Dillwyn Diaries
The Diaries and Letters of Amy Dillwyn
Amy Dillwyn (1845-1935) was an early woman industrialist, a suffragist and a novelist. Seven volumes of diaries, three travel journals and over 60 letters provide an insight into the life and development of this extraordinary woman.
The diaries and letters of Amy Dillwyn have been transcribed by Richard Morris. Dr Kirsti Bohata is working on an open access digital edition. This work has been undertaken by kind permission of the copyright owner and biographer of Amy Dillwyn, Dr David Painting.
Swansea University, Digital and Archive Collections:
In addition to Kirsti Bohata's edition of the Diaries and Letters of Amy Dillwyn, Swansea University is publishing online the transcriptions of related diaries held at Swansea and the National Library of Wales.
A quaker and anti-slavery campaigner. A founder member, with Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Richard Morris has currently transcribed for online publication the 13 volumes of William Dillwyn's dairies. The originals are held at the National Library of Wales (GB 0210 WILWYN). We are grateful to the National Library for the temporary loan of the journals to allow transcription. The transcriptions are available here.
An earlier diary from 1772-73, describing his trip to Carolina to investigate slavery, is held at Haverford College PA: 'William Dillwyn diary (MC.975.01.017), Quakers & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA' http://library.haverford.edu/file-id-1169
Lewis Weston Dillwyn (1778-1855)
Eminent botanist, Fellow of the Royal Society and Founder Member of the Royal Institute of South Wales. He was owner of the Cambrian Pottery, and, later, MP for Glamorganshire. The diaries in have been transcribed by Richard Morris and are are available online as PDFs. The original Lewis Weston Dillwyn diaries are held, courtesy of R & S Morris, at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. The transcriptions are available here.
Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn (1814-1892)
The Liberal MP for Swansea campaigned for Disestablishment and, in the final years of his career, helped to establish the first Welsh Parliamentary Party of the Liberals and became a supporter of the Cymru Fydd home rule movement. He died whilst campaigning during the election of 1892. Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn's diaries have been transcribed by Richard Morris and are available online as PDFs. The original diaries are held, courtesy of R & S Morris, at the Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University.
Forthcoming:
The diaries of Amy Dillwyn (1845-1935) will be published to coincide with the publication of Kirsti Bohata's monograph on Amy Dillwyn. This work has been made possible by a British Academy Small Research Grant and a Fellowship from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Other:
The diaries and memoirs of Thereza Dillwyn Llewelyn are held at the British Library: 'The Papers of Thereza Story-Maskelyne (1834-1926) Add MS 89120 1845-1923'.