Autobiography of George, a sailor from Lincolnshire
Overview
Autobiography by George, a sailor from Lincolnshire, England. Topics include the Workhouse; being a farmer's boy and runaway; serving as a Trent and Humber sailor; working in coatwise and London shipping. Crew on convict ship bound for Botany Bay, 1797; mutiny by French prisoners; imprisoned in Argentina (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Montevideo, etc.) Convert to Catholicism; escaped to the United States, 1802; returned to England. Became a Baptist; religious meditations, verse, and vision.
Dates
- after 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
1 folder (1 volume in 1 folder) : Binding: Sewn and stabbed. Probably never any covers. Foliation: pp 1-91 [92-96]. Inserted leaf (formerly wafered on page 5) beginning. "for fear he should see me...", watermark 1832. Inserted leaf (formerly wafered on page 23) beginning "One time we was Laying at-Burton" ... 11 (The first inserted leaf was found at page 15; but context and the wafer-mark indicate page 5.). Collation: Single gathering. Material: Paper. Watermark: None, except on first insert: ...N & SON ...32.
Scope and Contents
Incipit: "I was born at Burringham in the County of Lincolnshire of Poor Parents. My father Being Brought up in A Small Sloop..."
Authorship: addressed (page 11) as "one of Poor Jenny Dribikals Ba[r]nes"; addressed (page 63) as "Don George"; took the name of Simeon Swift when pretending to be an American.
It was original cataloguer's opinion that this work is probably not fiction, but influenced by works of fiction. The writer is fairly literate for his station, but he says one of his masters taught his servants to read and write. The author has probably done a good bit of religious reading.
Physical Location
MS P447
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Mott, 1974
Existence and Location of Copies
A digitized version of this volume, in pdf format, is available. Contact staff at ksrlref@ku.edu or (785) 864-4334 for assistance.
Creator
- Title
- Guide to an Autobiography of George, a Sailor from Lincolnshire Collection
- Subtitle
- Autobiography of George, a sailor from Lincolnshire
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by alh, 1974; revised by ksc, 2006. Finding aid encoded by skt, 2006.
- Date
- 2006
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/0546075093
- Preferred citation
-
Autobiography of George, a Sailor from Lincolnshire, MS P447, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository