MS 972

Reference code

MS 972

Title

Thackeray - Ritchie family papers (Murray archive)

Level

Sub-fonds

Administrative / Biographical history

Anne Thackeray Ritchie was the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray. She married Richmond Ritchie in 1878 and they had two children, Hester, and William. Hester Ritchie married Richard Fuller in 1920.
Further biographical details can be found under MS 430: Anne Thackeray Ritchie collection.

Date

1748-1986

Extent & medium

6 boxes containing 13 files, 9 volumes and 526 items

Content description

These papers represent part of the wider family papers relating to Anne Thackeray Ritchie. The papers have been divided into four areas: Anne Thackeray Ritchie’s papers; her husband (and cousin) Richmond Ritchie’s papers; their daughter Hester (Ritchie) Fuller's papers and the diverse papers passed down in the family relating to Thackeray and Ritchie family antecedents.

Provenance

The papers were assembled by Anne Thackeray Ritchie, her husband Richmond Ritchie and their daughter, Hester (Ritchie) Fuller in their homes during their lifetimes. This portion of the family papers was left to Juliet Murray by Hester Fuller (her great aunt and godmother) in her will. Juliet Murray worked on and created descriptions of the papers and donated them to Eton College Library in 2022.

Arrangement

The papers have been divided into the following series to reflect the nature of the papers and to maintain the order in which they were kept by the family:

01: Anne Thackeray Ritchie’s papers

02: Richmond Ritchie’s papers

03: Hester (Ritchie) Fuller ’s papers

04: Papers relating to Thackeray and Ritchie family antecedents

Finding aids

A 9-page typescript list, probably compiled by Juliet Murray (the donor of these papers), has been included in this catalogue at MS 972 04 37. Murray noted which of the original items in her collection had been published in John Aplin's The Correspondence and Journals of the Thackeray Family (2011). In addition, Murray had written notes and numbers on the envelopes containing the original letters. These notes have been preserved and have been placed with the relevant items in the collection, enabling users to cross-check the originals with the published versions.

Existence and location of originals

A large collection of papers relating to Anne Thackery Ritchie are catalogued under MS 430. These papers were given by Anne Thackeray- Ritchie's grand-daughter Belinda Norman-Butler.

Publication note

Selected correspondence and journals from these family papers have been published in: John Aplin (ed.), The Correspondence and Journals of the Thackeray Family, 5 volumes, London, Pickering & Chatto (2011).