John Stevens Blackett letters on the Indian Mutiny

These letters were written from the Agra district in India, where John Stephens Blackett was in the service of the East Indian Railway as a surveyor, to his mother in Ireland. They cover the period of the Indian Mutiny, and describe the course of the rebellion in the neighbourhood of Agra, where Blackett was forced to take refuge. They also throw light on the social conditions experienced by young Chota Sahibs.

John Stevens Blackett was born at Stokesley (N. Yorkshire) in 1833, and lived at 20 South Street, Durham from 1839 to 1841, when his father, John Blackett, became agent on the Bessborough estates in Ireland. Apart from the period of service as a railway surveyor in India to which these letters relate, the details of John Stevens Blackett's career are obscure, but it appears from documentation acompanying the letters from the donor, his son, that a considerable part of his career was spent in India.

Chronological.

Open for consultation.

Deposited on permanent loan in 1948 by the writer's son, J.P.M. Blackett, who taught for many years at Durham School

Part of : Additional Manuscripts

Online catalogue available at online catalogue.