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

This collection is comprised of a 4-page letter from surveyor and scientist Cadwallader Colden to botanist John Frederic Gronovius (October 1, 1755), in which he enclosed 17 pages of his daughter Jane's botanical descriptions and leaf impressions (1755).

This collection is comprised of a 4-page letter from surveyor and scientist Cadwallader Colden to botanist John Frederic Gronovius (October 1, 1755), in which he enclosed 17 pages of his daughter Jane's botanical descriptions and leaf impressions (1755). Cadwallader Colden mentioned that his previous correspondence may have been delayed on account of the capture of the packet by privateers, remarked on women and botanical study, praised his daughter's willingness to collaborate on botanical projects (and her possible discover of new genera), and expressed his esteem for Carl Linnaeus and the Linnaean system. Colden also mentioned the Royal Garden at Paris and referred to other scientists, including "Dr. Haller" [Albrecht von Haller] and "Mr. Calm" [Peter Kalm].

Colden enclosed a sampling of Jane's botanical work which contains descriptions of plants (e.g. cup, flower, chives, pistil, cover of seed, seeds, seat of the seeds, root, stalk, leaves) and leaf impressions.

• No. 299: Diandria Monogynia
• No. 302: [No name present]
• No. 300: Tetriandria Digynia
• No. 241: Pentandria Trigynia
• No. 291: Didynamia Gymnospermia
• No. 216: [No name present]
• No. 215: [No name present]
• No. 296: Clinopodium (Mountain-Mint)
• No. 304: Monadelphia Polyandria
• No. 153: Polyadelphia Enneandria
• No. 297: Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua (Helenia)

• No. 153: Polyadelphia Enneandria
• No. 304: Monadelphia Plyandria
• No. 297: Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua (Helenia)
• [Not numbered]: Rubus
• No. 296: Clinopodium (Mountain-Mint)
• No. 291: Didynamia Gymnospermia
• No. 299: Diandria Monogynia
• No. 300: Tetriandria Digynia
• No. 216: [No name present]
• No. 215: [No name present]
• No. 302: [No name present]

A single newspaper clipping from December 14, 1765, accompanies the Colden manuscripts. The clipping includes the text of a letter received by Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden, which prompted his "declaration that he would have nothing to do with the Stamps [Stamp Act, 1765] till the arrival of Sir Henry Moore." The printed letter threatens death to Cadwallader Colden if he were to enforce the Stamp Act. The printed letter contains the text of two labels that were affixed to the effigies of enemies of American liberties hung in Boston on November 4 at the Tree of Liberty.

This account book kept largely by Jacob, Anne, and Anna True consists of records relating to their family business in Salisbury, Massachusetts. The True family ran a multi-purpose organization and operated it as a tavern, inn, bank, and store for foodstuffs and other goods. The volume also contains a narration and history of the extended True family, a study of the Webster family, and a 16-page recounting of the American Revolutionary War naval battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the HMS Serapis.

This account book kept largely by Jacob, Anne, and Anna True consists of records relating to their family business in Salisbury, Massachusetts. The True family ran a multi-purpose organization and operated it as a tavern, inn, bank, and store for foodstuffs and other goods. The volume also contains a narration and history of the extended True family, a study of with the Webster family, and a 16-page recounting of the American Revolutionary War naval battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the HMS Serapis.

The volume's double-entry bookkeeping includes the name of the client, with running lists of the costs and dates of purchases of goods and services, as well as records of account credits. Sales of alcoholic beverages include rum (occasionally identified as New England or West Indies), toddies, and brandy. Rum seems to be the most frequent item offered by the Trues; at times the drink is not listed by measurement, but instead as variants of "Rum and Drink at Time Taken from the Score." They sold foods, including veal, salt, sugar, molasses, turnips, pork, fish, and more. They sold cloth, linens, and clothing, such as handkerchiefs, swanskin, sheeting, silks, thread, oznabriggs, buttons, blankets, muslin, bearskin, ribbon, "ferrit," combs, sole leather, and more. The Trues also offered services, such as augur maintenance, chair repair, clothing and shoe mending, and more.

One atypical entry is an account for debtors William Temple and Capt. Edward Emerson in 1761, pertinent to expenses for the wreck of a brig, including costs associated with ballast, clearing lumber and pumping out the ship, moving the ship to Newbury, "a Treat to the people that went Down in ye Ship," temporarily storing Naval stores, taking care and sending on the ship three weeks later, and other itemizations.

Clients paid by cash, labor, or barter. Services rendered include ship work such as planking, boring holes, and caulking, raising, and framing; a "day's work," butchering. Goods offered in trade include timber, codfish, corn, silver shoe buckles, lamb, cider, charcoal, and more. Many transactions conclude with a "Settlement" statement and the signature of Jacob, Anne, or Anna True, with the purchaser's sign-off.

The volume includes a list of the crew on board the Bonhomme Richard, including Jacob and Anne's son Jacob, along with a recounting of the engagement of the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis. A few printed newspaper illustrations were pasted into the volume, including an engraving showing the battle and framed by snakes and a "Don't Tread on Me" banner. Another shows "The Emperor Napoleon in his Coffin."

The final pages of the volume contain genealogical information respecting the Webster family.

This copy of Jedidiah Morse's The American Geography (1789) contains manuscript annotations by Indian agent George Morgan. Morgan's notes include corrections, additions, and commentary on subjects such as Native American culture, geography, and history.

This copy of Jedidiah Morse's The American Geography; or, a View of the Present Situation of the United States of America (1789; 280 pages) contains annotations by Indian agent George Morgan.

The printed matter consists of the first 280 pages of Morse's text, with blank pages separating each printed page. Morgan composed most of his notes on the plain pages but sometimes wrote directly over printed text; parts of some later pages have been cut out of the volume. Morgan provided commentary on Morse's errors and misconceptions, especially regarding geographical features, historical events, and Native Americans. He discussed European views of Native Americans, attempted to correct the biases that he discovered, and copied a creation story he had heard from a Wyandotte or Iroquois chief while observing mammoth bones (pp. 55-58). Other notes refer to the American Revolution, European settlement in North America, and the character of early European colonists. Morgan also occasionally mentioned the work of other historians or geographers. His latest notes are dated 1791. A newspaper clipping containing reprinted letter about the discovery of Uranus is pinned into the volume after the table of contents.

This collection is made up of financial records and correspondence related to William and Robert Thompson of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania. Most of the financial records pertain to the Thompsons' subscriptions to periodicals and to their purchases of goods from Philadelphia merchants.

This collection (51 items) is made up of financial records and correspondence related to merchants William and Robert Thompson of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania. The bulk of the collection is made up of receipts, invoices, and similar documents addressed to the Thompson brothers, particularly Robert, from 1815-1826. Most of these records pertain to purchases of various kinds of goods from merchants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; a smaller number of items relate to periodical subscriptions. Among the goods that the Thompsons bought were tobacco, oils, and shoes. The collection's early items largely consist of financial documents sent to William and Robert's father, also named William, as well as a newspaper clipping listing US exports between October 1800 and September 1801. A small group of correspondence includes personal letters to Robert Thompson; one correspondent wrote about the distribution of election tickets in Mexico, Pennsylvania (October 20, 1816).

The John Slater collection contains letters and receipts to Slater, a textile manufacturer in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and Slatersville, Rhode Island. Most of the correspondence pertains to Slater's business interests and finances and to the textile industry in the early 19th century.

This collection (23 items) is comprised of 15 letters and receipts to John Slater, a textile manufacturer in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and Slatersville, Rhode Island; 5 incoming letters to Messrs. S. & J. Slater of Slatersville, Rhode Island; 1 financial document; and 2 newspaper clippings.

John Slater received 11 letters, 2 receipts, and 1 invoice/receipt while living in Smithfield, Rhode Island, from June 17, 1808-October 30, 1823. His correspondents, including his business partners Almy & Brown (June 17, 1808) and his brother Samuel (August 2, 1808, and August 4, 1823), discussed business affairs and finances, particularly in relation to the textile industry. In his first letter, Samuel Slater also mentioned Napoleon's intention to seize U.S. vessels as naval prizes. E. W. Fletcher's letter of October 30, 1823, includes a list of weekly expenses from the Slaters' mill in Jewett City, Connecticut. This group of items also includes a personal letter from Thomas and Grace Gamble, Slater's sister and brother-in-law in England (June 17, 1821), a receipt for Slater's subscription to the Rhode-Island American (October 10, 1817), and an invoice and receipt for tuition and firewood for Slater's daughters Eliza and Minerva at the Pawtucket Academy (November 20, 1823).

John Slater received a letter from [F.] A. Taylor in Slatersville about the possibility of constructing a parsonage (February 15, 1841). The final 5 letters (February 20, 1841-April 18, 1843) are addressed to Messrs. S. and J. Slater at Slatersville, Rhode Island. The first contains Samuel Slater & Sons' response to Taylor's request (February 20, 1841), and the remaining letters, all by William L. Slater, pertain to cotton purchases and prices. The collection also includes a financial account related to the Slatersville General Post-Office (July 1, 1840-September 1, 1840), an undated newspaper clipping about the possible re-opening of the Slater mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and an undated article containing Samuel Slater's biography.

Two debating societies based in Montgomery, New York, recorded their constitutions and meeting minutes in this volume in the early to mid-19th century. At weekly meetings, members debated questions related to politics, morality, and other subjects, though religious topics were banned.

Two debating societies based in Montgomery, New York, recorded their constitutions and meeting minutes in this volume (approximately 180 pp.) in the early to mid-19th century. At weekly meetings, members discussed political issues and moral questions.

The title page has an unattributed epigram taken from verses written by Robert Burns for the Freemasons. Following this, the Farmers & Mechanicks Debating Society of Montgomery recorded its first minutes (February 4, 1823), which pre-date its constitution (February 11, 1823). The 4-page constitution and 2-page list of members' signatures are followed by about 70 pages of minutes from the society's weekly meetings. Every week, the group discussed a member's question, posed and chosen the week before, with members arguing in the negative and affirmative. Questions covered a range of moral and political subjects such as quality of life, wealth, women's rights, punishment for crimes, and finances, though religious topics were banned. The minutes record the names of members presenting either side of the question and occasionally concern administrative affairs such as officer elections. The final dated entry appears on January 26, 1825, with one last entry from "Saturday evening Feb 28" of an unknown year.

The second section (approximately 90 pages) contains the minutes and constitution of the Farmers & Mechanicks Debating Society's successor, the Good-Will Debating Society, in the Town of Montgomery. Its constitution, which has later annotations and alterations, is largely similar to the earlier document. Weekly meeting minutes cover December 11, 1840-January 30, 1846, though some dates are missing or appear out of chronological sequence. The society's debate topics were similar to its predecessor's, though some related to contemporary political issues such as the annexation of Texas. A group of loosely tied newspaper clippings laid into the volume (dated 1846) pertain to the Mexican-American War and topics related to mechanics and manufacturing.

This volume contains D. Coffin's daily account of the first leg of a sea voyage from New York City to California, covering the progress of the clipper ship Grecian between New York and Cape Horn in early 1852. The journal also includes drawings of scenery made during the voyage, newspaper clippings, penmanship exercises, and children's sketches.

This volume contains a 20-page daily account of the first leg of D. Coffin's voyage from New York City to California, covering the progress of the clipper ship Grecian between New York and Cape Horn in early 1852. The journal also includes 18 coastal profiles drawn in pencil during the voyage. A newspaper clipping at the beginning of the volume concerns the clipper ship Grecian's arrival in San Francisco. It provides names of passengers, names of three people who died during the voyage, a list of goods shipped onboard, and names of consignees.

The journal begins on February 19, 1852. The following day, Coffin arrived in New York, where he purchased a ticket for the ship Grecian, which set sail on March 2. In his first entry, he detailed the ship's specifications, including its size and number of passengers. He kept a daily record of weather and events onboard and frequently mentioned his negative opinion of "immoral" passengers who enjoyed alcohol and gambling. Several of the entries concern medical problems, such as the death of passenger John Morrison from smallpox on March 12, the author's own bout with side and bowel pain, and several other cases of smallpox reported by the ship's doctor on March 21. Though many passengers suffered from illness, they were allowed to go onshore after the ship's arrival at Rio de Janeiro on April 12. Coffin wrote lengthy descriptions of the fort and the city, including its geographical surroundings and a visit by the emperor. On April 15, he reported on local markets and made brief observations about slaves. The Grecian departed Rio de Janeiro on April 19 and Coffin's continued to make daily entries until April 24.

Newspaper clippings, penmanship exercises, and children's sketches make up the rest of the volume. The first 42 pages have pasted-in newspaper clippings of proverbs, humorous anecdotes, informational articles, news articles, and poetry. The creator pasted the clippings over earlier, mostly inaccessible pen writing. Some of the clippings relate to farming, housekeeping, nature, and recent gold discoveries. Two of the articles are a report on a lecture given by Lucy Stone on women's rights, and a brief feature on an "Emancipation Movement in Virginia."

Penmanship exercises and notes (two dated 1862 & 1888), signatures, and children's sketches (three associated with Edna Jane Coffin) are scattered throughout the volume. A pencil sketch of a three-masted sailing ship was signed by Mathew Doyle.

London apothecary William P. Marshall compiled notes on medical ailments, descriptions of chemicals and medicines, and formulae for medical treatments in this volume, entitled "Medical Manipulation."

In 1830, London apothecary William P. Marshall compiled notes on medical ailments, descriptions of chemicals and medicines, and formulae for medical treatments in an 89-page volume entitled "Medical Manipulation." Marshall wrote directly in the volume and on pages pasted into the volume.

The book's formal title is "Medical Manipulation: An Œconomical Farrago of Galenical Anomalies with Pathological Remarks by Wm. P. Marshall, M.R.C.S., Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries &c. &c." The first title page contains a colored drawing of a shield with the inscription "Resurgere in Cœlo," below a skull sitting on a shelf. The second page includes a clipping with a printed illustration of a skull and crossbones. Roughly half of the pages have notes about general pathology, respiration, the voice, expectoration, "percussion," the heart, and diagnosis. The other pages primarily have pasted-in notes about, and formulae for, medicines and chemicals used for medical treatments. One of these notes is in poetic form ("Materia Medica," pp. 10, 12). The pasted-in pages cover older notes written directly into the volume.

Newspaper clippings about various medical subjects, including one on "lunatics" (p. 78) and many formulae, are affixed to many pages. One clipping has a reprinted poem "Found in the Skeleton Case at the Royal Academy" (p. 57), and at least two articles are in Spanish. The front endpaper has a price list from J. Warrick & Co. chemical importers in London, England.

This volume is an extensively hand-annotated copy of the Poetical Works of Alexander Pope that belonged to Isaac Bullock of Danvers, Massachusetts. Bullock was a mariner, bibliophile, and amateur classicist.

This volume is an extensively hand-annotated copy of the Poetical Works of Alexander Pope that belonged to Isaac Bullock of Danvers, Massachusetts. Bullock was a mariner, bibliophile, and amateur classicist.

He revealed his knowledge of Homer, Plato, Josephus, Cicero, Virgil, Edward Gibbon, Lord Byron, and William Cullen Bryant in his annotations. Numerous tipped-in handwritten slips provide commentary by Bullock, and other scholars and historians.

The introduction to the volume (Dr. Johnson's "Life of Alexander Pope") as well as Pope's poems "Essay on Man" and "The Dunciad," are heavily annotated. Bullock inserted his own original pen and ink drawings in the margins, including ancient rings and pins, daggers, hatchets and battleaxes, Neptune rising from the sea, and "Ruins of the Temple of the 'Athenian Dame'-Minerva Polis-as they remain today." He also inserted printed illustrations from other sources.

On the flyleaf, Bullock tipped in a three-page writing called "Reminiscence of my Youth," in which he wrote about his literary education and the influences of Socrates, Gibbon, Pope, Shakespeare, Defoe, Lord Byron, and Jeremy Belknap.

This volume is an extensively hand-annotated copy of the Poetical Works of Alexander Pope that belonged to Isaac Bullock of Danvers, Massachusetts. Bullock was a mariner, bibliophile, and amateur classicist.

This volume is an extensively hand-annotated copy of the Poetical Works of Alexander Pope that belonged to Isaac Bullock of Danvers, Massachusetts. Bullock was a mariner, bibliophile, and amateur classicist.

He revealed his knowledge of Homer, Plato, Josephus, Cicero, Virgil, Edward Gibbon, Lord Byron, and William Cullen Bryant in his annotations. Numerous tipped-in handwritten slips provide commentary by Bullock, and other scholars and historians.

The introduction to the volume (Dr. Johnson's "Life of Alexander Pope") as well as Pope's poems "Essay on Man" and "The Dunciad," are heavily annotated. Bullock inserted his own original pen and ink drawings in the margins, including ancient rings and pins, daggers, hatchets and battleaxes, Neptune rising from the sea, and "Ruins of the Temple of the 'Athenian Dame'-Minerva Polis-as they remain today." He also inserted printed illustrations from other sources.

On the flyleaf, Bullock tipped in a three-page writing called "Reminiscence of my Youth," in which he wrote about his literary education and the influences of Socrates, Gibbon, Pope, Shakespeare, Defoe, Lord Byron, and Jeremy Belknap.