Family papers
Records of many significant families from the 13th century to the 21st century. They include family papers of the Earls of Derby, William Roscoe, the Earls of Sefton, the Tarleton family, the Holt family, Lord Cohen of Birkenhead, Sir Edward Evans Junior, Captain Peacock and the Cookson family, Joseph Sewill, Lawrence Hall, Bertram Benjamin Baron Benas, James Hanley, the Brancker family, the Ellison family of Liverpool and Birkenhead and many more.
Family and estate papers and deeds
An example of family papers are those of the 13th, 14th and 15th Earls of Derby (references 920 DER 13,920 DER 14, 920 DER 15) which are now catalogued and available as original source material for new research. The history of the Earls of Derby is inextricably intertwined with Liverpool. Lord Stanley was created Earl of Derby (after the hundred of West Derby) in 1485. Since that time the Stanley’s' have been significant nationally as politicians and locally as magnates and respected landowners. The current Earl of Derby still resides at Knowsley hall.
The history of the Molyneux family (the Earls of Sefton) like the Stanley family (the Earls of Derby) can be traced throughout the many accounts of Liverpool’s history. Croxteth Hall was the ancestral home of the Earls of Sefton until 1972 when the 7th Earl died. The collection (reference 920 SEF) includes Diaries, travel diaries and albums, game books, household records, photographs and drawings.
William Roscoe (1753-1831) was born in Liverpool, he was a poet, historian, a botanist and a Patron of the Arts, but is most well-known for his work in social reform and in particular his opposition to Slavery. The collection (reference 920 ROS) is mainly comprised of correspondence, but does also include manuscripts and poems.