Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

Submits a request for a variety of medicines for his family. Describes a case of a sore leg and desires advice about its treatment. Acknowledges that the doctor is not pleased with him and asks that he "not put me to trouble," as he cannot leave his sick family. Agrees to barter a cow.

Offering information about his region in response to Morse’s advertisement proposing "a system of Geography of the United States of America." "In the early part of my life, I happened to fall into the hands of the then enemies of America & was carried into Canada where I resided upwards of two years, during which time I became well acquainted with the Country adjoining to the West end of Lake Erie and between that and the Ohio, my place of residence being at Fort Detroit." Notes his varied travels, "from the Delaware to Savannah, and from Kentuckey, and Frankland, to the Atlantic." Warns Morse to be careful if he uses maps produced by Mr. Hutchins, believing his work "materially defective in the upper parts of the great Kanhawa, the Tenasee above the Cumberland Mountains, and the Kentucky and Sandy river." Offers to send information to help Morse create a "more perfect Map, than has ever yet appeared in any publication I know of." Believes Mr. Henry’s map of Virginia is "erroneous, and scarcely intelligible" in its western regions. Emphasizes his interest in "American literary productions" and the education of American youth, "an excellent means of preserving that spirit of liberty, which is the glory of the present Age." Envelope includes several docketing marks ranging from December 18, 1787, through November 26, 1794, indicating an ongoing correspondence and Campbell sending a map. "Nov. 26 1794 These documents may be relied on as accurate."

Describes alleged body snatching by medical students and the reasons why this offended the public. Notes youth playing on Sundays near a hospital and spying on dissections, and a doctor's angry retort that he was "cutting up" one of their relatives. News of this claim incited a riot. Describes the riot at the hospital, how it spread the following day to the doctors' houses and the jail where they were kept for safety, and the efforts to suppress it. Notes deaths and injuries due to police retaliation, as well as the injury of John Jay when he tried to dispel the mob.

“Report on Quilipahilla and Tulpehocken” Canal. Notes on water evaporation, canal locks, Chinese vs. lifting locks, drafts and plans for the canal.

Update on information gathered for Morse's American Geography, but lacking information on the South due to their tardiness in submitting enumerations.

Printed circular from Jedidiah Morse requesting information for his forthcoming “Gazetteer of North-America.” “WHOEVER undertakes to publish a geographical and topographical account of any country, must of necessity be dependent on others for much of his information; for it can never be expected that he should be personally acquainted with every part of the country which he describes.” Asks for the name of Johnson’s county, its boundaries, number of inhabitants, their nationalities, and religious denominations. Inquires about soil and agriculture, other productions and their transport, regional geography and “curiosities.” Requests information about the area’s early history, education, towns and their buildings. Includes a manuscript note stating Morses’s appreciation for any corrections Johnson can make to his Geography and apologizes for not being able to visit while in Boston. Also includes manuscript corrections to the circular, changing the date from June 23, 1783, to February 27, 1792, and changing the location and forwarding address from New York to Charlestown.

Early inoculation order for four children, signed by John White, Overseer of the Poor.

Letter to his uncle, Dr. John Betteys, concerning the state of smallpox in Cambridge and an outbreak in Menotomy, where people are carried to "pest houses" in an attempt to ease the spread. Visits Boston where no one is infected excepting those who have taken it by inoculation, and they are also carried to pest houses. Boston is trying to "clense [sic] the town."

Notes the recent death of his mother, his young infant, and uncle, as well as his grandmother's illness. Acknowledges the difficulty of making a living as a doctor and plans for the two to set up a joint “Practice of Physic.” Comments on the place to establish their business and purchasing and selling medicines for profit.

Responding to a request for formal correspondence from Peale’s museum, written on Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle stationery. Desires an exchange of specimens, having a particular interest in mastodon bones, opossums, quadrupeds, moles, bats, beavers. Comments on the use of "[s]pirituous liquors" for preservation of specimens, the preparation of larger bones, and exchanging catalogs of printed works on natural history. Includes a transcript and a "Memorandum Regarding Peale" signed by Bashford Deane, June 1904.