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Blanckley Family Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Henry Stanyford Blanckley (1752-1820) was an army officer who served as British consul in Algeria and the Balearic Islands. He married Mary Rogers in 1779, with whom he had three children: Maria Blanckley (later, Tonna), Edward Blanckley (d. 1845), and Henry Stanyford Blanckley, Jr. (1785-1819). In 1800, he married Mary Richards, with whom he had two more daughters, Elizabeth Blanckley (1802-1859), and Henrietta Blanckley (b. 1813).
Blanckley's youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who became known under her married name, Elizabeth Broughton, achieved literary fame in 1839 with the publication of her book Six Years Residence in Algiers, which was based on a diary her mother kept during the family's residence in the city. Both of Blanckley's sons achieved distinction in the armed services, Edward as a naval officer, and Henry, Jr., as an army officer who saw action at the Battle of Waterloo. Edward married Harriett Matcham (1799-1838), and Henry, Jr., married Elizabeth Diana Blanckley (d. 1859), with whom he had four sons and a daughter, Henrietta (Henriette) Elizabeth Blanckley (b. 1820), who became a teacher at Versailles in France.
Maria became known as Maria Tonna after marrying Lewis Tonna (d. 1828) of Liverpool, who served as Spanish vice-consul and joined his father-in-law as his secretary in Algeria. The Tonna family later made a home in Malta with their two children, Mary Louisa Tonna (later, Philippides Cammenos) and Lewis Hippolytus Joseph Tonna (1812-1857). Mary Louisa married Evangeli Philippides Cammenos, a native of Malta, in 1831. Her husband's half-brother was Odysseus Androutsos (b. 1788), a hero of the Greek War of Independence who was executed in 1825. Their sister, Tersitsa, was married at thirteen to Edward John Trelawny (1792–1881), who traveled to Greece with Lord Byron to fight on behalf of Greek independence. Lewis Hippolytus Joseph Tonna worked abroad as a translator and later returned to England to join the Royal United Services Institute. His fervent Protestant religious views brought him into contact with Charlotte Elizabeth Browne (1790-1846), the evangelical writer and social reformer, whom he married in 1841.
Consists of a group of assorted family papers of the Blanckley family, primarily relating to Henry Stanyford Blanckley (1752-1820), British consul in Algeria and the Balearic Islands, along with his children and grandchildren in Great Britain, Malta, the Balearic Islands, France, and Greece. While this group of materials centers around Blanckley and his descendents, the Tonna, Philippides Cammenos, Androutsos, and Rogers families are also represented. Materials follow three generations of the family from the early 1800s until the century's close and relate to subjects including British involvement in the Mediterranean, the Greek War of Independence, and the final years of the Napoleonic Wars.
Materials include correspondence between Henry Stanyford Blanckley and his children, Edward, Henry, Jr., and Maria Tonna; correspondence and documents of Maria Tonna, including letters from her sister-in-law Elizabeth Diana Blanckley and from various Rogers family members, as well as a school report card for one of her children; and correspondence and documents of Mary Louisa Philippides Cammenos, including letters from her brother, Lewis Hippolytus Joseph Tonna, and from various Greek and American consular officials, letters she wrote to her cousin Henriette Blanckley at Versailles, and her will. There are also single letters to the elder Lewis Tonna from a Spanish duke and to Henriette Blanckley. Additional documents include a list of family members of Odysseus and Tersitsa Androutsos and an unsigned seven-page poem about life in Malta. The majority of materials are in English, though several letters are written in French or Spanish.
Materials are grouped by family member.
Purchased in 2016, with matching funds provided by the Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund (AM 2017-61).
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in November 2016. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in November 2016.
Nothing was separated from the collection during 2016 processing.
People
- Blanckley family
- Androutsos family
- Tonna family
- Rogers family.
- Philippides Cammenos family
- Blanckley, Henry Stanyford (1752-1820)
- Philippides Cammenos, Mary Louisa
- Tonna, Maria
Subject
- Diplomatic and consular service, British. -- 19th century -- Correspondence
- Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815. -- Correspondence
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Kelly Bolding
- Finding Aid Date
- 2016
- Access Restrictions
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Open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
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Collection Inventory
Consists of five letters, mainly written from Bath, to his daughter Maria Tonna and granddaughter, Mary Louisa, at Birkett Street, Soho, Liverpool. While the letters are primarily from Henry Stanyford Blanckley, Sr., several of the letters also contain additions by Blanckley's son Henry, Jr., and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Diana. The letters describe Blanckley's military service, a reception by the Prince Regent at Brighton, embarkation for America with his wife, his unhappiness at being recalled by Wellington, life in Bath, and his state of health.
Physical Description1 folder
Two letters from Elizabeth Diana Blanckley to her sister-in-law Maria Tonna, giving family news including that of Henry, Jr., after the Battle of Waterloo, his progress to Paris with the occupying armies, and the duke's refusal to give leave other than to the sick and wounded.
Physical Description1 folder
One letter, undated but on paper watermarked 1827, addressed to Mrs. (Maria) Tonna in Argos. The signature is damaged, but the letter is likely written by an English official on the Ionian Islands. It refers, among other things, to the arrival of goods from France at Navarino. In parentheses underneath is written, "This for Mrs. Trelawny," followed by, "The Packet leaves Malta this day - no hoax this time." By this time the marriage between Edward Trelawny and his wife Tersitsa had broken down, and Trelawny returned to England in 1828, leaving behind Tersitsa with their daughter, Zella.
Physical Description1 folder
Three letters to Maria Tonna from several family members and others, including a letter from her uncle [William?] Rogers in Dublin, requesting that she visit with her children (October 29th, no year); a letter from her cousin Isabella Rogers (June 14th, 1820), regarding family matters; and a letter from Thomas Hesketh, baronet, of Rufford Hall, regarding a relative of Lewis Tonna (August 16th, 1814).
Physical Description1 folder
School report card, titled "Examination," addressed to Maria Tonna, likely for one of her children. Marks are given in subjects such as scripture, geography, history, dictionary, French, Italian, dancing, and others.
Physical Description1 folder
A letter from the Duke of San Carlos, regarding the passage of the Foreign Enlistment Bill of 1819 in the Parliament of Great Britain, which would prevent enlistments and the equipment of vessels for foreign service.
Physical Description1 folder
One letter from the younger Lewis Tonna to his sister, Mary Louisa, almost entirely regarding his poor state of health, though with mention of a Greek letter.
Physical Description1 folder
Three letters from Mary Louisa Philippides Cammenos in Bath to her cousin Henriette Blanckley (Henrietta Elizabeth Blanckley, the daughter of Henry Stanyford Blanckley, Jr.) in France, raising matters of family history. Two letters are dated July 1875, and the third 1889. One is in English and two are in French.
Physical Description1 folder
Three letters from various officials, including Jonas King (United States consul in Athens, Greece), William Leach Giro (United States consul in Alicante, Spain), and J. Soutzo (Greek Secretary of Legation in Paris), which once enclosed requested family documents.
Physical Description1 folder
Will of Mary Louisa Philippides Cammenos, leaving all of her possessions to her daughter, Emily Philippides Cammenos, along with a related document describing her and her daughter's background and current condition.
Physical Description1 folder
A letter written from 16 Queen Adelaide House, Penyl, to Henriette Blanckley at Versailles.
Physical Description1 folder
Describes the relationship between the Philippides Cammenos and Androutsos families.
Physical Description1 folder
Seven-page manuscript poem, light-hearted in tone, describing life in Malta. While the poem is unsigned, it was likely written by a cousin of the Tonna family.
Physical Description1 folder