 copies) concert checklist with details of artist booking, tickets, media, programme, venue and other details; TS biographies of Bennett and Jackson; Correspondence includes Ts and fax letters between Madeleine Flanagan, Administrator of Music for Galway and Alexander Durston of The Rod Gunner Organisation Ltd. discussing terms and arrangements for the Galway concert (26 Aug 1997 - 16 Jan 1998) TS contract detailing terms and programme of concert by Bennett and Jackson, signed by [ ] on behalf of R.G.O. (29 Jan 1998, 2 pp) TS and fax letters between Flanagan and Christy Hayes, Managing Director of Thermo King Europe (Ireland) discussing terms of sponsorship for the concert (5 - 12 Feb 1998) Letters from Flanagan to Mary McKeon, General Manager of Great Southern Hotel Galway discussing sponsorship of accommodation for Bennett and Jackson. (6 Feb - 10 Mar 1998)
Kerby A. Miller's abstracts of letters found in the papers of William Bell, featuring two transcribed excerpts from letters written by Bell's nephews Jacob and Richard in Montreal and New Brunswick, respectively, to Bell in Thurlow (now part of Belleville, Ontario).
Per Miller: ‘William Bell was born in 1760, in Ireland. He joined the British Army, and fought in the War of the Revolution with the 31st Regiment of Foot in the v. of Lake Champlain. At the end of the war, he came to Canada, and on the invitation of John Ferguson, settled in Thurlow. For a short time, he taught school on the Mohawk reservation. Later he formed a partnership with Ferguson, opened a general store in Thurlow, and also was Justice of the Peace and Coroner. He died c.1833. Most of his papers deal with the militia, 1798-1829. He served under Ferguson, and in 1825 superseded him as the colonel in command of the 1st Regiment of Hastings Militia.’
Typed transcripts of a letter sent by William Barry in White Plains, New York to his parents in County Cork in 1866. This letter was originally collected by Kerby A. Miller's collaborator, Arnold Schrier, whose introduction to the letter is included in this series. Schrier writes: 'In March, 1867, Barry returned with arms to Ireland to take part in the planned Fenian rising, but he arrived too late. He subsequently married and settled in Co. Cork; he died young, leaving a family and five children. How typical was Barry as a young Fenian recruit? He seems to have had the "exile mentality," although he seemed happy in America and doing well. He was working as a farm laborer in an orchard in White Plains.'