This collection is made up of 23 manuscripts and 1 engraving by and related to Sir Robert Peel, 1st baronet; Sir Robert Peel, 2nd baronet; and Sir Robert Peel, 3rd baronet. Of the manuscripts, 22 are letters written by, or on behalf of, one of three generations of the Peel family. The Peels' correspondence, primarily personal, occasionally concerns social engagements and official appointments. Other topics include bibles in the King's library (November 13, 1824); a royal review of troops at Hyde Park, London (July 24, 1830); the election of a speaker for the House of Commons (October 4, 1830); Prince Albert's patronage of the "Relgerran Schools" (November 1, 1840); and an unusual fish discovered in the River Thames (undated). The remaining items are four lines of poetry, signed, and an engraving of Robert Peel, 2nd baronet.
Robert Peel, 1st baronet was born in Oswaldtwistle, England, on April 25, 1750, the son of Robert Peel (1723-1795) and Elizabeth Howarth. The younger Robert Peel attended grammar school in Blackburn, England, and worked for his father's calico printing business before opening his own calico printing works in Bury, England, in 1772. He became a leading figure in the growing cotton industry and expanded his operations to several other towns. Peel married his first wife, Ellen Yates (1766-1803), on July 8, 1783. They had nine children, including Robert (1788-1850), William Yates (1789-1858), Jonathan (1799-1879), and Laurence (1801-1888). In 1790, the elder Robert Peel began representing Tamworth in Parliament, and in 1800, he was granted a baronetcy. He married his second wife, Susanna Clerke (d. 1824), on October 17, 1805. Robert Peel, 1st baronet, died on May 3, 1830.
Robert Peel, 2nd baronet was born in Bury, England, on February 5, 1788, the first son of Robert Peel and Ellen Yates. He was first educated by private tutors, and he later attended Harrow School (1801-1804) and Christ Church, Oxford (1805-1808). In 1809, he entered the House of Commons, and he became an undersecretary for Lord Liverpool in 1810. From 1812-1818, Peel was chief secretary for Ireland, where he became notorious for anti-Catholic policies and sentiment, and from 1822-1827 and 1828-1830 he was home secretary. On June 8, 1820, he married Julia Floyd (1795-1859), and they had seven children: Julia (b. 1821), Robert (1822-1895), Frederick (1823-1906), William (1824-1858), John Floyd (b. 1827), Arthur Wellesley (1829-1912), and Eliza (b. 1832). Peel served a brief term as prime minister from 1834-1835, was opposition leader from 1835-1841, and became prime minister again in 1841. During his second term as prime minister, he oversaw moderate financial reforms and controversially repealed the Corn Laws. After leaving office in 1846, Peel continued to represent Tamworth in Parliament, a seat he had inherited upon his father's death in 1830. Robert Peel, 2nd baronet, died on July 2, 1850.
Robert Peel, 3rd baronet was born in London, England, on May 4, 1822, the eldest son of Robert Peel and Julia Floyd. He attended Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, and he held diplomatic posts in Madrid, Spain, and in Switzerland. He inherited his father's parliamentary seat for Tamworth in 1850. From 1854-1859, he was a captain in the Staffordshire yeomanry, and in 1855 he became a junior lord of the admiralty. From 1861-1865, Peel was chief secretary for Ireland under Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston. After surrendering his Tamworth seat in 1880, he represented Huntingdon, and subsequently Blackburn. He and his wife, Lady Emily Hay, married on January 13, 1856, and had four children. Robert Peel, 3rd baronet, died on May 9, 1895.
