Collections

The Bland family papers contain correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to the family of Theodoric Bland, a Continental Army officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia politician.

The Bland family papers contain correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to the family of Theodoric Bland, a Continental Army officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia politician. The earliest items in the Correspondence and Documents series are related to his ancestors, including a court document from "James Citty," listing a "Theo. Bland" as a member of the court (October 16, 1665), and a 1720 letter regarding British military affairs. The Theodoric Bland in this collection wrote the majority of items, often copies of his outgoing correspondence related to local and national politics in the latter years of the American Revolution; among these are letters to Benjamin Harrison and to Patrick Henry. Two items concern the Siege of Gibraltar, including a 1778 warrant for John Sweetland and a letter by Thomas Cranfield to his mother and father about his experiences during the siege (September 7, 1783). The collection also holds a muster roll of Lt. Purviss's Company, in a regiment of guards, from 1779. Later legal documents pertain to the career of Maryland judge Theodorick Bland, of another branch of the Virginia Bland family. Later material includes several personal letters to "Mr. and Mrs. Bland" from family and friends dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as responses to genealogical inquiries.

The Genealogy and Images series contains engravings and drawings of several Bland family members, including a detailed pencil drawing of P. E. Bland, who served as a colonel in the Civil War. Other genealogical notes trace branches of the family through the mid-19th and early-20th centuries.

The Bookplates and Printed Items series holds several bookplates, 20th century newspaper clippings, and pages from books.

The Boardman papers are made up of correspondence and business documents of the Connecticut merchant and senator, Elijah Boardman. The collection also holds the research notes and draft of a biography of Boardman written by Walter G. Drogue, and an 1849 memoir of Boardman's wife, Mary Anna Boardman.

The Correspondence series consists of 167 personal and business letters of Elijah Boardman and his family. Many of the letters are copies sent to Eli Baldwin, who managed Boardman's property in Ohio. Oliver Wolcott, from the Connecticut Council Chamber, sent multiple letters (1818, 1820) informing Boardman of his elections to state office. The collection also contains letters between friends and family members, including a number of items between Elijah and his son William, who was studying at Harvard College in Massachusetts, and letters to and from William's brother George and his mother Mary ("Mama"). In addition to the Boardman material is a small set of fifteen 20th century letters pertaining to Walter G. Drogue, comprising.

The Documents series contains 10 items, mostly inventories of Boardman's estate and property, along with his last will and testament.

The Business and Financial Papers series of 163 items consists of promissory notes, tuition receipts from Harvard and Yale, correspondence on orders and shipments from Villee and Burrail, and miscellaneous receipts and financial accounts.

The Miscellaneous: Political and Other series holds 30 items, both related to Boardman's public work as well as some truly miscellaneous items, such as a poem titled Oh Unfortunate, and a printed list of prices for produce in New York. Two items of note are a booklet with a list of names of "Freemen Republicans" and "Freemen Federal," and Boardman's Political Notebook from 1803.

The Drafts, Research, and Notes and series contains an undated manuscript draft of Walter Gerald Drogue biography of Elijah Boardman and the the materials he used to write the history. This series is comprised of 1,848 dated and undated items such as letters from libraries and special collections detailing their related holdings, and note cards with citations from primary and secondary sources.

The Books series contains two volumes: William Boardman's "Commonplace Book," which mentions topics such as philosophy, astronomy, and poetry; and the published Memoir of the Life and Character of Mrs. Mary Anna Boardman, with a Historical Account of Her Forefathers, and Biographical and Genealogical Notices of Many of Her Kindred and Relatives, by John Frederick Schroeder, published in New Haven, in 1849.

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection also contains miscellaneous letters pertinent to autograph and manuscript collecting during the same period.

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Book Collectors collection includes letters by many prominent collectors, historians, and political figures. A selection of items relates to the collections of the William L. Clements Library and to its namesake, including 2 letters from William L. Clements to Worthington C. Ford, one of which regards Ford's contribution to the newly opened library (June 27, 1923). Clements Library directors Randolph G. Adams and Howard H. Peckham also contributed to the collection. See the box and folder listing below for an inventory of contributors' and subjects' names.

The Bowman collection contains financial documents, correspondence, and essays related to the family of Samuel Bowman of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The material reflects financial, legal, and personal affairs of various Bowman family members.

The Bowman collection contains financial documents, correspondence, and essays related to the family of Samuel Bowman of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Two early receipts, dated 1770 and 1771, pertain to the financial affairs of William Ledlie, Captain Samuel Bowman's father-in-law. Other receipts from the 1790s, indicate Bowman's purchase of "twenty Gallons of Whiskey and one Cask," and a transaction involving a horse; one later financial document records an order for schoolbooks in 1809 made by Jacob Morris, a Revolutionary War colonel.

Several legal documents throughout the collection document land holdings of the Bowman family, as well as additional fiscal matters; these include a sworn statement about Ebenezer Bowman's debts (November 10, 1821), a deed for land owned by the estate of Jesse Fell near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania [1831], and a notice of a pending lawsuit against William Ledlie Bowman (February 20, 1837).

The collection also holds personal correspondence, including, among other material, one anonymous, religious letter (May 29, 1797), and an item about local military recruitment efforts (February 4, 1800). Among the additional materials are a celebratory essay written on July 4, 1825; an article about local lawyer Mr. Phillips, addressed to the editor of the Wyoming Herald; and an essay composed "On Nothing."

William H. Boyd family of Monroe, Michigan. Correspondence, diaries, addresses, photograph, and miscellaneous papers concerning family and business affairs, temperance, slavery and the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Michigan. Correspondents include: Isaac P. Christiancy and Alpheus Felch.

The Boyd family collection includes correspondence, diaries of family members, addresses, photographs, and miscellaneous papers concerning family and business affairs, temperance, slavery and the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Michigan. Correspondents include: Isaac P. Christiancy and Alpheus Felch.

This collection is made up of correspondence and legal documents pertaining to Martha Bradstreet of northern New York State. Much of the material pertains to Bradstreet's efforts to recover titles to her inherited land along the Mohawk River. The collection also contains materials related to Samuel Bradstreet and a group of Civil War letters from Silas E. Crandall to Phoebe Bradstreet.

This collection is made up of correspondence and legal documents pertaining to Martha Bradstreet of northern New York State. Much of the material pertains to Bradstreet's efforts to recover titles to her inherited land along the Mohawk River. The collection also contains materials related to Samuel Bradstreet and a group of Civil War letters from Silas E. Crandall to Phoebe Bradstreet.

The Martha Bradstreet Papers are divided into subseries of Martha Bradstreet Correspondence (126 items) and Martha Bradstreet Documents (25 items). The correspondence, including letters by and to Martha Bradstreet, largely pertains to her legal and financial affairs. Many items concern disputes over the land she inherited in upstate New York. Bradstreet's personal correspondence includes letters that she received from her children while traveling and letters to her children and others about their personal activities, such as her daughter Sarah's return to an abusive husband (November 26, 1840). Bradstreet's children wrote to one another about their personal lives, their mother's legal difficulties, and finances. The series' legal documents concern Bradstreet's New York property disputes, the will of Elizabeth Livius, and a civil suit between Elizabeth C. Bennett and Washington Garlock. A map of Mary Bradstreet's land along the Mohawk River is housed in the Map Division.

The Samuel Bradstreet Correspondence (138 items), dated 1800-1866, reflects the contentious relationship between Martha Bradstreet, her brother Samuel, and her husband, Matthew Codd, particularly with regard to real property and inheritance. The series includes several items written by Samuel's sons and grandsons.

The S. E. Crandall and Phoebe Bradstreet Correspondence (12 items) largely consists of letters that S. E. Crandall sent to Phoebe Bradstreet, whom he addressed as "Mother," while serving in the 17th Army Corps during the Civil War. He discussed his experiences in and around Atlanta, Georgia. He also sent letters before and after his military service about his life in Minnesota and about possible conflicts with the Sioux Indians (June 6, 1863).

The Photograph is a large portrait of a woman, mounted in a card frame.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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.

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.

Burrows-Avery-Smith families of New York, Connecticut, and Michigan. Correspondence and business papers of Lorenzo Burrows, New York Congressman, 1849-1853; George L. Burrows, Saginaw, Michigan, banker and speculator; material concerning the Whig Party and New York state politics, 1848-1860. Correspondents include: Millard Fillmore, Washington Hunt, and John Young.

The Burrows / Avery / Smith collection was brought together and preserved by Emeline Burrows (daughter of Lorenzo Burrows) and Julia Smith (granddaughter of the elder Roswell Burrows).

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence and other papers of family members (arranged chronologically); Family records; Topical files; Visual Materials; and Financial materials.