| Description | This collection of papers, relating to members of the English community in India in the early 19th century, consists mainly of letters from Thomas Thomason, Secretary of the CMS Calcutta Corresponding Committee, to J.W. Sherer but also includes letters from Mrs M.M. Sherwood and notes made by Bishop Daniel Corrie on visitations made. Also included is the sermon preached by Corrie on the death of Rev David Brown and a diary kept by Helen Wilhelmina Herklots, resident of Chinsurah, India. |
| Administrative History | Rev Thomas Thomason was Secretary to the CMS Calcutta Corresponding Committee 1819-1826 (see C I 1/286)
Mrs Sherwood wife of an officer in the 53rd King's Regiment stationed in Bengal, became known as a prolific writer of moral tales. She befriended Henry Martyn, Daniel Corrie and other East India Company chaplains. An adopted daughter, Annie Child, wrote a diary of her days in England. She died in 1821 aged 18 her care having been taken over by Mary Corrie, sister of Daniel. At Cawnpore the Sherwoods lived next door to the Corries.
In 1812 Corrie was moved to Calcutta, worked with Thomas Thomason and preached the sermon at David Brown's funeral. Mary Corrie then met and married John Walter Sherer, Deputy Accountant-General in the Civil Service. In 1816 the Sherwoods stayed for some time with the Sherers in Calcutta. J W Sherer died in 1846 in England; Mary died in 1859 in Cambridge; Mrs Sherwood died in 1851 in England. [information supplied by Ridley Hall Library] |
| Custodial History | Deposited with the CMS in March 1988 and transferred to the Special Collections Department in 2005 |