Search

Back to top

Search Constraints

Start Over You searched for: Formats Letters (correspondence) Remove constraint Formats: Letters (correspondence)
Number of results to display per page
View results as:

Search Results

Collection

Ziba Roberts collection, 1826-1957 (majority within 1861-1911)

1.5 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial records, legal documents, photographs, speeches, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial papers, legal documents, photographs, speeches, printed items, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.

The Correspondence series (approximately 110 items) includes a group of 17 items (1826-1852) related to the family of James Harland, an ancestor of Cynthia Dewey Roberts. Harland, who lived in Manchester, New York, received letters from his son William, who moved to Clarksfield, Ohio, around 1839. Shortly after his arrival, William described local marshes and discussed his land and the prices of various crops. His later letters concern his financial difficulties and his Christian faith. A letter of September 3, 1841, includes a small manuscript map of property lines.

The remaining correspondence pertains to Ziba Roberts and, to a lesser extent, his wife and children. The first item is a letter from his sister Henrietta dated March 14, 1858. Roberts regularly corresponded with family members and friends while serving in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment between January 1862 and April 1863. In his letters home (around 20 items), he described aspects of military and camp life, including food, hygiene, illness, long marches, and general boredom; several items concern his experiences in occupied Winchester, Virginia, in the spring of 1862 and his treatment after his release from Confederate prison. He sometimes commented on news of the war, expressing confidence in a Union victory. During this period, Roberts occasionally received letters from family members at home, who discussed farming, religion, and family news (5 items).

The Roberts correspondence resumes in 1886 and continues as late as 1937; most date between 1889 and 1912. Roberts received a series of letters from William W. Eastman in South Dakota, who wrote at length about his financial difficulties. Most of his late correspondence concerns Civil War veterans' affairs, particularly related to pensions and reunions. Some writers complained about the difficulty of receiving a pension, the health issues that affected former soldiers, and Roberts's own disability claim. One printed circular contains reminiscences by members of the 28th New York Infantry Regiment (printed and distributed in May 1892). In 1912, Ziba Roberts received letters from fellow veterans regarding the 28th Regiment's annual reunion; most expressed or implied a lasting sense of comradeship with their fellow veterans, though many declined the invitation on account of poor health or other circumstances (with some reflecting on whether deaths would put future reunions in jeopardy).

The latest correspondence, written in the 1920s and 1930s, concerns the Grand Army of the Republic, insurance policies, and Roberts and Sanborn family genealogy. One correspondent returned an essay written by Ziba Roberts in December 1916: "A Brief History of the Methodist Episcopal Church at East Shelby" (enclosed with letter dated February 27, 1924). Minutes of the 28th Regiment's 68th reunion, held in May 1929, note the death of Ziba Roberts and other soldiers.

Ziba Roberts wrote two Diaries between November 14, 1861, and December 31, 1862. His daily entries concern aspects of his service with the 28th New York Infantry Regiment in Maryland and Virginia, including his imprisonment in 1862. He wrote about marches, guard duty, drills, health, and rations.

The Documents and Financial Papers series (74 items) includes legal documents and financial papers dated 1864 to 1940. Correspondence, indentures, and mortgages pertain to land ownership, management of decedents' estates, and a legal dispute between William W. Dewey and Seneca Sprout in the 1890s. Four items are Grand Army of the Republic commissions for Ziba Roberts, dated between 1918 and 1922. One group of tax receipts pertains to payments made by Ziba and Cynthia Roberts as late as 1940.

The collection's account book originally belonged to Ziba Roberts in the late 19th century. Roberts recorded around 35 pages of accounts between around 1884 and 1919, including records related to everyday purchases of food and other goods, a female domestic worker's wages, road construction, and estates. A later owner recorded tax payments for the years 1922-1944.

The Photographs series consists of 2 photograph albums and 8 loose items. Together, the photograph albums contain around 120 cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and cabinet cards. These items consist of studio portraits of members of the Roberts, Dewey, Wolcott, and Sanborn families, as well as additional friends and family members. Most of the pictures, which feature men, women, children, and infants, were taken in New York.

The loose items are made up of photographs of Ziba Roberts, including a heavily retouched portrait and a corresponding print of the original image; portraits of soldiers in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment; pictures of Colonel Dudley Donnelly's tomb; and a group of soldiers posing by the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument at Gettysburg. Additional items show a group posing for a souvenir photograph after a "balloon route trolley trip" in Los Angeles, California, and members of the Sprout family standing in front of their home.

The Speeches, Printed Items, and Ephemera series (30 items) includes Civil War materials, such as scores for the songs "We're Marching on to Richmond," "The Passing of the Veteran," "We Old Boys," and "Have You Got the Countersign"; and a printed booklet of war songs issued by the Grand Army of the Republic and related veterans' societies. Other items pertain to veterans' reunions and reminiscences. The series also includes two typed carbon copies of postwar speeches given by Ziba Roberts, "Seeing Lincoln" and "Lecture on Army Prison Life."

Additional pamphlets and ephemeral items concern New York political reforms, cholera, and a meeting of the descendants of Henry Wolcott. One newspaper clipping describes the career of William Ziba Roberts. The series includes a biography of George Dewey and history of the Dewey family (Adelbert M. Dewey, 1898). The final items are World War II-era ration books, with many stamps still attached.

The Genealogy series (21 items) is comprised of records related to the Roberts and Dewey families, and to the ancestors and descendants of Ziba and Cynthia Dewey Roberts. A manuscript volume contains approximately 35 pages of family trees; registers of births, marriages, and deaths; and the military service of Daniel Roberts (Revolutionary War) and Ziba Roberts (Civil War). Other items include additional registers, death notices, and notes.

Collection

Zelona Eaton journal, 1843-1925 (majority within 1843-1844)

166 pages (1 journal) and 2 letters

The Zelona Eaton journal is the diary of a Baptist minister from Troy, Ohio, who was active in the local anti-slavery and temperance movements. The volume is composed of a diary, in which Eaton discussed his ministerial duties and local issues concerning abolition, temperance, fornication, and sodomy (1843-1844); 3 pages of accounts for house-building materials (1843-1844); 9 philosophical essays with an introduction (undated); and 2 letters addressed to Lottie Churchill of Washington, Vermont (1823).

The Zelona Eaton journal is the diary of a Baptist minister from Troy, Ohio, who was active in the local anti-slavery and temperance movements. The volume is composed of a 95-page diary that Eaton kept from October 31, 1843, to September 17, 1844; three pages of accounts for house-building materials (December 1843-January 1844); 8 philosophical essays with an introduction (undated); and 2 letters addressed to Lottie Churchill of Washington, Vermont (1823).

In the diary, Eaton wrote about his daily life (health, food, family, and building a new house) and the activities of his church community in Troy. He wrote descriptions of his ministerial duties, such as travelling to meetings and conferences, visiting parishioners, performing marriages, lecturing, leading prayer meetings, raising funds for missionary work, and writing sermons. Eaton also described his intellectual and spiritual life in Troy. He attended a Millerite lecture (November 15, 1843), a lecture on phrenology (November 9, 1843), and multiple anti-slavery lectures (November 29, 1843; January 19, ,March 2 and 10, April 1 and 27, 1844). He often read the Cross and Journal and the anti-slavery paper The Emancipator, which some of his friends had procured for him. In the fall of 1843, he recorded thoughts on his own spiritual health, writing that he was, "Greatly distressed about my situation in temporal things...I have reason to think God is against [me]" (November 17, 1843). Eaton also kept track of some of his finances, which he worried about frequently, and often noted food and daily house work. He mentioned making sausages and vinegar, and purchasing coffee, cinnamon, buckwheat flour, eggs, rice, and apples.

Much of the journal concerns African Americans and the anti-slavery movement. On at least two occasions, Eaton interacted with two free African Americans: he visited a man named Mr. Newsome and loaned him money, and purchased items from another man named Mr. Smith. Registering the intensity of anti-slavery activities in his community, Eaton described the many anti-slavery lectures, debates, and prayer meetings that he attended. At the meetings, they discussed questions such as whether Congress should abolish slavery in Washington D.C. without the consent of the city's inhabitants, and what people who lived in free states could lawfully do to end slavery in the slave states (December 10, 1843). Eaton also served as the secretary for a group of women who formed a "ladies Society to educate colored persons" (December 3, 1843). He traveled one hundred miles to Brown County to visit what he described as a "Colored Association," perhaps a settlement of free African Americans, reporting, upon his return, that he "was much interested at the Association, mostly by the talent exhibited. They showed about as much attention to me, as an Association would have shown to one of their ministers (September 8, 1844)."

Eaton also recounts several controversies surrounding sex in his community. On March 14, 1844, Eaton wrote that he felt "exceedingly afflict[ed]" to have "Learned of an aggravated case of fornication by two of the members" of his church. A month later he excluded two parishioners from church service "for lewdness" (April 29, 1844). Eaton also gave an account of a case of "buggery." Minister T.A. Warner had "been accused of buggery, but not proved guilty [in a church trial]" and claimed to Eaton not to be guilty (July 25, 1844). Before his church, however, Warner had "Confessed the attempt & attributed it to a habit contracted when a boy." Eaton and a Brother Whitman informed Last Creek Church of the incident "because [they] thought, such a thing had much better go before a man than to come after him" (March 2, 1844) Eaton clearly felt disturbed by Warner’s purported behavior but what is especially noteworthy is the matter-of-fact tone Eaton used in writing about the situation.

Starting at the back of the volume, Eaton wrote 8 "dissertations," with an introduction and a transcript of a letter, that explore moral, religious, and philosophical questions (pages 162-98). Eaton's goal was to "attempt to enter into the immaterial world, & investigate the properties of spirit" (page 160).

Below is the list of essay topics:
  • Dissertation 1: Methods, What is meant by a Faculty of the mind? What is meant by a principle of mind?
  • Dissertation 2: Understanding
  • Dissertation 3: Taste
  • Dissertation 4: Will
  • Dissertation 5: Liberty
  • Dissertation 6: Natural & Mortal Agent
  • Dissertation 7: Good and Evil: Dr. Hendrick's Lecture on Good and Evil
  • Dissertation 8: Difference between Natural good and evil & Moral good and evil

Many of the essays have commentary labeled "Dr. Henricks Remarks" or "Professor's Remarks." These are brief notes and criticisms of the essays.

The two letters are addressed to Lottie Churchill, wife of Arthur Churchill, of Washington, Vermont (1923). One is from her cousin Cretia from Walla Walla, Washington (3 pages), and the other is from her friend Estella, from Morrisville, Vermont (8 pages). Both letters focus on personal news and mention food and cooking.

Collection

W. T. Ennis letters, 1942

3 items

This collection is made up of letters that Captain W. T. Ennis wrote to "Nell" while serving in the United States Army Transportation Corps during World War II. Ennis discussed military life in Great Britain, his leisure activities, and news of friends in the United States.

This collection is made up of 3 letters that Captain W. T. Ennis wrote to "Nell" while serving in the United States Army Transportation Corps in August and September 1942. Ted discussed his leisure activities, which included eating at restaurants and attending musical shows; on one occasion, he reported the cancellation of a scheduled appearance by Al Jolson. He also mentioned an opportunity to purchase lemons from a chaplain and his attitude toward dances, which he attempted to avoid on account of his advanced age. Ennis sometimes referred indirectly to the war, noting that the streets became deserted at night and advising Nell not to send clippings or news that might imply the location(s) of large concentrations of American military personnel. In his final letter, dated September 15, 1942, Ennis reported his reassignment to the newly formed transportation corps and hoped to travel in the British Isles.

Collection

Wright family collection, 1835-1940 (majority within 1835-1868)

18 items

The Wright family collection consists primarily of correspondence related to the Morfit family and to Wilbur and Orville Wright's uncle, John Wright.

The Wright family collection consists primarily of correspondence related to the Morfit family and to Wilbur and Orville Wright's uncle, John Wright. Several of the items in the collection relate to Henry Mason Morfit, John Wright's attorney, and to his son Campbell, including a series of letters from mid-1853 chronicling Wright's attempt to secure a patent for improvements to reapers and mining machines. Also included is a document dated May 26, 1852, in which Wright formally gave Morfit power of attorney in the matter. Other Wright items include a letter from Danforth P. Wright to Henry Wright, dated October 24, 1842, asking for genealogical information to be added to a history of the family. In addition to the John Wright letters, the collection also holds several items written to Campbell Morfit, Henry's son, mentioning his academic work at the University of Maryland. Later material in the collection includes a 1919 letter detailing the provenance of the John Wright papers, written on stationary from the Aero Club of America, and a 1940 letter composed by Orville Wright's secretary, confirming the Wright brothers' appreciation for the work of Lilienthal and Chanute.

Collection

Wood family papers, 1846-1951 (majority within 1846-1925)

4 linear feet

The Wood family papers contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Much of the content pertains to education, family news, and politics.

The Wood family papers (4 linear feet) contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.

The Correspondence series comprises almost all of the collection. Early items are incoming letters to James A. Wood, Rebecca D. Pillsbury (later Wood), and their daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood, from family members and acquaintances. James A. Wood's siblings wrote with updates on their lives, such as Caroline E. Wood's teaching career in numerous towns throughout New York. Rebecca D. Pillsbury also received letters from her brothers and sisters, and both Wood's and Pillsbury's correspondents discussed family matters, religion, and local news. Margaret Ann's letter of December 3, 1860, concerns her affection for a deceased baby sister, and an unidentified author's letter of September 4, 1861, describes the recent death of a grandmother. James A. Wood received an increasing amount of business-related correspondence, including letters from Charles W. Pierce, in the 1870s.

After the 1870s, most letters are addressed to Rebecca D. Wood and her daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood. Rebecca's children often wrote letters to their mother, and Helen received letters from cousins and friends from around the East Coast. George P. Wood, Helen's brother, often shared stories of his young son James and of his life in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D. C.; and Peekskill, New York. In one letter, George included a map showing the location of his home in Washington, D. C. (November 13, 1899).

In addition to family and social news, letters occasionally referred to current events. "Dana," one of Helen E. Wood's cousins, wrote from his United States Army post during World War I (December 28, 1917), and other friends discussed the impact of the war. Among Helen's correspondents were Ida McCollister of New Hampshire and Harry Sawyer, an old friend who shared news of his life in Kearney, Nebraska. In one later letter, George P. Wood expressed some of his political views about the 1924 presidential election (October 27, 1924). Correspondence was less frequent after Helen E. Wood's death in 1933, with most incoming letters addressed to Winchester R. Wood of Lynn, Massachusetts, a member of the family's Connecticut branch. Undated items include similar family correspondence, as well as one letter written on a printed program for the Public Meeting of the Philadelphian Society at Kimball Union Academy at Meridian, New Hampshire, on June 12, 1878.

The Essays series includes an "Autobiography of a Sofa," written by R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury, as well as a manuscript draft of the "Common School Repository...Published semi-monthly by L. J. Boynton & R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury," containing 8 pages of short pieces attributed, often only by first name, to various contributors.

Among the six Receipts, addressed to A. Wood (1 item) and Helen E. Wood (5 items) are two receipts for Helen E. Wood's educational expenses and two slips crediting her account at Citizens National Bank, Boston.

Maps and Blueprints comprise 7 items. These are several drawings of house layouts, one map showing the locations of two buildings, and two blueprints.

The Newspaper Clippings series has 6 items, one of which is an article entitled "What They Say: How Girls of Various Cities Behave When They are Kissed."

The Ephemera series contains 52 Christmas cards, greeting cards, postcards, calling cards, programs, and other printed items. Specific items include 2 Red Cross membership cards, a pamphlet advertising The Art of Living Long by Louis Cornaro, and a blank order sheet for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the 1920s.

Collection

Woodbury and Ellen Hardy family letters, 1856-1868 (majority within 1856-1866)

31 items

This collection consists of 31 letters that Woodbury and Ellen M. Hardy received from friends and family members between 1856 and 1868. From 1856 to 1860, Woodbury Hardy received 13 letters from acquaintances, cousins, and his brother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; South Danvers, Massachusetts; Palatine, Illinois; and Meridian, Michigan. He and his wife collectively received 6 letters written during the Civil War and 4 written between 1866 and 1868. The collection also holds 8 undated letters. Writers commented on family and social news, agriculture, aspects of life in the Midwest, the Civil War, and the impact of the military draft.

This collection consists of 31 letters that Woodbury and Ellen M. Hardy received from friends and family members between 1856 and 1868. From 1856 to1860, Woodbury Hardy received 13 letters from acquaintances, cousins, and his brother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; South Danvers, Massachusetts; Palatine, Illinois; and Meridian, Michigan. He and his wife collectively received 6 letters written during the Civil War and 4 written between 1866 and 1868. The collection also holds 8 undated letters. Writers commented on family and social news, agriculture, aspects of life in the Midwest, the Civil War, and the impact of the military draft.

Woodbury Hardy's friends and cousins in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, shared social news with Hardy when he lived in South Danvers, Massachusetts, in the mid-1850s, and in the Midwest during the early 1860s. They commented on weddings, education, agriculture, and family health. Woodbury's brother, Samuel Hardy, and an acquaintance, Levina Williams, wrote of their lives in Illinois, often mentioning agriculture, local news, and separation from family members on the East Coast. Woodbury's cousin, also named Woodbury Hardy, wrote a similar letter from Meridian, Michigan, discussing local history, crops, and schools (March 9, 1860). Woodbury and Ellen Hardy continued to receive similar personal letters from male and female correspondents throughout and after the Civil War.

Of the 6 letters written during the Civil War, 5 comment directly on the effects of the war in South Danvers, Massachusetts. Ellen Hardy's "Uncle Moses" wrote an 8-page letter on July 6 and 9, 1862, sharing his thoughts on the war's causes and progress and on a woman named Sarah Jane, who feared the loss of a loved one in a recent battle. Other letters mention the effects of the draft and names of local volunteers. J. Clough, of Nashua, New Hampshire, wrote a final war-era business letter to Woodbury Hardy regarding a shipment of freight from New Hampshire to Chicago (May 26, 1862).

Family letters of interest include Sanford Hardy's account of his railroad journey from Nashua, New Hampshire, to Chicago, Illinois, in early 1857 (May 28, 1857). He compared first and second class accommodations, and shared his strong negative reaction to other passengers in second class. In one letter, Carlos Hardy, Woodbury's cousin, discussed a recent scandal involving Samuel Hardy and his wife Abby, who reportedly married under duress (December 17, 1858). Two letters by Lydia Ann include mention of a family member and a friend who had been prisoners of war at England's Dartmoor Prison during the War of 1812 (July 23, 1860, and January 10, 1868). Among the undated letters is a letter John Price wrote to his great-grandson, Arthur Hardy, and a letter from Arthur's sick 5 year-old cousin "Frannie" (written by an adult). One later undated letter addressed to Ellen anticipates Woodbury Hardy's imminent return, along with other Civil War veterans.

Collection

Woodburn Shrewsbury letters, 1864-1865

3 items

This collection contains letters that Woodburn Shrewsbury wrote about friendship among soldiers, courtship and marriage, and Presbyterian ministers visiting Madison, Indiana, in 1864 and 1865. Shrewsbury wrote his first letter from Madison House Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, during his service in the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment.

During and just after the Civil War, Woodburn Shrewsbury wrote 3 letters (14 pages) to his friends Charles, with whom he had served in the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment, Company H (January 8, 1864), and Will (September 27, 1865, and October 19, 1865). Shrewsbury wrote to Charles about his experiences at Madison House Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, and discussed his beliefs about the strength of friendships formed during military service. He also reported on the flooding of the Alabama River. In each of his letters, Shrewsbury commented on women, courtship, and marriage. Upon hearing of Will's desire to marry, Shrewsbury cautioned him against marrying before the age of 30. He also told Will of his future plans, including the possibility of purchasing oil lands in Kentucky, and shared his opinion of a group of Presbyterian ministers who had just visited Madison, Indiana, where he lived with his parents.

Collection

Women's Suffrage letterhead collection, [after 1895]-[1917]

22 items

This collection of 22 items bearing printed letterheads from various women's suffrage organizations. A portion of the collection is blank stationery. The correspondence relates to expenses, event planning, donation solicitations, and advocacy efforts. The majority originated from organizations based in Boston, Massachusetts. One letter has an anti-suffrage tone.

The letterheads include examples from:
  • Bay County League of Women Voters (Bay City, Mich.)
  • Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage
  • The Empire State Campaign Committee (New York, N.Y.)
  • Equal Suffrage League
  • Leslie Woman Suffrage Commission, Inc. (New York, N.Y.)
  • Leslie Woman Suffrage Continuing Committee (New York, N.Y.)
  • Marcus Ward Company Incorporated
  • Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association
  • National American Woman Suffrage Association (New York, N.Y.)
  • New York State Woman Suffrage Association
  • Springfield Equal Suffrage League
  • Suffrage Referendum State Committee
  • Suffrage Study Club (Sea Cliff, N.Y.)
  • The Woman's Journal and Suffrage News

Collection

Women, Gender, and Family collection, 1678-1996 (majority within 1800-1906)

0.5 linear feet

The Women, Gender, and Family collection contains miscellaneous individual items relating to women, gender, and family primarily in America, between 1678 and 1996.

The Women, Gender, and Family collection contains miscellaneous items relating to women, gender, and family between 1678 and 1996. The bulk of the collection ranges in from 1800 to the early 20th century and is geographically focused on the United States of America. Topics include marriage and divorce, childrearing and motherhood, household management, and consensual and coerced sex. Other areas of interest cover women’s various forms of labor, legal restitution for paternity suits and financial support, and education for women and children. While not as heavily represented, multiple items detail women's engagement in politics, slavery and abolition, and women's rights.

Collection

W. L. Cummings collection, 1906-1941 (majority within 1906-1928)

0.5 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, scrapbooks, and advertisements related to W. L. Cummings, who was a doctor in Syracuse, New York, during the early 20th century. The material largely pertains to traveling doctors and patent medicines.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, scrapbooks, and advertisements related to W. L. Cummings, who was a doctor in Syracuse, New York, during the early 20th century. The material largely pertains to traveling doctors and patent medicines.

The Correspondence series contains 10 letters that W. L. Cummings received from September 16, 1912-August 31, 1928, and on January 22, 1941. Trevey Slack, a traveling doctor, wrote 6 letters to Cummings from September 16, 1912-May 26, 1913. He described his experiences in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Missouri, and provided information on medical treatments, other traveling doctors, and the medical profession. In his letter of November 25, 1912, he commented on doctors who put on vaudeville performances. Other letters include formulas for a liniment and a stomach remedy (March 22, 1918, and January 22, 1941).

The Speeches series includes 2 speech drafts concerning the effectiveness of patent medicine and a medicine called "Sangvine."

Cummings's 1905 Account Book contains dated records of his income and expenses.

Two Scrapbooks contain recipes, printed advertisements, newspaper clippings, labels, and other items related to medical ailments and treatments, medicines, and household products. The first scrapbook (144 pages), dated November 5, 1914, includes items from and related to A. W. Lithgow, such as recipes for medicinal formulas and household cleaners, as well as a "pedler's license" issued to Lithgow by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The second scrapbook (approximately 40 pages) contains printed items related to medicines and household cleaners.

The Printed Items series (36 items) includes advertisements for medicines and related products. Some items are mounted on cards with other advertisements. Broadsides, notices, and other items relate to medical remedies and patent medicines, including an advertisement for "Perfecto Hair Tonic and Dandruff Remover" produced by W. L. Cummings in Unadilla Forks, New York. Also present are blank contract forms for potential distributors of products of the Cooperative Chemical Company. Other material pertains to vaudeville performances, life insurance, and a contest. The Pamphlets subseries (15 items) contains 4 pamphlets that Cummings wrote from 1910-1925: 3 about household formulas, and 1entitled "The Pathway to Prosperity." This subseries also includes pamphlets about patent medicines and women's diseases, as well as Lydia E. Pinkham's "Letters to a Young Housewife."

Collection

Wissahickon Paper Mill papers, 1844-1845

7 items

This collection contains 2 letters and 5 documents concerning the operation of a paper mill on Wissahickon Creek near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1844 and 1845. These include an indenture for the property, financial records and receipts, and correspondence regarding the mill's output and potential technical improvements.

This collection contains 2 letters and 5 documents concerning the operation of a paper mill on Wissahickon Creek near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1844 and 1845. These include an indenture for the property, financial records and receipts, and correspondence regarding the mill's output and potential technical improvements.

Among the financial records are a handwritten receipt between George Weiss and the Bank of Germantown for equipment (March 25, 1844) and the report of a committee assigned to sell equipment left over from the grist mill that once occupied the property (March 25, 1844). Two items relate to a contract between H. H. Bottom & Company and William Sherer concerning improvements to be made to the facility: the original agreement between the parties includes a list of materials to be furnished by the company (February 17, 1844), and a later document relates the findings of a group assigned to arbitrate a disagreement over the refitting of the mill (January 6, 1845). The remaining 3 items concern Charles Magarge and the paper mill's ownership and operation. These are a brief letter Magarge wrote to Samuel Harvey, the Bank of Germantown's president, in which he reported the mill's production figures between November 1844 and February 1845 (March 8, 1845); the indenture in which the Bank of Germantown agreed to lease the mill and surrounding property to Magarge and to Edwin R. Cope of the Philadelphia Paper Manufacturers and Dealers (July 22, 1845); and an undated letter from John H. Caulking to Charles Magarge regarding the dimensions of a water wheel to power the mill's engines, based on Caulking's recent observations of a mill at Trenton, New Jersey.

Collection

Winston Churchill collection, 1889-1965

11 items

The Winston Churchill collection contains 11 items related to various aspects of Churchill's life, written by Churchill, his wife, and their acquaintances. Of particular interest are Churchill's annotated notes for a speech he delivered at the University of Miami's commencement ceremonies on February 26, 1946. In his speech, Churchill discussed U.S.-British cooperation during World War II, the importance of secondary education, and the education of servicemen returning from the war.

The Winston Churchill collection contains 11 items related to various aspects of Churchill's life, written by Churchill, his wife, and a few of their acquaintances. The earliest item in the collection is a letter by Churchill's father, Randolph Spencer Churchill, relating to a request for a speech (July 11, 1889). The remainder of the items deal directly with Winston Churchill's life, including a letter written by Churchill to James B. Pond about Churchill's anticipated visit to North America in 1900 (September 11, 1900). Other material pertains to political and personal affairs, including two letters regarding historic plates sent to the Churchill family. Churchill's typed notes, with manuscript annotations, used for a commencement address he made at Miami University on February 26, 1946, concerning the U.S.-British cooperation during World War II, the importance of secondary education, and the education of servicemen returning from the war. Other items related to Churchill's activities in Miami include a printed copy of his address and two photographs of Churchill during the event. Also of interest is a letter written by architect Leo Sylvester Sullivan, who attended school with Churchill in the early 1900s. Sullivan recalled Churchill's extensive oral preparations, and remembered, "Every stuttering sentence was repeated over & over again & was altered to avoid the stutter" (July 6, 1956). The collection includes a copy of The New York Times from January 25, 1965, with two copies of a Special Supplement regarding the life and death of Winston Churchill. See the box and folder listing below for a detailed inventory of the collection.

Collection

Winnie Ruth Judd papers, 1931-1933

0.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, and newspaper clippings related to Winnie Ruth Judd and George W. Stephens. Judd was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of her friend and roommate Agnes LeRoi, but avoided capital punishment after being declared insane at a later trial. The focus of the collection is on Judd's mental health and her second trial.

The Correspondence series consists of incoming and outgoing letters of George W. Stephens (24) and Winnie Ruth Judd (5). Stephens, superintendent of the Arizona State Hospital, sent and received 24 letters in the early 1930s. On June 13 and November 4, 1931, he wrote to George S. Adams of Yorkton State Hospital in South Dakota, discussing his salary, hospital funding, and his involvement as a witness in a murder trial. The remaining items are letters that Stephens received from various correspondents about his involvement with the Judd trial and his work at the hospital. Some criticized Stephens for testifying on behalf of Judd at her insanity trial and otherwise discussed the mental health aspects of the case. One correspondent suggested that exposure to aluminum had contributed to Judd's insanity (February 10, 1932), and a longtime acquaintance of the Judd family suggested that Winnie had always been slightly unstable (April 15, 1933). Additional items include a lengthy letter from Juanita Rose Baker, possibly a patient at the Napa State Hospital in Imola, California (January 30, 1932), and an open letter from H. C. Reichenbach of Detroit, Michigan, to the "Supreme Justice" about the religious aspects of capital punishment (April 16-17, 1933).

Winnie Ruth Judd wrote letters to George W. Stephens on October 17 and December 30, 1932. She complained of her poor treatment by "Dr. Stewart," including her imprisonment in a "death cell" where she could hear executions, and thanked Stephens for his assistance in her case. In letters to H. Richardson (October 26, 1932) and her husband, William C. Judd ([December 7, 1932]), she discussed her many health problems and related treatments. Judd received an unsigned letter of support dated December 12, 1932.

The Legal Documents series (13 items) contains materials related to Winnie Ruth Judd's physical and mental health around the time of her murder and insanity trials. Some items mention family members' own mental health issues. Items include a judge's decision regarding Judd's initial appeal of her conviction and sentence (December 12, 1932), and undated transcripts of testimonies by Dr. H. E. Pinkerton and George W. Stephens, both of whom believed that Judd suffered from dementia praecox.

The Newspaper Clippings and Other Printed Items series (37 items) is made up of articles related to the murders of Agnes LeRoi and Hedvig Samuelson and to Winnie Ruth Judd's trials. The materials cover several aspects of the case, including initial reports of the murders, lawyers and other legal personnel involved in Judd's trials, and trial proceedings and judgments. Some materials concern Jack Halloran, a Phoenix businessman and acquaintance of the three women who may have been involved in the murders. Included is Burton McKinnell's printed defense of his sister, entitled "The Truth About Winnie Ruth Judd."

The Photograph is a studio portrait of a young boy.

Collection

Winifred Hunt collection, 1943-1945

20 items

This collection is made up of letters received by Winifred Hunt of Blair, Oklahoma, during World War II. Calvin C. Farmer, Winifred's boyfriend, wrote about his experiences in the navy and about their relationship.

This collection is made up of 20 letters received by Winifred Hunt of Blair, Oklahoma, during World War II. Winifred's boyfriend, Calvin C. Farmer, wrote 16 letters from the Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois; the Naval Personnel Distribution Center in Pleasanton, California; and ports such as San Francisco and New Orleans. He often discussed their relationship, apologized for spending time with another woman (February 7, 1943), and anticipated their marriage and wedding night (December 10, 1944). Some of Farmer's letters pertain to his life in the navy, and 4 include humorous and patriotic printed illustrations. Hunt's other correspondents included J. Hutchins at Camp Hood, Texas; a writer who signed himself "J. J."; and a man named "Bobby" at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. Bobby's letter concerns recent marriages in Blair, Oklahoma, and his own secret marriage.

Collection

Winifred B. Shaw correspondence, 1916-1918

7 items

This collection is made up of letters that a soldier named Jody sent to Winifred B. Shaw of Fishers Island, New York, while serving with the United States Army in Hawaii from 1916-1918. Jody described Honolulu's Chinese and Japanese residents, discussed his leisure activities, and commented on his friendships.

This collection is made up of 7 letters that a soldier named "Jody" sent to Winifred B. Shaw of Fishers Island, New York, while serving with the United States Army in Hawaii. Jody wrote 3 letters from Fort De Russy between January 14, 1916, and October 15, 1916. He described Honolulu's Chinese and Japanese districts in detail, commenting on the city's Asian residents, Asian shops, and his visit to a Japanese tea house with other soldiers. He described a military march and discussed his leisure activities, which included swimming and a trip on an outrigger canoe. His letter of September 5, 1916, contains diagrams of an outrigger canoe and a surfboard, as well as a small cartoon of an outrigger canoe riding a wave. His letter of October 15, 1916, includes drawings of an obi, a shamisen, and a bachi. Jody's final 4 letters, written from Fort Ruger, Hawaii, between December 8, 1917, and June 9, 1918, largely pertain to social activities with friends and romantic interest in a woman named Hazel. His letter of June 9, 1918, includes a copied poem, "Afterward" by Channing Pollock. A brief parody newsletter, "The Tropic Scandal," with a misspelled letter purportedly written by a soldier serving in the trenches in Europe, is enclosed in his letter of December 8, 1917.

Collection

Winfield Scott collection, 1809-1862

99 items

A miscellaneous collection of letters and documents by or relating to Winfield Scott, 1818-1862.

The Winfield Scott collection is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents written by or related to Scott, spanning 1818-1862. The items cover much of Scott's long military career, including his involvement in the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, the Anglo-American dispute over the Canadian border, the Mexican-American War, and to a lesser extent, the Civil War. Also present are letters documenting Scott's ideas concerning politics, temperance, army discipline, and his presidential ambitions.

The earliest material in the collection primarily pertains to the War of 1812 and includes a warrant issued by Scott to pay the Seneca Turnpike for toll charges incurred by troops (October 25, 1813) and a note with a brief discussion of supply abuses in the Army (May 27, 1814). In the note Scott wrote, "The expenditures of the war have already been four times greater than they should have been." Somewhat later items include a prolonged discussion of army rank (January 19, 1826), and Scott's observations on the conduct of Col. George Croghan: "I heard of his having drawn a prize; of his being drunk in the street--scattering money to the crowd &c &c. On Saturday he was seen dead drunk in a hackney coach driving up Broadway" (October 4, 1830). Also present is a recommendation of Brevet Major Mann Page Lomax to Secretary of War Lewis Cass (January 21, 1832).

Several items of interest in the collection relate to military actions against Native Americans. On June 22, 1832, Scott wrote to William J. Worth explaining that he was en route to Chicago, where he was to assume command of the army in the Black Hawk War. The letter also includes a discussion of securing supplies from Watervliet, New York (June 22, 1832). In another item, Scott wrote from the headquarters of the Army of the South at Columbus, Georgia, calling for two regiments to be placed under his command for three months "to act against the Seminole Indians in Florida." He also noted that he would be at Picolata, Florida, by February 10, and would confer with William Schley about the Creeks at the borders of Georgia, whom he considered "unquiet, if not in a state of hostility" (January 31, 1836). A letter of June 17, 1836, also concerns the Second Seminole War, particularly regarding general strategy and the logistics of equipping the Georgia Volunteers with rifles (June 17, 1836).

A handful of letters concerns Scott's presidential ambitions and his thoughts on political matters. In a letter of November 16, 1839, he wrote of his desire to be the Whig nominee for president, debated whether to claim Virginia or New Jersey as his home, and noted that he had support in Ohio and Michigan. In other letters, he discussed several prominent Whigs and their politics, his "agitated" reaction to election results (October 12, 1844), and his tactics for gaining the presidential nomination of his party. On the last subject, he noted his attempts to silently bide his time and "become as perfect a non-entity as my best advisors can wish" (June 28, 1845). Other letters reveal Scott's efforts to gather intelligence concerning "Canadian patriots," (July 8, 1841) and his views that a "humble Tract" that he wrote about the abuses of alcohol "led to the formation of the early temperance societies, under pledges to abstain from the use of all intoxicating drinks" (February 17, 1842). However, Scott did not shun all alcoholic beverages, and several items document his wine orders (November 15, 1844; October 29, 1847).

The collection closes with a few items related to the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Items concerning the former conflict include Scott's orders to Brigadier General John Anthony Quitman (May 6, 1847) and a discussion by Brigadier General David Emanuel Twiggs of the scarcity of water and shelter for troops under him (September 23, 1847). Also of interest is Scott's statement that he had "no expectation of a change of feeling on the part of Mexico in favour of peace until we shall have taken Vera Cruz harbour & have the Capitol in extreme peril of capture" (November 30, 1846). Several items relate to the Civil War, including a memorandum entitled "Views," which Scott wrote in 1860 concerning the threat of southern secession and future divisions within the United States (October 29, 1860). He also noted, "From a knowledge of our southern population, it is my solemn conviction that there is some danger of an early act of rashness, preliminary to secession." In a letter dated May 17, 1862, Scott revealed his deeply optimistic view that the war would end soon: "Thank God this unnatural Rebellion is likely to be crushed & terminated in a few weeks, perhaps days."

The Printed Items series (1 item) includes Memoir of General Scott, From Records Cotemporaneous with the Events. (Washington: C. Alexander, 1852).

Collection

Winchester family papers, 1799-1847 (majority within 1810-1818)

18 items

The Winchester family papers contain correspondence and one document related to the family of John and Nancy Winchester of Groton, Connecticut. Their son William, a sailor during and after the War of 1812, wrote most of the letters.

The Winchester family papers contain correspondence and one document related to the family of John and Nancy Winchester of Groton, Connecticut. Their son William, a sailor during and after the War of 1812, wrote most of the letters. In his brief letters to his mother Nancy, William reported on his health and recent assignments and voyages, and requested news of his brothers and of life at home. He composed several of the letters while serving in the Navy during the War of 1812. In one letter, he reported having heard the news of the death of one of his brothers, and implored his mother to tell him which brother had died (May 11, 1814); most likely Elias. Other letters in the collection include correspondence from William's brothers, John and Alden, who, like William, gave their mother brief updates on their own travels at sea and of their employment, In her letter of February 18, 1814, Nancy sent news about the ill health of Elias. Also of interest within the collection is the official discharge form relieving the senior John Winchester from duty as a drummer in the Second Regiment of Artillery and Engineers, signed by Secretary of War James McHenry (November 30, 1799).

Collection

Wilson S. Beckley papers, 1862-1864

20 items

Online
The Wilson S. Beckley papers consist of 19 letters written by Beckley to his mother, Sarah Beckley, and other family members during the Civil War, along with one carte de visite. Beckley was originally from Cascade, Michigan, and fought in the 21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry. His letters mainly describe military life within the infantry.

The Wilson S. Beckley papers include dated material from April 12, 1862, through November 16, 1864. Consisting of 19 letters and one carte de visite, the collection provides a great deal of information on camp life in the 21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry as well as views towards the “rebels.” With the exception of one letter from a cousin named Julia and a discarded letter of a Confederate soldier that he found at a rebel camp describing the battle of Shiloh, all letters were written by Beckley to his mother and other family members.

In his correspondence Beckley describes the march from Camp Siegel in Ionia, Michigan, to various sites in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. He keeps his mother apprised of not only his activities, but also of the movements of the brigade and other news pertaining to the Union army. He also includes some descriptions of weaponry and of the foods available to the soldiers.

The Confederate letter which Beckley also sent to his mother vividly describes the battle of Shiloh, and briefly mentions Generals Wood, Beauregard, Hardee, Bragg, and others. The unknown soldier wrote of the tragic battle, “…we rested until morning of the 6th it was holy Sabbath & the sun rose fair & beautiful over the field that was about to be drenched in blood…” (April 12, 1862). In his letter from November 20, 1862 Beckley includes passing references to African Americans servants, a description of a suicide, and several pen and ink illustrations of soldiers. Beckley's letter of December 19, 1862, describes frustrations about officers providing African American servants with rations for the regiment. The letter is illustrated with several vignettes relating to his irritation that African Americans were better treated than white soldiers. Fragments "of our tattered flag under which one of the bearers was mortally wounded and another lost an arm at Chickamauga" are enclosed in the letter of July 16, 1864.

Despite some of the hardships he endured, Beckley’s tone is highly optimistic. He incorporates many drawings into his letters, including a hand-drawn map of Bridgeport, Alabama. Beckley also had the role of being a “bugler” in the Infantry, and frequently wrote sheet music, which he claimed to have published and sold. His last letter dated November 16, 1864, was written from Cumberland Hospital in Tennessee, where he was hospitalized for what appears to be dysentery.

The carte de visite was produced in Louisville, Kentucky, and depicts a seated man with a beard in a Union Army uniform, possibly Wilson S. Beckley.

Collection

Wilson H. Clark collection, 1846-1848

30 items

This collection is made up of letters that Wilson H. Clark of New Haven, Connecticut, received from family members between 1846 and 1848. His brothers James and Warren and his aunt, Eunice E. Higgins, discussed their lives in Ohio, commenting on family news, finances, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of 30 letters that Wilson H. Clark of New Haven, Connecticut, received between February 1846 and December 1848. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters from Wilson's brothers, James B. and Warren V. Clark, who wrote from Mansfield, Sandusky, and Castalia, Ohio; Wilson also received a few letters from an aunt and uncle in Castalia. James B. Clark's letters pertain to financial issues, such as crop prices and his attempts to sell a watch that belonged to Wilson. Warren V. Clark, who wrote the majority of the letters, provided news of family members and acquaintances, and discussed his work for a railroad company and other aspects of the Ohio railroad industry. In his letter of October 19, 1847, he copied the inscription he had written for James's tombstone. He later expressed his concerns about "Rodney's" intention to move to the south to become a seafarer; Warren believed that residents of the southern states were exposed to more diseases. A few of Warren's letters from October and November 1848 discuss political issues, such as the election of Zachary Taylor. Wilson H. Clark's final correspondents were an aunt (E. E. Higgins) and uncle in Castalia, Ohio, who reported on family health and other news. The collection includes 3 letters from S. Royston, who discussed finances and a legal dispute.

Collection

Willis V. Daugherty letters, 1917-1920 (majority within 1917-1919)

0.75 linear feet

This collection consists of letters that Ensign Willis V. Daugherty wrote to his mother while studying at Harvard University and serving as a United States Naval Air Corps pilot during the First World War. At Harvard, Daugherty wrote of his financial difficulties, coursework, and social life. While in the Navy, he described his training at naval air stations in Key West and Pensacola, Florida, including details of his flight maneuvers and life in the military.

This collection contains 110 letters that Ensign Willis V. Daugherty wrote to his mother, Louella Daugherty, while studying at Harvard University and serving as a United States Naval Air Corps pilot during the First World War. The collection also contains one additional letter that Louella Daugherty received from her friend "Emma" (June 4, 1918).

Willis Daugherty wrote 2 letters while traveling from his home in Wichita, Kansas, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September 1917, and frequently told his mother about his life at Harvard, detailing his financial difficulties and campus activities. In one letter, he anticipated attending a speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 13, 1918). After receiving an application from the United States Signal Corps in early January 1918, he began to contemplate joining the military and became a member of an "aero club."

Daugherty was formally called to join the Navy on May 7, 1918; in June, he became a member of the naval air corps. Two months later, he was stationed at the naval air station in Key West, Florida, where he trained as a pilot. In his letters home, he discussed training exercises, camp life, and fellow trainees; on August 8, 1918, he diagrammed sample maneuvers. After transferring to Pensacola in September 1918, where he flew less often, Daugherty reflected on the station's more relaxed attitude, due in part to expectations of an armistice. Pilots were placed on quarantine in October to prevent the spread of influenza, and Daugherty concentrated more on his daily work and gunnery training than on flying. On December 22, 1918, despite reporting that he had been recently promoted to ensign, he anticipated being released from the service. During this period, he often discussed the future of the aviation industry, including the impossibility of selling used naval aircraft to civilians (January 30, 1919) and his expectation that the industry would grow similarly to the automobile industry (February 6, 1919).

On his return to Boston, Daugherty wrote of resuming his life at Harvard, describing his coursework and Harvard's 1919 Class Day, which featured opposition to Prohibition (June 18, 1919). Daugherty also wrote 2 letters in May 1920 about his plans for commencement and the financial success of former military pilots.

Collection

Willie and George Stow letters, 1882

13 items

This collection is made up of 13 letters that brothers George F. and Willie E. Stone wrote to their family in Fowlerville, Michigan, while living and working in Florida in 1882.

This collection is made up of 13 letters that brothers George F. and Willie E. Stone wrote to their family in Fowlerville, Michigan, while living and working in Florida from January-March 1882. The Stow brothers addressed their letters to their father, William P. Stow, and to George's wife Nancy, and provided news of their health and their lives in Florida. Both Willie and George composed individual letters, and Willie occasionally contributed to George's correspondence. The brothers initially wrote from Sanford, Florida, where they discussed the impact of recent railroad construction. They later went to Rockledge, where they worked on boats traveling along the Indian River. The letters include their descriptions of the region, including the largely unsettled area along the state's eastern coast and their first encounter with the ocean. By March 1882, they were employed by a wealthy woman near Rockledge.

Collection

William Yardley mathematics and surveying exercise book, 1812

1 volume

The William Yardley Mathematics and Surveying Exercise Book contains solved geometric, trigonometric, and surveying exercises, including practical problems and illustrated examples that feature drawings of buildings, animals, and landscape elements.

The William Yardley Mathematics and Surveying Exercise Book contains solved geometric, trigonometric, and surveying exercises, including practical problems and illustrated examples that feature drawings of buildings, animals, and landscape elements. Calligraphic lettering appears throughout.

One letter written by Harry [Crockett?] to his mother, Mrs. L. F. Crockett, from Portland, Maine, on October 8, 1903, is laid into the volume. Written on John W. Perkins Company, Wholesale Druggists, illustrated stationery, the letter comments on family matters, business, and deaths of acquaintances, including one gentleman who was killed by an electric car.

Collection

William Williams family collection, 1808-1851 (majority within 1819-1851)

23 items

This collection is made up of letters and essays related to William Williams of Utica, New York, and to his sons, Samuel Wells Williams and William Frederick Williams. The elder William composed 6 letters to family members and a series of 6 narrative essays about childhood, religion, and travel experiences (including visits to War of 1812 battle sites). Samuel Wells Williams wrote from China, where he worked as a missionary in the mid-1830s. William Frederick Williams wrote extensively of his life in Lebanon and travels throughout the Middle East in 1850 and 1851.

This collection is made up of letters and essays related to William Williams of Utica, New York, and to his sons, Samuel Wells Williams and William Frederick Williams. The elder William Williams composed 6 letters to family members as well as a series of 6 narrative essays about childhood, religion, and travel experiences (including visits to War of 1812 battle sites). Samuel Wells Williams wrote from China, where he worked as a missionary in the mid-1830s. William Frederick Williams wrote extensively of his life in Lebanon and travels throughout the Middle East in 1850 and 1851.

William Williams of Utica and Tonawanda, New York, wrote 6 letters to family members between 1808 and 1839. His earliest correspondence, June 30 and July 11, 1808 (copied at a later date), is addressed to his sister Martha and describes his recent conversion to Presbyterianism. William wrote two letters to his children, Samuel Wells, Henry Dwight, and William Frederick Williams. The first, written during a trip from Utica to Philadelphia, provides his impressions of Schenectady, Albany, and Philadelphia, with historical commentary on the American Revolution (May 25, 1821). He also wrote his sons from Tonawanda, New York, about a recent legal case concerning a 10-year-old boy whose body had been discovered in the Niagara River (July 5, 1825). Other correspondence includes a letter Sophia W. Williams wrote to her cousin Martha Wells of Detroit, Michigan (June 2, 1830); a letter William wrote to Mrs. John Williams on January 4, 1835, offering his condolences after the death of the recipient's daughter Mary; and a letter William wrote to Henry Dwight Williams and his wife Martha (June 10, 1839).

William Williams, a War of 1812 veteran, also composed a series of 6 numbered essays (26 pages total) about childhood and travel experiences, which he sent to his wife. Essay number 4 is dated November 9, 1819.

The titles are as follows:
  • No. 1. Autumn
  • No. 2. The Snow storm
  • No. 3. The Landscape
  • No. 4. Clyde Bridge
  • No. 5. Queenston Heights
  • No. 6. Lundy's Lane

Samuel Wells Williams wrote extensive letters to his family and friends while serving as a missionary in Canton, China (now Guangzhou), between 1834 and 1836. He commented on local people and customs, and on current events, such as Lord Napier's efforts to increase British trade to the country and conflicts between natives and foreigners. He also described local religious customs and scenery (including the city of Macau). Williams also penned a 21-page letter to his mother while traveling in Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine in May 1845.

William Frederick Williams composed a 59-page composite letter while working in Beirut, Lebanon, and traveling in the Middle East (April 4, 1850-August 27, 1850). He described the city and scenery, and commented on local religious and secular customs, Greek Orthodox holidays, interactions with Muslim children, and slavery. The letter includes several drawings of bridges and architectural features he saw in Beirut and the surrounding region. Williams wrote similar letters about his Middle Eastern experiences in April and May 1851, totaling over 40 pages.

The William Williams family papers were previously bound, but arrived at the Clements Library disassembled. The original covers remain in the collection, with the bookplates of Frederick Wells Williams and R. S. Williams.

Collection

William White Sermon, Of Anticipation of Heaven, [18th-19th century]

1 volume

In this 68-page sermon, Bishop William White of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania explored the topic of salvation and the Christian promise of heaven.

In this 68-page sermon, Bishop William White of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania explored the topic of salvation and the Christian promise of heaven.

White's sermon, titled "Of Anticipation of Heaven" and numbered 159 in a series, concerns doctrines of salvation and the promise of heaven. White discussed related topics such as good works, the "fruits of the spirit," and spiritual changes within recent converts.

William White made annotations to the sermon; some revisions appear on tipped-in or pasted-in pieces of paper and others were made in red ink. Passages from scripture are identified by notes in red ink at the bottom of each page. George Macpherson, White's great-grandson, had the original pages re-bound in the late 19th century, pasted White's autograph onto the front cover, and presented the volume to George W. Childs as a gift. His February 26, 1882, letter bequeathing the book to Childs is laid into the volume.

Collection

William V. Rutledge collection, 1861-1865

102 items

The William V. Rutledge collection is made up of letters that Rutledge, a surgeon, wrote while serving in the 2nd Indiana Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War.

The William V. Rutledge collection (102 items) contains correspondence and other items related to Rutledge's service in the 2nd Indiana Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. Rutledge wrote 98 letters to his wife about his experiences. His earliest letters pertain to his time in camp in Kentucky, where he spent time with a slaveholding family. He participated in the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, in April and May of 1862 and was camped on the field of Shiloh on May 4, 1862, when he anticipated an attack that never took place. Throughout the rest of the year, the cavalry headed east, and Rutledge described the scenery in Alabama, including an interaction with "Black and yellow" slaves, all young girls, on a cotton plantation (July 10, 1862). Though his time in the army was primarily uneventful, Rutledge did discuss a brief stint as a prisoner of war (September 11, 1864) and often mentioned his health problems. He frequently inquired about Jennie's health and finances, requested more frequent letters from her, and vowed to visit home.

Also included are a photograph of Rutledge taken in St. Louis and a receipt from the Internal Revenue Service. The newspaper clippings are a reprint from the Mobile Tribune of "Asa Hartz Is Taken Prisoner," and a pair of patriotic poems, "Atlanta" and "On the Chicago Surrender."

Collection

William Trimble letters, 1893

4 items

This collection is made up of 4 letters that Will Trimble wrote to his mother Margaret in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while visiting the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, in October 1893.

This collection is made up of 4 letters that Will Trimble wrote to his mother Margaret in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while visiting the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, in October 1893. He described the weather conditions and listed the buildings that he and his wife Alice visited at the fairgrounds, including the Pennsylvania Building, the Liberal Arts Building, the Manufactures Building, and an art gallery. Will and Alice Trimble dined at "Old Vienna" on the fair's midway and visited the fairgrounds at night to see the fireworks and illuminations. Will's letters also refer to his plans to buy souvenirs and to his plans for returning to Philadelphia with his wife and children. Trimble wrote his first letter on Board of World's Fair Managers stationery, and his final letter encloses a newspaper article about the malfunction of an elevator at the Manufactures Building.

Collection

William Trent and George Croghan collection, 1750-1780

4 items

This collection contains four items pertaining to traders and land speculators William Trent and George Croghan's finances and land dealings in western Pennsylvania.

This collection contains four items pertaining to traders and land speculators William Trent and George Croghan's finances and land dealings in western Pennsylvania. Please see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for descriptions of the individual items.

Collection

William Thomas collection, 1771-1882 (majority within 1802-1882)

42 items

This collection contains correspondence, financial records, appointments, and other items related to William Thomas, a lawyer from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and to his family. The collection includes letters that Thomas wrote to his father, Joshua Thomas, about his experiences at Harvard University in the early 1800s, and documents appointing Thomas to prominent public positions in Plymouth.

This collection contains correspondence, financial records, appointments, and other items related to William Thomas, a lawyer from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and to his family. The collection includes letters that Thomas wrote to his father, Joshua Thomas, about his experiences at Harvard University in the early 1800s, and documents appointing Thomas to prominent public positions in Plymouth.

Early items include letters and financial documents related to members of the Thomas and Stevenson families, including a letter to Dr. John Thomas of Poughkeepsie, New York, about the death of his father (September 28, 1802). Between 1803 and 1807, William Thomas wrote around 8 letters to his father, and 1 to his brother John, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, about his experiences at Harvard University. Among other subjects, he discussed student life, the Federalist Party, elections, and conflicts between local residents and Harvard students. Also included are William Thomas's appointment as quartermaster of the Massachusetts Militia's 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Division (April 12, 1810) and his discharge (April 20, 1815). Between 1826 and 1867, Thomas received 12 partially printed documents appointing him justice of the peace, master of chancery, and sheriff for Plymouth County, often for successive terms.

Later items are predominantly personal letters from acquaintances and cousins to William Thomas and his wife Sarah, as well as a copy of a letter that Thomas co-signed about the class of 1807's financial gift to Harvard (May 26, 1864). Other financial documents, such as those regarding the sale of land in Plymouth County and Isabella Thomas's will, are interspersed throughout the collection. The undated material includes a clipping with a biography of England native John Lloyd Thomas, additional correspondence, and copies of William Thomas's autograph.

Collection

William Tecumseh Sherman collection, 1813-1888 (majority within 1861-1882)

52 items

A miscellaneous collection of letters and a volume of telegrams, by or relating to William Tecumseh Sherman, collected by Clinton H. Haskell.

The William Tecumseh Sherman collection consists of 51 letters written by or relating to Sherman, 1813 to 1888 (bulk 1861-1882), and a volume of outgoing telegrams that he wrote, 1882-1884. The collector Clinton H. Haskell gathered these materials.

The Correspondence and Documents series is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents, primarily written by Sherman to various correspondents. The earliest letters in the collection include one from Sherman's father Charles about a desired appointment as collector of internal revenue (August 24, 1813), and several by Sherman concerning several aspects of his early career in the west. Sherman wrote 13 letters in the collection during his Civil War service, and they span 1861 to 1865, with 1864 covered in the greatest depth (5 letters). In a letter of January 20, 1863, he wrote about plans for the capture of Vicksburg and called it "a great if not the greatest task yet undertaken in this war." In other letters, he recommended the strengthening of Fort Donelson (March 27, 1864), discussed troop positions at the beginning of the Atlanta Campaign (May 5, 1864), invited Colonel Absalom Markland and his wife to a social gathering in Savannah (January 3, 1865), and planned to move on Raleigh, North Carolina, after the capture of Richmond, Virginia (April 3, 1865). Also included is a set of special field orders, no. 20, dated February 18, 1864, which call for troop movements after Vicksburg and specify that "Buildings must not be burned on the return march…unless they are used as a cover to the enemy, from which to fire at our men." Special field orders no. 22 are also present (February 28, 1864).

The collection also includes several personal letters written during the Civil War period. In one of these, dated September 23, 1864, Sherman wrote to his foster father, Thomas Ewing, discussing money raised by his hometown of Lancaster, Ohio, to buy him a new horse. In it, he also noted that three of his horses had died during the war, with one shot out from under him, and commented on the training, care, and gaits of war horses. He wrote to his wife Ellen, describing souvenirs that he had sent home to her (April 6, 1865). Included are several letters concerning, but not addressed to, Sherman. In one, General Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel complains about Sherman's division of Mitchel's forces and the assignment of different leadership to part of the division (October 21, 1861).

The postwar letters in the collection mainly focus on Sherman's career as the commanding general of the United States Army. They pertain to such matters as personnel and appointments, the hiring of Edmund Palmer to sketch Native Americans on the plains (July 11, 1875), Civil War memorials (May 16, 1878), the construction of railroads (September 1, 1882), and other topics. Also present is an essay dated January 16, 1888, by William C. Shaw, entitled "What I Saw on Sherman's March to the Sea," in which he described participation in the campaign, including foraging, the destruction of railroad tracks in Georgia, and the slaves and slave quarters he encountered.

The Telegram Book contains 28 telegrams sent and received by Sherman in his official capacity as commanding general of the United States Army. The telegrams span June 19, 1882, to April 7, 1884. Many of the items concern routine matters of scheduling or personnel, but a few refer to larger issues. On April 19, 1883, Sherman wrote a telegram to General John Schofield, concerning the joint operations of the U.S. and Mexican troops in pursuit of "hostile Apaches depredating on both sides of the national border." Several telegrams also discuss governmental actions toward the Creek Indians (April 9, 1883; May 26, 1883).

Collection

Williamson family collection, 1862-1918

0.5 linear feet

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The items include diaries, financial records, a newspaper clipping scrapbook, and a photograph album.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family.

The D. Abeel Williamson Diary, composed in a pre-printed pocket diary, contains David Abeel Williamson's daily entries about his life in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from January 1, 1862-May 25, 1862, and about his experiences with the 7th New York Militia Regiment from May 26, 1862-August 27, 1862. His early entries mainly record the weather and his social activities; he mentioned his admission to the bar in his entries of May 21, 1862, and May 22, 1862. A newspaper clipping about the surrender of Fort Donelson is pasted into the entries for February 16, 1862, and February 17, 1862. During his time in the army, Williamson noted the hot weather near Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, and mentioned other aspects of military service, such as guard duty, marching, and reviews. A commuter's ticket for the "New Jersey Rail Road" is laid into the volume's pocket.

The Hattie S. Williamson Memorandum Book contains financial records of collections that the Second Reformed Dutch Church Sunday School of New Brunswick, New Jersey, received from November 26, 1865-June 16, 1867. The amount of each donation is recorded next to the donor's name. Other records pertain to the Sunday school's accounts with the Novelty Rubber Company and the church's efforts to raise money for an organ.

The Clara Gurley Account Book, kept from July 9, [1875]-April 16, 1880, contains accounts for Gurley's purchases of items such as books, ribbon, fabrics, and buttons. A piece of fabric is pinned onto the book's final page.

The first Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, written in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, covers the year 1905. Williamson began writing in Dresden, Germany, where she had lived with her children since late 1903, and recounted her daily activities and news of acquaintances. In April, she and her children took an extended tour of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Holland, where Williamson remarked on visits to museums and other points of interest. The entries from August concern the family's return to the United States on the Holland-American Line steamer Ryndam and their first months back in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Williamson kept a record of letters written and received and acquaintances' addresses in the volume's memoranda section. She laid newspaper clippings, a letter, calling cards, small photographs, stamps, and other items in the volume. The final page of the diary contains a newspaper clipping about the Williamsons' return to the United States and intention to relocate to Indianapolis.

The Mary Williamson Diary recounts the author's travels through Europe from April 10, 1905-August 11, 1905. Williamson described her daily activities and sightseeing in cities such as Prague, Munich, Venice, Rome, and Paris, as she visited museums and places of historical importance with her mother and sister. The diary includes a list of books Williamson read from 1907-1908 and a list of addresses of European hotels.

The Ruth A. Williamson Diary pertains to the author's experiences and travels in England from June 7, 1909-September 3, 1909. She spent most of her time in London; some later entries mention travels around southern England and to Edinburgh, Scotland. Williamson most frequently wrote about sightseeing and visiting famous landmarks, but also commented on other activities, such as shopping. Ruth A. Williamson's calling card is laid into the volume.

The second Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, also in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, contains daily entries about Williamson's life in Indianapolis, Indiana, from January 1, 1918-April 2, 1918. Williamson commented on her social activities, her health, and news of her friends and family members, especially her children. She occasionally mentioned news of the war, such as the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 22, 1918). Financial records and instructions for knitting a "Kitchener sock" are written in the back of the volume. Items laid in include a calling card for Charles G. Williamson containing his military address, a cloth United States flag mounted on a small wooden dowel, and clippings about the deaths of Henry Janeway Hardenburgh and Douw D. Williamson. A postcard with a painting of Waikite Geyser in New Zealand, addressed to A. Parsons in London, England, is also laid into the diary.

The Scrapbook (1860s-1880s) is comprised of newspaper clippings about numerous topics, including biographies of William Gurley and biographical notices about other members of the Gurley family, such as Clara Gurley Williamson and Esther Gurley Cook. Some clippings feature prominent individuals such as Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Dickens, and Louisa May Alcott. Items report national news, news from Troy, New York, and stories about Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary. Additional topics include poetry, international travel, and stamp collecting.

A Photograph Album contains 42 carte-de-visite photographs, 2 lithographs, and 1 tintype print. Most of the photographs are studio portraits of men, women, and children, including many members of the Gurley family and related families. Most of the pictures are dated 1866-1880, though the album includes a 1902 photograph of Charles G. Williamson in a military uniform.

Collection

William Sharp correspondence, 1880-1889

70 items

This collection is made up of incoming and outgoing correspondence related to William H. Sharp of The Dalles, Oregon. Sharp wrote to his parents and siblings while studying at the California Military Academy in Oakland, California, from 1880-1883, and received letters from cousins, acquaintances, and others as late as 1889. Additional items include personal letters between Sharp and his wife Jennie.

This collection (70 items) is made up of incoming and outgoing correspondence related to William H. Sharp of The Dalles, Oregon. From 1880-1883, Sharp wrote to his parents and siblings about his experiences at the California Military Academy in Oakland, California, where he commented on academics, his health, and fellow students. During this time and after leaving the institution, he received letters from cousins and friends in Benicia, California; San Francisco, California; Oakland, California; and other locations. In 1888, Frank Sharp wrote to William from the California Military Academy and from Minneapolis, Minnesota. William Sharp's correspondents wrote about life at the California Military Academy, social events, and family news. William's wife Jennie received letters from William during his visit to Spokane Falls, Washington Territory, in 1889, and from multiple other correspondents.

Collection

Williams family papers, 1823-1896 (majority within 1833-1896)

1.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, and other items related to the family of Augustus D. Williams and Julia Ann Chamberlain and to their daughter Fannie. The Williams family lived in Ohio.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, and other items related to the family of Augustus D. Williams and Julia Ann Chamberlain, including their daughter Fannie. The Williams family lived in Ohio.

The Correspondence series (137 items) consists primarily of incoming personal letters addressed to Julia Ann Williams (née Chamberlain) and to her daughter Frances ("Fannie"). Julia corresponded with her siblings and other family members, who lived in New Hampshire and Ohio in the mid-19th century. Her sister Louisa, who married Samuel Durgin and moved to Gustavus, Ohio, in the mid-1830s, wrote often, sharing news of her social life and requesting news of relatives who remained in New Hampshire. After Julia moved to Maumee, Ohio, around 1835, she received letters from her mother Betsy (who married Joseph Baker after the death of Julia's father) and from various siblings. The Baker family lived in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Julia's stepsister Amanda shared social updates from Loudon, Ohio, and news of family health and of her experiences working in a school. On September 28, 1839, Joseph Baker told Julia of her stepsister Elizabeth's recent illness and death, and E. B. White, a friend of Julia's from Maumee, Ohio, included a drawing of a woman in a cloak in her letter dated October 1840.

After Julia's marriage to Augustus D. Williams in late 1840 or early 1841, the couple received letters from his siblings and extended family, including several from Mortimer H. Williams, who lived in Irwinton, Georgia. Sophia Williams, then Mrs. Henry Clark of Maumee, Ohio, corresponded frequently with Julia and Augustus. Other early material includes a letter regarding the estate of Reverend Nathan Williams of Tolland, Connecticut (May 19, 1830), and additional letters written by Williams siblings in New Hampshire and Ohio throughout the 1830s and 1840s.

During and following the Civil War period, most correspondence is addressed to Frances ("Fannie") Williams, the daughter of Julia and Augustus. Letters written by female cousins during the war include one from Memphis, Tennessee (September 3, 1864) and one from Ellen, who mentioned the recent death of a friend, then fighting in Alabama (October 27, 1864). Many of the postwar letters regard careers in education and social news in Wauseon, Ohio, home of Fannie's cousins Ellen and Libbie. Fannie Williams also received correspondence from friends, including a series of 10 letters and 2 postcards from Clara B. Whitton of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, written between October 22, 1887, and December 22, 1891. Fannie's cousin J. A. B. Parker sent a swatch of fabric on January 12, 1892, and a series of letters commencing on November 19, 1890, contains a lock of hair. In 1895 and 1896, Fannie received several items related to John Alexander Dowie of Chicago, Illinois, a practitioner of "divine healing." One of her cousins sent newspaper clippings related to Dowie's trial (February 5, 1895); the same cousin included a ticket for the Healing Room at Chicago's Zion Tabernacle (April 10, 1895). Margaret Snell Parsons enclosed newspaper clippings and a poem about the healing practice (June 30, 1896). Other later items include letters from Louisa Durgin to Julia Williams, written at her home in Wauseon, Ohio, and a few letters Burt Williams wrote to his sister Fannie in 1896.

The Documents and Financial Records series (109 items) contains accounts, receipts, and legal documents related to members of the Williams family, including many who resided in Tolland, Connecticut, and New York State during the early 19th century. Some of the legal documents pertain to real estate. A license signed by Mayor Cornelius W. Lawrence of New York City authorized David B. Williams to keep a tavern (May 31, 1834). One undated item documents Julia Ann Chamberlain's conversion to Christianity. An account book (91 pages) may have belonged to L. B. Williams of Murray's Commercial School in Maumee, Ohio. The decorated title page includes a drawing of a bird, and a second ink drawing of a bird is laid into the volume.

The Compositions series (102 items) consists primarily of essays by Julia Ann Chamberlain, Fannie Williams, and Mary F. Williams; poems and floral drawings are also present. Most of the essays concern moral topics, history, and religion, including multiple essays on topics such as "hope" and "morning." The series contains compositions about Native Americans, Christopher Columbus, and John Smith.

The Photographs series (16 items) includes cartes-de-visite, other card photographs, and tintypes. Most images are studio portraits of men, women, and children. Two larger tintypes (6" x 8") show the exterior of a home and a garden; one shows a group of people standing behind croquet wickets. One group photograph of school-age boys and girls, taken in May 1890, includes the names of each of the children present.

The bulk of the Newspaper Clippings (39 items) are poems, household hints, and recipes. Other items pertain to weights and measures and to Benjamin Harrison's return to Indianapolis after his presidency.

The Ephemera (45 items) includes invitations, notes, visiting cards, holiday greeting cards, and other items; most are visiting cards for residents of Ohio, some with illustrations. A series of 4 colored prints shows children's leisure activities. The series contains a large colored die-cut advertisement for Jacob Folger of Toledo, Ohio, showing a girl holding flowers.

Collection

William Seifermann collection, 1942-1943

32 items

This collection pertains to William Seifermann's work at the Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, from 1942-1943. Seifermann wrote letters to his wife in New York City about his work and daily experiences, and collected newsletters from his dormitory complex, Hudson House. He enclosed newspaper clippings and advertisements in some of his letters.

This collection (32 items) pertains to William Seifermann, who worked at the Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, during World War II. Seifermann wrote 24 letters to his wife from November 7, 1942-[June 14, 1943], commenting on his work, health, and fellow workers. He occasionally discussed Hudson House, the dormitory complex in which he lived, and often complained about the weather. His letter of March 5, 1943, includes remarks about a man who had been jailed for raping a married woman. He enclosed newspaper clippings with humorous cartoons, articles about sporting events, and articles about the military in his letters. He also sent a religious pamphlet and a blank housing questionnaire for war workers. The collection also includes 8 issues of The Hudson News, a publication for dormitory residents (March 12, 1943-May 28, 1943). The serial contains brief articles on social events, local news, and notices for residents; some include photographs.

Collection

William S. Allen letters, 1869

3 items

The William S. Allen letters contain three letters written by Allen, a resident of Key West, Florida, describing the visit of his daughter, Sarah A. Allen, during the first months of 1869.

The William S. Allen letters contain three letters written by Allen, a resident of Key West, Florida, describing the visit of his daughter, Sarah A. Allen, during the first months of 1869. Allen addressed the letters to Fannie Olmstead, who lived with Sarah in Warehouse Point, Connecticut, and often greeted her with warm affection. Allen filled his letters with glowing descriptions of his daughter, a popular young woman of 20, and of the social events she attended during their time together. Allen paid particular attention to one "masquerade hop," and alluded to Sarah's popularity with Spanish men (March 16, 1869). Though his correspondence primarily focused on his daughter and on his vivid accounts of Key West social life, Allen did mention his own appointment as a clerk for the Circuit Court of Monroe County, and briefly mentioned the type of work this entailed.

Collection

William Rolfe collection, 1845-1850

9 items

The William Rolfe collection is made up of letters that Rolfe received from college friends and other personal acquaintances from 1845-1850. His correspondents mostly wrote about their social activities and studies at Dartmouth College and Amherst College.

The William Rolfe collection is made up of 9 letters that Rolfe received from college friends and other personal acquaintances from May 22, 1845-January 7, 1850. In 4 letters, William G. Hammond, Jr., a classmate from Amherst College, reported on his social activities, studies, and vacation activities. He also provided advice and shared news of recent fraternity elections. Rolfe's other correspondents were Roger M. Sargent, who commented on life at Dartmouth College, college friends who signed themselves "W" and "Buck," and two women, M. H. Edwards of Lowell, Massachusetts, and Louisa L. Sweeney of New Orleans, Louisiana. These letters concern college life, local travel, religion, and other topics. Sargent gave Rolfe advice on his teaching career and mentioned a recent incident in which a group of students raided a brothel.

Collection

William Rohrer papers, 1944-1945

59 items

The William Rohrer papers contain letters that friends and family members sent to Rohrer while he served in the United States Army during World War II. Rohrer's correspondents discussed family and social news and commented on topics such as rationing, the military, and a Philadelphia transportation strike.

The William Rohrer papers (59 items) contain 45 letters that friends and family members sent to Rohrer while he served in the United States Army during World War II. Other items include a postcard, 7 pamphlets, and a news article.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of Rohrer's incoming correspondence from acquaintances and family members such as his wife, a sister, and a niece. His wife Florrie wrote about their daughter Eileen and about her social life in Westmont, New Jersey. On one occasion, she mentioned an African American woman she had hired to do some work (August 9, 1944). She occasionally interacted with Florence Madjeska, the Rohrers' acquaintance, and both women commented on the health of Florence's husband, Joe Masjeska, a member of the United States Navy. Joan Withers, the Rohrers' niece, wrote letters to her uncle about her daily life; she jokingly indicated that the envelopes she sent contained love letters or "sweetheart" letters. On June 14, 1945, Eileen Rohrer (through her mother) sent her father an unsigned Father's Day card. Hazel C. Southwick, an occasional correspondent, wrote to Rohrer about their mutual interest in collecting military patches, and others shared religious or philosophical reflections. Many wrote about Rohrer's military service, rating, and possible furloughs.

A few letters pertain to current events, such as the Philadelphia transportation strike of August 1944. In separate letters dated August 2, 1944, James A. Perdikis and Bernadette Cleary mentioned fighting between African Americans and whites, damage to buildings in African American neighborhoods, white workers' refusal to work alongside African Americans, the declaration of martial law, and the possibility of military intervention. Cleary also discussed the black market for gasoline (August 23, 1944), and Betty Sherrane described cigarette rationing policies (April 6, 1945). Later correspondents included discharged servicemen who had served with Rohrer. The postcard has a painting of a bridge over a canal in Venice, Italy.

Other items include a humorous mock army memorandum with advice for soldiers adapting to civilian life in the United States after serving in Europe and copies of 3 religious pamphlets by Daniel A. Lord (5 items). The pamphlets, published by The Queen's Work, encourage Catholics to abstain from alcohol and "dirty stories." Two additional pamphlets intended for soldiers pertain to fatigue and sexual health. The collection also has an undated article about the use of an Austrian factory to winterize American vehicles and 4 wartime ration books issued to members of the Woudenberg family of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Collection

William R. Antis collection, 1893-1961 (majority within 1917-1919)

29 items

This collection pertains to William Ray Antis (1887-1943) of Detroit, Michigan, who served in the 484th Aero Squadron of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The collection includes eight letters to his mother Jessie Antis Germond, two military documents, a scrapbook of postcards kept during his time in France, photographs, two printed maps, three books, and four cloth/embroidered/painted-cloth items (incl. sergeant's stripes and a handkerchief case). The materials also include items from 1961 related to Sergeant Antis' daughter Dorothy J. Antis and Gerald "Jerry" Dumas, including original artwork from a Beetle Bailey comic strip.

This collection pertains to William Ray Antis (1887-1943) of Detroit, Michigan, who served in the 484th Aero Squadron of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The collection includes eight letters to his mother Jessie Antis Germond, two military documents, a scrapbook of postcards kept during his time in France, photographs, two printed maps, three books, and four cloth/embroidered/painted-cloth items (incl. sergeant's stripes and a handkerchief case). The materials also include items from 1961 related to Sergeant Antis' daughter Dorothy J. Antis and Gerald "Jerry" Dumas, including original artwork from a Beetle Bailey comic strip.

Antis wrote to his mother from San Antonio from December 1917 to January 1918; Aviation Branch, Virginia, in February 1918; and unspecified locations in France from May 1918 to December 1918. He wrote about his training in Texas, inoculation, carpentry, anticipation of leaving for the front, French farming and villages, expectation of getting a YMCA with a separate entertainment space, women's ability to wear service stripes corresponding to sons' and husbands' ranks, and more. He wrote several letters on printed "WITH THE COLORS" YMCA stationery. A final document is William R. Antis' selective service registration certificate, April 24, 1942, Detroit, Michigan.

One World War I era scrapbook contains largely souvenir picture photographs, with a number of greeting postcards, from Arcis-Sur-Aube, Vinets, Ramerupt, Lhuître, Mailly-le-Camp, Longeaux, Villers-Le-Sec, Ligny-en-Barrois, Bar-Le-Duc, Foug, Pagney-derrière-Barine, Bicqueley, Domgermain, Verdun, and Bezonvaux. The volume also includes several photographs and a French Woodrow Wilson postcard bearing a mounted silk portrait of the U.S. President.

The collection's newspaper clippings include recognition for Antis' service stripes and a published excerpt of one of his letters from France. It also includes two large, printed, detailed maps of France. A photographic portrait of William R. Antis is present.

A bundle of three items relate to Gerald "Jerry" Dumas during his visit to see his parents in Detroit in the spring of 1961. It includes a newspaper clipping and a manuscript letter from Jerry to Dorothy June Antis, accompanied by the original artwork for a 1960 Beetle Bailey comic strip.

Collection

William Rafferty papers, 1801-1896 (majority within 1814-1827)

1.5 linear feet

The William Rafferty Papers contain incoming correspondence, manuscript sermons, lecture notes, and financial documents related to Rafferty, an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a Presbyterian and Episcopal minister in the early 19th century.

The William Rafferty papers contain incoming correspondence, manuscript sermons, lecture notes, and financial documents related to Rafferty, an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a Presbyterian and Episcopal minister in the early 19th century.

The Correspondence series contains 15 incoming letters to William Rafferty from his father, John Rafferty, and from several educational colleagues in New York. John Rafferty provided news of his health and William Rafferty's acquaintances from Union College and other schools discussed developments at their institutions. Five letters from P. Canfield of Baltimore, Maryland, concern the construction of his lottery systems for the benefit of St. John's, Washington College, and other institutions, and a broadside outlines Canfield's proposed arrangements. One item, dated April 11, 1896, is addressed to "Cornelia" from her grandmother.

The Sermons series consists of 177 manuscript sermons that William Rafferty delivered between 1801 and 1827, while he was minister of the Blooming Grove Congregational Church and president of St. John's College. For the most part, these are bound, have several pages, and focus on Bible verses. Included are a funeral sermon (March 23, 1812) and "A Valedictory Sermon" delivered when Rafferty resigned from his congregation at Blooming Grove (March 7, 1816). He frequently recorded the place and occasion of his sermons. Rafferty delivered 4 additional sermons in Blooming Grove, New York, in the 1890s; one of these is a typed draft of a speech concerning Irish nationalism, to be delivered at the dedication of the Blooming Grove Soldiers' Monument.

A series of Lecture Notes (18 items), compiled in the early 19th century, contains material on several scientific subjects and disciplines, including electricity, astronomy, optics, and mechanics. The series also holds an 1823 report on St. John's College. Financial Records (60 items) mainly consist of personal receipts and originate primarily from Annapolis, Maryland; books, stationery, and furniture were among the items purchased.

Collection

William Pote family papers, 1769-1997 (majority within 1788-1900)

0.75 linear feet and 4 volumes

This collection contains correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to Captain William Pote, Jr., of Marblehead, Massachusetts; his sons Greenfield and Samuel; his grandson William; and other descendants. Many items reflect the Pote family's involvement in shipping. One series concerns the family's claim for compensation after French privateers seized a ship's cargo. Later material pertains to efforts of the Dennison and King families to trace their ancestors, who included members of the Pote family.

This collection contains correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to Captain William Pote, Jr., of Marblehead, Massachusetts; his sons Greenfield and Samuel; his grandson William; and other descendants. Many items reflect the Pote's involvement in shipping, and one series of items concerns the family's claim for compensation after French privateers seized a ship and its cargo. Later material pertains to efforts of the Dennison and King families to trace their ancestors, who included the Pote family.

The Pote Family Correspondence and Documents series (59 items) contains material related to the descendants of William Pote, dated between 1769 and 1853. Two early letters, including one between Samuel Pote and John Poat, the latter an English sea captain (November 11, 1769), and another copied from Jos. Poat about a family marriage in the year 1334 (March 1776), reveal the family's early interest in their genealogy. The series also holds business correspondence, such as 6 letters between Samuel Pote and Jedediah Pebble related to a payment dispute over the sale of the Nero (October 1781-March 1783). The financial documents are records concerning Greenfield Pote, his son William, and Samuel Pote, including agreements, a deed, receipts, and estate papers.

The Dennison Family Correspondence and Documents series (25 items) is comprised of correspondence and documents related to several generations of the Dennison and King families (1747-1997). Among the items are letters exchanged by Samuel and Horatio Dennison, wills for George and Samuel Dennison, and a document granting Samuel Dennison United States citizenship (January 27, 1839).

The French Spoliation Documents series (57 items) consists of 43 letters, 1 postcard, 2 petitions, 4 pages of hand copied records, 2 pages from an account book, 3 newspaper clippings, and 2 government publications, all related to a financial claims resulting from French capture of American merchant ships in the late 18th century. William Pote (1766-1847) owned the Freeport, a ship seized by a French privateer in 1796. The series traces the Pote family's attempts to gain financial compensation from the United States government. Many letters were exchanged between family members and lawyers.

Two printed volumes are in the series:
  • French Spoliations. Report of the Secretary of State... Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1886 (324 pages)
  • Statement Showing the Payments of Awards of the Commissioners Appointed Under the Conventions Between the United States and France, Concluded April 30, 1803, and July 4, 1831, and Between the United States and Spain, Concluded February 22, 1819... Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886.

The Account Books and Daybook series contains 4 items.

William Pote's daybook and account book consists of 196 pages of ledger entries kept between 1788 and 1844, as well as the following loose items: 19 letters (1793-1835), 4 pages from an account book (1776), and 5 additional documents. The financial records concern agricultural products, manufactured goods, labor, personal notes, and seamen's wages, as well as different goods produced and sold by the Pote family, such as fish, eels, clams, corn, potatoes, butter, meat, rum, sugar, molasses, tea, and salt. Roughly 225 people, 19 ships' captains, 10-15 seamen, and 17 unique vessels are covered. In addition to family finances, the daybook documents several trips William Pote made to the West Indies between 1789 and 1790, and to Europe in 1792 and in unidentified years. A group of records dated between March and July 1802 pertain to the Portland Mineral Company's expenses.

William Pote, Jr., kept an account book (145 pages) between 1825 and 1830. The volume also contains laundry records (1849) and Bessie F. H. Jackson's school notes (1889). Pote's records pertain to the sale of food and supplies to 9 schooners (Adeline, Desiah, Galens, Julia Ann, Leopard, Lincoln, Pelican, William H. Crawford, and William), repairs made to the Leopard (p. 48), and cargo carried onboard the Lincoln during an 1830 trip to Honduras and on the Adeline during an journey to Belize and Honduras (p. 140). Pote also noted the names and earnings of 13 men who participated in mackerel fishing expeditions.

A smaller blue volume (38 pages) contains three main sections: William Gardiner's expenses of the Leopard's mackerel fishing voyages (1833-1834); William Pote's farm accounts between 1835 and 1836; and Pote's 2 accounts concerning payments made to his married daughters Eliza and Sophia (undated). Receipts are also laid into the volume.

An anonymous author also maintained an account book and log book for the Allegator (212 pages), which contains records of the ship's mackerel fishing expeditions between May 1828 and November 1831. Log entries record the weather, daily catch size, the ship's location, and other information. The volume also holds additional accounts William Pote (1766-1847) kept between 1831 and 1847, documenting the fishing voyages of the Allegator and Leopard.

The Ephemera series (13 items) is comprised of the following items: 2 negatives of silhouettes of William (1766-1847) and Dorcus Pote (1772-1842); 2 prints made from those negatives; 8 poems composed by Eliza Pote Dennison; and a pamphlet entitled "The Home Formulary: The Latest and Most Valuable Toilet and Miscellaneous Formulas for Home Use," by William Hobury.

Eliza Dennison King, William Pote's granddaughter, compiled the material within the Genealogy series (96 items) while researching the history of the Pote, Dennison, and allied families. The series includes King's correspondence with distant cousins and drafts of family trees.

Finally, the collection includes a ledger-sized Pote Family Notebook of copied letters and documents, plus additional genealogical materials. The volume includes early 1880s copies of three American Revolutionary War era letters by Joseph and Samuel Pote (March 1776-March 6, 1785; 7 pages); copies of French spoliation claim-related documents and records (1793-1832, copied 1882-1885; 9 pages); and genealogical and biographical notes on members of the family (17 pages).

Collection

William Plunket and Stephen Chambers collection, 1781-1789 (majority within 1785-1789)

21 items

This collection contains correspondence and documents related to the legal and financial affairs of Dr. William Plunket (or Plunkett) of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and to his lawyer, Stephen Chambers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

This collection (21 items) contains correspondence and documents related to Dr. William Plunket of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and his lawyer, Stephen Chambers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The bulk of the collection (18 items) pertains to Plunket's financial and legal affairs, including 13 letters that he wrote to Chambers (June 12, 1785-May 2, 1789). In these letters, Plunket discussed his financial difficulties, powers of attorney, and a dispute with "Dr. Rush" [Benjamin Rush] regarding property ownership. Some of his later letters express his fear of being jailed or becoming destitute. Other items concerning Plunket include a list of his creditors (October 3, 1785); a power of attorney (May 28, 1787); a financial document concerning interest on a bond (October 1787); and an unsigned document about his dispute with Rush (undated). Robert King also wrote a letter to Plunket on February 19, 1789, in which he promised to explore land in the "New Purchase" when the rivers again became navigable.

The remaining 3 items are a letter from Stephen Chambers to Jasper Yeates about land surveys (December 6, 1781), a letter from Chambers to Jasper Yeates and Thomas Hartley about a man whose son had been accused of murder (May 22, 1787), and a letter to Chambers from P. Bond, who discussed finances.

Collection

William P. Jones collection, 1944-1945

0.75 linear feet

This collection contains 201 letters that Lieutenant William P. Jones of Scranton, Pennsylvania, wrote to his wife Ruth while serving on the USS Memphis during World War II. Jones commented on navy life and described his travels in South America, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Europe. The collection also includes navy bulletins and newsletters, an essay, and photographs.

This collection contains 201 letters that Lieutenant William P. Jones of Scranton, Pennsylvania, wrote to his wife Ruth while serving on the USS Memphis during World War II. Jones commented on navy life and his travels in South America, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Europe. The collection also includes navy bulletins and newsletters, an essay, and photographs.

The Correspondence series consists of letters from William P. Jones to his wife Ruth, dated March 8, 1944-October 13, 1945; some of the letters form numbered series, which Jones restarted after his occasional visits home. Jones joined the crew of the Memphis in late March 1944 and remained with the ship until at least October 1945, when he anticipated his return to the United States. He described navy life and some of his travels, though censorship regulations frequently prevented him from sharing his specific location. After censorship restrictions eased in 1945, he recounted his visits to cities in North Africa and Europe, particularly in Italy and France. He also mentioned his leisure activities, which included baseball and shipboard movie screenings.

The Documents, Newsletters, and Writings series contains printed and manuscript materials. Two sets of daily orders issued in March 1944 and an intelligence report dated March 25, 1944, relate to the USS Antaeus. A menu for a dinner onboard the Memphis on July 4, 1944, is illustrated with a drawing of the ship, and the ship's daily orders for December 25, 1944, are illustrated with a picture of a sleeping sailor dreaming of Christmas morning at home. The series also includes a printed program for a religious service (July 9, 1944) and undated orders for United States Navy sailors arriving at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The series contains 2 undated manuscript items: a set of notes about malaria and a "Dissertation on Reporting to a U.S. Navy Ship."

The Photographs series is comprised of 18 black-and-white snapshots depicting Naples, Rome, and Pompeii, Italy; Cannes, France; Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt; and United States Navy personnel. One picture shows a Christmas party held onboard the USS Memphis. Some photographs are mounted on thicker stock, with printed details about their locations.

Collection

William Petty, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne, 2nd Earl of Shelburne papers, 1665-1885

48 linear feet

This collection contains the letters and official papers of Lord Shelburne, British politician, Member of Parliament, secretary of state for the Southern Department, and Prime Minister. The papers document British foreign, colonial, and domestic affairs throughout the 18th century with special focus on the periods 1766-1768 and 1782-1783. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a detailed Volume Index and a Name Index and Geographical Index.

The William Petty, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne, 2nd Earl of Shelburne papers consist of the letters and official papers of Lord Shelburne, British politician, member of parliament, secretary of state for the Southern Department, and Prime Minister from 1782-1783. These document British foreign, colonial, and domestic affairs, covering the 18th century with special focus on the periods 1766-1768 and 1782-1783. The papers are made up of dispatches, memoranda, trade statistics, reports, essays, questionnaires, and copies of treaties. They cover the conduct of the French and Indian War; the colonies in North America and the West Indies; the 1783 American peace negotiations in Paris; relations with Europe, Africa, and India; the management of the royal household's lands and revenues (1745-1789); and records of the Home Office, Parliament, Customs Revenue, Board of Trade, Army, Navy, War, and Pay offices and Treasury (1760-1797).

Shelburne was an avid collector of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, reports, maps, and prints, and was known as one of the most well-informed politicians of his day. During his political career, Shelburne had access to, and was able to commission, high level reports on domestic and foreign affairs; his papers reveal the British perspective on foreign relations, civil and military, with Europe, America, India, and Africa. Shelburne and his personal librarian Samuel Paterson collected and organized much of the present collection when Shelburne retired from political office.

In addition to the official letters, the collection contains family papers, including letters from Shelburne to his wife Sophia, to his son John, and from his young son William Granville. The Lacatia-Shelburne series, acquired separately from the rest of the collection, is comprised of 207 official letters originally belonging to Shelburne.

The European and Mediterranean Politics series (42 volumes) documents British diplomatic relations and financial interests in Europe and northern Africa. The series contains political and diplomatic letters and copies of letters with officials from the major powers of Europe, including: Austria, France, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as Mediterranean powers such as the Ottoman Empire, the Barbary States (Algiers, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli), and the Italian states. Also present are copies of treaties and reports on the military and trade capabilities of many of these nations. Though they cover British foreign relations from the beginning of the 18th century, these papers primarily document the 1760s, including the 1763 Peace of Paris, and Shelburne's activities as secretary of state for Southern Department (1766-1768).

The Colonial Affairs and the 1783 Treaty of Paris series (48 volumes) contains Shelburne's letters and reports concerning the British colonies in North America and the West Indies. Of particular interest is the material related to the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Paris, which Shelburne supervised as Prime Minister (1782-1783). Included are letters and memoranda from the peace commissioners and secretaries at Paris, such as Richard Oswald, Henry Strachey, Thomas Townshend, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay, among others. Also present are drafts and copies of preliminary treaties and opinions on the ongoing negotiations. The Assiento papers contain official and private letters and documents of the South Sea Company, a British mercantile venture that, for 30 years after the Treaty of Utrecht, had exclusive rights to sell slaves to Spanish territories in America. The papers comprise confidential agent reports, bills for traded goods and slaves, ship inventories, factory reports, and diplomatic letters between Spain and England on slave trade policies.

Other notable material includes:
  • Diplomatic correspondence concerning the end of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) in 1763
  • Copies of letters, intelligence reports, and documents received by Lord Fox and Shelburne from various European courts during the peace negotiations (1782-1783)
  • Orders, letters, memorials, and documents to and from the colonial governors of the American colonies, Canada, and the West Indies islands
  • Records of West Indian trade, and reports on Jamaica, Barbados, and Tobago (1766-1767)
  • Officially commissioned descriptions of the Islands of St. John, Cape Briton, Magdalen, Grenada, St. Vincent, and Dominica (1765-1767)
  • Reports on commerce with America including trade statistics
  • Letters and papers concerning relations and trade with the Choctaw, Creeks, Mohican, and Six Nation Indians (1703-1767)
  • Questionnaires, with answers, sent to colonial governors concerning the "Civil Establishment" and "Accounts of the Fees of Office" (1766-1767)
  • Accounts of American civil and military expenses (1765-1767)
  • Reports on the Mutiny Act, Indemnity Act, Stamp Act, and other parliamentary laws concerning the American colonies
  • Reports on Spanish and Portuguese settlements in South America and the rights of the Spanish in the South Seas
  • Minutes on African Affairs (1765-1767)
  • Reports and instructions related to Minorca, Gibraltar, and the coast of Africa
  • A letter from George Croghan to Shelburne on the discovery of mastodon bones in Big Lick, Ohio Territory (Volume 48, pages 131-134)

The East Indian Affairs series (11 volumes) contains Shelburne's papers related to British financial and political interests in India. Included are official letters and documents (both originals and copies) transmitted to Shelburne to keep him up to date with activities and conflicts. Shelburne was heavily invested in the East India Company and was one of the company's most vocal advocates in Parliament.

The series includes:
  • A chronological account of significant events in the establishment and activities of the East India Company (1601-1761)
  • Finances and budgets of the East India Company along with copies of original government and business documents (1766-1767)
  • Policy proposals for India and the East India Company including notes for speeches in parliament (1760-1790)
  • A narrative history of the second war with Hyder Ali Khan (Second Anglo-Mysore War), with maps (1779-1782)
  • A narrative history of Indian kingdoms
  • Letters with the Secret Committee of the East India Company and other company officials

The British Government series is comprised of 5 subseries.

The Parliament, Customs Revenue, Trade, Imports, and Exports subseries (39 volumes) contains Shelburne's collection of official records, reports, accounts, and letters related to British customs, taxes, expenses, and trade revenue. These document British financial operations throughout most of the 18th century, and show Shelburne's efforts to reform domestic financial policies.

The subseries includes:
  • Reference tables describing the division of power in British government, including the King, House of Lords, and House of Commons
  • Abstract reports on the Stamp Tax (1734-1764)
  • Customs reports for revenue and departmental expenditures
  • Lists of customs officers and employees
  • Import and export records for trade with Europe, Africa, and America
  • Letters and documents concerning excise taxes, the post office, and the stamp duties
  • Financial reports on the royal household, lands, and revenues (1745-1789) and instructions on the management of the royal estate
  • City of London papers, including proceedings of councils and letters concerning raising troops, establishing meeting halls, quelling riots, crime, and other topics (1588-1783)
  • Reports on England's forests, corn and food, and currency (paper money and coins)

Note: Volume 100, entitled "A Table Reference Concerning the King, Lords, and Commoners," is not the same Volume 100 as noted in the Historic Manuscript Commission Report, which was entitled "East India Correspondence," and is not at the Clements.

The British Army, Navy, and Military Administration subseries (20 volumes) contains material related to the British military and information on foreign forces covering 1694 to 1783.

Included are:
  • Papers on War Office expenses for troops in Britain, Africa, Gibraltar, Scotland, and America (1765-1783)
  • Papers concerning the navies and armies of foreign powers, including Spain, France, and Holland
  • Naval department commissions, expenses, warrants, bills, and patents (1701-1779)
  • Copies Admiralty and Navy Board letters (1695-1779)
  • Shipping lists for equipping stations and ports (1770-1780 and 1783)
  • Copies of intelligence on French and Spanish navies(1777-1780)
  • Contracts for individuals employed by the navy
  • Chronological records of the major policy decisions, events, and projects of the British navy

The volumes in the Ireland subseries (4 volumes) were owned by the Lansdowne family as recently as 1982.

The Cabinet and Treasury Minutes subseries (5 volumes) document Shelburne's governmental activities from 1762-1783. The cabinet minutes cover Shelburne's tenure as secretary of state of the Southern Department from 1766 to 1768. Included are instructions, announcements, and letters concerning issues with military officials and ambassadors in Ireland, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal. The treasury minutes cover Shelburne's activities as Prime Minister from July 1782 to March 1783.

These concern financial matters of the British government, such as:
  • Purchasing land
  • Reviewing petitions and paying reparations to British Loyalists who lost property in the war with America
  • Issuing warrants to the military
  • Paying compensation for ships lost doing official business in the West Indies.

Also present are minutes of motions on various parliamentary subjects, such as the 1780 riots in London, speeches for and against settling peace with America, and speeches concerning French and Spanish treaties (1782-1782).

The Appeals and Minutes of the House of Lords subseries (16 volumes), include 8 volumes that document the "appellant's cases" brought before the House of Lords between 1769 and 1788. These printed volumes contain the case declarations, pleas, breaches, verdicts, final judgments, and reasons. Many entries are manuscript comments about the case. 8 volumes of manuscript minutes of the House of Lords span 1767 to 1788 and include cursory information about bills, petitions, cases, and other business. Several printed copies of the King's speeches to Parliament and the Lords' addresses in reply are included in volumes HL-14, HL-15, and HL-16.

The Personal Correspondence series (167 items) is comprised of two subseries: The Shelburne family letters, the Lansdowne-Bowles letters.

The Shelburne family letters subseries contains seven volumes of material related to Shelburne and his family, including Lady Sophia Carteret, William Granville Petty, John Petty Earl of Wycombe, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, and Lady Louisa Fitzpatrick. Also present are letters from Shelburne to his friend and colleague Thomas Coutts.

These are:
  • Volume 1 contains 47 letters from Shelburne to his first wife Lady Sophia Carteret from 1766 to 1770. In these, Shelburne noted his daily activities, detailing greetings he shared with passers-by, visitors, dining companions, and meetings with government officials and dignitaries. He updated her on news of their friends and acquaintances in London, and frequently expressed his love for her.
  • Volumes 2 and 3 consist of 48 letters to Shelburne from his young son William Granville Petty (1774-1778). Also present are letters from a servant named Thomas Servis who reported on William's health. Volume 3 contains more letters from William, several with mentions of the American Revolution, as well as a short memoir written by William's tutor after the boy's death in 1778, an elegy by his brother Viscount Fitzmaurice, and copies of 4 of William's scholastic essays.
  • Volume 4 contains 37 letters from Shelburne to his son John Petty, Earl Wycombe, from 1768 and 1780-1789. Shelburne primarily wrote of personal and family news, providing many details on John's brother Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice and the health of his step mother Lady Louisa. He also discussed John's social obligations, and occasionally, political events. Also present is a letter in which Shelburne asked the unknown recipient to be the godfather of his newborn son (1768).
  • Volume 5 consists of 23 letters from Shelburne to his friend and colleague Thomas Coutts (1735-1822), a wealthy and prominent London banker who owned the House of Coutts & Company. These letters span 1793 to 1802 and include discussions of personal business, news of acquaintances, and domestic and international politics of the day, such as the French Revolution, William Pitt and other political leaders, and the political state of Ireland.
  • Volume 6 is comprised of three letters and three engraved portraits of Shelburne. The portraits are dated 1780, 1798, and undated, and the letters include a brief note from Shelburne to a Mr. Lawrence (May 10, 1782), a letter from Shelburne to the Earl of Egremont concerning the war in North America and its implications in Europe (July 9, 1762), and a letter from Shelburne to James Currie (September 5, 1800).

The Lansdowne-Bowles letters subseries (69 items) contain letters from Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquis of Lansdowne, and his wife Louisa to Magdalene and William Bowles. The letters span 1806-1835 and 53 items are undated; most are addressed from London. Henry Lansdowne's letters (24 items) are all to Reverend William Bowles, his friend and a frequent recipient of his patronage. Louisa contributed 45 letters, all to Magdalene Bowles; she discussed administrative aspects of a school that they jointly managed. She often remarked on the hiring of new teachers, and assessed their qualifications and personal merits. Louisa also discussed visits to the Lansdowne estate, Bowood, and made queries about the characters of potential visitors.

The Lacaita-Shelburne letters series (706 items) is a collection of letters compiled by Sir James Lacaita and his son Charles Carmichael Lacaita spanning 1692 to 1885. James Lacaita was Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquis of Lansdowne's private secretary from 1857 to 1863, during which time he organized Shelburne's unbound letters. Many items in this series (270 items) are addressed to Shelburne or were originally among his papers. These represent documents from his career, including political matters and discussions of peace negotiations with America (1760-1801). The 19th century material is addressed chiefly to James Lacaita, Lady Holland, Nassau William, Sr., and Anthony Panizzi, mostly from British and Italian politicians and Dante scholars. In all, the series contains letters from 274 contributors, primarily British and Italian lords, politicians, and military figures. See the Name Index for a list of contributors.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a detailed Volume Index and a Name Index and Geographical Index. For additional information see the Clements Library card catalog.

Collection

William P. Curtis letters, 1849-1860 (majority within 1849-1854)

52 items

This collection primarily consists of letters that William P. Curtis of Auburn, New York, wrote to his son, William B. Curtis of Prattsburgh, New York, about finances, local news, and family matters.

This collection consists of 50 letters that William P. Curtis of Auburn, New York, wrote to his son, William B. Curtis of Prattsburgh, New York, and 2 financial documents. Curtis wrote about his finances, often requesting that his son send money and acknowledging its receipt. In his letter of April 2, 1852, he discussed the possibility of building a new house and the estimated costs of its construction. Many of his letters contain news of family members, friends, and boarders. He commented on events such as a speech by Daniel Webster (June 3, 1851) and Fourth of July celebrations (July 5, 1852).

The collection's 2 financial records are an inventory of bonds and other notes pertaining to William P. Curtis (October 1, 1851) and a record of payments from William B. Curtis to Henry Curtis (August 24, 1860).

Collection

William N. Ames logbook, 1832, 1838 (majority within 1838)

1 volume

This volume largely consists of William N. Ames's logbook entries for the 369-ton whaleship Martha, Master Joseph Wheldon, January 14-March 25, 1838 (14 pages and fragments of pages). The Martha departed Hudson, New York, heading for the Indian Ocean with stops at Gough Island and Madagascar. The remainder of the volume is pages or fragments of pages for the ship Alexander Mansfield, 1832, including the poem "The Yankey Privatear" (4 pages); one letter fragment; and pages of additional accounting and poetry (9 pages).

This volume consists largely of William N. Ames's logbook entries for the 369-ton whaleship Martha, Master Joseph Wheldon, January 14-March 25, 1838 (14 pages and fragments of pages). The Martha departed Hudson, New York, heading for the Indian Ocean with stops at Gough Island and Madagascar. The remainder of the volume is pages or fragments of pages for the ship Alexander Mansfield, 1832, including the poem "The Yankey Privatear" (4 pages); one letter fragment; and pages of additional accounting and poetry (9 pages).

William Ames kept daily entries for the first three months of the Martha's voyage, documenting wind speed and direction, latitude and longitude, shipboard activities, and sightings of marine life. Multiple entries contain sightings of blackfish (pilot whales), finback whales, white whales, and birds. On single occasions, he mentioned seeing a dead whale, whales feeding, and porpoises. On March 6, 1838, he noted: "hard winds hard luck and No Whales is to hard Never mind we live in hopes of beter luck and more whales for the future."

The front pastedown bears six whale stamps, haphazardly applied (three tails and three bodies).

Collection

William Mildmay papers, 1748-1756

7 volumes

The William Mildmay papers contain letters and documents related to Mildmay's appointment as British commissioner to France after the War of Austrian Succession. As commissioner, Mildmay was involved in settling disputed sections of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The William Mildmay papers (7 volumes) contain letters and documents related to Mildmay's appointment as British commissioner to France after the War of Austrian Succession, and prior to the Seven Years' War. The collection consists of seven bound volumes of letters, essays, documents, and personal discussions related to the Anglo-French Commission. Many of the items are retained copies created for Mildmay's personal use. The collection contains material in both English and French, and many items are dually labeled with both Julian and Gregorian dates.

Volume 1 contains various letters and documents, including:
  • A copy of the articles of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
  • Instructions from the French government to the French commissioner of negotiations.
  • "A collection of divers Opinions relating the British Seas, Channel, & Northern Seas," containing opinions regarding the boundaries of the British seas, including those of Sir Charles Hedges, Judge of the Admiralty; the Fraternity of Trinity House; and Sir Nathaniel Lloyd
  • Instructions given to English commissioners for meeting in Paris regarding the disputed aspects of the treaty, as well as a French reaction, and a reply from Britain
  • Letters regarding the concern by British West Indian governors over the "daily Incroachments of the French" in the region, referencing settlements on the islands of St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Tobago, and orders from the British government to the governors
  • Various letters related to the treaty

Volume 2 contains Mildmay's private accounts of conferences and negotiations held with the French commissioners from 1750 to 1754.

Volume 3 contains letters from Mildmay to Benjamin Mildmay, the Earl Fitzwalter, during his time in Paris. The letters serve as an ongoing description of Mildmay's time in France, and they document issues surrounding the negotiations, politics, foreign relations, social events, and the activities of the French court. Included is an account of the governmental crisis that arose from a dispute between the French Parliament and clergy. Mildmay also recorded details related to his personal life and social events, including a description of a party with dramatic fireworks at the Duke of Orleans's palace, in honor of the Dauphin's recovery from smallpox (September 27, 1752). The letters reveal that Mildmay was growing increasingly frustrated by the treaty negotiations; in a letter from January 24, 1753, Mildmay wrote, "I am now in full business with the French Commissaries, & heartily sick of their chicanery; but it is to be hoped His Majesty will put an end to all wrangling & disputes by a happier method of accommodation, or more persuasive arguments than what are delivered in written Memorials." In addition, he mentioned that if they are to enter into a war with France, it would be against the will of the people in the country, but if they are to maintain peace, France would only use it to prepare for a later war (March 26, 1755). Mildmay discussed specific issues with the negotiations, such as the British refusing to agree to an article that stated if France and Britain went to war, neither would commission privateers to disrupt commerce (March 6, 1754).

Volume 4 contains various letters and documents, including:
  • Copies of letters and documents related to Mildmay's private commission to negotiate the exchange of prisoners captured during the War of Austrian Succession, as well as French soldiers captured in Scotland during the Jacobite uprising
  • Copied letters concerning accounts documenting the ransoms and costs related to the upkeep of prisoners
  • Detailed line-item descriptions of the demands made for the release of prisoners.
  • Blank forms for recording the accounts for the total spent for subsistence, hospital charges, burial certificate, and receipt for prisoners delivered
  • Printed copy from 1743 of "Traité et Conventions Pour les Malades, Blessés & Prisonniers de Guerre des Troupes de Sa Majesté Très-Chrêtienne, Auxiliares, & celles des Alliés," regarding the treatment and exchange of the wounded and prisoners of war
Volume 5 contains various letters and documents, including:
  • Descriptions of letters from previous commissioners Allix and Hinde, concerning the settlement of accounts between Britain and France regarding prizes taken at sea after hostilities ended
  • Description of instructions given to Mildmay and William Shirley
  • Copies of letters written by William Mildmay, William Shirley, and Ruvigny de Cosne documenting the progress of the commission. Recipients include secretaries of state the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Holderness, and Sir Thomas Robinson
Volume 6 contains various letters and documents, including:
  • Essays primarily focused on commerce in France and abroad
  • "Sur le Commerce" ("On Commerce")
  • "Memoire sur le commerce" ("Memorandum on commerce")
  • "Situation du Commerce Exterieur du Royaume" ("Situation of Commerce Outside of the Kingdom")
  • "Extrait d'un Memoire sur un Projet de Commerce de Negres a Guinée" ("Extract of a Memorandum on a Project of Commerce of Negros at Guinea")
Volume 7 contains various letters and documents, including:
  • Essays and letters primarily about commerce in France and her colonies, as well as relations between France and Britain
  • "Memoire sur le commerce de France, et sur l'état present de ses Colonies en general et en particulier" ("Memorandum on the commerce of France, and on the present state of her Colonies in general and in particular")
  • "Letre à Monsieur Mildmay sur le commerce de St. Domingue, et sur l'état present de cette colonie" ("Letter to Monsieur Mildmay on the commerce of St. Domingo, and on the present state of this colony")
  • Memorandum related to the reasons for the prohibition of foreign commerce between the French colonies and New England in 1727
  • "Lettre à Monsieur Mildmay Commissaire de [S.M.B.] à Paris sur les moyens de conciliation entre les deux courones de France et d'Angleterre, au sujet des contestations presents en Amerique" ("Letter to Monsieur Mildmay, Commissioner at Paris, on the means of conciliation between the two Crowns of France and England, about the present disputes in America")
Collection

William L. Hudson letter book, 1850-1851

1 volume

This 126-page letter book contains retained drafts of 20 letters that William L. Hudson wrote to his wife (10 letters), children (7 letters), and acquaintances (3 letters) while serving onboard the USS Vincennes along South America's Pacific Coast and in San Francisco Bay between April 1850 and April 1851. His letters concern his religious convictions, experiences in South America and San Francisco, advice for his family, and business affairs.

This 126-page letter book contains retained drafts of 20 letters that William L. Hudson wrote to his wife (10 letters), children (7 letters), and acquaintances (3 letters) while serving onboard the U.S.S. Vincennes along South America's Pacific Coast and in San Francisco Bay between April 1850 and April 1851. Hudson's letter book (13"x8") is bound with a canvas cover (15"x9").

Hudson's letters to his wife are often religious and philosophical, and he frequently considered the impact that his career and frequent separation from his family had on his marriage and family life. He also commented on financial affairs. In letters to his children, he offered advice on education, courtship, and careers. During his time on the Vincennes, Hudson wrote from Valparaiso, Chile; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Panama; and San Francisco, California. He described aspects of the local cultures in these areas, including women's lives in Guayaquil, the cost of living in Valparaiso, and political developments in Ecuador. Hudson's letters to acquaintances pertain to business affairs.

One incomplete letter to "my dear Henry," dated April 22, 1863, was laid into this volume. The anonymous author wrote from the U.S.S. Commodore Hull, off Hill's Point, Pamlico River, and described the 18-day Confederate siege of Washington, North Carolina (beginning March 30). The relationship between this Civil War letter and the Hudson letter book is unknown.

Collection

William L. Babaian collection, 1969-1976

26 items

The William L. Babaian collection is made up of correspondence, photographs, greeting cards, and newspaper clippings related to Babaian's life, including his service with the United States Army during the Vietnam War.

The William L. Babaian collection is made up of correspondence, photographs, greeting cards, and newspaper clippings related to Babaian's life and army service during the Vietnam War. The 16 items in the Correspondence series document his second term of military service. He wrote to his sister and brother-in-law, Marguerite and George Harms of Ann Arbor, Michigan, about his family. Several letters relate directly to his army experiences, including a lengthy letter in which he described his medical clinic in Vietnam (December 31, 1969) and a letter attaching two reports he composed on soldiers' health and obesity (February 10, 1970). He often attached photographs of his wife, children, and locations in Vietnam. A postcard depicts the Japanese "Aquapolis" from the 1975 World's Exposition.

Four additional Photographs show Babaian in uniform during each of his two terms of military service. The collection's Greeting cards are a humorous birthday card Babaian sent to Marguerite Harms, and a Christmas card he wrote from Korea (long after his military service), in which he described his impressions while revisiting the country. The Newspaper clippings series includes 4 clippings regarding Babaian's educational and military accomplishments.

Collection

William Law papers, 1801-1826 (majority within 1801-1816)

4.75 linear feet

This collection is comprised of business correspondence and records of New York merchant William Law II.

Business correspondence and records of New York merchant William Law II.

This collection contains 1,466 letters and 12 letterbooks, with an additional 1,281 items, including family correspondence, receipts, and 18 volumes of financial records.

Collection

William Larimer collection, 1889-[1910] (majority within 1889-1908)

46 items

The William Larimer collection contains letters, postcards, and newspaper clippings related to William Henry Harrison Larimer; his parents, William Larimer and Rachel McMasters Larimer; his sister, Rachel Larimer Mellon; his daughter, Ann Larimer; and his son-in-law, George H. Gallagher. The letters concern courtship, travel in Kansas and Missouri, and other topics.

The William Larimer collection contains 46 letters, postcards, and newspaper clippings related to William Henry Harrison Larimer; his parents, William Larimer and Rachel McMasters Larimer; his sister, Rachel Larimer Mellon; his daughter, Ann Larimer; and his son-in-law, George H. Gallagher. The letters concern courtship, travel in Kansas and Missouri, and other topics.

James R. Mellon of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wrote 8 letters to William H. H. Larimer, his brother-in-law, between June 10, 1889, and July 23, 1890. He commented on family news, finances, real estate, and potential construction projects in Kansas City, Missouri.

George H. Gallagher wrote 5 letters to Ann E. Larimer (March 27, 1899-February 10, 1901); he also wrote 4 letters to her parents, William H. H. and Mattie Larimer (May 7, 1899-July 14, 1899) and received 1 letter from Mattie Larimer, which included a message from Ann (postmarked May 2, 1899). Most letters pertain to the Larimers' reaction to, and concerns about, their daughter's engagement; Gallagher expressed his desire to gain their approval. After the marriage, he wrote his wife about his travels in Oklahoma and Missouri (February 9, 1901). Ann Larimer Gallagher wrote 4 letters to her parents, including 3 concerning her travels in Europe during the spring of 1905.

William H. H. Larimer wrote 15 letters to his daughter and son-in-law (August 24, 1903-July 17, 1908), sometimes enclosing newspaper clippings. His letters concern finances, advice for his daughter, and news from Kansas City, Missouri; Mattie Larimer contributed to his letter of April 2, 1907. Larimer also wrote 4 letters to Mattie in June 1905 (3 items) and July 1907 (1 item) and 2 letters to his sister Rachel and his brother-in-law, James Mellon (November 30, 1907; July 5, 1908). Larimer's letters to his wife pertain to his travels in Kansas and the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

Additional items include a printed letter from the Larimer-Stagner-Peironnet Live Stock Commission Company to their customers (January 1, 1905) and an undated postcard with a drawing of the "first house in Denver," which General William Larimer, William H. H. Larimer's father, constructed in 1858. The collection includes 2 newspaper clippings: an article about pioneers' reminiscences in old age, with information about William H. H. Larimer ("Talk with and Old Timer," June 17, 1895), and Larimer's obituary from the Kansas City Journal-Post (May 25, 1910).

Letterheads
  • Mellon Brothers Real Estate
  • "The Barker," Omaha, Nebraska (illustrated)
  • "The Montana," Anaconda, Montana (illustrated)
  • The Larimer-Stagner-Peironnet Live Stock Commission Company, Kansas City, Missouri (illustrated)
  • USMS Philadelphia (illustrated)
  • Carl-Leon Hotel, Independence, Kansas (illustrated)
Collection

William J. Robinson and Martin Ryan collection, 1860-1885 (majority within 1860-1870)

0.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of letters and financial documents related to William J. Robinson, a tanner in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and Martin Ryan, a farmer in Niantic, Illinois. Ryan composed the majority of the letters, writing to Robinson about farm work and finances during the 1860s. Other items pertain to the business and financial interests of Ryan and Robinson.

This collection is made up of around 125 letters and financial records addressed to William J. Robinson, a tanner in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Martin Ryan, a farmer in Niantic, Illinois, composed approximately two-thirds of the letters, writing to Robinson about farm work and finances during the 1860s. Aside from a few land-related documents sent to Ryan, most of the remaining items pertain to Robinson's other business and financial interests.

Martin Ryan wrote frequently to William J. Robinson between December 1860 and the spring of 1869. He reported on the timber industry, real property, his crops (most frequently corn), cattle prices and purchases, and farm-related finances. In a few letters, he referred to the inherent risks of shipping cattle to Pennsylvania during the war (June 16 and July 7, 1863), and he also discussed monetary policy related to gold and silver standards (July 15, 1861), his desire for his wife to work fewer hours and for his sons to go to school (August 20, 1864), and his difficulties with a manager who often drank (several items, 1866-1867). In 1867 and 1868, Ryan often mentioned a lawsuit, and a few items of business correspondence addressed to him appear interspersed between his outgoing letters from the late 1860s. Ryan's letter of May 27, 1861, encloses an itemized list of costs associated with his farm.

The remaining items are primarily business letters and receipts to William J. Robinson, most of which are dated after 1869 (approximately 40 items). The firm Whitneys & Kingman (also known as Kingman & Whitney) of Chicago, Illinois, inquired about Robinson's willingness to purchase hides and sent numerous invoices and receipts. A few of Robinson's draft replies are present. Robinson received at least 2 letters from his son Edwin in the mid-1870s, and some items from the 1880s are addressed to his son James.

Collection

William Jennings Bryan collection, 1882-1925

12 items

This collection is made up of personal letters written by William Jennings Bryan. Bryan discussed many different subjects, including his political career and speeches.

This collection is made up of 10 personal letters written by William Jennings Bryan, as well as a letter by his wife Mary and an autograph quotation from his famous "Cross of Gold" speech. Several of the letters contain brief references to Bryan's education, political career, beliefs, and speeches. He wrote many of the letters on personalized stationery. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.

Collection

William Jenks collection, 1794-1884 (majority within 1794-1868)

1.5 linear feet

The William Jenks collection consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks.

The William Jenks collection (975 items) consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items, related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks. The collection includes 887 letters (123 undated), 37 official and financial documents, 37 prayer notes and miscellaneous items, and 14 printed documents.

The Correspondence series (887 items) largely consists of personal letters addressed to Jenks and his wife from friends, colleagues, parishioners, and family members. Religious themes are apparent throughout. Many of the earliest items are from Jenks' brothers John, Samuel, and Francis Jenks; other pre-1805 items from colleagues and concerned parents of students concern his teaching career in Cambridge. For example, Sarah Dunlap of Salem, Massachusetts, described a treatment for her son's "bad quincey" (swelling of the throat), so that Jenks could administer it while her son was under his care (June 4, 1800). Other ministry-related items include an invitation to "dance at the house of Mr. Lyman" from the Committee of the Congregational Society in Bath, Maine, received just before Jenks' move to Maine (December 17, 1805). While in Maine, Jenks received letters from his parishioners and other members of Bath society, as well as from his old friends and business colleagues in Boston and Cambridge. One letter from Jonathan Greenleaf states that he wished to send Jenks some of his books so they can be scattered into the hands of individuals, for the sake of religion and literature, and "where they will be read and preserved", rather than sent to a library (December 24, 1813). Jenks wrote a few of the letters in the collection, including a warm and affectionate letter to his wife (September 7, 1811). In another letter, dated April 15, 1812, Jenks implored someone to care for an African-American friend in need of assistance. Jenks also received a letter recommending John Gloucester (the first African-American ordained Presbyterian priest) as a possible leader of missionary work in Africa (January 31, 1815).

The bulk of the letters related to Betsey Jenks are from her sister, Sally Belknap Russell (later married to a man named Pope). Sally discussed the sickness and death of their father Ezekiel Russell, life in Boston, and other personal matters. Particularly after 1808, various brothers, sisters, cousins, and the Jenks children wrote many of the family letters. Though these are warm and affectionate, they also contain news of the deaths of parents, siblings and spouses. For example, the June 24, 1810, item is from Jenks’ sister Abigail Dana describing her husband's suicide. Also of note are three letters regarding a servant who was trying to hide from her abusive husband (October 26, 1807; November 12, 1807; and November 1807).

Letters from the 1820s through the 1840s contain materials related to various speaking engagements in Massachusetts and invitations to the meetings of area historical societies. Also present are business letters and circulars from the many societies and churches in which Jenks held memberships; these concern diverse topics, such as staffing issues and library collections. During this time, Jenks also maintained correspondence with his children and siblings. His son wrote several letters in 1831 about travels in Spain, Marseilles, Malta, and Sicily. Also of note is a letter in which Jenks discussed a sinking ship near the North Pole (December 3, 1829), and another that contains notes on the "correct" version of the English language Bible (July 17, 1835). Jenks discussed Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World, referring to it as being "published immediately after the Witchcraft Excitement in 1693" (June 26, 1841).

Many of the items from the late 1840s through the 1860s, and almost all of the letters written after Jenks' death in 1866, are related to Jenks’ son Lemuel. In one, Lemuel described in detail a religious festival in Manzanas, Cuba (April 5, 1848). In another, Craigie Jenks described his service in the 7th Regiment of the Kansas Militia during the Civil War (October 25, 1864). Five items dated after Jenks' death are addressed to William Jenk's daughter, Sarah Judith Jenks, who married Jerome Merritt. One letter dated April 29, 1856, was written by William Buel Sprague (1795-1876) soliciting input about how to write about Rev. Samuel Williams in his forthcoming book, Annals of the American Pulpit.

The Receipts, Documents, Reports, and Notes series (37 items) contains Jenks’ business documents, speeches, and financial papers.

Included are reports for social societies in which Jenks was with a member, such as:
  • Society for promoting historian knowledge (1816)
  • Boston Society for the Religions and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1821)
  • Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1825)

The series contains addresses delivered to the Delta Young Mens Athenaeum by E. Maxwell Seal (1839) and the Bath Society for the Suppression of Public Vice (undated). This series also holds a copy of the law enacted by the Massachusetts state congress to bring William Jenks and others into the Society for the Religious and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1820) as well as 8 receipts, largely of payments to William Jenks for services rendered. Another item of interest is an 1852 list of Massachusetts church congregations (various denominations) noting increasing numbers of attendance from March 8 and April 12 because of added converts.

The Prayer Notes series (20 items) consists of small slips of paper with prayer requests for sick or recently departed family members of the church community. The minister usually read these during the church service. Though most of the notes are undated, one item is from 1815, when Jenks was at the Bath Congregational Church, and several others are from 1821, when he was at the chapel on Central Wharf.

The Miscellaneous Notes series (17 items) contains a variety of written and visual material. One item is a drawing of the Manana ("Mananas") Island Petroglyph (writing carved in stone by early Native Americans) with a description of the location and the inscription. Another is a two-page description of "Monhegan Island and of the inscription found there" (1851). Other notes include items in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, and one other language that may be Phoenician or Aramaic. The genealogical item traces the line of Nathan Webb of Charlestown, starting with John Webb of Shrewsbury, England, 1531. Images include a plan of houses to be built on Atkinson St. [Boston] (1825), a sketch of a thatched roof cottage drawn by A.M. Jenks (1882), and a drawing of the Manana Island Petroglyph on a rock. A four-page account of travel to Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, is also noteworthy for its description of Russian landmarks and tourist attractions (undated).

The Printed Material series contains 14 items related to the religious, genealogical, and antiquarian societies with which Jenks was involved. Included are the rules and bylaws of the Eastern Society in Bath, Maine (1811); two religious pamphlets encouraging prostitutes to turn to Christianity (1824); a report of the "Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries to its British and American Members" (1836); a poem entitled The Worker, written by Jenks (1857); and The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 5, Number 4 (October 1851), pages 375-486. Images of William Jenkins and Alpheus Hardy, both undated, are also part of the series .

Collection

William Jason and Dorothy Mixter papers, 1915-1920 (majority within 1915, 1917-1919)

2.5 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, military documents, photographs, printed items, and ephemera related to Dr. William Jason Mixter, who served in the United States Army during World War I, and his wife Dorothy.

This collection is made up of correspondence, military documents, photographs, printed items, and ephemera related to Dr. William Jason Mixter, who served in the United States Army during World War I, and his wife Dorothy.

The Correspondence series (1.75 linear feet) comprises the bulk of the collection. The first group of correspondence is made up of 48 letters and postcards that William Jason Mixter sent to his wife Dorothy from March 9, 1915-May 21, 1915. He described his voyage to Europe, his brief stay in England, and his experiences working in French hospitals near the war front. His letters include details about his work with specific patients, comments about the sinking of the Lusitania, and other war news.

William Jason and Dorothy Mixter wrote most of the remaining correspondence to each other between May 1917 and April 1918, while William served with Base Hospital No. 6 in France and Base Hospital No. 204 in Hursley, England. He shared anecdotes about his experiences and reported on his medical work. Dorothy provided news of their children and life in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Their correspondence includes letters, telegrams, and postcards. Other writers include Samuel J. Mixter, Jason's father, who wrote from Boston, Massachusetts, about his daily life and about his work as a medical inspector. Other soldiers, former patients, and acquaintances also wrote to members of the Mixter family.

The collection includes 25 picture postcards depicting French scenes during and after the war; 3 are integrated into the Correspondence series, and the remaining 22 are housed with the Printed Items and Ephemera series.

The Military Papers series is divided into three subseries. Chronological Military Papers (51 items) include memorandums, orders, letters, telegrams, and other items pertaining to William Jason Mixter's military service during World War I, particularly related to his discharge in 1919. The subseries contains a list of personnel who served at Base Hospital No. 6. The Account Book, Diagnosis Book, and Notebooks subseries (4 items) consists of William Jason Mixter's account book from the London City & Midland Bank (June 30, 1918-January 15, 1919), a diagnosis book regarding soldiers' complaints onboard the SS Northland from February 11, 1919-February 17, 1919, and a notebook with brief personal memoranda. William Jason Mixter kept a medical notebook during his time at Hursley Camp Hospital near Winchester, England. He recorded biographical and medical information about his patients, and information about medical treatments. The Hursley Camp Hospital volume enclosed numerous clinical record slips and other manuscript notes.

The American Women's War Hospital Documents (3 items), pertaining to an institution in Paignton, England, are comprised of a photograph of nurses and patients outside of the hospital (December 1914) and two bundles of letter typescripts that a nurse named Mary Dexter wrote to her mother about her work at the hospital (November 22, 1914-January 9, 1915, and January 15, 1915-July 16, [1915]).

The Writings series (10 items) contains 9 typed and manuscript poems, mostly related to American soldiers' experiences during World War I, on topics such as volunteering for the army, traveling overseas, and encountering death. The poems "The Americans" and "Only a Volunteer" are present in manuscript and typescript form, and "The Young Dead" and "The Woman's Burden" are attributed to female authors (Lilian Palmer Powers and Laura E. Richards, respectively). The final item is a typescript of a resolution presented at a social club encouraging its members to proclaim loyalty during the war.

The Photographs series (114 items) is comprised of 113 photographic prints and a 32-page photograph album; some images are repeated. Items include studio portraits of William Jason Mixter in uniform; group portraits of nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel; pictures of wounded and convalescent soldiers during and after operations; interior views of medical facilities; and views of buildings and destruction in France. The photograph album and 80 loose items are housed in the Graphics Division (see Alternate Locations for more information).

The Printed Items and Ephemera series (59 items) consists of 3 unique pamphlets; 18 unique newspapers, newsletters, and newspaper clippings; 28 unique ephemeral items; and 4 books.

The pamphlets include 5 copies of an article by William Jason Mixter entitled "Surgical Experiences in France," originally published in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 173.12 (September 16, 1915), pp. 413-418. The other pamphlets are an advertisement for an "Exhibition and Sale of the War Cartoons by Louis Raemaekers" (October 1916), including an introduction and small reproductions of the drawings, and "Welcome Home," a book commemorating the return of the 26th Division in April 1919. Newspaper articles and other publications (including 6 items housed in Oversize Manuscripts) pertain to aspects of the war, particularly concerning medical personnel, civilian relief organizations, and the medical career of Samuel J. Mixter. A copy of The Boston Herald dated November 11, 1918, announces the Armistice.

The 28 ephemeral items include programs and advertising cards pertaining to church services held in honor of Base Hospital No. 6; the collection includes several copies each of 2 programs. Other printed items include a small map of Cambridge and Boston, a circular related to the Boston Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a book of stationery with engravings of Belgian scenes. A few personal items relate to the Mixter family, such as visiting cards on which William Jason Mixter wrote personal messages, cards from Mixter's children with sewn pictures, a certificate regarding Dorothy Mixter's service with the American Red Cross canteen, and a small French-language almanac affixed to a card with colored illustrations of the Allied Nations' flags. Three additional items pertain directly to the American Red Cross: the cover of the December 1918 issue of The Red Cross Magazine, a Red Cross service flag for display in a home window, and an American Red Cross canteen worker patch. Other insignia items are a button and ribbon commemorating the 26th Division's return to the United States and two small pins that belonged to William Jason Mixter. Also present is William Jason Mixter's passport, issued on February 6, 1915.

The 4 books include: The History of U.S. Army Base Hospital No. 6 (Boston, Mass.: 1924), given to William Jason Mixter, Jr., by his father; Independence Day in London, 1918 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1918); The Old Humanities and the New Science... (London: J. Murray, 1919); and Dere Mable: Love Letters of a Rookie (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1918).

Collection

William H. Seward collection, 1840-1849 (majority within 1840-1845)

30 items

This collection contains letters that William Henry Seward wrote to James Bowen, a president of the New York and Erie Railroad, from 1840-1845. Seward discussed political appointments in the state of New York and occasionally mentioned national political issues.

This collection (30 items) contains 27 letters that William Henry Seward wrote to James Bowen, a president of the New York and Erie Railroad. Seward's letters to Bowen, dated July 15, 1840-March 24, 1845, mostly concern New York state and national political issues. The earliest items, written during Seward's governorship, often regard political offices and potential appointments. Seward later commented on national political issues, including the "Native American question" and the 1844 presidential election, as well as on the actions of the Whig Party. This group of letters forms part of a larger, numbered series (not present).

The collection contains 3 additional items: a letter that Seward wrote to H. C. Martindale about an Indian agent, with an enclosed German-language newspaper clipping (April 7, 1849); an undated copy of a coded letter Seward sent to a correspondent in Copenhagen, Denmark; and a copy of an undated telegram Seward received from C. A. Seward.

Collection

William Hope letters, 1862-1866

10 items

Peter Atkin of Liverpool, England, and his son George received 10 letters regarding Peter's nephew, Englishman William D. Hope, between 1862 and 1866. Hope, an aspiring pharmacist, wrote 5 letters to his uncle and 3 letters to his cousin about his desperate financial situation, his attempts to find work in England, his experiences serving with the Union Army in the Civil War, and his life in Illinois in the year following the war. Two other acquaintances wrote to Peter Atkin about a visit Hope made to Nova Scotia in 1862 and about Hope's financial hardships.

Peter Atkin of Liverpool, England, and his son George received 10 letters regarding Peter's nephew, Englishman William D. Hope, between 1862 and 1866. Hope, an aspiring pharmacist, wrote 5 letters to his uncle and 3 letters to his cousin about his desperate financial situation, his attempts to find work in England, his experiences serving with the Union Army in the Civil War, and his life in Illinois in the year following the war. Two other acquaintances wrote Atkin about a visit Hope made to Nova Scotia in 1862 and about Hope's financial hardships.

Dr. William Denison of Newport, Nova Scotia, wrote Peter Atkin on August 6, 1862, concerning William D. Hope's recent professional visit and his local love affair, since broken off. William D. Hope wrote the following 4 letters to Peter Atkin and George Atkin, his uncle and cousin, respectively, while traveling around England between September 22, 1862, and May 2, 1863. Hope discussed his unsuccessful love affair with "Miss Paint" in Nova Scotia, and lamented his poor financial fortunes. He described his attempts to find work, as well as his difficulties in doing so, which he attributed to the machinations of a relative, David Hope. In his letter of September 22, 1862, he mentioned the dampening effect the Civil War had on business affairs in North America. Andrew Paton also wrote to Peter Atkin on January 26, 1863, expressing his displeasure at Hope's situation and his failure to call on Paton in Glasgow, Scotland.

Hope's letters from North America begin on December 1, 1863. In the 4 letters that follow, he described his work for the Union Army at Hart Island, New York, and at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee (2 letters, December 1, 1863, and January 19, 1865, 13 pages), as well as various aspects of his life after the war (2 letters, August 8, 1865, and August 20, 1866, 9 pages). He reported on his experiences as a medicine dispenser for a hospital on Hart Island, recounted his travels from New York to Tennessee, and explained his duties with the quartermaster's department at Lookout Mountain. He also commented on the progress of the war, on the perceived American prejudice against Englishmen, and on the war's effects in Illinois. In his letter of December 1, 1863, he described the New York City draft riots of 1863, during which he was almost fatally shot, and he mentioned the recent hanging of the Lincoln assassination conspirators in his letter of August 8, 1865.

Collection

William Hollingsworth correspondence, 1833-1839

4 items

This collection is made up of letters that William Hollingsworth of Elkton, Maryland, received from George Law of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pascal Hollingsworth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1830s. Law's letters concern an insurance claim for the schooner Independence, and Hollingsworth's letters pertain to the market for wheat and flour.

This collection is made up of 4 letters that William Hollingsworth of Elkton, Maryland, received from George Law of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pascal Hollingsworth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1830s. Law's letters, dated January 7, 1833, and January 11, 1833, concern Hollingsworth's insurance claim for the schooner Independence; his first letter was originally addressed to [Z.?] Crouch of Baltimore, and contains a brief note by Crouch. Law compared the Independence case to a similar claim regarding the Post Boy and referred briefly to the French government and a council on prizes. Pascal Hollingsworth's letters, written on September 20, 1837, and March 20, 1839, pertain to commerce, particularly with regard to Philadelphia. He primarily discussed the financial outlook for shipments of wheat and flour: he believed that a poor harvest would lead to high prices in 1837. Hollingsworth's first letter also reflects his belief that newspapers had conspired to depress prices by intentionally reporting false figures regarding wheat harvesting and production, and his second letter discusses some of the effects of European wars on international commerce.

Collection

William H. Long letters, 1843-1849

8 items

This collection is made up of 8 letters that William H. Long wrote to his sister and brother-in-law while teaching school and studying theology in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts in the mid-1840s.

This collection is made up of 8 letters that William H. Long wrote to his sister and brother-in-law while teaching school and studying theology in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts in the mid-1840s. He discussed his travels, future plans, studies, religious views, his opinions on the difficulty of finding good teachers for girls (December 9, 1845), and the price of postage (May 4-5, 1845). On one occasion, he mentioned a sermon by Henry Ward Beecher (May 4-5, 1845), and on another he reported a successful attempt to avoid paying a woman's fare during travel (April 30, 1846). In his February 27, 1849, letter he discusses his recent marriage to Lucia and the family's displeasure with him for not announcing it in advance. He also notes having preached twice for Dr. Beecher.

Collection

William H. Goodwin letters, 1849-1851

21 items

This collection is made up of letters that William H. Goodwin sent to Jacob Wendell in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with news of ships' arrivals and other commercial matters in Calcutta, India, where Goodwin did business from 1849-1951. Goodwin occasionally commented on news from the United States.

This collection is made up of 21 letters that William H. Goodwin sent to Jacob Wendell in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from Calcutta, India, between September 16, 1849, and November 22, 1851. His correspondence primarily concerns commercial affairs and shipping; he reported the names of ships that had recently arrived in Calcutta, sometimes noting the length of their journeys from ports such as Boston or California. He solicited advice from Wendell about the possibility of extending his stay in Calcutta, discussed the exchange rate and poor business prospects, and occasionally commented on news from the United States, such as the trial of Professor John Webster (June 13, 1850) and the Compromise of 1850 (November 18, 1850).

Collection

William Hermann letters, 1944-1945

19 items

This collection contains letters William Stine Hermann, a high school teacher and sports coach from Middleburg, Pennsylvania, received from acquaintances and a nephew serving in the United States Navy and Marine Corps during the Second World War. Hermann's correspondents described life in the military, often referring to their experiences playing sports, and commented on news of the sports programs at Middleburg High School.

This collection contains 18 letters William Stine Hermann received from men serving in the United States Navy and Marine Corps during the Second World War, as well as 1 letter he received from the United States Navy Office of Naval Officer Procurement. Frequent correspondents included Stanley M. Bowser (5 letters), Frank H. Attinger (4 letters), Charles W. Steininger (3 letters), and other acquaintances from Middleburg.

The first letter, from the Office of Naval Officer Procurement, informs Hermann that, because of a change of requirements, he was no longer eligible for an unspecified appointment (May 22, 1944). Personal acquaintances wrote the remaining letters while in training for and serving in the United States Navy and Marine Corps during the final year of the Second World War. Staff Sergeant Stanley M. Bowser, Hermann's nephew and a member of the Marine Corps Reserve's 151st Marine Scout Bombing Squadron, wrote 5 letters between January 3, 1945, and November 18, 1945, describing military life in the Pacific Theater and, particularly in his last letter, referring to marines' leisure activities, especially sports. Hermann's interest in sports is echoed in nearly all of the letters, as sailors and marines described their experiences playing baseball, basketball, and soccer during their military service, inquired about sports at Middleburg High School, and commented on Hermann's officiating duties. Several addressed Hermann as "Coach." Other aspects of military life, such as training in Los Angeles and life on a small boat in the Pacific Ocean, are also regularly discussed. Correspondents frequently sent their best wishes to Hermann's wife and children. Many letters are written on personalized or otherwise decorated United States Navy stationery.

Correspondents:
  • Frederick H. Attinger, United States Navy Repair Base, Advanced GM School, San Diego, California
  • Paul H. Bachman, United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland
  • Staff Sergeant Stanley M. Bowser, 151st Marine Scout Bombing Squadron
  • "Danny"
  • R. E. Felker, USS Mendocino
  • Aircraft Material Officer 1st Class Howard L. Millhouse, Astoria, Oregon
  • Pharmacist's Mate 1st Class George B. Pearson, USS LCI(L)-768
  • Private 2nd Class Charles W. Steininger, USS Texas
Collection

William Henry Lyttelton papers, 1730-1806, 1755-1761

5 linear feet.

The William Henry Lyttelton papers document Lyttelton's career as governor of South Carolina and governor of Jamaica. These items primarily relate to colonial administration of South Carolina and Jamaica, and military engagements with Native Americans on the South Carolina frontier and against the French in the West Indies.

The William Henry Lyttelton papers (1217 items) document Lyttelton's service as governor of South Carolina and governor of Jamaica. The collection consists of 864 letters (including 26 letters from Lyttelton), 316 documents, 37 financial records, four letter books, and one personal account book. These items primarily relate to colonial administration of South Carolina and Jamaica, and military engagements with Native Americans on the frontier and against the French in the West Indies. Document types include intelligence reports, orders, treaties, drafts of acts, pardons, and speeches; financial documents consist of disbursements, payment and supply receipts, and government and military expenses.

The bulk of the collection documents Lyttelton's governorship in South Carolina. Lyttelton received communications and reports from officials in London, southern governors, the Superintendent for Indian Affairs in the Southern Colonies John Stuart, Indian Agent Edmond Atkin, military commanders, and members of the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly, the Council, and courts. Some of the most important items are 37 letters, reports, and enclosures from Agent Edmond Atkin on Indian relations, and 21 letters from Jeffery Amherst that describe his activities against the French at Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) and Crown Point.

Topics of note include:
  • Construction of new forts and reports on the condition of forts and other defense efforts
  • Taxes, trade, tariffs, and embargoes concerning South Carolina
  • Relations and conflicts with various tribes, including the Catawba, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Coweta, Creek, Shawnee, and Savannah tribes
  • The escalating Anglo-Cherokee war (Cherokee Rebellion) and French efforts to ally with the Cherokee during the French and Indian War
  • The postage system connecting the southern provinces
  • Smallpox and diseases among settlers, troops, and Native American populations
  • Intelligence on French military activities, including many intercepted French letters

In addition to communications between colonial officials regarding trade policies, peace treaties, boundary agreements, and military conflicts, the collection also contains letters and speeches from various Native American leaders including: Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter), Black Dog, King Hagler, Long Dog, Ohatchie [Wohatchee], Oconostota [Ouconnostotah], Old Hop, Standing Turkey, Tistoe of Keowee, Usteneka (Judge's friend), Willinawa, The Wolf, and Young Warrior of Estatoe. (See Additional Descriptive Data for a list of items written by Native Americans.)

Highlights of the South Carolina material include:
  • September 7, 1730: Copy of "Articles of Friendship & Commerce proposed by the Lords Commissioners for trade and plantations to the Deputies of the Cherokee Nation in South Carolina"
  • July 18, 1755-April 23, 1756: Jerome Courtonne's journal of his time with the Chickasaw Nation in Georgia
  • August 3-September 1755: Lyttelton's account of his capture by the French on his way to South Carolina, his imprisonment in France, and his return to England
  • July 5, 1756: Instructions to end communications with the French in South Carolina and to stop supplying them with provisions or arms
  • September 15, 1756: Conflicts between the Upper Creek and the colonial settlements at Ogeechee
  • November 8 and 12, 1756: Directions from William De Brahm to Raymond Demere concerning the operations of Fort Septentrional on the Tennessee River
  • [1756]: Daniel Pepper to Lyttelton with remarks on the Creek Nation
  • [1756]: "Short observations upon several points relative to the present constitution of the province of South Carolina"
  • March 4, 1757: Proposal to improve fortifications at Charleston and Fort Johnson
  • April 24, 1757: Minutes of a meeting of governors from Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia concerning southern defenses
  • May 1757: Proposed Asylum Act for the settlement of Georgia
  • September 12, 1757: Letter from Thomas Wigg to Lyttelton concerning the construction of Fort Lyttelton
  • [1757]: Catawba leader King Hagler to Cherokee leader Old Hop concerning the Catawba joining the British against the French and their Indian allies
  • June 24, 1758: Intelligence from three French deserters from forts in French Louisiana
  • July 27, 1758: Copy of article of capitulation between Generals Amherst, Admiral Boscowen, and Drucour at Louisbourg
  • September 8, 1758: Joseph Wright’s journal of negotiations with the Lower Creeks (July 20-August 7, 1758)
  • December 23, 1758: Letter from John Murray to Lyttelton which includes a list of acts to be reviewed by the South Carolina Assembly
  • May 5, 1759: Intelligence from Samuel Wyly on a Cherokee attack on colonial settlers
  • May 17, 1759: Advertisement warning against illegal trading with Native Americans
  • July 27, 1759: Letter from Jeffrey Amherst to Lyttelton describing the taking Ticonderoga and Crown Point from the French
  • August 1, 1759: Intelligence from Cherokee Indian Buffalo Skin to Paul Demere
  • August 18, 1759: Copy of a treaty between Great Britain and the Choctaw Nation with a list of Choctaw towns and prices for trade goods
  • September 4, 1759: Letter from James Wright to Lyttelton enclosing copies of two letters from Benjamin Franklin concerning the postal system
  • October 12, 1759: South Carolina Assembly to Lyttelton regarding resolutions on the Cherokee Expedition
  • October 19, 1759: List of Cherokee living in Charleston
  • [October 1759]: A letter from King Hagler and other Catawba leaders voicing their friendship with the colonists and describing an outbreak of smallpox in their community (with signatures from chiefs)
  • November 30, 1759: Edmond Atkin letter with enclosures regarding negotiations with Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee tribes, as well as intelligence
  • [1759]: Lyttelton's declaration of war against the Cherokee
  • January 29, February 12, 1760: Extracts of letters concerning murders and outrages committed by Cherokees
  • February 7, 1760: Journal kept at Fort Prince George during an attack by the Cherokee signed by R. Coytmer, Alexander Miln, and John Bell (January 13-February 7, 1760)

The collection contains 162 items that document Lyttelton's service in Jamaica (1761-1766). These consist primarily of letters from various naval officers, army officers, and British agents serving in the West Indies. Lyttelton also received letters from the Jamaica Committee of Correspondence, and local planters. Of note is material on the Coromantee slave rebellion (Tacky's Rebellion), a violent slave insurrection at St. Mary Parish in Jamaica in 1765.

Other topics include:
  • Relations with other European properties in the West Indies and conflicts with Spain and France
  • The British capture of the Morro Fortress in Havana
  • The losses suffered by the Boston merchant ship John Gally after the French capture of Turks Islands
  • Slave labor in Jamaica and the practice of raising regiments of slaves and black men to fight for Britain
  • Sickness among the British troops and African slaves
  • Danger of wide scale slave disturbances and escapes in November-December 1765
  • Disagreements between Sir James Douglas and Lyttelton after Douglas was not saluted when he arrived on the island
  • News that Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, the secretary of state of the Southern Department, had died
  • British Acts of Navigation and laws passed in Jamaica
  • Differences of opinion on taxes between continental proprietors and island proprietors and on the implementation and repeal of the Stamp Act
  • Issues surrounding smuggling brandy and levying duties on spirits
  • Inspections of the fortifications in Jamaica in preparation for war
  • The Jamaica assembly's efforts to remove Lyttelton from office for alleged misconduct

Also of note is a letter from Mary Fearon regarding Lyttelton's purchase of a slave for his children in England (March 21, 1766). The collection contains one letter from Lyttelton's retirement in England, a June 8, 1796, item addressed to Mortimer Street concerning poetry.

Volume 1 (446 pages) and Volume 2 (76 pages) are a copy books containing letters from Lyttelton to British government and military officials, covering August 1757 to March 1760, while Lyttelton was governor of South Carolina. These provide answers to many of the incoming letters from the Correspondence and Documents series. Both volumes have alphabetical indices of letter recipients.

Volume 3 (125 pages) is a copybook containing two sets of letters. In the first group (pages 1-99) are secret and private dispatches between Lyttelton and British military leadership related to coordinating attacks on French forts in Alabama, Mobile, and Florida (1758-1759). The second group (pages 1a-26a) consists of miscellaneous letters labeled "Omitted in the Former Books," (1756-1759).

Volume 4 (30 pages) is Lyttelton's personal copybook covering his outgoing letters from April 15, 1762 to September 11, 1765, while stationed in Jamaica. Recipients include Governor General Philippe-François of Saint-Domingue, Marquis de Lambertye, Governor de St. Louis, Comte de Choiseul, Colonel John Irwin, Captain Kafflin, Monieur de Chambette de St. Louis a Paris, Captain Geofry, Comte do Ricla, and Comte d'Elva. Several of the letters concern prisoners of war. All letters are in French.

Volume 5 (167 pages) is Lyttelton's accounts book covering 1755 to 1806. The accounts detail Lyttelton's income, expenditures, and investments throughout his career, including his posts in South Carolina, Jamaica, Portugal, and England. Entries occasionally include brief mentions of his and his family's whereabouts.

Collection

William Henry Bisbee collection, 1898-1901

20 items

The William Henry Bisbee collection is comprised of 20 letters, telegraphs, and memoranda dating between 1898 and 1901. The collection includes incoming and outgoing correspondence of Bisbee, relating to Bisbee's service in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War, notably with William Rufus Shafter, James Franklin Bell, and Loyd Wheaton. The collection also includes military orders, other military documents relating to Bisbee's career, and a copy of his military record.

The William Henry Bisbee collection is comprised of 20 letters, telegraphs, and memoranda dating between 1898-1901. The collection includes correspondence written to and by Bisbee, relating to Bisbee's service in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War, notably with William Rufus Shafter, James Franklin Bell, and Loyd Wheaton. The collection also includes military orders, other military documents relating to Bisbee's career, and a copy of his military record. Notably, the papers include a confidential letter to the officers of Bisbee's regiment, handwritten after reading a telegram from General Douglas MacArthur. The letter describes in practical detail acceptable interrogation methods.

Collection

William Henderson collection, 1846-1849 (majority within 1847-1849)

17 items

Dr. William Henderson, a physician in Aberdeen, Scotland, received these 14 letters and 3 financial reports concerning the affairs of the Friendship Plantation in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, between 1846 and 1849. R. G. Kirkland, its manager after 1847, wrote 9 of the letters about Friendship's financial problems and about the local labor situation, including the difficulty of hiring freed slaves and of retaining workers "imported" from Africa and India. Other letters from Henderson's Jamaican associates provide further information about the plantation's production and finances.

Dr. William Henderson, a physician in Aberdeen, Scotland, received these 14 letters and 3 financial reports concerning the affairs of the Friendship Plantation in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, between 1846 and 1849. R. G. Kirkland, its manager after 1847, wrote 9 of the letters about Friendship's financial problems and about the local labor situation, including the difficulty of hiring freed slaves and of retaining workers "imported" from Africa and India. Other letters from Henderson's Jamaican associates provide additional information on the plantation's production and finances.

All of the letters concern the plantation's business and financial affairs, including letters pertaining to overseer D. Siveright's alleged mismanagement and a legal action against his estate. Most items report directly on Friendship's sugarcane production, including 2 partially printed documents which enumerate the wages paid for each of the plantation's jobs; list the number of workers used daily; and inventory livestock holdings, financial assets, and liabilities (January-February 1847 and November 1848). An additional manuscript document reports on the disposition of crops in 1846 and 1847 (May 17, 1848).

R. G. Kirkland and W. F. Henderson periodically updated Henderson about the plantation's affairs, often commenting on labor difficulties caused, in part, by recent emancipation. Both described aspects of the Jamaican labor market and provided negative opinions on the locals' work ethic, affected, they believed, by the ongoing influence of African religions, among other factors. They also detailed their efforts to hire "imported" workers from Africa and southern Asia, though these workers often fled the plantation. Along with writing about Friendship's business affairs, Kirkland inquired about his children, whom he had sent to Scotland for schooling, and about local education in Jamaica and social conditions (May 22, 1849).

Collection

William H. Davis and Elnora Benford Davis collection, 1940-1944

26 items

The collection consists of 26 items, the majority of which are 14 love letters written by Staff Sergeant William H. Davis to his wife, Elnora Benford Davis of Detroit, during his Army service between 1940 and 1944. Other documents include change of address notices, visitation requests, union dues receipts, and an income tax stub. One ration book granted to Elnora Benford Davis contains a partial sheet of ration stamps for "BCN Cooperative." One snapshot photograph shows an unidentified African American woman, possibly Elnora Benford Davis.

The collection consists of 26 items, the majority of which are 14 love letters written by Staff Sergeant William H. Davis to his wife, Elnora Benford Davis of Detroit during his Army service between 1943 and 1945. Other documents include military change of address notices and visitation requests, union dues receipts, and a W-2. One ration book granted to Elnora Benford Davis contains a partial sheet of ration stamps for "BCN Cooperative." One snapshot photograph shows an unidentified African American woman, possibly Elnora Benford Davis.

The first of the letters, dated July 2, 1940, is written to Miss E. Elnora Benford ("Billie") during her visit to relatives in Milledgeville, Georgia, and references a violent encounter with "a white fellow." Subsequent letters written while Davis served abroad include requests for items from home, news of family and friends, and expressions of affection for "Buster." In his last two letters, he questions Elnora's faithfulness and ultimately agrees to end the relationship. The bulk of the letters were sent as V-Mail.

Collection

William H. Coats papers, 1859-1874 (majority within 1860-1868)

28 items

The William H. Coats papers are made up of incoming correspondence to Coats from his mother and acquaintances, who wrote about life in Connecticut and Michigan during the Civil War, and documents related to his studies at the Connecticut Literary Institution and other aspects of his life.

The William H. Coats papers are made up of incoming correspondence to Coats from his mother and acquaintances, who wrote about life in Connecticut and Michigan during the Civil War, and documents related to his time at the Connecticut Literary Institution and other aspects of his life.

The Correspondence series (24 items) contains letters to Coats from friends and family members. Acquaintances in New York, Connecticut, and Michigan corresponded with Coats throughout the Civil War period, providing updates on their daily lives and, in one case, offering humorous advice on dealing with women (March 20, 1861). Schuyler Grant wrote a letter from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he attended school, and shared news of mutual acquaintances who had recently graduated from the University of Michigan; he also requested career advice (May 7, 1864). His letter of June 1, 1865, discusses events that followed Confederate troops' surrender and optimism about Reconstruction. The Hines family of Binghamton, New York, wrote to Coats about an employment opportunity that Coats accepted in the summer of 1863. Later items include 4 letters by Abby L. Coats, who wrote to her son about family health and news of North Stonington, Connecticut, and 1 by "Ella," a friend, who congratulated him on his upcoming marriage (March 8, 1868).

The Ephemera and Documents series (5 items) includes a "Notice of Enrollment" informing Coats of his eligibility for military service (July 15, 1864). Other items are a school report from the Connecticut Literary Instutition (March 22, 1859), printed programs, and calling cards for residents of East Saginaw, Michigan.

Collection

William H. Channing collection, 1829-1863

34 items

This collection contains letters from Susan Channing to her son William H. Channing, a prominent Unitarian Religious leader in America during the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. Also included are letters from relatives and friends of deceased Civil War soldiers, sent to Channing while he was stationed as chaplain at the Stanton Hospital in Washington D.C.

The William H. Channing collection is comprised of 34 letters. Many of these were written by William Henry Channing's mother, Susan Channing, who lived in Brattleboro, Vermont. She reported family events and illnesses, expressed her dismay at her son's letter writing habits, and wrote of her concerns for her son and his family. In a letter dated November 8, 1845, she encouraged William to leave a copy of his papers in a safe place and to consider purchasing a life insurance policy, for which she offered to pay. In an 1847 letter, Susan mentioned the publication of the first volume of Channing's memoirs. In later letters, she described her growing interest in politics and in reading newspapers.

An 1843 letter from J.D. Channing to Susan Channing describes the meetings of a new "church of united brethren and Christian friends," organized in New York by William Russell, at which William H. Channing preached. The letter also mentions Ralph Waldo Emerson's attendance at the meeting and his visit afterwards.

During the Civil War, Channing served as the chaplain of Stanton Hospital. There he received five letters from relatives and friends of deceased soldiers thanking Channing for his kind letters.

Collection

William Harrison Barber papers, 1861-1883

34 items

Online
William Harrison Barber was a private in the 47th Pennsylvania Regiment of Volunteers (1862-1865), who wrote letters during and after the Civil War documenting his military and personal life and his business activities. Of particular interest is a letter describing a railroad trip between Allentown and Baltimore, and letters to his sons explaining his views on fatherhood and business.

The William Harrison Barber papers is a small collection of correspondence and documents from during and after the Civil War. The Civil War material includes personal letters to his mother; a 15-page letter to a friend that describes a railroad trip from Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Baltimore; Barber's discharge letter, which has a drop of blood on it from a fist fight with another solder; and a letter of dishonorable discharge for three men (Barber is not one of them) for cowardice in battle. Of special interest is a letter to William from his brother Joseph, December 10, 1861, which includes a full-page pencil sketch of the layout of Fort Ethan Allen in Arlington, Virginia.

The post-war papers document Barber's personal life and business activities, primarily through letters to his family. Letters to his sons, including a farewell letter written on his deathbed, contain explanations of his ideals of fatherhood and the values of business in life.

The Documents series consists of an essay entitled The Ideal Manager, a speech to his employees called Words to Working Men, and documents granting Barber power of attorney from sisters Matilda and Hannah.

Miscellaneous items include:
  • Sketch of Camp Sedwick, signed by Tom Barber, [1870s]
  • Page 1 of an unfinished autobiography started by Barber
  • Prayers (3 items)
  • Inheritance law extracts (3 items)
  • Poem: "Charity"
  • List of flowers and their meanings

Collection

William Handy letters, 1851

4 items

William Handy received 4 letters from family members in the early 1850s. His aunt, his father, and a sibling discussed the health and news of family and acquaintances.

William Handy received 4 letters (9 pages) from his aunt Louise (January 30, 1851) and his father, Lewis Handy (September 27, 1851; October 30, 1851; and April 14, year unknown). A sibling contributed to Lewis Handy's letter of October 30, 1851. Handy's aunt reported on her lodgings in "Rochester," where she was sitting in an ailing man's room while writing the letter, and requested news of the Handy family. She cautioned William about falling in love and wrote that she "should rather fall into a hogshead of molasses" (January 30, 1851). Lewis Handy wrote an extended account about the illness and death of his son Jason, William's brother, in his letter of September 27, 1851, and later discussed the possibility of finding work on a whaling voyage to pay some of his debts (October 30, 1851). He also wrote about his daughter Almira's fragile health and expected death (April 14, year unknown).

Collection

William H. Anderson family papers, 1828-1887 (majority within 1852-1875)

0.5 linear feet

The William H. Anderson Family Papers are made up of 177 letters, one manuscript map, 28 printed items, two photographs, and other materials of this Londonderry, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts family. William Anderson wrote around 150 letters to his family and friends while at primary school in Londonderry, New Hampshire; Pembroke Academy in Pembroke, New Hampshire; Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire; and Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. Anderson's correspondence includes 12 descriptive letters home from the Sligo cotton plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, where he worked as a teacher from 1859 to 1860, with content on plantation life, the enslaved workers, cotton processing, and educational matters. The remainder of the collection is William Anderson's post-Civil War letters, written while a lawyer in Lowell, and letters of Anderson's aunts Annis Nesmith Davidson and Anna B. Davidson Anderson Holmes from Londonderry and Wyoming County, New York.

The William H. Anderson Family Papers are made up of 177 letters, one manuscript map, 27 printed items, two photographs, and other materials of this Londonderry, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts family.

The Correspondence Series. William Anderson wrote around 150 letters to his family and friends while at primary school in Londonderry, New Hampshire (5 letters, 1849-1850); Pembroke Academy at Pembroke, New Hampshire (15 letters, 1852-1853); Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts (3 letters, 1853); Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire (19 letters, 1854-1855); and Yale College at New Haven, Connecticut (60 letters). The letters from Londonderry, Pembroke, Andover, and Meriden are filled with details about his curricula, course work, school uniforms, teachers, boarding houses, school uniforms, secret societies, local politics and political events (Whig and Democratic; he ran into Franklin Pierce on October 25, 1852), updates on friends and family, visits to nearby towns, and more. Anderson helped offset the cost of his education by taking on various farm jobs. Detailed letters to his parents, brother, and friend Mary A. Hine from Yale College similarly include content on curricula, course work, professors, societies, examinations, graduation, finances, and other aspects of being a student in higher education.

Upon graduation from Yale, he began work at the Sligo Plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, where he taught a school comprised of students from Sligo and the nearby Retirement Plantation, from 1859 to 1860. During this time, he wrote 12 letters home to his parents and to his future wife Mary A. Hine. He arrived at Bennett's Retirement Plantation in early September 1859, and shortly thereafter settled in at David P. Williams' Sligo Plantation. He described his relative isolation, loneliness, teaching and wages, corporal punishment, thoughts on slavery and the enslaved men and women on the plantation, games he played with his scholars, travel between the Sligo and Retirement plantations, and leisure activities such as hunting and horseback riding. In late December 1859, he provided a lengthy description of a (largely) steamboat trip to New Orleans with his students for Christmas.

Anderson noted that no poor white people lived between Sligo and Natchez; he was uncomfortable with the aristocratic lifestyle of white people living in the south, and expressed this view on multiple occasions in his correspondence (see especially September 30, [1859]). Although his father appears on list of members of the American Anti-Slavery Society, William H. Anderson did not write with disgust at slavery, but rather used racist epithets, accepted the "servants" who assisted him in various ways, and wrote unmoved about abuse doled out to children (see especially June 9, 1860). In one instance, he wrote about enslaved women who gathered near to the house in the evenings before supper to sing and dance (October 25, 1859). One of the highly detailed letters in the collection is William H. Anderson's description of the use of the cotton gin on the Sligo Plantation, which includes remarks on its history, its functioning, the various jobs performed by enslaved laborers, and the rooms in which the jobs took place. He included calls made by enslaved workers between floors of the "gin house" and the roles of elderly men and women in the grueling labor ([October 1859]). In 1860, Anderson planned to take a summer break in Tennessee and then teach another year, but on the death of his oldest scholar Susie (14 years old) by diphtheria, Williams decided against having a school the next year (July 4, 1860).

The remaining letters by William H. Anderson, dated 1861-1887, contain scattered information on family matters, such as visits and health. He wrote little of his law practice or his life in Lowell, Massachusetts. Anderson's correspondence includes a variety of printed letterheads and one inset map: a rough floorplan of the Brother's Society Hall (January 14, 1856); the printed letterhead "INGENIUM LABORE PERFECTUM" "YALE" of Sigma Delta (ca. August/September 1856 and July 10, 1858); a partially printed letter sheet beginning "IN order to secure the regular attendance...", respecting Anderson's discipline (July 20, 1857); and the printed letterhead "STEVENS & ANDERSON, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law" Lowell, Massachusetts (August 16 and September 27, 1872).

The collection includes around 25 letters by William Anderson's aunts Annis Nesmith Davidson (1801-1877) and Anna B. Davidson Anderson Holmes (1798-1875). Anna wrote alternately to her sister Jane Davidson Anderson and her sister-in-law Annis Davidson, from Londonderry, New Hampshire; Pike, New York; and Genesee Falls, New York, between 1828 and 1874. Her letters pertain largely to domestic life, boarders, troubles keeping hired girls (including Irish girls) to help with housework, news of family births, marriages, and deaths, local ministers, and her children's schooling. The few letters by Annis Davidson from Pike and Genesee Falls, New York, regard family updates and visiting.

The collection's Map, Receipt, and Photographs include a partially printed receipt for William Anderson's tuition and fees for the term ending April 14, 1857. The pencil map identifies particular buildings in New Haven, Connecticut, around where College, Temple, Church, Orange, and State streets intersect with Chapel and Crown streets. The photographs are cartes-de-visite of William Henry Anderson and "Annis Davidson Anderson Holmes" [most likely Anna B. Davidson Anderson Holmes].

The Printed Items are made up of materials largely pertaining to William Anderson's time at Yale College. These include:

  • BROTHERS IN UNITY. Prize Debate in the Class of 1859, January 12, 1856. William H. Anderson listed as a participant.
  • JUNIOR EXHIBITION. Class of 1859, April 6, 1858, invitation to Mary Hine, with William H. Anderson listed as a speaker.
  • JUNIOR EXHIBITION. YALE COLLEGE, April 6, 1858 (E. Hayes, printer), program.
  • INITIATION, June 11, 1858, program, with manuscript annotations identifying an oration delivered by W. H. Anderson.
  • James Robinson & Co. (Boston, Mass.) printed letter requesting information about academies, [1858].
  • FIFTY-NINE. 'Oυ δοκέιν αλλ' είναι. Presentation Songs, June 15, 1859 (Morehouse & Taylor, printers).
  • YALE COLLEGE. PRESENTATION OF THE CLASS OF 1859, June 15, 1859 (Morehouse & Taylor, steam printers).
  • "Esto Perpetua." '62. Pow-wow OF THE CLASS OF '62, June 15, 1859 (Morehouse & Taylor, printers).
  • '59. OWLS FROM THE NORTH!, July 17, 1859, flier/advertisement.
  • DE FOREST ORATIONS, June 17, 1859, flier.
  • CATALOGUE OF THE OFFICERS AND STUDENTS IN YALE COLLEGE . . . 1859-60. New Haven: E. Hayes, 1859.
  • JUNIOR EXHIBITION, April 3, 1860, order of exercises. New Haven: E. Hayes, 1860.
  • '61's INITIATION OF '62, pink heavy-stock card with a printed image of two anthropomorphic donkeys boxing.
  • CLASS CIRCULAR, March 20, 1862, seeking feedback from 1859 graduates in anticipation of their triennial meeting.
  • Class '63 Day, June 19, 1863, heavy-stock card invitation.
  • SONGS FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL SUPPER OF THE Yale Alumni Association, January 27, 1868.
  • "INGENIUM LABORE PERFECTUM" Sigma Delta symbol of a wreath surrounding a crown.
  • Annis Davidson visiting card.

The remaining printed items include four copies of an engraved portrait of William H. Anderson by W. T. Bather of N.Y. and published by The Lewis Publishing Co., and five newspaper clippings.

Collection

William G. Henderson papers, 1862-1863

10 items

The William G. Henderson papers consist of letters from a young soldier in the Civil War to his family in Connecticut. Henderson described camp and hospital life, and discussed his views on the war and incompetent Union leadership.

The William G. Henderson papers consist of letters from a young soldier in the Civil War to his family in Connecticut. Henderson described camp and hospital life, and discussed his views on the war and the incompetent Union leadership. On January 20, 1863, Henderson wrote:

"But it is rather vexing to men that left their business and came here in order to end the war to be kept month after month scouring brass, washing white gloves, carrying knapsacks, and the like. We are doing fancy soldiering, that is all while the Rebs don't stop to see whether a man's gloves are perfectly white or not if he can only fight."

In his letter of Jan. 22, 1863, Henderson stated that he was not fighting for racial equality, but did believe that the cause of the war was right. He constantly voiced his disapproval of Union general's management of the war. By February 22, Henderson had landed in the Fort Worth military hospital with ear aches and ear discharge. He remained in the hospital for the remainder of the next three months, and in his last letters stated that he was getting better. The collection's final item is an unattributed poem commemorating Henderson's death (May 4, 1863).

Collection

William F. Joy collection, 1865-1870 (majority within 1865-1866)

40 items

This collection is made up of incoming letters and legal memorandums to William F. Joy of Boston, Massachusetts. His correspondents primarily discussed oil and real estate in and near Stryker, Ohio.

This collection is made up of incoming letters and legal memorandums to William F. Joy of Boston, Massachusetts. His correspondents primarily discussed oil and real estate in and near Stryker, Ohio. William F. Joy received around 34 letters from January 4, 1865-July 27, 1866, primarily related to the area around Stryker, Ohio. Joy's correspondents, who included Converse L. Chase, C. Blinn, and C. S. Tuttle, reported on the progress of oil wells in the area and on competing prospectors. Chase, a lumber dealer, also commented on the cost of lumber. Some correspondents mentioned a mineral spring in the area, and the collection includes 3 small printed reports about an analysis of the spring by University of Michigan professor Silas H. Douglas (February 1870). Other letters, and 2 memorandums related to legal agreements, concern the ownership of property in Williams County, Ohio, and Crawford County, Ohio. One undated document is an inventory of mill machinery, and another is a printed prospectus for the Rocky River Oil Company in eastern Ohio.

Collection

William Fields letters, 1942-1945

17 items

This collection contains 16 letters that Captain William H. Fields wrote to Charles L. Bowden and Urney Fields Bowden of Macon, Georgia, while serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He mentioned his participation in military combat and described his life in the Hawaiian Islands, where he held an administrative position. The collection also includes a letter from a mother to her son.

This collection (17 items) contains 16 letters that Captain William H. Fields ("Will") wrote to Charles L. Bowden ("Charlie") and Urney Fields Bowden of Macon, Georgia, while serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, as well as a letter from a mother to her son. Fields wrote about his participation in military combat and his life in the Hawaiian Islands, where he held an administrative position.

Captain William H. Fields wrote to the Bowdens from January 3, 1943-April 30, 1945, while serving with the V Amphibious Corps near Honolulu, Hawaii. He commented on life in Hawaii, reported the contents of his care packages, and responded to their news. In one letter, Fields mentioned having been in "the thick" of combat (January 3, [1943]); censorship restrictions prevented him from disclosing additional information. He mentioned his commendation for his administrative work and voiced a desire to join the staff of General Holland McTyeire Smith (August 11, 1944). Fields also wrote an undated letter from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. An additional letter from a mother to her son concerns an argument with the family's housekeeper and other news from Macon, Georgia (September 28, 1942).

Collection

William Ellery Channing collection, 1823-1842

8 items

The William Ellery Channing collection contains eight personal letters written to Channing, a Unitarian preacher, by Andrews Norton and George Armstrong, who discussed a range of religious topics related to Unitarian theology and transatlantic cooperation between Unitarian societies.

The William Ellery Channing collection contains eight personal letters written to Channing, a Unitarian preacher, by Andrews Norton in Cambridge, England, and George Armstrong in Crossdoney, Ireland, who discussed a range of religious topics related to Unitarian theology and transatlantic cooperation between Unitarian societies. In his two letters, Norton focused on the relationship between Unitarians in the United States and those in Great Britain and, to a lesser extent, throughout Europe. He encouraged cooperation with like-minded groups and wished to compile biographical information about local believers. George Armstrong, who later moved to Bristol, England, composed five letters, in which he shared his thoughts on Channing's writings and those of other Unitarians, and on many theological matters; he also remarked briefly about British politics. Less frequently, he expressed his opinions on Americans and on slavery, which he fervently opposed. In one 17-page letter, Armstrong responded directly to a discourse recently published by Channing, challenging some of his views and presenting detailed insight into Armstrong's religious philosophy (May 29, 1834).

Collection

William Ellery account and letter book, 1751-1773

1 volume

The William Ellery account and letter book contains financial records and correspondence by the signer of the Declaration of Independence, from his time as a merchant and lawyer in Newport, Rhode Island, between 1751 and 1773.

The William Ellery account and letter book contains financial records and correspondence by the signer of the Declaration of Independence, from his time as a merchant and lawyer in Newport, Rhode Island, between 1751 and 1773. Accounts cover a variety of goods, many originating from naval trade. Though most of the transactions are simple invoices or records of money owed, the book includes a "Wharfage Account" (January 1763-May 11, 1764) and an "Account of Ferryage" (May 9, 1763-March 27, 1764). Occasionally, Ellery mentioned specific vessels taking on or offloading goods, such as the entry entitled "Invoice of Merchandize Ship'd by Barnard's of Harrison on Board the Pitt[,] Pollipus Hammond Commr." (November 20, 1764). He also used this volume as an abbreviated letter book to retain copies of letters on legal and business matters, especially credit and debt. Ellery's most frequent correspondents were William Rodman of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and William Redwood of Philadelphia, for whom he attempted to collect debts.

Three letters accompany the account and letter book:
  • 1779 September 28. Henry Laurens ALS to William Ellery; State House, Philadelphia. 2 pages. Respecting an election for “the Minister for treating with the Court of Great Britain” and the arrival of Count d’Estaing.
  • 1789 June 1. William Ellery ALS to Nathaniel Appleton; Newport, [Rhode Island]. 3 pages. Regarding Rhode Island’s relation to the Union.
  • 1805 January 2. William Ellery ALS to N. G. Duffield; Newport, Rhode Island. 2 pages. Concerning the sale of books ordered from Duffield and the settlement of accounts with him. He also offers his thoughts on learning languages, especially French.
Collection

William D. Workman collection, 1957

42 items

This collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, a typescript, and a photograph related to William D. Workman's appearance on a television program about the integration of schools in the South, originally aired on September 29, 1957. Workman received 23 responses over the following days. Writers most frequently expressed their support of segregated schools, and many also commented on race relations and other political issues concerning the South.

This collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, a typescript, and a photograph related to William D. Workman's appearance on a television program about the integration of schools in the South, originally aired on September 29, 1957. Workman received 23 responses over the following days. Writers most frequently expressed their support of segregated schools, and many also commented on race relations and other political issues concerning the South.

Most items in the Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings series are letters of thanks Workman received shortly after his television appearance. Viewers and listeners sent 23 acknowledgments in letters, postcards, and telegrams, most written on September 30, 1957. Though the overwhelming majority of correspondents provided positive feedback, one provided a strongly negative response. Most letters originated from viewers in southern states, who lauded Workman for his comments on the effects of integration policies on the South, and often expressed their own opinions and thoughts on racial issues and on relations between the North and South. Writers overwhelmingly supported segregation. Many referred to the right to self-governance, and a man named Ed. C. Dennis, Jr., jokingly referred to the possibility of South Carolina seceding from the Union. One woman also noted her father's service in the Confederate Army, and many writers commented on recent desegregation attempts in Little Rock, Arkansas. A few correspondents also shared their feelings, usually negative, about Jews and Catholics. Workman received newspaper clippings and pamphlets on similar topics, particularly on religious and political issues; one took exception to the upcoming film Island in the Sun, which featured interracial romances. The series also holds a bundled group of letters between Workman and producers at CBS, who thanked him for his participation in the program.

The Typescript and Photograph series contains a typescript of the "Report on Integration," which aired on CBS television on September 29, 1957, and on CBS radio on September 30, 1957, as well as a black-and-white photograph of the panel participants.

Collection

William D. Travis collection, 1861-1864

16 items

This collection is made up of biographical sketches, narratives, and a poem about the Civil War experiences of several Union soldiers.

This collection (16 items) is made up of biographical sketches, narratives, and a poem about the Civil War experiences of several Union soldiers.

William D. T. Travis collected 13 Biographical Sketches and Letters about 11 Union soldiers and sailors, written in many hands. Some of the items are incomplete, and many are dated during the war; each is between 2 and 20 pages. The material primarily concerns the subjects' Civil War service, though some include details about pre-war activities. John Franklin Miller and John A. McClernand are represented by 2 items each, and the biography of Oliver O. Howard is signed by J. G. Blaine. One item is a narrative account of the 37th Indiana Infantry Regiment's participation in the Battle of Stones River, and the final item is a letter by a soldier stationed at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in December 1863.

The Writings series (4 items) contains prose and poetry about the Civil War. William D. T. Travis wrote a poem about the Battle of Belmont (November 12, 1861). The other, unattributed items pertain to the Union Army's actions at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, after the Battle of Stones River (2 pages); the strategic advantages of the Union capture of Chattanooga, Tennessee (2 pages); and the Civil War service of the 22nd Illinois Infantry Regiment.

Collection

William Dowdeswell papers, 1765-1774

53 items

The William Dowdeswell papers contain political correspondence of William Dowdeswell, Chancellor of the Exchequer under Charles Watson-Wentworth Rockingham and Member of Parliament. In these letters Dowdeswell analyzes and critiques some of the most important issues of the day, such as domestic and colonial taxation, relations with America and Ireland, support for the East India Company, and the opposition's role in the Middlesex election controversy.

The William Dowdeswell papers contain important correspondence concerning Dowdeswell, Charles Watson-Wentworth Rockingham, Edmund Burke, and other prominent Rockingham supporters. The collection consists of 40 signed drafts or retained copies of letters written by Dowdeswell, and 13 letters other politicians. Dowdeswell analyzed and critiqued some of the most important issues of the day, such as domestic and colonial taxation, relations with America and Ireland, support for the East India Company, and the opposition's role in the Middlesex election controversy.

The papers are made up of letters Dowdeswell's tenure as Rockingham's Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1765, and as his trusted political counselor. Included are letters the new First Lord of the Treasury, Augustus Henry Grafton, Duke of Fitzroy; Secretary of State Henry Seymour Conway; Speaker of the House of Commons Charles Wolfran Cornwall; Councilor and member of the Upper House, Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond; and Lord of the Admiralty, Charles Townshend (see the box and folder listing for an itemized list of the collection).

The bulk of the letters are Dowdeswell to Burke and Rockingham, advising them on parliamentary politics and policies, particularly concerning government business and financial affairs. Of note is his 16-page appraisal of affairs with America, in which he commented on the outbreaks of violence in Boston and New York and suggested a repeal of the Townshend duties. He called the duties a "folly" but asserts that Parliament must retain the right to raise taxes in the colonies. "It must either be admitted[,] which is timidity[,] weakness[,] irresolution[,] and inconsistency; or it must be resisted, and arms of this Country must be exerted against her Colonies" (August 12, 1868).

Dowdeswell's letters the summer and fall of 1769 demonstrate his role in the Middlesex election controversy, in which he and Rockingham defended the embattled John Wilkes. On September 5, 1769, Dowdeswell discussed his pamphlet entitled Sentiments of an English Freeholder, which argued for checks and balances in Parliament. Also of note is the July 18, 1773, letter, in which Dowdeswell discussed the government's treatment of the East India Company. After 1774, Dowdeswell often discussed how his ill-health was keeping him engaging in politics.

A late-18th or early-19th century letterbook contains 29 copied letters from Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, to William Dowdeswell, dating between 1767 and 1773, and letters by Edmund Burke (January 1771 and October 27, 1772), Holles Newcastle (September 17, 1768), and Charles Townshend (May 25, 1765, and Undated). See the box and folder list for a complete list of letters represented in this letterbook.

Collection

William C. Roberts scrapbook, 1869-1907 (majority within 1886-1892)

1 volume

This scrapbook contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other material about New York businessman William C. Roberts. Most items pertain to the New York Standard Watch Company and other business ventures. One group of letters concerns Roberts's efforts to gather biographical information about Civil War veterans.

This scrapbook (around 100 pages) contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to various personal and business ventures of New York businessman William C. Roberts. Most of the items are advertisements, other ephemera, and newspaper clippings concerning the New York Standard Watch Company, the Republican Club of the City of New York, and the Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad. Some items include biographical sketches of William C. Roberts and other prominent New York businessmen, and one group of clippings pertains to Roberts's unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1892. The scrapbook contains photographs and printed portraits of William C. Roberts and a photograph of a Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad locomotive (page 61).

In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Roberts received a small series of letters from Civil War veterans and veterans' relatives responding to his requests for autographs, photographs, and information for planned biographical sketches. Two of the letters provide narratives about individual soldiers' experiences. Additional correspondence includes telegrams and a letter from Chauncey Depew about recruitment for the Republican Club of the City of New York (March 19, 1898). The scrapbook contains a small number of items related to Roberts's personal life, such as a business card, a certificate of his admission to Harvard Law School, and an invitation to his wedding.

Collection

William Campbell letters, 1825

28 items

This collection contains 28 letters written to William Campbell in 1825 regarding ongoing efforts to survey land for the construction of a road in southeastern New York. Surveyors reported on their progress from various locations, including distance traveled, opinions of local residents, and reports on survey-related finances.

This collection contains 28 letters written to William Campbell in the second half of 1825 regarding ongoing efforts to survey land for the construction of a road in southeastern New York. Campell was chief engineer for the project and received surveyors' reports about their progress.

The various agents primarily wrote from towns in southeastern New York such as Cooperstown and Red Hook. Many correspondents recorded the distance they traveled in a week, often between 18 and 25 miles, provided updates on their finances, and noted recent drafts made on behalf of the survey. Several mentioned moving along the "Windham Route," and many commented on regional geographic features, residents' opinions about local navigation, and possible route variations. Two of the letters contain small manuscript maps of natural features: November 20, 1825 (unsigned letter) and November 28, 1825 (letter by Ira Davenport).

Collection

William B. Turner letters, 1857-1875 (majority within 1857-1859)

7 items

This collection contains 7 letters related to William B. Turner, a native of New York who moved to Northfield, Minnesota, in the late 1850s. Turner wrote 6 letters to his family about life in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and received 1 letter from his mother in 1875.

In 3 undated letters and fragments, Turner discussed the possibility of moving west from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as the possibility of his family traveling between Buffalo, New York, and the Midwest. His 3 dated letters, written from 1857-1859, pertain to his life in Northfield, Minnesota, where he worked for a newspaper. He commented on the economy, possible employment opportunities, and his intention to leave Minnesota. Juliza B. Turner wrote the final letter to her son and daughter-in-law in 1875, requesting news of their family. For more information about each letter, see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing.

Collection

William B. Sprague and Joseph H. Hedges collection, 1840-1909

0.25 lin. ft.

The William B. Sprague and Joseph H. Hedges collection is made up of 133 letters, notes, and fragments largely dating between 1842 and 1899. The correspondence, largely outgoing letters from W. B. Sprague and J. H. Hedges, concerns the autograph and other collecting activities of William B. Sprague of Albany, New York; Eliza H. A. Allen of Providence, Rhode Island; Eliza's cousin Elizabeth Rotch Arnold of New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Joseph H. Hedges of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The William B. Sprague and Joseph H. Hedges collection is made up of 133 letters, notes, and fragments largely dating between 1842 and 1899. The correspondence, largely outgoing letters from W. B. Sprague and J. H. Hedges, concerns the autograph and other collecting activities of William B. Sprague of Albany, New York; Eliza H. A. Allen of Providence, Rhode Island; Eliza's cousin Elizabeth Rotch Arnold of New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Joseph H. Hedges of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The papers are arranged in three groups: letters by William B. Sprague; correspondence of Joseph H. Hedges; and other correspondence, notes, and fragments. William B. Sprague's primary recipients were Eliza H. A. Allen (80 letters) and her cousin Elizabeth Rotch Arnold (19 letters), with an additional seven letters to other recipients. Joseph Hedges's correspondence includes 19 incoming and outgoing letters. An additional eight miscellaneous letters, notes, and fragments complete the collection.

William Sprague's letters largely related to the contents of his, Allen's, and Arnold's collections, recent acquisitions, desiderata, and trades/gifts of autographs between Sprague and Allen and between Sprague and Arnold. They also touch on other collecting activities. On multiple occasions Eliza Allen and Elizabeth Arnold sent Sprague contributions to his wife Henrietta's collection of shells (see for example W. B. Sprague to Elizabeth R. Arnold, November 2, 1842, and January 21, 1843), which Sprague often reciprocated with gifts of autographs. He also discussed with them his use of the franking privilege of various friends in Congress.

William B. Sprague's 80 letters to Eliza H. A. Allen date from 1840 to 1875 (bulk 1840-1850). They are mostly in his own hand (with the exception of four letters in the hand of an amanuensis), and signed variously "WB Sprague" and "WBS." He sent them largely from Albany, New York; other locations include Boston, Massachusetts; Flushing, New York; and Andover, Connecticut. Toward the end of their correspondence, multiple years passed between letters.

Correspondence with Elizabeth R. Arnold in this collection is comprised of 19 incoming letters from Sprague. They are entirely in his own hand and signed variously "WB Sprague" and "WBS". He sent them from Albany, New York, 1842-1849.

The Sprague miscellaneous correspondence contains seven letters dating from 1828-1862:

  • One letter from Sprague to Robert Gilmore, of Baltimore, Maryland, another pioneer of American autograph collecting, regarding an exchange of autograph specimens.
  • One letter from Sprague to Joseph B. Boyd of Cincinnati, Ohio, regarding books, autographs, and material relating to William Whipple.
  • One letter to Sprague from C. F. Mercer, likely Charles Fenton Mercer, son of Revolutionary politician James Mercer, regarding Mercer's potential gift of autographs to Sprague.
  • One letter to Sprague from Isaac Taylor, of Stamford, Essex, another autograph collector, regarding their collections.
  • Three letters from Sprague to unknown recipients, likely other collectors, regarding various exchanges and gifts of autographs.

The incoming and outgoing letters of Joseph Hedges date from 1843 to 1899 and pertain to a variety of subjects. Many of his correspondents were autograph dealers and other autograph collectors, and wrote about the purchase and trade of autographs. Hedges signed his letters variously "JH Hedges" and "JHH."

The collection includes eight additional letters, notes, and fragments. It includes five letters sent by Bangs, Merwin and Co.; John J. Morris; Adrian H. Joline; Charles H. Morse; and Lyman C. Draper. It also includes a list of autograph materials, an autographed note mounted on cardstock, and a cardstock folder fragment bearing fragments of notes.

Collection

William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers, 1789-2000 (majority within 1789-1899)

2.5 linear feet

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio, merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899.

The William Bosson Scrapbook includes approximately 140 manuscript and printed items largely dating from 1789 to 1899, including biographical sketches, reminiscences, reflections, correspondences, courtship and family letters, documents, an autobiography, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, engravings, railroad passes, and convention tickets. Of particular note are 10 documents signed by W. G. Brownlow and D. W. Senter; five letters sent by William Bosson to W. G. Brownlow; five biographical sketches and reminiscences related to the reception of the Declaration of Independence in New York, Thomas Hickey's betrayal of General Howe, General Joseph Warren, General Knox, and General George Henry Thomas; nine letters George H. Thomas sent to William Bosson between 1864 and 1868; four letters between Edward Everett and William and Charles Bosson; three letters of introduction for Charles Bosson exchanged between W. Heath and Elbridge Gerry, Elbridge Gerry and Henry Clay, and Josiah Quincy and John Rowan in 1813; one letter from Amos Kendall to Charles Bosson; one letter from Samuel Gilman to Charles Bosson; and one manuscript addressed to the Tennessee Teacher's State Association by W. G. Brownlow.

The scrapbook contains content pertinent to many subjects, including the Revolutionary War; the War of 1812; the Civil War; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee; Tennessee reconstruction; and Tennessee mining, cotton manufacture, railroads, government, and education (particularly the development of Common Schools) following the Civil War.

The Genealogical Papers series includes Colonial Dames applications, a Middlesex County genealogy, two transcriptions of William Bosson's autobiography for his sons, two transcribed copies of Thomas Mayo Bosson's "Genealogy of the Bosson Family," transcribed copies and photocopies of genealogical records, and genealogical notes and materials related to the Ushers, Hills, Denisons, Terrells, Powers, Newnans, and Bossons. The genealogical papers also contain two books of compiled information on the Bosson, Usher, and Hill families from items contained in the William Bosson Scrapbook and Genealogical Papers: a book Henry Loring Newnan refers to as the "Bosson-Usher-Hill book" in his letters, and two copies of "William Bosson 1630-1887 Seven Generations."

The genealogical papers include notable content on the Civil War, the First World War (in Richard Bosson's account of service in the Rainbow Division), and World War II (William Loring Newnan and Henry Loring Newnan Jr.).

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers is a heterogeneous collection, spanning many years and pertaining to many individuals and events. Please see the box and folder listing below for details about individual items in the collection.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

Collection

William B. Kinney letters, 1867-1880

8 items

This collection is made up of 8 letters related to journalist and U.S. Ambassador to Sardinia William B. Kinney. William B. Kinney wrote 6 of these letters to his son Thomas T. Kinney between 1867 and 1876. In them, he discussed his post-retirement financial affairs and a vacation at Lake George, New York.

This collection contains 6 letters that journalist and U.S. Ambassador to Sardinia William B. Kinney wrote to his son, Thomas T. Kinney, between 1867 and 1876; one letter that Kinney wrote to an unknown recipient; and one that Thomas T. Kinney wrote to William M. Olliffe.

William B. Kinney wrote 6 letters to his son Thomas between January 13, 1867, and October 9, 1876, mostly from Morristown, New Jersey. In them, Kinney discussed his financial affairs, requested his son's assistance, denied making negative comments about Senator George Thomas Cobb, described a vacation at Lake George, New York (August 17, 1867), and mentioned a theatrical performance (which included a French monologue). Kinney's undated letter concerns a cholera epidemic in Newark, New Jersey.

Thomas T. Kinney wrote 1 letter to William M. Olliffe, a neighbor, in which he explained his decision not to accept a recent land offer, and shared his wife's feelings about the proposal.

Collection

William B. Clinton papers, 1904-1924 (majority within 1917-1924)

0.75 linear feet

The William B. Clinton papers consist primarily of letters that Clinton wrote to his mother and siblings in Schenectady, New York, while working at a mining camp in Sewell, Chile, in the early 20th century.

The William B. Clinton papers consist of 153 letters that Clinton wrote to his mother and siblings in Schenectady, New York, while working at a mining camp in Sewell, Chile, in the early 20th century. The collections also includes an additional 6 letters written by various senders, 2 newspaper clippings, a 2-page journal entry, and 2 pieces of ephemera.

Clinton wrote about his life in Chile, exploring topics that ranged from local geography to customs and politics. The bulk of the correspondence begins in January 1917, with Clinton only 8 weeks into his Chilean experience, and many of his early letters concern his homesickness. As he adapted to Sewell, Clinton focused more on his job and on everyday life in Chile and spent significant periods of time in other Chilean towns on work-related business. In addition to describing his duties at work and his thoughts about labor politics, he frequently made observations about cultural differences and his social life. In his letter of March 7, 1920, he enclosed a dance card and printed program for an event featuring "The Chocolate Soldier Minstrels."

During the First World War, Clinton heard little international news but kept up on local politics. He observed holidays such as the Fourth of July, even though local residents often took no notice of them and often displayed disdain toward the United States. Several of his letters of the letters focus on culinary topics such as a cooking class (with attached recipes) (November 8, 1919) and a diet prescribed by "Dr. Rich" (Ddecember 22, 1921).

The collection also contains a 2-page journal entry detailing an anonymous author's experience escorting strikebreakers into a mill, 2 newspaper clippings, and a recipe for a tomato-based sauce, and a typed poem about workers entitled "Time Clocks Start - October 12."

Collection

William and Robert Thompson collection, 1800-1827, 1845

51 items

This collection is made up of financial records and correspondence related to William and Robert Thompson of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania. Most of the financial records pertain to the Thompsons' subscriptions to periodicals and to their purchases of goods from Philadelphia merchants.

This collection (51 items) is made up of financial records and correspondence related to merchants William and Robert Thompson of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania. The bulk of the collection is made up of receipts, invoices, and similar documents addressed to the Thompson brothers, particularly Robert, from 1815-1826. Most of these records pertain to purchases of various kinds of goods from merchants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; a smaller number of items relate to periodical subscriptions. Among the goods that the Thompsons bought were tobacco, oils, and shoes. The collection's early items largely consist of financial documents sent to William and Robert's father, also named William, as well as a newspaper clipping listing US exports between October 1800 and September 1801. A small group of correspondence includes personal letters to Robert Thompson; one correspondent wrote about the distribution of election tickets in Mexico, Pennsylvania (October 20, 1816).

Collection

William Anderson papers, 1941-1945 (majority within 1943-1945)

0.75 linear feet

The William Anderson papers contain correspondence written by Anderson while he served as a corporal in the United States Army during the Second World War. Anderson remained in the United States throughout the conflict, and spent most of his time in Pennsylvania performing clerical duties.

The William Anderson papers contain correspondence written by Anderson while he served as a corporal in the United States Army during the Second World War. Of the 166 letters in the collection, the vast majority were composed by Anderson to his wife Esther, who remained in Kansas City, Kansas, throughout his wartime service. His letters reflect the daily life and leisure activities of a soldier on the home front throughout the war, and frequently make mention of dances and other leisure activities the soldier pursued during his time in the Army. Anderson, who signed himself "Gilman," began basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in December 1943, and spent the remainder of the war in Pennsylvania, at Camp Reynolds and Indiantown Gap. Though he attained the rank of corporal, he did not express particular enthusiasm for military service, and his letters focused on news of his friends and on incidents from camp life rather than the war. His letters also reveal that Esther suffered a fairly severe illness while he was away, and imply an occasionally tense relationship between the pair, possibly due to his fondness for dancing with local girls. The bulk of the collection covers Anderson's army service between December 1943 and April 1945, and additional material includes an early letter from a friend, Karl, who enlisted prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor (October 24, 1941), as well as two written by Esther to her husband in late 1945 and a handful of other correspondence addressed to the couple. Among the Anderson correspondence are a Christmas card (December 21, 1944), birthday card (December 21, 1944), and valentine (February 5, 1945), sent by him to his wife.

Collection

William and Ellen C. Poe letters, [1836]-1852

25 items

This collection is comprised of 24 letters that Ellen Cannon Poe and her husband William wrote to her parents, Joseph and Nancy Taylor of Anderson, South Carolina, as well as 1 letter that Ellen wrote to her brother Benjamin. They discussed aspects of their lives in Augusta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Montgomery, Alabama, emphasizing family news and information about their female slaves.

This collection is comprised of 24 letters that Ellen Cannon Poe (6 letters) and her husband William (18 letters) wrote to her parents, Joseph and Nancy Taylor of Anderson, South Carolina, as well as 1 letter that Ellen wrote to her brother Benjamin. They discussed aspects of their lives in Augusta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Montgomery, Alabama, emphasizing family news and information about their female slaves.

Ellen Cannon Poe first wrote to her parents around 1836, shortly after her marriage to William Poe, a banker who lived in Augusta, Georgia. William and Ellen provided regular updates about their lives until 1845, and again from 1851 to 1852. Ellen described domestic affairs and her relationship with her two stepsons, Thomas and Robert. Ellen and William frequently commented on the health of their slaves. When William Poe decided to take a banking job in Baltimore, Maryland, he and his wife wrote about their attempts to sell or hire out their slaves. Once in Maryland, William worried about the ease with which Juliet, the slave who accompanied them, could escape servitude. Ellen also explained her hesitation to sell a slave named Harriet, whose husband lived nearby, and complained about a slave named Lizzy. Lizzy, who seemed unable to learn simple household tasks, later became pregnant with a child that Ellen assumed was fathered by a white man. Lizzy eventually escaped to New Orleans, where Ellen suspected she passed as a white woman. William and Ellen Poe also wrote about family matters, their crops, William's business affairs, Ellen's poor health, and other news.

Collection

William and Charlotte Scott letters, 1843-1846

3 items

This collection consists of three letters sent by William and Charlotte Scott of Geneva, New York, to homeopathic physician Henry Barden of Penn Yan, New York. They discussed various ailments in their family, including difficulties with breastfeeding an infant, menstrual disruptions, headaches, digestive issues, and childhood ailments like warts, worms, and acid reflux. They requested Barden's medicines and noted their effectiveness.

This collection consists of three letters sent by William and Charlotte Scott of Geneva, New York, to homeopathic physician Henry Barden of Penn Yan, New York. They discussed various ailments in their family, including difficulties with breastfeeding an infant, menstrual disruptions, headaches, digestive issues, and childhood ailments like warts, worms, and acid reflux. They requested Barden's medicines and noted their effectiveness.

Collection

William and Charlotte Scott letters, 1843-1846

3 items

This collection consists of three letters sent by William and Charlotte Scott of Geneva, New York, to homeopathic physician Henry Barden of Penn Yan, New York. They discussed various ailments in their family, including difficulties with breastfeeding an infant, menstrual disruptions, headaches, digestive issues, and childhood ailments like warts, worms, and acid reflux. They requested Barden's medicines and noted their effectiveness.

This collection consists of three letters sent by William and Charlotte Scott of Geneva, New York, to homeopathic physician Henry Barden of Penn Yan, New York. They discussed various ailments in their family, including difficulties with breastfeeding an infant, menstrual disruptions, headaches, digestive issues, and childhood ailments like warts, worms, and acid reflux. They requested Barden's medicines and noted their effectiveness.

Collection

William A. Carter typescript, 1857-1859

1 item

This collection is made up of typescripts of letters that William A. Carter sent to his wife Mary from July 1857 to January 1859. Carter described his journey from Kansas to southwest Wyoming throughout 1857 and later discussed his life at Fort Bridger, where he became a prosperous sutler. Many of the letters refer to Native American tribes and to ongoing conflicts between Mormons and United States troops.

This collection (71 pages) is made up of typescripts of letters that William A. Carter sent to his wife Mary from July 28, 1857, to January 23, 1859. From September 1857 to January 1858, Carter wrote about his journey from Atchison, Kansas, to Camp Scott and Fort Bridger, Wyoming, describing the changing landscape and aspects of daily life as part of a traveling wagon train. He referred to Native American tribes such as the Pawnee, Cheyenne, Snake, and Sioux, sharing news of reported attacks on other wagon trains and mentioning a friendly encounter with a group of Sioux. Carter and his companions also feared attacks by groups of Mormons and he commented on the ongoing conflicts between Utah Mormons and U.S. troops. After reaching Fort Laramie in October 1857, the party sometimes travelled alongside U.S. forces under the command of Philip St. George Cooke; during this time, Carter relayed reports of heavy fortifications around Salt Lake City.

In early 1858, Carter wrote several letters from Camp Scott in southwest Wyoming, joining U.S. troops in their winter camp. There, he pursued a mercantile career; his letters from this period sometimes refer to the large sums of money that could be earned by transporting freight between the Utah Territory and "the States" back east. By mid-1858, Carter had settled at Fort Bridger, where he was officially appointed sutler in June 1858; he later became postmaster as well. At Fort Bridger, Carter shared news of the Utah War, reported on his finances, and discussed his plans to build a store; on one occasion, he discussed a visit to Salt Lake City. He increasingly referred to his unhappiness about being separated from his wife and children and eventually announced his intention to bring them to Wyoming. By January 1859, he anticipated a reunion with his family.

Collection

William Abbatt collection, 1927-1931

5 items

The William Abbatt collection contains correspondence related to Abbatt's authorial and editorial work about the American Revolution.

The William Abbatt collection contains correspondence and a newspaper clipping related to Abbatt's scholarly work about the American Revolution. The four letters in the collection represented Abbatt's efforts to ensure historical accuracy throughout his work. Specific subjects addressed in the collection included the historiography of the American Revolution and of Benedict Arnold's invasion of New York, archival records of two members of the Continental Army, the proper use of military titles for retired officers, and Return Jonathan Meigs' involvement in Montgomery's attack on Québec. The newspaper clipping, mounted on the back of a printed petition from George Wilkes to the House of Representatives (December 10, 1848), commemorated a site related to Benedict Arnold's Québec invasion, which was flooded following the completion of a local dam.

Collection

Wilkinson-Burbeck letters, 1796-1797

15 items

This collection is made up of letters that Brigadier General James Wilkinson sent to Major Henry Burbeck from Ohio and Michigan in the late 1790s. He discussed logistical affairs related to the Northwest Territory, mentioning roads, trade, and relations with Native Americans and Europeans, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of letters that Brigadier General James Wilkinson sent to Major Henry Burbeck from Ohio and Michigan in the late 1790s. He discussed issues related to the United States Army's affairs in the Northwest Territory, commenting on relationships with Native Americans and with French and Spanish forces. He remarked on events in the Mackinac region and occasionally mentioned General Anthony Wayne. Some of the letters contain instructions for Burbeck and others, such as a letter discussing Wilkinson's interest in furs, are personal correspondence or letters authorizing the bearer to certain goods. The letters are dated from Greenville, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and St. Joseph, Michigan. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

Collection

Wilfred Ferguson letters, 1944

28 items

This collection is made up of letters that Wilfred Ferguson, Jr., sent to his fiancée, Peggy Allen of Fairfield, Connecticut, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Despite his frustration with censorship regulations, he discussed his experiences with the 65th Station Complement Squadron in England.

This collection is made up of 28 letters that Wilfred Ferguson, Jr., sent to his fiancée, Peggy Allen of Fairfield, Connecticut, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces in England in 1944. Ferguson wrote regularly about his leisure activities, which included visiting a Red Cross club, playing table tennis, reading, and gambling. Though he attended movies, he believed they often resembled propaganda pieces. He also expressed his frustrations with censorship regulations, which limited his ability to discuss his military work. Ferguson occasionally shared stories about other soldiers and mentioned his correspondence from home.

Collection

Wilbur Fisk collection, 1828-1849 (majority within 1829)

24 items

The Wilbur Fisk collection mostly contains letters that Fisk received from parents of current and prospective students while serving as president of the Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.

This collection (24 items) contains 22 letters that Wilbur Fisk received while serving as president of the Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in the early 19th century. Most writers were parents of current and prospective students.

Many writers requested that Fisk personally oversee their child's academic, moral, and religious education; others mentioned boarding arrangements and textbooks; and some referred to tuition payments. Two letters pertain to donations to the school's collection of mineral samples, including a letter from William Prescott concerning his efforts to acquire minerals and offering his advice that the school should prioritize scientific education over the study of dead languages (June 8, 1829). Amos Binney, Jr., wrote that he intended to send a case of samples acquired from the area around Mount Vesuvius (June 16, 1823). The final item is an unsigned letter addressed to D. P. Robinson regarding a man who refused to pay a note owed to a Board of Trustees in Wilbraham, Massachusetts (August 20, 1849).

Collection

Whittemore-Low family papers, 1729-1955 (majority within 1840-1939)

7.5 linear feet

The papers of the Whittemore, Low, Peck, Parmelee, and Bonticou, families, primarily of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The collection concerns the families' military service, genealogy, travel, and social activities.

The Correspondence series contains approximately 1.5 linear feet of letters, spanning 1776-1939, with the bulk concentrated around 1840-1939. It documents many branches of the family.

William Whittemore (b. 1761) of Boston, Massachusetts, wrote several of the earliest letters to his brother Amos in London, England, in the late 1790s. These letters primarily pertain to their business producing wool and cotton cards, and address such topics as business difficulties and market conditions in Massachusetts. Other items mention family matters and news, such as the death of their father, Thomas Whittemore (October 10, 1799). Also present are several letters concerning the Hubbard family of New Haven, Connecticut. In a letter to his parents, Thomas Hubbard shared his impressions of Georgetown, South Carolina, which he called a "wicked part" of the world (December 9, 1798). He described his living situation in a "bachelor hall," and referenced his wish to "make a fortune" in the South.

In the late 1830s, the focus of the correspondence series shifts to William Whittemore Low (1823-1877), the grandson of William Whittemore. The series, which includes both incoming and outgoing letters, documents many aspects of Low's career with the navy. In several early letters, his relatives strongly discouraged him from enlisting: His mother requested that he remain near her (August 9, 1839), and his grandfather wrote, "You will rue the day, should you enter either the Navy or Merchant Service," recommending instead that he become a shopkeeper or lawyer (December 1, 1839). Accompanying these are several recommendations from friends of Low's character and fitness for service. For the period of the 1840s and 1850s, many of the items are orders transferring Low between ships or addressing the logistics of his service. Included is a response to Low's request for detachment from the schooner Graham, signed by Jefferson Davis in his role as U.S. Secretary of War (June 8, 1853).

Of particular interest are the letters that Low wrote during his Civil War service as commander of the gunboat Octorara from September 1863 to the end of the war. They include a large number of long letters home, some giving excellent descriptions of Low's activities in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. In a letter dated October 30, 1863, written to his brother Henry, Low anticipated his duties at Mobile but worried, "I am very much afraid that we shall break down before operations commence." In a letter to his father several days later, he gave a good description of the features of the Octorara and noted the repairs made on it (November 11, 1863).

A few letters during the Civil War period describe engagements and dangers faced onboard the Octorara. These include an account of an engagement on Mobile Bay on the morning of August 5, 1864, in which the Octorara fired on a Confederate ship "at anchor on the West side of the Bay in 2 fathoms water" (August 29, 1864). In an additional letter, Low described an incident in which he and his men mistook a ship for the CSS Nashville but quickly realized their error (September 14, 1864). Incoming letters to Low also shed light on the naval threat of the Confederacy. They include a copy of a letter by Edward La Croix, warning that a torpedo boat "propelled by a small engine" had just been built by Confederates at Selma, Alabama (November 20, 1864), and two letters by naval officer Edward Simpson, conveying intelligence concerning the blockade runner Heroine (March 23, 1865) and discussing the aftermath of the torpedoing of the USS Osage (March 29, 1865). In the latter, Simpson wrote, "I feel deeply for those poor fellows from the Osage and had already resolved on appropriating…one of the tin clads for hospital purposes." He also expressed hope that surgeons could transport the injured without inflicting further harm on them.

Also included are several letters to Low from inhabitants of Alabama, which include:
  • A letter from James M. Dabney, in which he explained, "I am the owner of the Plantation nearest your present anchorage," and inquired whether he and his neighbors could return to their "homes & families, unmolested." (April 17, 1865)
  • A letter from Ben Lane Posey, captain in the 38th Alabama Regiment, in which he admitted to being a Confederate States Army officer, but claimed, "I have had no connection with the army since Oct 6 1864." He also offered to surrender and requested to be returned to Mobile (April 20, 1864).
  • A letter from J.B. Mendenhall of Buford's Landing, Alabama, which notes that a neighboring woman, "Mrs. Cleland," wishes to take an oath of allegiance to the United States. The letter also describes the response of slaves to the end of the war: "Her negroes have become defiant insulting, and she thinks dangerous….It is believed by some of the neighbours that their intention is to rob and plunder us perhaps murder before they leave. I know that mine are preparing to leave & wish they were gone." Mendenhall also expressed worry that his slaves would bring their friends and return to plunder his plantation (April 20, 1865).

A few letters also discuss the logistics of administering oaths of allegiance to southerners.

Also addressed in Low's Civil War correspondence are fairly routine matters, such as leaves of absences (July 2, 1864), complaints about the system of promotions (July 30, 1864), and a letter relating to the court martial of John Kennedy of the USS Oneida, who was found guilty of treating a superior officer with contempt (June 16, 1864). The series also includes official navy correspondence. Circular letters and orders address such topics as the use of alcohol onboard ships (September 16, 1862), appropriate actions in neutral waters (June 20, 1863), and the retrieval of supplies from Key West, Florida (September 11, 1863). Letters concerning Low's postwar career are much scarcer, but of particular interest is an 11-page description by Fred Patter of the capture of the pirate ship Forward (June 19, 1870).

From the 1870s on, the focus of the collection shifts to William W. Low's daughter, Grace Bonticou Low, and several other family members. Incoming letters to Grace Low begin in 1873, and her uncle, Henry Whittemore Low, and mother, Evelina P. Low, wrote much of the earliest correspondence of this period. Grace’s outgoing correspondence began in 1880 with letters to her family in New Haven about her time in Washington, D.C., where she attended a co-educational school and participated in ice skating, a tour and reception at the White House (Jan. 4, 1881), a reception of the First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes (Jan. 15, 1881), and visits to the Smithsonian Institution. Among her female acquaintances was Frances ("Fanny") Hayes, the daughter of President and Mrs. Hayes. In the mid-1880s, Low attended school in Watervliet, New York, and wrote of her social life and classes there. Her outgoing correspondence ends in 1891. Approximately 100 letters to Grace Low from her brother, Theodore H. Low, date from the mid-1890s to 1939. These regard his time at various naval hospitals in South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. Grace also received around 20 letters from another brother, William Low (1912-1916). Also of interest are letters written to Henry Low, mostly by his nephews, William and Theodore Low. Their correspondence with him includes accounts of their service with the Marines during the Boxer rebellion, Philippine insurrection, and the invasion of several Caribbean countries in 1907-1908. Theodore's later letters provide details of his work as an inventor, including applying for and receiving a patent for a bottle opener.

Several additional sets of letters provide insights into various female members of the Whittemore, Low, and Parmelee families. Geraldine Whittemore Low wrote a handful of letters to her uncle, Henry W. Low, from New Haven about her recreational activities and social gatherings with friends during the 1880s. They concern Valentine’s Day, her whist club, weddings, balls, and other social events. A set of 30 letters from Julie Parmelee Marston and Mary Parmelee Low, the widow of William Whittemore Low, Jr., to their cousin, Mary E. Redfield in New Haven, relate to their trip to Switzerland between September 1923 and August, 1926. They traveled on the American Line, SS Mongolia, and after their arrival, explored Switzerland, France, and Italy. Both Mary and Julie described their surroundings, cultural events they attended, and the people that they met in Europe. Mary also wrote about her two children, Charlotte and Billy; the expenses of the trip; and several aspects of the children’s education while in Switzerland.

The Letter Books series contains four letter books by William Whittemore Low, Sr., between 1840 and 1875, and two kept by Elisha Peck, 1843-1863. The earliest William W. Low letter book spans July 25, 1840-March 19, 1867 and contains 415 letters in its 466 pages. It comprises copies and originals of both incoming and outgoing letters that document much of Low's naval career. Early letters shed light on Low's time onboard the Missouri and the Saratoga and his education at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Many pertain to transfers, ship inventories, orders, and the enlistment of crews. Of particular interest are letters from the period of Low's service with the Union Navy during the Civil War onboard the St. Louis, Constellation, andOctorara. Both official and personal in nature, they shed light on naval policies, personnel, and Low's wartime experiences.

For example:
  • A navy circular signed by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles concerning the blockade and capture of Confederate vessels (August 18, 1862)
  • A printed note containing intelligence that "the Oreto Gunboat is intended for the Southern Confederacy" (February 27, 1862)
  • Low's orders to proceed to New Orleans and join the Octorara (September 22, 1863)
  • A substantial amount of correspondence related to the Battle of Mobile Bay in early August 1864
  • Numerous manuscript orders by Admiral Henry K. Thatcher tipped into the volume. They include one from March 31, 1865: "Open fire on the fort. Aim well to the left."

A significant part of the postwar correspondence relates to a bureaucratic error which resulted in the delay of a promotion for Low from the Board of Admirals. An index appears at the end of the volume.

The second William W. Low, Sr., letter book spans 1865-1875, and contains 212 pages of copied incoming and outgoing letters as well as copied passages from books concerning military science and ordnance, and copies of general orders. The materials pertain to the transportation of supplies, Low's knowledge of ordnance, a proposed article concerning Low for the Army & Navy Journal, Low's recommendations for various navy colleagues, and other subjects.

The third William W. Low, Sr., letter book spans 1870-1871, and consists of 335 letters within 263 pages. It comprises writer-retained copies of outgoing letters to correspondents in the U.S. Navy. Low wrote the letters while onboard the steam sloop-of-war USS Mohican. His primary correspondents were Rear Admiral John A. Winslow, S.W. Gordon, Rear Admiral Thomas Turner, Commodore William Rogers Taylor, and George M. Robeson. Topics of the correspondence include health and sanitation, supplies, the condition of the ship, the ventilation of the berth deck, and navy financial matters. Low also included in his letters summaries of courts martial for theft, intoxication, and the escape of prisoners, as well as information on casualties, training, and transfers. A series of significant letters in June 1870 record a conflict between San Salvador and Mexico, as well as the capture of the pirate ship Forward.

Also included is a volume of compiled circular letters from the U.S. Navy Department, 1870-1875. Likely kept by William W. Low, Sr., the item contains printed and manuscript letters concerning such topics as courts martial, recordkeeping, uniform regulations, and rank. The book also includes an index of topics in the front.

The first Elisha Peck letter book covers 1843-1863 and contains 30 letters by Peck, most of which he wrote to his wife Grace and children, Evelina ("Eva"), Henry, and Joanna ("Anna"). Peck wrote 11 of the letters while onboard the U.S. sloop of war Portsmouth from 1849-1851; during this time, Peck commanded the ship as part of an effort to stop the illicit slave trade from West Africa. In his letters home, he described terrain that he saw from the ship, expressed his sorrow over being separated from his family, and gave accounts of his experiences. On January 1, 1850, he wrote a letter from Cape Verde, noting that most American and British ships of war took "on board 20 or 30 African Negroes" to row in the "extreme heat of the African sun." He also gave details on the evasive movements of slave traders. In other letters, Low discussed Ghezo, the King of Dahomey and the kingdom's corps of female soldiers (April 20, 1850); the transportation of beeswax and ivory to the coast of present-day Angola (September 1, 1850); and drinking 100-year old wine on Christmas Day (January 2, 1851). Peck wrote most of the remainder of the letters while onboard the Carolina off the Brooklyn Navy Yard, discussing naval happenings and social visits and expressing affection for his children.

The second Elisha Peck letter book contains writer-retained copies of official naval correspondence written by Peck to various correspondents. The volume spans June 12, 1849-September 1, 1851, and covers the period of Peck's service with the Portsmouth. Letters concern personnel matters, the compiling of returns, disciplinary matters, and other topics. Major recipients include Francis Gregory, William B. Preston, William Craig, and William A. Graham.

Note: Two additional letter books by Thomas J. Whittemore are located in the Genealogy series because they contain correspondence related only to family research.

The Reminiscences, Essays, and Miscellaneous Writings series contains various materials written by members of the Whittemore-Low family, including poems; accounts of the military service of William W. Low, Sr., and Theodore Low; short fiction; religious writings; and fragments. Much of the writing is undated and unsigned, but several pieces concerning military duties in China and at the U.S. Naval Academy are attributed to Theodore Low.

The Diaries, Commonplace Books, and Logbook series contains 12 volumes kept by various family members between 1820 and 1886. The series consists of two volumes by Grace Bonticou Peck (1820 and 1827), two by William W. Low, Sr. (1844-1845 and [1848-1849]), one by Evelina Peck (1852-1853), one by Henry S. Parmelee (1865), one by Grace B. Low (1886), and five unattributed volumes.

Grace B. Peck's two volumes contain poems and quotations selected for or dedicated to her by various friends. The entries address subjects such as religion, hope, death, friendship, love, solitude, and the qualities of women. Most of the entries are signed, although few are dated or indicate location. The books kept by William W. Low, Sr., include an early commonplace book and a logbook for the USS Mohican. The latter volume comprises daily entries recording weather, barometer readings, sails set, the use of steam power, and the ship's longitude and latitude. The entries also contain records of minor transgressions, desertions, courts martial, and punishments. Detailed descriptions of the geography of Mazatlan, Altata, Pichilingue Bay, and San Blas, Mexico, are present on pages 35-41. The logbook also records the arrivals and departures of foreign ships and shore parties, the receipt of food and supplies, and the transfer of sailors between ships and to hospitals. Of particular interest is the description of the Mohican's engagement with the pirate ship Forward on June 16-19, 1870 (pages 58-61). The Evelina Peck volume is an album of messages from various friends and acquaintances, including quotations and several original poems. Most of the entries are reminiscences about friendship or expressions of sorrow over an imminent departure. The majority of entries are signed and dated; many mark "New Haven" as their location. The last entry is an ink drawing of a harp and pipe with no date or signature. The entries are in no particular order. Henry S. Parmelee's diary records very brief entries for eight days of Civil War service with the 1st Connecticut Cavalry Regiment in March and April 1865. Grace Bonticou Low’s diary dates from January to June 1886, and describes her life as a 21-year old woman staying with her aunt Anna and uncle James in Washington, D.C. Her entries reflect almost entirely on social events, dances, masquerades, visits, theater performances, and church attendance. She often wrote of particular female friends and of the military men she encountered in Washington.

The Documents and Receipts series contains several subseries based on the original bundles in which the family papers arrived. The subseries are as follows: Elisha Peck Bundle, which spans 1831-1875; Bonticou Bundle (1778-1837); Low Bundle (1895; undated); Washington, D.C. Property Bundle (1880-1883); Property and Pension Bundle (1880-1909); Theodore Low Naval Bundle (1906-1907); Other Documents and Receipts (1729-19[02?]). The bundles contain a wide variety of document types, including military and legal documents, wills, land indentures, pension papers, receipts, and petitions. These shed light on the careers, finances, and transactions of many members of the Whittemore-Low family.

The Graphics series contains 10 photograph albums, 2 scrapbooks, and approximately 100 cased and paper photographs, totaling approximately 1000 photographs of various kinds. The albums and scrapbooks date from the late-19th and early-20th centuries.

Short descriptions of them follow:
  • Asian Travel photograph album, 1875-1877: The album contains albumen print views and portraits from Aden; Nagasaki, Kyoto and Hakodate, Japan; and Singapore. In addition to images of ports and group portraits of Japanese women, the album has several early photographs of the Ainu that offer an impression of their mode of dress and style of living. The series of photographs taken in Singapore show native theatre and homes, as well as a Hindu temple and a European style church under construction (in the background of one image). The album also includes a portrait of the King of Siam (Chulalongkorn or Rama V).
  • Friendship album, 1879-1883: The album contains signatures, quotations, and eight chromolithographs of floral images. The creator of the album is unknown.
  • Parmelee family album, ca. 1890: The album contains 137 silver gelatin photoprints showing the Parmelee family yachting, relaxing on the beach, and socializing at home.
  • Henry S. Parmelee family Newport and Yale photograph album, 1901: The album contains gelatin silver prints of the Parmelee family and friends in a series of outdoor activities throughout southern New England. A series of photographs taken in the harbor of Newport, Rhode Island, features the yacht Speranza with women, children, and a dog among its passengers, as well as a number of candid portraits of a swimming party in Newport. Photographs taken in New Haven show an outing to the New Haven Country Club, as well as an image of decorations for the Yale Bicentennial. Also present are some faint but interesting images of tobogganing.
  • Parmelee family Schooner Alert and Nassau photograph album, 1902: This album, which contains 92 gelatin silver prints, documents the Parmelee family vacationing and yachting in the Bahamas. The images are a combination of professional souvenir and amateur candid photographs. Many photographs show Nassau's Colonial Hotel: its exterior, interiors, tennis courts, and swimming pool. Other images from Nassau show natives near their homes, at market, and diving. Several photographs feature varied foliage, such as palms, banana plants, ciba trees, and cacti. Nearly half of the album focuses on Henry S. Parmelee's Schooner Alert, including numerous group photographs of the men and women on board, as well as several images of people reading and resting on deck.
  • Julie F. Parmelee obituary scrapbook, 1902: The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and articles on the death of Henry S. Parmelee and his wife, Mary F. Parmelee. Also included is a clipping on the death of William Whittemore, Jr., and an article on the reception hosted by the Parmelee family. The compiler of the scrapbook is Julie F. Parmelee, daughter of Henry and Mary Parmelee.
  • William W. Low, Jr., Puerto Rico and Hawaii photograph album, ca. 1901-1902: The album contains photographs of Hawaii and of Puerto Rico after the Spanish-American War. Images depict navy officers as well as navy vessels, including the Arethusa. Several photographs document bridge-building and the Puerto Rican countryside. Also included are a fine early view of Honolulu, an image of a polo game, and portraits of an Asian child and an Asian woman.
  • William W. Low, Jr., Puerto Rico photograph album, ca. 1902: The album contains 28 silver developing-out prints of Puerto Rico after the Spanish-American War. Several images show men in military uniform (mostly American army and navy, but also some Spanish or local militia). Additional images feature groups of American men and women and local women and children, along with several views of architecture.
  • [William W. Low, Jr.] Travel photograph album, 1897-1909: The album contains 121 silver gelatin photoprints of Connecticut, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. It includes a series of images of navy officers and vessels such as the New York and Columbia, as well as numerous images of family and friends aboard a sailboat. Also present are a handful of photographs of East Rock Park in New Haven, Connecticut, in the winter.
  • [William W. Low, Jr.] Puerto Rico, U.S., and Hawaii photograph album, 1911: The album contains 268 silver gelatin photoprints of locations in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Connecticut, and South Carolina. Images of Puerto Rico include various buildings, dwellings, harbors, a naval station, and views of the countryside. In addition are images of street scenes with Puerto Ricans, many of them children. Several photographs of the Lows on vacation in Charleston, South Carolina, are also present, as are several images of the Low home in Connecticut.
  • Charlotte Low Baby photograph album, 1910-1922: The album contains 94 albumen prints and silver gelatin photoprints of Charlotte Low as an infant and young child. It includes numerous portraits of Charlotte posed with toys, other children, and family members.
  • Charlotte Low photograph album, 1921-1922: The album contains 110 silver gelatin photoprints of Charlotte Low and friends at home in New Haven, Connecticut, and at Camp Broadview for girls. It includes amateur portraits as well as photographs depicting girls engaged in swimming, canoeing, and hiking. Also present are several photographs of family pets and of Charlotte Low riding a bicycle.

The individual photographs date from the 1840s to the 1890s and depict members of the Low, Whittemore, and Parmelee families, in groups and individually. Subjects of portraits include Theodore Low, Geraldine Low, Henry Wentworth Low, Evelina (Peck) Low, William W. Low, Sr., Mary Frances Parmelee, Eliza Parmelee, Lewis C. Parmelee, Henry Parmelee, Elizabeth Parmelee, Fanny Whittemore, Anna Whittemore, and James M. Whittemore. A wide array of formats, such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, crystoleums, and cabinet cards, are present.

The Ephemera and Realia series contains a variety of items, including invitations, calling cards, fliers, locks of hair from various family members, cloth, and the artificial orange blossoms used to decorate Evelina Peck Low's wedding dress. The items mainly date to the mid- to-late-19th century.

The Genealogical Materials series contains approximately two linear feet of materials related to the history of the Whittemore-Low family. Items pertain to various lines of the family, including the Whittemores, Lows, Pecks, Bonticous, and Parmelees. Included are newspaper clippings, pamphlets, manuscript records of birth and death dates for various family members, and miscellaneous material giving biographical information. Also present are two letterbooks kept by Thomas J. Whittemore on genealogical matters and inquiries.

The Miscellaneous series contains a few scattered notes and envelopes from the late-19th and early 20th-centuries.

Collection

Whitney family letters, 1839-1843

30 items

This collection is comprised of 30 incoming letters to Mary Jane Whitney and her brother, William Wallace Whitney, of Albany, New York. Eliza Whitney wrote 13 letters to Mary about her experiences at the Albany Female Academy, and William and George Whitney each wrote letters to Mary about their lives in Albany. Asa Whitney, a machinist and railroad entrepreneur, sent Mary and William news from home and updates on his business affairs.

This collection is comprised of 30 incoming letters to Mary Jane Whitney and her brother, William Wallace Whitney, of Albany, New York. Eliza Whitney wrote 13 letters to Mary about her experiences at the Albany Female Academy, and William and George Whitney each wrote letters to Mary about their lives in Albany. Asa Whitney, a machinist and railroad entrepreneur, sent Mary and William news from home and updates on his business affairs.

Mary Jane Whitney received 21 letters while teaching at a school in Washington, D.C., between December 19, 1839, and July 26, 1841. Eliza, her sister, wrote about her social life and activities in Albany and her education at the Albany Female Academy. She discussed her subjects of study, classes, examinations, teachers, and classmates, and special occasions, such as visits to a local medical college and a lecture delivered by Harvey Peet. Eliza also attended parties and other social engagements, and often reported local marriages.

Asa, William, and George wrote to Mary about life in Albany, the health of her grandmother, and the potential publication of her father's political tract. Mary received two questions about possible encounters with William Henry Harrison: Eliza asked whether Mary had attended a ball given in President-elect William Henry Harrison's honor, and her father wondered if the capital had been crowded during Harrison's inauguration.

Asa Whitney sent 9 letters to his son William between August 26, 1842, and July 24, 1843, while William lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His letters primarily relate to his business interests and to his partnership with Matthias Baldwin. He also wrote one letter from Cleveland, Ohio, about a recent business trip (March 14, 1843). Whitney's letters from September 1842 concern John Whitney's affliction with scarlet fever, as well as the death of a neighbor from the same disease.

Collection

Whitfield-Barnett correspondence, 1917-1921

42 items

This collection is made up of 42 letters that Robin Whitfield wrote to his girlfriend and future wife, Tacey Barnett of Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee, from 1917-1921. He wrote of his experiences at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Brest, France, during World War I, and commented on his life in Clarksville after the war.

This collection is made up of 42 letters that Robin Whitfield wrote to his girlfriend and future wife, Tacey Barnett of Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee, from 1917-1921. He wrote of his experiences at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Brest, France, during World War I, and commented on his life in Clarksville after the war.

Whitfield wrote 2 letters from Clarksville in 1917; 17 letters and postcards from Camp Dodge, Iowa, from June 1918-August 1918; 1 letter from Camp Upton, New York, in September 1918; 1 letter from Camp President Lincoln in Brest, France, in June 1919; 2 postcards immediately after his return to the United States in late 1919; and 17 letters from Clarksville from April 1920-September 1921. Two additional letters from Clarksville are undated. At Camp Dodge, Whitfield joined the 804th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, an African American unit. He commented occasionally on the attractiveness of local women (August 14, 1918) and about his fondness for the shooting range (September 20, 1918), but most often he discussed his social activities and his relationship with Barnett. After his return to Clarksville, he continued to write about their relationship and upcoming visits. The collection's postcards include a photographic postcard depicting trench warfare ([July 8, 1918]), a photographic postcard showing Camp Dodge ([July 22, 1918]), 2 postcards with short poems about friendships and relationships ([July 30, 1918] and [October 28, 1919]), and one postcard bearing a logo from the YMCA Troop Train Service ([October 9, 1919]).

Collection

W. F. Farrington letters, 1865

4 items

This collection contains 4 letters that W. F. Farrington wrote to his wife Margaret in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, while volunteering with the United States Christian Commission in Alexandria, Virginia, in June 1865.

This collection contains 4 letters (12 pages) that W. F. Farrington wrote to his wife Margaret in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, while volunteering with the United States Christian Commission in Alexandria, Virginia, in June 1865. Farrington discussed his work at Sickles Hospital, where he held religious services and distributed clothing to sick soldiers, including some who were close to death. He also expressed his distaste for Alexandria and his desire to return home. In his letters of June 15, 1865, and June 22, 1865, he described his visits to Mount Vernon, the Bull Run battlefield, and Fort Ellsworth.

Collection

Weston Marshack collection, 1942-1946 (majority within 1942-1944)

0.75 linear feet

The Weston Marshack papers contain correspondence, news articles, and photographs pertaining to Herbert Weston Marshack ("Weston"), who served in the 179th Infantry in North Africa and Italy during World War II, and Robert C. Marshack, who was an observation pilot in the European Theater. The majority of the collection is made up of Weston Marshack's letters to his parents; it also includes correspondence to Marshack from acquaintances and family members in the United States.

The Weston Marshack collection (0.75 linear feet) contains correspondence and other items pertaining to the military service of Herbert Weston Marshack ("Weston") and Robert C. Marshack ("Bob") during World War II.

The Correspondence series (216 items) contains letters that Weston Marshack wrote to his family from February 1942-July 1944, as well as letters that family members and acquaintances wrote to Marshack during the war. Weston Marshack reported his experiences at Camp Croft, South Carolina, and in North Africa and Italy. He discussed his training and adaptation to military life, noted serving at Anzio, Italy, commented on the progress of the war, and described the scenery overseas, particularly in Sicily. His last letters concern medical issues and hospitalization. His correspondence includes picture postcards of buildings in Syracuse, New York; Richmond, Virginia; and Daytona Beach, Florida; as well as telegrams and V-mail letters. He sometimes included enclosures such as a newspaper clipping regarding the battle for Java (March 29, 1942) and a certificate attesting to the completion of his training at Camp Croft (July 6, 1942).

Marshack received letters about life on the home front, and occasionally received letters from his brother Robert ("Bob"), who was also in the U.S. military. A letter of support from a man at St. George's Rectory contains an enclosed booklet entitled Forward Day by Day (September 24, 1942). Among the collection's final items are letters from Bob Marshack to his sister Marion about life in France and Germany following the war.

The Printed Items series (6 items) contains 3 articles about World War II and soldiers (January 1943; April 3, 1945; and May 28, 1945) and Army Talk 146, a publication about the Red Cross and its relationship with the United States Army (October 26, 1946). The series also includes a stamped identification card concerning Weston Marshack's unemployment benefits around December 1941, and a postcard ordering Marshack to report to a doctor for a physical examination (December 10, 1941).

The Photographs series contains 19 black-and-white photographs pertaining to Robert C. Marshack's service in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. The pictures show groups of soldiers in uniform and military observation aircraft. Robert C. Marshack appears in at least 2 of the images, including one in which he and other lieutenants received awards for their work piloting observation planes. One labeled photograph was taken at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, in 1949.

Collection

West family papers, 1697-1880

2.25 linear feet

The West family papers are comprised of approximately 1,400 letters, letter books, documents, and financial records pertaining to Reverend Samuel West and his two sons, Benjamin and Nathan P., of Boston. The bulk of the collection (approximately 900 items) relates to business concerns, particularly to Benjamin West's sugar refining firm.

The West family papers are comprised of approximately 1,400 letters, letter books, documents, and financial records pertaining to Reverend Samuel West and his two sons, Benjamin and Nathan P., of Boston. The bulk of the collection (approximately 900 items) relates to business concerns, particularly to Benjamin West's sugar refining firm.

The Correspondence and documents series consists of approximately 150 items, dating from 1679 to 1880; the bulk of these are dated between 1759 and 1826. Though the majority of the material within the series pertains to business affairs, several groups of letters relate to other topics. One early group of letters concerns Samuel West's move from Needham, Massachusetts, to Boston's Hollis Street Church, and another group to a Boston committee's proposal to alter the municipal government in 1815, which includes its lengthy report [September 25, 1815]. In addition, the series contains personal and family correspondence, though to a lesser extent. Primary correspondents within the series include Caleb and Joshua Davis, Benjamin West, Enoch H. West, Samuel West, Richards Child, Mills Olcott, Samuel and Ephraim May, Sarah Plimpton, George Cheyne Shattuck, and Elisha and Elizabeth Ticknor.

The collection's two Letter books belonged to Benjamin West, and hold copies of 166 outgoing letters, dated 1803-1827, related to his various business affairs and the settlement of his uncle's estate, as well as personal matters.

The Financial records series contains three subseries: Bills and receipts, Sugarhouse accounts, and Account and expense books. The series contains approximately 300 bills and receipts dating from 1748 to 1824, primarily pertaining to labor, repairs, and donations to various Boston societies and institutions. About 600 sugarhouse accounts (1796-1823) record financial transactions associated with Benjamin West's sugar refining business, and include accounts, bills, and receipts. The four books cover Benjamin's West's personal accounts and expenses between 1797-1799 and 1811-1827; the first of these concerns West's service in a local militia, as well as his other financial matters, including numerous accounts for clothing, tobacco, and trips to the theater.

Legal documents within the collection are divided into two subseries, covering Land and real estate (1707-1824) and other Legal documents (1738-1834). The first subseries consists of approximately 60 items, which relate to mortgages, indentures, and other agreements about land around Boston and in Charlestown, New Hampshire. The West family frequently dealt with the Wheelock and Metcalf families when purchasing land. The second subseries is comprised of approximately 75 miscellaneous documents, including material related to Samuel West's interests in Needham, Massachusetts; bills from Nathan P. West's time at Harvard College (1788-1792); and the family's additional business and legal concerns.

The Printed and miscellaneous items series consists of approximately 20 items, dated 1714 to 1825. Among these are broadsides, including programs for Samuel West's internment services and various anniversaries, and partially printed school reports. Miscellaneous manuscript items are 13 statements of Christian faith; manuscript music for several hymns; two books kept by Nathan P. West, including a copybook of mathematical problems and exercises (1792-1807) and a commonplace book (1798-1813) with medicinal recipes West used in his drugstore; and scattered quotations. The copybook also includes a small drawing of a skull next to a bottle of borax on its inside cover.

Collection

Western America collection, 1820-ca. 1898

0.25 linear feet

The Western America collection is a group of miscellaneous individual items relating to the settlement of the western United States, including present-day Wisconsin, California, Oregon, and Missouri.

The Western America collection contains 39 miscellaneous individual items relating to the settlement of the western part of the United States, including present-day Wisconsin, Missouri, Oregon, California, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, and Wyoming. The items span 1820 to ca. 1898, with the bulk of materials concentrated around the 1840s and 1850s. They pertain to numerous topics related to western expansion, and include descriptions of growing towns, discussions of economic opportunities and hardships, references to social customs and mores on the frontier, and scattered mentions of relations with Native Americans.

A few items of note include:
  • A letter of May 20, 1832, discussing the Black Hawk War, murder by a prostitute and community backlash against her, and the tarring and feathering of an African American man.
  • A description of the Oregon Territory by a recent female settler [ca. 1838].
  • A frustrated miner's description of his bad luck in Placerville, California [ca. 1851].
  • A letter from Santa Clara, California, concerning the love affair of a miner's wife, and the husband's subsequent abandonment of her and their child with the remark that "such is life in Cal." (June 26-28, 1854)
  • A July 15, 1876, description of Geneva, Minnesota, including its ethnic mix, farming prospects, and food.
  • A May 21, 1889, letter from a woman to her husband describing the cable-cars and schools of San Francisco, California.