ca. 1837-ca. 1873
Guide to the Collection
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| Title: | Winslow family memorial |
| Dates: | ca. 1837-ca. 1873 |
| Physical Description: | 2 document
boxes |
| Call Number: | Ms. N-2322 |
| Repository: | Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215
library@masshist.org |
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Abstract:
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This collection consists of five manuscript volumes
on Winslow family history, written by Boston merchant Isaac Winslow and his
daughter Margaret Catharine Winslow. Included are excerpts transcribed from
family correspondence, journals, and other papers.
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Isaac Winslow (1774-1856)
Isaac Winslow was born in Boston on 2 Feb. 1774, the son of merchant and
Loyalist Isaac Winslow (1743-1793) and Mary Davis Winslow. In 1795 and 1796, he
went twice to sea as a supercargo, traveling to Europe and the Mediterranean.
On his return to Boston, he began work as a merchant and was headquartered for
many years on Long Wharf. On 24 Feb. 1801, he married Margaret Blanchard
(1777-1830), and their children included: Isaac (b. 1802), Edward (b. 1803),
William Henry (1805-1821), Thomas Savage (b. 1807), Benjamin Pollard
(1810-1879), George (1812-1865), and Margaret Catharine (1816-1890). After his
wife's death, Isaac married her sister Henrietta (1787-1858) on 16 June 1831.
He died in Roxbury on 26 July 1856.
Margaret Catharine Winslow (1816-1890)
Margaret Catharine Winslow was the only daughter of Isaac Winslow
(1774-1856).
The Winslow family memorial consists of five manuscript volumes written by
Boston merchant Isaac Winslow from about 1837 and continued after his death by
his daughter Margaret Catharine Winslow. Volume I, Volume II, and most of
Volume III were written by Isaac Winslow; the end of Volume III through Volume
V were written by Margaret Catharine Winslow. The memorial combines family
history and genealogy, personal memoir, political commentary, and eyewitness
accounts of historical events between ca. 1620-1839, including the American
Revolution, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812.
The memorial contains excerpts transcribed from family correspondence,
journals, and other papers; newspaper clippings; and revisions and annotations.
Among the subjects are: early Massachusetts history, the causes of the American
Revolution, the Siege of Boston, Loyalist refugees, the Sandemanian church,
smallpox and other diseases, commerce and international trade, Federalism and
Anti-Federalism, slavery, depression, and suicide. Included is an account of
Isaac Winslow's travels to Europe and the Mediterranean as a supercargo in
1795-1796. Family members described in the memorial include Isaac's parents
Isaac Winslow (1743-1793) and Mary Davis Winslow, his wife Margaret Blanchard
Winslow, his son William Henry Winslow, and members of the related Sparhawk,
Davis, Pollard, and Blanchard families.
For a complete transcription of the Winslow family memorial in PDF format,
click
here (622 pp, 2.41 MB). Use the links in the Detailed Description of
the Collection below to access transcriptions of individual volumes.
The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds the following collection
related to the Winslow family memorial:
Winslow family papers. Ms. N-486.
Gift of Robert Newsom, Oct. 2010.
Descriptions and editorial material are the copyright of Robert Walker
Newsom.
The Winslow family memorial was transcribed in 2009-2010 by Dr. Robert
Newsom of the University of California, Irvine. Use the links in the Detailed
Description of the Collection below to access Newsom's transcriptions and
detailed descriptions of each volume. To facilitate keyword searching of the
entire collection, the individual transcriptions for all five volumes have been
combined into one PDF document
here
(622 pp, 2.41 MB).
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| Box | Folder | Contents |
| | Volume I
Written by Isaac
Winslow.
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| Box 1 | Folder 1 | | Preface
8 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 9-12.]The history of the Winslow family memorial, Isaac's reasons for writing it,
and the importance of family and ancestry.
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| Box 1 | Folder 2-3 | | Chapter 1
28 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 13-25.]Isaac's father Isaac Winslow (1743-1793), his character, education, family,
and incidents in his life; his marriage in 1770 to Margaret Sparhawk, her death
in 1772, and his subsequent depression; his second marriage in 1772 to Mary
Davis (1757-1800).
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| Box 1 | Folder 4 | | Chapter 2
6 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 26-29.]Winslow and Davis family members; Robert Sandeman's ministry in Boston and
religious controversies.
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| Box 1 | Folder 5 | | Chapter 3
6 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 30-32.]Isaac's family life; the education and character of his mother Mary Davis
Winslow; their home in Dock Square, Boston; the family's religious and
political involvements; pre-Revolutionary partisanship and his father's
Loyalist sentiments.
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| Box 1 | Folder 6 | | Chapter 4
12 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 33-39.]Early Winslow family members, their settlement in New England, and incidents
in their lives; the connection between the Winslows and Anne Hutchinson.
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| Box 1 | Folder 7-8 | | Chapter 5
29 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 40-52.]Letters from Isaac's great-grandfather Edward Winslow (1669-1753), sheriff
of Suffolk County, to his son Joshua; the Massachusetts charter of 1692;
political and religious affairs in Boston in the early 18th century; Edward
Winslow's religious beliefs; the development of the smallpox inoculation; the
persecution of American Indians by white settlers; the character and religious
beliefs of Isaac's grandfather Joshua Winslow (1694-1769); Joshua's wife
Elizabeth Savage Winslow (1704-1778) and her escape with other Loyalists to
Nantucket at the start of the American Revolution; the effects of
depression.
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| Box 1 | Folder 9 | | Chapter 6
13 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 53-58.]Letters of Isaac's father Isaac Winslow (1743-1793) and other family
members; fears of smallpox in New England; the "gathering storm" of the
Revolution; the role of reason and public opinion in human affairs.
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| Box 1 | Folder 10-11 | | Chapter 7
26 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 59-72.]Abbé Raynal and the causes of the American Revolution, including commercial
and religious considerations; the reasons for the Pilgrims' emigration to New
England; the influence of the clergy on colonial government and the effect of
the 1692 Massachusetts charter; the rising power of the House of
Representatives; Pope Day (1765), the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party,
and other popular uprisings; taxation without representation; psychological
motives for revolution.
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| Box 1 | Folder 12 | | Chapter 8
10 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 73-78.]The political leanings of family members during the American Revolution; the
Loyalists' evacuation from Boston; the effects of the Port Bill and
non-importation agreements on business; correspondence with Simon Pease,
merchant of Newport; Gen. Thomas Gage's replacement of Thomas Hutchinson as
governor of Massachusetts.
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| Box 1 | Folder 13-15 | | Chapter 9
39 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 79-96.]Gov. Thomas Gage's administration and the appointment of councillors and
officers; the Provincial Congress; the preparation of the militia; the power of
the Committee of Safety; the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill;
the death of Isaac's uncle Joshua; correspondence of Isaac's father during the
Siege of Boston with his friend Colburn Barrell, a Loyalist who fled to London;
Barrell's escape and worry about friends in Boston; the effect of the siege on
business and religious practice; skirmishes and captured ships; smallpox
inoculation; the departure of the Winslows and other Loyalists, including the
Sandemanian Society, to Halifax; the dispersal of the family and fates of
various family members; the family's return from Canada to New York in
1778.
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| Box 1 | Folder 16-18 | | Chapter 10
52 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 97-119.]Correspondence with Loyalist family members exiled during the Revolution,
including Isaac's great-uncle Isaac Winslow (1709-1777); letters from Gov.
Thomas Hutchinson; financial difficulties for Loyalists and worries about
friends; the effect of the war on religion; compulsory military service;
letters from Sir William Pepperrell (1746-1816) in England; the possibility of
reconciliation between England and America; Lord Cornwallis' surrender at
Yorktown; deaths in the Winslow family; European political matters.
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| Box 1 | Folder 19 | | Chapter 11
22 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 120-130.]Correspondence between Americans under British and American rule and the
fear of interception; family letters; news of military campaigns, including the
Penobscot Expedition; the marriage of Lucy Flucker and Henry Knox; the
difficult winter of 1779-1780 in Boston; divisions in the Winslow family due to
politics; the despotism of the House of Representatives and the confiscation of
estates; Quakers' opposition to the Revolution.
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| Box 1 | Folder 20-21 | | Chapter 12
36 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume I (link above), pp. 131-146.]The family's voyage from Halifax to New York and incidents of Isaac's
childhood; his grandfather William Davis, who had been a prisoner of war in
Boston; the family home on Long Island and Isaac's early education; damage from
the Great Fire of New York in Sep. 1776; the difficult winter of 1779-1780; his
mother's slave, a girl named Rose; the terms of the Treaty of Paris, fears of
Loyalists in New York, and popular prejudice against them; various family
members.
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| | Volume II
Written by Isaac
Winslow.
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| Box 1 | Folder 22-24 | | Chapter 1
53 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 3-20.]The Winslow house and family connections in New York; incidents in Isaac's
childhood; the end of the war and harsh policies toward Loyalists; the family's
departure for Connecticut and adjustment to life in the country; Isaac's
father's desire to return to Boston, his reception during a visit there, and a
meeting with Gov. John Hancock; his correspondence with Mary Davis Winslow; the
family's move to Boston in the summer of 1784 to live with Aunt Susanna Winslow
(1731-1786).
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| Box 1 | Folder 25-27 | | Chapter 2
49 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 21-41.]Family members in Boston, including Susanna "Sukey" Winslow and Margaret
Savage Alford; changes in Boston and the development of Beacon Hill; Isaac's
education at Boston Latin School under Samuel Hunt; the family's move back to
Dock Square; a mob's attack on Capt. Henry Stanhope of the
Mercury in retaliation for alleged mistreatment of
prisoners during the war; Stanhope's correspondence with Gov. James Bowdoin;
members of the Sparhawk family; Margaret Savage Alford's slave Cato; problems
related to the emancipation of slaves; Isaac's graduation and the reasons he
didn't attend Harvard, but went into apprenticeship instead.
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| Box 1 | Folder 28-29 | | Chapter 3
28 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 42-53.]Various family members, including Sally Tyng Winslow (later Waldo), Ben
Davis, and Joshua Loring Winslow (1766?-1820); the institution of marriage;
George Washington's visit to Boston in Nov. 1789; an influenza epidemic; news
of the French Revolution; the captain of a London trade ship accused of
smuggling; the assumption of state debts by the federal government and its
effects; Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
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| Box 1 | Folder 30-31 | | Chapter 4
36 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 54-70.]The state of business; an outbreak of smallpox; financial, personal, and
religious pressures on Isaac's father Isaac Winslow (1743-1793) and their
effect on him; religious faith, sin, and conscience; the beliefs of the
Sandemanians.
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| Box 1 | Folder 32-33 | | Chapter 5
28 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 71-85.]The depression of Isaac's father Isaac Winslow (1743-1793) and the
circumstances of his death; the religious implications of suicide and the
effect of his death on members of the Sandemanian Society, including Mr. Howe
and Mr. Humphries.
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| Box 1 | Folder 34-36 | | Chapter 6
38 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 86-107.]Correspondence about the death of Isaac's father and the grief of the
family; the settlement of his estate; Isaac's social life, hobbies, and
friends; the "vicious propensities" and "sinful indulgences" of some young
people in town; billiards; Isaac's friendship with his cousin Eliza Winslow;
various family members; the executions of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and
their effect on public sympathy for the French Republicans; George Washington's
Proclamation of Neutrality; Robespierre; Isaac's departure for Europe in
1794.
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| Box 1 | Folder 37-38 | | Chapter 7
42 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume II (link above), pp. 108-125.]Isaac's feelings on going abroad and the danger of capture by Barbary
pirates; the rough passage and Capt. Hans Heysell's tyrannical style; Isaac's
arrival in Lisbon and passage to Alicante; his homesickness and inexperience in
business; trips to Genoa, Leghorn, Florence, and Pisa; Italian art and
architecture; an anatomical exhibit; social customs and accommodations;
departure from Leghorn, via Spain, and the voyage home.
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| | Volume III
Written by Isaac Winslow and Margaret Catharine
Winslow.
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| Box 2 | Folder 1-2 | | Chapter 1
35 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 4-17.]Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and the ratification of the Jay Treaty; the
improvement in Isaac's social standing after his European trip; his departure
for a second voyage and an encounter with a Tunisian corsair; passage to
Naples; war between Algeria and Denmark; conflict between Isaac and Capt.
Jacobson; business matters and America's treaty with the Barbary powers;
expenses, accommodations, and customs in Naples; scenery and sights; fears of
French invasion; the treaty between France and Rome; the voyage home.
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| Box 2 | Folder 3 | | Chapter 2
14 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 18-24.]Financial matters on Isaac's return from Europe, including the settlement of
estates; France's ascendancy over other nations and the capture of American
vessels by French privateers; the situations of various Winslows; yellow fever
in Boston in 1798.
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| Box 2 | Folder 4 | | Chapter 3
21 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 25-36.]The poor state of foreign trade; Isaac's brother Thomas Winslow (b. 1775)
and his aunt Martha "Patty" Winslow (d. 1816); his professional prospects,
social position, and strong religious views; the deaths of his cousin Eliza
Winslow and his mother Mary Davis Winslow; his engagement to Margaret
Blanchard; the pitfalls of autobiography; the Sandemanian Society, its history,
and its views on marriage and children.
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| Box 2 | Folder 5 | | Chapter 4
12 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 37-44.]Complications related to marrying outside the Sandemanian Society. [Note: At this point, the narrative is continued by Isaac's
daughter Margaret.] Correspondence of Isaac Winslow (1774-1856)
concerning the death of Mary Davis Winslow; the effect of his parents' deaths
on him.
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| Box 2 | Folder 6 | | Chapter 5
15 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 45-53.]Correspondence to Margaret's father Isaac in 1800; the Handfields of Dublin;
the characters of Eliza Winslow, Catharine Winslow (Pease) Malbone (1735-1817),
and Mary Winslow Hudgens.
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| Box 2 | Folder 7 | | Chapter 6
11 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 54-59.]Aunt Susannah (Sparhawk) Atkinson (1750-1796?) and other Sparhawk
connections; Margaret's aunt Eliza Winslow (later Pickering) and uncles John
(b. 1779), Joshua (b. 1785), and Benjamin; the difficulties facing an elder
brother.
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| Box 2 | Folder 8 | | Chapter 7
10 pp. [For a transcription of these pages, see the PDF for
Volume III (link above), pp. 60-65.]Pollard and Blanchard family members.
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| Box 2 | | Volume IV
Written by Margaret Catharine
Winslow.
195 pp.
Winslow genealogy and various family members; family correspondence; the
marriage of Isaac Winslow (1774-1856) and Margaret Blanchard, the births of
their children, and their life at home; financial matters; household servants;
letters from Joshua Pollard Blanchard (1782-1868) at Tobago, 1801-1803; states
admitted to the Union and America's rise on the international stage; the
Napoleonic Wars; Republicans, Federalists, and the influence of French politics
on American government; conflicts with England leading to the War of 1812; the
Louisiana Purchase; religion; illnesses and deaths among family and friends;
naval battles, the Treaty of Ghent, and the surrender and imprisonment of
Napoleon; Napoleon's character; the Winslow home on Leverett Street; the Monroe
Doctrine; an outbreak of typhus fever in Boston; the succession of George IV;
the Missouri Compromise; a duel between Commodore Stephen Decatur and Captain
James Barron; the death of Margaret's brother William Henry Winslow (1805-1821)
and the grief of their mother; Boston landmarks; daily activities of the
Winslow family as described in a journal by Isaac and Margaret Blanchard
Winslow, 1823-1828; the characters and prospects of Margaret's brothers; the
Marquis de Lafayette; the presidential election of 1824; damages from a fire in
Boston in Apr. 1825.
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| Box 2 | | Volume V
Written by Margaret Catharine
Winslow.
191 pp.
Winslow and Pollard genealogy; daily activities of the Winslow family as
described in a journal by Margaret Blanchard Winslow, 1828-1830; her poor
health and stay in Newton with her sister Henrietta (1787-1858); family
correspondence; journeys to New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and New York;
parties and visits with friends; the election of Andrew Jackson; the death of
George Washington Adams; Winslow property in Marshfield and Plymouth; Harvard
commencement; the good deeds and character of Samuel Sparhawk; the death and
funeral of Margaret Blanchard Winslow; a tribute to her and to William Henry
Winslow by Isaac Winslow (1774-1856); Isaac's marriage to Henrietta Blanchard
and other marriages; grandchildren; a meteor shower in 1833; the family
business and the Panic of 1837; poetry.
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Winslow family memorial, Massachusetts Historical Society.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in
ABIGAIL,
the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers
desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should
search the catalog using these headings.
| | |
| Persons: |
| | Blanchard family. |
| | Davis family. |
| | Newsom, Robert, 1944- |
| | Pollard family. |
| | Sparhawk family. |
| | Winslow, Isaac, 1743-1793. |
| | Winslow, Isaac, 1774-1856. |
| | Winslow, Margaret Blanchard,
1777-1830. |
| | Winslow, Margaret Catharine,
1816-1890. |
| | Winslow, Mary Davis, 1757-1800. |
| | Winslow, William Henry, 1805-1821. |
| | Winslow family. |
| | Winslow family--Genealogy. |
| | |
| Organizations: |
| | Federal Party (U.S.). |
| | |
| Subjects: |
| | American loyalists--Massachusetts. |
| | Boston (Mass.)--History--Siege,
1775-1776. |
| | Commerce. |
| | Depression, Mental. |
| | Family history--1700-1749. |
| | Family history--1750-1799. |
| | Family history--1800-1849. |
| | France--History--Revolution,
1789-1799. |
| | Massachusetts--History--Colonial period, ca.
1600-1775. |
| | Massachusetts--Politics and
government. |
| | Merchants--Massachusetts--Boston. |
| | Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815. |
| | Ocean travel. |
| | Sandemanianism. |
| | Slavery--United States. |
| | Smallpox. |
| | Suicide. |
| | United States--History--Revolution,
1775-1783--Causes. |
| | United States--History--Revolution,
1775-1783--Personal narratives. |
| | United States--History--Revolution,
1775-1783--Refugees. |
| | United States--History--War of 1812. |
| | United States--Politics and
government. |
| | Voyages and travels. |
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