Collections

The Castries papers include four major areas of interest: The civil and military administration of French Caribbean colonies; French participation in the American Revolution; the 1784 trial to fix blame for the defeat of the French Navy at the Battle of Saints Passage, 1782; and Royalist conspiracies against the French Republic during the 1790s.

The Castries papers represents only a small portion of the original "archives" of the Maréchal. The core of the Castries Papers includes four major areas of interest:

1. The civil and military administration of French Caribbean colonies;

2. French participation in the American Revolution;

3. The 1784 trial to fix blame for the devastating defeat of the French Navy and the capture of Admiral de Grasse at the Battle of Saints Passage, 1782, and;

4. Royalist conspiracies against the French Republic during the 1790s.

The materials relating to French Caribbean colonies were collected by Castries in his capacity as Ministre de la Marine, a position that gave him some oversight of colonial affairs. Though undated, many of these documents appear to have been prepared in about 1783, and are perhaps related to negotiations at the Treaty of Paris or to the immediate outcome of that treaty. These documents include detailed descriptions of the French colonies in the Isles du Vent and Isles sous le Vent, with notes on administration, police, religious advancement, agriculture, trade, and defense.

Among the items from the period of the American revolution is an important document titled "Memoire en forme de Plan de la Campagne en Amerique dans l'année 1783 redigée par la Compte d'Estaing..." in which the author lays out a plan for global imperial conquest, beginning with the defeat of the British in North America. Also of great interest is the "Order à prendre du Roi, relativement à l'amérique Septentrionale," which contains an analysis of French military strategy in the Americas following Yorktown. A "Projet d'Arrêt du Conseil" of January, 1782, relates to reparations to the residents of Saint Eustatius for depredations committed there during its capture by British forces. Also present is the 1782 appointment of François Barbé de Marbois as consul in the United States.

The de Grasse trial materials contain an extensive body of records of the Conseil de Guerre Extraordinaire held at L'Orient, France, in 1784. These include a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the action at the Battle of Saints Passage (including manuscript maps, housed in the Map Division), interviews with French naval officers, manuscript and printed version of the findings of the Conseil with judgments against the naval officers (most were acquitted of any misconduct), and defenses written by the baron d'Arros d'Argelos and Pontèves-Gien to justify their conduct. All together, these comprise a thorough, though not quite complete documentation of the official inquiry into a major French naval defeat.

The 14 items relating to counterrevolutionary activity in the 1790s present a somewhat less complete picture than that for the de Grasse trial, but serve to indicate the breadth and depth of Castries' involvement in Royalist circles. These include letters from Royalists seeking assistance, documents outlining plans for a proposed invasion of the west coast of France, discussions of the possibility of Royalist forces capturing the colony of Saint Domingue and reestablishing it as a monarchy under Louis XVIII, and analyses of the potential for support among other European powers. Perhaps the most intriguing item in this part of the collection is a lengthy report from a British spy containing information on influential members of the French Directory with notes on whether they can be made useful to the Royalist cause.

The Castries papers are arranged chronologically. Eight maps entered as evidence at the Conseil de Guerre held at L'Orient have been transferred to the Maps Division.

The Townshend papers included the private and public records of Charles Townshend who served in various positions in the government of Great Britain including as Secretary of War during the Seven Years War and as Chancellor of the Exchequer where he authored the Townshend Acts to tax the American colonies.

The Townshend papers contain approximately 2,600 items, including letters, documents, accounts, and printed matter relating to the public life and activities of Charles Townshend, gathered largely during the last period of his career. The collection is an extremely valuable resource for study of British commercial and mercantile policy in the 1760s, administrative perspectives on the mounting crisis in the North American colonies, and the inner workings of British political life. The papers reflect Townshend's serious research efforts in his role as policymaker; much of the collection consists of documents that he gathered for his own information on legal cases, British politics, financial and treasury matters, and affairs in North America, the West Indies, and Africa. Also present is a small amount of incoming and outgoing correspondence and an assortment of memoranda and speech drafts by Townshend. The collection spans 1660-1804, but the bulk centers around the 1750s and 1760s, when Townshend held an appointment on the Board of Trade and Plantations (1748-1754) and served as Lord of the Admiralty (1754), Secretary-at-War (1762-1763), President of the Board of Trade (1763-1765), Paymaster General (1765-1766) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1766-1767). The collection was originally arranged by Charles Townshend into numerous bundles marked with wrappers. This original order has largely been maintained and hence, document types and topics are scattered across the collection.

See "Additional Descriptive Data" for a partial subject index of the papers as well as a list of printed matter in the collection.

Correspondence

A moderate amount of Townshend's incoming and outgoing correspondence is located throughout the collection. This includes contemporary copies of his letters to and from William Barrington and Thomas Gage relating to the War Office during his time as Secretary-at-War (Box 8/ Bundle 2), numerous incoming letters concerning patronage and requesting favors (8/3/A), and correspondence between Townshend and John Morton concerning politics and happenings in the House of Commons in 1764-1766 (8/37). Also present are a series of letters written from the Mediterranean by Commodore Augustus Keppel, describing British peace negotiations with Tunis and Tripoli and the signing of a treaty on October 21, 1751, (Box 297/1/2) and incoming correspondence on a variety of topics from William Dowdeswell, George Sackville-Germain, George Younge, William Shirley, Edmund Burke, Wellbore Ellis, George Macaulay, Edward Walpole, Henry Pelham-Clinton (3rd Duke of Newcastle), and John Stuart, (3rd Earl Bute).

Legal Papers

The collection also contains scattered documents relating to legal issues and court cases in the late-18th century. The box marked 8/5 contains accounts of the court cases of the following parties, heard before the House of Lords and the Commissioners of Appeals in 1760: Francis Watkins; Francis Dalby; the Proprietors of Sulbrave, Northamptonshire; the Pennsylvania Land Company; a group of London fishmongers; and John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury. Also represented are several cases concerning prizes captured by Dutchmen (8/5). Other legal papers include those relating to Townshend's wife, Caroline, 1st Baroness Greenwich, which span 1754 to 1789 and are located in Box 298, and documents concerning Samuel Waldo and his service in the Siege of Louisburg (8/24/a).

Other Documents

The Charles Townshend papers contain numerous documents gathered by Townshend for his own information or created by him during the process of policymaking. These include many items relating to North America, including reports on trade, military matters, the characteristics and features of various regions, and debates on British policies. Among the military-related topics addressed are recruitment for the British army in North America in the years 1753-1763 (8/22), expenses of maintaining a force in North America for 1765-1766 (8/28), the cost of maintaining various British forts (8/31), and the debate over foreign officers' commissions in America in 1756 (8/4). Other items concern trade between North America and Great Britain; this includes a 1761 memorandum on the prevalence of smuggling in Boston (297), information on Newfoundland fisheries (8/4 and 299), and notes on the importation of iron bar from America (299). A group of undated documents relate to the settlement of East and West Florida (8/34) and the expenses related to the settlement of East Florida by Greeks (297/4/5). Box 8/31 contains Townshend's own notes on his proposal to impose new duties on salt, wine, oil, fruit, glass, tea, sugar, molasses, china, and paper. A draft of the Townshend Duties is also included in the papers.

Other documents in the collection concern a variety of British political matters, such as contested 1754 English parliamentary elections (8/32), estimates of the strength of several parties in the House of Commons (8/42), and proceedings against John Wilkes in the House of Commons (296). The collection also includes Townshend notes for his speeches opposing the Marriage Act (298), and documents concerning his election to Parliament for Great Yarmouth in 1754 and 1756 (8/52).

Additional scattered papers relate to world trade and matters of the British Treasury. A substantial amount of material concerns the East India Company, including debates on the taxation of tea, memoranda concerning precedents for government intervention in East India Company matters, and Townshend's 1766 notes on a bill concerning East India, all of which are located in the Bowhill Box. Box 298 contains many lists and statistics on British imports and exports abroad, particularly to the North American colonies. Other documents pertain to the British manufacture of earthenware and china, the coal trade (8/40), and trade with Africa, including the activities of the Committee on African trade in 1752-1754 (297/5/3).

The Childe family papers contain correspondence and documents primarily related to Zachariah Child of West Boylston, Massachusetts, and his son John; John later used the surname "Childe." Early documents relate to the family's land ownership in Shrewsbury and Boylston, Massachusetts, and later correspondence reflects John's career as a railroad engineer, as well as his second wife's efforts to compile his biography.

The Childe family papers contain correspondence and documents primarily related to Zachariah Child of West Boylston, Massachusetts, and his son John; John later used the surname "Childe." Until 1844, most items relate to landholdings belonging to Zachariah and David Child in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, including three manuscript maps of tracts in Shrewsbury and Boylston, several official indentures, and two unofficial indentures made in 1822 between Zachariah Child and Dorothy Thurston, a widow. The collection also holds correspondence addressed to John Childe (formerly Child) in Troy, New York; West Boylston, Massachusetts; and Springfield, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. His brother Marcus, who lived in Stanstead, Quebec, discussed the family's farm in West Boylston, as well as other legal matters, and officially designated John Childe his attorney at law (April 25, 1844).

Later letters primarily concern John Childe's engineering career, including congratulations from William B. Trotter after a recent legal triumph (February 20, 1857) and a letter from Childe to Mobile & Ohio Railroad President Judge Hopkins about the effects of financial regulations on railroad construction in the West and Southwest (March 17, 1856). His second wife, Ellen Healy Childe, received several letters following his death, documenting biographical details of his life, for use in a biographical sketch. These cover his early life and time in the military and include a contribution from his brother, David Lee Child (July 22, 1859). John Healy Childe also received a letter from Henry Clark, who agreed that his daughter Jessie could marry Childe (August 5, 1889). An undated "Family Record" gives birth and death dates for the family of Zachariah and Lydia Bigelow Child, and a brief biographical sketch of John Healy Childe.

The Colonial Parson's notebook is a small bound volume of sermon and prayer notes kept by a New England minister from 1713 to 1714 and in 1741.

The Colonial Parson's notebook is a small bound volume (approximately 3.5"x4", 62 pages) of sermon and prayer notes kept by a New England minister from 1713 to 1714 and in 1741. Several of the notes were written in "East Windsor," [Connecticut]. The volume opens with thoughts about Thanksgiving Day 1713, and continues with a large number of short reflections, often accompanied by relevant Biblical verses. One of the notes is addressed "To young persons" [1741], and another is about church news. A later note mentions several people who wished to "Joyn with this Church," including an African American named "Job Elswth" [1741].

Forms part of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. This collection includes material related to non-edible kitchen products and household activities, including appliance manuals, catalogs, housekeeping guides, product promotions, and cook books. Publications date from the 1700s to 2005, with the majority of material dating from the mid-twentieth century.

This collection includes material related to non-edible kitchen products and household activities, including appliance manuals, catalogs, housekeeping guides, product promotions, and cook books.

The Dalton family papers document three generations of the Dalton family of Boston, Massachusetts: Captain James Dalton, Peter Roe Dalton, and Peter Roe Dalton, Jr. This wealthy family was involved in transatlantic shipping and local Boston politics.

The Dalton family papers (168 items) contain 29 letters, 35 financial records, 30 receipts, 1 account book, 66 legal documents, 2 genealogical booklets, 2 genealogical essays, and an image of the Dalton house. These document three generations of the Dalton family of Boston, Massachusetts: Captain James Dalton, Peter Roe Dalton, and Peter Roe Dalton, Jr. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing section for a list and description of each item in the collection.

The Documents, Letters and Receipts series contains commercial papers and letters, including business letters, contracts, insurance agreements, estate documents, deeds and leases, bills of lading, wage-payment receipts, customs house receipts, and army provision orders and receipts.

• Records of transporting building material (boards, shingles, staves), and food (beef, herring, mackerel, molasses, sugar) between Boston and the West Indies.
• Shipping records for the following ships: Abigail, Mauritius, Nancy, Packett, Polly, Resolution, Sarah, Swallow, Two Friends, and Willmill.
• Documents detailing James Dalton's losses from the Great Boston Fire (March 20, 1760 and April 16, 1761)
• A letter from Peter Roe Dalton to James Dalton (his father) discussing trading efforts in Charleston, South Carolina, and noting sickness in the area (November 27, 1766)
• Documents concerning the Revolutionary War relating to supplying Boston troops (1777-1781)
• Two letters about the Mexican War written on board the US Ship Lexington (March 15, 1847 and June 4, 1848)
• A letter from N.J. Dalton, in which he described travels in California and an Indian hunt that killed 125 Indians for murdering a rancher and stealing 7 head of cattle.
• Voucher for the Honorable William Stoughton Esquire, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (April 26, 1693)

The Account Book series consists of a 44-page volume of accounts for the estates of Peter Roe Dalton (1743-1811) and his son Peter Roe Dalton, Jr. (1791-1861).

The Genealogy and Miscellaneous series (6 items) is comprised of two booklets with birth and death information on the Dalton Family and Simeon Skillin's ancestors; two essays on the lives of James Dalton and Peter Roe Dalton; a list of Dalton-owned church pews in King's Chapel in Boston (1754-1876); and an image of the Dalton house in Boston, on the corner of Water Street and Congress Street, which was occupied by James and Peter Roe Dalton.

This volume (22 pages) contains Edward Hutchinson's sporadic diary entries about his travels around Europe, including visits to modern-day France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England. He provided his impressions of the scenery he encountered during his trip, such as churches, palaces, and military installations.

This volume (22 pages) contains Edward Hutchinson's sporadic diary entries about his travels around Europe, including visits to modern-day France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England. He provided his impressions of the scenery he encountered during his trip, such as churches, palaces, and military installations.

Hutchinson left Marblehead, Massachusetts, on June 29, 1700, and wrote his next entry from Bilbao, Spain, on August 4. Each entry summarizes a lengthy period of the author's travels, often a month or more. He visited many prominent cities throughout France, Flanders, the Spanish Netherlands, and the Dutch Republic. In March 1701, he sailed from Rotterdam to London, and he remained in England until September, when he sailed for New England. He arrived in Boston on December 13, 1701. Hutchinson described many of the cities, buildings, and gardens he visited, and saw several royal palaces, including the Palace of Versailles and a palace at The Hague. On one occasion, he saw King Louis IV of France and the French dauphin (October 28, 1700). While in England, Hutchinson traveled around London, to "the Downs," and to Canterbury. Though his transatlantic journeys took one to three months, he made only brief notes about each passage.

This collection is made up of 4 items pertaining to Edward Pigot, a resident of Warwick, Rhode Island, and to John Freebody, a merchant in Newport, Rhode Island. The material concerns Freebody's payments for Pigot's care during Pigot's incarceration and a personal loan between the men.

This collection is made up of 4 items related to Edward Pigot of Warwick, Rhode Island, and to John Freebody of Newport, Rhode Island. Three financial records (2 receipts and 1 bill with receipt) reflect Freebody's payments for Pigot's care during Pigot's incarceration in Providence in 1739. The receipts and bill are signed by jail-keeper John Potter. A bond agreement concerns a loan that Freebody made to Pigot in August 1740. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

This volume (234 pages) contains copied passages from histories, magazines, philosophical treatises, and other sources, dated from 1732 to the mid-1760s.

This volume (234 pages) contains copied passages from histories, magazines, philosophical treatises, and other sources from the mid-18th century.

The copied excerpts, written in a dense, consistent hand, are dated from 1732 to the mid-1760s, and most are attributed to their authors or other sources of origin, such as the Gentleman's Magazine of London, England. The creator if the commonplace book compiled information on subjects such as religion, history, philosophy, linguistics, medicine, and science, and often quoted specific articles, sermons, and treatises at length. The historical sections focus on English history, and the religious items occasionally incorporate words and lines in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Much of the religious material pertains to specific biblical stories. The book has a partial subject index, created by the compiler. John H. Treadwell later owned the volume, which holds his bookplate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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