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This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, school essays, ephemera, and other materials related to the family and descendants of Maskell Ewing of Radnor, Pennsylvania. The bulk relates to Maskell Ewing and his son, Maskell Cochran Ewing.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, school essays, ephemera, and other materials related to the family and descendants of Maskell Ewing of Radnor, Pennsylvania. The bulk relates to Maskell Ewing and his son, Maskell Cochran Ewing.

The Ewing family correspondence dates between 1784 and 1937, though the bulk falls between 1789 and 1845, with later groups dating from the Civil War and the mid-20th century. The earliest items include letters from Elinor Gardiner Hunter to her son James, written in the late 18th century, and incoming correspondence addressed to Maskell Ewing (1758-1825), often related to his financial affairs. Throughout the 1820s, Maskell Cochran Ewing (1806-1849) received letters from his mother and sisters while he studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. These letters reflect his military education and document women's lives in rural Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Maskell Cochran Ewing occasionally wrote letters from the academy, and received letters from former classmates in the years immediately following his graduation. Several letters addressed to Maskell Cochran Ewing date from the Civil War.

The Ewing family's diaries, journals, school books, and a sketchbook primarily belonged to Maskell Cochran Ewing and James Hunter Ewing. One of Maskell Cochran's journals contains notes from a surveying expedition for the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal (1828). James Hunter Ewing composed 3 journals during the Civil War era.

Legal and financial documents comprise the bulk of the collection, with much of the material relating to the financial, legal, and real estate affairs of Maskell Ewing, with some items concerning Maskell Cochran Ewing's military career. Maskell Cochran Ewing kept a series of account books in 1859, intended for student use. Also of note is a set of United States debt certificates for goods seized for use by the Continental Army between 1780 and 1783. Bonds, receipts, financial records, and legal documents related to specific disputes also appear in the collection.

The Ewing family papers also include essays on many different topics, a manuscript map of West Point, and ephemera postcards, photographs, printed materials, and calling cards.

The John Peddie collection is made up of a signed letter from John Peddie to William Henry Clinton, written from a bivouac on the "banks of the Bayoue Catalan" and dated January 24, 1815. Peddie wrote of "the fate of our unfortunate Expedition," referring to operations surrounding the Battle of Lake Borgne and the Battle of New Orleans. He enclosed a manuscript map and a copy of Charles Ramus Forrest's journal dated November 25, 1814-January 7, 1815. The letter and enclosures are part of the larger Henry Clinton papers.

The John Peddie collection includes a signed letter from John Peddie to William Henry Clinton, written from a bivouac on the "banks of the Bayoue Catalan" and dated January 24, 1815. Peddie wrote of "the fate of our unfortunate Expedition," referring to operations surrounding the Battle of Lake Borgne and the Battle of New Orleans. He offered his opinions about the causes of the British failures. Peddie requested Clinton's aid in securing a promotion.

Peddie enclosed a manuscript map of "Genl Lambert's position on the River Mississip[p]i," signed by John Fox Burgoyne, and a 15-page copy of Charles Ramus Forrest's "Journal of the Movements of the Army acting in the Southern part of the North American Coast." Forrest's account describes events from November 25, 1814, through January 7, 1815. He remarked on Major General Keane's command in Negril, Jamaica, the movements of the British Fleet as they proceeded to the American coast, and subsequent military decisions, maneuvers, and engagements leading up to the Battle of New Orleans. Forrest provided details on difficulties faced by British troops, including unfavorable tides and geography, and described military encounters with American forces. He also noted work on the Villeré Canal and included copies of orders and memoranda concerning military preparation and actions. Forrest concluded by summarizing the circumstances that stymied the British efforts in New Orleans, including their distance from supplies; the "impossibility of gaining intelligence" from locals, prisoners, and African Americans; the bad "nature of the Soil"; Americans' ability to prepare in advance and establish a strong line of defense; and the unexpected local opposition to the British.

The letter and enclosures are part of the larger Henry Clinton papers, though they are housed separately.

The Joshua Benjamin journal contains notes and navigational logs on the various crews and voyages of the Brigantine Sarah, Brigantine Young Henry, Ship Lufilania, Brigantine Dolphin, Sloop Tryall, Brigantine Sea Flower, Sloop Experiment, Sloop Endeavor, Sloop Abigail, Brigantine Willam & Mary, Brigantine Union, Ship Samuell, Ship John and Cranwell, and the Ship Welcome, all sailing between 1713 and 1734.

The journal has 303 total pages, including the small pages bound together with the volume. Of these, approximately 258 are devoted to ships' logs. The book contains 60 pencil and ink coastal profiles.

The Joshua Benjamin journal contains notes on the various crews of the Brigantine Sarah and Brigantine Young Henry, as well as navigational logs and notes for various voyages of these ships as well as for the Ship Lufilania, Brigantine Dolphin, Sloop Tryall, Brigantine Sea Flower, Sloop Experiment, Sloop Endeavor, Sloop Abigail, Brigantine Willam & Mary, Brigantine Union, ship Samuell, Ship John and Cranwell, and the Ship Welcome, between 1713-1734. These voyages typically begin or end in Boston, bringing cargo to and from various ports along the Eastern Seaboard, Caribbean, and London.

The volume opens with the following inscription:

Joshua Benjamin Book[:] taken on board the Hardie Brilhae a french Ship of About 400 Tuns 32 guns Mounted x175 men in the year 1710[.] I then belonging to Her Majesty Queen Anne[']s Service in Her Ship the Kent of 70 Guns x 440 men[.]

However, none of the book's entries document the voyages of these ships. The first few pages consist of charts for the crew of the Brigantine Sarah and Young Henry with notes on crew names and positions, their wages, and time served on the ship for that voyage. After these entries is a description of a religious service at the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo, Spain, accompanied by an inventory of holy relics housed there (page 9). The inventory claims 21 relics from various saints and religious figures, including one of the 30 pieces of silver received by Judas, 8 thorns from the crown Jesus wore at his crucifixion, and clothes worn by Jesus.

The next set of entries consists of the logs of the various voyages of Benjamin. He keeps track of the ships'; daily longitude and latitude positions, records the day's wind, weather, and sea conditions, and makes brief notes of daily events (setting off, docking, repairs, meeting other ships and sailors, exchanging goods, etc.). In general, the descriptions provide general information on the experiences of eighteenth-century seamen and speak to the ways in which they handled challenges at sea.

Occasionally, Benjamin describes encounters with other ships, which indicate that the crew felt keenly that the waters were dangerous. For example, on December 27, 1733, he mentions that they spotted two sails giving chase. "We feeling they were Enemies prepared to receive them by fitting the vessels for close fight" (p.141). The ships passed without incident. In one of the longer entries of the journal, Benjamin describes the unfortunate fate of the Brigantine Sarah, which on November 1, 1730, struck a rock that severely damaged the ship five leagues from Bermuda. Eventually, all crew abandoned ship and took refuge on a nearby Island. They were rescued by a passing sloop within 4 days and taken to South Carolina.

Many of the entries include rough pencil sketches of coastal profiles, indicating the basic vertical outline of approaching land. In addition to these profiles is a pen drawing of several fish (p.26) and a map of Martha's Vineyard (p.47). This hand-drawn and well labeled map of Martha's Vineyard is one of the earliest known charts of this passage.

See the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" section for a complete document summary with voyage and illustration listed with their corresponding page numbers.

This "Missionary Journal" chronicles Congregational minister Timothy Mather Cooley's missionary trip to the New York counties of Oneida, Onondaga, and Chenango between June and October 1803. During his travels, he preached 108 sermons, visited 27 schools, baptized 53 people (of whom 50 were children), and helped establish a church in Verona, New York.

This "Missionary Journal" chronicles Congregational minister Timothy Mather Cooley's missionary trip to the New York counties of Oneida, Onondaga, and Chenango between June and October 1803. During his travels, he preached 108 sermons, visited 27 schools, baptized 53 people (of whom 50 were children), and helped establish a church in Verona, New York. He left his home on June 5, 1803, and headed for Northampton, where he received his formal commission from the Hampshire Missionary Society. From there, he went to Utica, and spent the next several months traveling around rural New York. Throughout his travels, he kept a log of his activities in various settlements, which often included delivering sermons, distributing literature, and talking to local residents; he frequently composed footnotes giving a general outline of each town. These notes usually recorded the year of the town's settlement, the number of families, churches, and schools, and the number of people who belonged to other Christian denominations, most frequently Baptists and Methodists. Though generally optimistic about his mission, he often commented that local residents were "poor, stupid, and ignorant" or, in one case, "stupid and vicious" (June 24). On July 9, he copied two drawings of coins resembling those Judas received for betraying Christ, and on July 23 described a visit to Baron von Steuben's gravesite. He also occasionally met with Native Americans, and described Oneida buildings (August 2) and a tour of an old burial ground (August 25). Often accompanied by the Reverend Peter Fish, he helped establish a church in Verona, New York, in August. He returned home on October 5. The back of the volume contains Cooley’s summary of his trip, a chart of distance traveled, sermons preached, schools visited, people baptized, donations received, and books distributed, and a note by C. Green, MD, a later owner of the journal, providing evidence for Cooley's authorship (December 1876).

• Map of Black River Settlements (June 24) (Housed in the Map Division)
• Map of Chenango County (August 14)
• Map of Onondaga County (October 5)