Collections

The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs, including the War of 1812.

The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs. A series of land surveys of the Ohio Valley, prepared by Archibald Woods, has been arranged and placed at the end of the collection, and two land documents relating to Woods property are also present in Oversize Manuscripts, a 1774 deed signed by Dunmore granting lands in Botetourt County and an 1820 grant signed by James Monroe for lands in Ohio.

The collection includes a petition relating to the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798. Addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives of Virginia from the citizens of Ohio County, the petition includes thirty nine signatures protesting the Acts. The signers expressed their concern regarding what they saw as a violation of the Constitution, and asserted that the acts were a "serious cause of alarm" for the citizens of Ohio County, whom, they noted, continued to adhere to the Democratic principles of the American Revolution.

During the time that Andrew Woods served as sheriff of Botetourt County, 1777-1780, he kept a small, deerskin-bound notebook of his activities including receipts and notes on the collection of taxes and fees. There are also sporadic family business records. Included are an agreement for disposition of property including land, livestock, and enslaved persons (named Herod [Bin?], Sip, Ceasar, and Nanas). A copy of a contract between siblings Andrew, Martha, and Archibald (likely Andrew Woods' children) for the care of Martha Poage Woods and arrangements for the purchase of an enslaved person for Elijah Woods is also present. The contract provided for clothing, food, and shelter and, if Martha chose "to go back over the mountains," to provide an enslaved person to care for her.

Over fifty surveys and treasury warrants document Archibald Woods' importance as a surveyor and land speculator in the Ohio River Valley. Many of these can be positively traced to land that today lies in the state of West Virginia, mostly in the panhandle, but, Woods owned property throughout Ohio County, which then included parts of Ohio and a corner of Pennsylvania. A contemporary range and township map assists in situating Woods' land holdings.

Seven printed orders, each unique, or nearly unique, include information about troop recruitment and deployment during the War of 1812, and about demobilization at the end of the war. Among other documents in the collection are Archibald Woods' commissions and resignations.

There is little true correspondence in the Woods family papers, although one item, a letter from Joe Woods, is of some interest. In this letter written to his mother, Woods summarizes his reasons for transferring to Princeton, assuring her of his sound character and his decision. William Woods' ledger and daybook from 1828 and Hamilton Woods' cypher book from ca. 1820s are also present in the collection. The collection contains a photograph album with cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards, and other photos from around the 1870s and 1880s, as well as approximately 0.5 linear feet of photographs of Woods family members, particularly Ruth Woods and Charles Moss from the early 20th century, and the Woods family homestead.

Finally, the collection contains useful information about the Woods family estate, Woodsdale. Three documents from 1815-1816 provide floor plans and a record of construction costs, and there are two copy photographs of the house as it stood before its demolition in 1949. In 1976-77, Ruth Moss described the physical layout of the home and grounds as she recalled them, as well as her memories of life at Woodsdale in the early part of the century. An additional 0.25 linear feet of Ruth Moss's genealogical research on the Woods family is also present.

The Wilson papers contain letters and documents relating to the lives and careers of three generations of the family of William Wilson, residents of Clermont, N.Y. in the mid-Hudson River Valley.

The Wilson family papers contains over 4,000 letters relating to the lives and fortunes of three generations of the family of William Wilson, residents of Clermont, N.Y, in the mid-Hudson River Valley. Virtually all of the letters in the collection were received by members of the Wilson family, with only a very few out-going drafts. Together, these present an impressively detailed perspective on many aspects of family life, political culture, agriculture, commerce, and the economy of Columbia and Dutchess County, N.Y., in the fifty years following the end of the American Revolution. As well being educated, energetic members of the social elite, the Wilsons engaged in a variety of pursuits, from the legal and medical professions, to land proprietorship, farming, and politics, and they commented extensively at every turn. A genealogical chart of the Wilson family, detailing the relationships of all those mentioned in the collection can be found in box 42:11.

The core of the Wilson papers consists of the letters received by William Wilson, who shouldered a wide variety of responsibilities in Columbia and Dutchess counties and knew their residents intimately. The breadth of his interests brought him into contact with many of the state's leading citizens, but also with the tenant farmers, medical patients, merchants and clerks. William's major pursuit in life was medicine, and his surviving papers contain seven medical daybooks (40:3; 47:9-14), providing a chronological record of his visits, diagnoses and prescriptions, as well as his fees. He also kept two notebooks dealing with the causes and symptoms of various diseases (47:15, 16), and scattered throughout his papers are letters from patients discussing their illnesses. Of particular importance are the letters relative to the deaths of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and his wife, for whom Wilson was the attending physician (18:6-10; 19:15, 21, 23). Wilson was also a founding member of the Medical Society of Dutchess and Columbia Counties in 1796, and was associated with the founding of the New York Medical Society, as well as with the effort to establish a medical college (15:69; 16:17, 24, 44, 46, 52, 66, 70, 76, 80; 17:3, 13, 17, 23, 29; 45:19).

William Wilson was also employed as an administrator of landed property, usually for members of the Livingston family, and particularly Henry Livingston (1752/53-1823). The wide-spread unrest among "General Livingston's" tenants is discussed in many of the letters, along with more general discussions of land tenure, proprietary power, and tenant satisfaction. Wilson also served as administrator for the property of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, especially during the latter's appointment to France, for two absentee landlords from New York City, Walter Rutherford and J. Stark Robinson (41:1, 2); and he was an executor or administrator for the estates of Robert Cambridge Livingston (1742-1794) (42:1), Peter Robert Livingston (1737-1794) (42:7), and the Chancellor (42:3-6). The materials relating to Livingston rental properties consists largely of receipts for rents received, but also include lease agreements, about twenty account books relative to the Chancellor's lands, and negotiations for the sale of land, especially the Chancellor's property in New Jersey after his death. A section of the estate documents for Robert R. Livingston relate to payment of medical, boarding, and clothing bills for Isabella and her son, Stephen, who were enslaved by Livingston (42:4). Some of the documents refer to her as Isabella Bond.

In 1791, Wilson added the office of Deputy Postmaster to his collection of responsibilities, becoming the first such agent for the town of Clermont. He was reappointed in 1803, and continued at his lucrative post until surrendering it to his son in 1825. As with everything else, Wilson saved all of his papers (42:12-15), and this the collection includes Wilson's original appointment commissions, signed by Post Master General Timothy Pickering (1:46 and 12:72), as well as the postal accounts and other records, which are generally of an administrative and bureaucratic nature. There are a few scattered items from correspondents critical of the speed and unreliability of the mails.

William Wilson also filled various political appointments in the county, and was active in state politics. As a Jeffersonian-Republican, befitting a friend of Chancellor Livingston, he played an important local role as judge of the county court, yet while many of his letters are addressed to "Judge" Wilson, virtually nothing pertaining to his official judicial activities survives in the collection apart from a series of receipts from various sheriffs and a few examinations of a woman for illegitimacy (43:44; 41:19). However Wilson corresponded with other judges and lawyers in the region, a fair amount of which has been preserved, especially from Peter Van Schaack and members of the prominent Van Ness family. Wilson's role as one of the first school supervisors in the area is represented by some scant records (41:22), as is his position as a commissioner for the granting of tavern licenses (41:23).

Wilson was involved in two other county-wide projects that had an important impact on Columbia County, and for which there is excellent material. One of these was the construction of the Highland Turnpike, which ran from Westchester County to near Albany, with gates in Columbia County. Wilson sat on its Board of Directors, and was a frequent and regular correspondent with its president, Joseph Howland (43:1, 2). Howland's are among the few letters that bear on broader national issues, and are in many ways the most interesting series of letters in the collection (see especially 17:87). Secondly, Wilson was instrumental in the establishment of the Agricultural Society of Dutchess and Columbia Counties, or the "Farm Club," as it was usually called. As (variously) president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, Wilson was intimately involved in the operation of the organization. Of particular interest is the material relative to the annual county fairs held by the club, and the notifications from potential participants, the standards for awards, and the lists of winners (41:3-11). These records, together with the information to be gathered from the receipts from merchants, presents a detailed picture of agricultural life in the rural Hudson Valley.

In sum, those portions of the Wilson Papers that deal directly with William Wilson and his many activities provides a comprehensive picture of rural life in Columbia County and the state of New York in the forty years after the American Revolution.

The letters from Wilson's children offer insights into other aspects of life in early nineteenth-century New York. Alexander Wilson wrote many letters to his father while a student, and it is from his papers that one gets a good idea of the nature of legal education at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Alexander's early death means there is little material relating to his career as a practicing attorney, but what is lacking from Alexander is more than made up for by the papers of his younger brother, Robert. Robert kept extensive records of his practice, including a register of cases covering the entire period of his independent practice in New York, 1823-1830 (46:17), and his day books and account books, which list his professional duties preformed on behalf of clients, and his expenses, fees, and collections (40:1; 46:15,16). The Wilson Papers also includes file papers for many of the cases in which Robert participated (43:5-30), providing a broad, and occasionally deep insight into one man's legal practice in the early 19th century.

The letters of Wilson's other sons are less numerous than those of Alexander and Robert. William H. spent most of his life in Clermont, and so wrote less often, and Stephen B. was a secretive man, who simply did not write many letters. William H. wrote several letters during his tour of duty on the Lake Champlain frontier during the War of 1812 (18:43, 52; 19:18, 26, 36, 47, 56, 60, 68; 20:16, 18), but these are preoccupied with descriptions of camp life and military "politics" rather than strategy or the social impact of the war. William succeeded his father as Deputy Postmaster in 1825, and kept the same copious records as his father (42:12-15). He was not, however, as active in politics as his father, and except for a few letters relating to his run for a seat in the state senate in 1839, and some candidate lists and election return broadsides (41:25-27), there is little of political interest in William's papers. Stephen's letters are the more interesting for their rarity. When he does write, it is well worth the reading.

In addition to the letters written and collected by William, William H., and Robert L. Wilson, the Wilson Papers contain a vast quantity of documents. The largest category of this material contains an enormous number of accounts and receipts from merchants with whom the Wilsons did business. In terms of the number of items, fully half of the Wilson Papers is comprised of these accounts. Approximately 800 individual laborers, craftsmen, merchants, and business firms are represented as having done business with one or another member of the Wilson family, and the collection includes accounts for nearly every kind of household goods, from furniture to food to building materials, agricultural supplies, from seeds to fruit trees to sheep, and personal goods, from cheap "segars" to an "invalid chair" for Robert L., to wine.

The accounts (box 44 and 45:1-16) are arranged alphabetically by creditor. A complete list of merchants and firms represented in the collection is included under "Merchants" in the subject index. The accounts are a particularly valuable resource for social historians. For example the accounts of Samuel Haner (44:12) document aspects of blacksmithing; those of the Clermont grocers Bonesteel and Broadhead (44:4) reveal aspects of diet and nutrition; those of Thomas Beekman (44:2) document medicine and medical supplies; and those of Peter Outwater (45:6) provide information on transportation and commerce on the Hudson River. Receipts for payment that do not include goods or services are filed by surname (45:20-23). The collection also includes a number of the Wilsons' account books, especially William's and Robert's, which offer a view of the other side of the ledger (40:5; 46:18; 47:1, 2).

A second subdivision of the collection, and one closely related to the merchant accounts, deals with land administration. In addition to the correspondence of Henry Livingston with William Wilson mentioned above, the collection contains several subject files related to this important issue in Hudson River Valley history. Most important are the folders containing information on absentee landlords (41:1, 2); deeds (41:4); land grants (43:4); leases (43:31, 32); mortgages (45:17); various rental accounts (46:1-7); surveys and surveying (46:8); as well as William Wilson's rental account books (46:17-20).

Finally the collection contains a small body of material of an essentially genealogical or local history value, and a wide, if not very deep, collection of letters of the Livingston family. William Wilson was an executor for some of the Livingston family estates, most notably for Robert Cambridge Livingston (42:1, 2) and Robert R. Livingston (42:3-6), as well as for other estates (41:29; 42:7-10). The information included in the "genealogy" folder (42:11) is particularly helpful in interpreting the material relating to estate settlement and administration.

The local history of the town of Clermont and Columbia County appears throughout the collection, ranging from arrest warrants to local taxes, and including a very important group of papers relating to the establishment of Clermont Academy (41:16-23). As for the Livingstons, while the famous Chancellor does not overpower the collection, the Livingston family does play an important part. Over sixty members of the family are mentioned in some significant way in the Wilson Papers. Some -- like "General" Henry with his tenant problems, the administration of the estates of Walter T. Livingston (1772-1827) and the Chancellor (42:3-7), or the letters of Edward Philip Livingston (1779-1843) concerning his trip to France -- are meaningful parts of the collection (9:78, 86, 98; 10:8, 64). Other Livingstons are merely the signers of documents or letters, such as Janet Livingston Montgomery's (1743-1828) announcement that she plans to enter the Farm Club fair, a request from Mary Thong Livingston Wilson for financial assistance after the birth of Wilson's grandson, or the Chancellor's grandson, Clermont Livingston, who signed a quit claim deed for the benefit of Clermont Academy.

In sum, the Wilson papers are primarily a collection of family papers. While some members of the family participated in significant activities, and while the letters relating to those activities are important, there is a strongly personal aspect about them, and whatever broader historical significance that can be gotten from them must be gotten in the mass.

The New York (State) 18th-century letters and documents consist primarily of manuscripts related to life and legal procedures in 18th-century New York.

The New York (State) 18th-century letters and documents (63 items) are made up of manuscripts related to life and legal procedures in 18th-century New York. Some of the items relate to civil and criminal legal cases tried in New York during the late 18th century. The collection also includes items concerning African Americans and Native Americans, as well as several items written in Dutch. The box and folder listing below is a complete inventory of the collection.

Collection of bound and miscellaneous manuscripts relating to the history of Latin America between 1518 and 1882. These materials pertain to laws, religious doctrines, indigenous cultures and interactions with Europeans, city ordinances, land holdings, and other subjects. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created the following descriptions of each volume in the collection: Latin America Collection: Volume Descriptions.

The Latin America collection is made up of 57 volumes of miscellaneous items related to New Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. The items span from 1518 to 1882. The materials came to the Clements Library from multiple dealers and donors between 1928 and 1951. The New Spain series is made up of volumes that broadly cover the areas under Spanish control in Latin America. The Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala series is made up of materials that specifically address each of those areas. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include laws, religious doctrines, indigenous culture and interactions with Europeans, city ordinances, land holdings, viceregal matters, and many other subjects. Of particular note is a 1760 manuscript copy of a 1587 original of three religious dramas in the Nahuatl language. In 2023, an 1822 contemporary manuscript copy of Manuel de la Barcena's Manifiesto al Mundo: La Justicia y Necesidad de la Independencia de Nueva-España was added to Volume 38.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created detailed the following descriptions of each volume in the collection: Latin America Collection: Volume Descriptions.

The John Wilkes papers contain Wilkes's incoming and outgoing correspondence on topics such as politics, financial difficulties, and family matters. Also included are 13 contemporary portraits, several literary reviews by Wilkes, and a parody of his poem "An Essay on Woman," by an unknown author.

The John Wilkes papers comprise seven volumes. Volumes I through III contain 295 letters, of which approximately three-quarters were written by Wilkes to his family members and his personal friends and followers between 1741 and 1786.

Volume I contains 91 letters and 4 printed items, arranged chronologically (April 5, 1741-November 8, 1766). Most of the letters in this volume are to and from members of the Wilkes family, including Wilkes' mother, Sarah (Heaton) Wilkes; his sister, Sarah Wilkes; and his younger brother, Heaton Wilkes. The early letters frequently concern social, family, and financial matters, and they demonstrate the importance of education to the Wilkes family. In John Wilkes' earliest letter, written to his older brother Israel at 15, he analyzed a phrase in the Iliad and found that it was not grand enough for his taste. Between 1741 and 1744, Presbyterian Matthew Leeson, the Wilkes' tutor, wrote five letters to Wilkes' mother on religious and everyday topics, including escorting John to the University of Leiden (February 2, 1743).

Items from the 1740s and 1750s also illustrate a variety of attitudes towards women. An undated poem (item 30) by John Wilkes, entitled "The Husbands Creed," paints women as domineering: "Tyranny be to the Wife, Slavery to the Husband, and ruin to the family,/ As it was in the beginning it now shall be to the End of the World. Amen." At the same time, three letters from Wilkes' older sister Sarah to a "cousin Sophy" discuss at length the "tyranny of a husband" and declare that, "Female friendship is the only real and certain good . . ." (July 27, 1755). In another letter, dated August 19, 1755, Sarah Wilkes wrote to Sophy concerning the limited opportunities offered to women, "Your soul is rather turn'd to harmony and love, you think 'if we had the same advantages in Education as men have, we shou'd make as great a figure' We have never been tried, 'tis true . . . ."

After April 1763, with Wilkes' publication of an incendiary issue of The North Briton, the materials increasingly concern political issues and their consequences for him. Several undated documents affixed to page 42 of the volume describe Wilkes' arrest by general warrant; one letter to Wilkes recommends Rome and Avignon as places for him to take refuge (December 12, 1763). In a letter dated November 15, 1763, Wilkes gave an account of his arrest and described his objections to his treatment in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Wilkes' later letters in the volume touch on his prosecution for An Essay on Woman (March 16, 1764); concern his letter to the electors of Aylesbury (November 2, 1764); reveal his custody wishes for his much-beloved daughter Mary (December 4, 1764); and show his attempts at reconciliation with Great Britain, and his desire to serve as governor of Jamaica (December 4, 1765). Also of interest are Wilkes' comments on the Stamp Act rebellion; he wrote Heaton, "You are much mistaken as to my ideas of America. I am too well inform'd of what passes there by some gentlemen I have seen, and there is a spirit little short of rebellion in several of the Colonies. If I am to be an exile from my native London, it shall not be in the new world…" (November 17, 1765).

Volume II, which covers December 15, 1766-January 3, 1786, contains 120 chronologically-arranged letters. Wilkes wrote 86 of the letters, primarily to his younger brother Heaton. His most frequent topic is his financial situation, which was often troubled, particularly after he liquidated his assets in Britain and received only a fraction of their value from his trustee and friend, Humphrey Cotes. On November 16, 1767, he addressed his resistance to the issuing of general warrants, and to the seizure of papers. In later letters, Wilkes' mother scolded him for visiting a "bawdy house" and fretted over his reputation (October 23, 1771). In the letter o April 21, 1780, Israel Wilkes described a journey to Algiers, including the beauty and climate of the city.

The time period covered by Volume III, December 10, 1762-1783, overlaps with the periods represented in both Volumes I and II. The 70 chronologically-arranged items in this volume focus particularly on Wilkes' time in prison at King's Bench, 1768-1770, and on his literary career. The volume contains 11 letters written by Wilkes from prison, mainly to his friend, the French journalist Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard. In these, he commented on his political and financial difficulties, and on his popular following, which had taken up his "public, national, and constitutional cause" (June 20, 1769). Also included are several literary reviews by Wilkes, with his thoughts on Robert Lowth's lectures (p. 2), John Locke's Two Treatises of Government (p. 9), John Ogilvie's Poems on Several Subjects (p. 27), and his panning of Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards (p. 11). In letters written during the period of the American Revolution, he commented on military strategies and opportunities.

Volume IV contains 19 letters, covering 1749-1790. Wilkes wrote 18 of the letters to recipients such as George Grenville (October 22, 1757), Francis Dashwood (September 25, 1759), and Humphrey Cotes (March 3, 1766). They cover such topics as speculation concerning "Westminster being taken by a coup de main" (April 13, 1779) and arrangements for Wilkes' daughter's trip to France (August 17, 1784). Of particular note is Wilkes' "Letter to the Worthy Electors of the Borough of Aylesbury in the County of Bucks, London" (October 22, 1764), a 21-page defense of his The North Briton writings and An Essay on Woman against charges of libel and indecency, respectively. Thomas Potter, Wilkes' collaborator on An Essay on Woman, wrote a letter dated January 29, 1757.

Volume V contains 25 letters, dating 1768-1782, all addressed to Wilkes' lawyer, Peter Fountain. The letters mainly concern routine financial matters and social visits. Also interspersed are 13 contemporary portraits and caricatures of Wilkes, including two famous caricatures by William Hogarth (see additional descriptive data for a list of the portraits).

Volume VI contains 80 letters from Wilkes to his friend and neighbor in Aylesbury, and a political supporter, John Dell. The letters cover the years 1753-1781, but are only partially chronologically-ordered within the volume. Wilkes' correspondence with Dell is rather frank and heartfelt, and at times humorous; the bulk dates to the 1750s. It documents his early political career, including standing for various elections, his relationship with Thomas Potter, and some of his parliamentary votes (January 21, 1758; p. 41). Also recorded are his reaction to his father's death (January 31, 1761; p. 5), his unorthodox relationship with his wife and daughter (April 26, 1757; p. 37), and his mocking of the hygiene of the Scots after a visit there (September 26, 1758; p. 46).

Volume VII contains a parody of Wilkes' unpublished and famously indecent poem, An Essay on Woman. Like its inspiration, the poem uses sexually explicit jokes to poke fun at Alexander Pope's poem "An Essay on Man." The poem is thought to be a manuscript copy of one held in the Bodleian Library, made at some point in the 19th century.

The Great Britain Army collection (1,369 items) is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents related to the administration and operation of the British Army. The collection relates primarily to the quartermaster general's office, and deals with military matters in Great Britain, Europe, India, the West Indies, and various outposts of the British Empire. Document types include official letters written by officers and British government officials, pay records, military returns, requests for troop movements and secret service payments, and miscellaneous orders and accounts.

The Great Britain Army collection (1,369 items) is a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents related to the administration and operation of the British Army. The bulk of the material covers 1800 to 1819, with a few outlier items from as early as 1699 and as late as 1850. The collection relates primarily to the quartermaster general's office, and deals with military matters in Great Britain, Europe, India, the West Indies, and various outposts of the British Empire. Document types include official letters written by officers and British government officials, pay records, military returns, requests for troop movements and secret service payments, and miscellaneous orders and accounts.

The Correspondence series (588 items) contains letters from various British Army officers and government officials concerning administrative duties, interactions with private merchants, soldiers’ requests for transfers and promotions, regimental inspection reports, and disciplinary actions. Of note are 11 requests from Sir George Murray in Paris to Sir James Willoughby Gordon, quartermaster general of the Forces of the Horse Guards, concerning personal effects transported from England to France (April 1817-February 1818). See additional descriptive data for a list of letter writers.

The Documents series is comprised of five subseries:

The Pay Records subseries (378 items) contains proofs of payment for individual soldiers and pay accounts for regiments and groups of recruits. Included are War Office pay warrants for service members in Great Britain, the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and India, among other locations (1699-1819). Of note is a March 1699 regimental account for four companies stationed in New York under the Earl of Bellomont.

The Returns subseries (77 items) consists of detailed regimental lists; hospital returns; returns of arms and food (occasionally documenting weekly rations for men, women, and children); and lists of men employed victualing stores, repairing garrisons, and building forts and roads (1801-1819). Locations documented include the Northern District in England, London, Shelburne Castle, Canterbury, Oxfordshire, Hartfordshire, Dover, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, France, and Bermuda.

The Requests for Routes for Troop Movements subseries (231 items) is comprised of letters between officers concerning troop assignments, marching instructions, and the transportation of regiments (1802-1819). Also discussed are the movement of sick troops and the reassignment of individual service members.

The Secret Service Payments subseries (23 items) consists of receipts of payment from Lord Viscount Castlereagh (Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry) to either Henry Wellesley in Madrid or Charles Stuart in Paris, spanning July 1812 to December 1819.

The Miscellaneous Documents subseries (72 items) contains various military documents (1770-1816), such as receipts for goods and services, accounts for military expenses, various signed oaths, paymasters orders, and courts martial warrants.. Of note is an account of "Bonded Debt due by the East India Company at the Presidencies of Fort William, Fort St. George, & Bombay" (December 31, 1784). Also present are several lifetime annuities records, including one dated 1746 that contains an attached engraving of Peter Lord King, printed in 1832.

The Native American collection contains miscellaneous letters and documents concerning Native American Indians in the United States, Canada, and the West Indies, and their interactions with British and American settlers.

The Native American collection is comprised of approximately 125 miscellaneous letters and documents concerning Native American Indians in the United States, Canada, and the West Indies, and their interactions with British and American settlers (1689-1921). Topics range from land agreements, legal issues, treaties, descriptions of travel through Indian Territory, Indian uprisings and conflicts, Indian captivities, prisoners of war, Indian enslavement, and interactions with Quaker and Moravian missionaries. Tribes include the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cree, Iroquois, Ojibwa, Oneida, Ottawa, Kickapoo, Seneca, Shawnee, Sioux, among others, and concern activities in Canada, New England, the Midwest, the South, and the western frontier. Also present are items written in Cherokee, Mohawk, and Ojibwa.

The Washingtoniana collection (approximately 160 items) contains letters and documents concerning George Washington and his extended family, as well as items that discuss Washington and his legacy.

The Washingtoniana collection (160 items) contains letters and documents concerning George Washington and his extended family, as well as items that discuss Washington and his legacy. The collection contains 73 items written during Washington's lifetime, 79 after his death, and 8 undated items. The collection consists of memorials, essays, sermons, speeches, and letters mentioning and discussing Washington. Also included are items related to Washington's estate and his extended family.

• Augustine Washington
• Bailey Washington
• Bushrod Washington
• Corbin Washington
• George Corbin Washington
• Henry Augustine Washington
• Hobarth Washington
• J.M. Washington
• Jane C. Washington
• John A. Washington
• John H. Washington
• Julia E Washington
• L.Q. Washington
• Lawrence Washington
• Louis Washington
• Marie Washington
• Martha Washington
• P.G. Washington
• R.C. Washington
• Richard Washington
• Richard Blackburn Washington
• S.T. Washington
• Samuel Washington
• Sarah Washington
• T.B. Washington
• Warner Washington
• William Washington
• William Augustine Washington
• William Townshend Washington

• 1602: Washington family deed signed by Lawrence and Hobarth Washington
• December 9 and 18, 1796: Moses Everett to H. Everett on hearing Washington speak and meeting both George and Martha Washington
• December 18, 1799: Jonathan Bayard Smith to Robert Frazer, regarding the death of Washington and its effect on Congress and the citizens of Philadelphia
• 1800: Pamphlet "Eulogy on General Washington," by John A.M. Andrews
• March 1, 1809: Henry Lee legal document concerning debt, collateral, and accumulated interest of Henry Lee to Bushrod Washington
• 1825 August 27: William Townshend Washington, Letter of expatriation written from the Harbor of Smyrna
• c.1830: [George Washington Parke Custis]: "Custis Recollections of the Life & Character of Washington," including two reminiscences: "The Levee" and "The Drawing Room"
• March 1844: Mary E. Custis essay on "The Tomb of Washington"
• February 22, 1849: Jarvis M. Hatch's address to the Utica Lodge, number 47 of Freemasons on the anniversary of the birth of George Washington
• May 8, 1760: Jared Sparks to George Henry Moore concerning General Charles Lee's contact with General Howe in 1777, and his thoughts on Valley Forge
• July 22, 1762: Edward Everett to Charles A. Dana concerning his biography of Washington
• Undated: One pink and one olive-colored ribbon with a pictures of George Washington and the words "Washington Literary Association"

This collection contains the letters, documents, and accounts of George Clinton, colonial governor of New York. The bulk of the collection is comprised of drafts of Clinton's letters, incoming official letters, Clinton's letter book for 1752-1753, military memoranda, documents related to Indian affairs, and personal, government, and military accounts during King George's War.

The George Clinton papers (985 items) contain the letters, documents, and accounts of George Clinton, colonial governor of New York. The bulk of the collection documents the years 1744 through 1753, and is comprised of drafts of Clinton's letters and speeches, incoming letters, Clinton's letter book for 1752-1753, military memoranda, and personal, public, and military accounts. The collection is rich in correspondence concerning Indian relations and the political history of New York, along with records concerning Clinton's troubled personal finances.

The Correspondence and Documents series (699 items) consists Clinton's outgoing letters and speeches, as well as incoming letters, military and government reports, instructions from Whitehall, intelligence on French and Indian activities, memoranda, legal papers, and court documents. Included are 191 items written by Clinton, of which many are draft dispatches that contain material omitted in the official copies sent to London. The papers largely concern New York politics, including political sparring with James DeLancey and the Assembly, as well as military activities and affairs with Native Americans. Clinton maintained correspondence with Massachusetts Bay Lieutenant Governor Spencer Phips concerning frontier conflicts with Indians, communicated with General Peter Warren concerning the siege at Louisbourg, and discussed allying with the Six Nation Indians against the French during King George's War with George Thomas and Sir William Johnson.

• July 2, 1741: George II to Benning Wentworth detailing the boundaries of New Hampshire, certified by Theo. Atkinson
• June 25, 1742: George II to Clinton discussing a conspiracy and attack on Fort George by "Blacks and Others" during which buildings and stores were burnt, an incident that resulted in 30 executions
• June 1744: Michael Houden to Clinton concerning "Observations…touching the method of succeeding in the intended expedition agt. Canada"
• [1744]: John Lydius' account describing the state of the French military at Crown Point
• August 19, 1745: Spencer Phips to Clinton requesting a quota of troops in aid of Massachusetts troops on the frontier near Fort George, in case of a war with the Indians
• September 12, 1745: George Thomas of the Philadelphia Assembly to Clinton supporting a treaty with the Six Nation Indians at Albany
• September 14, 1745: Peter Warren to Clinton listing the French ships bound for Louisbourg
• April 9, 1746: Newcastle to Clinton instructing the raising of a body of regular troops from New York for a land expedition against Montreal
• June 1746: James Livingston's account of French defense on the St. Lawrence River near Quebec
• July 19, 1746: Stephen Bayard to Clinton concerning British and Dutch prize ships and a demand for the return of "the free Negros which Capt. Denas took and sold at Rhode Island"
• September 11, 1746: Intelligence on the French fleet from a French sailor cast away
• January 22, 1747: Clinton's reasons against attacking Crown Point
• April 22, 1747: Clinton to Knowles giving an account of his and his family's attendance at a country dance where they were treated rudely
• October 20, 1747: John Roberts to Clinton concerning an Indian spy pretending to be a Seneca
• October 25, 1747: Sir Charles Knowles to Clinton discussing his views on trading with the enemy during a time of war
• November 1747: Massachusetts General Court's amendments to the agreement of September 8, 1747, between Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, concerning their mutual defense and security
• October 6, 1748: "The information of Thomas Williams who went with the Flag of Truce to Canada," which included intelligence from a black prisoner captured by the French, information on French-Indian relations on the Mississippi River, and the difference in prices of beaver pelts purchased by British and French traders
• October 28-November 10, 1748: Benjamin Stoddert journal containing descriptions of Crown Point, Montreal, and Québec
• September 24, 1749: Clinton to Newcastle describing the "State of the present disloyal Situation of Affairs in New York…" and concerning conflicts between the governorship and assembly
• October 3, 1750: Spencer Phips to Clinton concerning the French instigating the Indians to attack British settlers on the eastern frontier of Massachusetts
• May 18-30, 1751: George Croghan's journal of his trip to Ohio, in which he reported that the French were keeping the Indian women and children naked and not letting the tribes trade with the British
• [July 2, 1751]: List of condolence gifts for the loss of Onondaga Indians who died in Canada, and notes on Indian rituals of condolence as said by Mohawk chief Hendrick
• July 1751: Clinton's "Reasons for the Suspending of James Delancey Esqr from the Execution of the office of Lieutenant Governour…"
• January 25, 1753: Lewis Morris to Clinton concerning purchasing a slave in New York
• April 20, 1753: Sir William Johnson to Clinton concerning the mobilization of military forces by the French and Indians
• August 20, 1753: Bill of exchange of two Negro women from Anne Clinton to Elizabeth Williams
• August 4-14, 1757: Copies of 10 letters concerning the French and Indian capture of Fort William Henry, describing the murder and scalping of women, children, "Negroes, Mollatoes & soldiers"
• June 1758: Clinton's will dividing his meager estate among his family

The Letter Book series (1 volume) is a 175-page copybook covering Clinton's final year as New York governor from January 3, 1752, to February 23, 1753. Entries are primarily drafts of letters from Clinton, as well as copies of letters from prominent New York lawyer James Alexander and other New York officials. Recipients include Sir William Johnson, Cadwallader Colden, John Catherwood, George Clarke, and Benjamin Stoddert, among others. Topics covered include New York politics (concerning the council, assembly, and James DeLancey), military matters (concerning troops at Fort Frederick, Oswego, and Fort George), relations with the Six Nations and Catawba Indians, and British relations with Spain.

• February-March 1752: Letters discussing the January 11, 1752, mutiny at Oswego under Captain John Mills
• September 20, 1752: Letter concerning a widow's military pension
• October 25, 1752: Letter concerning Clinton's membership in a missionary society promoting the Gospel at Staten Island
• December 5, 1752: Letter to Governor of St. Augustine Fulgencio Garcia de Solis discussing British-Spanish relations, governmental issues in East Florida, and efforts to emancipate enslaved people "that could prove [their] right to it." December 6, 1752 letter to Francisco Caxigal de la Vega, Spanish governor of Cuba, referencing previous communications with Garcia de Solis.

The Indian Speeches and Councils series (38 items) consists of copies of official treaties, deeds of surrender, proclamations, conference and speech transcriptions, petitions, responses from sachems, and other official interactions between the British colonial government and the Six Nation tribes. Documented are activities at Albany, Annapolis Royal, Cape Breton, Mount Johnson, Fort George, Oghguago (Tuscarora Village on the Susquehanna), Lake Ontario, Niagara, and Quebec. Of interest is material related to expeditions against the French in Canada, conferences at Philadelphia and Albany, and items from important figures such as Sir William Johnson and Mohawk chief Hendrick Theyanoguin (1692-1755).

• December 13, 1726: Deed of surrender from the Cayuga, Onondaga, and Seneca Indians with the Sachem's marks
• May 21, 1744: Paul Mascarene to William Shirley reporting on letting women and children into the garrison after a rumor of approaching French and Indian forces created panic in the region
• December 4, 1750: Speech from Cayuga Sachem and a reply from William Johnson concerning a Five Nations and British alliance
• August 8, 1751: Colden's State of Indian Affairs
• November 11, 1752: Letter from South Carolina Governor James Glen to the Six Nation confederation concerning friendships between northern and southern tribes (Creeks, Cherokee, and Chickasaw)
• June 16, 1753: Response to the "Mohawk Indians complaining of Encroachments on their Lands and Frauds in the purchase of them--Fort George in New York"

The Accounts series is organized into three subseries: Personal Accounts, Indian Accounts, and Government and Military Accounts.

The Personal Accounts subseries (114 items) documents George Clinton's finances, particularly his and his family's personal expenses in New York, and records of his debts in his final years. Items include receipts for goods and services, records of paid and outstanding bills, stocks purchased, two financial memo books (1745 and 1750-1754), and a cash book (1748).

The Indian Accounts subseries (20 items) contains colonial government accounts for Indian presents, disbursements paid to Indians for military expeditions, and payments to British officers for Indian prisoners and scalps. These primarily document interactions with the Six Nation tribes.

The Governmental and Military Accounts subseries (113 items) contains paymaster records for troops, laborers, and government officials; accounts for troop provisions, stores, medicine, and supplies; levy and customs accounts; payments for transportation of goods and mail; and other financial records related to New York's colonial administration. Included are the expenses for the aborted British and Indian expedition into Canada against the French (March 1747 and November 1, 1748), and the expenses for John Young "entertaining the French Embassy for Exchange of Prisoners" (October 17, 1748).

The Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney papers contain the official letters of Lord Sydney, spanning his entire political career, as well as material related to his grandfather, Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (1664-1738); his father, the Honorable Thomas Townshend (1701-1780); and his son, John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney (1764-1831). Of note is material related to the Shelburne ministry and the Paris peace negotiations at the end of the American Revolutionary War (1782-1783).

The Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney papers (approximately 1,000 items) contain the official papers of Lord Sydney, as well as letters and documents related to his grandfather, Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (1664-1738); his father, the Honorable Thomas Townshend (1701-1780); and his son, John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney (1764-1831). The collection is primarily made up of incoming letters and government documents, along with some drafts of letters written by Sydney. Of note is material related to the Shelburne ministry and the Paris peace negotiations (1782-1783).

The Secret Instructions and State Documents relating to the Negotiations for the Independence of America series (51 items) is comprised of two bound volumes of letters and documents. These include letters, reports, negotiation instructions, printed treaty articles, and minutes of the Privy Council, all related to the Peace of Paris that ended the American Revolution. Present are items in the hand of Sydney; William Petty, Lord Shelburne; Henry Seymour Conway; Evan Nepean; Thomas Orde; and Henry Strachey (see Additional Descriptive Data for an index of this material).

The Correspondence and Documents series (approximately 940 items) comprises the bulk of the collection and consists largely of incoming official letters and documents written during Sydney's political career.

The earliest material (1665-1761) relates to the official capacities of Sydney's forebears, Horatio Townshend, Charles Townshend, and the Honorable Thomas Townshend. These papers concern local politics, particularly regardingWhitchurch, as well as international affairs and trade relations with Europe, the West Indies, and America, including issues surrounding the international slave trade. Other topics covered in this period are currency issues in the American colonies, trade issues with Spain and the Spanish-controlled West Indies and South America, and dealings with the South Sea Company.

While the earliest Sydney item is a memo from [1748] concerning French Fishing rights off Newfoundland and Cape Breton, the first substantial grouping of his papers begins in 1762, when Sydney served as clerk of the board of green cloth. The collection documents each of Sydney's subsequent official roles: lord of the treasury (1765-1766), paymaster of the forces under William Pitt and member of the Privy Council (1767-1768), and active opposition voice in the House of Commons (1769-1782). Much of this material is related to Parliamentary responsibilities, trade, and politics concerning the Pay Office. Approximately 200 items relate to Sydney's office in the Shelburne ministry during 1782. Of note are 51 items about the Paris peace negotiations, consisting of letters, secret instructions, official documents, minutes of council meetings, and memoranda, and letters between Shelburne and Sydney on the peace process and other foreign affairs in the Mediterranean, Portugal, and Spain.

Approximately 300 items fall between 1783 and 1789, when Sydney served the Pitt ministry. This material concerns home politics, election news, lawmaking, intelligence from Europe (primarily Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Spain), and British interests in India. The collection contains about 200 items, scattered throughout the collection, concerning the West Indies, including letters, memorials, petitions, and customs documents, many of which relate to the Leeward Islands during the American Revolutionary War, and to the St. Eustatius affair in 1781. Also of note are 16 letters from Sydney to George III, and 12 letters to Sydney from the King, as well as 20 letters from British Secretary of War George Young between 1775 and 1788.

The last 34 items relate to John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney (1764-1831), covering the period from his father's death in 1800 until 1830. These letters are both social and political in nature. Of note is an 1803 document proposing a new order of knighthood called the "Order of Military Merit."

The series contains 74 undated items. These are ordered by creator's last name, with 39 miscellaneous fragments, documents, poems, essays in Latin, and printed items at the end.

Selected Highlights from the Correspondence and Documents series

• March 11, 1708 and [1708]: Petitions from the governors and assemblies of the Leeward Islands and St. Christopher to Queen Anne petitioning for protection from invaders
• Board of Trade to Queen Anne concerning Governor of New York Robert Hunter's proposal to settle 3,000 Palatines in New York and to employ them in the production of naval stores
• March 31, 1724: Auditors to the treasury department reporting on money due Robert Hunter for providing subsistence for the Palatines sent to New York
• [1730]: Charles Townshend's "Considerations on the Assiento Contract" and the slave trade in the West Indies
• November 1, 1732: Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount, to Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount, containing instructions for managing Whitchurch
• October 4, 1733: Lewis Morris to the Great Britain Board of Trade on "Reasons against Paper Currency in New York and New Jersey"
• February 17, 1735: Francis Harrison reporting on politics in New York from the point of view of the "court party"
• January 15, 1736 and [1736]: Three items providing opinions on liquor licensing in England
• January 12, 1738: William Richardson concerning the selling of wine to Cambridge University
• [1740]: Proposed method "for supplying the Brazills with Negros, & an Encrease of the British Trade and Navigation"
• [1745]: "A Plan for Negotiation of a Peace with Spain"
• September 4, 1746: Ferdinand VI to Joseph Ruiz de Noriega, granting trading privileges for trading slaves in the Spanish colonies
• [1748]: Remarks on the taking of Fort St. Louis by Admiral Knowles (March 8, 1747/1748)
• September 27, 1751: James Ord to Henry Pelham, inclosing three items, one describing "The Present State of the African Trade particularly with relation to the English Collonys"
• [1753]: Petition to George II from Lord Baltimore for consent to "Bar the Entail upon the Province of Maryland"
• [1760]: Document on the Settlement of Nova Scotia and Louisbourg by the British

• May 1-June 10, 1769 and October-December 1772: Intelligence concerning tension between the British and the Caribs ("Black Charibs") of St. Vincent and plans for an expedition against the Caribs
• [1771], May 31, 1772: Report on Puerto Rico for Sir Ralph Payne and a letter from Daniel O'Flaherty related to the island
• February 9, 1774: Power of Attorney relating to High Hall Wentworth's sugar plantation in Grenada
• December 23, 1777: Letter from John Thornton discussing British treatment of prisoners of war and political attitudes toward the American Revolution
• June 9, 1778: British Peace Commissioners to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, concerning peace negotiations, independence, withdrawing the army, and refugees
• July 17, 1779: John Frodsham's "Narrative of the Proceedings of His Majesty's Fleet, under the Command of Vice Admiral Byron from 25th May 1779 to the 15th July 1779" written from St. Kitts
• July 26, 1779: Anonymous letter on the Spanish declaration of war
• November 27, 1779: Letter of support from an anonymous merchant approving Sydney's stand against Lord North in the House of Commons
• [1779]: Intelligence on the French Fleet in the West Indies near Jamaica
• [1780]: Edward Thomson's estimate of the forces necessary to take Surinam
• July 30, 1781; April 20, 1782; September and October 1782: English translation of "A true and impartial Account of the present State of Peru" and intelligence on a revolt in Peru

• February-July, 1782: Letters from Sir Robert Boyd concerning the siege of Gibraltar and Boyd's procuring of 12 Lamego hams as a prize
• August 7, 1782: James Macabee to Shelburne from the Salopian Coffeehouse, outlining a "plan for an expedition against the Havannah, connected with an idea conducive to pacification with America"
• August 13, 1782: Proposal from Benedict Arnold to Shelburne to fund the construction of a ship of war
• August 24, 1782: John Murray Dunmore, 4th earl of Dunmore, to Sydney containing a proposal to settle displaced Loyalists on the Mississippi River after the American Revolution
• September 4, 1782: Anonymous letter opposing the sending of an ambassador to the Barbary State of Morocco
• [September 1782]: Report translated from the Spanish on a revolt in Peru

• [1783]: Notes on New England trade
• June 25, 1784: Henry Caldwell to Thomas Townshend, concerning taxes and the Quebec Act's effect on Canada
• July 17, 1784: Intelligence from Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzman, on the state of Spanish settlements in South America
• September 24, 1784: William Pitt to Sydney enclosing a letter from George III to Pitt concerning the East India Company and military forces in India[1784]: Document containing "observations on the Statute of 14 Geo: 3 For regulating Madhouses"
• [1784]: "Case of an English Subject at the Capture of Saint Eustatius by Lord Rodney and General Vaughan in the year 1781"
• [1785]: Document containing a "Comparative View of the Trade to Jamaica from the Continent of America in the years 1784 & 1785 and before the War"
• January 9, 1786: Marquis de Lafayette to John Adams dealing with trade between American and French merchants
• June 28, 1786: Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Henry Hope to Evan Nepean concerning Canadian politics and governance
• July 5, 1786: Documents and copies of letters from Sir George Brydges Rodney, commander in chief of the West Indies to the Secretary of the Navy, concerning St. Eustatius and the Leeward Islands, and from William Knox on the St. Eustatius Bill
• June 30, 1788: Thomas de Grey to Sydney concerning William Pitt's slave bill
• December 3, 1788 and [1788]: Resolution from the Privy Council containing the record of examination by George III's physicians of his illness and a report on the medical treatment given to the King
• March 1, 1789: Report from "Speculator A" to Sydney concerning corruption in Cape Breton
• April 9, 1789: Richard Downing Jennings account of the proceedings of Lord Rodney and General Vaughan at St. Eustatius
• June 6, 1789: Statement for Sydney's secret service-related accounts
• May 28, 1790: George Townshend memorandum to the House of Lords concerning the importation of personal property by subjects of the United States
• November 20, 1792: Sydney to unknown concerning the French character and the French role in the American Revolution

• Memorial from John Blankett regarding establishing a colony for convicts on Madagascar
• Extracts from Captain Arthur Phillip's diary detailing affairs with diamond mining in Brazil
• William Townshend to Nicholas Hawksmoor containing a brief note and a detailed pencil sketch of the doorway in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford
• Sydney's notes on the economy of New England
• Miscellaneous document: Observations on a bill to regulate distillers
• Miscellaneous document: On the status of St. Lucia
• Miscellaneous document: On the status of Surinam in the 17th century

The Additional Items series (3 items) consists of an account book, a legal report, and a legal document. The account book documents governmental expenses for secret services during the American Revolution, many of which are disbursements for Evan Nepean (1782-1791). The legal report concerns an inquiry into Edward Lascelles, collector of customs in Barbados, by Surveyor General Robert Dinwiddie (c.1745). The final item is a "Deed of trust" for land and slaves owned by Henry Compton and others in St. Kitts Island.