Collections

This collection contains 19 letters, 34 legal and financial documents, and 2 additional items related to Mississippi judge James Moorman Howry and his son, Charles Bowen Howry. The Howrys' incoming correspondence concerns the governance of the University of Mississippi in the late 1840s, and the experiences of Mississippi residents and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The legal and financial documents primarily concern James M. Howry's land holdings in Oxford, Mississippi.

This collection contains 19 letters, 34 legal and financial documents, and 2 additional items related to Mississippi judge James Moorman Howry and his son, Charles Bowen Howry. James M. Howry's incoming correspondence consists primarily of letters concerning the governance of the University of Mississippi between 1846 and 1849. Charles Bowen Howry received 6 letters between 1860 and 1865, including 4 pertaining to southern perspectives on the Civil War. The legal and financial documents deal mostly with James M. Howry's land holdings in Oxford, Mississippi, and include indentures, tax receipts, and official appointments.

The Correspondence series is comprised of 19 incoming letters addressed to James M. Howry and to his son, Charles Bowen Howry ("Charlie"). The first 3 letters are personal letters that James M. Howry received from relatives and friends in the South. Among other topics, his correspondents shared family news, thoughts on religion, and notes about local politics. Between 1846 and 1849, professional acquaintances wrote 7 letters to Howry about the official affairs and governance of the University of Mississippi. Among these is a 12-page letter from an unidentified correspondent at the University of Virginia, who provided detailed information about the college's administration and students (April 15, 1848). Also included is a 2-page printed description of the Ravenscroft Seminary, enclosed with a manuscript note from one of its founders, Donald MacLeod (October 1, 1848).

Charles Howry's incoming letters consist of 1 personal letter from his father, James M. Howry, and 5 from his brother Henry and other friends, who wrote of their experiences during the Civil War. In 3 letters, Confederate soldiers discussed military life, their experiences with the army, and war news. Sarah Taliaferro, a female friend, expressed her anxiety upon hearing that Charles intended to go to war (July 19, 1861). She also drew a small pencil sketch of a horse's head and neck. Also of interest are Henry Howry's letters to his brother Charles. In his first, dated October 20, 1860, Henry described his studies at the University of Mississippi, and in his second he discussed his experiences at a Confederate Army camp, as well as the women within the camp (May 4, 1861).

The 34 Legal and Financial papers series contains 2 documents appointing Howry to official offices (both dated November 23, 1841) and 32 indentures, purchase receipts, property appraisals, and tax receipts concerning land James M. Howry owned in Mississippi. Of the latter, 17 predate the Civil War, 12 are dated between 1869 and 1883, and 3 are undated fragments. Most of Howry's land was located in Lafayette County, Mississippi, particularly Oxford.

The Invitation and Notes series holds 2 items: a printed invitation for John M. Howry to attend a party given for the University of Mississippi's trustees (July 8, 1845), and a brief genealogical note regarding deaths in the Carter family (undated).

The Hubert S. Smith Naval Letters and Documents collection is made up of individual manuscripts relating to naval and commercial maritime operations.

The Hubert S. Smith Naval Letters and Documents collection is made up of over 380 manuscript letters and documents relating to maritime military, commercial, financial, and legal subjects from the 15th to the 20th centuries, primarily concerning Great Britain and America. The collection includes materials relating to Continental European wars, the American Revolution, the African slave trade, the Civil War, and exploratory ventures. The collection also reflects day-to-day ship operations and naval employment, diplomacy, marine technology, the purchase and sale of ships, insurance, and publications and books relating to maritime affairs. While primarily focused on English and American navies, the contributors discuss a wide variety of places, including continental Europe, the Baltic region, Russia, Asia, Turkey, South America, and Africa.

This collection primarily consists of 44 letters exchanged between members of the Hunter family of Wiseburg, Maryland, in 1859. Eliza Hunter ("Lida") received 19 letters from her parents, Margaret and Pleasant Hunter, when she was studying at Linden Hall Seminary in Lititz, Pennsylvania; she responded with 4 letters and 1 brief note. Other letters between female cousins and sisters concern various aspects of their lives, such as education, travel, and family news.

This collection primarily consists of 44 letters exchanged between members of the Hunter family of Wiseburg, Maryland, in 1859. Eliza Hunter ("Lida") received 19 letters from her parents, Margaret and Pleasant Hunter, when she was studying at Linden Hall Seminary in Lititz, Pennsylvania; she responded with 4 letters and 1 brief note. Other letters between female cousins and sisters concern various aspects of their lives, such as education, travel, and family news. Also included are 2 newspaper clippings and a receipt. With the exception of 1 letter written in 1856, 2 written in 1866, and 2 undated items, the letters all date between January 16, 1859, and December 8, 1859.

The Hunters provided Eliza with family and social news from their home in Wiseburg, Maryland. They often commented on health issues, deaths, and correspondence with cousins and other family members. In her letter of May 27, 1859, Eliza's mother described two deaths caused by railroad accidents. Eliza discussed some of her experiences while in school, and included details about her studies and about her social life.

Other female cousins and family members also wrote to unidentified members of the Hunter family, commenting on education, social news, visits to Baltimore, and other aspects of their lives. Eliza Hunter's cousin Annie wrote a letter from Natchez, Mississippi, about her upcoming journey home and about the recent explosion of the steamboat Princess (March 13, 1859); she also mentioned an African American man who wanted to return home with her. In 2 letters to her sister (September and December 1859), a woman named Clara mentioned her five miscarriages, her elderly mother's affairs, and the cost of feeding herself and her household (which included a nurse and food for her "woman" and 4 slaves).

Eliza also received brief letters from female acquaintances she knew from Linden Hall, who wrote of their journeys home from the school in the summer of 1859. Two newspaper clippings, one of which is dated 1866, discuss Byron Sunderland, former chaplain to the United States Senate, and a political speech by Frederick Douglass.

The I. Boggs Smith receipt book contains receipts, invoices, and correspondence related to Smith's purchases of goods from Philadelphia merchants between 1864 and 1867.

The I. Boggs Smith receipt book (approximately 100 pages) contains receipts, invoices, and correspondence related to Smith's purchases of goods from Philadelphia merchants between September 1864 and March 1867. The majority of items have revenue stamps affixed to them. In addition, the volume contains a small number of manuscript receipts and correspondence pertaining to Smith's finances.

I. Boggs Smith purchased items such as fabrics, dishes, shoes, oil, hardware, sugar, and fish. A few invoices pertain to publications by the American Baptist Publication Society. Many of the receipts bear illustrated letterheads. Those of A. H. Franciscus & Co. and John Doll have logos that incorporate the United States flag, and others depict objects such as stoves and oil lamps. A 2-page list of soldiers who served in Pennsylvania regiments during the Civil War is laid in the receipt book.

This collection is made up of 113 receipts for book and magazine purchases by the women's Interchange Book Club of West Newton, Massachusetts, between 1887-1898. Many of the receipts are lists of a dozen or more newly published works of literature, popular novels, travels and tales of foreign lands, a few children's titles, biographies, and more. Examples of magazine titles include Good Housekeeping, Scribner's Magazine, Popular Science, Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, St. Nicholas, and many others. They purchased most often from Little, Brown and Company. Some receipts are for purchases of book and magazine lists, and orders from printers for hundreds of member lists and labels.

This collection is made up of 113 receipts for book and magazine purchases by the women's Interchange Book Club of West Newton, Massachusetts, between 1887-1898. Many of the receipts are lists of a dozen or more newly published works of literature, popular novels, travels and tales of foreign lands, a few children's titles, biographies, and more. Examples of magazine titles include Good Housekeeping, Scribner's Magazine, Popular Science, Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, St. Nicholas, and many others. They purchased most often from Little, Brown and Company. Some receipts are for purchases of book and magazine lists, and orders from printers for hundreds of member lists and labels.

• The Land Beyond the Forest (1888) by Emily Girard.
• The Owl's Nest (1888) by E. Marlett.
• Robert Elsmere (1888) by Mary Ward.
• A translation of Erlach Court (1889) by Ossip Schubin.
• The Master of the Magicians (1890) by Elizabeth Phelps.
• A Waif of the Plains (1890) by Bret Harte.
• An Utter Failure (1891) by Miriam Coles Harris.
• A Capillary Crime and Other Stories (1892) by Francis David Millet.
• A Girl in the Karpathians (1892) by Ménie Muriel Dowie.
• Condemned as a Nihilist (1892) by G. A. Henty.
• Don Orsino (1892) by F. Marian Crawford.
• Gossip in a Library (1892) by Edmund Gosse.
• Green Fairy Book (1892) by Andrew Lang.
• In Arctic Seas. The Voyage of the Kite with the Peary Expedition... (1892)
• Men Must Work (1892) by Mrs. Romney.
• Ten Centuries of Toilet (1892) by Albert Robida.
• Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892) by Joel Chandler Harris.
• Drolls from Shadowland (1893) by J. H. Pearce.
• The Watchmaker's Wife (1893) by Frank Stockton.
• Some Old Puritan Love Letters (1894)
• Water Ghost and Others (1894) by John Kendrick Bangs.
• The Amateur Emigrant (1895) by Robert Louis Stevenson.
• Chinese Characteristics (1895) by Arthur Smith.
• The Land of Tawny Beasts (1895) by Pierre Maël.
• A Sawdust Doll (1895) by Anna de Koven.

The receipts also include publications by or about prominent writers or individuals Jane Austin, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Hardy, Sir Walter Scott, Dante, Sonya Kovalevsky, Victor Hugo, St. Augustine, Honoré de Balzac, and many others.

The Ira Foster papers contain a sampling of items relating to the official business of quartermaster general of Georgia during the Civil War, including incoming and outgoing correspond between Foster and various Confederate agents concerning the purchasing, storage, and delivery of clothes, and wholesale foodstuffs.

The Ira Foster papers contain a sampling of items relating to the official business of quartermaster general of Georgia during the Civil War, including 102 letters, 2 receipts, and 1 official report. The collection consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence between Foster and various confederate agents, concerning the purchasing, storage, and delivery of clothes, wholesale foodstuffs (rice, flour, coffee, sugar, syrup, etc.), and liquors. Several letters include other supply items, such as candles, wire, salt, and iron. A few items relate aspects of slavery, sawmill production, small farming in Georgia, and the exemption bill. The collection provides insights into the Georgia government’s decisions on provisioning troops and on the state of the southern trade economy during the Civil War.

This collection is made up of letters, documents, and a logbook relating to Captain Israel Snow of Thomaston and Rockland, Maine, and vessels, ship captains, and shipments of goods in the early and mid-19th century.

This collection is made up of letters, documents, and a logbook relating to Captain Israel Snow of Thomaston and Rockland, Maine, and shipping and other nautical subjects in the early and mid-19th century.

The Correspondence Series consists of 10 letters Israel Snow received from professional acquaintances between October 2, 1829, and November 21, 1849, mostly regarding vessels, captains, and shipments of goods along the Atlantic seaboard and to New Orleans. He corresponded with men in Norfolk, New York, and Philadelphia, and received news from his home in Thomaston, Maine. Though most writers focused on cargo, consignments, ship arrivals, and finances, others commented on personal issues; for example, Israel Thorndike briefly mentioned his attempt to establish a school (December 12, 1836). The remaining items are a letter from Israel L. Snow to his father about business in Mobile, Alabama, written on a printed "Merchants' and Planters' Price-Current" (October 12, 1850), and a letter from Snow to his wife Lucy, concerning his safe arrival in Hull, England, and his plans to return home (August 27, 1840). One letter written by M. Sumner to R. B. Fuller from Rockland, Maine, on June 24, 1869, relates to a shipment aboard the Schooner Wanderer. Its relation to the Snow family is currently unknown beyond the Rockland connection.

The Documents Series consists of 19 documents, with three relating directly to Israel Snow, listed below.

• A copy of a deed between Daniel Weed and John Jameson pertaining to land in Thomaston, Maine (original dated March 9, 1804; copy dated September 12, 1844). The copy was mailed to Israel Snow.
• A receipt for Israel Snow's payment of income tax to the United States Internal Revenue, dated August 1, 1865.
• A receipt from the United States Treasury for Israel L. Snow's payment for U.S. bonds, dated October 11, 1865.

The remainder of the documents relate more generally to ships and the shipping industry of Rockland, Maine, and the surrounding area. International trade was being conducted with England, Brazil, and Peru. The connection of these items to the Snow family is currently unknown. Several items relate to the Schooner Wanderer. Items include an 1848 warranty deed for a shipyard lot, a borrower's bond relating to the Bark Rambler, an 1869 agreement between ship masters for salvage, as well as surveys and notarized documents of the condition of vessels or their damage, appraisals of ship value, bills and receipts, and insurance and legal documents. One document for the Rockland Insurance Company, dated March 28, 1867, relates to a schooner being under fire during the Civil War, leading to its abandonment.

The Logbook Series consists of one volume, "Abstract Log of Barque Jenny Pitts," covering voyages between 1853 and 1857, many captained by Israel Snow. Voyages include those from Cardiff to San Francisco; San Francisco to Hong Kong; Hong Kong to Shanghai; Shanghai to London; London to Cuba; and possibly one other to Bordeaux.

The James A. Whipple papers contain correspondence, documents, and drawings related to Whipple's career as an engineer during the mid-19th century. Whipple's interests in submarines and naval engineering are documented throughout the collection, which includes correspondence, documents, drawings, and patents.

The James A. Whipple papers contain correspondence, documents, and drawings related to Whipple's career as an engineer during the mid-19th century. Whipple's interests in submarines and naval engineering are documented throughout the collection, which includes correspondence, documents, drawings, and patents.

The Correspondence series contains incoming items to Whipple. Most pertain to business affairs and to Whipple's family and acquaintances. Letters often pertain to submarines, Whipple's salvage business, and Whipple's trips abroad. A few items originally belonged to George L. P. Taylor, a United States consular agent.

The Financial Records series consists of receipts, accounts, and other documents concerning Whipple's business dealings, which reflect his interest in submarines and naval affairs. Many documents relate to his schooner Arcade. The series includes a pocket diary of financial notes and figures for 1855.

The Documents series contains a variety of items related to Whipple's business affairs, personal life, and interests in submarines and naval engineering.

• An explanation of an illustration (not present) showing improvements in submarine armor (March 2, 1848)
• A document from the council of Charleston, South Carolina, thanking Whipple and his associates for salvaging a statue of John C. Calhoun (November 19, 1850)
• A passport from the Republic of Venezuela (13 December 1852)
• Documents authorizing several journeys of James A. Whipple and his associates
• A receipt from the United States Patent Office for Whipple's application for "pumps for forcing water" (January 18, 1854)
• "Result of experiments on dissolving Scale in Boilers made at Beyrout" (March 31, 1855)
• A patent application for a submarine trumpet, made jointly by William H. James and James A. Whipple (April 30, 1855)
• "Report on the efficiency of the [submarine] armour for the U. S. Navy"
• Documents regarding "Whipple's patent double acting momentum pump," including advertisements, diagrams, and Whipple's patent application (October 21, 1859)
• Diagrams for a "process for driving Piles Posts or Timbers in Earth or other yielding Material" (May 25, 1859)
• 22 contracts made between James A. Whipple and other parties
• Several drawings of mid-19th-century underwater diving suits
• James A. Whipple's United States passport (May 30, 1849)

Two Journals include an "Extract from the Journal of J[eremiah] Murphy whilst working in the Liberty Banks" (April 21-May 24, [1857]) and a journal kept by William A. Dodge, J. R. Wheeler, and James A. Whipple during their time salvaging wrecks off Santo Domingo.

The Essays series contains 2 unattributed items: "Sub Marine Work" and "My Brother Capt. James A. Whipple…"

The Drawings and Sketches series has schematic figures for various inventions, such as a device consisting of a large wheel powered by a horse and a device for making cigars. Several other drawings show views of unlabeled inventions.

Printed Material includes 8 Newspaper Clippings and 6 Other Printed Materials. Newspapers include a full issue of Boston's Evening Gazette (July 2, 1859), as well as several short articles regarding trials for steam-driven fire engines. Other items include Whipple's business card, a "Circular of James A. Whipple. Submarine Engineer, Boston, Mass" (1857), printed descriptions of naval-related inventions, and printed drawings of mechanical inventions.

This collection contains financial documents and business correspondence concerning the affairs of James Hamilton, a shipping merchant based in Charleston, South Carolina, between 1784 and 1818. The collection also includes legal documents related to Hamilton's estate after his death in April 1829.

This collection contains financial documents and business correspondence concerning the affairs of James Hamilton, a shipping merchant based in Charleston, South Carolina, between 1784 and 1818. The collection also includes legal documents related to Hamilton's estate after his death in April 1829.

The first 2 items in the Correspondence and Documents series are copies of letters addressed to Blanchard & Lewis, a firm in London, England. The bulk of the material consists of receipts, bills of lading, business letters, accounts, wage agreements, and other financial records concerning James Hamilton's business affairs. The earliest items relate to gloves, blankets, and similar items that Hamilton sold; later material documents Hamilton's interests in several merchant vessels, including the Commerce. Hamilton conducted business with individuals and firms in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Some documents dated around 1796 are addressed to George Forrest, one of Hamilton's business partners. Most items predate the War of 1812, and at least one letter refers to federal legislation regarding international shipping in 1811.

The collection also includes receipts for Hamilton's pew at a Presbyterian church, as well as personal letters from his daughter Agnes and his niece, Margery Bethune (March 1812). Most of the remaining items are legal documents concerning the administration of Hamilton's estate. The documents mention individuals such as Edward S. Ingraham, Benjamin Chew, and James Hamilton Couper (or Cowper), the son of Hamilton's acquaintance John Couper. Some of the documents also mention Francis P. Corbin, Hamilton's son-in-law.

Printed Items are a copy of the London Gazette (November 6-9, 1784); a copy of "An Act concerning the registering and recording of ships and vessels" (1804); and a legal opinion regarding Corbin v. Wilson, a case about James Hamilton's disputed will (June 5, 1838).

The Terry family papers contain correspondence, documents, and other items pertaining to the family of James Terry, Jr., who was curator of the Department of Archaeology and Ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History in the early 1890s. The materials concern Terry's lawsuit against the museum regarding his private collections, his archaeological career, and life on the Terry family farm in the 1830s.

The Terry family papers (0.75 linear feet) contain correspondence, documents, and other items pertaining to pertaining to the family of James Terry, Jr., who was curator of the Department of Archaeology and Ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History in the early 1890s.

The James Terry, Sr., Diary contains 27 pages of daily entries about Terry's farm and the progress of his crops between July 17, 1838, and September 16, 1838. The diary entries are followed by 7 pages of notes about the 1838 hay, rye, and turnip harvests, with additional references to wheat and corn. One note refers to crops planted the following spring (March 21, 1839).

Items pertaining to James Terry, Jr. , are divided into 5 subseries. The Correspondence and Documents subseries (235 items) contains letters, legal documents, and financial records related to James Terry's archaeological career, as well as drafts of letters written by Terry. From 1879 to 1891, Terry received letters from archaeologists and other professionals, such as Albert S. Bickmore and R. P. Whitefield of the American Museum of Natural History, about his work and personal collections. Correspondents also shared news related to the American Museum of Natural History and to archaeological discoveries. Receipts pertain to items shipped to the museum.

Items dated after 1891 relate to Terry's work at the American Museum of Natural History, including an agreement regarding the museum's acquisition of, and payment for, Terry's personal collection of artifacts (June 5, 1891). Correspondence from Terry's time as a curator at the museum (1891-1894) concerns the museum's internal affairs and relationships between Terry and members of the Board of Trustees; one group of letters pertains to the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 (July-August 1893). Terry received notice of his dismissal on March 21, 1894. From 1897-1898, Terry was involved in a lawsuit against the museum, and the collection contains court documents, correspondence, and financial records related to the case; the suit was settled on June 22, 1898, when the museum paid Terry $18,000. Five receipts dated 1906-1908 concern Elmira's Terry's purchases of household items. Some items were once collected in a letter book; a partial table of contents is housed in Oversize Manuscripts.

The James Terry, Jr., Diary contains 86 pages of entries from June 2, 1891-January 26, 1894, concerning Terry's work at the American Museum of Natural History. Pages 4-8 have a list of items "liable to moth destruction," including each artifact's catalog number and a brief note about their condition. The final pages contain notes related to Terry's curatorship and a copied letter from Terry to the archaeologist Marshall H. Saville (December 9, 1893). Terry's Datebook (January 1, 1883-December 31, 1833) contains notes about his daily activities. The final pages hold records of Terry's expenses.

Drafts and Reports (14 items) relate to Terry's work at the American Natural History Museum, the museum's history and collections, archaeological expeditions, and the early history of Santa Barbara, California. The series contains formal and draft reports, as well as notes.

Newspaper Clippings (50 items) include groups of items related to a scandal involving the pastor of a Congregational church in Terryville, Connecticut; to a controversy raised by German archaeologist Max Ohnefalsch-Richter about the integrity of Luigi Palma di Cesnola's collection of Cypriot artifacts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; to controversial behavior by Columbia University president Seth Low; to a meteorite that Lieutenant Robert E. Peary transported from the Greenland to New York in October 1897; and to novelist John R. Musick's alleged plagiarism. Individual clippings concern topics such as Yale College, a dispute between Harvard and Princeton constituents (related to a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes), and religion in New England.

The James Terry, Jr., Ephemera and Realia subseries (14 items) contains business and calling cards, promotional material for the American Natural History Museum, a black-and-white reproduction of a painting of African-American agricultural laborers, metal nameplates and decorative plates, and an engraving of the Worcester Town Hall pasted onto a block of wood.

The Terry Family series is made up of 2 subseries. The Terry Family Account Book contains 11 pages of financial records related to the estate of George Terry (April 9, 1889-June 7, 1890). An additional page of accounts is laid into the volume, and 3 newspaper obituaries for Terry are pasted into the front cover. A tax bill is affixed to the final page of accounts.

The Terry Family Photographs (90 items) include formal and informal portraits and photographs of scenery. One photograph of a summer home called "Rocklawn" is mounted onto a card with a calendar for the year 1899. Another photograph shows the post exchange at Thule (now Qaanaaq), Greenland, in September 1953.