Family Letters of Gilbert White

Reference
- GB 133 Eng MS 1306
Dates of Creation
- 1758-1793
Language of Material
- English
Physical Description
- 35 items.

Scope and Content

Letters from (with one exception) Gilbert White to other members of his extended family (3 November 1758 - 19 February 1793), principally his sister Anne Barker, his brother-in-law and fellow scientist Thomas Barker of Lyndon Hall, Rutland, and his nephew Samuel Barker. These letters originally formed a single collection with EGR5/2/1. In these letters White discusses a wide range of natural history subjects, family matters, social gossip, daily life in Selborne and events in the wider world.

Volume and page numbers from the Rashleigh Holt-White edition of Gilbert White's letters (see Bibliography) are quoted below:

/1: Letter from Gilbert White to Thomas Barker, 3 November 1758.
/2: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 1 January 1771 (H-W i, 190-1).
/3: Letter from Gilbert White to Thomas Barker, 14 September 1773 (H-W i, 225-6).
/4: Letter from John White to Samuel Barker, with letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker appended, 6 April 1774 (H-W i, 247-9).
/5: Letter from Gilbert White to John White, 26 September 1774 (H-W i, 264-7).
/6: Letter from Gilbert White to Anne Barker, 26 November 1774 (H-W i, 272-3).
/7: Letter from Gilbert White to John White, 5 January 1775 (H-W i, 273-5).
/8: Letter from Gilbert White to John White, 1 February 1775 (H-W i, 276-8).
/9: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker and Anne Barker, 30 March 1775 (H-W i, 282-6).
/10: Letter from Gilbert White to John White, 12 August 1775 (H-W i, 288-90).
/11: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 15 November 1775 (H-W i, 294-6).
/12: Letter from Gilbert White to Thomas Barker, 7 February 1776 (H-W i, 303-7).
/13: Letter from Gilbert White to Thomas Barker, 27 February 1776 (cf. H-W i, 308-9).
/14: Letter from Gilbert White to Thomas Barker, 20 March 1776 (H-W i, 312-4).
/15: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 1 July 1776 (H-W i, 322-4).
/16: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 19 August 1776 (H-W i, 328-30).
/17: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 1 November 1776 (H-W ii, 2-4).
/18: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 7 November 1777 (H-W ii, 19-20).
/19: Letter from Gilbert White to Anne Barker and Samuel Barker, 2 September 1778 (H-W ii, 28-30).
/20: Letter from Gilbert White to Mrs John White, 17 April [1778] (H-W ii, 25-6).
/21: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 23 November 1780 (H-W ii, 56-8).
/22: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 26 March 1781 (H-W ii, 67-8).
/23: Letter from Gilbert White to Mary Barker, 22 January 1783 (H-W ii, 92-3).
/24: Letter from Gilbert White to Mary (Molly) White, 7 February 1783 (H-W ii, 94-5).
/25: Letter from Gilbert White to Anne Barker, 19 October 1784 (H-W ii, 134-7).
/26: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 17 April 1786 (H-W ii, 155-7).
/27: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 1 August 1786 (H-W ii, 159-60).
/28: Letter from Gilbert White to Mary Barker, 25 October 1786 (H-W ii, 160-1).
/29: Letter from Gilbert White to Thomas Barker, 10 January 1787 (H-W ii, 163-4).
/30: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 8 January 1788 (H-W ii, 175-7).
/31: Letter from Gilbert White to Samuel Barker, 6 May 1790 (H-W ii, 215-7).
/32: Letter from Gilbert White to Benjamin White, with letter from Barbara widow of John White to Mary wife of Benjamin White appended, 23 July 1791 (H-W ii, 233).
/33: Letter from Gilbert White to Benjamin White, 8 December 1791 (H-W ii, 234-5).
/34: Letter from Gilbert White to Anne Barker, 2 January 1793 (H-W ii, 252-3).
/35: Letter from Gilbert White to Benjamin White, 19 February 1793 (H-W ii, 261).

Bibliography

Transcripts of all the letters have been published in full or in part in Thomas Bell (ed.), Gilbert White, The natural history and antiquities of Selborne (London: John Van Voorst, 1877), and in Rashleigh Holt-White, The life and letters of Gilbert White of Selborne, 2 vols (London: John Murray, 1901).