Morgan J. Rhees papers, 1794-1968

Morgan J. Rhees papers, 1794-1968

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1066
Bib ID:
4079832 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Rhees, Morgan J (Morgan John), 1760-1804
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
0.5 linear feet (1 box)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Scope and Content

The collection includes two diaries of his American tour (one is made up of his rough travel notes, the other is in edited form for circulation), a memorial volume of manuscripts about his wife (Ann Loxley Rhees) prepared by his daughter Eliza (Mrs. Nicholas Murray), and 1851 passport of Nicholas Murray, a letter of Thomas Chalmers Murray to his sister Mary Jones Murray Butler (the mother of Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University), correspondence between Welsh historian Gwyn A. Williams and collection donor Mary Butler Brown, an essay entitled "Morgan John Rhees and Beula" by Gwyn A. Williams, Ann Loxley Rhees's valedictory oration on graduation from Philadelphia's Ladies Academy, an address on female education ca. 1789, family obituary clippings, poems, misc. items, and a photograph of Ann Loxley Rhees. An edited version of substantial sections of the diaries of M.J. Rhees was published in John Thomas Griffith's 1910 biography and miscellany of Rhees and his family, a copy of which is included in this collection. An edited version of a previously unpublished section of the diary, from May 2nd to July 9th 1795, was published in Northwest Ohio History (vol. 80, no. 2), but it is an unreliable transcription containing many inaccuracies, according to Dr E. Wyn James of Cardiff University, who is working on a new edition of the M.J. Rhees diaries.

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Morgan J. Rhees papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Related Materials

See also: The Butler family papers in Ms Coll\Butler

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Diaries and papers: Source of acquisition--Brown, Mary Murray. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--12/07/93. Accession number--M-93-12-7.

Gift of Mary Murray Brown, 1993.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Diaries & papers Cataloged HR 06/28/94.

Finding aid written Andrew Edwards, Columbia University School of General Studies 01/05/2011.

Revision Description

2011-01-12 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

Abolitionist, Welsh republican radical, publisher, Baptist minister, pioneer and adventurer Morgan J. Rhees fled to the United States in 1794 faced with arrest for his political work in Wales. Between 1793 and 1794 Rhees published Cylchgrawn Cynmraeg, the first political magazine in the Welsh language. Rhees traveled throughout the United States and its western territories on horseback 1794-1795, preaching emancipation and republican ideals while searching for a suitable settlement for Welsh immigrants. In 1797 he and his wife Ann Loxley Rhees founded the town of Beula in western Pennsylvania with land purchased from Benjamin Rush. The settlement was a failure; the land was ceded back to Rush in 1802. Rhees remained active in republican politics and encouraged Welsh emigration. Rhees was the great grandfather of Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Albums (books)
Biographies (literary works)
Clippings (Information Artifacts)
Diaries
Lists (document genres)
Notes (documents)
Obituaries
Pamphlets
Passports
Photographs
Poems
Visas
Name
Butler, Mary Jones Murray, 1838-1912
Butler, Nicholas Murray, 1862-1947
Davis, J. C. Bancroft (John Chandler Bancroft), 1822-1907
Griffith, John Thomas, 1845-1917
Kinney, William B. (William Burnet), 1799-1880
Murray, Eliza Jones Rhees, ca.1803-1871
Murray, Nicholas, 1802-1861
Rhees, Ann Loxley, 1775-1849
Rhees, B. Rush (Benjamin Rush), 1798-1834
Rhees, Morgan J (Morgan John), 1760-1804
Rhees, William Jones, 1830-1907
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852
Williams, Gwyn A
Subject
Abolitionists -- United States
African Americans -- History -- To 1863
Antislavery movements -- United States
Baptists -- Clergy -- United States
Clergy
Presbyterians -- Clergy -- New Jersey
Republicanism -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Slavery -- South Carolina -- History -- 18th century
Slaves -- Religious life -- Georgia
Slaves -- Religious life -- South Carolina
Welsh Americans

Series I: Morgan J. Rhees Papers


Box 1

Morgan Rhees


Diary of Tour of United States


Box 1

Original Diary


Box 1

Revised Diary


Box 1

Biography of Rhees by John T. Griffith


Box 1

Eliza Jones Rhees Murray-- Memoir of her Mother


Box 1

Murray Family Material

(Nicholas Murray's passport and correspondence between Thomas Chalmers Murray and Mary Jones Murray Butler)


Box 1

Manuscripts and Clippings


Box 1

Correspondence


Rhees, Anne Loxley-- Biographical Information