Photocopies of correspondence between the naturalist John Ray (1627-1705) and Timothy...

<span class="wrapper"><p>For further correspondence and accounts of Ray's life see The Dictionary of National Biography and Sussex Archaeological Collections 10 13-33; William Derham Philosophical Letters between Mr Ray and several of his ... correspondents, 1718, and Life of John Ray, 1848; Robert T W Gunther Further Correspondence of John Ray, 1928, and Early Science at Cambridge, 1937; Sir Albert C Seward John Ray, 1937; C E Raven John Ray (1942)</p> <p>Ray's correspondence and papers are to be found at the following locations: correspondence with Martin Lister, 1663-1689 and with Sir Tancred Robinson, 1683-1694 at the Natural History Museum; letters to the Royal Society, 1670-1697 at the Royal Society; letters to John Aubrey 1675-1695 and to Edward Lhuyd, 1689-1703 at the Bodleian Library; letters to Sir Hans Sloane, 1681-1705 and to James Petiver, 1701-1702 at the British Library; papers at the University of Nottingham</p> <p>For letters from him to Peter Courthope (1639-1725), 1658-1674 see DAN 344-364; for letters from his friend, the naturalist Francis Willughby (1635-1672), to Peter Courthope, 1660s see DAN 2229-2234</p></span>

The originals of the photocopies listed are held by Trinity College Cambridge (ref R.4.42). They are in a volume of autographs, entitled 'Letters from mathematicians etc 1690-1733', which was purchased by the College in June 1859 at the sale of the library (some 8,000 volumes, 40,000 letters and other manuscripts) of Dawson Turner (1775-1858), the botanist and antiquary (DNB)

Photocopies donated 17 Jul 2001 (ACC 8390)

Timothy Burrell, the son of Walter Burrell of Cuckfield (1600-1673) and Frances Hooper, was baptised at Cuckfield on 22 January 1643. He was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge on 22 June 1659, where he was awarded a BA in 1663, and he was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1661. Timothy was married three times: firstly on 14 January 1681 to Elizabeth (buried at Cuckfield on 27 October 1681), the daughter of Henry Goring of Highden in Washington, bt (1622-1702) and Frances Bisshop; secondly on 13 April 1683 to Mary (buried at Cuckfield on 8 July 1694), the daughter of Job Charlton of Lindfield, bt; and thirdly to Elizabeth (buried at Cuckfield on 8 February 1696), the daughter of [blank] Chilcot. Timothy died on 26 December 1717 (J Comber Sussex Genealogies: Ardingly Centre (1932))

The great naturalist John Ray, the son of Roger Ray, blacksmith, was born at Black Notley, Essex, probably on 29 November 1627. He was educated at Braintree grammar school before he entered Catherine Hall, Cambridge, in 1644, migrating in 1646 to Trinity College, where he was awarded a BA in 1647. Ray was a fellow and lecturer at Trinity from 1649 until he resigned in 1662. He travelled abroad with Francis Willughby between 1663 and 1666 before he returned to England to arrange Willughby's collection. In 1673 he married Margaret Oakeley, a member of his household, and in 1676, on the death of Willughby's mother, he moved to Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire and from there to Falkbourne Hall, Witham, Essex in 1677, and from there to Black Notley in 1679. He died there on 17 January 1705 (DNB)

John Ray was hosted in at least 1662, 1666 and 1667-68 by two former Cambridge pupils, Peter Courthope (1639-1725) of Danny in Hurstpierpoint and his cousin Timothy Burrell (1642-1717) of Ockenden in Cuckfield. Although Ray dedicated Synopis animalium quadrupedum et serpentini generis (1693) to them as 'the last survivors of his early associates', neither showed much interest in natural history once they had left Cambridge. However, Courthope did prompt Ray to compile A collection of English words, not generally used, with their significations and origin (1674) which, along with Dictionariolum trilingue (1675), was printed at the expense of Thomas Burrell, Timothy's brother (J H Farrant 'Sussex Depicted views and descriptions 1600-1800' Sussex Record Society 85 (2001) 20)