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1 volume
This volume (about 100 pages) contains financial records, copied poetry and prayers, and colored illustrations compiled by various members of the Holstein family of Pennsylvania in the mid- to late 18th century. Most of the text is written in German.
Much of the volume is comprised of financial accounts recorded between 1753 and 1757, with 3 English-language promissory notes and receipts dated as late as January 1826; the later items pertain to John Holstein. Poems, devotions, and brief notes are written alongside the accounts. Numerous colored drawings in black, red, and yellow ink are located throughout the volume. These illustrations, which are crude examples of the Fraktur style, include floral patterns, pictures of people (sometimes represented by stick figures), and drawings of birds. Page 91 contains rubbings taken from 14 coins minted as late as 1831, including coins with the "draped bust" design, a "large cent," and a piece of Spanish currency.
1 volume
This collection is a single bound volume containing poems and essays copied by Ira James Titus of Detroit, Michigan, in 1840. Several subsequent entries are by members of the Barlow family. The volume includes several hand-drawn illustrations, including one of a ship. On the final page is a list of female names.
- "What is Hope?" by Anna
- "Ode on Solitude" by Alexander Pope
- "The Motherless" by Mrs. Abdy
- "The Funeral at Sea" by Henry J. Finn
- "Ye Sons of Hibernia" by James Gibbons
- "Ode: In Commemoration of the Settlement of Western New York" by William H. C. Hosmer
- "A Song of the Sea" by H.W. Rockwell
- "The Silver Birdsnest" by Hannah Flagg Gould
0.75 linear feet
The John Simcoe papers are a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents pertaining to Colonel Simcoe's military career in the British Army during the American Revolution and his post-war life. The collection contains letters between Col. Simcoe and a variety of correspondents. Most prominent are 23 letters from General Sir Henry Clinton, dated 1782-1792; letters and documents related to the Queen's Rangers, including military orders and returns, dated 1774-1799; nine letters from Col. Henry Caldwell regarding a monument to General James Wolfe, dated 1802-1804; and letters between Simcoe and George Hammond, the first British minister to the United States. Several unofficial documents relate to Simcoe's advancement and the disposal of his Canadian estates. Other miscellaneous letters and documents include one by Margaret Graves, in which she defends the conduct of her husband, Admiral Samuel Graves, in Boston before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
The collection contains one "Memorandum Book," which is made up of copies of letters and military orders written for Simcoe by his Secretary, Major Edward Baker Littlehales, dated 1792-1793. Maps from the Simcoe papers have been transferred to the Map Division, including several attributed to John's wife, Elizabeth Simcoe. An unsigned commonplace book and a selection of literary drafts (including one for Simcoe's publishedRemarks on the travels of the Marquis de Chastellux in North America, 1787) and fragments of other works complete the Simcoe papers
1 volume
This 109-page volume consists of journal entries, notes, and newspaper clippings compiled by Joseph Graves, a farmer who lived in Brentwood, New Hampshire, in the early 19th century. The first 47 pages cover his duties as a notary between 1826 and 1855, and the remaining 62 pages contain semi-regular journal entries, as well as notes and newspaper clippings on various topics.
Pages 1 through 47 hold semi-regular statements regarding Joseph Graves's work as a notary in Brentwood, New Hampshire, between May 1, 1826, and May 1855. Graves kept a sporadic record of his duties, such as administering oaths to members and officers of the New Hampshire Militia's 4th Regiment, witnessing and recording deeds, certifying estate executors, and performing similar tasks. Each statement contains the names of the parties and nature of the legal documentation.
The journal resumes on page 66 (following 20 blank, numbered pages) with a brief essay on the election of a chairman for a convention. The remainder of the volume primarily consists of journal entries Graves wrote between 1845 and 1855; the bulk of them date between 1845 and 1851, with occasional later dated entries interspersed among newspaper clippings and miscellaneous notes, charts, and essays. His brief journal entries pertain to local life around Brentwood, New Hampshire, including births, illnesses, and deaths, particularly those related to the family of his son Lyford T. Graves. Others reflect the author's travels around New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, and his farm work, such as haying or digging potatoes. Some reflect town meetings, local elections, meetings of the New Hampshire Militia, and other gatherings. Graves recorded his bleeding treatments for various pains and illnesses and noted the health affairs of other family members, including the longevity of his grandmother-in-law (pp. 86 and 98). On November 11, 1846 (p. 88), Graves reflected upon the death of his 3-year-old grandson, William Lyford Graves, whose epitaph he copied on page 91. He also recorded the marriage of Lyford T. Graves to Sarah D. Robinson, sister of Lyford's deceased wife (p. 95), and the accidental death by fire of Joseph's sister, Sarah Robinson, wife of Gilman Robinson (p. 105).
Joseph Graves reported on political events and local news, such as the hanging of a man named Howard for shooting a woman (p. 85). He also noted national political developments, including events at various conventions in 1848 (p. 103) and the 1791 New Hampshire Constitutional Convention (p. 108). Graves frequently remarked on transportation infrastructure, such as the length of railroad track laid down in New England (pp. 102 and 109-110), and he noted the lengths of nearby telegraph lines (p. 104). He glued many newspaper clippings into the volume; they provide information on health remedies, politics, and science. The volume concludes with a list of oaths of office that Joseph Graves administered to members of the New Hampshire Militia (p. 124) and a list of wills (p. 127). A letter Graves wrote on behalf of Timothy Sanborn, who requested that his wife be placed in the New Hampshire Asylum, is affixed to the volume's last page (September 17, 1847).
1.25 linear feet
This collection is made up of correspondence, writings, a journal, a scrapbook, and published material related to George Clary Wing of Bloomfield, Ohio, and two account books kept by his father, Joseph Knowles Wing, during his military service in the Civil War.
The Correspondence series (32 items) consists of personal and professional correspondence related to George C. Wing. Most items are incoming letters that Wing received from acquaintances and politicians who discussed Wing's career in the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of State from 1872-1884. Some items are signed by prominent politicians, including George Henry Williams, Charles Devens, Benjamin Brewster, and Frederick T. Frelinghuysen. The series also contains a small number of draft letters from Wing to various individuals, also concerning his career in Washington, D.C. George C. Wing received personal letters from his father, Joseph K. Wing, and one letter and one telegram from his brother, Francis J. Wing; both provided news from North Bloomfield, Ohio, and offered professional advice. The final item is a brief personal letter from "George" to "Julia" (July 23, 1923).
The Journal and Notebooks series contains 2 notebooks and 1 journal. George C. Wing kept two notebooks from 1872-1924 (280 pages) and 1884-1920 (150 pages, not all of which are used). These contain quotations, essays, and notes about many subjects, including lectures at Georgetown Law School, English-language literature, classical history and literature, American history, and scientific subjects. Wing also composed some poetry. The second volume includes some one-line journal entries about Wing's business trips and family news from 1884-1910. He laid newspaper clippings, loose essays, photographs, and notes into the volumes.
George C. Wing's journal includes 51 pages of daily entries describing the scenery during his railroad and steamship journey from Ohio to Valdez, Alaska, and back between June 5, 1901, and July 9, 1901. He mentioned his daily activities and sometimes noted the types of plants prevalent in different areas of the country. The later pages (around 15 pages) contain a drawing of "Jake," a sketch of the Alaska coastline along a glacier, additional trip notes, memoranda, a railroad ticket and steamship purser's ticket, and a photograph of a woman.
The Writings series consists of three items. George C. Wing compiled a group of manuscript writings and draft letters in a volume entitled "Brands- from the Burning!" from the mid-1880s to the mid-1910s. Included are stories, essays, translations, and poems about history, literature, and other topics. Wing's draft letters include an opinion piece about the country's relationship with Germany in 1915. The series also includes a manuscript draft of Wing's book, The Western Reserve Home and The Manuscript Letters of Ephraim Brown and Family, 1805-1845 (1915, later published as Early Years on the Western Reserve) and a group of correspondence and essays about a road in Bloomfield, Ohio, and a related property dispute, entitled "The Lane in Section Sixty, Bloomfield, Trumbull County, Ohio" (1925).
The Joseph K. Wing Account Books (320 total pages, fewer than half of which are used) contain financial records and supply lists related to Wing's service in the 16th Army Corps during the Civil War (1863-1864). Wing, a quartermaster, compiled records about purchases of horses, including the price of each animal; lists of supplies, including the number of items and occasional remarks about items' condition; lists of clothing items available, including remarks about whether each item was damaged or new; a list of forage vouchers cashed by Wing, including the name of the soldier who claimed each voucher; and lists of supplies held by various regiments. Notes regarding prison returns mention a few female prisoners. The volumes also contain notes about army transportation and food supplies.
The collection's Scrapbook (27 pages) primarily contains newspaper clippings about many different subjects, including articles and photographs pertaining to steamship travel to and around Alaska, particularly regarding the ships Dolphin and Bertha. Other clippings concern various members of the Wing family, such as George C. Wing and Francis J. Wing, and the history of Bloomfield, Ohio. Items laid into the back of the volume include printed Personal Instructions to the Diplomatic Agents of the United States in Foreign Countries (1874), George Wing's manuscript report about "Proceedings for the Extradition of Criminals (June 14, 1883), George Wing's drawing of "The Encyclopedant" (February 1895), and a menu for the Alaska Steamship Company vessel Dolphin (July 4, 1901).
Printed Items (4 items) include a copy of George C. Wing's book Early Years on the Western Reserve with Extracts from Letters of Ephraim Brown and Family, 1805-1845 (Cleveland, 1916), inscribed to his sister Elizabeth and to a niece, and a copy of Neighborhood: A Settlement Quarterly containing several articles about pottery (July 1930). George C. Wing also collected court briefs from his time with the United States Court of Claims (1879-1882), and received a United States Senate report about the relationship between Great Britain and the United States with regard to each country's naval presence on the Great Lakes between the War of 1812 (1892).
1 volume
The anonymous author of this volume (approximately 382 pages) recorded poetry, historical notes, and journal entries throughout much of his adult life. The material concerns topics such as military history, learning foreign languages, proverbs, and travel.
- Boccaccio, Decameron (pp. 26-28a, 32-34a)
- Byron, "Fare thee well! And if for ever..." (p. 9)
- Catullus, "Vivamus mea Lesbia, atque amemus" (p. 68)
- Cicero (p. 55)
- William Cowper, "The Task" (pp. 23, 118a)
- Homer, Iliad (p. 117)
- John Milton, "Tractate on Education" (p. 5)
- Ossian (p. 85)
- Shakespeare, Macbeth (122), Timon of Athens (124a)
- Edward Young, "Night Thoughts" (p. 109)
Some examples from the volume indicate the nature of its contents. It contains notes about learning the Italian language; a timeline of the author's life between 1780 and 1825; and a list of hotels where the author stayed while traveling in Holland, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy between July 1, 1816, and August 5, 1820. This list includes the cost of room and board at each hotel or lodging, with comments on the quality of the accommodations. An essay on the Battle of Copenhagen is accompanied by a poem written by a soldier who participated in the battle. Some poetry and other entries are religious in nature, and the author copied several Bible verses. Two essays written in October 1850 and October 1851 share the author's "anticipations" for the coming years, as well as his reflections on past years (pp. 61-62a).
Pagination within the volume is inconsistent, and some of its contents are organized alphabetically by subject, with a partial index appearing on pages 142-150.
5 volumes and 2 loose items
This collection is comprised of five volumes of copied passages from magazines, newspapers, speeches, and other literary sources, on subjects such as religion, history, philosophy, economics, science, and fiction. Also included is a handwritten essay on "Physical and Moral Courage," and a Wilmington, Delaware, bond related to the estate of Edwin A. Wilson, April 1, 1859.
The creator of these commonplace books, writing in a dense, consistent hand, recorded passages from a wide range of authors that include Plato, Aristotle, Tertullian, Geoffrey Chaucer, Martin Luther, Nathanial Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Baden Powell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others. Publication notices and excerpts of literary reviews are frequently noted. Passages often include references to the author or the publication source. Latin, Greek, and Hebrew words or lines periodically appear as well.
Included in the collection is a handwritten essay, titled, "Physical and Moral Courage", exploring these ideas within the framework of Ancient Spartan society, as well as their relationship to the legacy of Julius Caesar. A partially-printed bond dated April 1, 1859, from Joseph C. Seed to David Craig and William Tatnall in Wilmington, Delaware, pertains to the estate of Edwin A. Wilson.
- The Atlantic Monthly
- The British Quarterly Review
- The Christian Examiner
- Debow's Review
- The London Lancet: A Journal of British and Foreign Medical and Chemical Science, Criticism, Literature, and News
- The London Quarterly Review
- The National Review
- The New York Tribune
- The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, and Science
- The Spectator
- The Weekly Caucasian
- The Westminster Review
1 volume
Lydia Brown compiled this notebook of copied poems, principally religious and moral in nature, sometime in the early nineteenth century. She often drew calligraphic titles and other embellishments, including borders, flowers, and leaves. Several times throughout the volume, Lydia Brown included "A E 12" after her name, possibly an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "aetatis," indicating she may have been 12 at the time of writing and the volume could have served as an educational exercise for learning penmanship. A test sheet at the end of the volume includes several practice penmanship elements, and pencil lines throughout indicate how Lydia Brown was keeping her writing straight.
- To Hope
- A Paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer
- Charity
- Safety in Christ
- Say Why!
- Childhood
- Life
- Content
- Faith
- Hope
- Charity
- Humility
- Friendship
- Fortitude
- Modesty
- Patience
- Inscription on a Clock
- Friendship
- Sunset and Sunrise
- Reputation
- A Request
- Hope
- The Rose
- Friendship
- Time
- Repentance
- Prayer
- Religion
- The Happy Cottage
- A Thought
- Evening Cloud
- Extract
- An Epitaph
- Time
- Modesty
- Extract
- Repentance
- Life
- Prayer
- The Tear
- Sympathy
28 volumes
This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.
All or most of the known authors of these recipe books appear to be by women. A man, James Campbell, authored the accounting portion of the Campbell receipt book and a male writer may have created the Manuscript Recipe Book, [1838]. Emma Hinricks Hilken is the only one known to have resided outside the United States when writing her recipe book (she resided in Frankfurt, Germany, for several years following her marriage). The women range in age from teenagers to the elderly and represent a variety of social backgrounds. Most of the recipe books were written or compiled in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some extending into the early twentieth. Approximately one-fifth of them were written in the first half of the nineteenth century or earlier.
See the box and folder listing below for a complete descriptive list of the recipe books present in this collection.
1 volume
The Martha Leach Packard commonplace book (200 pages) contains inscriptions, correspondence, autographs, and ephemera that Packard collected from the 1850s to 1890s. Packard used about half of the pages; additional items are laid into the volume.
Most inscriptions and autographs are written directly into the volume, and many are dated at Poughkeepsie, New York. Most entries are dated from the 1850s-1890s, though some letters pasted into the book are dated as early as 1837. Prominent individuals such as politicians, artists, and writers contributed autographs (see list below), and historian Benson J. Lossing provided a personal inscription (p. 39). Packard's other contributors included academics and personal acquaintances, 5 of whom mentioned participating in the Civil War (pp. 77, 145).
Laid-in letters include items by famous persons and personal correspondence to Martha Leach Packard and E. W. Packard. The volume also includes visiting cards, a menu from a dinner at the Stevens House (p. 157), a lock of hair (p. 178), and a swatch of fabric (p. 198). The album was originally published with printed illustrations, mainly portraits of women; some later pages contain cut-out colored illustrations of flowers.
- Benson J. Lossing (inscription, p. 39; letter, p. 200)
- John Jay Hyde (inscription, p. 41; calling card, front endpaper)
- Henry P. Tappan (autograph, p. 45)
- Thomas Nast (autograph on card, p. 61)
- Samuel F. B. Morse (autograph, p. 97)
- William W. Belknap (autograph, p. 99)
- Henry Clay (autograph, p. 115)
- Lydia Huntley Sigourney (autograph, p. 115)
- DeWitt Clinton (autograph, p. 115)
- Francis Napier (letter, p. 193)
- P. T. Barnum (autograph, back endpaper)