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This collection contains approximately 430 items, nearly all of which are incoming letters addressed to Artemas Hale, a cotton gin manufacturer and politician from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Hale received correspondence from acquaintances and political contacts throughout southeastern Massachusetts, as well as from politicians serving in Washington, D. C., and from family members who resided in Mississippi. Most letters concern mid-19th century politics on both national and local levels, and writers address issues such as the Whig Party, education, the Mexican War, and slavery. Approximately 10 items are letters by Artemas Hale, invitations, and a manuscript poem.

This collection contains approximately 430 items, nearly all of which are incoming letters addressed to Artemas Hale, an agent for a cotton gin manufacturer and a politician from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Hale received correspondence from acquaintances and political contacts throughout southeastern Massachusetts, as well as from politicians serving in Washington, D. C., and from family members residing in Mississippi. Most letters concern mid-19th century politics on both national and local levels, and writers address issues such as the Whig Party, education, the Mexican War, and slavery. Approximately 10 items are letters by Artemas Hale, invitations, and a manuscript poem.

The majority of Hale's incoming letters concern political matters in Massachusetts and throughout the United States, particularly between 1839 and 1860. Most authors wrote from the area near Hale's home in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, or from Washington, D. C. Several politicians were frequent correspondents, and many discussed their involvement with the Whig Party, as well as other aspects of party politics. Others commented on local and national elections; the collection contains commentary on each presidential election between 1844 and 1860. Additional frequent topics include the Mexican War, slavery and sectionalism, and the affairs of the United States Congress. Early letters often concerned the budget and workings of the Massachusetts State Normal School (now Framingham State University), as well as national affairs. Notable contributors include Julius Rockwell, Horace Mann, Samuel Hoar, Samuel J. May, John S. Pendleton, Robert C. Winthrop, Daniel P. King, and Joseph Grinnell.

Personal letters Hale received from family and friends are interspersed throughout the collection, including family letters written before 1839 and 2 letters written in 1840 by Thophilus P. Doggett, a minister in Bridgewater, regarding his travels to Florida and throughout the Caribbean. Hale's brother Moses wrote of his life as a farmer in Westport, Mississippi (June 5, 1843). Another relative, Harrison Hale, wrote 4 letters between 1847 and 1851, providing his impressions of southern life and, particularly in his letters dated April 8, 1859, and February 3, 1861, about the upcoming Civil War. In addition, 2 of Thomas B. Lincoln’s letters concern railroad construction in Texas (December 23, 1855) and the outbreak of military hostilities (December 11, 1860), and [Keith A.] Bartlett wrote 1 letter about his Union Army service at Camp Brightwood (October 8, [1861]). The collection also holds two pages of indexes, possibly taken from a letter book, and a patriotic poem entitled "Sleeping for the Flag" (undated).

The Henry Yates Thompson papers contain the letters, diaries, and lectures of Thompson, an Englishman who visited the United States in 1863 and witnessed several battles in the Chattanooga Campaign, while making observations on politics, slavery, and education.

The Henry Yates Thompson papers contain 38 letters, 6 diaries, 4 documents, 2 maps, and 43 printed items (including newspaper clippings), spanning 1863-1928.

The Correspondence series covers 1863-1918, with bulk centering around 1863-1866. Thompson wrote the vast majority of letters home to his parents and siblings, while he traveled the United States and Canada; he filled his correspondence with thoughtful observations on slavery, the Civil War, women's education, and comparisons between England and the United States. On July 29, 1863, he noted the objections to the military draft by "copperheads" in New Hampshire and commented unfavorably on them. In late summer, he remarked about the Canadian support for the Confederacy (August 7, 1863); the growth of slavery, which he believed had been slowed by objections from the North (August 15, 1863); meeting abolitionist Samuel J. May (September 1, 1863); and the "marks of quiet industry" that he saw in free African Americans in the North. On September 29, 1863, he wrote a long, detailed letter about a visit to a "colored camp" in Baltimore, in which escaped slaves trained and drilled in front of Yankee officers. He also recorded the comments of several slave owners, who discussed the escape of slaves and expressed doubt that slaves would fight. In several letters, dated November 23 and December 3, 1863, Thompson described several battles in the Chattanooga Campaign at the side of Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote about the intensity of firing, expressed horror at the injuries and deaths he saw, and gave his impressions of Grant. Thompson also wrote about slaughterhouses in Chicago and the benefits of co-education to women (October 16, 1863), a journey to the Isles of Shoals (September 12, 1863), and the people he met in Keene, New Hampshire (July 23, 1863).

The letters postdating 1863 document Thompson's failed attempts to establish a lectureship on American history at Cambridge in 1865. On May 16, 1907, he declined a revival of the idea by Cambridge, citing possible objections from Harvard and the diminishing need for such an academic collaboration.

The Diaries series contains four volumes, which cover July-December 1863, with overlap in periods and events covered between volumes. As in his letters, Thompson wrote frankly about slavery and abolition, American politics, education, and various places that he visited. He also enclosed letters and ephemera related to these, such as tickets, pamphlets, advertisements, and clippings, which remain with the volumes. In Volume I (July 10-November 3, 1863), Thompson discussed the circumstances of Lincoln's election (pp. 3-4), a visit to Niagara Falls (p. 45), and the National Bank system (p. 53). Volume II (September 13-November 13, 1863) contains another account of the Battles for Chattanooga (pp. 22-31), and discussion of slavery and both sides of the conflict. Volume III (September 25-November 26, 1863) describes travels through Missouri with a German friend, and also covers the Battle of Chattanooga, but more briefly and informally. It may have served as a field notebook. Volume IV (November 15-December 15, 1863) contains further discussion of the Chattanooga Campaign and the war, as well as a description of people that Thompson encountered during his travels to Brooklyn, New York.

The Lecture Notebooks series contains two items: a rough draft and an apparent final draft of a speech on the Battles for Chattanooga, given by Thompson at Harrow School on March 7, 1865. The lecture gives a very detailed description of many aspects of the battle, including troop movements, casualties, supplies, and the role of the United States Sanitary Commission.

The Documents series contains an 1862 "Requisition for Forage" for the Confederacy, and essays entitled "Then and Now at the University of Cambridge" (1918) and "The American Lectureship" (n.d.).

The Maps series contains just one item: a manuscript map illustrating the geography and positions of troops at Chattanooga on November 23, 1863.

The Printed Materials series, spanning 1865-1941, primarily contains printed materials related to Thompson's proposed lectureship on American history at Cambridge. Also included are several obituaries for Thompson, and a book by Christopher Chancellor, Thompson's great-nephew, containing excerpts from the diaries and letters. Published in 1971, the book is entitled, An Englishman in the American Civil War: The Diaries of Henry Yates Thompson, and is housed in the Clements Library's Book Division.

The Peace Society of Windham County record book contains various records documenting the activities of the antiwar group of Windham County, Connecticut, including numerous meeting minutes, a constitution, and a long list of members.

The Peace Society of Windham County record book contains approximately 81 pages of records that shed light on the group's organization, decision-making, meetings, activities, and philosophies. The volume primarily comprises minutes (1826-1839), which are particularly valuable for the information they provide on the group's members and their attendance, speakers and the topics they addressed, religious activities and affiliations, and references to the Society's publications and promotional materials.

The volume opens with a description of the group's founding and a copy of its constitution. The latter describes its mission and structure (pp. 5-9) and notes its goal to "promote and extend the full import of the angelic message, 'Peace on Earth and good will to men'." Following this are the carefully kept minutes for thirteen annual meetings and scattered semi-annual, ad hoc, and board of directors meetings. The minutes primarily record the organization's decisions, arrived upon after numerous discussions and votes. Issues put to a vote include the locations of various meetings (which were primarily held in members' homes), the people to whom the society should express gratitude, the names of possible speakers, fundraising measures, and the distribution of tracts and literature.

The Record Book includes debates over the group's philosophies and objectives. Minutes show that they invited particular members to speak on topics, such as "The Prejudice by which the custom of War is upheld in society" (p. 19) and the injustice of the American Revolutionary War (p. 37). On the latter topic, the secretary noted, "This was of course a sentiment new to many, and at first many minds may revolt from it, but it is doubtless correct." The record book closes with a 7-page list of members of the society, along with their places of residence.

The West family papers are comprised of approximately 1,400 letters, letter books, documents, and financial records pertaining to Reverend Samuel West and his two sons, Benjamin and Nathan P., of Boston. The bulk of the collection (approximately 900 items) relates to business concerns, particularly to Benjamin West's sugar refining firm.

The West family papers are comprised of approximately 1,400 letters, letter books, documents, and financial records pertaining to Reverend Samuel West and his two sons, Benjamin and Nathan P., of Boston. The bulk of the collection (approximately 900 items) relates to business concerns, particularly to Benjamin West's sugar refining firm.

The Correspondence and documents series consists of approximately 150 items, dating from 1679 to 1880; the bulk of these are dated between 1759 and 1826. Though the majority of the material within the series pertains to business affairs, several groups of letters relate to other topics. One early group of letters concerns Samuel West's move from Needham, Massachusetts, to Boston's Hollis Street Church, and another group to a Boston committee's proposal to alter the municipal government in 1815, which includes its lengthy report [September 25, 1815]. In addition, the series contains personal and family correspondence, though to a lesser extent. Primary correspondents within the series include Caleb and Joshua Davis, Benjamin West, Enoch H. West, Samuel West, Richards Child, Mills Olcott, Samuel and Ephraim May, Sarah Plimpton, George Cheyne Shattuck, and Elisha and Elizabeth Ticknor.

The collection's two Letter books belonged to Benjamin West, and hold copies of 166 outgoing letters, dated 1803-1827, related to his various business affairs and the settlement of his uncle's estate, as well as personal matters.

The Financial records series contains three subseries: Bills and receipts, Sugarhouse accounts, and Account and expense books. The series contains approximately 300 bills and receipts dating from 1748 to 1824, primarily pertaining to labor, repairs, and donations to various Boston societies and institutions. About 600 sugarhouse accounts (1796-1823) record financial transactions associated with Benjamin West's sugar refining business, and include accounts, bills, and receipts. The four books cover Benjamin's West's personal accounts and expenses between 1797-1799 and 1811-1827; the first of these concerns West's service in a local militia, as well as his other financial matters, including numerous accounts for clothing, tobacco, and trips to the theater.

Legal documents within the collection are divided into two subseries, covering Land and real estate (1707-1824) and other Legal documents (1738-1834). The first subseries consists of approximately 60 items, which relate to mortgages, indentures, and other agreements about land around Boston and in Charlestown, New Hampshire. The West family frequently dealt with the Wheelock and Metcalf families when purchasing land. The second subseries is comprised of approximately 75 miscellaneous documents, including material related to Samuel West's interests in Needham, Massachusetts; bills from Nathan P. West's time at Harvard College (1788-1792); and the family's additional business and legal concerns.

The Printed and miscellaneous items series consists of approximately 20 items, dated 1714 to 1825. Among these are broadsides, including programs for Samuel West's internment services and various anniversaries, and partially printed school reports. Miscellaneous manuscript items are 13 statements of Christian faith; manuscript music for several hymns; two books kept by Nathan P. West, including a copybook of mathematical problems and exercises (1792-1807) and a commonplace book (1798-1813) with medicinal recipes West used in his drugstore; and scattered quotations. The copybook also includes a small drawing of a skull next to a bottle of borax on its inside cover.