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This volume contains the minutes of the Bangor Literary Association (of Bangor, Maine) from 1882 to 1886. Originally founded as a debating society, the minutes include the question or topic of discussion along with the names of which members voted in the negative or affirmative. Example subjects of debate include the textbooks for Bangor public schools, the acceptability of deception, the United States proposed canal through Nicaragua, and others.

This volume contains the minutes of the Bangor Literary Association (of Bangor, Maine) from 1882 to 1886. James W. Donigan, secretary of the association, likely kept this record. Entries include the question or topic of discussion along with the names of which members voted in the negative or affirmative. Example subjects of debate included the textbooks for Bangor public schools, the acceptability of deception, the United States proposed canal through Nicaragua, and others.

The minutes were kept in a book with several earlier contributions, which may or may not relate to the literary association. They include writing on the pyramids of Egypt (pages 30-31), tabular data on U.S. Immigration, 1820-1845 (page 32), and voting results for U.S. Presidents and Vice-Presidents between 1788 and 1876 (pages 34-35).

This volume was owned by successive generations of the Hoyt family in Stamford, Connecticut, and Hudson, Michigan, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its contents include military accounts from St. Johns, Newfoundland; arithmetic problems and solutions; and drawings of animals and natural scenes, including two hunters' encounter with a bear.

This book was owned by successive generations of the Hoyt family in Stamford, Connecticut, and Hudson, Michigan, in the 18th and 19th centuries. The front cover of the hide-bound volume bears the faint remnants of the English royal arms. Writing on the inside of the front cover indicates that the volume was owned by Jonah Hoyt (or Hait) before being presented to his grandson, Fred L. Hoyt, on his 21st birthday. The early pages include 7 pages of accounts for the receipt of military stores and provisions at St. Johns, Newfoundland, between September 1762 and August 1764. The section also contains a birth register regarding the children of Jonah and Anna Polmateer Hoyt.

The bulk of the volume is mathematical problems and solutions, including exercises related to multiplication, division, fractions and decimals, currency reduction, and the rule of three (cross-multiplication). Several measurement conversion tables, brief poems, penmanship exercises, and geometric line drawings are interspersed throughout this portion of the book, which also includes signatures by Jonah Hoyt and his son Lewis. Most of the poems are brief and humorous, with longer poems concerning a visit to London and the virtue of patience. Newspaper clippings regarding the death and funeral of George Washington, the wealth of Cornelius Vanderbilt, presidential election results from 1789 to 1872, and Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "Boston" are laid and pasted into the volume. A few plants are also laid in, as well as a letter from T. Andrews to Mary Andrews about life in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in February 1837. Decorated cutouts made from colored paper are pasted into the volume.

Emery Hoyt and other family members created many drawings, which appear after the arithmetic problems. Two are colored: a partially colored view of a church resembling a castle and a reproduction of an engraving showing a waterfront scene (the original engraving is laid into the volume). Most of the remaining pictures are pencil drawings and sketches of wild animals, including woodland creatures such as squirrels and deer; farm animals such as horses, cattle, and pigs; and African animals such as elephants, an oryx, and rhinoceroses. Other scenes of note show two hunters during an encounter with a bear, with one of the hunters preparing to hit the bear with the butt of his rifle; a safari hunter beside an elephant; and cavalry officers stabbing and shooting Native Americans. Also included are an outline of the state of Maine and a sketch of a sailing ship.

The John Cooper papers contain letters written by John Cooper, Sr., of Easton, Pennsylvania, to his son, John Cooper, Jr., in which he discussed his land and business interests and his political views.

This collection consists almost exclusively of correspondence written by John Cooper, Sr., of Easton, Pennsylvania, to his son, John Cooper, Jr., of Erwin (and later Coopers Plains), New York. Cooper's correspondence often focused on land and on business matters, and he frequently mentioned various crops he grew. Cooper also gave his son business and personal advice; on April 18, 1836, he wrote, "By this time you probably know the fate of your Dam and Saw Mill. If indeed they are swept off by the flood, as we fear, I will pay for the erection of an other [sic]." Though business was a common theme in his letters, Cooper did not shy away from expressing his anti-Jacksonian political views, despite warning his son, "I beg of you to take care what you write & how you write. Political Letters may at any rate now be dispensed with. The die is cast. The vote to the Southwest places the Administration on better ground than before & that cause is gaining ground in every direction" (August 20, 1828).

• December 5, 1829: "In about two days Andrew Jackson must come from behind the fence & I predict a confirmation of the Sentiment which I constantly communicated to you...that he is not a friend of the American System, the essence, Spirit[ual] Substance of American Independence. He can't disguise any longer at any rate."
• March 28, 1837: "There are several hundred on the poor list & receiving charity in some form. Several of them Leading Politicians. Altho no more deserving the name of Freeman than the Virginia Slaves. Indeed they are unfit for freedom & would be better off, as well as more useful, under the rule of reasonable Masters...I was something of an Abolitionist until I discovered this frightful state of things- able bodied Men & women are ashamed to work; but not to beg & even insult those whose Industry & Economy has enable them to acquire something."
• March 24, 1839: "Altho I think the claim of Maine is probably right I still think she had better proceed slowly & remember that it is a National question & no State had authority to proceed to a War without she is so Authorized to do by the National authorities. It is too much like the act of an Individual who takes the Law in his own hands... As to a war, I have no idea of it. It would be madness, except as an Ultima Ratio." [Aroostook War]
• May 17, 1840: "We have nothing new since I wrote you that I know of Tippecanoe is going ahead at a great rate & will be taken into the Presidential Chair with a great majority as Washington & Jackson had. All seem to think something must be wrong in administration in time of Peace, expending the whole revenue of the Country...With the Purse & the Sword they have nearly nullified our Republican Institutions. I think however that I see the handwriting on the Wall...Nor will we now despair of the Republic."
• March 17, 1842: "If Jackson should come to my door in the Midst of a Shower of Rain, I would not know how to ask him in; but I would furnish him an umbrella & show him the way..."

This volume contains meteorological tables and diary entries concerning daily life in Rhinebeck, New York, from 1850-1868. The author wrote about local politics, national politics, and the Civil War; the weather's effect on crops and farming; epidemics and health; and other subjects. The first pages of the volume contain brief notes about inflammatory diseases.

This volume (approximately 580 pages) contains meteorological tables and diary entries concerning daily life in Rhinebeck, New York, from 1850-1868. The first page of the volume consists of a brief note regarding intellect, followed by a 2-page essay about the "Influence of Weather on Health," 6 pages of information about diseases and treatments, and a recipe for an adhesive plaster. Some of the medical notes appear to have been copied from outside sources written in the 1840s.

The remainder of the volume is comprised of daily meteorological tables and diary entries written from January 19, 1850-May 10, 1868 (the entries for August 11, 1863-July 31, 1864, appear near the front of the volume). Each page of the meteorological register contains a chart providing information on wind direction and speed, temperature, and general weather conditions for as many as 10-12 days. A key to the numerical system used to denote wind speed and weather conditions is located at the beginning of the weather diary. Newspaper clippings regarding weather patterns and comet appearances were infrequently pasted into the volume.

Additional "Remarks" on almost every page frequently pertain to the weather, agriculture, and local news. The author commented on the weather's effects on various crops, the navigability of the Hudson River, locusts, the appearance of comets, and the prevalence of diseases such as measles and dysentery. Some entries pertain to recent news events (such as the destruction of the Henry Clay in July 1852) and political campaigns, including New York gubernatorial races and the United States presidential elections of 1856, 1860, and 1864. After the secessions of November 1861 and throughout the Civil War, the author reported war news, writing about local regiments and reactions to the war, recent battles, and major political events such as the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Some entries report false rumors.

Stephen H. Ludlow's six journals provide daily accounts of his and his family's life in Jackson County, Michigan from 1877-1885. Ludlow was civically active, an elected member of agricultural associations, and a member of the Greenback Party.

The volumes are arranged first by size (for conservation reasons) and then chronologically.