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Collection

Brigel family correspondence, 1942-1944

6 items

This collection contains six letters and postcards written by brothers Cornelius L. and Anthony J. Brigel to their families during their service in World War II. The brothers wrote about their life in the army, and sent greetings to their loved ones at home.

This collection contains six letters and postcards written by brothers Cornelius L. and Anthony J. Brigel to their families during their service in World War II. Cornelius wrote the first three letters to his wife Ada, and described his arrival at Fort Thomas, Kentucky, in two postcards from December 1942. He mentioned trading in his civilian clothing and receiving a vaccination, and promised a friend: "I get to Germany, I will get Hitler's mustache and use it for a shoe brush" (December 19, 1942). In his third letter, written on stationery from Camp Roberts, California, he described a trip to Santa Barbara, California, while on 36 hours' leave (February 8, 1943).

Anthony composed two letters to his "Brother and Sister" from his post with the 758th Railway Shop Battalion, then stationed in India. He wrote about his disappointment with his St. Patrick's Day celebrations (March 17, 1944) and offered his condolences for a family member's death, via a v-mail message (May 26, 1944). A final postcard, addressed to Cornelius and postmarked Detroit, Michigan, announced the birth of a baby girl, signed by "Pink" (October 29, 1944).

Collection

Bright Shipping account books, 1757-1809 (majority within 1757-1780)

4 volumes

This collection contains financial records related to the mercantile interests of Henry, Richard, and Lowbridge Bright, who owned several ships that made trading voyages between Bristol, England, and the Caribbean in the late 18th century. Accounts cover prizes taken by the Tryall during the Seven Years' War, as well as transatlantic trade between Bristol and several Caribbean islands, primarily Jamaica.

This collection contains financial records related to the mercantile interests of Henry, Richard, and Lowbridge Bright, who owned several ships trading between Bristol, England, and the Caribbean in the late 18th century. Volume 1 (approximately 88 pages) consists of accounts related to six prizes captured by the Tryall under Captains George Burford and James McTaggart between 1757 and 1758, including wages paid to the ship's crew and money received as the prizes' goods went to auction; along with the seamen, investors Henry Bright and Richard Meyler also received a share of the profit. In addition to wage payouts, the book notes the cargo of the captured ships, and lists buyers and prices for the goods, which included foodstuffs, soap, oil, clothing, and a variety of other items. Expenses are also occasionally recorded, such as the cost of housing prisoners.

The captured ships were as follows:
  • La Bellona, captured from France on April 28, 1757
  • Cockermouth, re-captured from France on May 24, 1757
  • La Mutine, captured from France on June 17, 1757
  • Middenhoek, captured from the Netherlands on September 20, 1758
  • Juffron Maria, captured from the Denmark on October 1758
  • [Swimmer], captured from the Netherlands on October 21, 1758

Records for the final three ships are brief and do not make note of receipts from auction sales of individual items.

Volume 2 (approximately 112 pages) contains invoices for goods shipped onboard several of the Brights' sailing ships between Bristol, Nevis, St. Vincent, Jamaica, and Ireland. The accounts, compiled between October 8, 1772, and May 4, 1775, cover the final years of Henry Bright's operations, and additional later records (May 25, 1780-May 1, 1789) reflect the financial affairs of his heirs, Lowbridge & Richard Bright. Most of the records are invoices that primarily pertain to shipments from Bristol to the Caribbean, and include the names of agents who would sell the goods locally. The Brights sent a variety of nonperishable goods across the Atlantic, frequently consisting of items made of iron and other manufactures not yet prevalent in the Americas. Along with nails, pans, and other necessary items were less traditional items such as rat traps and parrot cages. Another common cargo load was limestone. Though several westward trips included shipments of cheese, most of the foodstuffs handled by the firm originated in the Caribbean and were sent to Europe; later records indicate that the company sent shipments of sugar and rum to Cork and Dublin, Ireland. The later records, belonging to Lowbridge & Richard Bright, are more general, and most frequently include a summary of the total value of goods shipped rather than the detailed invoices.

Volume 3 (approximately 124 pages) contains financial records and documents for Lowbridge & Richard Bright and for Bush & Elton, including correspondence with their captains regarding assignments. Limestone and other general provisions appear most frequently in the book's detailed outgoing invoices, and sugar, rum, and other local spices and products from various Caribbean islands appear on invoices for return ships. Additional invoices detail wages paid to laborers prior to each voyage, and several contain lists of provisions taken onboard in addition to cargo. Many of the accounts relate to the firm Bright, Milward & Duncomb.

This volume holds records for the following ships:
  • Kingston Packett, Captain William Mattocks, March 23, 1775-January 30, 1778
  • Industry, Captains Thomas Powell, William Ball, James Henderson, and John Honeywell, December 9, 1780-June 26, 1787
  • Severn, Captain James Henderson, March 5, 1777

Volume 4 (approximately 43 pages) consists of records for the Union, owned by Lowbridge & Richard Bright and by Davis & Protheroe, covering May 15, 1778-January 1, 1809. In addition to correspondence containing Captain John Henderson's orders, the ship's owners provided a list of friendly agents at a number of ports, to use in case of an emergency on the way to Jamaica. This volume also records wages paid to various laborers and sailors, as well as invoices and lists of provisions. Though the accounts cover only two voyages, undertaken in 1778 and 1779, financial settlements continued until 1809.

Collection

Brig Kitty logbook, 1785-1787 (majority within 1785)

1 volume

The Brig Kitty logbook spans April 9 to August 19, 1785, detailing the merchant ship's voyage from the port of Piscataqua, likely near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the West Indies and back to the region near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The bulk of the brig's daily entries are recorded in columns to notate the hour of the day, knots and half-knots for speed, the brig's course, the direction of the winds, and general remarks. Most of these remarks relate to weather, sea conditions, handling of sails, and latitude observations. The volume also includes a "Harbour Logg" kept from May 22 to July 22 at the "Lee Cayes [Cays]", recording the unloading of staves, boards, and shingles while the Kitty was at its destination in the West Indies, as well as molasses taken on board for the return voyage.

The Brig Kitty logbook spans April 9 to August 19, 1785, detailing the merchant ship's voyage from the port of Piscataqua, likely near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the West Indies and back to the region near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The bulk of the brig's daily entries are recorded in columns to notate the hour of the day, knots and half-knots for speed, the brig's course, the direction of the winds, and general remarks. Most of these remarks relate to weather, sea conditions, handling of sails, and latitude observations, and the writer often used phonetic spellings. The log keeper also indicated when barrels of supplies were broached, like water, bread, beef, and pork, but also indicated when they observed other ships. Occasionally, they would speak with other captains, and the writer would record their port of departure and destination, principally ports in New England and the West Indies. The logbook documents land sightings and their distances from the ship. Some places named include Tobago, Rockley Bay, Grenada, Hispaniola, Cape Tiburon, Cape St. Nicholas, Acklins Island, Crooked Island, among others.

The volume includes a "Harbour Logg," kept from May 22 to July 22 at the "Lee Cayes [Cays]", recording the unloading of staves, boards, and shingles while the Kitty was at its destination, as well as molasses taken on board for the return voyage. Several entries also relate to routine shipboard activities, like mending sails, having a cooper come on board, sending a crew person ashore because of ill health, securing the hold, and watering the ship. A Captain Nott appears to have had control of the ship upon its return voyage. The entry for August 17th includes notes on taking depth soundings with brief remarks about sand samples.

The volume's cover is sailcloth. One edge of the cloth appears to be the selvage, where the cloth was finished to prevent unraveling, suggesting this may have been a repurposed remnant.

A loose receipt dated October 3, 1787, from Dover, New Hampshire, is laid into the volume, recording Benjamin Peirce's survey of pine boards and planks for widow Lydia Tibbits. The verso of an interior page includes several accounts, including one for Miss Plummer of Dover, dated September 19, 1785, for food items and other goods. The final two pages of the volume feature mathematical notations as well as financial accounts, seemingly related to room and board as well as some transactions relating to molasses and other items.

Collection

Brig of War Argus Pursers' record book, 1812-1813

1 volume

This account book contains financial records pertaining to the daily activities of the pursers onboard the United States brig Argus during the War of 1812. The accounts reflect sailors' and officers' purchases of various items, crewmen's allowances, and other financial matters.

This account book (60 pages) contains financial records pertaining to the daily activities of the pursers onboard the United States brig Argus from March 7, 1812-May 8, 1813; additional records are dated January 8-February 7, year unknown. Most of the accounts are the pursers' records of transactions with the ship's sailors and officers, including its commander, Arthur Sinclair. The pursers sold goods such as articles of clothing, foodstuffs, whiskey, kettles, and handkerchiefs. Around 14 entries record final payments to discharged men, and the pursers made at least 2 payments after deaths (March 24, 1813, and April 2, 1813). The account book also records requisitions from navy sources and sailors' allowances.

The donor has collected, arranged, transcribed, and annotated each page of the account book and has written a well-researched collection description.

Collection

Brill-Kelsoe correspondence, 1878-1889 (majority within 1885-1886)

0.25 linear feet

The Brill-Kelsoe correspondence consists primarily of letters written by James A. Brill to his future wife, Ida C. Kelsoe, while he lived in the Dakota Territory in the mid-1880s. He described his various odd jobs, discussed his active religious life, and expressed his hope that Ida would join him.

The Brill-Kelsoe correspondence (56 items) consists primarily of letters written by James A. Brill to his future wife, Ida C. Kelsoe, while he lived in the Dakota Territory in the mid-1880s. In his love letters, often 5-6 pages long, he described his life in Watertown, in what is now South Dakota, and frequently requested that Ida join him as he sought to build his life and fortune. He occasionally described his various jobs, including constructing a house and assisting in a shop, and discussed his finances. On June 14, 1885, he told Ida of his plans to construct a house and possibly to rent it to others for around $12 a month, and he attached a floor plan; though he did build the dwelling, he continued to live in boarding houses. Brill, a religious man, frequently commented about his neighbors and about local religious debates, often argued by several competing denominations. In addition to Brill's letters, the collection holds other correspondence addressed to Ida, including a letter from a suitor named Bruce from Bealeton, Virginia (October 23, 1882), and several others from male friends, who often discussed her relationship prospects. A newspaper clipping printing local news items under the heading "Sheridan Sayings" is also included.

Collection

Brimblecom family papers, 1817-1844

39 items

The Brimblecom family papers are made up of letters that Massachusetts preacher Samuel Brimblecom and his son, Samuel A. Brimblecom, wrote in the early and mid-19th century. The elder Brimblecom discussed his studies at Harvard in the late 1810s, and his son often wrote of his voyages with the merchant marine to India and China in the 1840s.

The Brimblecom family papers are made up of letters that Massachusetts preacher Samuel Brimblecom and his son, Samuel A. Brimblecom, wrote in the early and mid-19th century. The elder Brimblecom discussed his studies at Harvard in the late 1810s, and his son often wrote of his voyages with the merchant marine to India and China in the 1840s.

The earliest items primarily consist of letters from Samuel Brimblecom to his sister Mary, which he wrote during his time as a student at Harvard University and during the decade following his graduation. He often included his philosophical musings about a variety of topics, including metaphysics and religion, and described his life at school, as a private tutor in South Carolina, and a young preacher in Massachusetts and Maine. Brimblecom continued to write to Mary over the years with updates on his family, but after 1840 his son, Samuel A. Brimblecom, wrote the majority of the correspondence.

Though he often discussed his daily life and acquaintances in Lynn, Massachusetts, Samuel A. Brimblecom also wrote to his parents and siblings about his travels to Asia. In one letter, he copied a poem dedicated to his mother: "Mother, I'm for the Indies Bound" (January 4, 1841). In letters written throughout 1844, he related his experiences in East Asian cities such as Whampoa, Canton, Macao, Singapore, and Calcutta, and noted the practices of businessmen and local customs. On June 27, 1844, for example, he shared his impressions of the region surrounding Bombay, India.

Collection

Bristol (Me.) cobbler daybook, 1836-1844

1 volume

A currently unidentified cobbler from Bristol, Maine, kept this daybook between 1836 and 1844, recording the names of customers, their purchases, and amounts charged. Customers purchased shoes, boots, and leather, paid for the labor of making or repairing footwear, and repair work on items like harnesses and halters.

A currently unidentified cobbler from Bristol, Maine, kept this daybook between 1836 and 1844, recording the names of customers, their purchases, and amounts charged. Customers purchased shoes, boots, and leather, paid for the labor of making or repairing footwear, and repair work on items like harnesses and halters. Several newspaper clippings of poems are pasted or laid into the volume, and the inside front cover bears several inscriptions by Annie Ervine.

Collection

British Commissariat document trunk, [circa 1765]

1 item

This 82 x 43 x 36 cm wooden document trunk, dating from around 1765, includes a hand-wrought iron lock, reinforcement bands, corner tips, and fancy handles. Its interior is grooved for the placement of three removable wooden panels, one of which is present. Contemporary manuscript lettering on the interior left side of the lid reads "Commissariat / on His Majs: Acct / from Mr Oswald" and on the right "Papers / for the Germn: Army / May 1766 / accounts – [A?] & B."

This 82 x 43 x 36 cm wooden document trunk, dating from around 1765, includes a hand-wrought iron lock, reinforcement bands, corner tips, and fancy handles. Its interior is grooved for the placement of three removable wooden panels, one of which is present. Contemporary manuscript lettering on the interior left side of the lid reads "Commissariat / on His Majs: Acct / from Mr Oswald" and on the right "Papers / for the Germn: Army / May 1766 / accounts – [A?] & B."

A January 9, 1861, note by Philadelphia lawyer Henry J. Williams indicates that the trunk was seized by the French as a prize during the American Revolution, and that his father Jonathan Williams brought it to the United States when returning from his service as acting U.S. Consul at Nantes. Mid-twentieth-century paper tags indicate that the trunk was one of three from the estate of Henry J. Williams' son-in-law Alexander Biddle, discovered after the death of Biddle's son Lynford Biddle in 1941, and sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1943.

Collection

British Grants of Arms, 1570-1721 (majority within 1684-1700)

1 volume

This bound volume contains individual manuscript copies of documents, which grant persons or institutions of England or Ireland the right to claim and bear hereditary coats of arms and, in some cases, admission to the peerage or alteration of their noble titles. The documents are arranged in three sections, dating from 1666 and 1684-1694 (Section I), 1570-1700 (Section II), and 1716-1721 (Section III).

This bound volume contains individual copies of documents, which grant persons or institutions of England or Ireland the right to bear hereditary coats of arms or admit members to the peerage. The volume was once owned by Earl George Macartney; his bookplate appears on the inside front cover. The documents are arranged in three sections, dating from 1666 and 1684-1694 (Section I), 1570-1700 (Section II), and 1716-1721 (Section III). The first two sections (103 pages and 77 pages, respectively) are separately paginated and indexed. The third section consists of 18 non-paginated, non-indexed pages. Many of the earliest items are likely 18th-century copies.

The documents in Sections I and II are predominantly grants allowing Englishmen to establish or bear hereditary coats of arms, signed by the Garter King of Arms, Norroy King of Arms, and/or the Earl Marshal. They present justifications for a named individual to bear a coat of arms or assume a noble title, often mentioning their high standing and ancestral longevity. Those items related to heraldic devices often provide details about the badge to be granted. Many documents are accompanied by pencil sketches, ink drawings, and colored drawings of coats of arms. Several items reflect notable individuals and institutions, such as Sir George Jeffreys (p. 17); Francis Nicholson, then governor of Maryland (p. 93, 1693/4); and the College of William and Mary (pp. 96-97, May 14, 1694). A few documents in Section II are petitions sent to officials, requesting them to grant coats of arms or similar favors.

The third section holds 18 pages of copied documents, which bestow noble titles upon the following individuals in England and Ireland between 1716 and 1721:
  • John Beaumont, Viscount
  • Thomas Parker, Baron
  • James Stanhope, Viscount
  • Matthew Aylmer, Baron
  • Philip Wharton, Duke
  • George Carpenter, Baron
  • William Grimston, Baron
  • Lionel Cranfield Sackville, Duke
  • William Posonby, Baron
Collection

B. Robert Winthrop letters, 1824-1829 (majority within 1824-1825)

11 items

This collection contains 9 letters that B. Robert Winthrop, a native of New York City, wrote to his sister Mag while he lived and worked in "Angostura" between 1824 and 1825. He described his life abroad and commented on the local culture. The collection also contains a letter that Winthrop wrote to Mag after returning to New York City, as well as a manuscript poem.

This collection contains 9 letters that B. Robert Winthrop wrote to his sister Mag while he lived and worked in "Angostura" between December 8, 1824, and December 20, 1825, as well as one letter that he wrote after returning to his home in New York City and a poem copied by C. Winthrop.

B. Robert Winthrop moved to "Angostura" in late 1824, and remained until at least early 1826. While abroad, he corresponded with his sister, Mag C. Winthrop, who remained with their family in New York City. In his first letter, written on December 8, 1824, he described the local population and his experiences as foreigner living abroad (such as his lack of familiarity with the local vernacular). Winthrop often referred to his desire to return home and remarked on social news from New York City. In late 1825, he began to describe his efforts to return to the United States, as well as his disappointment when his plans did not come to fruition.

In his final letter from overseas, dated December 20, 1825, he relayed a request from the "Governors Daughter," who wished for a set of "curls" from New York. He also wrote Mag from New York City on January 2, 1829, after the rest of the Winthrop family had moved to Clarendon County, South Carolina, responding in detail to her request for news of New York's latest fashions and expressing his pleasure with a general's recent success in the "Western States." The final item is a manuscript copy of "The Mariner's Dream," a poem by William Dimond; this copy is attributed to "Miss C. Winthrop."

Collection

Brookfield Social Library collection, 1805-1848

1 volume

The Brookfield Social Library collection is made up of records compiled by the library's members between 1805 and 1848, including a portion of its constitution, meeting minutes, and accounts from book sales.

The Brookfield Social Library collection contains 82 pages of records compiled by the library's members between 1805 and 1848, including a portion of its constitution, meeting minutes, and accounts from book sales.

The first 2 pages contain Articles 6-15 of the Library's constitution, and are followed by 2 pages of signatures; several families, such as the Hoxie and Whitford families, are represented. The signatures are followed by an extensive list of books held by the library, including their prices and catalog numbers, as well as financial records pertaining to books purchased between April 4, 1805 and April 7, 1814. The bulk of the volume (titled "Scrap Book") consists of meeting minutes taken between April 1, 1806, and April 18, 1848, primarily recording administrative resolutions and, occasionally, the results of public book sales. Some entries concern the amount of the librarian's annual compensation, lending policies, and the formation of committees for collection assessment and for the acquisition of new books.

A newspaper clipping describing the "Probable Sad Fate of Sister Wilcox" is pasted onto the inside back cover.

Collection

Brotherhood of the Footboard and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (St. Louis, Mo.) minute book, 1864-1872

1 volume

This volume is made up of the minutes of the proceedings of the St. Louis, Missouri, chapter of the Brotherhood of the Footboard (later Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers) railroad labor union. The ledger documents the election of officers, membership issues, committee appointments, local disciplinary actions, blacklisted members, other union business, and occurrences such as the death of Thomas Higgins while working on the Pacific Railroad near Labadie, Michigan (March 1865).

This 132-page volume is made up of the minutes of the proceedings of the St. Louis, Missouri, chapter of the Brotherhood of the Footboard (later Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers) railroad labor union. It contains entries from February 22, 1864-January 5, 1867, and April 1871-July 7, 1872. William J. DeGrummond, First Assistant Engineer, kept the meeting minutes until May 12, 1866, when Frank Lewis took over pro tem. William Facer kept the minutes from April 1871-April 1872.

The ledger documents the election of officers, membership issues, committee appointments, local disciplinary actions, blacklisted members, other union business, and occurrences such as the death of Thomas Higgins while working on the Pacific Railroad near Labadie, Michigan (March 1865).

Collection

Brown-Danskin Company photograph album, ca. 1920

1 volume

The Brown-Danskin Company photograph album contains photographs of farm properties in the Red River Valley (North Dakota and Minnesota), offered for sale by the Brown-Danskin Company.

The Brown-Danskin Company photograph album (15 x 20 cm) contains 50 photoprints of farm properties in the Red River Valley (North Dakota and Minnesota), offered for sale by the Brown-Danskin Company. Photographs show large fields of clover, rye and wheat, often with a lone figure standing at a distance. Also shown are farmhouses, barns, and outbuildings on properties, with occasional livestock. Cars, telephone lines, and windmills appear in multiple photographs, and several images relate to harvests. Typescript captions describe the buildings, available amenities, soils, and prices. Images appear to be professionally composed and developed.

The album has a black cloth cover with printed title: Eastern North Dakota and Red River Valley Farms, the Brown-Danskin Company, Minneapolis, Minn. and is housed in a pale blue cardboard box.

Collection

Brownell family papers, 1823-1969 (majority within 1850-1940)

7.5 linear feet

The Brownell family papers contain correspondence, diaries, documents, writings, illustrations, and other materials documenting the family's experiences from the 1820s into the 1960s.

The Brownell family papers contain correspondence, diaries, documents, writings, illustrations, and other materials documenting the family's experiences from the 1820s into the 1960s.

The Correspondence Series includes letters written to and by the Brownell family, primarily in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana, New York City, Cuba, and France between 1823 and 1969, with the bulk dating from the 1850s to 1940s.

Approximately 296 letters are letters to Charles Brownell and his wife Henrietta [Nettie] from Charles' mother, Lucia [Mummy], and his three brothers, Edward [Ned], Henry, and Clarence, often written with notes added and sent on as a "round robin" correspondence which ended with Charles.

The collection contains over 100 letters written by Ned Brownell, with additional notes in other family members' letters. His earliest letters start when he is finishing medical school in New Orleans and continue with his move to rural Louisiana, near Alexandria and Plaisance. These are high-spirited letters with humorous pen and ink drawings of his adventures chasing wild horses (January 29, 1855); mishaps while duck and geese hunting at Lake Catahoula (November 12, 1855; November 10, 1856); and futile attempts to flag down a river steamer (January 29, 1855). But his letters also deal with the problems involved in setting up a medical practice at the same time he, a Northerner, is trying his hand at cotton cultivation. He married a southern woman of French descent whose father was a slave owner (19 slaves in 1850 and 30 in 1860). Ned describes bringing up his bilingual children in a culture very different from his own. The marriage s was troubled, and by 1858, he sold out his cotton interests and was considering his brother Clarence's offer to take over Clarence's practice in East Hartford, Connecticut. He moved to Cloutierville, Louisiana, for a while. Two letters of introduction written in 1864 (April 4 and April 25) refer to his allegiance to the Union. By June of 1866, he was involved in legal separation hearings and working with his brothers on a testimony about his wife's "violent scenes and words.” Both during his practice in Louisiana and later in Rhode Island, his letters describe his patients and treatments (cotton gin accident resulting in amputation of an enslaved person's arm - October 26, 1857; treating yellow fever and typhoid - October 14, 1853 and January 12, 1855). He also suggests treatments for family members with diphtheria (n.d. November 8), excessive menstrual bleeding (December 17, 1866), prolapsed uterus after childbirth (February 8, [1867]), and a prescription for a cholera prevention pill (n.d. September 27). He made a trip to Florida with his dying brother Henry in 1871-1872, in the hopes that the warmer climate might make Henry feel more comfortable.

Only a handful of letters and notes are from Clarence Brownell. Seven of these are affectionate letters to his friend Henrietta Angell [Pierce] [Brownell], before and during her first unhappy marriage. The rest of his letters are to his family and include descriptions of his 1861 visit to Ned and family in Cloutierville, his excitement and satisfaction in building a boat in his workshop, and playing chess by mail with brother Charles. Another letter describes his travels in Egypt. He went by horseback from Alexandria to Cairo, 130 miles across the Delta. A map he drew while with the Pethernick Expedition on the White Nile was sent home posthumously ([May 12], 1862). On it he notes their location by date and the location of certain flora and fauna.

Over 100 letters and notes are from Lucia D. Brownell ("Mummy"), most of them dealing with local affairs, real estate arrangements, and concerns for her sons' health. Several of these letters mention mediums and the spirit world. After the death of her son Clarence in Egypt, Lucia, Ned, and Henry become interested in reports of mediums and "spiritual pictures.” One item is a copy of a letter that a medium claimed was dictated to him by Clarence's ghost. Ned describes watching a medium who claimed to see "words in fiery letters in the illuminated smoke of my cigar when I puffed" [13 May]. Lucia made several visits to a medium (November- December 1862), ending when the medium was proved a fake.

Correspondence with Henry H. Brownell is well represented. The letters mostly come from Hartford, Connecticut, but letters from Bristol, Rhode Island, are also included. He describes visiting Ned and his family in Louisiana in the 1850s, and accompanying Ned on three of his annual duck and geese hunting expeditions to Lake Catahoula. He seems to have acted as agent for the sale of his brother Charles' paintings when Charles was away in Cuba or Europe - "two little Charter Oaks for $20." [n.d. December 26]. Other letters deal with business matters concerning an inheritance from his grandfather De Wolf involving real estate that he and Charles shared, but unequally. These letters contain little mention of Henry's own writing of poetry and the publication of his books. Two copies of letters to Henry written by Oliver Wendell Holmes praising his work are included [January 13 and February 6, 1865]. A typed copy of a letter from Ernest H. Brownell, dated April 6, 1935, lists letters written by Holmes to Henry H. Brownell. Correspondence to Charles DeWolf Brownell represent his work to honor and publish his brother's writings after his death [late 1880s].

Another part of the Brownell Papers consists of three batches of letters from abroad - the Procter Wright letters from Europe, the Charles and Nettie Brownell letters from Europe, and the Don Martin Ibarra letters from Cuba and Spain. Procter Wright wrote 25 letters (1876-1884) to Mrs. Charles Brownell (Nettie) from Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. He gives good descriptions of his walking and climbing tours as well as his visits to various cities. A few letters discuss religion, including matters of purgatory [April 28, 1880] and creation or Darwinisn [August 18, 1883]. Wright also mentions the death of the artist Jean Louis Hamon, and the auction of his things [July 26, 1876, December 28, 1876]. He reminds Henrietta how much he treasures Charles' painting of "Witches' Cork Tree" that the Brownell's had given him some years earlier [April 9, 1883].

The twenty letters written by Charles and Nettie in Europe (1872-1874) to family at home talk of their travels, their children, and anything unusual that catches their eye - "Creche" day care system in France [August 20, 1873] or a trip to the "Crystal Palace" in London [August 29, 1873]. Charles made small pen and ink drawings on three of the letters - a bird on a branch [July 28, 1872], an Egyptian "cartouche" [May 6, 1873], and a dental molar [March 27, 1874]. Three other letterheads have hand tinted designs - an animal head [August 9, 1872], a ship [May 8, 1874], and boys on a ship's mast [May 13, 1874]. Two letterheads have landscape lithographs by Henry Besley - "St. Michael's Mount from Lower Tremenheere" [August 20, 1873] , "Penzance from Guvul" and "St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall" [August 22, 1873].

The Don Martin Ibarra letters (1855-1872) consist of 86 letters written in Spanish to Charles Brownell. They are mainly from Cuba, but the last several are from Barcelona, Spain. They are warm letters to a good friend and "compadre,” but also contain figures on the production of sugar from at least two "ingenios" or sugar mills near the Cardenas area of Cuba.

A small group of 17 letters from the poet Lucy Larcom (1862-1870, n.d.) were written to Henrietta Angell Pierce Brownell [Mrs. Charles Brownell], and cover the years of Larcom's decision to stop teaching school and to concentrate her energy on her own writing. Her September 19, 1868, letter mentions proofreading a volume for publication, "my cricket-chirpings of verse.”

Eight letters from Henrietta S. Dana (1861-1863) in New Haven, Connecticut, to Henrietta A. Pierce [Brownell] mention Mrs. Dana helping her famous Yale professor husband by taking dictation from him for his most recent book, Manuel of Geology [April 7, 1862]. Her letters also describe the death of two of their children from diphtheria, and her safely nursing one other child through it [December 21, 1861].

Twenty-five letters from Esther Pierce to her divorced and remarried mother, Henrietta Brownell, were written from 1875-1877, when Esther was 14-16 years old and living with her father, Dr. George Pierce, in Providence. Several years earlier, she had been living with her mother and her step-father, Charles Brownell, and had accompanied them on their trip to Europe. Her nickname was "Kit,” and she is frequently mentioned in her mother's letters. The letters from Esther [Kit] tell of a trip to Canada, local people and visits, and her new clothes, sometimes with accompanying pen and ink drawings. Two letters include swatches of fabric [February 6, 1876, and April 23, 1876].

More correspondence to and from the Brownells can be found in the Scrapbook Pages series and the Genealogical Notes and Copies series.

Beginning in the 1880s, the correspondence focuses more on Annie May Angell, who would marry Ernest Henry Brownell in 1891, and her family. Virginia McLain (1867-1953), who lived in the Bahamas as the daughter of the United States Consul Thomas J. McClain, was a frequent correspondent into the 1890s. One letter dated October 11, 1887, includes a carte-de-visite of Virginia. Other letters in the 1880s relate to Charles DeWolf Brownell's efforts to publish his brother Henry Howard Brownell's poetry. Several letters from 1882 and 1883 relate to Charles DeWolf Brownell, his work on the Charter Oak, and his paintings. One letter by Oliver Wendell Holmes, dated February 11, 1883, indicates one of Charles' paintings was displayed in his library.

Correspondence from the 1890s-1910s centers around Annie May and Ernest Brownell, as well as their family circle and acquaintances. Letters written by Bertha Angell to Lewis Kalloch are also well represented in this period. Ernest's letters provide details about May and Ernest's children and marriage, as well as Ernest's work as a Civil Engineer in the United States Navy. Many of his early letters are addressed from the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Navy Yard. Ernest was also stationed in the Philippines and Bremerton, Washington.

Around 1905 Ernest Brownell became involved with the Brownell Building in Providence, Rhode Island, which the brothers inherited, and in the following years corresponded with his brothers Carl and Edward about various matters relating to family properties. Several letters from 1912 refer to a large fire at the Brownell Building.

Two items from August 1915 were sent to the family of John K. Rathbone relating to the Galveston Hurricane.

Correspondence between Dorothea DeWolf Brownell and Clifford Kyler Rathbone begins around 1918. Clifford Rathbone's letters also detail his career in construction. Material from the 1920s relates to family finances and handling of Kalloch estate matters. By the 1930s letters by Dorinda Rathbone begin appearing, as well as more letters from the Rathbone family, including Myrtle Rathbone of Denton, Texas, and Rosalie Rathbone.

Correspondence from 1942-1943 reflects Clifford Rathbone's unsuccessful efforts to join the military, and Henry B. Rathbone's preparation for the U.S. Naval Academy entrance exams. Following Clifford Rathbone's death in March of 1944, the collection includes many condolence letters. The bulk of the correspondence post-1945 is written to Dorinda Rathbone.

The Bundled Correspondence Sub-series is comprised of letters arranged by later descendants of the family. The first bundle of seven letters spans from December 20, 1820, to January 29, 1825, relating to Pardon and Lucia Brownell's inheritance from the estate of Lucia's father Charles DeWolf. It includes notes by Dorothea DeWolf Brownell Rathbone. The second bundle includes 16 letters written to Pardon Brownell enclosed in Florence Brownell's January 19, 1931, letter to Dorothea Rathbone, spanning from March 1825 to December 1835 and primarily concern affairs with a DeWolf family property. One letter from Lucia DeWolf Brownell, dated June 11-13, 1827, is also included. The third bundle consists of 26 letters written from Ernest Brownell to his wife Annie May Angell Brownell from 1904 to 1940, along with a blank postcard and a photograph, likely of Ernest and Annie May, with the inscription "In Cuba on The Honeymoon, 1891" written on the verso. The letters commemorate their wedding anniversary, and were written while Ernest was serving in the Navy in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Cavite, Philippines; Bremerton, Washington; Pensacola, Florida; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Newport, Rhode Island. The fourth bundle consists of two letters sent by John T. Lewis, Jr., to Dorothea Rathbone in the mid-1960s, enclosing two letters by H. M. K. Brownell from 1881 and 1883, respectively.

TheDiaries and Notebooks Series includes the following:

  • Francis DeWolf Brownell Penmanship Exercise Book, ca. 1833
  • "The Lay of the Cuisinier. A Poem; by the Cook of the Enterprise," 1840. Dedicated to Henry Howard Brownell.
  • Nettie K. Angell 1856 Diary Cover, with miscellaneous clipping and notes
  • Spanish Notebook, 1859
  • Unsigned Diary, 1863, written by a mother. It includes details on family events and social visits, particularly concerning children Ethie [Esther b. 1860] and Harry [b. 1863], indicating the author may be Henrietta Knowlton Angell (1837-1897), who bore Esther H. Pierce (b. 1860) and Henry A. Pierce (1863-1867) during her first marriage to George Pierce. Sections have been cut out of pages. A poem by H. H. Brownell is pasted on the back inside cover.
  • Bundle of miscellaneous disbound diary pages and miscellanea from 1858, 1861-1863, 1879, 1886, 1888-1893, and 1895, with occasional clippings
  • Ernest H. Brownell, "Our Expedition to Falkner's Island, Block Island, and Cuttyhunk," July 1884
  • Bertha Angell, 1886 student notebook, Apgar's Plant Analysis
  • Clifford K. Rathbone disbound diary pages, 1919
  • Construction journal pages, 1922
  • Illustration and writing notebook, undated. Hand-painted drawings of women, a man, and flowers are included, along with literary selections and sayings.

The Chronological Documents and Financial Records sub-series spans from 1824 to 1969 (bulk 1824-1920), documenting the legal, financial, and business affairs of the interrelated Brownell, Angell, and Rathbone families. Items include deeds, bills and receipts, insurance policies, bank and tax records, accounts, construction documents, leases, estate documents, and more. A significant portion of the documents relate to the real estate work of Ernest Brownell, Annie May Brownell, John Angell, and Bertha Angell (later Kalloch) in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Bundled Documents and Financial Records sub-series includes:

  • Bundle 1: Angell family land documents, 1799-1839
  • Bundle 2: John Angell wallet and receipts, 1829-1841
  • Bundle 3: Angell estate documents, 1893-1904
  • Bundle 4: Brownell estate documents, 1908-1942
  • Bundle 5: Clifford K. Rathbone concrete pile documents, ca. 1920s
  • Bundle 6: Clifford K. Rathbone wallet, 1941-1944

The Ledgers sub-series includes:

  • Partial estate inventory, ca. 1841
  • Nancy Angell account book, 1845-1856
  • Nancy Angell rent account book, 1863-1903
  • John A. Angell and Nancy Angell income taxes, 1867-1871
  • John A. Angell estate accounts, 1877-1893
  • [Annie May Angell and Bertha Angell?] account book, 1884-1891
  • Ernest H. Brownell cash book, 1890-1910
  • Annie May Angell Brownell cash book, 1892-1904
  • Annie May Angell Brownell check books, 1892-1893
  • Bertha Angell account book, 1896-1898, and 1908
  • Annie May Angell Brownell account book, 1896-1905 and 1912-1915
  • Blank bank notebook, Undated

The Writings series spans from 1811 to 1958 and includes poetry by Lucia Emilia DeWolf Brownell, a lecture by Henry Howard Brownell, school work of Ernest H. Brownell, poetry by Annie May Angell Brownell (some with painted illustrations), and miscellaneous other items.

The Drawings and Illustrations series includes miscellaneous sketches and paintings, two volumes of Henry B. Rathbone's "History Cartoons," one volume of collected work of Emma DeWolf Brownell, and a child's illustrated notebook. Other illustrations and paintings appear throughout other series in the collection, particularly the Correspondence series and Writings series.

The Scrapbook Pages series consists of loose pages compiled by Dorothea Brownell Rathbone, collecting together letters, clippings, documents, photographs, and notes. Material dates from the 1850s into the 1940s. Correspondents represented include Edward R. Brownell, Henrietta Knowlton Angell Brownell, Ernest Henry Brownell, John Wardwell Angell, Edward I. Brownell, Charles DeWolf Brownell, Carl DeWolf Brownell, S. Edward Paschall, Bertha Angell. Photographs of people feature: Ernest Henry Brownell, Clarence Brownell, Charles Henry Brownell, Clifford K. Rathbone, Charles DeWolf Brownell, Douglass DeWolf, John Wardwell Angell, and Bertha Angell Kalloch. Ernest Henry Brownell features heavily in the scrapbook, including information on his education, work, and personal life. Dorothea Rathbone appears to have copied diary entries from October 1884 to March 1887, with manuscript and printed materials pasted in to it.

The Photograph series includes cartes de visite of James T. Fields, Annie Fields, and a gun crew aboard the Hartford. A signed photograph of Oliver Wendell Holmes is addressed to Henry H. Brownell. Gem tintypes of Ada Perkins Kerby, Rachel Perkins, and Charles Townley are also present. Miscellaneous photos include snapshots of the U.S.S. Hartford, a bridge, a construction project, a painted portrait of Betsy Angell, and a partial photograph of figures in a vehicle. A series of eight photographs and negatives depict gravestones. Photographs also appear elsewhere in the collection, principally the correspondence series and scrapbook pages series.

The Ephemera series consists of tickets, calling cards, business cards, a bank exchange note, and a wrapper.

The Printed Materials series includes newspaper pages and clippings, a 1785 almanac, poetry, a disbound copy of Thomas Church's The History of the Indian Wars in New England (New York, 1881), miscellaneous material related to education, one piece of sheet music, a magazine, a program, and a leaflet.

The Genealogical Notes and Copies series consists of notes regarding family history and letters. The J. A. Brownell sub-series includes over 200 hand-written copies made by Dorothea Brownell Rathbone of letters in the possession of J. A. Brownell. A note in the subseries indicates use of these materials requires the permission of J. A. Brownell. The material dates from 1836-1894 (bulk 1836-1850) and principally consists of letters addressed to or written by Henry H. Brownell, including a sizeable number written by Henry H. Brownell to Charles DeWolf Brownell and Lucia DeWolf Brownell. The Miscellaneous Notes and Copies sub-series includes handwritten copies and photocopies of letters, documents, and genealogical information. It includes copies of three letters from Henry David Thoreau to Clarence Brownell dated 1859 to 1861, as well as copies of several of Henry H. Brownell's poems.

The Miscellaneous series consists of scraps, notes, blank paper, and clippings.

The Realia series includes the following items:

  • A peg wooden doll with hand-made clothes and painted face, possibly in the style of the Hitty doll in Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years (New York: MacMillan Company, 1929)
  • A doll with a dress and bonnet, leather shoes, and painted canvas face
  • Two white doll shifts with smocking enclosed in an envelope labelled "Dolls dresses by RVRC for Dorinda" [Rosalie V. Rathbone Craft]
  • A handmade infant's nightgown enclosed in an envelope labelled "Sample of handiwork of DBR - nightgown made for D & used by D & H"
  • Two ribbons
  • Nine skeins of silk thread wrapped in paper with the following note: "Raised in our cocoonery - E. Hartford. Spun by C. D. W. B. at the mill in West Hartford"
  • A gray Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1920 wallet, possibly owned by Dorothea Rathbone who graduated from the school in that year
  • A shard of wood with a note, "Slivers from U.S.S. Hartford," accompanied by a disbound illustration of the ship
  • A metal Waldorf Astoria cocktail pick

Collection

Brown Family Photograph Album, 1888-1895

approximately 100 photographs in 1 album.

The Brown family photograph album contains approximately 100 photographs (mostly cyanotypes) showing the home, neighborhood, family members, and friends of Phildelphia textile manufacturer Crosby M. Brown (1857-1906) and his wife Addie O. Brown (1857-?).

The Brown family photograph album contains approximately 100 photographs (mostly cyanotypes) showing the home, neighborhood, family members, and friends of Phildelphia textile manufacturer Crosby M. Brown (1857-1906) and his wife Addie O. Brown (1857-?).

The album (31 x 26 cm) begins with the birth of May Marguerite Brown in October or November, 1888, and focuses on the subsequent visits of relatives and neighbors, including the Mayers, Crosby M. Wright, and Aunt Ellen Smedley. Images include family group portraits, exterior and interior views of the large family home at 63rd and Median Streets, winter scenes at nearby parks, and views of the neighboring homes of John Bell, Mr. Hess, and Jacob Jones. Other photographs depict Brown family visits to Ellen Smedley at "Bala" in Bryn Mawr (Pennsylvania), to Norwalk (Ohio), and a fishing trip to Waterville (New Hampshire). Also included are views of mill clerk F. A. Reinstein in his office, and industrial buildings from 33rd and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia (possibly the family textile mills).

Collection

Brunger papers, 1941-1949 (majority within 1942-1945)

1.25 linear feet

The Brunger papers consist primarily of letters from United States Navy Seaman Francis D. Brunger to Alice Louise Harrington, his girlfriend and eventual wife, during Brunger's service in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War. He wrote of his life at sea and responded to news from home about his wife and his son, Francis David Brunger, Jr., who was born in December 1944. Additional material includes a photograph, documents, printed material, and ephemera.

The Brunger papers consist primarily of correspondence written by United States Navy Seaman Francis D. Brunger to Alice Louise Harrington, his girlfriend and eventual wife, during his service in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War.

Of the 294 letters in the Correspondence series, Brunger wrote 246 to Alice, whom he called "Bone." The letters trace the couple's relationship from their early courtship through their engagement, marriage, and birth of their first son ("Stinky"). Francis often wrote of his desire to return to his family. In his earlier letters, he discussed his intention to join the navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Alice's budding nursing career. He wrote of different aspects of military life throughout the remainder of his naval career, including daily life onboard the Farenholt and the Rooks, and his training in Shoemaker, California. During the spring and summer of 1945, he shared his anticipation for the end of the war, and by late August he believed he would soon receive a discharge. Though he seldom reported military engagements, his friend Joe wrote Alice about some of the Farenholt's military actions near Guadalcanal (March 30, 1944). Other acquaintances wrote to Alice about their experiences in the army. The collection also has a group of letters addressed to Charles Brunger, Francis's brother, who served at the United States Naval Training Center in Sampson, New York.

The Photograph shows a newborn child.

The Documents series contains an insurance policy for Alice Brunger from the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (November 5, 1944).

Printed Material includes a newspaper clipping reporting the birth of Francis D. Brunger, Jr. [December 1944], a clipping relating draft results from Oswego County, New York (undated), and the March 1943 edition of The Colby Alumnus.

The Ephemera series (19 items) contains birthday and other greeting cards from Francis D. Brunger to his wife and son, instructions for making baby formula, a menu for a Christmas dinner held at the United States Navy Receiving Station in Shoemaker, California [December 25, 1944], a "Safety First for Your Baby" pamphlet, a birthday poem and drawing on V-mail stationery, two short poems, two printed programs for religious services, three key tags, and a newspaper clipping featuring four color "Blondie" comics.

Collection

Bryant family papers, 1892-1895

9 items

The Bryant family papers contain personal correspondence addressed to Emma Alice Bryant ("Alice") of Mt. Vernon, New York, and to her parents, Emma Frances Spaulding Bryant and Colonel John Emory Bryant. Alice's friend Bernice wrote about her life at Ulysses S. Grant University in Athens, Tennessee, and Emma's sister Margaretta described her life near Earlsville, Illinois. Julius Christian Zeller and his wife Alice were newlyweds who sent news of their lives in Kickapoo, Illinois.

The Bryant family papers contain 9 letters addressed to Emma Alice Bryant ("Alice") of Mt. Vernon, New York, and to her parents, Emma Frances Spaulding Bryant and Colonel John Emory Bryant.

Bernice, a friend of Alice's, wrote 3 letters in 1892 about her experiences at Ulysses S. Grant University in Athens, Tennessee, where she was a senior. She discussed her education, social activities, news from Athens, and mutual acquaintances who attended the college, such as Julius Zeller, Alice's future husband. Her letter of June 20, 1892, encloses newspaper clippings about weddings and other events, and she described the opening of an African American Baptist church (July 30, 1892). Margaretta Spaulding, Emma Spaulding Bryant's sister and Alice Bryant's aunt, wrote letters to Emma (June 21, [1892]; August 28, 1892) and Alice (October 1894) about her daily life in Earlsville, Illinois.

Julius Zeller's 2 letters are a love letter to Alice Bryant about his previous relationship with their mutual friend Bernice and about his studies at Ulysses S. Grant University (January 15, 1893) and a letter to his mother-in-law, Emma Bryant, written shortly after his marriage to Alice ([January 23, 1895]). The second letter concerns newlywed life. Alice Bryant wrote one letter to her parents about life in Kickapoo, Illinois, shortly after moving there (January 11, 1895).

Collection

Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Agricultural commonplace book, 1815-1829

1 volume

This commonplace book, produced by an anonymous farmer from the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, region primarily contains passages relating to farming and husbandry. Along with farming accounts and documentation of livestock, agriculture, and dairy production, the commonplace book also features material on the Agricultural Society of Bath. Newspaper clippings comment on medicine, recipes, and farming. Illustrations of fences, sheep, floor plans, property drawings, and a detailed diagram of the "cropping plan" for 1826 appear in the volume.

The creator of the volume references European agricultural societies, data and agricultural systems, and popular agriculturalists, such as George Culley (1735-1813) and Charles de Lasteyrie (1759-1849). The volume provides detailed information on growing crops, managing soil, and tending to livestock.

Collection

Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Reports, 1887

1 volume

The Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Reports contain brief statements regarding criminal activity, missing persons and animals, and other police department affairs throughout the first half of 1887. Many reports include descriptions of suspects and stolen goods.

The Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Reports (1 volume, 410 pages) pertain to criminal activity, missing or escaped persons, and police department affairs in Buffalo, New York, from January 10, 1887-June 29, 1887.

Each entry contains a brief description of a complaint, usually with information about the location and nature of the crime, the name of the complainant, and a description of the suspect(s). Most reports concern missing persons, missing animals, and stolen items. The missing persons reports often list common haunts, possible travel plans, place of origin if not Buffalo, and distinguishing characteristics. On January 18, two young women were to be sought among the city's brothels; on April 4, a woman was wanted for abandoning her husband and children. A few persons had escaped from prisons or asylums, and others were runaways. Some records pertain to crimes such as begging, peddling, and counterfeiting, and to the police department's administrative affairs.

The volume also records suspects accused of crimes including rape and assault; on February 5, for example, Hiram Aaronson was sought and arrested for the rape of a seven-year-old girl. Some entries contain additional notes about resolutions, often through the arrest of perpetrators and the repossession of stolen goods.

Collection

Buffalo Soldiers carte-de-visite album, ca. 1875-1886

2 volumes

The Buffalo Soldiers carte-de-visite album contains cartes-de-visite and tintype photographs of African American soldiers, civilian men and women. Some of the photographs were taken in Webster, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota).

The Buffalo Soldiers carte-de-visite album contains 16 cartes-de-visite and 7 tintype photographs taken circa 1870s and 1880s, now housed separately. Included are formal studio portraits of unidentified African American and Caucasian civilians and soldiers. Some individuals posed in pairs or groups. Many of the photographs, including some of the cartes-de-visite of African American soldiers, were taken in the Dakota Territory. The original album (12cm x 15cm) has covers bound in blue cloth; a metal shield is attached to the front cover.

Collection

Buffum-Bartlett papers, 1836-1853

0.5 linear feet

The Buffum-Bartlett papers contain correspondence addressed primarily to cousins David Buffum and Elisha Bartlett. Buffum's incoming letters frequently concern news of his brothers Horace, John, and James, who moved west during the mid-19th century, and Bartlett's incoming letters pertain to his career as a medical practitioner and lecturer.

The Buffum-Bartlett papers contain correspondence addressed primarily to cousins David Buffum and Elisha Bartlett. Buffum's incoming letters frequently concern news of his brothers Horace, John, and James, who moved west during the mid-19th century, and Bartlett's incoming letters pertain to his career as a medical practitioner and lecturer.

Several early items have political content; for example, in a letter to his father, Thomas, one of the Buffum brothers described a visit to Washington, D.C., that included a meeting with President Martin Van Buren in the White House and two trips to the United States Capitol, where he and his companions heard Daniel Webster, John Calhoun, and Franklin Pierce (September 11, 1837). Much of the Buffum correspondence consists of letters by Maria Buffum, who shared news of her sons' lives in Illinois and California. In one of her letters, to David and his wife Maria, she passed along a story that James had told her about a Virginia slave owner on the hunt for slaves who had stolen $1500 from him (November 28, 1839). During the late 1840s, Maria wrote to her husband David, who was working in New York, about acquaintances and family members, particularly their infant child.

Doctor Elisha Bartlett's incoming correspondence consists of both professional and personal letters, many of which pertain to his work as a medical educator throughout the 1840s. Items include several schools' recommendations and solicitations and letters about medical practices and family news. Many of the personal letters between the Buffums and Bartletts mention news of each family, suggesting that the families remained close.

Collection

Bunker Hill Monument souvenir photograph album, 1884

1 volume

This photograph album contains 10 albumen prints related to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

This souvenir photograph album (12cm x 18cm), which contains 10 albumen prints, is bound in blue pebbled book-cloth and has the title "Album Photographs[,] Bunker Hill Monument" stamped in gold on its cover. The first 2 pictures show the Bunker Hill Monument (a stone obelisk) and the statue of Colonel William Prescott, respectively. The remaining 8 photographs are aerial views of Charlestown and the surrounding area taken from the monument, showing residences, industrial buildings, the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the Charles and Mystic Rivers. Sailing ships are visible in many of the aerial views. The album belonged to Lucia K. Hathaway, who inscribed her name on its first page on November 15, 1884.

Collection

Burbank family letters, 1861-1883

86 items

This collection contains 3 groups of letters between members of the Burbank family of Medford, Massachusetts. William Henry and Edwin C. Burbank wrote to their mother and siblings while serving in the 5th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and New Bern, North Carolina, from 1861-1863; Edwin C. Burbank wrote to his mother and sisters while living in Paris, France, in 1867; and Ida Burbank wrote home about her life on Cumberland Island, Georgia, during the winter of 1882-1883.

This collection (86 items) consists of 3 groups of letters between members of the Burbank family of Medford, Massachusetts. William Henry and Edwin C. Burbank wrote to their mother and siblings while serving in the 5th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in Washington, D.C.; Alexandria, Virginia; and New Bern, North Carolina, from 1861-1863 (42 items); Edwin C. Burbank wrote to his mother and sisters while living in Paris, France, in 1867 (11 items); and Ida Burbank wrote home about her life on Cumberland Island, Georgia, during the winter of 1882-1883 (31 items). The collection also includes a personal letter to Edwin Burbank (June 8, 1867) and an unsigned letter (November 22, [1882]).

William Henry Burbank wrote 33 and his brother Edwin wrote 9 of the 42 Civil War-era letters (April 28, 1861-June 17, 1863). William's first letters pertain to his service with the 5th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in and around Washington, D.C., in 1861, including his observations about martial law in and the desertion of Alexandria, Virginia, and his recollections of the First Battle of Bull Run (July 23, 1861). Both brothers' later letters concern their experiences with the 5th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in and around New Bern, North Carolina, from 1862-1863. The Burbanks described New Bern and its black population, reported casualties, and discussed the possibility of finding their brother Oscar a military job. Some of their letters, particularly Edwin's, recount Confederate attacks, Union Army expeditions, battles during the Goldsboro campaign, as well as attempts to relieve Confederate pressure on Washington, D.C. William's letter of March 16, 1863, contains a manuscript map of Union lines and encampments around New Bern. A few of the letters are addressed to the Burbank sisters.

The remaining correspondence includes 11 letters that Edwin C. Burbank wrote to his mother and sisters while traveling to and living in Paris, France, from March 29, 1867-September 29, 1867; his first letter is dated at Glasgow, Scotland. He commented on his travels, his life in Paris, and the Exposition Universelle. The final group of letters concerns Ida Burbank's leisure activities on Cumberland Island, Georgia, and her travels to Brunswick and other nearby locales. She provided news of the relatives she stayed with during her time in the South, discussed life in Georgia, mentioned ships traveling to and from the mainland, and described visits to the beach. Three of her letters enclose newspaper clippings and dried flowers.

Collection

Burd-Shippen papers, 1738-1847

0.5 linear feet

The Burd-Shippen papers contain personal and business documents concerning Edward Shippen, Edward Burd, and their families and Philadelphian colleagues. Many of Major Edward Burd's items concern the 1st Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot in the early years of the Revolutionary War.

The Burd-Shippen papers (184 items) contain personal and business documents concerning Edward Shippen, Edward Burd, and their families and Philadelphian colleagues. Many of Major Edward Burd's items concern the 1st Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot in the early years of the Revolutionary War.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of approximately 75 letters addressed to Edward Burd and his son Edward Shippen Burd, with a small group of correspondence from Edward Shippen. The collection also contains ten items concerning Edward S. Burd and his legal colleague William Tilghman. The remainder of the collection is composed of receipts and various legal documents, most relating to Edward Shippen, including a receipt for a slave and a woman's petition against her husband for abandonment of their child.

Edward S. Burd's legal notebook (95 pages) covers from 1817 to 1846, and contains real estate transactions, illustrated plans of lots, title briefs, and cost lists.

Collection

Burlingame (Kansas) photograph album, 1886-1897

1 volume

This photograph album contains tintype, carte-de-visite, and other portraits of various individuals taken in Burlingame, Kansas, and other locations in the late 19th century.

This photograph album (13.5cm x 17cm) contains 10 tintypes, 5 cartes-de-visite, and 4 additional studio portrait photographs of men and women. Some of the cartes-de-visite were taken in Burlingame, Kansas, and some may have been taken near "Dent Lake." One photomechanical print of Dora E. Hough may have been clipped from a published book or magazine. The photographs depict individuals and groups of young women and men, who are sometimes identified in captions. Captions are also present on many blank pages, though the photographs are no longer present. The volume has the title "Album" stamped in gold on its spine and additional stamped floral and decorative designs on its covers. The album, which is bound in brown leather, once had two metal clasps; only one remains.

Collection

Burlingham family letters, 1863

2 items

This collection is comprised of two letters (six pages) to Horace Burlingham, who had fled to Canada as a deserter from the 9th New York Infantry Regiment (Hawkins Zouaves) during the American Civil War. His father Waterman, mother Amanda, and sister Mary Burlingham wrote joint letters to Horace in 1863, from their farm at Edmeston, New York. Waterman filled five pages of the letters, expressing relief that his son made it over the border, updating him on the status of other deserters from the area, sharing his knowledge of Provost Marshall Cole's area of jurisdiction and methods, and offering related advisement. Waterman discussed Horace's wife Loverna and their daughter Theressa, who remained in Edmeston. He criticized Loverna's penchant for "new notions, and Castle Building" and her poor household management, and he recommended that she not join Horace in Canada. He also thought this was a good opportunity to teach Horace how to write letters (specifically capitalization) and provided details about laborers, agricultural product prices, and farm machinery. Horace's sister updated him on friends and family relationships, including the features of a newborn or infant baby. His mother added a note to let Horace know that she never forgets him.

This collection is comprised of two letters (six pages) to Horace Burlingham, who had fled to Canada as a deserter from the 9th New York Infantry Regiment (Hawkins Zouaves) during the American Civil War. His father Waterman, mother Amanda, and sister Mary Burlingham wrote joint letters to Horace in 1863, from their farm at Edmeston, New York. Waterman filled five pages of the letters, expressing relief that his son made it over the border, updating him on the status of other deserters from the area, sharing his knowledge of Provost Marshall Cole's area of jurisdiction and methods, and offering related advisement. Waterman discussed Horace's wife Loverna and their daughter Theressa, who remained in Edmeston. He criticized Loverna's penchant for "new notions, and Castle Building" and her poor household management, and he recommended that she not join Horace in Canada. He also thought this was a good opportunity to teach Horace how to write letters (specifically capitalization) and provided details about laborers, agricultural product prices, and farm machinery. Horace's sister updated him on friends and family relationships, including the features of a newborn or infant baby. His mother added a note to let Horace know that she never forgets him.

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

Collection

Burlingham family letters, 1863

2 items

This collection is comprised of two letters (six pages) to Horace Burlingham, who had fled to Canada as a deserter from the 9th New York Infantry Regiment (Hawkins Zouaves) during the American Civil War. His father Waterman, mother Amanda, and sister Mary Burlingham wrote joint letters to Horace in 1863, from their farm at Edmeston, New York. Waterman filled five pages of the letters, expressing relief that his son made it over the border, updating him on the status of other deserters from the area, sharing his knowledge of Provost Marshall Cole's area of jurisdiction and methods, and offering related advisement. Waterman discussed Horace's wife Loverna and their daughter Theressa, who remained in Edmeston. He criticized Loverna's penchant for "new notions, and Castle Building" and her poor household management, and he recommended that she not join Horace in Canada. He also thought this was a good opportunity to teach Horace how to write letters (specifically capitalization) and provided details about laborers, agricultural product prices, and farm machinery. Horace's sister updated him on friends and family relationships, including the features of a newborn or infant baby. His mother added a note to let Horace know that she never forgets him.

This collection is comprised of two letters (six pages) to Horace Burlingham, who had fled to Canada as a deserter from the 9th New York Infantry Regiment (Hawkins Zouaves) during the American Civil War. His father Waterman, mother Amanda, and sister Mary Burlingham wrote joint letters to Horace in 1863, from their farm at Edmeston, New York. Waterman filled five pages of the letters, expressing relief that his son made it over the border, updating him on the status of other deserters from the area, sharing his knowledge of Provost Marshall Cole's area of jurisdiction and methods, and offering related advisement. Waterman discussed Horace's wife Loverna and their daughter Theressa, who remained in Edmeston. He criticized Loverna's penchant for "new notions, and Castle Building" and her poor household management, and he recommended that she not join Horace in Canada. He also thought this was a good opportunity to teach Horace how to write letters (specifically capitalization) and provided details about laborers, agricultural product prices, and farm machinery. Horace's sister updated him on friends and family relationships, including the features of a newborn or infant baby. His mother added a note to let Horace know that she never forgets him.

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

Collection

Burton family collection, 1888-1940

14 items

The Burton family collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items pertaining to Clarence M. Burton of Detroit, Michigan, and two of his sons, Frank and Louis. The Burton brothers wrote about their travels in Europe during the interwar period, among other subjects.

The Burton family collection is made up of 8 letters, 1 indenture, and 5 other items pertaining to Clarence M. Burton of Detroit, Michigan, and two of his sons, Frank and Louis. The Burton brothers wrote about their travels in Europe during the interwar period, among other subjects.

The first item is an indenture concerning the sale of a lot of land in Detroit, Michigan (January 3, 1888). Correspondence includes letters by Louis Burton (July 2, 1901) and Frank Burton (July 11, 1903) about their travels in Europe and additional letters about the Burtons' personal lives and, occasionally, business affairs and political events. Frank Burton's letter to Charles Edouard Guilliume of the Bureau International des Poids & Mesures concerns Burton's pessimism about American attitudes toward the Treaty of Versailles (May 25, 1921), and Louis Burton's letter of March 30, 1929, relates to his anticipation of poor business returns for the year. Other items include a postcard with a printed advertisement for a genealogical history of the Burton family, 3 blank checks of Charles W. Burton, and a piece of stationery from the Burton Abstract & Title Company of Detroit, Michigan.

Collection

Burwell-Guy family papers, 1820-1873 (majority within 1840-1859)

120 items

The Burwell-Guy collection yields a revealing slice of antebellum plantation life on a North Carolina tobacco plantation. It portrays a social and domestic setting which emphasized family and hospitality, the tobacco economy that supported such a lifestyle, and the slave system that enabled it to function.

About one third of the 120 letters in the Burwell-Guy collection are business correspondence to John A. Burwell from grocers, dry goods merchants, and the commission merchants who handled the sale of his tobacco, corn, and flour. The latter deducted a percentage of sales income and the costs of transport and storage of produce, then paid Burwell his profits both in the form of goods and money. Letters and invoices from John Jones's Richmond, Va. company and the Petersburg, Va.-based firm of Martin and Dormans generally comment on the tobacco market and its prospects, and advise Burwell on how to cure and pack his tobacco in order to obtain the best prices. A letter dated December 9, 1844, from John Eaton, who was also a planter and probably a relation of Burwell's, offers interesting commentary on North Carolina politics and public improvements.

Thirteen letters from Burwell to his son, Thomas, in Norfolk are full of advice on proper moral and business behavior. In December of 1854, he warns the young man at length about fashionable women with "paint on their cheeks, cotton in their Bosoms, & wading on their hips and they pretend to be smart but none hardly have any more sense than to reverse the order of nature..." His fatherly advice is to "[l]ook aloof, & let alone the women, & you will do well." The following month he expresses agreement with Thomas that it is better to "gallant the Young Ladies to Church on Sunday than to 'sit back' in Hotels, & Coffee & Oyster Houses 'puffing segars.'" He adds, however, that while church attendance instills good morals, "you are not obliged to take all you see & hear at a church as right & good . You have sense enough, if you will, to cull the good from the bad." Burwell's comments reflect his rather casual attitude toward religion -- that it was good for a person, but not in excess, and that it need not occupy a central role in life. Women seemed to place a greater emphasis on attending church, but their letters have little to say about religion. Church-going obviously fulfilled a social function as well as a spiritual one.

Plantation children's education was frequent commented upon in correspondence. Some teachers ran their own small schools, while others were hired to instruct the children of an individual family or related families. Children occasionally went away to nearby boarding schools. Boys appear to have attended school more consistently than girls, although both were instructed in a range of academic subjects. John Burwell went through a succession of teachers; one was dismissed for being too "mean," another for being "an abominable fool" who tried to assume an "arbitrary & dictatorial sort of power" over his sons, who would not stand to be treated in this way. Burwell desired his sons to be respectful but not docile: "... never give an insult & never take one. With this motto you avoid difficulty... as well as the finger of scorn & contempt that every gentleman must have for the coward."

In three letters to his sister-in-law Elizabeth T. Guy, John A. Burwell writes at length on the life of the plantation, as viewed through his proprietary eyes. He describe illnesses, births and deaths, his sons' intelligence and his daughter's beauty, the success of his crop and the luxuries bought with its profits, and the superiority of Virginia land. In July, 1846 he brags of having "left my own neighborhood entirely out of sight" in this year's tobacco production, which, with the addition of other produce sales, has brought in $2,224.00. A letter of April 30, 1847 offers chilling commentary on attitudes toward slaves. Burwell writes with amusement that daughter Lizzie Anna has a black maid, Fanny, of whom she is very fond, but that when Fanny made her angry the little girl asked her father to "cut Fanny's ears off & get her a new maid from Clarksville." A more businesslike expression of the status of slaves as profitable chattel is displayed in a June, 1848 letter which details the expenses and profits due Elizabeth from the hiring out of her five slaves.

John E. Burwell, at home on the plantation, wrote six letters to his brother, Thomas, between 1854 and 1857. These comment largely on hunting, which seems to have been a favorite male pastime. He also notes attending a wedding and enjoying "waiting on" two young ladies. When the railroad went through nearby, he amused himself by building a handcar to ride up and down the tracks. The young man appears to have had little in the way of work expected of him; or perhaps he did not consider chores worthy of comment.

The remainder of the Burwell-Guy letters consists of social correspondence, largely between women. Aunts, nieces, sisters, and cousins wrote of domestic life, social events, fashion, gardening, and illnesses. The collection includes 9 letters that Elizabeth Guy wrote to her sister, Lucy Burwell; letters that Elizabeth Guy received from the women of the Townes and Rawlins families; and letters that Elizabeth Guy and Lucy Burwell received from their aunt, Mary Williamson of Kentucky. These letters frequently include news of slaves. Elizabeth Guy also received letters from her brother-in-law, Edward Rawlins, and from his brother William, who discussed their social lives in New Orleans.

After Anna Guy's marriage to Edward Rawlins, she and her sister Elizabeth had their slaves insured and sent to them in New Orleans; in a letter dated December, 1846, Elizabeth Guy claimed, "they shall be always well treated." In order to bring in income, Guy hired some of her slaves out in New Orleans. Anna Guy Rawlins also continued to update her sister on her social life in New Orleans, which included parties and attendance at the opera.

After her sister's hasty marriage to Cousin Edward during their visit to Aunt Mary in Kentucky, Elizabeth Guy developed a passion for Cousin Perry DuPuy and sought permission to marry him. When Lucy disapproved, her ardor cooled. On June 12, 1844, William Rawlins wrote to his cousin, Elizabeth Guy, describing the previous winter social season in Norfolk, with its "courting scrapes and engagements and discards." In September 1855 Mary L. Burwell, who had a "a fondness for young widowers," asked her cousin Thomas Burwell whether Dr. Robert, an acquaintance of his whose wife had recently died, had "thrown aside the weeds of mourning yet."

The collection winds up with the intriguing story of John and Lucy Burwell's divorce, an ugly tale which depicts the underside of their seemingly stable, convivial plantation life. Letters from John Burwell to son Thomas written in March, 1857 lament that his wife has moved out, and that his sons are taking her side, telling things which "should never go out of the family" in court, after saying previously that they would have no part in their parents' quarrels. Unhappy domestic relations had evidently come to a head when Burwell became violent toward his slaves; he was accused of "runing the negroes about with guns & sticks." Burwell asserts that he was doing it "out of fun," that no one was shot or struck, and that a good marksman like himself "knows too well which way his guns were pointed to have done mischief." The court decided otherwise, and granted Mrs. Burwell, who had just given birth to a new son, a divorce. Her husband entreated her to return, vowing never to give "another cross word," and declaring that the decree was "a pack of foolishness." She evidently did not return. The few later letters in the collection do not touch upon the matter.

The Burwell-Guy collection yields a revealing slice of antebellum plantation life. It portrays a social and domestic setting which emphasized family and hospitality, the tobacco economy that supported such a lifestyle, and the slave system that enabled it to function.

Collection

Busbey papers, 1838-1928 (majority within 1848-1903)

4.5 linear feet

The Busbey papers contain the personal and professional correspondence of William H. Busbey and many of his family members. Of note are letters to and from William and his brother during the Civil War; letters between William and his wife Mary after the war; and a letter from Ann Busbey, William's mother, which documents her 1894 trip west from Chicago, with vivid descriptions of the scenery in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

The Busbey papers collect the personal and professional correspondence of William H. Busbey and several generations of his family. Included are 1,259 letters, 6 documents and receipts, 117 writings, 9 photographs, 134 newspaper clippings, and additional printed materials.

The earliest item in the Correspondence series is a letter from William's grandfather, Hamilton Busbey in Coles Country, Illinois, to his son Thomas (November 9, 1839). Included in the early letters are 33 items of schoolwork from the Busbey children in the late 1840-1850s, such as several essays, notes, and small decorated name tags. The collection also contains letters to and from William and his brother Hamilton during their service in the Civil War. The letters describe events at war, including the Battle at Stone River and watching gun boats patrolling the Tennessee River, as well as the brother's health and daily activities. Letters from Ohio report on deaths in the family back home and how the town and family are coping with the war. In one particularly poignant letter from a member of the Botkin's family, the author reports on local boys who have died and been discharged from the war, then writes:

"I have seen the tears trickle down the cheeks of old and young, while conversing on the subject of this unholy war. Secession, was their pet idol and it has ruined thousands, utterly bankrupt those who were wealthy, happy, and prosperous under the old flag. The new, has brought them nothing, but poverty and wretchedness -- well yes, I might say, it has brought swarms of Yankees, to bask in the salubrious rays of the glorious sun far down in the land of cotton..."

Approximately 70 letters were written by Mary (Molly) Busbey and William to each other, most of them in the months prior to their wedding in 1868. They wrote extensively about love and the health and welfare of their friends and family. Before their wedding, several letters were exchanged between Mary’s parents and William, regarding William's request for permission to marry their daughter. William's work as managing editor of the Inter Ocean is documented through letters to the editor and inter-office communication.

The Busbey family papers also collect letters to Mary from her family and friends, letters to their daughters Grace and Mabel, and letters to William from both his parents. Of note are three letters (23 pages) from Ann Busbey, William's mother, which document her 1894 trip west from Chicago, with vivid descriptions of the scenery in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Mary's mother, sisters, and friends wrote about 70 letters to Mary, with news about the family’s health and economic well-being.

The Documents and Receipts series contains 5 business receipts and a document related to estate of Ezra P. Jones of Ohio.

The Photographs series is composed of 8 photographs of various members of the Busbey family.

The Writings series is comprised of copies of William Busbey’s published works and rough drafts of articles, stories, and speeches from his career in the newspaper business. Topics include the newspaper business, the press and the Cuban question (1898), the Monroe Doctrine (1905), family and genealogy, and a biographical sketch of William H. Busbey.

The Printed Material series is composed of miscellaneous printed items such as poems, advertisements, invitations, programs, and other items. Of note is a list of members of the 1st Kentucky Infantry, Company C (of which Busbey was a Sergeant), and a fairwell card to Elwyn A. Barron of the Inter Ocean signed by other 23 employees.

The Newspaper Clippings series consists of 134 newspaper clippings, including several copies of the Inter Ocean's tribute to William's personal and professional achievements after his death. Miscellaneous items, such as ribbons, children's cards, and empty envelopes, conclude the collection.

Collection

Bushrod W. Poor collection, 1837-1852

7 items

The Bushrod W. Poor collection contains seven letters written to Poor in central Massachusetts and New Hampshire by "Gibson," a friend, and Joanna Poor, his wife, between 1837 and 1852. Joanna composed six of the letters from her family's home in northern Vermont and from Lowell, Massachusetts, and discussed her life at home during her husband's search for employment.

The Bushrod W. Poor collection contains seven letters written to Poor during the early 19th century. The first item in the collection is a letter written to Poor by a friend, Gibson, who asked about the affairs of mutual acquaintances, and shared his philosophical musings in a two-page essay entitled "The Mind." The remainder of the collection consists of six letters composed by Poor's wife Joanna, when her husband was looking for work around Boston and, later, in Dubuque, Iowa. She occasionally discussed the affairs of local lawyers, particularly in an early letter from their native Vermont, where she stayed with family members, but focused more on financial difficulties, and on the hardship of being separated from her husband. During Bushrod's absence, Joanna spent her time visiting with the couple's parents and watching the children, and, though she expressed continued hope for his employment, she often believed their future prospects to be somewhat bleak. She frequently chastised him for not writing, and several times questioned his sympathy for her position, particularly while he traveled, and criticized his recent conduct.

Collection

Bustleton (Pa.) Blacksmith's account book, 1851-1858

1 volume

This volume contains the financial records of an anonymous blacksmith from Bustleton, Pennsylvania, kept between January 8, 1851, and August 14, 1858. The records include customers' names, as well as the types of items purchased and the costs of individual goods and services.

This volume (193 pages) contains the financial records of an anonymous blacksmith from Bustleton, Pennsylvania, kept between January 8, 1851, and August 14, 1858. The records include customers' names, as well as the types of items purchased and the costs of individual goods and services. Most of the records relate to items made of iron, including bolts, spokes, and irons, and many reflect the construction of wagons or carriages and their component pieces, such as axles and seats. Some entries mention additional goods and services, which often related to wagon repair. Two frequent customers included Thomas Wistar (p. 119) and the Philadelphia County Prison (p. 108). In addition to these records, a note in the front of the volume records that the author "put the cow to pasture at Wm. White's July 31st 1854," and several entries at the back reflect small loans to various individuals. The volume also contains a recipe for black varnish.

Collection

Butler Clarkson journal, 1855-1878 (majority within 1857-1866)

1 volume

The Butler Clarkson journal contains an account of the author's 1855 voyage from the Bass Strait in Australia to Holyhead, Wales, as well as financial accounts for numerous expenses after Clarkson's immigration to Lansingburgh, New York.

The Butler Clarkson journal (approximately 45 pages) contains an account of the author's 1855 voyage from the Bass Strait in Australia to Holyhead, Wales, as well as financial accounts for numerous expenses after Clarkson's immigration to Lansingburgh, New York.

Clarkson began his travel journal on March 23, 1855, in the Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania, and recorded brief daily entries until sighting Holyhead, Wales, on June 8, 1855. His entries report weather and wave conditions and often take note of the scenery, with frequent remarks on the ship's location and places passed, such as New Zealand, Cape Horn, and Trinidad. He occasionally mentioned marine life, including turtles, porpoises, and whales, and on one occasion he saw a whale attacked by a swordfish (May 8, 1855).

The volume also has accounts that Clarkson kept between 1857 and 1866. These related to a variety of services and goods, including expenses for keeping horses and accounts with the Rensselaer County Bank. Some accounts are dated at Lansingburgh, New York. Financial agreements between Butler Clarkson and George Clayton are also present. Other entries are a list of addresses, a drawing of a person, and a birth record for Clarkson's children. The journal is one of "Henry Penny's Patent Improved Metallic Books" and includes a metal stylus for use on its special paper.

Collection

Buttolph family collection, 1872-1924 (majority within 1872-1890)

3 volumes

The Buttolph family collection contains two diaries and an account book chronicling the experiences and expenses of Larnard D. and Florence W. Buttolph of Corfu, New York, in the late 1800s. Florence W. Buttolph's 1872 diary concerns her social life in rural New York, Larnard D. Buttolph's 1873 diary covers his experiences working in California, and an account book reflects Larnard's farm expenses between 1882 and 1890.

The Buttolph family collection contains two diaries and an account book chronicling the experiences and expenses of Larnard D. and Florence W. Buttolph of Corfu, New York, in the late 19th century. Florence's diary (80 pages), kept between March 10, 1872, and September 28, 1872, relates her social life and daily experiences, including visits to neighbors and attendance at school; she frequently helped her mother around the house, and knitted in her spare time.

The first 40 pages of Larnard’s diary contain addresses and a correspondence record, and the remainder of the volume is a daily diary kept between April 8, 1873, and January 15, 1874, reflecting his experiences traveling by train to California and working at a mill in the northern part of the state. The first few entries, dated in April, cover his transcontinental railroad trip, during which he wrote about his impressions of Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming. He reached California by the end of that month, and spent the remainder of the year working various jobs near Sacramento, including mill work and ranching. Though he made some money and was able to travel to San Francisco in December, he decided to return to New York in mid-January 1874.

The final item is Larnard's account book, covering farm expenses between 1882 and 1889, with a few 20th-century items laid in. The first few pages reflect the general state of his finances in 1882 and 1883, and more specific later accounts cover his transactions with local butchers, shearers, and laborers; some record purchases and others sales. Among the items laid in is a printed document for stockholders, entitled "The Pennsylvania Railroad System in 1923" (May 15, 1924).

Visual material includes an ink drawing of a bird and butterfly, as well as tintypes and other photographs of Buttolph family members and anonymous individuals.

Collection

B. Whitney travel diary, 1816

1 volume

This diary (4"x5.75", 105 pages) contains a traveler's impressions while visiting Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., from November 9, 1816-November 26, 1816.

This diary (4" x 5.75", 105 pages) contains a traveler's impressions while visiting Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., from November 9, 1816-November 26, 1816.

Whitney began his travels in New York City on November 9, when he embarked for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After remaining at Philadelphia for several days, he traveled to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Following a brief return to Baltimore, he set out for New York, where he arrived on November 26. Throughout his travels, done primarily by steamboat and stage, Whitney noted the quality of his accommodations, both in the major cities and in smaller towns. He wrote more detailed descriptions of his main destinations and of his activities, which included visits to famous locations such as the White House, United States Capitol, and Fort McHenry. While in Washington, D.C., Whitney attended a session of Congress. In addition to sightseeing, he took an interest in mechanical processes, and described visits to a cannon foundry and two glassworks, among other excursions.

Collection

Byron D. Paddock collection, 1862-1865

18 items

This collection contains correspondence, documents, and typescripts related to Byron D. Paddock's service in the 1st Michigan Light Artillery Regiment, Battery F, during the Civil War. Most of the manuscripts concern the Atlanta Campaign and its immediate aftermath.

This collection contains correspondence, documents, and typescripts related to Byron D. Paddock's service in the 1st Michigan Light Artillery Regiment, Battery F, during the Civil War. Manuscript letters, reports, and orders largely pertain to the regiment's actions during the Atlanta Campaign of 1864 and in its immediate aftermath, including the siege and surrender of Atlanta. A typescript includes extracts from published works regarding the 1st Michigan Light Artillery Regiment, a muster roll for Battery F with information about each soldier's disposition at the end of the war, and a Paddock's war diaries. The diaries concern Paddock's experiences between January 1, 1862, and April 15, 1865, particularly with regard to camp life, target practice, movements and marches, engagements with Confederate forces and batteries, and celebrations at the end of the war. A gap from September to October 1864 coincides with Paddock's furlough.

Collection

Cadets of Temperance (N.Y.) papers, 1847-1850

139 items

The Cadets of Temperance (N.Y.) papers contain correspondence, meeting minutes, financial records, and printed materials concerning the Eagle and Cygnet Sections of the Cadets of Temperance in northwestern New York.

The Cadets of Temperance (N.Y.) papers contain 17 letters, 102 records, and 20 printed items, spanning 1847-1850. The majority of the items concern the Eagle Section of the Cadets of Temperance in Rush, New York, but a few items pertain to the Cygnet Section of Rochester, New York, and the Rush Division of the Sons of Temperance of Rush, New York.

The Correspondence series contains 17 letters, 1847-1850, relating to the business of both the Cadets of Temperance and the Rush Division of the Sons of Temperance of Rush, New York. Grand Worthy Patron (G.W.P.) John F. Graham is the recipient of over half of the letters, which contain information about meetings, new members, elections, and practices of both groups. A letter of December 4, 1847, written by A.B. Clemons describes the threat to temperance posed by the availability of rum in Palmyra, New York. Charles E. Ford wrote a letter about the behavioral problems of members, including one man's refusal to sit down when the gavel sounded (December 13, 1847). On December 15, 1848, Daniel Cody wrote concerning the difficulty of finding adult leadership for the Cadets of Temperance because of the ban on tobacco. Also present are several letters between local sections that were collaborating to put on events.

The Records series spans 1848-1850 and contains several subseries pertaining to the Eagle Section of the Cadets of Temperance: Meeting Records, Bound Records, Receipts, and Applications. The Meeting Records subseries include minutes, attendance lists, an early constitution written at the first meeting (March 11, 1848), and records of votes taken at meetings. In one such vote, the boys debated whether the "Rough & Ready Society is more beneficial to society than the Cadets," which was affirmed by a vote of 7 to 6 (June 21, 1848). In another, they decided the question of whether "the negroes have been abused more than the Indians" (November 29, 1848). These records also document the election of officers, cases of rule violation by members and their punishments, and the payment of initiation and monthly dues. The Bound Records subseries contains three volumes: a book of meeting minutes for March 1848-March 1849 and two membership books that track fee payments for 1848. The Receipts subseries contains five small bundles of receipts for initiation and membership dues, totaling 60 items. The Applications subseries consists of 18 applications for membership, with name, residence, age, and recommender of each applicant.

The Printed Material series covers 1848-1850, and includes constitution and by-laws for the Cygnet Section of the Cadets of Temperance (1848), the Rush Division of the Sons of Temperance (1849), and the Eagle Section of the Cadets of Temperance (n.d.). Also in this series are several instruction cards, an undated booklet with songs and recitations, and a document containing the Cadets' 1850 password.

The Realia Series comprises a wooden box containing two ceremonial collars and a gavel. These items are housed in the Clements Library Graphics Division.

Collection

Cadwallader and Jane Colden manuscripts and leaf impressions, 1755, 1765 (majority within 1755)

1 letter, 1 manuscript with leaf impressions, and 1 newspaper clipping

This collection is comprised of a 4-page letter from surveyor and scientist Cadwallader Colden to botanist John Frederic Gronovius (October 1, 1755), in which he enclosed 17 pages of his daughter Jane's botanical descriptions and leaf impressions (1755).

This collection is comprised of a 4-page letter from surveyor and scientist Cadwallader Colden to botanist John Frederic Gronovius (October 1, 1755), in which he enclosed 17 pages of his daughter Jane's botanical descriptions and leaf impressions (1755). Cadwallader Colden mentioned that his previous correspondence may have been delayed on account of the capture of the packet by privateers, remarked on women and botanical study, praised his daughter's willingness to collaborate on botanical projects (and her possible discover of new genera), and expressed his esteem for Carl Linnaeus and the Linnaean system. Colden also mentioned the Royal Garden at Paris and referred to other scientists, including "Dr. Haller" [Albrecht von Haller] and "Mr. Calm" [Peter Kalm].

Colden enclosed a sampling of Jane's botanical work which contains descriptions of plants (e.g. cup, flower, chives, pistil, cover of seed, seeds, seat of the seeds, root, stalk, leaves) and leaf impressions.

The following list of represented plants employs her spelling:
  • No. 299: Diandria Monogynia
  • No. 302: [No name present]
  • No. 300: Tetriandria Digynia
  • No. 241: Pentandria Trigynia
  • No. 291: Didynamia Gymnospermia
  • No. 216: [No name present]
  • No. 215: [No name present]
  • No. 296: Clinopodium (Mountain-Mint)
  • No. 304: Monadelphia Polyandria
  • No. 153: Polyadelphia Enneandria
  • No. 297: Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua (Helenia)
Jane Colden's manuscript includes the following leaf and plant impressions:
  • No. 153: Polyadelphia Enneandria
  • No. 304: Monadelphia Plyandria
  • No. 297: Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua (Helenia)
  • [Not numbered]: Rubus
  • No. 296: Clinopodium (Mountain-Mint)
  • No. 291: Didynamia Gymnospermia
  • No. 299: Diandria Monogynia
  • No. 300: Tetriandria Digynia
  • No. 216: [No name present]
  • No. 215: [No name present]
  • No. 302: [No name present]

A single newspaper clipping from December 14, 1765, accompanies the Colden manuscripts. The clipping includes the text of a letter received by Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden, which prompted his "declaration that he would have nothing to do with the Stamps [Stamp Act, 1765] till the arrival of Sir Henry Moore." The printed letter threatens death to Cadwallader Colden if he were to enforce the Stamp Act. The printed letter contains the text of two labels that were affixed to the effigies of enemies of American liberties hung in Boston on November 4 at the Tree of Liberty.

Collection

Caius Julius Solinus, Polyhistor manuscript, circa 15th century

1 volume (172 pages)

This Caius Julius Solinus, Polyhistor manuscript was produced circa 15th century in Italy and is 86 leaves (plus 4 blank) in a seventeenth-century Italian vellum binding.

This Caius Julius Solinus, Polyhistor manuscript was produced circa 15th century in Italy and is 86 leaves (plus 4 blank) in a seventeenth-century Italian vellum binding. The chapters begin with ornamental capital letters, some colored in green or yellow. The text is a Latin manuscript of Caius Julius Solinus's Polyhistor, discussing natural history, religion, and social questions in the regions known to the Roman Empire circa the middle of the fourth century AD. This copy is a palimpsest, with the previous writing indicating a notarial register or account book from the early fourteenth century. One leaf bears the date 1308 (recto, leaf 53).

The bound volume includes a Di Casa Minutoli Telgrimi stamp and the following colophon: "C. Iulii Solini sive gramatici Polyhistor ab ipso editus et recognitus de situ orbis terrarum & de singulis mirabilibus quae in mundo habentur"

Collection

Caleb A. Wall collection, 1835-1850

8 items

This collection is made up of personal letters addressed to Caleb A. Wall of Worcester, Massachusetts. Several items pertain to his time at the Friends' school in Providence, Rhode Island, including correspondence from former schoolmates such as Joseph W. Aldrich.

This collection is made up of 8 letters addressed to Caleb A. Wall of Worcester, Massachusetts, from May 15, 1835-December 31, 1850. The first two letters, written by Caleb's brother Joseph, concern arrangements for Caleb's return home from the Friends' school in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1835 and 1837. In 1839, David Slade wrote to Caleb Wall about his experiences at the school after Wall's departure. Joseph W. Aldrich, a fellow student, wrote 4 of the remaining letters from the school and from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he later lived. Aldrich reminisced about their time in Providence, shared news of the school, commented on the happiness of his marriage, described a recent gathering of Haverford School alumni, and discussed his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; he taught languages at the Haverford School in 1850. The final item, a letter from T. W. Butterfield, invites Wall to work at Butterfield's office in Worcester (December 20, 1845).

Collection

Caleb Jones papers, 1843-1848

10 items

The Jones collection consists of 10 letters written by Martha and John W. Jones, Quakers from Portland, Me., to their parents from a Friends' boarding school in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Jones papers consist of 10 letters written mainly by Martha and John W. Jones to their parents. The letters are too scattered to provide a complete, or even coherent, picture of life at the school or of the curriculum offered, but the letters give an occasional glimpse of Martha's and John's reactions to the boarding school environment.

Two letters are of particular interest. First, on November 14, 1845, a superintendent at the school, Lydia Thompson, wrote regarding the school's regulations on suitable (i.e., plain) clothing for the students, apparently in response to a violation of the regulations by John. Secondly, on December 6, 1846, John describes some of the classes in science that he has attended. He mentions an experiment with a brass cannon that the boys had overloaded with powder, as a result of which one of the girls fainted from excitement. In an experiment in chemistry class, an instructor apparently set a beaker of ether on fire, causing some of the girls in the class to panic momentarily.

Collection

California and Washington Holiday Photograph Album, approximately 1912-1917

approximately 110 photographs in 1 album.

The California and Washington holiday photograph album contains approximately 110 photographs related to an excursion on the West Coast made by an unidentified couple.

The California and Washington holiday photograph album contains approximately 110 photographs related to an excursion on the West Coast made by an unidentified couple. The album (18.5 cm x 29 cm) has black cloth covers and is tied with black string. Towards the beginning of the album there are 20 photographs of Native Americans (likely members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation) with tipis at an encampment and on horseback in full regalia during a parade in Walla Walla, Washington; a river view with paddle steamers; and two views of a parade with the marching band from the U.S. Indian School in Chemawa, Salem, Oregon. Subsequent images from further south along the Pacific coast include views of Golden Gate Park; Sutter Fort and the Capitol building in Sacramento, California; the outdoor organ from the Panama-Columbian Exposition in San Diego; Balboa Park; an early Loughead Model G seaplane on a dock with a sign offering passenger rides; and the Santa Barbara Mission and rocky coastline nearby. Also present are views of Multnomah Falls, Oregon, and giant redwoods. Towards the back end of the album are four photographs showing a parade on a suburban street with 5 women wearing uniform caps, possibly factory workers, sitting in an open automobile decorated with American flags and a sign on the back that reads "Doing our bit."

Collection

California and Western Tour photograph album, 1893

1 volume

The California and Western Tour photograph album contains commercial and amateur photographs of scenes in Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, California, New Mexico, and other locales. The volume includes a group of photographs taken at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893.

This album (23cm x 30cm) contains 67 commercial and amateur prints of scenes in various locales, particularly in the western United States. The album is bound in red pebbled leather with small gold trim. Many of the photographs are commercial prints as large as 19cm x 24cm, with captions and negative numbers. Manuscript captions accompany some of the items, often with information about the size of natural features shown. Pictures of rock formations, waterfalls, rivers and lakes, and geysers are most common, along with shots of architectural landmarks and groups of tourists. Prominent photograph locations include Yosemite National Park (9 items), Garden of the Gods (4 items), New Mexico (3 items), the Columbia River (3 items), and Yellowstone National Park (20 items). The album has 2 pictures of Niagara Falls, one of which was taken in winter.

Though the album focuses on natural scenery, several photographs show various types of buildings, such as missions in California and New Mexico, hotels in California, the Lick observatory, a group of buildings at the Shasta Springs retreat, a railroad dining car interior, and the exterior of a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, California. Scenes of horse-drawn carriages fording the Fire Hole River in Yellowstone National Park and passing through a tunnel cut into the trunk of a large tree in Yosemite National Park are present, as are other group photographs. One shows "Miss E. P. Gould" riding a horse, and another shows a group of men fishing on Yellowstone Lake. An 1888 portrait of John C. Frémont, his wife Jessie, and their daughter shows them standing in front of the "Fremont tree" in Redwood Grove. A final group of photographs consists of pictures of various buildings constructed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

Collection

California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album, 1904-1906

1 volume

The California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album consists of 65 snapshot photographs from 1904 to 1906.

The California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album consists of 65 snapshot photographs from 1904 to 1906. The album begins with scenes of Colorado. These images show views from a railway through the Rocky Mountains and a trip to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

A majority of the photographs were taken in San Francisco, California. These photos date from May, 1906, just after the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Many of the images show refugee camps and temporary housing, displaced businesses, and damage on Van Ness Ave, which was used as a firebreak by the United States Army. The McKinley Parade, also known as Fiesta de Los Angeles is photographed as well. Other California scenes include Cliff House in San Francisco, an ostrich farm in Pasadena, vineyards, and orchards of olive trees, palm trees, and lemon trees.

The last portion of the album is of Long Island, New York State. These scenes include people on a boat in the water near Westhampton, people swimming in Jamaica Bay, and Apacuck Point.

The album is 18.5 x 14 cm with red cloth covers.

Collection

California travel photograph album, 1898

1 volume

The California travel photograph album (17.5 x 14 cm) contains twelve gelatin silver print views of various travel destinations in California in 1898.

The California travel photograph album (17.5 x 14 cm) contains twelve gelatin silver print photographs of various travel destinations in California in 1898. Captions are written below each photograph.

Collection

Calow Weld papers, 1836-1837

5 items

The Calow Weld papers contain five letters on major issues of the 1830s, including slavery, immigration, and education.

The Calow Weld papers contain five letters, spanning January 9, 1836-June 3, 1837. Schoolteacher Calow Weld wrote all of the letters to a friend, Philo Bund, debating several important issues of the day. In his letter of January 9, 1836, Weld described the classes he taught, and expressed a wish that the common schools be elevated to greater "eminence" and that teachers receive more respect. In other letters, he discussed slavery, which he considered a "national and moral evil," some possible scenarios of emancipation (March 12, 1836), and his belief that Congress had the power to abolish slavery (May 21, 1836). In his final two letters, Weld explained his opposition to foreign immigration, which he believed would "impair the tranquility of community" (July 30, 1836). On June 3, 1837, he elaborated on his position on immigration, arguing that the variety of cultures and languages in the world disproved the notion that people "were destined to live as one great and social family."

Collection

Calvin A. and Albert H. Irish diaries, 1865-1866, 1885

2 volumes

The Calvin A. and Albert H. Irish diaries consist of 2 volumes. Calvin A. Irish kept a diary from January 1865, during the end of his service in the Union Army, until May 1866. His son, Albert H. Irish, also wrote a diary in 1885.

For his diary, Calvin used a printed almanac entitled Vermont Directory and Commercial Almanac for 1865. The entries are mostly short and detail his daily activities and experiences, including the distance he marched, the weather, letters that he sent or received, and work that he accomplished. The small volume was also Calvin's financial ledger.

Calvin's son Albert also wrote daily records in an almanac entitled The American Diary 1885. The first 2 manuscript pages are comprised of a few verses and adages. Albert's entries are short and include information about the weather, school, chores, odd jobs, and visits of his friends and neighbors. The almanac also contains a short cash-management ledger and brief descriptions of the Irish family's cows.

Collection

Calvin D. Mehaffey papers, 1862-1863

18 items

Calvin Mehaffey's letters to his (unnamed) mother document two periods of Mehaffey's Civil War service in the 1st U.S. infantry regiment. They especially provide coverage of parts of the Peninsular Campaign (March-June, 1862), as well as the period of time in which he was posted near Vicksburg, in the Teche Country, and in New Orleans (August-November, 1863).

Calvin Mehaffey's letters to his mother represent only a small percentage of a once voluminous correspondence. From the eighteen letters that survive, it seems clear that Mehaffey wrote home regularly. The collection documents two periods of Mehaffey's Civil War service, providing excellent coverage of parts of the Peninsular Campaign (March-June, 1862), as well as the period of time in which he was posted near Vicksburg, in the Teche Country, and in New Orleans (August-November, 1863). The remainder of Mehaffey's service is essentially undocumented.

Mehaffey's correspondence reflects the frenetic activities and experiences of a junior staff officer, shouldering administrative responsibility rather than muskets, and the letters provide a number of detailed, fleshed-out stories illustrating the duties and activities of staffers. Among the descriptive masterpieces in the collection is an outstanding account of Mehaffey patrolling the James, confiscating boats and securing supplies, and a novel-like account of the Teche country operations of October 1863. Although Mehaffey describes little in the way of military engagements in this letter, his stories of the local scenery, citizenry, and the movements of troops are engaging and important for conveying, if nothing else, a sense of the logistical demands confronting the federal army in the deep South. In other letters, his encounters with the brothers of George McClellan and ex-President John Tyler, and with the father of Ulysses S. Grant, provide unusual insights into those men.

Mehaffey's comments on Yorktown during the Peninsular Campaign are packed with details about the condition of the city after the Confederate departure and the response of federal officers. From a narrowly military perspective, the letter written in the wake of the Battle of Malvern Hill may be even more interesting. In it, Mehaffey provides a furious sketch of the confusion in federal forces after the battle, the pain of the wounded and the presence of shell shock among many of the survivors. His involvement in assisting in the organization of field hospitals and ferrying the wounded, and the palpable swing in mood from his previous admiration of McClellan to his dread at enduring the humiliation of retreat are equally noteworthy.

In a different vein, Mehaffey's position with the Provost Marshal put him in a unique position to see and comment upon the administration of military justice. Two letters are particularly valuable in documenting an incident in which a slave, Lightfoot, allegedly exacted revenge on the family of his slave master by tying them to a tree and raping the women. Tried and convicted, Lightfoot was himself tied to a tree overnight to await public execution. He escaped, however, setting in motion a full scale search.

Collection

Calvin Durfee scrapbook, 1851-1879

1 item

This collection contains the disbound contents of a scrapbook that Massachusetts minister Calvin Durfee kept during the mid-19th century. The scrapbook includes Durfee's journal about a trip through New York and the upper Midwest in 1851, newspaper clippings containing biographical sketches he composed, and manuscript sermons.

This collection contains the disbound contents of a scrapbook that Massachusetts minister Calvin Durfee kept during the mid-19th century. The first item is Durfee's 14-page journal describing his domestic travels from April 22, 1851-June 20, 1851. He embarked from South Dedham, Massachusetts and travelled, often by steamboat, across northern New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The journal records Durfee's daily activities, including delivering sermons and making social calls in numerous cities, and also contains a genealogical record of his sister's family, the Lashiers of Maine, New York (page 10).

The journal is followed by biographical sketches of pastors from Pittsfield and Lanesboro, Massachusetts, clipped from the Berkshire Courier (approximately 14 pages); the clippings include manuscript annotations. Two additional clippings are a history of the pastors of the Presbyterian Church at Whitfield, Massachusetts, and a note regarding the marriage of Durfee's son Charles. The collection also contains 7 sermons that Calvin Durfee delivered by between 1852 and 1876, consisting of 6 manuscripts and one newspaper reproduction. Four of the sermons are between 18 and 30 pages long.

Additional printed material includes a program from Charles S. Durfee's ordination in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on September 8, 1869; a related letter of congratulation; and a printed invitation from the First Presbyterian Church of Newburyport (August 24, 1869). The original scrapbook cover is housed with the collection.

Biographical Sketch Subjects: Pittsfield
  • Thomas Allen
  • William Allen
  • Thomas Penderson
  • Heman Humphrey
  • Rufus William Bailey
  • John W. Yeomans
  • Chester Dewey
  • H. N. Brinsmade
  • John Todd
  • S. A. Allen
Biographical Sketch Subjects: Lanesboro
  • Daniel Collins
  • John De Witt
  • Noah Sheldon
  • Ransome S. Cook
  • John Furgerson
  • Edward Joab Brace
  • Martyn Tupper
  • Chauncey Eddy
  • Charles Newman
Collection

Calvin Mixter papers, 1897-1903

106 items (0.25 linear feet)

The Calvin Mixter papers are primarily comprised of seventy-five letters written from stateside military camps during the Spanish-American War. Mr. Mixter served as a drummer in the Fifth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

The Calvin Mixter papers are primarily comprised of seventy-five letters written from stateside military camps during the Spanish-American War. Most were addressed to members of the family of William H. Campbell at his home in Massachusetts. These letters provide interesting accounts of routine military activities, such as dress parades, monthly inspections, and band rehearsals and marches. The collection also contains newspaper clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous items (including 2 military passes).

The collection documents not only the various rumors circulating at the military camps, but also how the regiment dealt with death and sickness. The high mortality from disease, much of it preventable, was a hot topic with Mixter and his fellow soldiers, and runs throughout the collection. Having remained healthy himself, Mixter was able to take several small trips in the vicinity of the camps, and in one letter, gives a fine description of Gettysburg and the battle that took place there during the Civil War.

The collection also contains numerous references to African-Americans, with whose culture Mixter seems to have had little direct experience. Mixter considered their church services "amusing," though he felt at least that they were "earnest." He and his friends easily fell into disparaging comments, such as Will Mann's comments of September, 1898, Frank B. Harmon's of November, 1898, or Mixter's own notice of a cook at Camp Meade who had been dismissed for stealing (October, 1898).