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The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865.

The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include the experiences and work of enslaved persons in the North and South; the buying and selling of enslaved men, women, and children; participation in the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and Civil War of African descended persons; abolitionists and abolition societies; the American Colonization Society; the lives of formerly enslaved persons; African American education; and many other subjects. For details on each document, see the inventory located under "Detailed Box and Folder Listing"

The Tousard papers contain the correspondence of the army officer and military engineer Anne-Louis de Tousard, relating to his plantation in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), military service, and family life.

The Correspondence and Documents seriescontain 3.75 linear feet of material, arranged chronologically, and spanning 1659-1932 (bulk 1778-1820). The collection contains both incoming and outgoing letters, covering Tousard's service in the American Revolutionary War, his management of a coffee plantation in Haiti, family life, settlement in the United States beginning in 1793, and military activities in Haiti and America. The majority of the material is in French, with a few scattered items in English. Most of the letters have been translated into English; quotes in this finding aid draw from those translations.

After a 1659 inventory of property owned by "M. Touzard," an ancestor of Louis Tousard, the collection opens with several letters pertaining to Tousard's time in North America during the American Revolution. These include several lengthy letters items by Tousard himself with commentary on his French and American Army officers, the progress of the war, his attempts at learning English, and his impressions of several cities. In a long letter dated August 3, 1777, he noted the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by the British and the desire of Americans to put General Philip Schuyler on trial for its surrender. He also stated that everything in Philadelphia cost "a dreadful price" and that "the money here is discredited." In the same letter, he discussed the major generalship that had been promised to, and later taken from, Philippe Charles Tronson de Coudray and called the Americans "vain, disunited, envying and detesting the French." Tousard's relatives, including his mother, wrote the bulk of other letters during the period. These primarily share news of the Tousards' social circle in France and occasionally make brief reference to political turmoil there.

Beginning in 1786, the focus of the collection shifts to the courtship and eventual marriage partnership of Marie-Reine St. Martin, a young widow and native of Saint-Domingue, and Louis Tousard. Their affectionate sequence of letters begins December 23, 1786. In addition to revealing details of their personalities and relationship, the letters also shed light on their shared management of several coffee plantations and dozens of slaves. Louis' letters to Marie discuss politics in Haiti and France, show the difficulty of importing desired goods to Haiti, and express regret that he must frequently spend time away from her. The couple frequently articulated the idea that together they formed an effective partnership; in a letter of January 26, 1788, Louis wrote, "On my arrival I shall tell you my plans. You will tell me yours and from the two we shall make a single one." In another letter, he stated his dependence "entirely on [Marie's] good judgment" in managing their coffee workforce (May 3, 1789). The letters also provide details of plantation life, including the preciousness of wine and bacon and difficulties of obtaining them (June 20, 1787), Marie's hobbies and entertainments on the plantation (May 3, 1789), and the difficulties of feeding the slaves and workmen (April 3 and 6, 1789).

In their letters, the couple also wrote frankly about their slaves. Escape seems to have been a frequent occurrence; after a particular incident, Louis urged Marie not to become discouraged and assured her that "[t]he slaves will soon stop running away…. Try to make them be afraid of me" (December 28, 1787). In another letter, presumably after a similar event, Louis wrote to tell Marie that he had sent "two collars to help the Maroon negroes to walk in the woods or at least able to feel their stupidity in creating enduring shame for themselves" ([No month] 27, 1787; filed at the end of 1787). The Tousards also complained that their slaves stole from them ([1787]) and inspired each other to rebellion (January 17, 1788). In addition to doling out punishments to them, Louis and Marie also sometimes expressed affection for various slaves, and presented them with gifts of clothing and food. In one incident, Marie went further and defended a slave, referred to repeatedly as "The African": "The poor African was beaten by a driver. I have complained, but I could not obtain justice" (January 10, 1793). Louis also commonly worked alongside the slaves that he oversaw, and sometimes even noted, "I worked like a slave," as in a letter of May 3, 1789. The letters are especially valuable for the detailed information they provide on the complexities of the master-slave relationship.

Although Tousard's regiment attempted to put down the Haitian Revolution, the collection contains only a handful of references to fighting. The most direct, dated "September 1791," likely refers to an engagement at Port-Margot. On the subject, Tousard wrote, "I gave a lesson to the cavalry. I taught them to charge. Two cannon shots were fired at us and they had not time to fire again. In one minute we were upon them and cut them down." Thereafter, the collection documents Tousard's imprisonment in France and contains some material concerning his later military career and family life, including letters between Tousard, his daughters, and their husbands. Also among the later items are a small number relating to his consular appointments in Philadelphia and New Orleans. Two letters concern the quarantine imposed on ships arriving in Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic of 1798, the first of which (Timothy Pickering to Tousard; June 27, 1798) informs Tousard of the decision of Congress to prevent ships from Saint-Domingue landing at Philadelphia, ordering him to stand by in his capacity as Major of Artillery. The second is a copy of orders to Stephen Decatur to prevent the landing of a ship manned by "Frenchmen and Negroes," the latter of whom "have discovered a Disposition to outrage" (June 28, 1798). Tousard's letter of July 25, 1814, includes a detailed discussion of the attitudes of the French residents of New Orleans toward the Bourbons. Suffice it to say that Tousard, the Royalist, elicited the negative attention of the "Jacobins" of New Orleans. The collection closes with letters between Tousard's daughters, Caroline and Laurette, and several items concerning his death on March 4, 1817.

The Tousard papers also contain many undated items, which have been placed at the end. These include a significant number of letters by Marie, who frequently left date information off her letters, as well as a small printed portrait of Tousard. Also present is an uncut bookplate, showing Tousard's coat-of-arms, motto, liberty cap, artillery, and the right arm that he lost during the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778. Also of interest is a biographical sketch of Tousard, written by one of his nieces sometime after his death.

The Account Book series includes one account book with entries dated from 1813 to 1816. Louis and Laurette Tousard appear several times throughout the volume.

The Printed Items series contains two items, Histoire des Six Dernières Années de l'Ordre de Malte (1805) and Justification of Lewis Tousard Addressed to the National Convention of France. Written and Published from the Bloody Prisons of the Abbaye, by Himself. The 24th of January, 1793 (Philadelphia: Daniel Humphreys, 1793).

This collection contains letters, diaries, documents, and other materials related to William G. and Carrie King Cornelison, a Pennsylvania couple who lived in Queensland, Australia, in the early 1890s. Additional items pertain to John and William King, Carrie's grandfather and father.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) contains letters, diaries, documents, and other materials related to William G. and Carrie King Cornelison, a Pennsylvania couple who lived in Queensland, Australia, in the early 1890s. Additional items pertain to John and William King, Carrie's grandfather and father, respectively.

The Correspondence series (37 items) comprises the bulk of the collection and is mostly made up of the incoming and outgoing correspondence of William and Caroline King Cornelison. The series begins with 3 letters that William wrote to Caroline during their courtship about his work in Batoum (now Batumi), Georgia, between December 1887 and April 1888. He also received a letter from an acquaintance in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 1889. From 1891-1893, Carrie wrote 22 letters to her family in Pennsylvania, each of them typically over 3 pages in length. She described her journey to Australia and discussed aspects of life in the country, such as her housing, her husband's work, and cookery. After the Cornelisons' return to the United States, they received 7 letters from friends in Australia. Other items include a letter from an acquaintance in New York (June 16, 1895), one from "Rash" King to his father and sister (November 8, 1896), and one from L. Ellen Wright to William K. King, her cousin (January 11, 1902). William sent the last letter of the series to Carrie on October 1, 1899.

The Diaries series contains 2 bound volumes and 3 groups of loose manuscripts in which William and Carrie Cornelison recorded details about their passage to Australia and their lives there. The first bound volume (183 pages) covers June 8, 1888, through February 11, 1893, and also contains the Cyrillic alphabet and Slavic phrases (pp. 179-183); a fragment from a drafted letter and a newspaper clipping on Leander Starr Jameson are laid into the back cover. The third group of loose manuscripts, dated 1928-1929, is Carrie Cornelison's record of her daily activities in Pennsylvania, which included sewing, washing, and other household tasks. The other diaries pertain to Australia and cover the dates December 25, 1891 (loose manuscript), March 1-August 4, 1892 (bound volume 2), and August 6-December 11, 1892 (loose manuscript).

Items in the Documents series (5 items) concern the King family's land ownership in northern Pennsylvania, a tax payment made by John King in 1829, and William Cornelison's account with the First National Bank of Shingle House, Pennsylvania. On the back of the account Carrie Cornelison recorded some of her thoughts about traveling to Australia.

John King kept 2 Arithmetic Books in 1796 and 1797. He copied and solved mathematical problems and principles, frequently related to practical applications of mathematical concepts.

The Photographs series (4 items) has card photographs of Mary King Mann, an unknown man, a home in Isisford, Queensland, and two of John King's descendants.

Ephemera (3 items) includes a newspaper clipping with extracts from Carrie Cornelison's Australian diary, William Cornelison's ticket for the Zealandia, and a clipping with photographs of paintings of Fedor Chaliapin and Grace Coolidge.

The David Bates Douglass Papers contain 1,191 letters, documents, and manuscripts relating to many aspects of Douglass's family and professional life between approximately 1812 and 1873. The collection is broad, encompassing incoming letters from scientific and military associates of Douglass, with drafts and retained copies of some his responses; long love letters to his future wife, Ann Ellicott (later Douglass); letters between Ann and Douglass; letters between Ann, Douglass, and the children; correspondence to and from a larger extended family; and several letters pertaining to the scandal at Kenyon College. Douglass's interests in internal improvements, natural history, systems and theories of academic scientific exchange, the education of his daughters and sons, the complex and numerous relationships and family connections through which early nineteenth-century American communities were built, and the Military Academy at West Point are very well-documented. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created two other research aids: a Correspondent Inventory and a Chronological Inventory.

The David Bates Douglass Papers contain 1,191 letters, documents, and manuscripts relating to many aspects of Douglass's family and professional life between approximately 1812 and 1873. The collection is broad, encompassing incoming letters from scientific and military associates of Douglass, with drafts and retained copies of some his responses; long love letters to his future wife, Ann Ellicott (later Douglass); letters between Ann and Douglass; letters between Ann, Douglass, and the children; correspondence to and from a larger extended family; and several letters pertaining to the scandal at Kenyon College. Douglass's interests in internal improvements, natural history, systems and theories of academic scientific exchange, the education of his daughters and sons, the complex and numerous relationships and family connections through which early nineteenth-century American communities were built, and the Military Academy at West Point are very well-documented.

The David Bates Douglass Papers include materials pertinent to the War of 1812 and British-American relations in the New Nation period (1789-1830). Many of the early letters (1812-1814) include Douglass's own accounts of the Siege of Fort Erie, the Battle of Lundy's Lane, the daily experiences of soldiers as they marched, the lack of provisions so frequently a problem in the Napoleonic Era, and the efforts to fortify various parts of Fort Erie during and after the end of the war. Several copies of Douglass's drafts of a memorial of the War of 1812, written later in his life, provide additional context to his published account, The Campaign of 1814 (Wales: Cromlech Press, 1958). A particularly notable part of the collection is the volume, Reminiscences of the War of 1812 -- a set of Douglass's lectures, copied letters, and copied war orders [written in pen and ink in what appears to be Andrew Douglass's hand]. Despite Douglass's service in the war, his letters show the still-interconnected nature of British and American people in this period, both in matters such as creating borders, but also in religious and intellectual life. Charles, Douglass's eldest son, went to Seminary at Oxford, served in the Anglican Church, and wrote and published in England. Douglass himself worked with British engineers on the U. S. Canada boundary project and corresponded with other scientists and intellectuals from England, sharing information, specimens, and equipment.

Douglass's papers showcase relationships in the development of intellectual, religious, and scientific communities in New Nation America. Douglass and his associates were instrumental in the foundation and growth of several lyceums, thus playing a role in public scientific education, and they were particularly avid in promoting the field of mineralogy. Thirty-six letters (1820-1825) in the collection detail Douglass' participation in the Lewis Cass Expedition of 1820, including its planning, findings, and importance to larger political issues of the time. Twenty-four letters (1820 -1825) from Cass include observations on Native Americans and on the natural history of the region. Valuable letters from Torrey (1820-1823), Barnes (1821-1823), Schoolcraft (1824), and Silliman (1820-1821) relate to the planning of the expedition and to the research carried out by its participants. Along with the correspondence concerning the establishment of lyceums and the exchange of specimens, the letters help to highlight certain communities engaged in early nineteenth-century networks of scientific communication in the U.S. Douglass also corresponded with other intellectuals of the time, including the geologist Mary Griffith (1821-1825) and the mineralogist Parker Cleaveland (1828). The collection also includes notes and correspondence regarding Douglass's work on the U.S.-Canadian boundary in Lake Erie (1819), his survey and assessment of New England coastal defenses (1815-1820), the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal (1824), his work on the Morris Canal (1829), discussions of linking the Ohio River and the Chesapeake, and his much-celebrated work on the Greenwood Cemetery (1839).

The collection contains materials pertinent to scholars of family, gender, and/or class in nineteenth-century America. The majority of the collection is tied together through the correspondence of Douglass and his family. Roughly 40 early letters from Douglass to Ann (1813-1815) show common epistolary courtship practices, such as choosing pen names from popular romantic literature, poetry, or plays, copying poems or excerpts from books, and Douglass's own expressions of romantic love. Ann's letters (105 of them, ranging from 1826 to 1849) display the wide range of women's responsibilities to the ever-changing nineteenth-century household, showing especially women's role in connecting the family to various social communities. Glimpses into early childhood education can be seen throughout this collection, first under Ann's stewardship and Douglass's long distance instruction through letter-writing, and later in the children's letters about their experiences of girls' and boys' boarding schools in New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. In one example (February 28, 1831), Douglass wrote to Andrew, giving him advice on how to pursue an education, but also on how to behave in virtuous ways. In another example (March 4, 1831), Andrew told his father about mean boys who bullied him. Letters from Charles and Andrew chronicle as well some of their experiences of higher education at Kenyon College. The Douglass family's letters provide evidence for examinations into the gender expectations placed on girls and boys, women and men, and the ways that those expectations changed over time. Many letters also provide material for examining family economies, revealing a family striving for middle class comforts while living with indebtedness, the constantly changing financial states of early nineteenth-century American families, and the reliance upon extended kinship networks to avoid the perilous position of penury. For example, in a letter from Ann, Ellen, and Mary to Douglass (October 18, 1844) Ellen discussed her desire to have more schooling, which they cannot afford, while Ann worried over providing winter clothing for all of the smaller children.

The Douglass Papers also concern Native American life in different parts of the U. S. and Black life in northern communities. For example, John Bliss wrote several letters to Douglass (1820-1834) discussing negotiations with the Sioux and Chippewa in Missouri. In a few letters to Ann during his survey of Lake Erie, and in his bundles of notes (1819), Douglass gave descriptions of his interactions with Native American tribes in upper Michigan. In another, Douglass tried to obtain dictionaries of Native American languages so that he could better communicate with people from Native American tribes. Cass's letters (1820) also give information regarding his observations of Native American tribes in the Detroit area. Sarah Douglass described a Black traveling preacher who gave sermons to the girls at her boarding school in New York and Ann told Douglass about a Black medicine woman who used her nursing skills to heal a group of people in New York during an outbreak of severe disease, another frequent topic displayed throughout the collection. In many ways, the everyday nature of the David Bates Douglass papers, filled with clothing orders, professions of familial love, the financial troubles of a growing family, the religious experiences and affiliations of middle class men and women, and letters from children practicing their penmanship makes this collection invaluable to the study of early U. S. history.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created two other research aids: a Correspondent Inventory and a Chronological Inventory.

This collection contains incoming and outgoing correspondence and meeting minutes related to the career of David Damon, a Congregational preacher who served parishes in Lunenburg, Salisbury, Amesbury, and West Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the early 1800s.

This collection contains incoming and outgoing correspondence and meeting minutes related to the career of David Damon, a Congregational preacher who served parishes in Lunenburg, Salisbury, Amesbury, and West Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the early 1800s.

The collection’s earliest items relate to the pastorate of the Church and Congregation of the Town of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, including two drafts of Damon's initial rejection of the job (December 12, 1814) and a letter of recommendation from an Ecclesiastical Council (November 22, 1827). Damon was the "Scribe" of an Ecclesiastical Council meeting in Groton, Massachusetts, summoned on October 31, 1826, to examine objections to the installation of Charles Robinson as the pastor of the town's Church of Christ; Damon's meeting minutes are included in the collection. Other letters and documents respect Damon's move to the Congregational Society of Salisbury and Amesbury, including two copies of a resolution calling for his hire (April 1, 1828) and a copy of his acceptance (May 12, 1828).

Damon wrote a letter of recommendation to Reverend T. Flint, endorsing Jeremy Peters and Nathaniel Currier, who planned to build a "Cotton Manufactory" (April 30, 1833). A note written shortly after Damon's death requests prayers for his wife and children (July 2, 1843). The collection also has an official copy of a letter to the Massachusetts Senate from proprietors of manufacturing establishments near Amesbury and Salisbury, Massachusetts, expressing their grievances over taxation (August 1, 1832), and an undated copy of a religious covenant by members of a Salisbury church under the leadership of Reverend Samuel Webster.

The Elizabeth Rous Comstock papers contain letters and writings related to Comstock's family, her Quaker ministry, and her social reform activities. The letters span her entire career with the greatest concentration of correspondence centering on her work with the Kansas freedmen's program and her family life. In addition to the Elizabeth Comstock material, the collection includes content related to her daughter Caroline, her grandchildren, and papers related to the Kempton family.

The Elizabeth Rous Comstock papers (282 items) contain letters and writings related to Comstock's family, her Quaker ministry, and her social reform activities. The letters span her entire career with the greatest concentration of correspondence centering on her work with the Kansas Freedmen's Association and on her family life. In addition to the Elizabeth Comstock material, the collection contains content related to her daughter Caroline, her grandchildren, and to the Kempton family.

The Correspondence series (151 items) contains 123 items related to Elizabeth Comstock and her family. The bulk of the collection consists of letters written by or addressed to Elizabeth Comstock between 1847 and 1890.

• Elizabeth’s correspondence with her friends, acquaintances, and immediate family, particularly with her husband, daughter, and sister Caroline.
• Correspondence related to Elizabeth’s work with social reforms and social justice, primarily concerning her relief work in Kansas in 1879 and 1880.

The family and friends correspondence primarily relates to everyday life, such as work, homemaking, visiting, family life; contemporary issues such as the Civil War and slavery; and news of friends and family, including illnesses, marriages, and deaths. Elizabeth wrote many of the letters, which document her perspective on her work, her marriage and relationship with her husband, and on religion and the Society of Friends. Elizabeth’s preaching, charitable work, and travels are often mentioned in these letters, including her trip across the Atlantic in early 1884. These letters cover both theoretical discussions of religious topics and discussions of the Society of Friends, its policies, and its schools. A subset of these letters regards Caroline De Greene’s serious illness and "mental suffering" in 1870, which may have been related to childbirth. Also of note is a letter from Elizabeth Steere that describes her experiences living in the remote Minnesota Territory (December 9, 1856).

The second group of Elizabeth's correspondence mainly consists of letters between Elizabeth and Joshua Longstreth Bailey, a dry goods merchant and philanthropist, who assisted her in her work with the Kansas Freedmen’s Relief Association from 1879 to 1881. Elizabeth discusses the logistics of supplying newly arrived African Americans with food, shelter, and a means of subsistence, and relates information about the migrants and their experiences in both the South and in Kansas. Elizabeth shares, in depth, her perspective on this large migration, which she refers to as "the Exodus." An item of note is a letter from John W. Snodgrass proposing a plan to buy land to aid resettled former slaves in Kansas (May 3, 1881). Other items concern Comstock's work to improve the lives of former slaves and prisoners during the Civil War, including a letter from Ed Howland who wrote to Comstock of a "plan before Congress to change the whole plan of taking care of colored people" (February 3, 1865). B. Dornblaser, the warden at the Illinois State Penitentiary, wrote to Comstock about pardoning Frederick Marx from Kentucky who was "tricked" into buying a stolen mule (April 5, 1865). She also communicated with Thomas Story Kirkbride, superintendent of the Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane (March 6, 1870).

The collection also contains material related to her daughter Caroline and to Elizabeth's grandchildren. Much of this is correspondence between Caroline and members of her family, regarding news, daily life, traveling and visiting, religion, work, and school. Of interest are letters of reference for Caroline "Calla" De Greene in support of continuing her education and recommending her for positions teaching French and German at the college level (May 2, 1893, July 11 and October 5, 1898, May 10, 1905, and March 19, 1906).

The Kempton Family material consists of 26 letters, which largely concern religious issues, everyday life, and news of family and friends. These include the 7 earliest items in the series, from 1827-1828, with the rest scattered throughout.

The Commonplace Book and Diary series (2 items) contains an 1839 commonplace book (52 pages) of poems and essays inscribed as belonging to Charity Kempton. Many entries center on the theme of a loved one leaving on a sea voyage. These include passages called "Seamen's Hymn," "Matrimonial Chart," and "The Old Oaken Bucket." The second item is Elizabeth Comstock's 34-page travel diary (8 blank pages) during the summer of 1878. It contains Biblical verses, brief descriptions of places she visited, notes on her activities, and notes on religious services she attended.

The Poems Series (10 items) contains handwritten copies of poems, all of which are religious in nature. Included among the 9 unattributed poems are a cautionary poem on dancing and drinking, a 16-page poem called "The Ministry of Angels," and a poem entitled "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: A Dialogue in Verse." The single attributed poem is a copy of William Cowper's "God Moves in Mysterious Ways."

The Corrections for Caroline Hare's Life and Letters of Elizabeth Comstock series (1 item) is 7 pages of notes and corrections for Caroline Hare's biography of Elizabeth Comstock (see the Related Materials section for information on the Clements' copy of this book). The comments range from grammatical edits to insights into personal events and her ministerial efforts.

The Miscellaneous Writings series (25 items) contains non-correspondence material including: religious quotations, miscellaneous notes jotted down on scraps of paper, Friends meeting minutes, recipes, and essays on religion and marriage. Most of these items are unattributed but are likely from Elizabeth Comstock, Chastity Kempton, and others. Of note is a three-page item containing "Dying expressions of Soldiers," including the last words of a soldier on the Battlefield of Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862), and those of a man about to be hung in Nashville, Tennessee. This series also contains instructions for refining sugar, and remedies for common maladies, such as heartburn, dysentery, snake bites, and nausea, "By the celibrated Indian Doctor John Mackintosh, of the Cherokee Nation; None of which have ever before been communicated to the world" (undated).

The Documents series (11 items) contains various official documents related to the Comstock and Kempton families.

• Elizabeth Comstock's ancestors’ 1740 marriage covenant between William and Mary Moore
• A deed from Isaac Steer to Aaron Kempton in Woodstock, Michigan (1845)
• A handwritten pass from Philip Henry Sheridan allowing Comstock and her companion Mary B. Bradford to travel by rail to Baltimore, through enemy lines (December 9. 1864)
• A document entitled "The Colored Exodus. A Statement of Monies Received from Various States, Canada, and England.
• Elizabeth's sister Lydia Rous' last will and testament (March 5, 1889).

The Accounts series (6 items) contains 3 lists of books to be sent to various Friends libraries and associations, 1 list of donated goods such as fabric and clothes addressed to E. Smith of Victoria Road, an 1875 bill for goods, and an item documenting money owed with interest for an unspecified purpose.

The Printed Ephemera series (24 items) includes miscellaneous printed material: passes to cross Union and Confederate lines during the Civil War; 8 "Bible Reading Leaflets;" two Quaker related essays; a fragment of a book labeled "Self-Communion" (pages 3-10); 4 poems (prayers); 4 event cards; and a catalogue for mechanical farming equipment. The collection also holds one of Comstock's hymn books entitled, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs (Words Only) , by P.P. Bliss and Ira Sankey. The handmade cover is reinforced with a portion of a postcard stamped March 9, 1878 (95 small pages of hymns).

The Newspaper Clippings series (50 items) is composed of printed items related to the Kansas Freedman's Relief program. These include several essays and articles written by Comstock and her colleagues, as well as newspaper stories about Comstock's activities aiding African American "refugees" in Kansas, who were suffering from sickness, poverty, and unemployment. Many of these include pleas for charity. The clippings come from newspapers across America, as well as from England.

The Prints and Photographs series (8 items) consists of 7 photographs, including 2 of Elizabeth and 1 of her daughter Caroline, one print of the residence of R. Hathaway in Rollin, Michigan.

• Elizabeth Comstock, taken in Philadelphia for De Greene, undated
• Elizabeth Comstock portrait, hand colored and in a small square wooden frame (Behind his photograph, as part of the backing, is a small picture of 7 angels with trumpets, clipped from a postcard).
• Carrie Wright De Greene O'Harrow, 1881
• Freddie Hare at age 4 ½, August 1874, labeled "for Carrie" (Carte-de-visite)
• Unlabeled picture of a girl, undated
• Woman reading (likely Caroline Hare), accompanying the letter dated February 22, 1882 (Carte-de-visite taken by J. Cooper)
• A portrait of a woman in a small metal frame accompanying the letter from March 16, 1870.

• A machine catalogue with images of: Cooks Sugar Evaporator, Cross-Cut sawing machine, a victor mill, vertical mill with sweep below, and a back-geared mill
• Ink sketch of Caroline Hare’s home in letter, February 13, 1870
• An engraved portrait of Comstock in a newspaper clipping from early 1881

This collection is made up of the correspondence of British politician George Canning, particularly his outgoing letters regarding foreign affairs and domestic politics in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

This collection (0.75 linear feet) is made up of the correspondence of British politician George Canning, particularly his outgoing letters regarding politics in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The collection covers the entirety of Canning's political career, including letters written during the War of 1812 and his term as prime minister. Canning wrote to many prominent politicians about Great Britain's relationship with France and other countries, domestic affairs, appointments to office, and other political matters. On September 21, 1824, he wrote to the Prince de Polignac about the recent death of King Louis XVIII.

Canning received a small number of letters from Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, William Pitt, and others. A letter dated July 26, 1800, includes a report by William [Dunkin] regarding possible methods of repelling a French invasion of Great Britain. António de Araújo de Azeredo addressed 2 Spanish and French language documents to Rodrigo Navarro de Andrade, from St. Petersburg (September 24 and October 1, 1807). Undated items include a document regarding the establishment of "Porto Franco" in 1806, 2 intelligence documents reporting the movements of British vessels, and a poem in Latin entitled "Iter ad Meccam, Religionis causa susceptum."

The papers of George Townshend, 4th Viscount and 1st Marquis Townshend, particularly concerning his lord lieutenancy of Ireland.

The collection contains 127 letters and 7 letterbooks, covering the years 1649 to 1848, with the bulk concentrated around 1767-1772. The materials relate almost entirely to Townshend's career as lord lieutenant of Ireland.

The Correspondence series primarily contains Townshend's incoming correspondence for the 1760s and 1770s, with a small number of outgoing items written by Townshend. Letters concern Townshend's political career, the politics of Ireland, the Seven Years War, political patronage, and Townshend's social and family life. While sailing to North America in the spring of 1759, Townshend wrote some of the earliest letters in the collection to his wife Charlotte; in these he described the voyage and his shipmates. On February 18, 1759, he mentioned acquainting himself with a French pilot on the deck of the HMS Neptune, and wished that his young son George could see the assemblage of ships at Plymouth. Other early letters relate to his career in Parliament, including a bill to expand the militia, which he strongly supported (May 11, 1765).

During 1767 to 1772, the years in which Townshend served as lord-lieutenant of Ireland, the bulk of letters concern Irish politics, political patronage, and Townshend's social life in Dublin. One frequent topic was the augmentation of the army in Ireland, which Townshend advocated as a way to standardize the size of British and Irish regiments. The collection includes the comments of William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, on the subject (March 14, 1768), as well as those of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Earl of Grafton (October 18, 1768). Also present is Lord Frederick North's discussion of another of Townshend's undertakings, the division of the Irish Board of Revenue into two boards of excise and customs (January 3, 1771), and Shelburne's comments on a bill to enable Catholics to lend money to Protestants (May 7, 1768).

In addition to references to these political issues, the Correspondence series contains numerous mentions of patronage as well as payments made to several Irish politicians. On January 16, 1768, Shelburne wrote to Townshend, acknowledging his "secret and confidential" letters and recommended offering a "certain Salary" to the lord chief justice of the Kings Bench in Ireland. He also noted, "In regard of the Bill for Appointing The Judges during good Behaviour, I can add nothing more to what I have already said on that Subject to your Excellency." Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquis Bath, noted in a letter that "other Opportunities must be found, as soon as possible, for providing for some of the most eminent of those Gentlemen who so honorably supported Government the last Session of Parliament" (July 8, 1769). In addition, Townshend received frequent requests from friends and acquaintances for favors and minor roles in the government. This includes a request by a Henrietta Macartney that Townshend confer on her younger brother "any small place of about four hundred pounds a year" (February 11, 1768), as well as a request for a favor from William Barrington for a friend's son. Occasional bits of Irish news, letters concerning family matters (including the death of Townshend's wife in August 1770), and remarks about Townshend's departure from Ireland in late 1772 are also part of this series. On this last topic, Richard Jackson wrote, that the exit must provide "agreeable Relief to you from the long Fatigue and Trouble of a painful Preeminence in this Country" (September 4, 1772).

The Letter Books series contains 7 letter books covering 1767-1772. The original numbering of volumes 1-7 has been kept despite some overlapping dates. The letter books consist of George Townshend's outgoing letters to various recipients, including, among many others, William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington; Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton; William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784); Frederick North, Lord North; and John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Several early letters contain references to the death his younger brother, Charles, in August 1767, and the family's grief over the loss. However, most letters relate to politics, patronage and appointments, and Townshend's activities as the lord-lieutenant of Ireland. In letters to his colleagues, Townshend wrote candidly about many topics, including the filling of political vacancies, conditions in Ireland, and his agenda for augmenting the army in Ireland and reorganizing the Irish Board of Revenue. In a letter of November 28, 1768 (Volume 1), he wrote to Grafton, "With respect to Ireland it is true Sir that Preferments in the Church since I have been here, have gone chiefly and in unnatural Proportion to the Natives." To Lord Frederick Campbell, he wrote about the Irish poor: "The emancipating the poor Irish Peasants from the savage Oppressive Landlords…will have a very salutary effect both upon the Service of the Crown & the prosperity of the Kingdom." ([January 1769] Volume 1, page 337). The letterbooks provide a wealth of information on the various positions taken by Townshend, as well as the duties required of him as lord-lieutenant.

This collection holds 18 business letters written by Philadelphia merchant Stephen Girard, as well as approximately 25 legal and financial documents concerning his professional affairs in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Also included are 17 partially printed bank checks drawn on Girard and approximately 170 bills and receipts related to the expenses of Girard College, a school founded by a bequest in Stephen Girard's will.

This collection contains 18 business letters written by Philadelphia merchant Stephen Girard, as well as approximately 25 legal and financial documents concerning his professional affairs in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Also included are 17 partially printed bank checks drawn on Girard and about 170 bills and receipts related to the expenses of Girard College, a school founded by a bequest in Stephen Girard's will. The collection is arranged in two series: Correspondence, and Documents and Financial Records. The Documents and Financial Records are divided in two subseries: Stephen Girard and Girard College, and Israel Kinsman and Kinsman & Wright bank checks.

The Correspondence series consists of 18 letters from Stephen Girard to business acquaintances concerning his shipping interests between 1787 and 1829. The first 2 letters, dated March and April 1787, were written in French and addressed to Garnier of Spring Hill, New Jersey. Girard wrote one letter to F. D. Petit du Villers of Savannah, Georgia, about the shipment of Georgia pine wood (February 21, 1810); one to Allen M. Lane, an official in Wilmington, Delaware (April 22, 1812); and six to William Adgate, supercargo of Girard's ship Good Friends (August 5, 1811-May 20, 1812). In his letters to Adgate, Girard discussed the Non-Importation Act's effects on foreign trade and provided him with instructions as the Good Friends sailed between Newcastle, England, and Amelia Island, Georgia.

Girard sent 8 letters to eight different recipients between June 19, 1814, and June 27, 1829 - all related to his shipping interests. In a letter to David Parish of Washington, D.C., dated June 19, 1814, he expressed his thoughts on peace and on his recent meetings with John Jacob Astor. On December 3, 1827, he wrote to Secretary of State Henry Clay respecting French spoliation claims originally filed on June 4, 1795. Girard's final letter advised Captain Levi Bardin of the North America that the ship was to sail from Alexandria, Virginia, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a load of tobacco (June 27, 1829).

The Documents and Financial Records series is divided into two subseries: Stephen Girard and Girard College, and Israel Kinsman and Kinsman & Wright bank checks. The Stephen Girard and Girard College subseries contains materials related to Stephen Girard's shipping and financial interests ([February] 1781-March 20, 1827) and to the operations of Girard College (March 13, 1857-January 12, 1870). Approximately 25 receipts, bills of sale, accounts, inventories, contracts, and other documents relate to Stephen Girard's business affairs. Many of these items are partially printed documents, signed by Stephen Girard. Several early documents were written in French. Four documents include values of specific ships' cargoes and relevant duties. At least one item, a subscription form, pertains to the Second Bank of the United States (January 14, 1817), and another reflects shipping insurance purchased from Samuel Coates (November 23, 1793).

This subseries also contains approximately 170 bills and receipts issued to Girard College for a variety of supplies, including foodstuffs, cleaning supplies, and clothing. The largest portion concerns vegetables and meats, and everyday items, such as brooms and pails, cloth, and shoes. Others reflect the costs of keeping up the building, such as painting the college, repairing one of its boilers, purchasing coal, and paying wages.

The Israel Kinsman and Kinsman & Wright bank checks subseries consists of 17 partially printed checks, drawn on "Stephen Girard, Banker" by Philadelphia merchants Israel Kinsman and Kinsman & Wright (January 21, 1818-December 22, 1824).

This collection is made up of 40 letters and documents related to Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston. The material concerns financial compensation for military units, parliamentary politics and legislation, and other British political affairs.

This collection is made up of 34 letters and 6 documents related to Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston. The collection includes 8 items regarding financial compensation for British army units and individuals; 9 letters from Palmerston to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, and 1 letter from Benjamin Haydon to Palmerston about Talleyrand. The collection also includes 22 letters that Palmerston wrote to various acquaintances, including 1 to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord about British political affairs.

The first 8 items pertain to financial compensation for the British Army. From October 4, 1817-April 9, 1827, Palmerston signed 6 partially printed documents from the War Office and its Department of Arrear Accompts, regarding pay warrants for services rendered from 1798-1809 and in 1825. Palmerston also wrote manuscript letters to "Lt. Odiardi" (July 11, 1822) and Major General Sir Frederick Robinson (February 27, 1825) in response to their inquiries about back pay and travel expenses, respectively. Robinson had traveled from Canada to Great Britain to participate in George Prevost's 1816 court martial, which was canceled after Prevost's death.

The next series of 10 letters (March 26, 1834-July 21, 1834) includes 9 brief letters in French, written by Palmerston to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. Palmerston often discussed his schedule and possible meetings, and once referred to the possibility of a treaty between warring Spanish factions during the First Carlist War (June 1, 1834). On June 13, 1834, painter Benjamin Haydon wrote Palmerston to request an audience with Talleyrand; Palmerston's subsequent letter to Talleyrand (June 14, 1834) concerns Haydon's recent painting of the Reform Parliament, for Lord Grey.

The final 22 items are personal letters written by Palmerston (September 17, 1835-October 12, 1864, and undated), of which 6 are in French. These include at least 3 letters to Christopher Hughes, an American diplomat, in which Palmerston discussed recent sessions of Parliament and expressed his desire for close relations between the United Kingdom and the United States; he also mentioned an attempt to reform election procedures for the House of Commons (November 22, 1837). In letters to other correspondents, Palmerston commented on British party politics, the Reform Act of 1832, the Spanish succession controversy, and treasury clerkships. He also wrote about the Mexican Navy and California's recently-declared independence (August 6, 1846) and suggested a reduction in formal church services in the parish of Romsey (October 12, 1864).