Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883), poet and translator, was born at Bredfield House, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 31 March 1809. He entered King Edward the Sixth's Grammar School, Bury St Edmunds, in 1821, and joined Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1826 (B.A., 1830). FitzGerald settled in Suffolk, and worked on the translation of classical texts, many of which were published anonymously. He moved to his house at Little Grange, Woodbridge, in 1874. His best known work is an English translation from the Persian of 'Rubiyt of Omar Khayym', published anonymously in 1859. FitzGerald died at Merton Rectory in Norfolk on 14 June 1883.
The Howe family of Woodbridge, Suffolk, were shipowners. Members of the family featured in the collection include Grace Maud Howe, housekeeper for Edward FitzGerald at Little Grange; John Amos Howe (b. 1840), mariner, and his wife Mary Ann, ne Lion or Lyon (b. 1842), whom he married on 29 December 1862; and Captain George Howe, who was engaged in shipping.
From the guide to the Edward FitzGerald and the Howe family: Papers, 1840-1959, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)
