University of Virginia Library

FERRAR PAPERS

The most unique collection in England for the study of the Virginia Company
is that in the possession of Magdelene College, Cambridge. As the property of
Nicholas and John Ferrar, who were second only to Sir Edwin Sandys in their
activity in the company, it would be invaluable; but its importance is further
enhanced by the fact that it contains the correspondence and papers of Sir Edwin
Sandys himself. These seventy-eight papers, which are either records of the
company or vitally concern it, cover the period of the Sandys-Southampton influence
from 1617 to the summer of 1623. They were the property of Dr. Peckard,
master of Magdalene College in 1790, and were bequeathed to the college upon his
death. It is probable that the greater part of the collection came from the Ferrar
family through Dr. Peckard's wife, Martha Ferrar, the great granddaugher of
John Ferrar, since the Virginia papers form but one-third of the group. The remain-
ing papers concern family affairs only, and date from 1601 to the middle of the
eighteenth century. Some of them are doubtless those received from the Earl of
Dorset by Dr. Peckard, when he was preparing his Memoirs of Nicholas Ferrar.[135]

The first knowledge of the Ferrar papers in later years was communicated to
the Virginia Magazine of History by Michael Lloyd Ferrar, Little Gidding. Ealing,
England. He sent a number of transcripts and photographs of letters to the maga-
zine for publication, among which were some half dozen bearing on the affairs of
the company, but the number which he was permitted to reproduce was limited
by the college. While Mr. Ferrar was completing a history of the Ferrar family
the entire collection was deposited at his home, and it was therefore in Ealing in the
fall of 1903 that the Editor was first permitted by the authorities of the college to
"see and note the contents" of the papers. Before the following summer Mr. Ferrar
had died and the collection had been returned to Cambridge, where complete trans-
cripts of all letters and photographs of all documents relating to the Virginia
Company were made for the Library of Congress under the supervision of the
Editor.

These papers are loose, many of them being much damaged, and it is apparent
that they are a part of a larger collection which must have been neglected while in
the possession of the family. There are some envelopes without letters, many
rough memoranda by both Nicholas and John Ferrar, some account books, and some
rough drafts of petitions to the House of Commons and of discussions on the
silkworm. The autographs which they furnish of both Nicholas and John Ferrar
have been of no little interest, as well as value, for the identification of other papers
in the Public Record Office, and in the Library of Congress. Furthermore, the
proof that Nicholas Ferrar himself supervised the transcript of the court book is
thus gained.

In this collection are twenty-three papers which are veritable records of the
company.[136] Two documents give our only knowledge of the financial affairs of
Smythe's Hundred, slight indeed, but from them comes additional information
concerning the system of organization of the societies for private adventure. Sundry
other unique though scattered documents are among these papers, such as receipts
for money expended, showing the method of business, reports of committees, and of
proceedings of the commissioners, revealing the bitterness of the factions, drafts or
original records of certain courts, forming the only proof of the accuracy of the
copies of the court books, and three new proceedings of the courts of the Somers
Islands Company. One of the latter is evidently a blotter and reveals the methods
used in keeping the court book. The quo warranto in English, which was served
upon the treasurer and company, would have been of the greatest value had not the
original record of the suit in the King's Bench just been discovered. Another
document of great value is the receipt referred to above, which proves that a court
book was regularly kept by the company from its very beginning. It reveals how
much has been lost.

The series, consisting of twenty letters from Sir Edwin Sandys to John Ferrar,
shows more clearly than any other documents we possess[137] who the real managers of
the affairs were and what was the spirit of the Sandys faction. The absolute confidence
which Sir Edwin Sandys had in John Ferrar and his great love for both of the brothers
is significant. Moreover, the knowledge of the affairs of the company, the careful
watch over every act and movement affecting the business, the deep and earnest
plans for the advancement of its interests revealed in these letters prove that Sir
Edwin Sandys was the keen financial manager of the undertaking. It was evidently
he who determined what the policy should be; he was apparently the statesman

and the politician, directing the method of address to the lords of the council or the
attitude to be assumed toward the Crown, controlling the courts so that he might be
present when there was danger of faction, concealing the information received from
the colony when he feared it would entail criticism. Much of the personal feeling
and animosity that existed is here shown, and much also which reveals actual
financial conditions.

The last group of these papers comprises thirty-five letters, all but one or two
of which were written by planters or adventurers, resident in the colony, to Sir
Edwin Sandys.[138] Of these, five came from Governor Yeardley, ten from either John
Pory or George Thorpe, secretaries in the colony at different times, and two from
the cape merchant; of the remainder, at least ten are from colonists whose opinions
and reports have not reached us in any other way. These letters are as full of
complaint with regard to the insufficient supplies sent with new planters, as are the
letters in the Manchester papers which Sir Nathaniel Rich and the Earl of Warwick
used as a basis of accusation against the management of the company, but they
differ from the other complaints in that they are kindly in spirit. Mr. Pory's letters
are full of definite information concerning the affairs, needs, and hopes of the
colony, while Governor Yeardley also gives some valuable statements with regard to
new settlers, the council, the relations with the Indians, and the government of the
colony; both complain of the scant provisioning of the new settlers. The burden of
the Yeardley letters, however, is the investigation of the affairs of Captain Argall
and the consequent criticism drawn upon himself from Lord Rich. Unfortunately,
comparatively few additional data are afforded concerning the Argall affair either by
Pory or by Yeardley. The planters themselves tell much of their condition and of
the districts in which they have settled, but the theme of their letters is most likely
to be a demand for promised payments or a complaint as to the scarcity of provisions
and clothes. The attitude toward Yeardley is generally favorable, John Rolfe alone
supporting Argall and criticizing the governor. As from all correspondence of
such a character, new ideas are gained, new points of view, and often additional
knowledge of relations with the Indians and with one another. Many of these
letters are annotated by John Ferrar, revealing the degree of importance which he
attached to their various and often conflicting statements.