Collection includes the professional and personal papers of Sir Anthony Musgrave (1828-1888), British colonial official; of his wife, Jeanie Lucinda (Field) Musgrave (1833-1920); and of her father, David Dudley Field (1805-1894), lawyer and law reformer.
The Papers of David Dudley Field concern his early life; his education at Stockbridge Academy and at Williams College, including bills and receipts, and correspondence about student life and professors; religion, especially the rise of the Unitarian Church; his early career in New York; law reform; the compilation of civil, penal, and criminal codes for New York, and as a model for other states; international law, including maritime law and admiralty courts; the reform of municipal government; the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations, 1870s; the Institut de Droit International; the laying of the Atlantic Cable, 1866; and the Hague Peace Conference, 1899. Personal correspondence includes letters, 1830s, with the Hopkins family, Mark, Harry, and his future wife, Jane Lucinda; and letters, 1870-1894, with the Muegrave family. Also in the collection are clippings pertaining to the Field and Hopkins families; some legal papers; diaries, 1875-1894, of David Dudley Field; Recollections of My Early Life, Written in the Spring of 1832, by Field; his commonplace book, 1824-1827; his Autobiography, 1805-1836; a journal, 1831-1835, containing comments on his studies and reading; a journal, 1836, principally concerning the fatal illness of his wife; journals, 1836-1837 and 1851, describing his travels in Europe, volume of Jane Lucinda (Hopkins) Field containing recollections of her youth, written in 1832, and a journal, 1833-1835, Poetical Extracts of Jane Lucinda (Hopkins) Field; Personal Recollections of David Dudley Field written in 1892; and correspondence, 1898, relating to a biography of Field written by his brother, Henry Martyn Field.
Sir Anthony Musgrave's papers, correspondence, dispatches, and writings pertain principally to the administration of various colonial governments, particularly Jamaica. Jamaican materials, 1877-1883, concern the case of Pulido v. Musgrave, colonial rule, the immigration of laborers to Jamaica, the membership of the Legislative Council, the reorganization of the judicial system, colonial defense, customs, commercial relations with the United States and Canada, and Cuban revolutionaries in Jamaica. Other papers pertain to the administration of St. Vincent, 1861-1864; Newfoundland, 1864-1869, especially concerning the Newfoundland fisheries. British Columbia, 1869-1872; Natal, 1872, including information on native policy, education and marriage, the constitution, and relations between Natal, the Transvaal, and the Zulus; South Australia, 1873; and Queensland, 1883-1888. There are letters concerning Sir Anthony's writings on political economy, 1870s, as well as pamphlets of his works; correspondence, 1887, concerning the formation of the Westminster Review Company and the publication of the Westminster Review; a Private Letter Book, 1868-1878, containing confidential letters to other officials and personal correspondence; a scrapbook, 1874-1881, with reviews of his writings, and information on the social, economic, and political affairs of Jamaica and South Australia; and a Memorial Scrapbook, 1868-1908, comprised of pictures, clippings, telegrams and letters concerning the death of Sir Anthony.
Lady Musgrave's papers include personal correspondence; letters, 1890-1901, with Samuel Walker Griffith concerning Australia, including information on the federation of Australia, the Australian constitution, labor unrest, the separation movement, and his work as chief justice of Queensland and of Australia; letters, 1910-1911, dealing with Anglican mission work among miners and loggers in British Columbia; "Notes for My Sons," containing biographical information about herself and her relatives; and a scrapbook, 1810-1913, of letters from prominent persons. Other materials include correspondence, 1918-1920, of Mark Hopkins III concerning the work of the Red Cross in France. letters, 1886-1891, from Dudley Field Musgrave (1873-1895), son of Sir Anthony, describing life as a naval cadet and his service in the Mediterranean; correspondence and printed material pertaining to railroads, especially the Berkshire Street Railway Company of Stockbridge; pictures of the Field and Musgrave family members; and genealogical material on the Field, Musgrave, Hopkins, Byam, Sergeant, Dyett, and Abbott families.