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The Guide: Family Records

Private letters between members of the family may be found preserved within the Bank's own filing system, particularly series such as XI/109 and XI/101 within the Correspondence Department. Very few caches of private papers from the houses are known to survive, with the exception of the correspondence of members of the family living at Gunnersbury. The following collections, with the reference prefix 000/, were deposited in the Rothschild Archive after 1978, many of them by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild.

Smaller, though no less important deposits, have included lists of Baron Lionel's art collection (000/176); inventories of Alfred de Rothschild's houses at Halton and Seamore Place (000/174); and Leopold's properties in London and at Ascott (000/400). Wills and marriage settlements and albums of obituary notices have also been acquired in this way.

At some stage before the letters listed below were placed in the Archive, they had been arranged to form collections of senders' letters, and this order is preserved and described here. In addition, journals, commonplace books, etc., pertaining to an individual have been listed after the correspondence of that person.

Hannah Rothschild

Lionel de Rothschild

Charlotte de Rothschild

Hannah Mayer de Rothschild

Louise de Rothschild

Leonora de Rothschild

Evelina de Rothschild

Ferdinand de Rothschild

1st Lord Rothschild

Alfred de Rothschild

Leopold de Rothschild

Louise, Lady Anthony

Hannah Rothschild (1783-1850; m. Nathan Mayer, 1806) , c.1831-1850 000/10; 000/36, 1 File

Nathan's brothers were deeply impressed by Hannah, whom he had married in 1806. She had poise and charm, she was intelligent and she was at ease in any company. These letters reveal something of her business sense as she advises first her husband and then her sons on financial and political matters. After Nathan's death she lived in Gunnersbury but often visited her relatives in Europe and travelled around Britain. Her impressions of these visits are recorded in these letters. Many of the letters are undated, but they encompass generally the period 1831 to her death.

Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879) 1835-1878 000/13, 1 box

Lionel’s letters, mainly to his wife and son, Leopold, date from between 1835, the year before his marriage, and 1878, the year before his death. There are 101 items in this series, almost all concerned exclusively with family news.

Charlotte de Rothschild (1819-1884; m. Lionel, 1836) 1845-1873, 000/84; 000/116, 4 boxes

Charlotte's letters in this group are those addressed to her youngest son, Leopold, along with some to her husband and other children. She was a prodigious correspondent, writing elegantly and sharply about her life. Her involvement with the Jews' Free School in London and other charitable concerns occupied much of her time, and is recorded in these letters, which are in English.

Charlotte's diaries between 1846 and 1859 survive. They are written in her native German and give an account of European political events, as well as recording personal impressions of her family, social circle and public figures.

Hannah Mayer de Rothschild (1815-1864; m. Henry FitzRoy 1839) 1841-1844; 1860 000/32 1 File

The letters in this small bundle are addressed to Charlotte, Baroness Lionel de Rothschild, and are concerned with family affairs, travels and social events.

Louise de Rothschild (1820-1894; m. Mayer Carl von Rothschild, 1842) c.1836-1869, 000/41, 1 File

Louise's letters are addressed to her sister-in-law, Charlotte, Baroness Lionel de Rothschild and are an excellent source of information on family affair and gossip, written by a less than enthusiastic resident of Frankfurt.

Leonora de Rothschild (1837-1911; m. Mayer Alphonse, 1857) c.1857-1871 000/37, 429 items

A collection of 429 letters to her parents from Leonora reveals much about family life and little about external events. A typical letter from 1870 begins, "I have to thank you for several kind letters. I suppose you have the same warm weather in England as we have here. It is most oppressive and takes all one's ideas away and makes one feel heavy and unusually stupid. How I pity these unfortunate soldiers marching under this tropical sun to death and misery!" The letters are generally undated.

Evelina de Rothschild (1839-1866; m. Ferdinand, 1865) 000/23, c.1850-1866 c.120 items

This correspondence of around 120 letters during the period c.1850 to 1866 is addressed to Evelina's parents and her brother, Leopold. The letters are concerned with personal and family news, including two from Ferrières following the visit of the Emperor Napoleon III, several from Schillersdorf during her honeymoon tour of 1865, and some written during visits in England and France.

Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) 000/26 1863-1892, 1 bundle

Over 100 letters from Ferdinand, dating from between 1863, before his marriage to Evelina the daughter of Charlotte and Lionel, and 1892, are addressed mainly to his parents-in-law and, after their deaths, to Leopold. The letters written on his European tour after the death of his wife are valuable for the information they reveal about his collecting interests in the years before he built Waddesdon.

Nathaniel Mayer, (Natty), 1st Lord Rothschild (1840-1915) c. 1859-c.1868 000/12, 135 items

Natty's letters are mainly written to his parents from Cambridge, but he sends back news from the Paris house in 1867, where there is a gathering for "the Baron's 75th or 76th birthday", and also from Frankfurt where he married his cousin Emma in the same year. The letters from his university days at Cambridge contain references to his meetings with the Prince of Wales.

Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918) 000/40 1860-c.1869 69 items

This collection of 69 letters from Alfred dates from 1860, while he was at Cambridge, to about 1869. The letters about University life are not particularly enlightening, and the later business letters to his brothers are equally brief

000/182, c.60 items, 1869-1917

A further collection of letters, preserved at the Bank, was also transferred to the Archive. Consisting of around 60 items, this collection seems to have been special to Alfred, hence its retention, and includes letters from statesmen, thanking Alfred for his help in various matters, and copies of letters he sent to the Royal family.

Leopold de Rothschild (1845-1917 m. Marie Perugia, 1881), 1859-1909) 000/22, 1 box

The letters in this collection number over 300 and begin in 1859 when Leopold was a student at Cambridge. The early letters are full of University gossip, personal and social news, and news about racing, Leopold's passion. There are letters from his tour of Northern Europe in the company of Ferdinand from Denmark, Sweden, Russia, the Crimea, and Austria. Family events such as the marriage of Natty and Emma in 1867 and the visit of the Prince of Wales to Halton are also covered.

Papers relating to Leopold's estate have been deposited with the Archive periodically. Detailed inventories of his properties at Gunnersbury, Hamilton Place and Ascott contained within these series are available for consultation.

Louise de Rothschild (1821-1910; m. Anthony, 1840) c. 1839-1840; 1862-1890 000/136, 1 box

A small collection of letters written by Lady de Rothschild to her daughters, Constance and Annie.