Scope and Contents
Collection consists of bound autograph manuscripts and manuscript transcripts of letters, compositions, and business and legal documents, chiefly by and about Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery (1676-1731), and his son, John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and Orrery (1707-1762). Contains documents related to other Boyle family members and their circle as well. Much of the collection concerns the family estates in Ireland and England.
Dates
- Creation: 1657-1903
Language of Materials
In English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
4.67 linear feet (38 volumes)Biographical / Historical
Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, was an English soldier, statesman, litterateur, and patron of the sciences. His son, John Boyle, 5th Earl of Orrery and Cork, was a writer and friend of Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope, and Jonathan Swift; he produced a noted biography of the latter. Other members of the Boyle family, some of whose papers are represented here, were also active in various aspects of British politics, humanities, and sciences.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by main entry.
Physical Location
gen, f, pf
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Widener Library, Harvard University. Received 1923-1924; no accession number.
Processing Information
Processed by Michael Austin, 2018.
- Title
- Boyle family. Boyle family papers, 1657-1903 (MS Eng 218): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Michael Austin
- Date
- 2018 June 19
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02962
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440
Houghton_Library@harvard.edu