Janet Schaw: Difference between revisions
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== Later Life == |
== Later Life == |
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Janet returned to Edinburgh in 1777. |
Janet returned to Edinburgh in 1777. Fanny married [ ] Menzies. After his death, Fanny married Alexander Schaw on 30 April 1787 at St. Martins-in the Field, London<ref>England Marriages 1538-1973, accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk on 24 November 2017 made available by FamilySearch Into</ref>. |
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On his appointment to a position as storekeeer at the Gun Wharf in Plymouth Dock, Janet, Fanny and Alexander moved to Plymouth dock where they lived in the barracks. |
On his appointment to a position as storekeeer at the Gun Wharf in Plymouth Dock, Janet, Fanny and Alexander moved to Plymouth dock where they lived in the barracks. |
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In 1787 George III and Queen Charlotte visited the Royal Dockyards and spent three days reviewing the Fleet and the Dockyards. On [ ] they visited the Gun Wharf and met the [ ]. According to Mrs W.H. Nelson, a descendant of the Rutherfurds,the King and Queen, "had lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Schaw and Miss Janet Schaw. There was a good view of the shipping to be had from their balcony and when, after lunch, Queen Charlotte, went out to look at it, Miss janet Schaw spread a very beautiful shallow over the balcony railing for the queen to lean on. Afterward this shawl was ut away as a relic and eventually went to New Zealand with members of the Schaw family who settled there."<ref>Journal of a Lady of Quality - p 343</ref> |
In 1787 George III and Queen Charlotte visited the Royal Dockyards and spent three days reviewing the Fleet and the Dockyards. On [ ] they visited the Gun Wharf and met the [ ]. According to Mrs W.H. Nelson, a descendant of the Rutherfurds,the King and Queen, "had lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Schaw and Miss Janet Schaw. There was a good view of the shipping to be had from their balcony and when, after lunch, Queen Charlotte, went out to look at it, Miss janet Schaw spread a very beautiful shallow over the balcony railing for the queen to lean on. Afterward this shawl was ut away as a relic and eventually went to New Zealand with members of the Schaw family who settled there."<ref>Journal of a Lady of Quality - p 343</ref> |
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On the death of Fanny's husband, she would marry Alexander Schaw. |
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Janet wrote her will on 14 March 1792<ref>The National Archives PROB 11/1355/144</ref> describing herself as a spinster. She left all her assets in Scotland and England to her 'dear Brother Alexander Schaw Esquire now of His Majesty's Ordinance at Plymouth Dock.' She may have been worried about her health when she wrote her will as the ''Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette'' records a Mr and Miss Schaw arriving in Bath in its 29 March 1792 issue. |
Janet wrote her will on 14 March 1792<ref>The National Archives PROB 11/1355/144</ref> describing herself as a spinster. She left all her assets in Scotland and England to her 'dear Brother Alexander Schaw Esquire now of His Majesty's Ordinance at Plymouth Dock.' She may have been worried about her health when she wrote her will as the ''Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette'' records a Mr and Miss Schaw arriving in Bath in its 29 March 1792 issue. |
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== Identifying the Author of a Lady of Quality == |
== Identifying the Author of a Lady of Quality == |
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The journal was first discovered in 1904 during a search for other material in the British Library, where it was catalogued as 'Egerton 2423 |
The journal was first discovered in 1904 during a search for other material in the British Library, where it was catalogued as 'Egerton 2423. The manuscript had no name on it and it was "only after much following of clues and searching in the records of England, Scotland, Ireland, the West Indies and America [that] the editors [have] been able to trace the careers of those who play the leading parts in the story.'<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/journalofladyofq00scha|title=Journal of a lady of quality; being the narrative of a journey from Scotland to the West Indies, North Carolina, and Portugal, in the years 1774 to 1776|last=Schaw|first=Janet|last2=British Museum. MSS. (Egerton 2423)|last3=Andrews|first3=Evangeline Walker|last4=Andrews|first4=Charles McLean|date=1921|publisher=New Haven : Yale University Press|others=New York Public Library|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=2}}</ref> A further two copies of the manuscript have since been found. One, owned by the Antiguan historian, Mr. Vere Langford Oliver, contained a dedication to Alexander Schaw Esquire "the Brother, friend and fellow traveler of the Author, his truly affect. Jen. Schaw, St. Andrew's Square, March 10 1778." This helped to identify the author. The third manuscript had been passed down through the Schaw family and was owned by Colonel Vetch, a descendant of Janet's grandfather. Vetch who was able to provide further genealogical information which appeared as a family tree in the 1939 edition.<ref name=":1" /> |
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== Reviews and Academic Comment on Journal of a Lady of Quality == |
== Reviews and Academic Comment on Journal of a Lady of Quality == |
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Revision as of 17:34, 24 November 2017
Janet Schaw was born between 1730 and 1740 in Edinburgh and died in 1800 in Plymouth.
Early Life
Little is known of Janet's early life. The place and date of her birth is unknown. She had at least two brothers, Robert, who was lost to her from childhood, when he emigrated to the US, and Alexander (known as Sandie)[1]. Their parents, Gideon Schaw of Lauriston, the Register of Tobacco in Edinburgh, and Anne Rutherfurd of Bowland, married in Edinburgh in 1723. The Schaws were a prominent Edinburgh family. However on Gideon's death in 1772, his affairs were such that Alexander had to sell the Lauriston estate.
Travels to the West Indies and US
In 1774-1776, she sailed from Burntisland in Fife board The Jamaica Packet to St. Kitts and Antigua, in the West Indies, then to North and South Carolina, returning to Edinburgh via Portugal in 1776. She kept a journal of her travels which was discovered in the British Library in 1904 and published as Journal of a Lady of Quality Being the Narrative of a Journey from Scotland to the West Indies, North Carolina and Portugal in the Years 1774 -1776. On her travels she would experience storms at sea off Fair Isle, compare the slave-laboured sugar plantations to the East Lothian farms and witness the onset of the American Revolution in Cape Fear and its effects on her family and friends.
On her journeys she was accompanied by her brother Alexander Schaw, three children, Fanny Rutherfurd (18) John Rutherfurd (11) and William (Billie) Rutherfurd (9), as well as Mrs. Mary Miller, her abigail and a manservant, Robert. The three youngsters were the children of John Rutherford of Bowland, Midlothian (the Edgerston brach of the Rutherfurds).[2]
The Effect of the American Revolution
Janet had planned to remain in North Carolina with Fanny, but the American revolution frustrated these plans. Her brother would not take up his post in St. Kitts. Instead he went off 'quietly on board the Scopion Man of War to Boston[3]' and then to London, carrying despatches about the state of the army to the British Government. Janetreturned to Edinburgh via Portugal with Fanny, John and Billie. Fanny would marry {Menzies} in [ ] and the boys were sent to England to be educated under the care of Lord Townshend.
Later Life
Janet returned to Edinburgh in 1777. Fanny married [ ] Menzies. After his death, Fanny married Alexander Schaw on 30 April 1787 at St. Martins-in the Field, London[4].
On his appointment to a position as storekeeer at the Gun Wharf in Plymouth Dock, Janet, Fanny and Alexander moved to Plymouth dock where they lived in the barracks.
In 1787 George III and Queen Charlotte visited the Royal Dockyards and spent three days reviewing the Fleet and the Dockyards. On [ ] they visited the Gun Wharf and met the [ ]. According to Mrs W.H. Nelson, a descendant of the Rutherfurds,the King and Queen, "had lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Schaw and Miss Janet Schaw. There was a good view of the shipping to be had from their balcony and when, after lunch, Queen Charlotte, went out to look at it, Miss janet Schaw spread a very beautiful shallow over the balcony railing for the queen to lean on. Afterward this shawl was ut away as a relic and eventually went to New Zealand with members of the Schaw family who settled there."[5]
Janet wrote her will on 14 March 1792[6] describing herself as a spinster. She left all her assets in Scotland and England to her 'dear Brother Alexander Schaw Esquire now of His Majesty's Ordinance at Plymouth Dock.' She may have been worried about her health when she wrote her will as the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette records a Mr and Miss Schaw arriving in Bath in its 29 March 1792 issue.
Janet was buried on 21 December 21 1800 in Eggbuckland, in Plymouth, Devon.[7]
Journal of a Lady of Quality
The Journal records Janet's travels during 1774 - 1776 and records her views and thoughts.
Identifying the Author of a Lady of Quality
The journal was first discovered in 1904 during a search for other material in the British Library, where it was catalogued as 'Egerton 2423. The manuscript had no name on it and it was "only after much following of clues and searching in the records of England, Scotland, Ireland, the West Indies and America [that] the editors [have] been able to trace the careers of those who play the leading parts in the story.'[8] A further two copies of the manuscript have since been found. One, owned by the Antiguan historian, Mr. Vere Langford Oliver, contained a dedication to Alexander Schaw Esquire "the Brother, friend and fellow traveler of the Author, his truly affect. Jen. Schaw, St. Andrew's Square, March 10 1778." This helped to identify the author. The third manuscript had been passed down through the Schaw family and was owned by Colonel Vetch, a descendant of Janet's grandfather. Vetch who was able to provide further genealogical information which appeared as a family tree in the 1939 edition.[1]
Reviews and Academic Comment on Journal of a Lady of Quality
'The journal is eminently readable, at times gripping, with a distinctive narrative voice' and 'is an especially instructive example of the way aesthetics lent itself to knitting together categories of social denomination.'[9]
The journal is clearly 'a private document'[10] and takes the form of a letter. But who it was written for is a point of conjecture. Janet's statement that "At whatever time we meet, I am certain we will meet with unabated regards'[11] has led to conjecture that it sounds as if it was written to someone who was "much more like a lover behind than a friend.'[10]
References
- ^ a b Schaw, Janet (1939). Journal of a Lady of Quality Being the Narrative of a Journey from Scotland to the West Indies, North Carolina and Portugal in the years 1772 to 1776. Yale University Press. pp. between 344 and the Index.
- ^ Journal of a Lady of Quality, p 340
- ^ Letter from John Rutherford to Major General John Scott, MP 11 Aug 1775 - Loyalist Claims Papers at The National Archives - quoted on p334 of Journal of a Lady of Quality
- ^ England Marriages 1538-1973, accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk on 24 November 2017 made available by FamilySearch Into
- ^ Journal of a Lady of Quality - p 343
- ^ The National Archives PROB 11/1355/144
- ^ Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, Devon Burials 1169/1 accessed at www.findmypast
- ^ Schaw, Janet; British Museum. MSS. (Egerton 2423); Andrews, Evangeline Walker; Andrews, Charles McLean (1921). Journal of a lady of quality; being the narrative of a journey from Scotland to the West Indies, North Carolina, and Portugal, in the years 1774 to 1776. New York Public Library. New Haven : Yale University Press. p. 2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Bohls, Elizabeth A. (1995). Women Travel Writers and The Language of Aesthetics 1716-1818. Cambridge University Press. pp. 46–65. ISBN 0 521 47458 2.
- ^ a b A History of Scottish Women's Writing edited by Douglas Gifford and Dorothy McMillan. Edinburgh University Press. 1997. pp. 119–124. ISBN 0 7486 0742 0.
- ^ Journal of a Lady of Quality - p130