Creator
John Mackay
Recipient
James D. Butler
Transcription
120 Brattle Street Cambridge Mass Feb. 6. 1888.
Dear Sis
A couple of days ago I send a communition to "Notes & Queries" under the heading of your query Convicts shipped to the Colonies. My communication referred to a lot of Scottish prisoners deported to Boston from London in 1651, presumably by order fo the English government.
On looking over "N& Q" today I find your address appended to one of your "replies." I have several times received friendly communications direct from contributors to that valuable periodical and as you express a desire to have the names of any prisoners sent to New England, I now beg to hand you the list of Scottish prisoners in the hope that it will prove of interest. The original entry (copies from the ships' papers) is in the Archives in the Probate Court for the County of Suffolk, Mass. The list, I may add, has been printed and can be seen in the 1st Vol. of the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (Boston 1847), and in the Suffolk Register
06154
of Deeds. Liber I (Boston 1880). I have compared the printed list with the original entry and can vouch for its correctness, having only a difference of opinion as to a few letters in the spelling of some of the names. The blanks show where the paper is worn or the words illegible.
I am in the United States merely on a visit from Scotland but passing the winter in Cambridge, and being so near to Boston have been hunting for records re= garding early Scottish settlers in New England. It was in this search that I came across the list of Scottish prisoners.
I may mention that the Scots Charitable Society of Boston is the oldest benevolent institution in the U.S. It was founded in 1657, is still flourishing, and its Books are intact from the beginning.
Pray let me know if you receive this, and believe me, Yours Faithfully
John MacKay
James D. Butler Esq
Location
Cambridge, Mass.
Date Original
1888 Feb 6
Source
Original letter dimensions: 18 x 11.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Mackay, John, "Letter from John Mackay to James D. Butler, 1888 Feb 6." (1888). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1745.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1745
Resource Identifier
muir05_0964-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 05, Image 0964
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyright status unknown
Copyright Statement
Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Pages
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
