Collections

The Ebenezer Ricker collection is made up of letters, poems, financial records, and writings that Ricker compiled from 1787-1805. Many items pertain to seafaring life and Ricker's career as a merchant ship captain.

The Ebenezer Ricker collection (118 pages) is made up of letters, poems, financial records, and writings that Ricker compiled from 1767-1805. Copied letters have various writers and recipients, occasionally including Ebenezer Ricker, and concern topics such as condolences for a bereaved wife, relationships between women and men, and orders for Ricker as master of ships such as the Charming Molly and America. Some diary entries pertain to travel in the Caribbean and several essays address religious topics; one essay has a description of a marriage ceremony. Ricker signed and dated many of the poems, which contain references to sea life, married life, and liaisons with women. Financial records and documents pertain to shipments of cargo onboard several vessels, particularly in the early 19th century.

This collection is made up of personal correspondence between members of the Eckert family, Black family, and Shippen family. The letters pertain to family news, marriage, religion, and everyday life in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the early to mid-19th century.

This collection (227 items) consists of personal correspondence between members of several Pennsylvania families in the early to mid-19th century. The letters pertain to family news, marriage, religion, and everyday life in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the early to mid-19th century.

Members of the Baker, Biddle, Black, Eckert, and Shippen families wrote one another from various Pennsylvania towns, including Shippenville, Shamokin, Washington, and Philadelphia. A group of early letters pertains to Harriet Wood Eckert, who wrote to her parents and sister about life in Washington County, Virginia, and received letters from family members in Pennsylvania. Richard Shippen wrote to his father, Robert Shippen of Drumore Township, Pennsylvania, about life in Shippenville in the early 1800s.

After the 1830s, much of the correspondence concerns Mary G. Eckert, the daughter of Harriet Wood and Solomon Eckert. Her first letters, written to her parents, describe her life and educational experiences in Philadelphia and Washington, Pennsylvania. In the mid-1840s, she began corresponding with Adam Black of Shippenville, whom she married around 1844. During the early years of their marriage, they wrote one another with news from Shippenville and from Shamokin, where Mary lived with or visited her parents. Their letters relate to courtship and marriage, family news and health, religion, and additional subjects. Letters by other family members concern topics such as health, family news, and daily life in 19th-century Pennsylvania.

This collection contains 19 letters written to Margaret Cronin of Queens, New York, by her husband and brother while they served in the United States Army during the Second World War, and one letter to Mark Cronin from Private Murray R. Baxley. Ed Cronin, Margaret's husband, wrote 17 letters, in which he described his loneliness while in training at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, and his court martial and punishment for an unspecified act. The other soldiers wrote of life in England and in the Bronx Area Station Hospital.

This collection contains 19 letters written to Margaret Cronin of Queens, New York, by her husband and brother while they served in the United States Army during the Second World War, and one letter to Mark Cronin from Private Murray R. Baxley. Margaret's husband Ed wrote 17 letters to her between September 25, 1943, and February 24, 1944, while stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina; there, he served with a medical supply unit and, after October 1943, the 74th General Hospital. He described his life on the military base and mentioned specific books he had read, movies he had watched, and radio programs he had heard, which included a show presented by Bob Hope (September 22, 1943). More frequently, he discussed his listlessness and loneliness, and expressed his love for his wife and newborn daughter, Patricia, who lived in Long Island City, Queens. In later letters, he also voiced his concern for his mother's health, especially her recently revealed heart condition. In February 1944, two letters concern his time spent in a "stockade" for an unnamed offense, as well as the resulting court martial, punishment (a 60-day restriction and $18 fine), and repentance (February 11, 1944 and February 18, 1944). In his final letters, Ed complained of increased censorship and mentioned his unit's recent move to a classified location.

The collection also holds two letters written to Margaret by her brother Richard, who served "somewhere in England" during the late summer and early fall of 1943. On August 6, 1943, he mentioned his newly born daughter, Anne Marie (b. June 28, 1943), and described some sightseeing done in London. In his letter of September 14, 1943, Richard shared his longing to return to Astoria, Queens, as well as his reactions to recent family news, particularly to their mother's employment and to a recent proliferation of nieces and nephews. Private Murray R. Baxley wrote to "Miss Mark Cronin" on October 19, 1944, while recovering from malaria in the Bronx Area Station Hospital. He retracted his earlier declaration of love for a woman in Worcester, and requested a future meeting with Mark.

This collection is made up of letters that Private First Class Edgar Denton of La Grande, Oregon, wrote to his friends Frank and Murdle Smith while serving with the United States Army during World War II. Denton discussed his enthusiasm for rifle and machine gun training and concern for his wife and children.

This collection is made up of 4 letters that Private First Class Edgar Denton wrote to his friends Frank and Murdle Smith of Summerville, Oregon, while serving with the United States Army during World War II. He wrote his first two letters from Camp Hood, Texas, and Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, while training for combat and awaiting deployment to Europe. He discussed his enthusiasm for rifle and machine gun training, commented on his correspondence with his wife Peggy, and requested news of mutual acquaintances in Oregon. Writing from Europe in late 1944 and early 1945, Denton expressed his belief that the war would soon end and referred to his hospitalization in England after suffering wounds in the hip and back.

The Edmund Hill collection (June 1918-June 1919) consists of 49 letters, 4 newspaper clippings, and 1 small Christmas card. During the time that he was in Europe as a soldier in World War I, Edmund wrote 48 letters to his parents and 1 to a friend named "Mr. Ladd." He sent letters from various cities in France, such as Calais and Bourbonne-les-Bains, to his parents in Rutherford, New Jersey. The other items also relate to Edmund's time in the army.

The Edmund Hill collection (June 1918-June 1919) consists of 49 letters, 4 newspaper clippings, and 1 small Christmas card. During the time that he was in Europe as a soldier in World War I, Edmund wrote 48 letters to his parents and 1 to a friend named "Mr. Ladd." He sent letters from various cities in France, such as Calais and Bourbonne-les-Bains, to his parents in Rutherford, New Jersey. The other items also relate to Edmund's time in the army.

Of the 49 letters, 48 were written to John and Ida Hill from Edmund. During the war, Edmund was not able to provide many details of its military events, because of censorship, so he wrote about the weather, letters he had received, his health, politics, and family affairs. He often mentioned his appreciation for the services provided by the YMCA and the Salvation Army. After censorship was relaxed after the war, Edmund was able to relate more of his experiences. These later letters regard the places where his division had been stationed and specifics about battles in which he had taken part, such as the Battle of Argonne Forest. His last few letters emphasize his desire to finally get home and back to civilian life.

A few of the letters contain enclosures. The letter from June 13, 1918, has a short newspaper clipping attached, which is entitled "New York is Captured, German Troops Told." Included in Edmund's letter from December 25, 1918, is a reprint of an article from the New York Herald about his division and its participation in the Battle of Argonne Forest, on which he wrote some comments. In his letter dated February 9, 1919, Edmund enclosed 2 large pencil drawings: one of his billet in Semur-en-Auxois, Côte d’Or, and the other, a field sketch of the town of Grandpré "before it was taken by the 78th Division on the last great drive of the war." He frequently used illustrated YMCA and AEF stationery.

Of the 4 newspaper clippings not attached to letters, 2 are reprints of letters Edmund wrote to his parents. One of them, dated December 28, 1918, called "A Glimpse of the Great War" is his letter from November 27, 1918, the original of which is included in this collection. The second is entitled "Soldiers' Letters." Another clipping is a reproduction of a drawing depicting a soldier with binoculars sitting in tree. The last is an article with the title "General Pershing Reviews the 78th, Bound for Home" about the awarding of the Distinguished Service Cross to members of the division. The final item is a small Christmas card with an acrostic poem written on the back.

Following the publication of Edmund Lester Pearson's Studies in Murder (1924), he briefly corresponded with James Walsh Lewis, who had been convicted of the 1894 ax murder of Byron G. Coburn in Gorham, Maine. The case was appealed and Lewis gained his freedom in 1895; the chief witness during the trial was later convicted for a 1901 murder, also in Gorham. Lewis wrote two letters to Pearson in 1925, from Bolivia, attempting to convince the author to take on the Coburn murder case as the subject of his next book. Pearson responded with a letter seeking more information about the trial. The final two items in the collection are 1929 letters from W. R. Rynn, a prisoner at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, requesting a complimentary copy of Studies in Murder and thanking Pearson after he received the book.

Please see the box and folder listing below for detailed information about each letter.

Of the Edmund Quincy letters, 7 are personal letters that Quincy wrote to his son Henry from Lancaster, Massachusetts, about the first years of the American Revolution. Quincy also wrote a letter to Dr. Cotton Tufts about personal matters.

This collection contains 8 personal letters that Edmund Quincy wrote in the mid- to late 18th century. The first item is Quincy's letter to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Weymouth, Massachusetts, about personal affairs. Quincy wrote 7 letters to his son Henry from Lancaster, Massachusetts, from May 1755-January 18, 1777. He commented at length about many aspects of the American Revolution, such as deteriorating relations between Great Britain and its North American colonies and his sympathy with the patriotic cause. Quincy sometimes mentioned military affairs, including early actions of George Washington, the number of missing persons after the Battle of Concord, privateers in the Caribbean, and recent battles. Some of Quincy's observations have religious overtones.

The Edson family papers are made up of letters that Hanford Wisner Edson and Elmer Rockwood Edson wrote to their parents and sister while attending and teaching at Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The brothers wrote of their coursework, social activities, acquaintances, and finances, and responded to news from home, particularly information about their sister Helen's frail health. Printed programs are also present.

The Edson family papers (110 items) are mostly made up of over 100 letters that Hanford Wisner Edson and Elmer Rockwood Edson wrote to their parents and sister while attending and teaching at Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the late 1880s and early 1890s.

Elmer Rockwood Edson discussed his social life, leisure activities, and classes at Phillips Exeter Academy (1886-1890) and Williams College (1891-1894). He frequently mentioned his limited finances, and sometimes attached receipts or noted recent purchases, especially of clothing. Additionally, he wrote about his regular attendance at church services and his occasional games of tennis. On December 12, 1891, he sent a four-page letter to his sister Helen in which he described the developmental stages of tadpoles and frogs, illustrated by two drawings.

Hanford Edson wrote about his experiences while attending and teaching at Williams College and while teaching at Robert College in Constantinople, Turkey. He discussed his participation in Williams College's glee club, his decision to move to Turkey, and his life in Williamstown, Massachusetts, after his return from Eurasia. Both brothers commented on the frail health of their sister Helen.

• 13th Annual Contest for the Graves Oratorical Prize (June 22, [1889])
• Commencement Concert by Williams College Glee and Banjo Clubs (June 24, 1889)
• Junior Preliminary Moonlight Contest (March 13, 1894)

The Edward Adolphus correspondence contains seven letters and a receipt pertaining to commercial interests in New York and Boston in 1842 and 1843.

The Edward Adolphus correspondence contains seven letters and a receipt pertaining to commercial interests in New York and Boston in 1842 and 1843. The collection includes five letters from Warriner, a New York City-based merchant, one receipt for goods shipped on the Florida Blanco, and two letters from A. J. Cameron. In his letters, Warriner wrote Adolphus regarding business in New York, and focused particularly on the trade in indigo and mahogany. In one letter, Warriner mentioned the recent death of his son: "I was at the time much afflicted having that morning lost my youngest boy, who died suddenly of dropsy in the brain … I never knew a real trouble before and shall improve by this one by a firmer faith and determination to place my mind on nothing in the hope of retaining it here" (April 1, 1842). Cameron, based in Boston, also discussed commercial matters. His letter of November 1, 1843, provided his opinions on the prospective education of the Adolphus children and on dentistry.

This collection is made up of six letters (with five accompanying envelopes) from Confederate veteran Edward A. Roher to his friend E. P. Freeman, written from the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum in White Plains, New York. Freeman and Roher were fellow residents of the Home for Old Men and Aged Couples in New York City, or as Roher called it, "the Home." Roher wrote that "Mr. Cammon" [President of the Home, Hermann H. Cammann] placed him in the asylum and that only with his approval could Dr. Durham be convinced to send him back to the Home. In an undated letter, Roher wrote that a former matron of the Home had him removed because she was afraid he "was becoming mad or unmanageable of otherwise undesirable for a boarder." He also described his section of the asylum, lamented his loneliness and unhappiness at being retained against his will, and noted that he destroyed many of the letters he had written because they were "queer, disconnected, ridiculous, and useless."

This collection is made up of six letters (with five accompanying envelopes) from Confederate veteran Edward A. Roher to his friend E. P. Freeman, written from the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum in White Plains, New York. Freeman and Roher were fellow residents of the Home for Old Men and Aged Couples in New York City, or as Roher called it, "the Home."

Roher wrote that "Mr. Cammon" [President of the Home, Hermann H. Cammann] placed him in the asylum and that only with his approval could Dr. Durham be convinced to send him back to the Home. In an undated letter, Roher wrote that a former matron of the Home had him removed because she was afraid he "was becoming mad or unmanageable of otherwise undesirable for a boarder." He also described his section of the asylum, lamented his loneliness and unhappiness at being retained against his will, and noted that he destroyed many of the letters he had written because they were "queer, disconnected, ridiculous, and useless."