Box 2
- Scope and content:
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At the beginning of this box is to be found a curious ten page document from John Peake to Lord Gambier, 4 June 1811; in it he recommends "an entirely new system for naval vessels." Also from this period, 7 September 1811 is the letter from W. Lewis to Chas. W. Goldsborough, Secretary of the Navy, which formed the basis for one of the accusations in the later Naval Enquiry on James Barron. The remainder of the material is from the years that Barron spent in exile in Copenhagen. Having arrived there in command of a commercial ship, Portia, in 1812, he was forced to sell the ship and remain in Denmark. His correspondence in connection with his attempts to make a living by his inventions show that he received patents on machines for spinning hemp into rope, cutting cork, kneading dough, and an improvised wind mill. His letter to Wm. Jones, Secretary of the Navy, asking an opportunity to serve his country at the conclusion of his sentence, 22 July 1813, remained unanswered. His correspondence of 1814 when he sold his European patents in expectation of an opportunity to return to the U.S. ended in disappointment. Much correspondence with his daughter, Jane A. Barron is from this period.
Access and use
- Location of collection:
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Special Collections Research CenterEarl Gregg Swem LibraryCollege of William and Mary400 Landrum DrivePO 8795Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
- Contact for questions and access:
- Email: spcoll@wm.eduPhone: (757) 221-3090Fax: (757) 221-5440Web: swem.wm.edu/scrc
- Parent restrictions:
- Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
- Parent terms of access:
- Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.