Series 5 - Peyton Johnston and family letters

25 sub-series

Kerby A. Miller created his transcripts of the Johnston letters from the originals held in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Materials pertaining to 26 letters written by members of the Johnston family in counties Longford and Fermanagh to relatives in Richmond, Virginia and New Orleans, Louisiana between 1834 and 1841. Most of these letters were written to Peyton Johnston and his brothers, who resided in Richmond, Virginia, by their parents, their aunt, Alicia Welsh, and their siblings who remained - at least temporarily - in Ireland. Other letters of the Johnston family (not reproduced here) indicate that the eldest son, Peyton, eventually became a wholesale druggist in Richmond. Around 1840, his letters indicate that he is highly interested in the business community of Richmond. The letters and associated research formed the major case study for Miller's research project on the decline of Protestantism in southern Ireland during the first half of the 19th century. Included in this series are transcripts and reproductions of the original letters; research on the Johnston family, counties Longford and Fermanagh, and Irish Protestantism compiled by Miller and numerous correspondents; correspondence between Miller and historical repositories regarding his research; essays written by Miller on the Johnstons and southern Irish Protestantism; Miller's research notes; and photocopies of secondary research sources.

Sub-series 4 through 15 are physically housed in Box 27 and sub-series 16 through 25 are physically housed in Box 28 due to space limitations.