Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1835-1924 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
43 volumes.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay (1814-1891) was born in Glasgow and began his career in various business ventures before meeting the politician and chemist Lyon Playfair and the literary scholar and writer John Nichol, both of whom influenced the young Ramsay into developing an interest in science and literature. Ramsay eventually found his niche in the study of geology, with a particular interest in the geology of the Isle of Arran, where he took many vacations and field trips. In April 1841 Ramsay was appointed assistant geologist to Henry de la Beche who was conducting field studies in Pembrokeshire. It was in this part of Wales, as well as in Anglesey and Caernarvonshire, that Ramsay was to carry out his most important field work. He was appointed local directer of the Pembrokeshire survey from 1844 to 1845. In 1848 Ramsay took the post of Professor of Geology at University College, London, from where he would transfer, in 1851, to the departmental chair of the newly-established Royal School of Mines in Kensington. In 1872 he succeeded as director general of the Geological Survey, a position he held until his retirement in 1881. Amongst Ramsay's published works are The Geology of Arran (1841), The Physical Geology and Geography of Great Britain (1863) and The Geology of North Wales (1866), the fruits of his labours in the British geological field. He received several honours during his lifetime, including Fellow of the Geological Society in 1844 and of the Royal Society in 1862, and president of the British Association in 1880. He was knighted in 1881.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
NLW MSS 7780-7793: Misses Dorothea and Violet Ramsay, daughters of Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay; Porthmadog; Donation; 1934.
NLW MSS 9634-9642: Misses Dorothea and Violet Ramsay; Porthmadog; Donation; 1935.
NLW MSS 11574-11593: Misses Dorothea and Violet Ramsay; Porthmadog; Donation; 1938.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers, 1835-1924, of Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay comprising almost entirely of correspondence, which includes family letters, and correspondence, 1842-1923, between members of the Johnes family of Dolau Cothi and the Ramsay family.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Arranged according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 7780-7793, 9634-9642, 11574-11593.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions noted on the 'Modern papers - data protection' form issued with their readers' tickets.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
- French
- Welsh
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Welsh, French.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
The descriptions are also available in the Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume II (Aberystwyth, 1951), Volume III (Aberystwyth, 1961), and Volume IV (Aberystwyth, 1971).
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Note
Formerly known as Ramsay 1-43.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
GEAC system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Ramsay, A. C. (Andrew Crombie), 1814-1891 -- Archives. (Subject)
- Ramsay, A. C. (Andrew Crombie), 1814-1891 -- Correspondence. (Subject)
- Ramsay, A. C. (Andrew Crombie), 1814-1891 -- Family -- Correspondence. (Subject)
- Johnes family, of Dolaucothi -- Correspondence. (Subject)
- Johnes family, of Dolaucothi -- Archives. (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
July 2005 and October 2009.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume II (Aberystwyth, 1951); Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume III (Aberystwyth, 1961); Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume IV (Aberystwyth, 1971); Dictionary of National Biography on-line site, viewed 13 October 2009; Oxford Dictionary of National Biograph on-line site, viewed 13 October 2009; Oxford Journals on-line site, viewed 21 October 2009.
Archivist's note
Description was compiled by Siân Medi Davies for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS, and revised by Bethan Ifans.