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This collection contains the personal correspondence of Levi Henry Elwell and his family. Elwell was a professor in Amherst, Massachusetts, and many of the letters relate to his children's studies at Vassar College and Amherst College, as well as their everyday lives in Massachusetts and New York.

This collection contains 226 personal letters, 8 Greek-language examinations, and 5 loose newspaper clippings regarding Levi Henry Elwell and his family.

The Correspondence series contains letters between and to members of the Elwell family. During his early days as a student at Amherst College and as a teacher in Poughkeepsie, New York, Elwell wrote to his mother, Harriet Adaline Elwell, and fiancée, Abbie Miner Nickerson, about his scholarly life and experiences. In these letters, Levi and Abbie often discussed their engagement and wedding plans. Though later correspondence includes some letters that the couple sent to Levi's parents, most originated from their children, Marion, Florence, and James. The sisters frequently wrote each other to discuss Marion's experiences at Vassar College. They also received mail from various friends, several of whom enclosed sketches. Levi Elwell wrote many of the later letters to his daughter Florence during her studies at Vassar College, including a postcard entirely in Latin (June 1906) and a report on the family's reaction to witnessing Halley's Comet (May 10, 1910). Though the letters primarily concern personal news, correspondents occasionally discussed contemporary politics; in a letter to Marion dated October 30, 1904, Levi described the American political landscape and discussed his own political views. Around 11 newspaper clippings are enclosed in various letters.

The Newspaper Clippings and Exams series has 8 examinations (December 20, 1897-January 20, 1908) for students of Amherst College, who were required to translate and interpret classical Greek texts, printed in their original language. The 5 loose newspaper clippings concern women's colleges (May 14, 1910), faculty promotions at Amherst College (undated), dirigible balloons (undated), and Halley's Comet (2 items, ca. April 1910).

This collection is made up of letters written and received by Reverend Evarts Kent and members of his family throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kent and his family corresponded with friends and family members in several states, including Vermont, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Most letters concern family news, education, religion, travel, family relationships, and similar personal subjects. The collection also includes printed invitations, programs, and 23 photographs.

This collection is made up of letters written and received by Reverend Evarts Kent and members of his family throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kent and his family corresponded with friends and family members in several states, including Vermont, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Most letters concern family news, education, religion, travel, family relationships, and similar personal subjects. The collection also includes 2 documents and 23 photographs; printed invitations and programs are interspersed among the letters.

The Correspondence series comprises most of the collection, and contains approximately 4 linear feet of letters, which are primarily the incoming personal correspondence of Evarts Kent, his wife, and their children. The earliest items are Civil War-era letters between unidentified family members. The bulk of the collection begins around 1867, when Evarts Kent began to receive letters from his family and friends, who provided local news from Ripton, Vermont, and often commented on his recent marriage to Helen Beckwith. As Kent's father, Cephas, was a Congregational minister, the Kent family frequently discussed religious topics. In the early and mid-1880s, Michael E. Strieby and Joseph E. Roy of the American Missionary Association also corresponded with Kent.

After the mid-1870s, the correspondence is primarily between Evarts and Helen Kent and their children, Ernest, Grace, and Willys, who exchanged letters with their parents and each other from their childhood into their early adult lives. Ernest discussed his educational experiences, including his time at Iowa College,his experiences in preparatory school and as a young adult and at Iowa College, and occasionally composed letters to his father in Latin. The Kent siblings sometimes included sketches or more refined drawings within their letters. Their letters reveal details about their relationships with each other, their personal lives, and their religious beliefs. Later items from the World War I era often concern Willys's wife, who signed herself "Roxi," and the couple's experiences while spending their summers at Camp Arcadia in Belgrade, Maine. A relative named "Jupe" also wrote Evarts Kent an extensive series of letters throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including a group of 20th-century letters about travel in the Black Mountains of North Carolina.

The Documents series is made up of a 2-page document containing several sets of church minutes compiled in Benson, Vermont, between March 1790 and September 1792, and a partially printed receipt for a payment made to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in 1870.

The Photographs series holds 23 photographs, primarily snapshots, of unidentified individuals. Though most are portraits, 2 depict a woman riding a bicycle and one is a self portrait of a woman, "taken by herself in front of a looking glass." The photographs include one cyanotype.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, school essays, ephemera, and other materials related to the family and descendants of Maskell Ewing of Radnor, Pennsylvania. The bulk relates to Maskell Ewing and his son, Maskell Cochran Ewing.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, school essays, ephemera, and other materials related to the family and descendants of Maskell Ewing of Radnor, Pennsylvania. The bulk relates to Maskell Ewing and his son, Maskell Cochran Ewing.

The Ewing family correspondence dates between 1784 and 1937, though the bulk falls between 1789 and 1845, with later groups dating from the Civil War and the mid-20th century. The earliest items include letters from Elinor Gardiner Hunter to her son James, written in the late 18th century, and incoming correspondence addressed to Maskell Ewing (1758-1825), often related to his financial affairs. Throughout the 1820s, Maskell Cochran Ewing (1806-1849) received letters from his mother and sisters while he studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. These letters reflect his military education and document women's lives in rural Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Maskell Cochran Ewing occasionally wrote letters from the academy, and received letters from former classmates in the years immediately following his graduation. Several letters addressed to Maskell Cochran Ewing date from the Civil War.

The Ewing family's diaries, journals, school books, and a sketchbook primarily belonged to Maskell Cochran Ewing and James Hunter Ewing. One of Maskell Cochran's journals contains notes from a surveying expedition for the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal (1828). James Hunter Ewing composed 3 journals during the Civil War era.

Legal and financial documents comprise the bulk of the collection, with much of the material relating to the financial, legal, and real estate affairs of Maskell Ewing, with some items concerning Maskell Cochran Ewing's military career. Maskell Cochran Ewing kept a series of account books in 1859, intended for student use. Also of note is a set of United States debt certificates for goods seized for use by the Continental Army between 1780 and 1783. Bonds, receipts, financial records, and legal documents related to specific disputes also appear in the collection.

The Ewing family papers also include essays on many different topics, a manuscript map of West Point, and ephemera postcards, photographs, printed materials, and calling cards.

The Frederick Batchelder collection contains incoming and outgoing letters and documents related to the Connecticut minister, as well as essays he composed while attending Brown University in the late 1830s.

Of the 34 items in the Frederick Batchelder collection, 4 are incoming and outgoing letters related to Batchelder, 3 are documents pertaining to his service as probate judge in Stafford, Connecticut, and 27 are essays he composed at Brown University in the late 1830s.

The Correspondence series contains 2 letters that Batchelder wrote in 1834, and 2 that he received in 1868 and 1878. He debated philosophical issues, such as the role of civilization in producing human happiness. One of the incoming letters, written by an elderly friend, concerns the author's religious activities and convictions.

The Documents series consists of 3 items related to Batchelder's service as a judge in Stafford, Connecticut. They pertain to two inheritance cases and a dispute over local land.

The Essays series is made up of 27 essays about philosophical, literary, and political questions, composed during Batchelder's studies at Brown University. He explored aspects of American literature, the merits of learning history, "Advantages & Disadvantages of speaking the same language with Britain," the science of magnetism, effects of the division of labor, ethical dilemmas, and the treatment of Native Americans.

The George and Emilie Archer correspondence contains personal correspondence addressed to George and his wife Emilie from family and friends. Many of the letters relate to a property dispute between George and two of his siblings.

The George Archer correspondence contains letters written to George and his wife Emilie from family and friends. George's parents wrote a majority of the early items during his time at the Centenary Collegiate Institute in Hackettstown, New Jersey. His mother usually focused on news about family members and friends in Camden. His father wrote letters of advice to George, and discussed religious matters, particularly concerning conversion.

Following George's graduation, his correspondents represented a wider range of friends and social acquaintances. The majority of the early 20th century material belonged to Emilie Archer, whose parents often provided news of family and friends in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many later items, written between 1905 and 1906, concern a property settlement between George and his siblings over lots in Barnegat City, New Jersey. Though the proceedings often named George as a party, many of these items were originally addressed directly to Emilie or to George's sister, Helen Devlin. An enclosure in one letter, addressed to Helen and dated September 12, 1905, was a copy of the deed to these lands.

The collection also includes a questionnaire filled out by George Archer for admittance into the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, a handful of invitations to formal events, and calling cards.

The Gideon Aldrich collection contains material related to Aldrich's time at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island, in the early 1850s, the bulk of which consists of his incoming correspondence from family and friends.

The Gideon Aldrich collection contains material related to Aldrich's time at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island, in the early 1850s. His mother Phebe and several of his siblings, particularly Mary, wrote many of the earliest letters in the collection. In their letters, they updated him on the events that colored their daily lives, and often alluded to their devout Quaker beliefs; several of the letters from December 1850 relate to a measles outbreak reported at the Friends' School. Gideon's friends wrote most of the later letters, in which they expressed their affinity for a variety of personal interests, including baseball (March 17, 1852), sleighing, and other leisure activities. One letter from Huldah H. Sawyer paints a picture of early San Francisco, extolling the weather but lamenting the frequency of death in the city and the questionable morality of local women (February 11, 1853). Together, the letters represent the concerns and daily happenings of Quaker life in mid-19th century Massachusetts. In addition to the correspondence, the collection also holds three books used by Gideon Aldrich while at school; these include two penmanship exercise books and a composition book, which contains essays on topics such as a Quaker quarterly meeting, a description of Uxbridge, and a "Skating Party" (1851). Other material within the collection includes an 1853 valentine, several quotation cards, and a newspaper clipping.

The Goodman-Vent papers contain letters and writings from the families of Thomas Goodman and Charles Frederick Vent, two prominent 19th century Chicago and Cincinnati businessmen. Of note are detailed eyewitness accounts the great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The Goodman-Vent papers (1,333 items) contain letters and writings from the families of Thomas Goodman and Charles Frederick Vent, two prominent 19th-century Chicago businessmen. The collection consists of 1,285 letters, a diary, an account book, 4 poems, 5 genealogical items, 33 printed items, 4 maps, and a lock of hair. Of note are detailed eyewitness accounts the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The Correspondence series (1,285 items), 1837 to 1896, centers on business, family, and social lives of Charles Frederick Vent, Thomas Goodman, and their families. Other families represented are the Chickerings and the Saxons.

The earliest letters were addressed to Vent from his family and friends during the time when he was a teacher in Massachusetts (1837), as well as his ventures in Jacksonville, Illinois (1838), Boston, Massachusetts (1842), Dartmouth, New Hampshire (1848), and Pittsfield, New Hampshire (1849). Of interest are several letters from his maternal grandfather, Jonas Chickering, the noted piano-maker, who paid for his education. In the 1850s, while Vent was working as an Ohio salesman, most of his letters were from salesmen working under him; these offer a view into everyday life in small towns in the Midwest.

From the 1860s through the end of the collection, the letters are largely to and from the Goodman and Vent families and their many well-known and influential friends. Charles Vent and Thomas Goodman discussed a wide range of subjects, including personal and family affairs; business dealings; city, state, and national politics; the Civil War; and social and religious topics. In one instance, Goodman wrote to Vent: "A collection of your letters and mine would form a pretty fair history of the family" (December 3, 1871). While not necessarily comprehensive, these items also document many aspects of Chicago and Cincinnati society during the last half of the 19th century.

The Civil War era letters contain items from both the front lines and the home front. Highlights include a gloomy eyewitness account of First Bull Run, in which friend John Hirshorne reprimanded Union soldiers for being too confident (July 24, 1861). Vent was involved in raising a brigade called the Teachers Home Guard, made up largely of teachers in Cincinnati, that was formed to fend off any potential attacks on Cincinnati. In one letter he described purchasing arms for the regiment from Colt and Justice and Ketteridge (June 1861).

Of particular note are letters that describe the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Hannah Goodman started to write one letter shortly after the fire began to spread, and provided a minute by minute account of the inferno as it blazed from the west bank of the river toward the downtown area. The family wrote updates throughout the night and for several days after the fire; these provide a detailed record of the destruction. Later letters document the families' personal struggles (tensions within the family, the death of Vent's 14-year-old daughter in 1877) and economic hardships.

• 7 letters from Vent’s schoolmate James Emerson, a noted abolitionist, who described the conditions of blacks in the South (March 18, 1855, January 13, 1856, December 21, 1856, January 27, 1858, March 16, 1860, March 1, 1866, and undated).
• Mentions of the first African Americans to be baptized in the family’s church (February 11 and October 28, 1866).

• May 30, 1861: an engraving of the Colt factory
• June 28, 1861: a letterhead engraving of the Charles Cammell and Co. Cyclops Steel Works, in Sheffield, England
• March 20, 1862: a lithograph letterhead of a riverscape in Peoria, Illinois
• 1871: a map of the "burnt district" in Chicago, Hannah Goodman to Emily Goodman Vent and Charles Vent
• Undated: a picture of a Young Ladies' Collegiate Institute and Seminary in Monroe City, Michigan

The Diary and Account Book series contains a tiny diary from March 1-19, 1877, documenting the child Kitty Vent's sickness and death. The 35-page account book documents daily cash expenses for supplies and serives but is undated and unattributed.

The Poetry series (4 items) consists of a poem from Thomas Goodman to his wife on her birthday (1890); a 20-page poetry book written by Elizabeth "Eliza" Fisher Vent of Dedham, Massachusetts, who was the grandmother of Charles Vent; a poem entitled "Going Forward"; and a poem by Annie Goodman entitled "Secrets."

The Genealogy series (5 items) contains a bound journal (51 pages, 20 blank pages) copied by Thomas Goodman Vent in 1920 from a manuscript created by Josiah Boutelle Chickering, Sarah Maria Brown Chickering, and her son Clifford Cummings Chickering. This documents the Chickering, Boutelle, Brown, Lovering, Wheeler, Vent, and Goodman families as early as 1576, with more thorough family records starting in the 19th century.

• A printed Memoranda of Anniversaries, labeled "PRIVATE," containing birth and death information of the Goodman and Vent families (1884)
• A one-page memorandum of birth and death dates for the Goodman family
• A copy of a grave marker for Mary Wright
• A 21-page genealogy of the Fisher family created by Elizabeth Fisher Vent and her daughter-in-law Melinda Chickering Vent

• Speeches Delivered at the Eighteenth Ward Republican Festival In Commemoration of the Birth of Washington (February 22, 1860)
• Items celebrating the 50th anniversary of Thomas and Hannah Goodman including a 23page printed booklet (1888)
• A 16-page printed booklet celebrating Thomas Goodman's 75th birthday
• A two-page printed "Tribute to the Memory of Rev. William Goodman" (1918)
• Education material including teaching certificates and report cards
• Fifteen newspaper clippings, including items related to Ida Saxton McKinley, wife of President McKinley
• Maps of Spring Grove and Graceland cemeteries

The Realia series contains a lock of hair (unidentified).

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, legal documents, financial records, and other items related to multiple generations of the Hasbrouck family of Ogdensburg, New York. The materials concern land ownership, politics and historical events, family news, genealogy, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of approximately 3.5 linear feet of correspondence and documents, 21 diaries and commonplace books, 4 school-related items, around 40 printed and ephemeral items, and genealogical materials related to multiple generations of the Hasbrouck family of Ogdensburg, New York, between 1784 and 1940.

The correspondence and documents reflect the activities of many Hasbrouck family members, with an emphasis on Louis Hasbrouck, Sr., Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., and Levi Hasbrouck. The earliest items, written from 1802 to the mid-1830s, center around Louis Hasbrouck, Sr., and his wife Catharine, who wrote to one another and who received letters from their siblings and other family members. Louis's correspondents often provided news of Guilford, New York, and sometimes commented on political issues, particularly during the War of 1812. The Hasbroucks' correspondents included members of the Graham and Lasher families. Many of Catharine's letters to her husband concern her visits to and life in "New Hurley."

Approximately 1.5 linear feet of the elder Louis Hasbrouck's incoming and outgoing personal and business letters, financial and legal documents, surveying records, maps, and other items, pertain largely to land ownership in New York. Many of Hasbrouck's correspondents wrote from Albany, Schenectady, and New York City. A significant number of items concern the finances and land holdings of Stephen Van Rensselaer. Some correspondents discussed the younger Louis Hasbrouck's involvement in the New York Militia in the early 1840s.

Much of the correspondence dated from the mid-1830s to the 1850s is made up of personal letters between Louis and Catharine's children, largely consisting of letters to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. The Hasbrouck siblings shared news of Ogdensburg while their brother studied at Union College in Schenectady, New York, in the mid-1830s.

The later correspondence, written from the 1850s to 1870s, is comprised primarily of letters addressed to Levi Hasbrouck of New Paltz, New York; Levi Hasbrouck, his grandson; and Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. The elder Levi wrote to his Ogdensburg relations about life in New Paltz, often providing news of family members and offering advice to his grandson. The younger Levi Hasbrouck corresponded with his siblings, particularly his half-brother Philip, who lived in Chicago, Illinois. Approximately 150 letters, invoices, and receipts of Levi Hasbrouck relate primarily to his purchases and other financial transactions between 1870 and 1882.

Three items from the 20th century include 2 letters that Thomas C. [Nakatsu] wrote to "Mr. Miller," a former traveling companion, about life in Japan. His letter of August 14, 1902, regards his life in a Buddhist temple and the relative absence of Christians in the country. His letter of January 1, 1926, contains reminiscences about the men's friendship. The final item is a letter that "Helen" received from a friend visiting England and France; the letter encloses several newspaper clippings about Bournemouth, England (March 15, 1928).

Six account books include an unsigned day book (October 9, 1812-May 25, 1813) and a day book belonging to L. Hasbrouck and L. Hasbrouck, Jr. (1867-1877); personal account books belonging to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. (1833-1834, 1834, and 1868-1871); and a rent book belonging to E. B. Hasbrouck (1843-1853). Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., kept a memorandum book around 1840; the original pages have been torn out of the volume and the remaining notes are dated 1929-1939. Two items concern land: a field book concerning surveys of Canton Township, New York (undated), and a "Land Book" that belonged to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. Other materials are record books for the La Madre Company, which was involved in the ownership and operation of mines in the late 19th century, and the St. Agnes Society, which was affiliated with an Ogdensburg church (1885-1912).

Additional groups of items include military records for Louis Hasbrouck's service in the New York Militia from the 1830s to 1850s; later copies of 18th and 19th century land surveys done in De Peyster, New York, and elsewhere; legal documents of an action between members of the Hasbrouck family and Asa Day in the mid-19th century; wills dated in the mid-1920s; postcards addressed to Louis Hasbrouck from the mid-1870s to the late 1890s; and indentures and other documents regarding the inheritance and later ownership of property belonging to Louis Hasbrouck, Sr.

• Three diaries by E. B. Hasbrouck, January 1875-January 1889 (with some gaps), and a record of sermons preached by "Mr. Carter" from April 5, 1822-April 7, 1826.
• Two unsigned diaries, concentrating on the authors' religious views and activities (August 2, 1835-February 4, 1855, and January 10, 1836-July 17, 1836).
• An unsigned diary ending with a note about the death of Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., made by one of his sons (May 13, 1855-April 1880)
• Jane Hasbrouck diary, October 1852-June 1897, with occasional remarks on the Civil War and genealogical notes.
• Eleven diaries of Levi Hasbrouck, containing daily entries between July 1, 1873, and May 27, 1882. Hasbrouck wrote primarily about his social activities, everyday occurrences, his father and his siblings, his travels, and his involvement in business activities. He very briefly discussed the presidential elections of 1876 and 1880, and recounted the final illness and death of his father in April 1880.
• Two commonplace books of Ellen Mary Hasbrouck (1827-1863) and Laura M. Hasbrouck (1875).

• One volume concerning basic arithmetic belonged to Elizabeth Bevier Hasbrouck around the early 19th century.
• One volume containing penmanship exercises and similar writings from young students (1805).
• One schoolbook containing notes and essays about classical history and literature composed or copied by Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., while he studied at Union College in 1834.
• One list of school assignments recorded by Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., 1831-1834.

Printed and ephemeral items (approximately 40 items, not counting duplicates) include published materials such as newspaper articles, speeches, newsletters, an almanac, a visitors' guide to Boston, Massachusetts, and many advertisements and notices. Additional items include a blank subscription form for The Little Corporal and a related mock commission for Bevier Hasbrouck, printed illustrations of several types of canoes, a printed map of St. Lawrence County, New York, and several sheets of unused stationery featuring an illustration of a storefront. Thirty-five newspapers include copies of and fragments from American Traveller, Boy's Journal, Morning Glory, the Philadelphia Saturday News, and other papers printed in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1850s.

The Hasbrouck family genealogical materials (approximately 15 items, not counting duplicates) include obituary notices, newspaper clippings, and manuscript notes. A bound volume contains extensive notes copied from a family record originally written by Abraham Hasbrouck, father of Joseph Hasbrouck and grandfather of Louis Hasbrouck, Sr.

This collection contains 11 personal letters to Reverend Henry E. Hart, who lived in Franklin, Connecticut, in the 1880s and 1890s. Most of Hart's correspondents responded to his requests for information about fellow classmates from the Lewis Academy in Southington, Connecticut, and many reminisced about their experiences at the school. Other items concern religious commentaries, the Christian doctrine of kenosis, and church fundraising.

This collection (15 items) contains 11 personal letters to Reverend Henry E. Hart, who lived in Franklin, Connecticut, in the 1880s and 1890s. Most of Hart's correspondents responded to his requests for information about fellow classmates from the Lewis Academy in Southington, Connecticut, and many reminisced about their experiences at the school. Other items concern religious commentaries, the Christian doctrine of kenosis, and church fundraising.

Most correspondents wrote to Hart from cities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Hart's former classmates remembered their time at the Lewis Academy, recalling classmates, instructors, and aspects of school life. One author provided his opinion on Thomas Kelly Cheyne's commentaries on the Book of Isaiah, and another commented on pastors' salaries. Elizabeth Hart ("Bessie") wrote one letter to her mother about her social life and novels she had recently read (August 9, 1890). On January 16, 1896, Charles R. Hart wrote to "Mr. H. H. Goodwin" about financial matters.

The collection also includes a newspaper clipping containing an article by Henry E. Hart, who wrote about the use of chain letters in church fundraising (August 25, 1898), and a reprint of F. C. H. Wendel's article "The Incarnation as a Proof of the Doctrine of the Kenosis," originally published in Bibliotheca Sacra (October 1897).

The Henry Wight Diman collection is made up of correspondence, school essays, personal reading lists, and photographs related to Diman, a graduate of Brown University who later became United States Consul to Portugal.

The Henry Wight Diman collection is made up of correspondence (58 items), a diary, school essays (39 items), personal reading lists (7 items), and photographs (4 items) related to Diman, a graduate of Brown University who later became United States Consul to Portugal.

The Correspondence series (58 items) contains incoming and outgoing letters related to Henry Wight Diman, including many that he wrote and received while attending Brown University in the early 1850s. His most frequent correspondents were his brother, J. Lewis Diman, and his father, Byron Diman, who wrote from Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island. Henry Diman wrote about his college experiences and his leisure activities in Providence. Other correspondence includes letters to Henry Wight Diman from his cousin, Georgia Alden, a letter that he wrote to his father about his travels on the "Great Western Road" (April 21, 1856), and letters that he wrote while living and traveling in Portugal (August 1, 1864) and Morocco (April 10, 1865). In one undated letter, Henry's cousin Fannie commented on her anticipation of the end of the Civil War and her work at a military hospital.

The Diary belonged to Henry Wight Diman's mother, Abby Alden Wight Diman, who wrote daily entries between January 1, 1843-March 27, 1843. She discussed her social life, family news, church attendance, and other daily activities, such as the family's attendance at medical lectures from January 2-4.

The Essays series (39 items) contains academic essays that Henry Wight Diman composed while attending school in Bristol, Rhode Island, and Brown University. The early writings, written in the mid-1840s, are primarily descriptive. Diman's later compositions, particularly those from his collegiate studies, concern literature, Roman history, German history, British history, death, and the plays of William Shakespeare. Diman wrote a satirical piece entitled "The Cow Convention" for the [Bristol?] Phoenix (undated). The series includes a list of essay subjects for the 1854 spring term at Brown University.

The Book Lists series (7 items) concerns suggested readings in science, history, religion, travelogues, and biography. Others concern poetry, drama, and novels. One item is a list of books that Henry Wight Diman owned in 1840.

The Photographs series is comprised of 4 cartes-de-visite taken in Porto, Portugal, in the mid-1860s. Two portray Henry Wight Dimon in 1864 and 1865, and 2 depict Portuguese women.