This collection is located on site.
An unpublished series of letters recording a visit to the United States and Canada in 1841-1842. Following in the footsteps of Harriet Martineau (Society in America, 1837) and coinciding with Charles Dickens's visit to the United States and the subsequent publication of American Notes (1842), these letters provide an invaluable account of life in Antebellum America.
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This collection is located on site.
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Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Carlisle, George William Frederick Howard, Earl of, Letters; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
George William Frederick Howard, 1802-1864, English politician, was the eldest child of twelve born to George Howard, sixth earl of Carlisle and his wife, Georgiana Dorothy Howard nee Cavendish. Educated at Eton and Oxford he acquired the title of Viscount Morpeth when his father became the sixth Earl of Carlisle. He was first elected to parliament as the Whig member for Morpeth, Northumberland, and later served as M.P. for West Riding between 1831 and 1841. His defeat in the 1841 election led to his year long tour of North America which is partially described in these letters. Howard, underpinned by his fervent religious belief, was a liberal supporter of reform, promoting religious tolerance, the Reform Bill, and the abolition of slavery. He was made Chief Secretary of Ireland in 1835-41, during which time he fought for reform, with limited success. Later, in February 1855, he was invested with the Order of the Garter and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by the new Liberal premier, Lord Palmerston.
Howard became the 7th Earl of Carlisle on the death of his father in 1848. He remained unmarried, succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother the Reverend William George Howard. One of 12 children, Howard's letters home during his time in America are addressed to 'My dearest M' (his sister Mary Matilda Georgiana Howard, later Lady Taunton), but are intended for the eyes and ears of the whole family. The incompleteness of some of these letters can be explained by the fact that they were copied out and shared by numerous members of the large Howard family.
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