Description

Admin History:

The Maister family were merchants and were also involved in both local and parliamentary politics, and they were closely connected with the mercantile development of Hull during the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally from Kent, the family eventually established their home and business on Hull's High Street, although they later acquired property in the East Riding and Lincolnshire. Their main area of commerce was the Baltic, but they also had links across Europe.

Henry Maister I (1631-1699) as well as a merchant became mayor, chamberlain and alderman of Hull. His son William I, (1662-1716) was to become sheriff and MP for Hull. William married Lucy Dickinson and they had 4 sons, Henry II, William II, John and Nathaniel and a daughter, Elizabeth.

Henry Maister II (1699-1744) was active in local politics and whilst he never became Mayor of Hull he did serve as the town's MP in 1734. He married twice, both marriages ending in tragedy. His first wife, Margaret Tymperon, died of small pox in 1725 whilst his second wife, Mary Cayley, with whom he had seven sons and three daughters, died when fire destroyed the family's original house on the High Street in 1743. He rebuilt what became the Maister House after the fire.

Henry Maister's first wife, Margaret Tymperon, had a sister, Henrietta Tymperon. She married John Mottram and they lived in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Margaret and Henrietta's father was the Rev. Henry Tymperon and their mother was Margaret Yonge. Margaret Yonge's father was Sir William Yonge, Lord Chief Justice of Chester, who had a son called Gustavus, who also had a son, Philip Yonge, who was in the customs in Hull.

Nathaniel Maister (1703-1772), whilst an active merchant took little part in local politics and did not become a freeman of the town. He married Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of Henry Johnson of York at Winestead in 1751, where he had purchased a house. They had no children and never in robust health he died in 1772.

Arthur Maister (1737-1791) was the son of Henry and nephew of Nathaniel. He married Esther Thompson (1748-1823), daughter of John Rickaby of Bridlington Quay. Henry Maister III (1730-1812), given the same name as his father, was very active in the East Yorkshire Militia becoming its colonel. He was also very active within the Hull Dock Company, especially on returning to the area after leaving the army in 1803, having served for 25 years.

In addition, there is the tragic figure of Philip Samuel Maister, (1757-1813) the illegitimate second son of William II, grandson of Henry II. He committed suicide after killing his children.

The latter part of the nineteenth century saw the family's interests and influence decline due to extravagant living, expensive houses, heavy losses and mortgages. John Grimston was a prominent member of the East Riding landowning Grimston family of Grimston Garth and Kilnwick. He was very active in the local militia.

As the family fortunes dwindled so descendants left the area and made their living elsewhere, including Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the U.S.A.

Description:

Correspondence to members of the Maister family 1743-1807; Papers relating to the financial affairs of Philip Samuel Maister c1759-1814; Miscellaneous papers relating to the Yonge and Mottram families (related to Henry Maister through marriage) 1612, 1727, 1757; Papers relating to Yonge and Mottram property c1740s-1820s; Rentals relating to the Mottram's Lincolnshire Estate 17th-18th century; Papers relating to Thomas Gower's estate at North Cliffe 1694-1695; Transcripts of letters 1689, 1779; Transcripts of letters to John Maister 1794-1798; Copy of post mortem on Colonel Arthur Maister 1833; Transcript of extracts from John Maister's diary 1857-1873; Transcript of extract from Nathaniel Maister's inventory 1766; Transcript of letter from William Henworth to Thomas Broadley 1729; Transcripts of letters from Nathaniel Maister and Henry Maister to John Grimston 1748-1812; Correspondence and notes regarding M. Edward Ingram's book on the Maister family, 1956-1983; Press cuttings book 1926-1960.