Description

Admin History:

The Johnson Manuscripts were reputed to have been written by Alderman Thomas Johnson (twice mayor of Hull in 1672 and again in 1685), together with four of his lineal descendants.

The volumes in the Local Studies are copies from the reputed originals. They were copied by Joseph Temple, a local antiquarian and collector of newspapers in 1883 who had one of the biggest private libraries in the district. He spent three years copying these with a further year and a half spent indexing the ten volumes.

The Johnson Manuscripts are said to have come in to the possession of Alderman J. Symons. In 1858 George Johnson, a descendent and owner of the Johnson Manuscripts, visited Hull and loaned some of them to William Gunnell. It was presumably from Gunnell’s access to the manuscripts that he published his ‘Sketches of Hull Celebrities or memoirs and correspondence of Alderman Thomas Johnson’ in 1876. Through his close connection with Gunnell, Joseph Temple was able to access the Johnson Manuscripts with the intention of revising them and arranging them chronologically with a view to their ultimate publication.

The originals, which have not survived, came under much scrutiny during the latter half of the 19th century from notable local figures such as J.R. Boyle, Hull Corporation record clerk, and historian, J. Travis-Cook. The Manuscripts were controversial with some denying their authenticity while others, including Joseph Temple and William Gunnell, re-asserted until his death that possession of these came from the last surviving member of the Johnson family. Whether true or not, Gunnell took the secret to his grave ensuring the mystery surrounding their authenticity remained unsolved.

It is these copies by Joseph Temple that are in the custody of Hull’s Local Studies Library. Later volumes are in the hand of both William Gunnell and Joseph Temple.

Eight of the ten volumes contain, what is probably mostly still unpublished material as noted in the Eastern Morning News, 21 Jan 1879.

Description:

Bound within the volumes are newscuttings, extracts, articles and illustrations. They also include cuttings relating to the authenticity of the Johnson Manuscripts, the history of the Johnson family, events which had taken place in the town, notable inhabitants of the town, visits to the town (including that of Henry VIII and Charles I, and a subsequent copy of Charles I death warrant among other things). Note that the volumes cover the period 1640-1885 but refer to events, visits and individuals which pre-date 1640.

These volumes do not appear to follow strict chronological order. As such to help provide some chronology the latest entry is provided with each volume description.

L DFJT/10 is an index to numbers volumes 1-8 (nos.1-89). The index is arranged alphabetically, by individal surname for example. These items were formerly in safe D, library reference L.9.7