Kennedy, correspondence

Scope and Content

  • MS 248/433/1;D Letter to Sophia Cracroft, undated [Regarding material left on his last visit] holograph
  • MS 248/433/2-8;D Letters (7) to Jane, Lady Franklin, 6 July 1851 to 23 January 1856 [Regarding search for Franklin] 10 leaves, holograph

Administrative / Biographical History

In 1845 Sir John Franklin sailed north in command of the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition. Sent by the Admiralty the two ships HMS Erebus (Franklin) and HMS Terror (Francis Crozier) were to search for a passage via Lancaster Sound. With provisions designed to last three years the expedition sailed north in May 1845. Whalers in Baffin Bay were the last Europeans to see the two ships in July of 1845.

Many searches were conducted for the missing expedition during the course of which the main facts regarding the route taken and the final fate of the expedition were established.

The correspondence relates to the search for the missing expedition.

Arrangement

Alphabetical

Related Material

The Institute holds several archival collections containing material relating to the search for Franklin.