Guide to the Papers of the Sanford family (as filmed by the AJCP), 1851-1883

Summary

Collection number:

M386

Creator:

Sanford Family

Extent:

56 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Correspondence 1851-1854, between W.A. Sanford and H.A. Sanford, and with their family in England. Some of the letters describe conditions in Fremantle. Letters 1851-1855, 1883, received by W.A. Sanford in his position as Colonial Secretary and after his return to England. They deal with education, the churches, customs, immigration, convicts and aborigines. Correspondents include Governor Charles Fitzgerald, Rev. James Brown, W. Cowan and M.W. Clifton, Dr. W. Harvey, Captain E.Y. Henderson, John W. Sillifant, Ellen Layton, Mr Rochester, Jane Tiphett, Thomas Brown, Rev. W.B. Brown, Waller Clifton, W. Hams and H. Campfield.

Biographical / Historical:

William Ayshford Sanford (1818-1902) was the son of Edward Sanford and his wife Henrietta (d. 1836) of Nynehead Court, Wellington, Somerset. The Sanford Family had owned Nynehead Court since 1599. William was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. In August 1851 he was appointed Colonial Secretary of Western Australia. He arrived in Perth on the barque Anna Robertson in December 1851. As Colonial Secretary, he was the most senior official in the colony under the governor, Captain Charles Fitzgerald. He had a lifelong interest in natural history, archaeology and architecture. In 1853 he took up land at Port Gregory, had a share in neighbouring lead mines and in 1854-55 was engaged in whaling. He also held the offices of Magistrate and Sub-Collector of Customs in Western Australia. He resigned in July 1855 and returned to England, where he married Sarah Seymour in 1857. On the death of his father in 1871, Sanford inherited the family estates in Somerset and Devon. He was Deputy Lieutenant for Somerset. He took a great interest in the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society and was president of the Somerset Agricultural Association. His daughter Mary married Field Marshal Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen.

Henry Ayshford Sanford (1822-1905), the brother of William Sanford, enlisted in the 43rd Regiment in 1840. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1850. Having taken leave from the Army, he sailed to Western Australia in the barque Dido, arriving in Fremantle in November 1851. He was placed in charge of building a town and the making of 30 miles of road near Toodyay, West Australia, in 1852. In 1853 he was appointed to take charge of the Port Gregory Hiring Station, as well as Sub Collector of Customs and District Registrar of the port. He resigned from the Army in December 1854 in order to pursue his business and farming activities. 'Lynton', his house at Port Gregory, was named after a village in Devon where he had lived. Sanford returned to England in 1857 and in 1859 he married Emily Somerset, the daughter of Lord Granville Somerset. In later years they lived at Waltham House, near Chelmsford, Essex. He was a lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Buckinghamshire Militia.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2234137] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Private residence: Lord Methuen, Wiltshire, England.

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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