A group of sixteen letter books of Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, 1807-1813, 1825-1831, containing carbon copies of private and professional letters, the correspondents including his brothers Watkin Williams Wynn and Henry Watkin Williams Wynn, Robert Southey, Edward Herbert, 1st earl of Powis, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington, William Wyndham Grenville, baron Grenville, Sir Charles Grey, Lord Chief Justice of Bengal, Reginald Heber, bishop of Calcutta, and Daniel Corrie, bishop of Madras. Among the subjects of Welsh interest discussed are the parliamentary elections for Montgomeryshire and Flint, 1807, and the Montgomeryshire Local Militia.

Holograph letters addressed to Abraham Howell at Welshpool and very occasionally elsewhere, by his brother David Howell mainly from Machynlleth. 12558D. Seventy-seven letters, 1833-1837 (financial and legal matters [relating to the professional activities of the two brothers in the solicitors' offices in which they were working in Welshpool and Machynlleth respectively], personal and family affairs including the writer's efforts to improve his education, his inclination to seek a post in Manchester so that he could study at the Mechanics' Institution, his prospects in his law career at Machynlleth, his attempts to become an articled clerk, the problem of deciding upon a career for [their brother] George, the sending of [their sister] Elinor to school at Minsterley [co. Salop], and the health of their brother Edward, the possibility of a new bank being opened at Machynlleth, the certificates of registration of a chapel at Mallwyd and of Hebron chapel at Aberangell (1836), mention of Llanbrynmair and Diosg schools, the presenting of the rules of the Darowen Friendly Society to the [Quarter] Sessions (1836), a fire at [Machynlleth] (1836), mention of the Mer[ioneth] election (1836), a public dinner and ? firework display to be organised [at Machynlleth] to celebrate the coming of age of Princess Victoria) (one of the letters contains an abstract of the contents of a letter sent by another brother, Lewis Howell, from Lake Providence, Louiziana, to his father and mother, January 1837, in which he comments on wages, land transactions, cotton growing, etc., in that state). 12559D. Seventy-two letters, 1838-1840 (the financial and legal activities of the two brothers, personal and family news, the writer's career prospects in the solicitor's office in which he was employed at Machynlleth, [their sister] Ellen's schooling at Minsterley, the writer's impressions of James Rees Jones ['Kilsby'] the prospective minister of Capel y Graig [Independent Church at Machynlleth], the members who had separated from Capel y Graig, trouble concerning possession of the said chapel and the advisability of having it registered, a plan to invest in property in London (the letter referring to this topic is accompanied by a copy of a letter from David Howell to his brother Evan in London giving more details of the plan), the tenancy of a factory [? at Llanbryn- mair] (the letter referring to this point is on the dorse of a lengthy letter to Abraham Howell from [Elinor Howell] his mother, from Llanbrynmair, 27 November 1838, containing local news including details of a fatal shooting accident near Diosk [farm, Llanbryn-mair], news of [the recipient's brother] Lewis in America, moral exhortations to the recipient and his brothers and sisters in the form of verse, and a long poem advocating the cause of temperance), an attack by Hugh Thomas, clerk to the Board of Guardians [of the Machynlleth Union], on Captain Thruston [? chairman of the board] at [his home in] Talgarth, the election of the writer as clerk to the aforementioned Board of Guardians as successor to Thomas (some of the letters dealing with this election are dated January 1838, but this is a mistake for 1839 as the election was held in January of that year), a query with regard to the registration of a Calvinistic Methodist chapel at Aberangell in 1836, a subscription by the writer towards six copies of the Rev[eren]David W[illiam] Williams ['Caledfryn']: Drych Barddonol [neu Draethawd ar Farddoniaeth . . ., Caernarfon, 1839], a meeting to discuss enclosing 'the Park and other Commons', possible proposals for enclosures in the manor of Cyfeiliog) the letters contain occasional references to Samuel Roberts and John Roberts, the writer's cousins). 12560D. Eighty letters, 1841-1845 (personal and family news, legal and financial transactions by the writer and recipient, the commutation of Machynlleth tithes, a query concerning the legal venue for the parliamentary election for the county of Montgomery (1841), doubts as to 'whether the Conservative voters at Newtown will be allowed by the mob to vote' [? in the election for the borough seat], a post for [their brother] George in Liverpool, the moving of the Dovey bridge toll gate and the building of a road by Sir John Edwards, owner of Ffrydd, in order to evade paying toll at the new gate, the birth of recipient's son, mention of the certificate of registration of Capel y Graig [Independent Chapel at Machynlleth], [their sister] Hannah's schooling, the mental illness of [ their brother] Samuel, a request for advice in connection with the commutation of Darowen tithes).

Holograph letters addressed to Abraham Howell at Welshpool and very occasionally elsewhere, by his brother David Howell mainly from Machynlleth. 12558D. Seventy-seven letters, 1833-1837 (financial and legal matters [relating to the professional activities of the two brothers in the solicitors' offices in which they were working in Welshpool and Machynlleth respectively], personal and family affairs including the writer's efforts to improve his education, his inclination to seek a post in Manchester so that he could study at the Mechanics' Institution, his prospects in his law career at Machynlleth, his attempts to become an articled clerk, the problem of deciding upon a career for [their brother] George, the sending of [their sister] Elinor to school at Minsterley [co. Salop], and the health of their brother Edward, the possibility of a new bank being opened at Machynlleth, the certificates of registration of a chapel at Mallwyd and of Hebron chapel at Aberangell (1836), mention of Llanbrynmair and Diosg schools, the presenting of the rules of the Darowen Friendly Society to the [Quarter] Sessions (1836), a fire at [Machynlleth] (1836), mention of the Mer[ioneth] election (1836), a public dinner and ? firework display to be organised [at Machynlleth] to celebrate the coming of age of Princess Victoria) (one of the letters contains an abstract of the contents of a letter sent by another brother, Lewis Howell, from Lake Providence, Louiziana, to his father and mother, January 1837, in which he comments on wages, land transactions, cotton growing, etc., in that state). 12559D. Seventy-two letters, 1838-1840 (the financial and legal activities of the two brothers, personal and family news, the writer's career prospects in the solicitor's office in which he was employed at Machynlleth, [their sister] Ellen's schooling at Minsterley, the writer's impressions of James Rees Jones ['Kilsby'] the prospective minister of Capel y Graig [Independent Church at Machynlleth], the members who had separated from Capel y Graig, trouble concerning possession of the said chapel and the advisability of having it registered, a plan to invest in property in London (the letter referring to this topic is accompanied by a copy of a letter from David Howell to his brother Evan in London giving more details of the plan), the tenancy of a factory [? at Llanbryn- mair] (the letter referring to this point is on the dorse of a lengthy letter to Abraham Howell from [Elinor Howell] his mother, from Llanbrynmair, 27 November 1838, containing local news including details of a fatal shooting accident near Diosk [farm, Llanbryn-mair], news of [the recipient's brother] Lewis in America, moral exhortations to the recipient and his brothers and sisters in the form of verse, and a long poem advocating the cause of temperance), an attack by Hugh Thomas, clerk to the Board of Guardians [of the Machynlleth Union], on Captain Thruston [? chairman of the board] at [his home in] Talgarth, the election of the writer as clerk to the aforementioned Board of Guardians as successor to Thomas (some of the letters dealing with this election are dated January 1838, but this is a mistake for 1839 as the election was held in January of that year), a query with regard to the registration of a Calvinistic Methodist chapel at Aberangell in 1836, a subscription by the writer towards six copies of the Rev[eren]David W[illiam] Williams ['Caledfryn']: Drych Barddonol [neu Draethawd ar Farddoniaeth . . ., Caernarfon, 1839], a meeting to discuss enclosing 'the Park and other Commons', possible proposals for enclosures in the manor of Cyfeiliog) the letters contain occasional references to Samuel Roberts and John Roberts, the writer's cousins). 12560D. Eighty letters, 1841-1845 (personal and family news, legal and financial transactions by the writer and recipient, the commutation of Machynlleth tithes, a query concerning the legal venue for the parliamentary election for the county of Montgomery (1841), doubts as to 'whether the Conservative voters at Newtown will be allowed by the mob to vote' [? in the election for the borough seat], a post for [their brother] George in Liverpool, the moving of the Dovey bridge toll gate and the building of a road by Sir John Edwards, owner of Ffrydd, in order to evade paying toll at the new gate, the birth of recipient's son, mention of the certificate of registration of Capel y Graig [Independent Chapel at Machynlleth], [their sister] Hannah's schooling, the mental illness of [ their brother] Samuel, a request for advice in connection with the commutation of Darowen tithes).

Seventy-one holograph letters addressed to Abraham Howell at Welshpool and Rhyl (1), by his brother Evan Howell from London, 1836-1845 and undated (personal and family matters including the writer's own career in business in London, the sending of [their sister] Ellen to school at Minsterley [co. Salop], the finding of employment for younger brothers, news in 1836 of their brother Lewis who was in America, the mental illness and the delusions suffered by [their brother] Edward in London in 1841, the birth of recipient's first child in 1841, and the physical and subsequent mental illness of [their brother] Samuel in 1843, the purchasing of books and other articles for recipient in London and arrangements for having books bound for him, the sending of newspapers from London to recipient and others including [their cousin] S[amuel] Roberts, with comments on some papers such as the Observer, Sunday Times, Bells [New Weekly Messenger], the Examiner and the Spectator (1836), the imprisonment of Jack Jones of Llanbrynmair in Newgate for theft, visits to London by the writer's cousin John Roberts in 1836 and 1841, and a sermon preached by him on the first occasion, lectures by a clergyman called Denham [? the Reverend Joshua Frederick Denham, rector of St. Mary's le Strand, London, 1839-1861] at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, in 1838, comments on the Tories in 1838 and on Sir John Conroy's friendliness with ministers and all around the court, enquiries at the Herald's Office in 1838 with regard to a grant of arms [? on behalf of recipient], the choice made by the Montgomery boroughs in the [parliamentary election of June 1841], provisions made in the will of [Charles] Maddison, father of the Rev[eren]d John George Maddison [rector of West Monkton, co. Somerset, 1825-1847], and mention of the Coalport Porcelain works in connection therewith, news of acquaintances) (the writer occasionally writes a few sentences of a letter in shorthand).

Holograph letters addressed to Abraham Howell at Welshpool and very occasionally elsewhere, by his brother David Howell mainly from Machynlleth. 12558D. Seventy-seven letters, 1833-1837 (financial and legal matters [relating to the professional activities of the two brothers in the solicitors' offices in which they were working in Welshpool and Machynlleth respectively], personal and family affairs including the writer's efforts to improve his education, his inclination to seek a post in Manchester so that he could study at the Mechanics' Institution, his prospects in his law career at Machynlleth, his attempts to become an articled clerk, the problem of deciding upon a career for [their brother] George, the sending of [their sister] Elinor to school at Minsterley [co. Salop], and the health of their brother Edward, the possibility of a new bank being opened at Machynlleth, the certificates of registration of a chapel at Mallwyd and of Hebron chapel at Aberangell (1836), mention of Llanbrynmair and Diosg schools, the presenting of the rules of the Darowen Friendly Society to the [Quarter] Sessions (1836), a fire at [Machynlleth] (1836), mention of the Mer[ioneth] election (1836), a public dinner and ? firework display to be organised [at Machynlleth] to celebrate the coming of age of Princess Victoria) (one of the letters contains an abstract of the contents of a letter sent by another brother, Lewis Howell, from Lake Providence, Louiziana, to his father and mother, January 1837, in which he comments on wages, land transactions, cotton growing, etc., in that state). 12559D. Seventy-two letters, 1838-1840 (the financial and legal activities of the two brothers, personal and family news, the writer's career prospects in the solicitor's office in which he was employed at Machynlleth, [their sister] Ellen's schooling at Minsterley, the writer's impressions of James Rees Jones ['Kilsby'] the prospective minister of Capel y Graig [Independent Church at Machynlleth], the members who had separated from Capel y Graig, trouble concerning possession of the said chapel and the advisability of having it registered, a plan to invest in property in London (the letter referring to this topic is accompanied by a copy of a letter from David Howell to his brother Evan in London giving more details of the plan), the tenancy of a factory [? at Llanbryn- mair] (the letter referring to this point is on the dorse of a lengthy letter to Abraham Howell from [Elinor Howell] his mother, from Llanbrynmair, 27 November 1838, containing local news including details of a fatal shooting accident near Diosk [farm, Llanbryn-mair], news of [the recipient's brother] Lewis in America, moral exhortations to the recipient and his brothers and sisters in the form of verse, and a long poem advocating the cause of temperance), an attack by Hugh Thomas, clerk to the Board of Guardians [of the Machynlleth Union], on Captain Thruston [? chairman of the board] at [his home in] Talgarth, the election of the writer as clerk to the aforementioned Board of Guardians as successor to Thomas (some of the letters dealing with this election are dated January 1838, but this is a mistake for 1839 as the election was held in January of that year), a query with regard to the registration of a Calvinistic Methodist chapel at Aberangell in 1836, a subscription by the writer towards six copies of the Rev[eren]David W[illiam] Williams ['Caledfryn']: Drych Barddonol [neu Draethawd ar Farddoniaeth . . ., Caernarfon, 1839], a meeting to discuss enclosing 'the Park and other Commons', possible proposals for enclosures in the manor of Cyfeiliog) the letters contain occasional references to Samuel Roberts and John Roberts, the writer's cousins). 12560D. Eighty letters, 1841-1845 (personal and family news, legal and financial transactions by the writer and recipient, the commutation of Machynlleth tithes, a query concerning the legal venue for the parliamentary election for the county of Montgomery (1841), doubts as to 'whether the Conservative voters at Newtown will be allowed by the mob to vote' [? in the election for the borough seat], a post for [their brother] George in Liverpool, the moving of the Dovey bridge toll gate and the building of a road by Sir John Edwards, owner of Ffrydd, in order to evade paying toll at the new gate, the birth of recipient's son, mention of the certificate of registration of Capel y Graig [Independent Chapel at Machynlleth], [their sister] Hannah's schooling, the mental illness of [ their brother] Samuel, a request for advice in connection with the commutation of Darowen tithes).

Miscellaneous printed and manuscript material, 1888-1895, relating to Montgomeryshire County Council. Most of the items relate to the election held in January 1889 [to elect the first County Council to be elected for the county, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act, 1888], and include printed notices, November 1888, addressed to the electors of the electoral divisions of the borough of Welshpool, by [Edward James Herbert, 8th earl of] Powis, Powis Castle, A[braham] Howell, Rhiewport [Berriew], D[evereux] H[erbert] Mytton, Garth [Guilsfield], and David Richards, Royal Oak, Welshpool, individually, announcing their intention of offering themselves as candidates; five holograph or autograph letters, November 1888 - January 1889, from A[braham] Howell to the chairman [of...] (apologising for his inability to attend a meeting at which candidates were to explain the working of the [Local Government] Act, suggestions as to how this could be done) (carbon copy), Charles E[dward] Howell to Messrs. Woodall & Venables, Oswestry Advertizer, Oswestry (requesting recipients to discontinue inserting his father [Abraham Howell]' s election address in their paper) (carbon copy), T. Hughes, Buttington, to [Abraham] Howell (enclosing a sketch map of the Buttington district, with locations of houses and a list of occupiers, promising support at the election) (dated January 1888, recte 1889), John Lloyd, chairman of Buttington Cons[ervative] Working Men's Club, to A[braham] Howell, Rhiewport [Berriew] (enclosing a copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of the club, whereby members pledged support for Lord Powis, Capt. Mytton, A. Howell, and D. Richards, at the election), and [Messrs.] Woodall, Minshall, & Co., Office of the Oswestry Advertizer, Oswestry, to A[braham] Howell, Rhiewport, Welshpool (requesting the favour of instructions to insert recipient's [election] address in their paper); a copy (printed) of the return submitted, 21 January 1889, by William Corbett-Winder, the returning officer, of the councillors elected for each division of the county at the election, which had been held on 17 January, with manuscript addenda at the end, listing the names of fourteen persons who had been elected as aldermen, 31 January 1889; and a receipt, 11 February 1889, from J. H. Bickerton Jones, to Abraham Howell, for £10/15/8, 'being expenses of County Council Election, 17 Jany. 1889'. Also included are a list of councillors serving on Montgomeryshire County Council, March 1892, giving the electoral divisions they represented, and, in some instances, the majorities they had won at their election, and a list of councillors and aldermen serving on the said council, March 1895, the former being listed in two groups, headed Conservative and Liberal respectively.