Skip to main content

Manuscripts relating to Guatemala (and Honduras, etc.)

 Collection
Call Number: MS 187

Overview

Miscellaneous unbound manuscripts removed from the Griffith Collection of printed Guatemalan source material. The content covers the dates 1627-1937 but is mainly 1640-1830. Contains some records of the University of S. Carlos and the Protomedicato, 1627-1838, 1887; 8 governmental documents, 1824, 1831, 1855; 49 letters by Rafael Carrera, 1846-1864; and some papers relating to the Rojas family. Although most of the manuscripts are Guatemalan in origin, some are Honduran, and there is one each from Peru (Lima), Cuba, San Salvador, Nicaragua and Spain.

Dates

  • 1627-1937 (bulk 1640-1830)

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Extent

5.75 Linear Feet (14 document cases + 1 oversize box) : Binding: Unbound. Presently approximately 650 items in 11 document boxes (4 feet). Boxes 1-9 contain Section A, still largely in Griffith's folders. Box 10 contains B-D. Box 11 contains E-G. Sections A-D are arranged in the order of Griffith's folders.

Language of Materials

Spanish; Castilian

Scope and Contents

Contents:

A. Records of the University of San Carlos and the Protomedicato of Guatemala, 1627-1838, 1887-1899. Ca 450 items, chronologically arranged in 9 boxes.

B. 6 governmental decrees, etc, 1824.

C. 1 governmental report, 1831; 1 governmental letter, 1855.

D. Carrera letters, photographs, etc. (Rafael Carrera, 1814-1865, 1st presidente of Guatemalan Republic 1838-1865.)

E. Papers concerning the Rojas and other families, largely genealogical.

F. Photographs of a document concerning settlement in Honduras, 1784.

G. Photographs concerning the missionary Manuel de Jesus Subirana, died in Honduras in 1864; reburied 1937. Licenses to preach; scenes of reburial.

Physical Location

MS 187

Other Finding Aids

For a detailed description, see ksrl.sc.griffithguatemala.pdf.

Custodial History

Found here and there by Griffith on scholarly visits to Guatemala. He acquired Section D (Carrera) from the estate of the scholar and journalist Manuel Cobos Batres, who was a descendant of Carrera's (according to researcher Connaughton who spoke to Griffith in 1994.)

Immediate Source of Acquisition

William J. Griffith, 1981

Title
Guide to the William J. Griffith Guatemala Collection of Manuscripts
Subtitle
Manuscripts relating to Guatemala (and Honduras, etc.)
Author
Finding aid prepared by alh, 1981, 1994; revised by ksc, 2006. Finding aid encoded by skt, 2006; revised by mmj, 2023.
Date
2006
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/8122866938
Preferred citation
Griffith Guatemala Collection of Manuscripts, Department of Special Collections, MS 187, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334