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The Frederick North collection contains four letters written by North between 1775 and 1783 and a financial record for extraordinary military services and provisions incurred by and paid for by North and George Cooke as Paymasters of Forces, 1766-1767.

The Frederick North collection contains 4 letters from North to various recipients, 1775-1783 and one 1766-1767 record of payment for services. In the first letter (April 17, 1775), written to an unknown recipient, North mentioned transferring a "Dr. Tatten" to Westminster, which he considered "more profitable" than other institutions. He also expressed regret that John Burgoyne did not attend a meeting at which Lord Dartmouth gave "explicit & proper" instructions. In his letter of August 22, 1782, also to an unknown recipient, North referred to a month-long "Tour of visits," which prevented him from writing sooner. He pledged his assistance in recruiting men for the 40th Regiment of Foot, recently renamed the 2nd Somersetshire after Somerset County, but opined that he could "do but little" because of his residence outside the area. In the next piece of correspondence, dated January 19, 1783, North congratulated William Eden on the birth of a son, accepted the role of godfather, and noted that their friendship was a "principal happiness" in his life. North wrote the final letter to the Duke of Portland, September 23, 1783, informing him of the material needs of emigrants from East Florida to the Bahamas, and inquiring if the army's extra provisions could be sent to the Bahamas for the settlers.

Also included in the collection is a 7-page "Account of Extraory Services incurred & Paid by the right honble Lord North & Geo. Cooke," covering 1766-1767, when North and Cooke served as Paymasters of the Forces. This document contains sums paid to various military officials for services and supplies in Germany and colonies such as Grenada, East Florida, and Jamaica. Also provided in the document is a list of names of the compensated and dates of warrant.

The Manchester papers primarily contain the diplomatic correspondence, memoranda, and treaty drafts of George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester, who was appointed British Ambassador to France to oversee the negotiations regarding the Peace of Paris in 1783.

The Manchester papers contain 250 letters, 30 drafts, 13 instructions, 9 notes, 4 letter books, and a map, spanning 1779 to 1788. These items primarily relate to diplomacy and Manchester's role in the negotiation of the Peace of Paris in 1783.

The Documents and Correspondence series contains 331 items pertaining to British politics, the American Revolution, the negotiations of the Peace of Paris, and other topics. These include diplomatic correspondence, memoranda, drafts of treaty clauses, and instructions for the period of 1783 to 1784, when Manchester participated in the negotiations with France, Spain, and the Netherlands as ambassador to France at the end of the American Revolutionary war.

Just nine letters in the collection predate 1783. These include several accounts of the British military situation in North America from Captain F. Taylor, Manchester's agent in London, in which Taylor noted that "things are as bad, as they can be" and criticized British politicians for leaving London for their country homes in a time of crisis (September 30, 1780). He also condemned the naval tactics of Admiral Henry Darby (February 12, 1781) and commented on British ships headed to Jamaica (October 30, 1781). Beginning in the spring of 1783, the primary topic of the letters and documents shifts to diplomacy and negotiations between Great Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands. This includes the April 23, 1783, instructions given to Manchester by King George III, which discuss the release of prisoners, the rights of the "French naturalized English," and mandate that Manchester maintain frequent contact with other "Ministers employed in Foreign Courts."

The collection also contains numerous drafts of the treaty's articles and clauses, nearly all of which are in French. With these, it is possible to trace the course of negotiations through the various changes proposed and accepted by the principal negotiators. The drafts of articles pertain to the wide array of issues addressed in the treaty, including boundary negotiations and the ceding of territory, the privileges of British citizens in areas newly controlled by other nations, trading privileges in the West Indies, fishing rights in Newfoundland, use of wood cut in Central America, the release of prisoners of war, and other topics.

Also included is Manchester's incoming and outgoing correspondence concerning the treaty and negotiations, including several dozen letters from the French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes; a roughly equal number from the Spanish Ambassador to France, Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Comte d'Aranda; and 23 letters from British secretary of state for foreign affairs Charles James Fox. Correspondence concerns such issues as possession of the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and associated fisheries in the north Atlantic, restitutions to be made in India between the English and the French, and minor changes to the wording of the treaty. Correspondence between Manchester and Fox, in particular, reveals the inner workings of the British side of negotiations, including concerns that plenipotentiary David Hartley would "be taken in by [Benjamin] Franklin" and "disgrace both himself and us" (May 15, 1783), and comments on Fox's strong support for Russia and Austria (August 4, 1783). In several letters, Fox comments on specific articles within the treaties.

The collection also has a substantial amount of correspondence relating to diplomacy and European politics, which Manchester received in his position as ambassador. This includes complaints by British citizens about their alleged mistreatment at the hands of the French, such as the seizure of the merchant ship Hereford after it took shelter from a storm in Nantes, France (May 17, 1783), and the capture of the ship Merlin by privateers ([May 1781]). Several of Manchester's colleagues wrote to him about Russian politics and activities, including Sir Robert Murray Keith, who described growing tensions with the Turks (May 30, 1783), and John Collet, who gave an account of the Russian mode of colonizing Crimea, which was to pay Genoan families to settle there (June 2, 1783).

Just 27 letters postdate 1783. These give news of European politics, including information on the Russo-Turkish War, a commercial treaty between France and Portugal (February 2, 1787), and several updates on the movements and activities of the French Navy.

The Letter Books and Map series, 1782-1783, contains four volumes of correspondence and a 1783 map. The first volume contains letters and extracts of correspondence written by Alleyne Fitzherbert to Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham (27 letters) and Charles Fox (10 letters). Covering a total of 216 pages, the letters span November 29, 1782, to May 3, 1783. They chiefly concern the peace negotiations, including discussion of the restoration of enemy ships (December 7, 1782), the wording of the treaty's preamble (January 19, 1783), ongoing negotiations relating to territory in India, and numerous associated topics.

The second volume, which covers August 9, 1782, to May 30, 1783, contains letters written by Grantham to Fitzherbert (86 letters) and Fox (7 letters), totaling 427 pages. These letters announce various appointments and refer frequently to peace negotiations. Also included are many drafts of treaty articles.

The third volume is divided into two parts, which cover April 30, 1782, to December 7, 1783. The first part includes 10 letters between Grenville and Fox, and two between Grenville and Shelburne. These contain further discussion of territory negotiations and the demands of the French, Spanish, and Dutch. The second part of the volume has 58 letters with 49 enclosures, written by Manchester to Fox.

The fourth volume contains 67 letters from Fox to Manchester, dated April 29 to December 2, 1783 and occupying 169 pages. In his letters to Manchester, Fox wrote about the Spanish treatment of British citizens, control of the wood trade in Central America, possession of Tobago, and specific treaty articles.

The map, dated 1783, is housed in the Map Division and depicts several rivers in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The George Thompson papers contain letters and documents primarily concerning Kentucky politics and conflicts between Native Americans and white settlers at the close of the 18th-century and during the war of 1812.

The George Thompson papers contain 32 items (29 letters and 3 documents) spanning 1784-1831. The materials relate to George Claiborne Thompson, who served as a Virginia colonel in the Revolutionary War and a surveyor and politician thereafter, and his son, George Claiborne Thompson, Jr. Isaac Shelby, the governor of Kentucky, wrote the first 4 letters in the collection between 1784 and 1788 to the senior Thompson. The first three contain details related to the surveying of land in present-day Kentucky, including information on geographical features, the expense of making surveys, and land claims. In the fourth letter, dated November 14, 1788, Shelby described a case of an African American man who was brought from Maryland to the "District of Kentucky" and had applied for his freedom under the Acts of Assembly of 1778 and 1785. Shelby noted that the case might "open the way to every negroe in the District to take the same steps."

A substantial number of letters in the collection concern Native Americans, particularly their ongoing clashes with white settlers. On June 1, 1790, George Thompson wrote to James Madison, describing a three-hour battle on the Ohio River between his party and 61 "Indians," who took two boats and other property. He also reported several other incidents, including the killing of John May by natives and the scalping of three white children in the area. Other correspondents reported on engagements with Native Americans in the War of 1812. On February 20, 1813, Isaac Shelby related an account by Frenchman Adelard Labbedie of the Battle of River Raisin, including the surrender of General Winchester and the killing of wounded American prisoners by "about 10 Indians."

The George Thompson papers also shed light on American and Kentucky politics in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. They include U.S. Senator John Breckinridge's discussion of the Louisiana Purchase and the surrender of New Orleans (November 4, 1803), Isaac Shelby's rationale for not running for Congress (April 23, 1803), and several reports on the Kentucky legislature by George Thompson, Jr. On October 16, 1821, he wrote to his father informing him that he, Thompson, Jr., had been named speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the new term. The collection closes with several undated legal documents stemming from lawsuits over Kentucky land between George Thompson, Sr., and several other men.

The Henry Strachey papers contain the incoming and outgoing correspondence of British politician Henry Strachey, primarily concerning Strachey's personal life, activities in North America, plantation in Florida, and political matters. Also included are copies of scattered financial and legal documents and two volumes of reports from colonial governors to the Earl of Dartmouth (1773), which Strachey had copied around 1776.

The Henry Strachey papers comprise approximately 168 letters, a letterbook containing an additional 35 letters, 5 financial records, 23 documents, and 2 volumes of reports from the governors of various American colonies to the Earl of Dartmouth, 1773.

The Correspondence series covers the period between 1733 and 1802, although the bulk centers around 1776-1785. The largest portion of the correspondence is between Strachey and his wife, Jane; they exchanged a total of 34 letters between 1776 and 1778, while Strachey was in North America. The collection includes 29 letters from Henry to Jane and 5 long letters, totaling around 60 pages, from Jane to Henry. Strachey's letters to his wife primarily concern his impressions of the colonies, news about his health, and observations concerning mutual acquaintances. The tone of Strachey's letters is frequently affectionate; on December 2, 1776, he requested locks of hair from her and the children, but intimated that he felt "silly" and "embarrassed" doing so. In his letters, Strachey responded to his wife's curiosity about the colonies. On May 13, 1776, he recommended that she read Andrew Burnaby's and Peter Kalm's books on North America. He also provided rich details of his own experiences, as in his letter of March 24, 1778, in which he wrote a long description of daily life in Philadelphia, including elaborate "Tea drinkings," plays put on by soldiers, unchaperoned balls, and the respect accorded William Howe, who "is King here." Occasionally, Strachey's letters to his wife allude to political events taking place; on December 8, 1777, he mentioned the burning of the Augusta at the Battle of Red Bank, and directed her on how to use a cipher if the necessity arose. Jane Strachey's letters contain primarily family news, descriptions of her daily events, expressions of concern for her husband's health, and her thoughts on running the household.

Approximately 30 letters in the collection, and all 35 letters in the letterbook, relate to Beauclerc Bluff, Strachey's plantation in eastern Florida. The correspondence is both incoming and outgoing, and Strachey's correspondents include East Florida Governor Patrick Tonyn, lawyers Edward and James Penman, and plantation managers Alexander Gray and John Ross. These letters span 1771-1802 and document Strachey's increasing dissatisfaction with the plantation's poor returns and its eventual sale. Approximately 10 letters relate to the sale of Strachey's slaves, including accounts of their prices, and a reference to a male and female slave escaping and joining the Creek Nation (September 29, 1784). Several letters between Strachey and Thomas Bee concern Bee’s purchase of slaves and his failure to pay for them. Letters concerning Beauclerc Bluff also provide details on the struggle to introduce indigo to Florida (January 2, 1777) and on Strachey's waning confidence in the British ability to hold the country. On September 4, 1782, Strachey expressed these concerns to Tonyn and urged him to prepare for this in order to avoid "thinking of such Essentials when all may be hurry & Confusion."

Several letters in the collection focus on politics in England and America. In a letter to Strachey of March 14, 1774, Edward Clive mentioned Alexander Wedderburn's speech criticizing Benjamin Franklin, and congratulated Strachey on a victory over the "Bloomshbury gang" [sic]. Two additional items from Strachey to politician Christopher D'Oyly regard the prospects for restoring peace (August 11, 1776). Also present is a signed copy of a letter from General George Washington to Brigadier General Jared Irwin, requesting his opinion on the advisability of attacking Philadelphia during the winter (December 3, 1777).

The Documents and Financial Records series contains 10 items relating to Strachey's commissions and finances, and some additional miscellany, including an excerpt from the will of John Allen. Also present is a document tracking the number and prices of Strachey's slaves, 1770-1779, and other papers relating to the plantation. The items cover the years 1770 to 1791.

The Papers Relating to the War of Independence and the Preliminary Treaty of Peace series contains 86 letters and documents covering the years 1776 to 1783, with material relating to Strachey's efforts as a peace negotiator during and after the American Revolution, his opinions on Americans and independence, and his relationships with Richard and William Howe. The series includes his commission as secretary to the peace commission (May 6, 1776), three sets of instructions to the commissioners from King George III (May 6-8, 1776), and nineteen letters written by Strachey while he served as secretary to the Howe brothers in New York and Philadelphia from 1776 to 1778. Henry Strachey's diary spanning from June 1776 to the end of 1777 includes commentary on negotiation efforts, the war's progress, and meetings with British officers. An early draft of General Howe's defense of his actions as commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America is also present, along with approximately 205 page of material relating to the Treaty of Paris.

The Dartmouth Volumes series contains two bound vellum volumes of copies of replies and reports from the governors of British colonies in answer to the circular of William Legge, 2nd earl of Dartmouth (1731-1801). On July 5, 1773, Dartmouth, then Secretary of State for the colonies, sent out a circular letter with 22 questions to the governors of various British colonies. He collected their responses and accompanying records in two volumes. Around the time that he was appointed to the Howe peace commission, Strachey had copies of the volumes made for his own use.

The first volume contains Dartmouth's circular letter and questionnaires for the mainland colonies, island colonies, and Senegambia (pp. 1-11). They raise such questions as the number and attitudes of Native Americans, quantities of imports and exports, size of the militia, the characteristics of the population, and the geography and resources of each colony. These are followed by the responses of various governors and colonial officials: Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts Bay (pp. 12-30), Francis Legge of Nova Scotia (35-48), Walter Patterson of St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island) (53-68), John Wentworth of New Hampshire (73-104), Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut (107-120), William Tryon of New York (123-207), William Franklin of New Jersey (219-242), John Murray of Virginia (249-268), Thomas Penn of Pennsylvania (269-303), James Wright of Georgia (315-358), and Peter Chester of West Florida (363-373).

The answers are lengthy, and provide both quantitative and qualitative information on many aspects of each colony. In his response to the question, "What number of Indians have you and how are they inclined," Governor Trumbull of Connecticut answered, "There are 1,363, many of them dwell in English Families, the rest in small Tribes in various places in Peace, good order, and inclined to Idleness." (p. 115). Several colonies included appendices giving further details; New York included a 1771 list of inhabitants, a surveyor's report, a table of salaries and other records. New Jersey appended an account of marriages, birth, and burials between 1771 and 1772. Pennsylvania provided additional information on imports and exports, 1769-1773. The last item in the volume is copy of a three-page document (433-435), signed by Attorney General William de Grey, and entitled "Case," in which de Grey gave the opinion that Commander-in-Chief Thomas Gage's power over troops in New York superseded the power of the Governor of New York. The document is dated May 16, 1770.

The second volume contains the responses from Jamaica (pp. 29-65), Barbados (67-100), the Leeward Islands (101-158), the Virgin Islands, Grenada (185-226), Carriouacou (227-234), Tobago (263-314), St. Vincent (315-364), Dominica (373-397), the Bahamas (399-433), and Bermuda (435-447). In addition to responses to Dartmouth's questions, the reply from Jamaica contains accounts of "Ordinary Expenses" and "Extraordinary Expenses," and tax information. Barbados' portion of the volume contains a thorough description of numbers of cavalry and infantry and their organization into companies. Concerning the population, the report noted that "[t]he Blacks have decreased considerably within the last five Years…a Decrease that probably has proceeded from the Settlement of the late neutral Islands by the English…." (p. 77-78). Grenada's account includes a list of public and military officers, and of 1772 imports and exports, as well as several other appendices. The two volumes are a very rich source of information on the demographics, geography, and government of the British colonies just before the American Revolution.

The Maps series contains three maps: "Virgin Islands surveyed in 1774," "A chart of Tibee Inlet in Georgia" (1776), and a map of Fort Nassau, Bahamas (1775). These items are located in the Map Division.

The Jethro Sumner papers contain incoming and outgoing letters relating to the progress of the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War, including the battles of Charlotte and King's Mountain, logistical and personnel concerns, and Sumner's resignation.

The Jethro Sumner papers contain 69 letters (both incoming and outgoing), and 3 militia lists, all spanning August 24, 1780, to April 1, 1781. All but two of the items date from August 24-October 20, 1780. The letters primarily concern strategic and logistical matters of the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. Several letters in September 1780 document Cornwallis' invasion of North Carolina and the Battle of Charlotte. These include a series of letters between Sumner and Major General Horatio Gates, in which Gates promised aid to North Carolina's western counties (September 17, 1780), Sumner reported on the British occupation of Charlotte and requested orders on how to handle soldiers claiming discharge (September 29, 1780), and Gates ordered Sumner not to abandon the defense of the Yadkin Ford and criticized him for writing too infrequently (September 30, 1780). In a letter of September 23, 1780, Colonel Francis Lock wrote to Sumner from camp at Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, requesting that he send any men he could spare. Several letters from early October 1780 provide intelligence concerning the British, including their numbers, activities, and weapons; others refer to the scarcity of provisions, which Gates promised to address (October 7, 1780). On October 8, General William Lee Davidson recommended that Sumner "retain all the good Rifles from the Inhabitants who pass your Camp," judging that this might "induce some to return in Defence of their Country." Sumner and Davidson also exchanged several letters regarding the Battle of King's Mountain and the aftermath of the occupation of Charlotte, including the British departure (October 13, 1780). Sumner wrote three of the last letters in the collection to General William Smallwood, describing the condition of troops and movements, and finally, informing him of his resignation on October 20, 1780.

The collection also contains three militia records. Two identical items, dated October 12, 1780, give a statistical breakdown of officers and soldiers under Sumner by rank and function. Another document, dated October 13, 1780, provides the number of drafts and "Minute Men of the Foot" from the towns of Rowan and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina, under Brigadier General William Lee Davidson.

The Langstroth Family papers document the activities and relationships of several generations of the Langstroth family, originally of Philadelphia, including the founding of several schools for women and African Americans, the experiences of a patient the Friends Asylum, and service in the Civil War.

The correspondence series comprises 600 items covering 1831-1955, and sheds light on the personal lives, careers, and activities of several generations of the Langstroth family. The bulk of the earliest letters, dating from the 1830s, are from Catharine Langstroth to her father and siblings. These letters concern the death of her sister Sarah, financial issues, and the health of several family members, including Margaretta, and refer to temperance (July 20, 1835 “It affords me much pleasure to know that you gathered in your hay on temperance principles”) and religious study. One letter of particular interest is dated January 3, 1839, and was written by Margaretta during a stay at the Friends Asylum in Philadelphia. It describes a harrowing series of treatments for unspecified mental problems: “My head has been cut open to the bone for 3 inches; and large [peas?] inserted; a lead placed over the slit and on the top of this a bread & milk poultice has been applied for two months… My hair has been shaved at least 6 times; and three times since the head was opened.” Margaretta also described the Asylum’s lectures, food, and other patients (“only deranged at intervals”).

Letters from the 1840s and 1850s were written by a variety of family members and document the founding of Mount Holly Institute for Young Ladies; the courtship of Thomas Langstroth, III, and Mary Hauss; and a range of religious attitudes, from Margaretta’s intense piety to Thomas’ doubt (December 12, 1853: “most all the young men in our church just before they got married have made a profession of religion, and how have they turned out! Look at them one half are as bad as they were before: but I have no right to judge.”). In early 1855, Margaretta wrote a series of letters from near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, describing her efforts at religious and educational outreach to slaves, for whom she felt sympathy (February 7, 1855: “Slaves! poor slaves! how my heart bleeds for them, they toil from night to morn, from morn to night--live and die here without knowledge enough to save the soul.”).

Little documentation of the family exists from the Civil War period, despite Edward and Thomas’ service on opposite sides, but Edward’s letter to Margaretta of July 14, 1865, indicates a rift between himself and his sisters, perhaps arising from his joining the Confederacy. Letters of the 1860s and 1870s are mainly incoming to Margaretta and concern teaching, finances, and advice. A number of letters to Thomas from the 1880s contain information about his brother Edward’s health. Approximately 25 folders of letters date from the 20th-century and were written between Hugh Tener Langstroth, his sister, Sara Paxson, and other relatives. These concern travel, social visits, health, and business matters.

The financial and legal documents series consists of 124 items relating to the Langstroth family, covering 1778-1913. It includes wills, records relating to milling, land indentures, an account book of 1814-1817 kept by Thomas Langstroth, Jr., paperwork related to loans, and other materials. Some materials relate to the bank failure which forced Langstroth to sell his mill in 1836. Only 15 items date from 1851-1913.

The diaries and journals series represents six volumes and a few fragments, covering the 1830s to the 1860s, all written by Margaretta Langstroth. The volumes dating from the 1830s contain biographies of historical figures and may have been used in school. Subsequent diaries recorded daily entries of varying length, covering parts of 1864-1868. The 1864 volume includes Margaretta’s memorials of deceased family members and is thus a good source of genealogical information. More commonly, her entries describe daily activities, religious meditations, and frequently seem to reflect a fragile mental state, as in this exceprt of April 15, 1865: “Abraham Lincoln shot in the Washington Theatre Secretary Sewar [sic] had this throat cut I hope Edwar [sic] has no hand in this what makes me fear that he had” or an entry of June 19, 1866, describing the death of a robin: “I felt very badly cannot describe my suffering poor bird…read hymns as it was dying wondering if it would live elsewhere[.] In bed all day so distressed so wretched…” In a number of passages, Margaretta noted the Sunday School classes that she taught, and commented on the number of students and the subjects of her lessons.

The Leckie family papers document the business activities and relationships of Alexander Leckie and his sons, who traded dry goods between England, the United States, and the Caribbean around 1800.

The Leckie family papers contain 44 letters, 3 ledgers, 2 inventories, and a receipt, spanning 1794-1808. The materials primarily document the business activities of the Leckies, who traded dry goods between the United States, England, Jamaica, and Haiti. The correspondence contains many details on the nature of an ambitious mercantile business and matters affecting it during this period. These include political disruptions that threatened trading, especially in Santo Domingo (August 31, 1797), insurance of cargoes, the suitability of certain kinds of goods for specific markets (August 5, 1797), and the types of materials bought and sold, such as cloth, groceries, soap, and candles. The inventories provide further specifics on types of items and prices.

The letters also reveal family relations and their repercussions on the business. In their correspondence, the Leckie brothers frequently quarreled with and chastised one another. They found particular fault with Alexander, who, according to his brothers, made a number of bad contracts (April 7, 1795), as well as an "unfortunate and premature attachment" to a young woman in Virginia (December 28, 1795). In a letter of February 4, 1802, George discussed Alexander's enormous debts ("Alexander could not be indebted at New providence in any less sum than 100.000 Dollars"). Despite this, all three remained in the business at least until 1808.

William Leckie's letters, in particular, show him to be a keen observer of society. In a letter of August 15, 1802, he described the rapid growth of cotton as a crop, the construction of Washington, D.C., and his views on the American social and political scene. His comments on the growing tensions over slavery in the south would prove prophetic: "I have thought that two circumstances are likely to operate at possibly no very distant day to the disadvantage of this happy Country, the first is the great laxity of morals & religion…The other is the increasing quantity of blacks…who are all natives & many of whom can read & write, these will perhaps prove the bane of all the Southern States & by their struggles for freedom involve nearly one half of the Union in Civil Wars."

The Masten family papers contain correspondence documenting the everyday lives of the Hastings and Masten families in 19th-century New York, as well as the Civil War service and subsequent endeavors of Henry Masten in Grandville, Michigan.

The Masten family papers are comprised of 120 letters and two miscellaneous items, dating from 1799 to 1899. The daughters of Jonas and Nancy Hastings were the primary writers of the earliest letters, which concern mainly family and farming news, specifically births, marriages, and deaths of relations and neighbors. Caroline (Hastings) Pennell’s letters to her siblings in New York shed light on the family’s struggle in Northville, Michigan, where they settled sometime in the 1830s. In a letter dated October 14, 1840, Caroline mourned the death of her infant Ebenezer, “his little body was laid in the silent grave by the side of little Andrew and it appears at times as though a part of my heart was buried with them. I find in the midst of life we are in Death and the most promising flowers are nipt in the bud…”

Several letters from the 1850s refer to problems between Samuel Hastings and his wife Mary. On September 25, 1851, Caroline wrote to her sister Nancy, stating, “Mary tells me she and the children talk of coming back this fall they cannot live there with Sam in any peace the children are afraid of him….” Caroline blames the strife on “cursed Drag Alcahol.”

Also noteworthy is the long series of letters between Henry Masten (son of Nancy and Ephraim Masten) and his sisters during the 1860s and 1870s. Henry’s Civil War letters cover camp life in Virginia, such as marching, food, weather, and equipment. In a letter of October 24, 1864, he describes being surprised by the Confederate Army at the Battle of Cedar Creek. The letters from the 1870s, when Henry lived in Grandville, Michigan, portray the work, recreation, family relations, and social setting of a farming family of that era. They contain details of farm work, birth and death of children, health and sickness, church activities, and religious beliefs. Later letters detail his activities with his grocery business, Masten & Hammond.

The Minto-Skelton papers contain the papers of Walter Minto (1753-1796), noted mathematician and educator, his nephew Walter Minto Skelton (1804-1848), and other members of their extended family. Walter Minto's papers contain correspondence, writings, and other documents related to his travels in Italy, scholarship, and teaching career. The Walter Minto Skelton and family papers include correspondence, poetry, prose writings, illustrations and photographs, documents, printed materials, notes, invitations, and miscellanea.

The collection entitled Minto-Skelton family papers is divided into two series: the Walter Minto papers and the Skelton family papers. It began as the Walter Minto papers by donation from Harry B. Earhart in 1934, and this collection, which consists of 21 documents and seven letters, has been incorporated into the new, larger collection of Minto-Skelton family papers given by Jean McIntyre Conrad in 2004. The Skelton family papers contains only a few items from the Earhart donation: specifically, seven of the ten Detargny documents between 1796 and 1798 (in Series 2, sub-series 4) and one printed broadside from 1799 (in Series 2, sub-series 5); the rest come from the much larger Conrad donation. In the Contents Lists that follow each collection it has been noted which papers originally belonged in the Earhart donation.

Walter Minto Papers:

The Walter Minto papers consists of 296 letters and 31 documents, along with nine manuscript notebooks, diaries, account books, etc. and five short handwritten notes by Minto himself. Nearly all of the letters were written during Minto's lifetime, from 1774 to 1796, with four from 1797-98 added to the collection because they refer to him or to his estate. Most of the letters were written to him (253), and they are about equally divided between those written before he left Scotland for America (mid-1786) and those written after he arrived in America. Those from 1779 to 1786 are especially revealing about two events in his life that were either unknown or only hinted at previously.

The first has to do with his sojourn in Italy. He accompanied the Johnstone boys to Italy in 1776 as their tutor and remained with them there until early 1779, when they, and presumably he with them, returned to England. But letters both to and from his father, Walter Minto, Sr., along with references in other letters, make clear that, after entrusting the boys to Captain Machell in Spain, he returned to Slop's home in Pisa in March of 1779, began a formal, concentrated study of mathematics with Slop, that he continued that study there until mid-1782, and that it affected his health.

The second has to do with Minto's previously unknown relationship with a woman named Catherine Drummond. This relationship can be seen in the 49 letters (sometimes in French, occasionally in Italian) written by her to him between March of 1784 and early June of 1786, when he left Scotland for America. The correspondence continued in America, though less frequently; she wrote only three letters between February of 1787 and January of 1788. In a letter (of which there exists only a partial "translation") in response to hers of January of 1788 he tells her that he has loved her for four years and proposes marriage to her. She rejects his proposal by return mail, but continues writing to him until 1791, even after his marriage to Mary Skelton in the fall of 1789.

During his time in America, he met and exchanged letters with a number of influential people, both before going to Princeton (mid-1786 to late 1787) and afterwards (1787-96): for example, John Witherspoon, president of the College of New Jersey; the astronomer and clockmaker David Rittenhouse; Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, with whom he lodged when he first came to America; the army officers James Chrystie and Francis Gurney, who became his friends; even George Washington, to whom he sent a copy of his book on the new planet.

Another 25 letters are neither to nor from him. Most were written from one Minto family member to another and concern primarily family matters; they were probably brought by Minto to America, or were perhaps sent to his wife, Mary (Skelton) Minto, by his Scottish relatives after his death. Two of the letters were written to or from the Johnstones, in 1764 and 1772 (the latter by David Garrick), before Minto had even met the family. Three of the four letters written in 1797-98, after his death, were addressed to his wife, and the fourth to a close friend of hers.

Of the 18 letters written by Minto himself, eight are originals, having been sent to relatives and friends. The other ten are copies or drafts, in his own hand, that he kept for his personal use: these are always marked "copy" or "draft" in the Contents List.

Following the letters are nine manuscript notebooks, diaries, account books, etc. (eight written by Minto, 1776-96; plus one written in 1802, after his death) and five miscellaneous notes in his own hand. Most of the notebooks provide details about events in his life, especially the lists of expenses in the notepads from 1776 and 1779, having to do with his theological education and his dealings with the Johnstone boys, his trip to America in June and July of 1786 from the daily log he kept of it, his travels during his first few months in America from the notepads for late 1786 and early 1787, and the nature of his mathematical lectures at the College of New Jersey from the notebook dated 1802.

Of the remaining 31 documents: 14 date from 1757 to 1786, when Minto left Scotland for America; 14 from 1787, after he arrived in America, to his death in 1796; and three from after his death, the latest of which is dated 1801. The earliest one (a transcript of the entry for Elisabetta Dodsworth's baptism in 1739, from the Baptismal Record of Leghorn in Italy) is dated 1757, when Minto was only four years old. The last is a bill of lading, dated 1801, for what was probably family memorabilia sent from the Minto family in Scotland to Mrs. Mary Minto after her husband's death. In between are documents providing glimpses into Minto's education (24 January 1776), his being set free in Cadiz (13 March 1779), his trip home from Italy in the summer of 1782 (the passport signed by Sir Horace Mann on 11 June 1782), his honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen (3 February 1786), his becoming a United States citizen (24 July 1787), and his membership in the American Philosophical Society (17 January 1789).

Walter Minto Skelton (1804-48) and Family Papers:

The Skelton family papers, unlike the Walter Minto papers, consist of a great variety of materials: 43 letters, written between 1780 and 1940; a large body of prose writings and poetry, including 6 notebooks of prose and poetry, 20 orations, lectures, and essays, and 22 manuscripts of miscellaneous verse; one engraving, one drawing, one print, and four portrait photographs; 50 documents of various kinds; 14 printed materials and 3 newspaper clippings; and 58 items of miscellanea, including 7 notes, 18 invitations, and 24 round pieces of cloth with writing in ink.

The letters are divided into three groups based on the primary correspondent in each group: Mary Skelton Minto (from before 1780 to 1813, and possibly to 1824, the date of her death); Walter M. Skelton (from 1824 to 1843); and the Boyd family (from 1872 to 1940). All three groups of letters provide details about events in the lives of family members. In addition, the first group provides some chronology on the life of Marin Detargny, which is described in detail in the section below on documents. The second group contains some important Skelton family documents, especially the very difficult-to-read letter to Walter Skelton from his father Joseph dated 20 January 1825, and the one from his aunt Elizabeth White dated 22 March 1827. The third group of letters contains a mix of dates and correspondents, mainly regarding the extended Skelton families (especially the Boyds). Two letters in particular are revealing in their insights into the late 19th-century (and later) interest in spiritualism, or spiritism: the one from Edgar Ryder to Ann Skelton dated March 1872 announcing his belief that her brother Walter "is one of the Big Guns in the Spirit world"; and the one from Charles Robb to Elizabeth Boyd dated 12 January 1930 enclosing his transcript of a spirit message from her aunt Ann Skelton during a séance the previous day.

Following the letters are prose writings and poetry, divided into three groups. The first consists of manuscript notebooks containing one or the other or (usually) both genres, and is further divided into notebooks in Walter Skelton's own hand (3) and those in other hands (3). Except for "Elizabeth White's Collection of Poetry," all of these notebooks have Princeton connections, and a few have western Pennsylvania connections.

The second group contains orations, lectures, and essays, nearly all of which are in Skelton's hand and presumably composed by him. The dated ones are from his years at the College of New Jersey in Princeton, and most of the others must be as well. Public speaking was an integral part of the College curriculum, and some of the orations must have been delivered there during his student days (see especially the one dated July 1825).

The third group contains miscellaneous verse. A few of the poems are in Skelton's hand and may have been composed by him (3); the leaf containing the second poem has a few occurrences of the name "(Miss) C. Morford," who may have been a love interest of his. Most of the poems (19), however, are in other hands and range from well known ones like "Don't give up the Ship," Burns' "Auld Lang Syne," and Waller's "Of My Lady Isabella playing on the lute" to obscure ones, including a "Canzonetta" in Italian by Peruchini. Along with Elizabeth White's collection in the first group, these poems indicate a strong interest in poetry in Walter Skelton's extended family.

After a few miscellaneous illustrations and photographs are a large group of documents (certificates, wills, receipts, deeds of land sales, surveys, and the like), divided by the families to which they refer. Most of these families were from western Pennsylvania and related to the Skeltons (Boyd, Craig, McFarland) or were members of the Skelton family itself. The Franklin Heirs also relates to western Pennsylvania, for in January of 1840 Walter Skelton purchased two tracts of land, totaling 410 acres, on the west side of the Allegheny River in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, which had been owned in the 1780's by Benjamin Franklin; Skelton presumably built a house on the property and lived there until his death in 1848, when it passed into the hands of his sister Ann Skelton. The Scudders were friends of the Skelton family in New Jersey, and the deed of sale described here was probably from a descendant of that family. The two White family documents refer to Elizabeth White, whose collection of poetry is described in Series II, sub-series 2 above and who lived in Scarsdale, New York; she was the sister of Walter Skelton's mother, Sarah White Skelton, wife of Joseph Skelton, Sr.

The most intriguing set of documents has to do with Marin Detargny. It is uncertain how his papers came to be included in the papers of the Mintos or of the extended Skelton family. Moreover, seven of the ten Detargny documents between 1796 and 1798 were in the Earhart donation; why or how they became separated from the rest of the Detargny documents is a mystery, especially since they are not so different from the other three of the same date. From the documents (and four letters referring to him) one learns that Marin Detargny was born in France on 26 June 1776, son of Jean Francois Detargny. He is twice called "homme de lettres," once "Professeur," and is later referred to as "Reverend." He remained in France until at least 1798, not leaving until 1800 or a little later. By December 1802 he was in Virginia, residing in Alexandria and trying to open a school, but at about the same time he must have moved to Annapolis, where he taught French until at least April 1804. Between November 1805 and August 1807 he was in Charleston, South Carolina, but by 1810 he was in Philadelphia and being looked after, at least financially, by Benjamin Hopkins (husband of Mary Skelton Minto's niece, Elizabeth, the daughter of Mary's brother Josiah). By early 1813, Detargny was destitute and was in danger of being sent to the overseers of the poor; his wife was also destitute and depended on "relatives" who could not afford to help her husband.

How the Skeltons and the Hopkinses came to know him, and especially how the Hopkinses came to be responsible for him, is unknown, though intriguing; sometime after 1807 (see undated letter from M. Chrystie to Mary Minto) a "Mrs. Ditennia" (probably Mrs. Detargny), who had been ill, visited Mary Minto in Princeton.

The next category consists of printed materials (a broadside; an interesting advertisement and list of fees for Mrs. Graham's school in New York from the early 19th century; two newspapers; some pamphlets and announcements; and three newspaper clippings about family events). The most numerous group is the pamphlets and announcements, which contains primarily the Proceedings of seven Boyd family reunions held in western Pennsylvania and Ohio between 1881 and 1892 (at least ten reunions through 1900, but no other Proceedings appear in the Skelton family papers). These Proceedings contain lists of the participants and attendees at the various reunions, along with biographies of some of the Boyds (including Walter Skelton Boyd [1864-92], who was named for his uncle, Walter Skelton, in the 7th Proceedings), and an in-depth study of some of these people might help to unravel the connections both among the Boyds and of the Boyds with the Craigs, Earharts, and McIntyres.

The final group consists of miscellaneous materials, including notes by Walter Skelton; invitations to parties, dances, and college exercises; a statement from students at the College of New Jersey directed to James Carnahan, president of the College; a notebook containing "By-Laws of ‘The Princeton Blues'," a militia group in Princeton whose captain in 1830-31 was Walter Skelton; a booklet of proverbs and common sayings in English and Spanish on facing pages; a series of primarily 20th-century family notes and lists about the contents of the second Minto-Skelton collection before it was given to the Clements Library; and some obscure pieces of cloth with writing on them. Three of the five notes written by Walter Skelton are presumably from his days at the College of New Jersey; a fourth is apparently a record of the books in his library; and the fifth is a unique list of "Provincialisms noticed in the Western part of Pennsylvania," which he must have recorded when he first went out to that part of the country in 1826. Fourteen of the eighteen invitations (some on the backs of playing cards) are addressed to one or more of the Skelton sisters requesting their attendance at parties, dances, and college exercises, and they attest to the active social life for young women in Princeton and environs in the 1780's.

The last item in the group of miscellaneous materials is a set of twenty-four round pieces of cloth with writing in ink on one side of twenty-two of them. The writing has various configurations: always the name of the writer and, in addition, occasionally the name of the addressee, usually a sentiment of some kind, and frequently a date and the home of the writer. The addressee, when given, is always Mary or Mary McFarland; the year, when given, is 1845, usually in October; the home addresses are nearly always somewhere in Indiana County or Armstrong County, Pennsylvania; and the writers are often relatives (five are Skeltons).

The Moses Warren, Jr., letters document Warren's travels through New York and the Western Reserve with the Connecticut Land Company.

The Moses Warren, Jr., letters contain 12 letters written by Warren to his wife, Mehitabel, in 1796-1797, with a gap from August 1796 to March 1797. Warren wrote the first letter while onboard the Lark on May 4, 1796, and the rest while traveling around upstate New York and eastern Ohio with a group of surveyors for the Connecticut Land Company. In his correspondence, he described his work and colleagues, interactions with Native Americans, and the difficulties of surveying, including bad weather and illness.

In several of his letters, Warren made observations about Native Americans. On July 9, 1796, he recounted signing a treaty and smoking a peace pipe with Prince Cato and the Missisago Indians at "Port Independence." In the same letter, he also listed the gifts exchanged, and compared the Missisago language to that of the Mohegan. While in Youngstown, Ohio, he noted the scarcity of Native Americans, whom he believed were avoiding his party out of fear, and described the initial wariness of the "Tawa" (Ottawa) men (July 31, 1797).

In other correspondence, he described the men of his party, who were "very active & well informed, except 3 or 4" (May 8, 1797), and gave details about their health and tasks. Of his own work, he noted an assignment to "run the 5th East & West line to Pennsylvania" (June 18, 1797). At times, weather and accidents interfered with the group's progress: a "deluge" of rain near Buffalo Creek in New York caused delays (May 25, 1797) and a man drowned while accompanying a horse across a river (June 18, 1797). Warren also frequently described illnesses, such as dysentery and ague, which struck many of them while traveling.