George Canning Backhouse Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection contains a manuscript register of expenses for the household of Judge George Canning Backhouse. The register includes the names of Backhouse's indentured servants and was recorded during his time in Cuba while serving as a judge under Queen Victoria in the Havana Mixed Commission for the Suppression of the Slave Trade. Entries are made by Backhouse and his wife, Grace. There are also separate pages tallying household expenses and travel expenses from a trip to Hanover in 1851.
Dates
- Creation: 1840 - 1855
Conditions Governing Access
The physical materials from this collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives. Materials should be requested two to three days in advance to facilitate easier access. Contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to schedule an appointment.
Biographical / Historical
"George Canning Backhouse (1818-1855) graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1838 and worked as a clerk in the Foreign Office. In December 1852 he was appointed Commissary Judge in the Havana Mixed Commission for the Suppression of the Slave Trade. He and his wife, Grace, and infant daughter Alice, arrived in Havana, Cuba in March 1853. A second child, John Sandham, was born there in October 1853. Grace and her two young children returned to England for an extended holiday in April 1855. She was pregnant and their third child, Beatrice Margaret was born in England in July 1855. George was murdered in his house in Havana by two intruders in August 1855. He was buried in Cuba but his remains were exhumed the following year and he was re-interred in Kensall Green cemetery in November 1856." - Bodleian Library, Oxford University
Full Extent
.01 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Topical
- Title
- Finding Aid for the George Canning Backhouse Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Repository
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
About this Site
This site contains collection guides, or finding aids, to the archival collections held by Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives, the History of Medicine Collection, and the Scarritt Bennett Center. Finding aids describe the context, arrangement, and structure of archival materials, allowing users to identify and request materials relevant to their research.
Requesting Materials
Each finding aid contains a link to request materials from the collections. Collections can also be requested by emailing the repository directly through the library website. Each repository has its own location, hours, and contact information. Please consult the repository with questions about using the materials. Collections are non-circulating and must be used in the repository’s reading room. In many cases, the collections are stored off-site and require advance notice for retrieval.