Collections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Gerald T. and Charlotte B. Maxson printed ephemera collection contains over 5,000 pieces of assorted ephemera, the majority of which were commercially printed in the United States during the mid to late 19th-century.

The Gerald T. and Charlotte B. Maxson printed ephemera collection contains over 5,000 pieces of assorted ephemera, the majority of which were commercially printed in the United States during the mid to late 19th-century.

The Maxson collection provides a valuable resource for the study of 19th-century visual culture, commercial advertising, and humor in addition to the role of gender, ethnicity, and race in advertising. American businesses are the predominant focus of the collection, though many international businesses are also represented. While trade cards are by far the most prevalent type of ephemera found in this collection, an extensive array of genres are present including die cut scrapbook pieces, photographs, engravings, maps, serials, and manuscript materials.

The 23 binders that house the Maxson collection were arranged by the collectors themselves. Items are organized somewhat randomly in terms of topical arrangement. While pockets of related materials can be found here and there (for instance, the entirety of Volume 16 contains circus-related items while Volume 11 contains an extensive number of Shaker-related materials), for the most part any given subject may appear in any given volume. In some cases, items are clustered as a result of having been acquired together or due to a documented common provenance. Occasional typed annotations written by the Maxsons help provide additional context for certain items.

The Maxson Collection Subject Index serves as a volume-level subject index for materials found throughout the binders. The subjects indexed here are generally representative of both visual and commercial content. In addition to more general subjects, many names of specific people, places, buildings, events, and organizations that appear in the materials have also been listed. Researchers engaging with this collection should be aware that they will encounter numerous examples of racist caricatures, especially ones depicting African American, Native American, Irish, and Chinese people.

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.

The Humphry and Moses Marshall papers primarily document the careers of botanist Humphry Marshall and his nephew and business associate, Moses Marshall.

The Humphry and Moses Marshall papers consist of 233 items: 181 letters (including drafts), 15 legal documents, 11 manuscripts, 10 poems, 4 account books, and several each of books, letter books, arithmetic notebooks, and broadsides. The materials span from 1721-1863.

The first series contains correspondence and a few legal documents and writings, arranged chronologically. The correspondence dates from 1733 to 1863 and is predominantly incoming. Humphry Marshall is the recipient of the bulk of the material (approximately 40%), followed by Moses Marshall (approx. 30%). The majority of the outgoing correspondence comes from the two "letterbooks" kept by Moses Marshall in 1791 and 1793. These books contain correspondence from a couple of days each, but provide a record of Marshall's response to inquiries from clients.

The bulk of correspondence prior to 1800 relates to Marshall's horticultural and botanical operations. Substantial numbers of orders are for plants and seeds from clients in other parts of the United States, England, Ireland, France, and Germany, and communications with middle men in the operation detail methods of packaging and shipping. Also of botanical interest is the correspondence with Marshall's "agents" in the field, including Moses Mendenhall, John and James Watson, Matthias King, Samuel Kramsh, and James Kenny. These men were admirers and friends of Humphry Marshall, and provided him with specimens collected from various regions of the country. The unsuccessful search for wild Franklinia alatamaha is mentioned in several letters (April 8, 1788: "There is not a plant of the Franklinia to be found"), and other letters include discussions of scientific expeditions either actualized or planned, mostly involving the participation of Moses Marshall. On November 14, 1786, Humphry described the logistics of tracking down ginseng, providing insight into the duties of plant collectors: "both of you being obliged to…encamp in the mountains strike up a fire & lie by it all night in the morning…climb up the sides of the mountains and dig towards evening…about 20 days in Going and Coming home again & digging the roots packing up &c." The content of the letters does not indicate the Marshalls' scientific interests or abilities, but this correspondence provides documentation for the complex network used by the Marshalls to collect, sell and distribute plants.

Approximately 18 letters relate to the Revolutionary War (see "Subject Index" under "Additional Descriptive Data"). These include letters that indicate Marshall's support for the nonimportation agreements (January 6, 1775), second hand reports of the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 25, 1775) and of Yorktown (August 24, 1781), and an important series of correspondence from Samuel Preston Moore relating to the resignation of the trustees of the General Loan Office when American revolutionaries seized control (June 17 and 21, 1777). Also significant are two letters from Quaker conscientious objectors on the morality of paying taxes to support military activities (undated c. 1780 letter; July 14, 1781), a letter relating to the North Carolina Regulator insurrection (March 3, 1771), and one concerning the arrest by American forces of Quakers suspected of Loyalist sympathies (September 6, 1777). Finally, in the pre-Revolutionary period, the letters of James Kenny provide excellent descriptions of plant collecting and the area around Fort Pitt in 1759-60.

The items from 1840-1863 mainly relate to Moses Marshall, Jr. Most notable in among them are several letters from William Darlington written as he was preparing his Memorial to Humphry and Moses Marshall in 1848 and 1849. Moses, Jr's pro-Confederacy political views are clearly expressed in the series of three speeches written during the Civil War, also included in the series.

The Poetry series includes 10 undated poems. The Bound Materials series comprises the arithmetic notebooks of Jacob Martin, whose relationship to the Marshalls is unclear; Darlington’s manuscript, Historical Introduction to Bartram & Marshall, Marshall's copy of Dover's Useful Miscellanies; and nine uncut and unfolded sets of signatures from Arbustrum Americanum.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, and other items related to New Jersey politician Jonathan Dayton; his son-in-law, Oliver Hatfield Spencer; and Spencer's son-in-law, William Nelson Wood. The materials concern politics, finances, property, genealogy, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of 3 linear feet of correspondence, documents, and other items related to New Jersey politician Jonathan Dayton; his son-in-law, Oliver Hatfield Spencer; and Spencer's son-in-law, William Nelson Wood. The materials date between 1764 and 1892, and they concern politics, finances, property, genealogy, and other subjects. The collection is arranged into groups of Jonathan Dayton papers, Oliver Hatfield Spencer papers, William Nelson Wood papers, and Spencer and Wood family papers.

The Jonathan Dayton Papers are divided into 3 subseries. The Jonathan Dayton Correspondence subseries is made up of Dayton's incoming (over 310 items) and outgoing (approximately 55 items) letters between 1780 and 1824. Dayton corresponded with family members, professional acquaintances, and political figures. Many of the early letters pertain to Dayton's congressional service, national and local politics, and personal matters. A group of 14 letters from 1807 concern the Burr Conspiracy and its effects on Dayton, who was imprisoned in connection with the incident. Some of Dayton's correspondents discussed Native American relations and the Northwest Territory. Others provided family news from Cincinnati and commented on legal and financial issues.

The Jonathan Dayton Financial Documents (15 items, 1774-1830) consist of receipts, accounts, and account books, pertaining to real property, taxes, and other financial matters. The 2 account books (1792-1793 and 1823) concern shipping costs, livestock, debts, and real property. A copy of Gaine's New-York Pocket Almanack for 1775 contains an unidentified writer's manuscript notes and financial records kept between 1775 and 1779.

The Jonathan Dayton Legal Documents (76 items, 1764-1821) include deeds for property in New Jersey, contracts, records pertaining to court cases, and other items.

The Oliver Hatfield Spencer series , divided into subseries of Correspondence (5 items) and Documents (13 items). Letters to Spencer, dated 1820-1821, concern his claims against the estate of "Mr. Evans." Other items, dated between 1802 and 1856, include certificates, deeds, Spencer's will, receipts, and a military commission. These documents relate to Spencer's medical career, his work for the New Orleans Board of Health and the Medical Board of the State of Louisiana, and his memberships in the Medical Society of Philadelphia and the Chemical Society of Philadelphia. Three later items pertain to his estate.

The William Nelson Wood series includes Correspondence (19 items) and Estate Documents (41 items). James Cook informed Wood of his brother's death in a letter dated February 21, 1831. The bulk of the remaining correspondence, written from 1853-1854, concern the estate of Clement Wood, a resident of England. Two letters by Luigi Palma di Cesnola (June 27, 1864, and July 7, 1864) report the death of Wood's son Oliver during the Civil War and discuss the Battle of Trevilian Station. A subseries of Estate Documents consists primarily of claims made against Wood's estate following his death in 1865.

The Spencer and Wood Family Papers (153 items) consist of letters, documents receipts, genealogical notes, autographs, an invitation, and an essay related to the descendants of Jonathan Dayton, Oliver Hatfield Spencer, and William Nelson Wood. Correspondence, Documents, and Receipts include incoming and outgoing letters related to members of the Dayton, Spencer, and Wood families, often concerning family news and legal affairs. The series includes Genealogical Materials for the Dayton, Williamson, Halstead, Spencer, and Ogden families. Eighty-seven Autographs cut from letters include signatures and handwriting of prominent individuals in the late 18th and early 19th century. The final items in the collection include an essay description of Jesus Christ (with an 1847 song "The Hieland Laddies' Farewell" written on the back) and a vellum invitation for Edward Meeker Wood to attend The General Society of the Cincinnati and the Sons of the Revolution commemorative event for the death of George Washington, held on December 14, 1899.

The Langstroth Family papers document the activities and relationships of several generations of the Langstroth family, originally of Philadelphia, including the founding of several schools for women and African Americans, the experiences of a patient the Friends Asylum, and service in the Civil War.

The correspondence series comprises 600 items covering 1831-1955, and sheds light on the personal lives, careers, and activities of several generations of the Langstroth family. The bulk of the earliest letters, dating from the 1830s, are from Catharine Langstroth to her father and siblings. These letters concern the death of her sister Sarah, financial issues, and the health of several family members, including Margaretta, and refer to temperance (July 20, 1835 “It affords me much pleasure to know that you gathered in your hay on temperance principles”) and religious study. One letter of particular interest is dated January 3, 1839, and was written by Margaretta during a stay at the Friends Asylum in Philadelphia. It describes a harrowing series of treatments for unspecified mental problems: “My head has been cut open to the bone for 3 inches; and large [peas?] inserted; a lead placed over the slit and on the top of this a bread & milk poultice has been applied for two months… My hair has been shaved at least 6 times; and three times since the head was opened.” Margaretta also described the Asylum’s lectures, food, and other patients (“only deranged at intervals”).

Letters from the 1840s and 1850s were written by a variety of family members and document the founding of Mount Holly Institute for Young Ladies; the courtship of Thomas Langstroth, III, and Mary Hauss; and a range of religious attitudes, from Margaretta’s intense piety to Thomas’ doubt (December 12, 1853: “most all the young men in our church just before they got married have made a profession of religion, and how have they turned out! Look at them one half are as bad as they were before: but I have no right to judge.”). In early 1855, Margaretta wrote a series of letters from near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, describing her efforts at religious and educational outreach to slaves, for whom she felt sympathy (February 7, 1855: “Slaves! poor slaves! how my heart bleeds for them, they toil from night to morn, from morn to night--live and die here without knowledge enough to save the soul.”).

Little documentation of the family exists from the Civil War period, despite Edward and Thomas’ service on opposite sides, but Edward’s letter to Margaretta of July 14, 1865, indicates a rift between himself and his sisters, perhaps arising from his joining the Confederacy. Letters of the 1860s and 1870s are mainly incoming to Margaretta and concern teaching, finances, and advice. A number of letters to Thomas from the 1880s contain information about his brother Edward’s health. Approximately 25 folders of letters date from the 20th-century and were written between Hugh Tener Langstroth, his sister, Sara Paxson, and other relatives. These concern travel, social visits, health, and business matters.

The financial and legal documents series consists of 124 items relating to the Langstroth family, covering 1778-1913. It includes wills, records relating to milling, land indentures, an account book of 1814-1817 kept by Thomas Langstroth, Jr., paperwork related to loans, and other materials. Some materials relate to the bank failure which forced Langstroth to sell his mill in 1836. Only 15 items date from 1851-1913.

The diaries and journals series represents six volumes and a few fragments, covering the 1830s to the 1860s, all written by Margaretta Langstroth. The volumes dating from the 1830s contain biographies of historical figures and may have been used in school. Subsequent diaries recorded daily entries of varying length, covering parts of 1864-1868. The 1864 volume includes Margaretta’s memorials of deceased family members and is thus a good source of genealogical information. More commonly, her entries describe daily activities, religious meditations, and frequently seem to reflect a fragile mental state, as in this exceprt of April 15, 1865: “Abraham Lincoln shot in the Washington Theatre Secretary Sewar [sic] had this throat cut I hope Edwar [sic] has no hand in this what makes me fear that he had” or an entry of June 19, 1866, describing the death of a robin: “I felt very badly cannot describe my suffering poor bird…read hymns as it was dying wondering if it would live elsewhere[.] In bed all day so distressed so wretched…” In a number of passages, Margaretta noted the Sunday School classes that she taught, and commented on the number of students and the subjects of her lessons.

The Letters, Documents, and Other Manuscripts of the Duane Norman Diedrich Collection is a selection of individual items compiled by manuscript collector Duane Norman Diedrich (1935-2018) and the William L. Clements Library. The content of these materials reflect the life and interests of D. N. Diedrich, most prominently subjects pertinent to intellectual, artistic, and social history, education, speech and elocution, the securing of speakers for events, advice from elders to younger persons, and many others.

The Letters, Documents, and Other Manuscripts of the Duane Norman Diedrich Collection is a selection of individual items compiled by manuscript collector Duane Norman Diedrich (1935-2018) and the William L. Clements Library. The content of these materials reflect the life and interests of D. N. Diedrich, most prominently subjects pertinent to intellectual, artistic, and social history, education, speech and elocution, the securing of speakers for events, advice from elders to younger persons, and many others.

For an item-level description of the collection, with information about each manuscript, please see the box and folder listing below.

The Masten family papers contain correspondence documenting the everyday lives of the Hastings and Masten families in 19th-century New York, as well as the Civil War service and subsequent endeavors of Henry Masten in Grandville, Michigan.

The Masten family papers are comprised of 120 letters and two miscellaneous items, dating from 1799 to 1899. The daughters of Jonas and Nancy Hastings were the primary writers of the earliest letters, which concern mainly family and farming news, specifically births, marriages, and deaths of relations and neighbors. Caroline (Hastings) Pennell’s letters to her siblings in New York shed light on the family’s struggle in Northville, Michigan, where they settled sometime in the 1830s. In a letter dated October 14, 1840, Caroline mourned the death of her infant Ebenezer, “his little body was laid in the silent grave by the side of little Andrew and it appears at times as though a part of my heart was buried with them. I find in the midst of life we are in Death and the most promising flowers are nipt in the bud…”

Several letters from the 1850s refer to problems between Samuel Hastings and his wife Mary. On September 25, 1851, Caroline wrote to her sister Nancy, stating, “Mary tells me she and the children talk of coming back this fall they cannot live there with Sam in any peace the children are afraid of him….” Caroline blames the strife on “cursed Drag Alcahol.”

Also noteworthy is the long series of letters between Henry Masten (son of Nancy and Ephraim Masten) and his sisters during the 1860s and 1870s. Henry’s Civil War letters cover camp life in Virginia, such as marching, food, weather, and equipment. In a letter of October 24, 1864, he describes being surprised by the Confederate Army at the Battle of Cedar Creek. The letters from the 1870s, when Henry lived in Grandville, Michigan, portray the work, recreation, family relations, and social setting of a farming family of that era. They contain details of farm work, birth and death of children, health and sickness, church activities, and religious beliefs. Later letters detail his activities with his grocery business, Masten & Hammond.

The Maury family papers contain the letters and documents of the extended family of Abram P. Maury, Whig congressman from Franklin, Tennessee. The collection documents politics, travel, business, agriculture, and family life in the antebellum South, and includes contributions from the Harris, Claiborne, and Reid families of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, and Alabama.

The Maury family papers (2.5 linear feet) contain the letters and documents of the extended family of Abram P. Maury, Whig congress member from Franklin, Tennessee. The collection documents politics, travel, business, agriculture, and family life in the antebellum South, and includes contributions from the Harris, Claiborne, and Reid families of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, and Alabama.

The Chronological Correspondence and Documents series (approximately 1,000 items) consists of letters between the parents, children, siblings, aunts and uncles, in-laws, friends, business colleagues and political colleagues of the Maury, Harris, Claiborne, and Reid families. The bulk of these items span 1820 to 1872.

The family was heavily involved in national and state politics, and they frequently discuss happenings in congress and the dramas of presidential elections. Topics discussed include the workings of the Whig party in Tennessee in the 1830s; the presidential runs of Andrew Jackson in 1826 and William Henry Harrison in 1836; Santa Anna and the Mexican War (1837-1838); Abram P. Maury's experiences in the United States Congress; Meredith Poindexter Gentry's activities representing Tennessee in Congress, and Carey A. Harris's time in politics as commissioner of Indian affairs (1836). Present are items from several prominent politicians, including Lewis Cass, Thomas Hart Benton, and James K. Polk. Of note are the letters from Macajah G. L. Claiborne, in which he discussed his extensive travels around the world as part of the United States Navy, and a few letters from Confederate soldiers on the front lines of the Civil War.

The collection also documents business, social, and domestic matters, such as clothes and fashion, social engagements (balls and parties), courting, offers and rejections of marriage, family business and finance, and the purchase, use, rental, and sale of land in the deep South. Various family members described their experiences settling in Alabama and Mississippi in the 1820s, in Mississippi in the 1820s and 1830s, and in Arkansas in the 1830s and 1840s. They frequently discussed the use of slaves in daily life and at times expressed feelings of moral conflict over slavery and the slave trade.

• June 18, 1818: Thomas Hart Benton to Abram Maury, Jr., encouraging Maury to move to Missouri and to speculate in land
• February 12, 1819: Thomas Hart Benton to Abram Maury, Jr., confirming the signing of a Chickasaw treaty that makes it easier for him to travel to Tennessee
• August 14, 1819: James K. Polk's introduction to Abram Maury, Jr., while running for a clerkship in the state legislature
• August 13, 1820: A. P. Maury to his father Abram Maury, Jr., describing a visit to Staten Island, New York, and his stay with Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins
• January 20, 1822: Abram Maury, Jr., to Daniel W. Maury discussing Thomas Hart Benton’s inability to pay off his debts for lack of money and offering land in Missouri instead
• February 23, 1824: John Henry Easton to Mary Claiborne concerning marriage prospects and a warning to use caution when selecting a husband
• July 7, 1824: Thomas Crutcher to Malvina Crutcher and Mary Claiborne describing a large dinner party held in honor of Andrew Jackson, with the general in attendance
• January 1, 1825: Abram Maury, Jr., to Abram P. Maury concerning the destruction of Aunt White's cotton gin, which they suspect was burned by a slave named Tom
• January 17, 1825: Isaac L. Baker to Mary Eliza Claiborne noting that all are pleased to hear that Andrew Jackson has "bright prospects for the Presidency," and that if he does succeed, Baker will run for Congress
• July 3, 1825: John F. H. Claiborne to Mary Eliza Claiborne teasing Mary about her courtship with an Irishman
• October 17, 1831: Mac Claiborne to Mary Eliza Maury describing his voyage to Brazil with the navy
• October 27, 1832: Mac Claiborne to Mary Eliza Maury discussing his long voyage in the Pacific and "China Sea," death aboard his ship, the detention of American whaling ships, and visits to Tahiti and Honolulu, Hawaii, including a feast with the Hawaiian royal family and a description of King Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III)
• December 28, 1832, February 13 and April 13, 1833: Mac Claiborne to Mary Eliza Maury discussing his time in Valparaiso, Chile, with comments on the government, social conditions, politics, and religious tolerance
• February 18, 1834: James P. Maury to Abram P. Maury commenting on the oration styles of congressmen McDuffie, Webster, Calhoun, and Van Buren
• November 17, 1837: Document from Letitia, Alfred, Nancy, Jesse, and Mary Ann to Abram P. Maury concerning a judicial decision in favor of a suit brought by five "free persons of color" against Maury for trespass and false imprisonment (Maury had claimed they were his slaves)
• February 9, 1838: Chickasaw women named Tim-e-shu-ho-ra and Ish-tim-ma-hi-zea to Carey A. Harris transferring a deed of land
• March 18, 1838: Nathan Reid to Francis Reid discussing the state of the slave trade and his antislavery views
• March 25, 1838: S.C. Cannon to Abram P. Maury, Jr., concerning the "disorderly conduct" of Pink, a man owned by the Maurys: "I think Pink richly deserves to be sold without the least hesitation of delay…I think you need feel no scruples about it on account of him & his wife, as she is free, it is as convenient for her to be near him one place as another."
• February 5, 1841: Carey A. Harris to James P Maury discussing selling slaves named Lucy, Betsey, and a child for $1,550 Arkansas money
• March 4, 1841: Mac Claiborne to Abram P. Maury discussing his stay in Rio de Janeiro, his thoughts on traveling to China, piracy near Java and Sumatra, and the British Opium War
• December 19, 1841: Nathan Reid to Francis Reid, discussing the "cut-throut spirit" in the west, "The laws, in my view, afford no protection to person, property, or character…Every man who considers himself aggrieved assures the right of avenging his own wrongs, in his own ways; and of judging not only of the mode but the measure of redress. The consequence is that human life is held but in little esteem, and is placed upon every insecure and precarious footing, as shewn by the innumerable bloody frays that take place daily in your midst."

This series also has 29 undated letters, 10 miscellaneous items (newspaper clippings and receipts), and nine empty envelops. The item dated September 28, 1838, contains a drawing of the profile of a man; the letter from February 15, 1840, contains a sketch of tracts of land in Pontotoc, Mississippi; and the item from October 14, 1847, contains a diagram of a plot of land in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Bundled Correspondence and Documents series (188 items) is grouped into seven bundles:

Bundle 1, c.1810s-1930s (6 letters, 1 document) contains items relating to the military service and death of Major John Reid, the son of Nathan Reid. Also present are letters from the early 1930s related to erecting markers to honor Reid and other relatives, and a genealogical document.

Bundle 2, c.1830s-1850s (35 letters) consists of letters related to Harris family members. Highlights include a letter from Martha F. Harris, daughter of Martha Maury, in which she described the relative handsomeness of various senators: "Webster has almost the finest looking face I ever saw & is decidedly the greatest looking man in the Senate." She also commented on physical features of Clay and Van Buren (February 15, 1834). Other topics covered are family and health news, and land dealings with the Choctaw (September 28, 1838), and land dealings in Missouri (August 26, 1849). A series of letters written by Carey A. Harris, Jr., in the early 1850s describe student life at the University of Virginia, including exams, conflict between students and residents of Charlottesville (November 25, 1853), and other activities. Also of note are letters by James Harris concerning settling in Port Gibson, Mississippi, and teaching at the newly opened Port Gibson Male Academy (1853).

Bundle 3, 1830s-1860s (10 letters) is comprised of various letters, including an item from "F.J.H." [Fanny Reid Harris] that describes excitement over the secession of Virginia and the reinforcement of "Old Point" by "free negro volunteers," whom she claimed were "strutting about and boasting that they had come to liberate the slaves--such an insult, has maddened all the people…" (April 20, 1861). Also present is a letter from John Reid of Nashville, Tennessee, to Sally, expressing Reid's hope that Tennessee will stay in the Union (January 24, 1861).

Bundle 4, 1850s-1860s (18 letters and documents) includes a telegraph notice of the death of James M. Harris from yellow fever at Port Gibson (October 6, 1853), Carey A. Harris, Jr.'s, oath of allegiance to the Union taken at the mouth of the White River in Arkansas (May 26, 1865), and other miscellaneous Civil War-era documents, most of which relate to the logistics of feeding and paying Confederate soldiers.

Bundle 5, c.1810s-early 20th century (54 documents) contains miscellaneous letters, documents, and genealogical material. Many of the items pertain to political career of Abram Maury, including a printed speech, a newspaper clipping, and his manuscript notes on various political topics. Document types include land indentures, accounts, and a map of land lots owned by Reid. The 20th-century material largely relates to Maury family genealogical research, including letters to Maury T. Reid.

Bundle 6, 1830-1860s (29 letters) contains letters concerning land sales and purchases, many written by Carey A. Harris, Sr. Present is Harris' resignation letter from an official post (October 28, 1838), comments by James Walker on New Orleans and the lead up to the Panic of 1837 (April 14, 1837), and estate papers of Carey Harris, Sr., settled by his wife, Martha (November 16, 1842). Also of note is a set of letters from Martha F. Harris concerning claims on the government for the destruction of her house and property during the Civil War (1865-1866).

Bundle 7, 1819-1940s (35 letters) contains a series of miscellaneous letters, many by William S. Reid, which note his travels around Tennessee. Also present are later family letters that contain details on genealogy (1880s, and 1940s). Highlights include a letter from Allen Hall to Abram P. Maury concerning politics and the national presidential convention (May 2, 1848), and a detailed letter about the birth of a daughter to Martha Harris (May 28, 1833).

The bulk of the 20th-Century Correspondence and Documents series spans from 1917 to 1948 and relates to later descendants, including William Perkins Maury, his daughter Mary Wheeler Maury (who married Paul Logue), Paul Logue, and their son Paul Maury Logue. In addition to letters and documents, this series also includes blank postcards and souvenir booklets for various locales, newspaper clippings, a stamp book, composition book, and a number of family photographs. While most of the photographs are of unidentified individuals, images with captions identify A. P. Maury, Mary Perkins Maury, Ferdinand Claiborne Maury, and the mother of William Perkins Maury (with a typed note about the family's Confederate connections).

This collection contains incoming letters, legal and financial documents, photographs, genealogical notes, writing fragments, and printed items related to Moody Kent, a lawyer who practiced in Deerfield and Concord, New Hampshire, in the early 19th century. Kent corresponded with his siblings, personal friends, and professional acquaintances about financial matters and with fellow Harvard graduates about their personal histories.

This collection contains 395 incoming letters, 39 legal and financial documents, 2 photographs, and 5 printed items related to Moody Kent, a lawyer who practiced in Deerfield and Concord, New Hampshire, in the early 19th century. Kent corresponded with his siblings, personal friends, and professional acquaintances about financial matters and with fellow Harvard graduates about their personal histories. Genealogical notes, poems, and writing fragments complete the collection.

The Correspondence series (395 items) is comprised primarily of incoming letters to Moody Kent from family, friends, and professional acquaintances, written between 1798 and 1860. Early items include letters that Kent received at Harvard from his father and siblings, who wrote about their lives in Newbury, Massachusetts. After his graduation in 1801, he often received letters from correspondents about their legal and financial matters; frequent writers included members of Kent's family and Ezekiel Webster, Daniel Webster's brother. After his retirement in 1832, Kent's correspondents wrote most often about personal matters. One person, A. A. Parker, commented about domestic political issues in the late 1850s. Some letters written during the 1860s directly concern the Civil War. Several of Kent's Harvard classmates shared information about their lives and family histories.

The Documents series (39 items) contains original and copied depositions, indentures, wills, and financial agreements, dated between 1771 and 1860. They primarily concern land ownership and inheritance issues. Few pertain directly to the affairs of Moody Kent, though many relate to his correspondents. Copies of the wills of Joseph Kent and Moody Kent are also included.

Two cabinet card Photographs depict an unidentified child and adult in and near a gazebo.

Poetry, Writings, and Fragments (5 items) include two patriotic poems by Hannah F. Lee (dated February 1862), 8 bars of manuscript sheet music, and other manuscript fragments and writings.

The Genealogy series (11 items) consists of genealogical notes related to various members of the Kent family.

The Printed Material series (5 items) is made up of an 1861 copy of New Hampshire legislative act regarding funding for New Hampshire soldiers' clothing and equipment; an advertisement for the Elmwood Literary Institute, Boscawen, New Hampshire; a circular advertisement for books on health sciences; an abbreviated version of Moody Kent's will; and a program for a 1912 Congregational church service.