Summary: | This small collection consists of two separate accessions: the first is number of official documents concerning His Majesty's forces in Newfoundland written to John Stewart, between 1809 and 1816, in his capacity as Deputy Paymaster General in St. John's. The second accession consists of two personal letters written by Stewart. These letters provide first-hand accounts of the fires which razed St. John's in November 1817. They illustrate the plight of the workers and their families, who, having just come through a bad fishing season, which resulted in little pay for their labours, were facing the possibility of a winter without food and shelter.
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