author

Adlard Welby

An observant early 19th-century traveler, he left behind vivid accounts of North America as well as journals that capture the everyday life of an English landowner. His writing is valued today for the way it turns personal experience into a useful historical record.

1 Audiobook

Faux's Memorable Days in America, 1819-20; and Welby's Visit to North America, 1819-20, part 2 (1820)

Faux's Memorable Days in America, 1819-20; and Welby's Visit to North America, 1819-20, part 2 (1820)

by W. (William) Faux, Adlard Welby

About the author

Adlard Welby was an English landowner and travel writer active in the early 1800s. A University of Leicester thesis describing his papers identifies him as a Lincolnshire landowner and traveller, and notes that his surviving journals cover the years 1832 to 1856.

He is best known for Welby's Visit to North America, an account of his journey in 1819–1820. Later editions and library records show that this travel narrative continued to circulate long after his trip, helping preserve his impressions of the United States and the English settlements in Illinois.

What makes Welby interesting now is the mix of subjects in his writing. Alongside his travel book, his journals appear to offer a close look at rural life, domestic matters, and the habits of a well-connected English family, making him useful not just as a traveler but as a witness to his time.