Introduction: William Cooper Thomson was a Temne linguist attached to the Church Missionary Society. The papers contained here relate directly to Thomson’s assignment in 1841 to proceed to Timbo and perhaps beyond to Segu and to open a dialogue between Freetown and the interior and to facilitate commerce. All 26 letters and reports relate directly to Thomson or to the Timbo mission of 1841-43. They were found in Church Missionary Society records and come from two series. CA1/0/214 series (“Papers, Letters, Reports [of] W. Cooper Thomson”) contains the earliest correspondence, while the CA1/M series were numbered volumes with mixed reports. Citation guides are provided with each item.
Correspondence and Reports:
Letter #1, Warburton to Thomson, 13 December 1841.
Letter #2, Instructions from Lt. Governor Fergusson to William Cooper Thomson, for his guidance in an embassy to Teembo, in the Foulah Country.
Letter #3. CA1/M9/14, Lieut. Governor Fergusson to Alimamee Yah Yah King of Teembo, 18 December 1841.
Letter #4. Kambayah, Thomson to [John] McCormack, 16 April 1842.
Letter #5. Darah near Teembo, Thomson to Warburton, 18 June 1842.
Letter #6. Warburton to Thomson, 24 August 1842.
Letter #7, Thomson to Warburton, Secretary West African Church Mission, 23 July 1842.
Letter #8, Timbo, Thomson to McCormack, 26 December 1842.
Letter #9, Thomson to Warburton, 19 January 1843.
Letter #10, Warburton to Thomson, 15 March 1843.
Letter #11, Darah, Thomson to Warburton, 22 March 1843.
Letter #12, Warburton to Thomson, 22 May 1843.
Letter #13, Darah, Thomson to Colin Macrae, Acting Colonial Secretary, 16 May 1843.
Letter #14, Darah, Thomson to Warburton, 29 May 1843.
Letter #15, J. Warburton to W. C. Thomson, 18 July 1843.
Letter #16, Darah, Thomson to Benjamin Campbell (Rio Nunez), 21 October 1843.
Letter #17, N. W. Macdonald to Warburton, 14 December 1843.
Letter #18, J. Warburton to N. W. Macdonald, 23 December 1843.
Letter #19, Macdonald to Warburton, 27 December 1843.
Letter #20, Minutes of Special Meeting held at Fourah Bay, Dec. 29. 1843. [Extract].
Letter #21, J. Stevenson to E. Jones, 27 December 1843.
Letter #22, J. Warburton to B[enjamin] Campbell & J. N. Bicaise, 3 January 1844.
Letter #23, Warburton to the Secretaries, 2 March 1844 [Extract].
Letter #24, J. Warburton to the Secretaries, 28 March 1844. Extract, 246-47.
Letter #25, Minutes of Special Meeting, 5 March 44, p. 250-51.
Letter #26, Report on the accessibility of the Interior of Africa … by Rev. J. U. Graf, 25 November 1844.
Letter #27, J. Bicaise & B. Campbell to J. Warburton, 3 February 1844.
Letter #28, E. Jones to J. Warburton, 16 January 1844.