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Collection

John Bartlett and George Nichols collection, 1847-1852

24 items

This collection is made up of correspondence and financial records concerning the business relationship between John Bartlett and George Nichols, particularly with regard to the University Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This collection (27 items) is made up of correspondence and financial records concerning the business relationship between John Bartlett and George Nichols, particularly with regard to the University Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The collection includes accounts, articles of agreement, and other items pertaining to the men's business relationship, debts and profits, and store ownership. Several items reflect disputes between Bartlett and Nichols. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.

Collection

William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers, 1789-2000 (majority within 1789-1899)

2.5 linear feet

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio, merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899.

The William Bosson Scrapbook includes approximately 140 manuscript and printed items largely dating from 1789 to 1899, including biographical sketches, reminiscences, reflections, correspondences, courtship and family letters, documents, an autobiography, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, engravings, railroad passes, and convention tickets. Of particular note are 10 documents signed by W. G. Brownlow and D. W. Senter; five letters sent by William Bosson to W. G. Brownlow; five biographical sketches and reminiscences related to the reception of the Declaration of Independence in New York, Thomas Hickey's betrayal of General Howe, General Joseph Warren, General Knox, and General George Henry Thomas; nine letters George H. Thomas sent to William Bosson between 1864 and 1868; four letters between Edward Everett and William and Charles Bosson; three letters of introduction for Charles Bosson exchanged between W. Heath and Elbridge Gerry, Elbridge Gerry and Henry Clay, and Josiah Quincy and John Rowan in 1813; one letter from Amos Kendall to Charles Bosson; one letter from Samuel Gilman to Charles Bosson; and one manuscript addressed to the Tennessee Teacher's State Association by W. G. Brownlow.

The scrapbook contains content pertinent to many subjects, including the Revolutionary War; the War of 1812; the Civil War; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee; Tennessee reconstruction; and Tennessee mining, cotton manufacture, railroads, government, and education (particularly the development of Common Schools) following the Civil War.

The Genealogical Papers series includes Colonial Dames applications, a Middlesex County genealogy, two transcriptions of William Bosson's autobiography for his sons, two transcribed copies of Thomas Mayo Bosson's "Genealogy of the Bosson Family," transcribed copies and photocopies of genealogical records, and genealogical notes and materials related to the Ushers, Hills, Denisons, Terrells, Powers, Newnans, and Bossons. The genealogical papers also contain two books of compiled information on the Bosson, Usher, and Hill families from items contained in the William Bosson Scrapbook and Genealogical Papers: a book Henry Loring Newnan refers to as the "Bosson-Usher-Hill book" in his letters, and two copies of "William Bosson 1630-1887 Seven Generations."

The genealogical papers include notable content on the Civil War, the First World War (in Richard Bosson's account of service in the Rainbow Division), and World War II (William Loring Newnan and Henry Loring Newnan Jr.).

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers is a heterogeneous collection, spanning many years and pertaining to many individuals and events. Please see the box and folder listing below for details about individual items in the collection.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

Collection

George Howland Cox scrapbook, 1860-1928 (majority within 1860-1914)

47 items

This collection contains unbound material from a scrapbook compiled by George Howland Cox, a banker in Cambridge, Massachusetts, around the turn of the 20th century. Materials include a series of letters written by cadet William A. Simpson during his time at the United States Military Academy as well as Cox family correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.

This 47-item scrapbook was compiled by George Howland Cox, a banker in Cambridge, Massachusetts, around the turn of the 20th century. The book contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.

The first 38 pages contain 21 letters that Cox received from cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Elbert Wheeler wrote the first letter on July 26, 1872, and William A. Simpson wrote the remaining letters between 1872 and 1873 and on June 17, 1914. Wheeler and Simpson discussed life at the academy, as well as the pursuits of their classmates; Simpson also related news of officer appointments and class rankings. Other correspondence includes letters to Cox from his parents and his letters to his father. One item is a letter of introduction for James Valentine Cox from Charles W. Seabury, which mentions the elder Cox's service in the Civil War and his desire to visit his son in the army (January 19, 1865). One partially printed letter from the United States Treasury Department grants George H. Cox permission to receive money owed to his recently deceased mother (September 6, 1886).

Other material includes a financial account, a concert program, and a menu, as well as newspaper clippings and 2 printed copies of speeches: a talk delivered by William H. Seward to the United States Senate on February 29, 1860, regarding Kansas, slavery, and other issues in domestic politics; and an annotated copy of a speech that George Howland Cox delivered at a school reunion in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Newspaper clippings concern local interests, such as state of the schoolhouse in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, around 1902 (2 pictures), and a small facsimile of the Chicago Evening Journal from February 7, 1878. The collection also contains the front pages of 2 newspapers: the Republican Standard of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which reported on a reunion of the Nye family (August 13, 1908); and The Cambridge Tribune, about Cox's plan to continue composing a series of reminiscences for the newspaper (September 15, 1928).

Collection

Dalrymple family letters, 1805-1835 (majority within 1805-1811)

20 items

This collection contains correspondence addressed to James and Azubah Dalrymple of Framingham and Marlborough, Massachusetts, as well as 2 letters addressed to their son William. William Dalrymple wrote 14 letters to his parents while seeking work in Boston and Montréal and wrote about his impressions of Canada and the residents of Québec. Additional material includes personal correspondence from family friends and from the Dalrymples' daughter Ann.

This collection contains 17 letters addressed to James and Azubah Dalrymple of Framingham and Marlborough, Massachusetts; 2 to their son William; and 1 to their son John.

William Dalrymple wrote 14 letters to his parents while living in Boston, Massachusetts, and Montréal, Québec, between 1805 and 1811. He worked a number of jobs and spent some time as a shoemaker's assistant in Providence, Rhode Island (September 17, 1805). While working at a store in Boston, he commented on the prices of hardware and requested that his parents send him a pair of shoes, to be made by his brother John (March 24, 1808); later that year, he traveled to New York and shared his impressions of the city (June 13, 1808). In May 1809, he moved to Montréal, where he discussed Canada's ties to European culture (June 27, 1809) and reported his opinion of local residents (September 28, 1809). His letter of April 3, 1810, to his brother John encourages John to take advantage of local schools (April 3, 1810). William responded to the death of his young sister Sally in his letter of May 8, 1810, and wrote his final letter home on May 7, 1811.

William Dalrymple received two letters from George Rich, who provided his opinion on the economic climate of Baltimore (December 24, 1806) and awaited the arrival of the United States schooner Revenge, which would bring news of international tensions between the United States, Great Britain, and France (October 26, 1807). His later letter also refers to William's efforts to become a playwright. James and Azubah Dalrymple also received letters from their daughter Ann, who wrote about a family in Cambridge (June 17, 1823); Jabez Green, a friend, who requested news of his son Benjamin in New York City and mentioned the construction of a canal between Albany and Lake Erie (September 17, 1824); and Timothy Woodbridge, a Presbyterian minister from Austerlitz, New York, who reported the death of James Dalrymple, Jr., on August 28, 1835 (September 2, 1835).

Collection

Adelaide Davis, Album of Remembrance, 1859-1864 (majority within 1859-1861)

1 volume

This album contains autographs of the acquaintances of Adelaide Harris Davis of Cambridge, Massachusetts, collected between 1859 and 1864. Adelaide was a student at Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz's day school, and received autographs from Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, Louis Agassiz, and Alexander Agassiz, who taught at the school, as well as friends, primarily female. The volume also has several black-and-white engravings. A circular letter is laid in and a tuition receipt is housed separately.

This album (101 pages) contains autographs of the acquaintances of Adelaide Harris Davis of Cambridge, Massachusetts, collected between 1859 and 1864. The front and back covers are decorated with imprinted artistic details and text reading "Album of Remembrance;" the album was printed by Leavitt & Allen of New York. Charles F. D. wrote a note on the first page celebrating many of Adelaide's virtues and recording his presentation of the album to her on February 22, 1859. Most of the acquaintances who signed the album were female, and some noted their locations or the date. Adelaide collected a majority of the signatures between 1859 and 1861 and one in 1864. Most signers were from Cambridge, Massachusetts, but contributors also came from New York, Vermont, and Iowa, as well as other towns in Massachusetts. Some included short mottos, such as Augusta M. Stevens, who inscribed a Shakespeare quotation (p. 55).

Eight signers included brief poems, most often about friendship:
  • [Miel] E. Berlancourt (poem in French) (p. 19)
  • Alice C. Gates (p. 23)
  • Francena Danforth ("Sweet be her dreams, the fair, the young," by Barry Cornwall) (p. 47)
  • Lizzie Howe ("Watch and pray! The world deceiving…," by M. A. Dodd) (p. 57)
  • "Belle" (p. 61)
  • Sarah A. Manoun (p. 63)
  • Sarah C. Fisher (p. 67)
  • Carrie L. Fisher (p. 75)
Four members of the Agassiz family signed the book:
  • L. E. Agassiz (p. 79)
  • E[lizabeth] C[abot Cary] Agassiz (p. 79)
  • A[lexander] Agassiz (p. 83)
  • Li. Agassiz (p. 93)

Several black-and-white engravings depict women at leisure and other scenes. An undated circular letter laid into the volume appeals to former students of the Agassiz day school to contribute to a gift prior to the school's having to close on June 26, 1862, because of the Civil War. A receipt, housed separately, records Eliphalet Davis's payment of $37.50 for one quarter's tuition at the Agassiz school (June 27, 1861).

Collection

Eliphalet Davis records, 1817-1876

140 items

The Eliphalet Davis records are comprised of the business and personal receipts of Eliphalet Davis, a soap manufacturer in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Eliphalet Davis records are comprised of the business and personal receipts of Eliphalet Davis, and includes a license from the Internal Revenue Department allowing Davis to carry on business as a soap manufacturer in Cambridge, Mass. Among the receipts are a few bills to his clients, but the majority are billed to and paid by Davis. The receipts are often itemized, making it possible to sketch the growth of an increasingly successful business.

The more modest bills give way to bills for thousands of printed labels for his soaps, often on special colored papers with colored ink designs and lettering. The soaps had various names, ranging from the mundane "diamond soap" to the more imaginative "veritable swoon," and Davis also started selling "Saponaceous Dentifrice" in the 1850s. Another mark of his success is that at about the same time that he paid for advertisements in New England newspapers he started paying various express services, presumably for shipping quantities of his stock to eager long distance buyers.

In addition to supplies for his business he bought basic provisions. Foodstuffs included figs, raisins, oranges, molasses, salmon, coffee and tea. In an early example of the benefits of recycling, Davis received a discount on his porter by providing his own bottles. His clothing purchases included a bonnet, moleskin hat, alpaca vest and doeskin pants. A violin and four marble hearths were two of his more luxuriant purchases.

There are several distinctive letterheads of Cambridge and Boston businessmen, especially for printers and engravers. Most printing services were performed by Dutton & Wentworth, and the principal engraver was Nathaniel Dearborn. Both businesses were in Boston, as was Ammi Cutter & Cummings, who "constantly keep for sale, LIVER OIL and BLUBBER..... Also, NEATSFOOT OIL, and the best of Winter and Summer Strained SPERMACETI OIL, TALLOW, &c." Davis bought quantities of oils, tallow and ashes in order to make his soaps.

Collection

Thomas Gage papers, 1738-1807 (majority within 1745-1775)

70 linear feet

The Thomas Gage papers consist of the military and governmental correspondence and headquarter papers of General Thomas Gage, officer in the British Army in America (1754-1763) and commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America between 1763 and 1775. The papers include incoming correspondence and retained copies of letters written by Gage, together with a large quantity of documents related to military administration and manuscript maps of North America. The collection is particularly strong in documenting British administration of North America after the French and Indian War, interactions with Native Americans, and the years preceding the American Revolution. The Thomas Gage Papers include seven groups of materials: English series, American series, Warrants series, Letter and Account Books series, Jeffrey Amherst papers, Peter Warren papers, and William Skinner papers. The Thomas Gage Warrants, Jeffery Amherst Papers, Peter Warren Papers, and William Skinner Papers are described more fully in separate finding aids. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created three other research aids: a Correspondence Inventory , a partial Subject Index , and individual Volume Descriptions .

The Thomas Gage papers consist of the military and government correspondence of General Thomas Gage, officer in the British Army in America (1754-1763), commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America (1763-1775), and Governor of Massachusetts (1774-1775). The papers include incoming correspondence and retained copies of letters written by Gage, together with a large quantity of headquarters documents related to military administration. The collection is particularly strong in documenting British colonial administration after the French and Indian War, interactions with Native Americans, and the years preceding the American Revolution.

The collection is divided into five series:
  1. The English Series (30 volumes) contains Gage's correspondence with military officers and politicians in England, including the Secretaries of State, the Secretaries at War, the Treasury, the Board of Trade, the Board of Ordnance, the paymaster general, the commanders-in-chief, and other officials.
  2. The American Series (139 volumes) consists of Gage's correspondence with military officers and civil authorities in North America, including colonial governors, generals, commanders and subordinate officers, Indian superintendents and deputies, admirals of the British Navy in North America, engineers, army contractors, and various prominent civilians.
  3. The Letter Books, Account Books, and Additional Material series (17 items) contains copy books of communications with military outposts in North America and accounts for military expenses.
  4. The Warrants series (40 boxes) is made up of financial documents authorizing payment for the British military forces in North America. The Thomas Gage warrants series is described in a separate finding aid.
  5. The Maps series (87 maps) includes maps and fort plans created for British military leaders in North America in the years before the American Revolution.

The English series and the American series comprise the bulk of the collection. In addition to the many letters, these series contain the following: addresses, speeches, and proclamations; official petitions and memorials for troop promotions and transfers; proceedings and depositions from courts martial and courts of inquiry; intelligence on enemy activities; reports on the condition of the army and the state of the colonies; orders, instructions, memoranda, and meeting minutes; stores and provision inventories, receipts, and accounts of expenses; newspaper clippings and broadsides; and other miscellaneous items. Memorials typically describe the military career and professional history of a soldier or officer; these frequently contain information on both his regiment's activities and his personal life. The courts martial document desertion, embezzlement and fraud, violence, murder, rape, and other crimes committed by service members. Some of these cases, such as the trials of John Wilkins and Robert Rogers, are extensively recorded, involving many levels of the military and government. Returns typically list the numbers of troops, by rank, stationed at a fort, city, or region. These occasionally include names and other personal information. Stores and artillery lists account for the food, supplies, and ammunition maintained at forts, cities, and regions.

The English Series (30 volumes) contains Gage's incoming and outgoing letters from the Secretaries of State, Secretaries of War, Secretaries of the Treasury, Board of Ordnance, Judge Advocate General, Paymaster General of the military, Board of Trade, and the Admiralty. The bulk of these items were created during Gage's tenure as military governor of Montréal, commander-in-chief of North America, and governor of Massachusetts. Gage's years as an officer during the French and Indian War and his time in Britain from 1773-1774, however, are not well represented.

Gage communicated extensively with the British Secretaries of State. In many of these letters, he discussed, at length, the state of the colonies, with particular focus on civil unrest. He also reported on Indian relations and boundary lines, conditions of forts and the British military presence on the western and southern frontiers, hostilities toward the Stamp Act and other parliamentary acts, and civil unrest in Boston, New York, Charleston, and other colonial cities. Secretaries include: George Montagu-Dunk, Lord Halifax (Montagu Dunk); Sir Henry Seymour Conway; Charles Lennox, the Duke of Richmond; William Petty, Lord Shelburne; Wills Hill, Lord Hillsborough; William Legge, Lord Dartmouth; William Henry Nassau, Earl of Rochford; and Lord George Germain.

Items of note include:
  • A report from Lord Hillsborough concerning relations with Indians and advising Gage to cut military spending by abandoning forts on the frontier (English Series [hereafter ES]): April 15, 1768)
  • A report, with treaty extracts, describing the boundary lines for colonial and Indian territories in Georgia, East and West Florida, North and South Carolina, and the northern territories (ES: April 15, 1768)
  • Narratives on the Boston Massacre written on and just after March 5, 1770
  • A narrative and discussion of the Boston Tea Party (ES: April 9, 1774)

In communications with Secretaries of War Lord William Barrington and Welbore Ellis, Gage discussed troop movements and logistics; regiment conditions, supplies and expenses; colonial troop quartering and recruitment; requests for regimental needs, such as surgeons, hospitals, and barrack repairs; and officer transfers and promotions. The secretaries frequently petitioned Gage to allow officers to return to England for personal reasons, such as health and estate issues. These letters also provide general updates on the state of the colonies and contain information on Indian affairs.

Items of note include:
  • Barrington's opinions on whether or not the British should designate the western lands for Indian nations (ES: October 10, 1765).
  • A warning from Gage that "the colonists are taking large strides towards Independency, and that it concerns Great Britain by a speedy and spirited conduct to show them that these provinces are British Colonies dependent on her, and that they are not Independent States" (ES: January 17, 1767).

The Secretaries of the Treasury letters offer detailed information on colonial expenses and the financial decisions made in London and by Gage. The treasury secretaries include Charles Jenkinson, Thomas Whatley, William Mellish, William Lowndes, Grey Cooper, Thomas Bradshaw, and John Robinson.

Gage also communicated regularly with the Judge Advocate General Charles Gould, Earl of Granby John Manners, and John Boddington from the Office of Ordnance; Paymaster General of the Military Richard Rigby; and Generals Amherst, Harvey, and George Williamson. Gage received many letters from army officers stationed in England and Ireland. Most of these officers served under Gage and wrote him regarding business or legal issues. Notable officers include Lieutenant Colonel John Wilkins of the 18th Regiment and Major Robert Rogers stationed at Michilimackinac. Also of note in this series are printed versions of speeches made by King George III to parliament and the official responses from the Houses of Lords and Commons.

The American Series (139 volumes) comprises the bulk of the Thomas Gage papers. The Correspondence and Enclosures subseries (volumes 1-136) contains the communications between Gage and various civil and military personnel from North America and the West Indies. Represented are documents from Gage's tenures as an officer in the British Army during the French and Indian War under Braddock and Abercromby, as military governor of Montréal, as commander-in-chief of North America, and as governor of Massachusetts. The items from 1754-1760 all relate to the military, and include communications from various forts, often containing troop returns and stores inventories. As governor of Montréal, much of his administrative duties pertained to coordinating sloops, bateaux, and other ships that moved troops and provisions around Canada. The breadth of his responsibilities and the variety of decisions he had to make expanded considerably during his service as commander-in-chief and governor.

Writers (contributors) in the American Series include: colonial governors and lieutenant governors, private merchants and suppliers, generals and headquarters staff (barrack master general, quarter master general, commissary of stores and provisions), subordinate staff (barrack masters, paymasters, and engineers), superintendents and deputies from Departments of Indian Affairs, surveyor generals, commissioner of customs, and admirals and other naval officers.

These communications reveal information on a vast array of administrative responsibilities, such as:
  • Disseminating information from England
  • Enforcement of parliamentary acts, particularly concerning commerce
  • Managing relations between the colonies and settling inter-colonial boundary disputes
  • Quelling violence and civil unrest in the cities and policing new settlements on the western and southern frontiers
  • Managing Indian relations and enforcing treaties
  • Maintaining outposts and constructing new forts
  • Coordinating colonial defenses and troop movements, provisioning, and quartering
  • Settling disputes between military and civil leaders

Notable gaps in documentation occur between May and August 1760 and during Gage's time in England between June 1773 and May 1774, when General Haldimand served as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America. Though fairly well documented, the year 1769 also seems incomplete.

Colonial Governors. As commander-in-chief, Gage maintained communications with the governors of every colony in North America and several West Indian islands. He received administrative information on civil government and was particularly involved in legal matters concerning civil/military relations and in quelling violence and unrest in the cities and on the frontier. The governors were partially responsible for implementing parliamentary acts regarding trade and raising troops for the British army. The letters also contain vast amounts of information on relations with Native Americans, local political movements, militias, and the provincial governments that emerged during the years preceding the Revolutionary War. (See Additional Descriptive Data for a list of the colonial governors represented in the collection.) Gage communicated with deputy paymasters general of North America including James Barbut, Jacob Blackwell, William Eddington, and Abraham Mortier. He also corresponded with the French and Spanish governors of Louisiana, including Jean-Jacques-Blaise Abbaddie, Charles Phillippe Aubrey, Alejandro O'Reilly, Antonio de Don Ulloa, and Luis de Unzaga.

Topics of Note:
  • Responses to the Stamp Act, including riots and non-importation agreements, with disturbances focused in Massachusetts and New York (1765)
  • Ongoing conflicts between Major Farmar of the 34th Regiment and George Johnstone, governor of West Florida at Pensacola, who claimed the authority to give orders to the military (1765)
  • Civil unrest in Boston that forced Governor Bernard to flee to Castle William (1768)
  • A build up of forces in West Florida in response to threats of war between England and Spain (1771)
  • Territorial disputes between New York and New Hampshire over settlements in what is now Vermont (1774-1775)
  • Governor of New Hampshire John Wentworth's reports on the raid of Fort William and Mary by revolutionaries, including Paul Revere (1775)
  • The battles and aftermath of Lexington and Concord (1775)

British Army in America. An important portion of the collection relates to Gage's administration of the far-reaching British military occupying North America. He communicated with many high-ranking officers and generals including Henry Bouquet, John Bradstreet, John Burgoyne, Ralph Burton, Henry Clinton, Frederick Haldimand, William Howe, Alex Mackay, John Pomeroy, and James Robertson. Subordinate officers, such as engineers, majors, barrack masters, paymasters, and ensigns, also corresponded with Gage. Routine topics include officer promotions and transfers; troop discipline and courts martial, particularly surrounding desertions; provisioning regiments and forts with food, supplies, and ammunition; and orders and instructions regarding troop movements and recruitment numbers.

Gage also interacted with the British Navy in North America, which was integral to provisioning and transporting troops. Ships traveled along the Atlantic seaboard from Newfoundland to the West Indies, to Québec by way of the St. Lawrence River, along the Mississippi river, and on Lakes Champlain, Erie, George, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Superior, and at Forts Niagara and Detroit. Gage also oversaw naval stores and naval activities, such as shipbuilding and ship maintenance, and frequently received news on shipwrecks. Prominent contacts included Admiral Alexander Colville, Commodore Samuel Hood, Commodore James Gambier, Admiral Samuel Graves, Captain Joshua Loring, and Admiral John Montague.

Topics of Note:
  • Relations between the Native Americans and colonists of Québec, including intelligence about a possible alliance between the Five Nations and the French-Jesuit clergy (1762)
  • Colonel Henry Bouquet's expeditions against the Indians on the Pennsylvania and Ohio frontiers (1764)
  • The court martial of Major Robert Farmar, whom West Florida Governor Johnstone accused of embezzling funds (1765)
  • Problems with the "Black Boys Gang" of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (1765)
  • Mining efforts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for coal, and around Lake Superior for copper and other metals (1764-1775)
  • The court martial of Robert Rogers, infamous superintendent of Michilimackinac (1767-1769)
  • Eyewitness accounts of the Boston Massacre, including reports and depositions from all of the troops who took part in event, and news from the ongoing trial of the troops involved (1770)
  • The court martial of Colonel John Wilkins of the Illinois Country over charges of embezzlement and fraud (1771-1773)
  • Civil unrest in Massachusetts as a result of the "Intolerable Acts" and the formation of new bodies of local government (1774)
  • Twenty testimonies and oaths of Massachusetts residents, including several women, concerning the Association (Continental Association) which prohibited merchants from trading with Great Britain (February 13-17, 1775)
  • Descriptions of the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord (1775)
  • Reports of Americans taking Ticonderoga and Crown Point (1775)
  • Intelligence on troop counts and fortification descriptions for the British and the colonists at the Battle of Bunker Hill, along with many memorials from soldiers who fought in the battle (1775)
  • Reports on the American march on Québec and Montréal lead by General Philip Schuyler and Benedict Arnold (1775)
  • Attacks by the Machias "pirates" on British ships in the Bay of Fundy (1775)
  • Three letters from General George Washington to Gage (June 17, 1768, August 11 and 20, 1775)
  • A spy letter from a Mrs. Cooke who had contact with Generals George Washington and Charles Lee and who reported on the squalid conditions in the barracks in and around Boston before she was caught in Lexington (1775)

Indian Superintendants and Deputies. The Gage papers contain a large body of letters and documents relating to Indian Superintendents Sir William Johnson of the Northern District and John Stuart of the Southern District. Gage, who supervised the Indian Departments, received extensive communications documenting all aspects of Indian affairs, including negotiations and treaties, accounts for gifts, trade regulations, captives, and information on violent civil and military conflicts with the Native Americans. Letters include particularly extensive documentation on the New York and Canadian Indians, and on interactions at Detroit, Fort Stanwix, Nova Scotia, and the frontier areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, and East and West Florida. In addition to having direct lines of communication with Johnson and Stuart, Gage received material from subordinate officials, including Colonel Guy Johnson (who took over his father Sir William Johnson's responsibilities after his death), and Indian agents Captain Daniel Claus, Edward Cole at Illinois, Colonel George Croghan, Major Joseph Gorman, Montaut de Montereau, Benjamin Roberts at Michilimackinac, and Lieutenant John Thomas in Mississippi. Agents dealt closely with the colonial governments and often described the actions and motives of the legislature and the governor, and the Indians' responses. Throughout the collection, particularly in the late 1760s and early 1770s, Gage dealt with a constant stream of reports of murders of British frontier settlers and Native Americans. Prominent tribes included the Arkansas, Carib, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Delaware, Iroquois (Five/Six Nations: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora), Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Mingo, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wyandots. For a comprehensive list of Native American materials search the Subject Index.

Topics of Note:
  • Congress at Niagara resulting in a treaty with Western Indians (1764)
  • Conflicts and treaties with Chief Pontiac, including Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1769)
  • Negotiations at Fort Pitt and the Congress of Fort Chartres with the Shawnees, Delaware, Huron, and Six Nations of the Iroquois (1766)
  • Unsuccessful efforts by the British government to remove colonial settlers from the Redstone Creek and Cheat River region near Fort Pitt (1767)
  • Congress of Fort Stanwix (1768)
  • The First Carib war on St. Vincent's Island (1772)

Merchants, Contractors, and Civilians. Also important are communications with merchants and contractors. Gage relied heavily on private contractors to provision the army and to build and maintain the military's forts and ships. Additionally, Gage received letters from colonial citizens, usually concerning business matters or legal proceedings. Prominent citizens, merchants and shipping companies included George Allsopp; Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan; David Chamier; Delancy and Watts; Volkert Van Dow; Franks, Inglis, & Barclay; John Hancock, Thomas Hancock, Plumstead and Franks; Philip Schuyler, Edward Shippen, George Townshend, and Nathaniel Wheelwright. Of note is an extended legal battle over the assault of merchant Thomas Walker by citizens of Montréal (1766-1767).

The Indian Congresses and Treaties subseries (15 items) contains reports, proceedings, treaties, negotiations, and memorials related to Indian Affairs in the Southern District and on the Illinois frontier. The bulk of the treaties and Indian-related documents are ordered throughout the American Series. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Journals and Reports subseries (24 items) is a collection of volumes and documents concerning the administration of the British Army in America. Several items describe the condition of forts and waterways on the southern and western frontiers, while others are expense and provision reports. Of note are John Wilkins' "Journal of Transactions and Presents Given to Indians from 23 December 1768 to 1772," and a "Journal of Events at Fort Edward Augustus," which describes abandoning the fort during Pontiac's rebellion. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Proclamations and Documents subseries (39 items) has official proclamations, memorials, articles from treaties, extracts from parliamentary acts, official court depositions, and various financial and legal certifications. Many of the items in this series are undated. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Broadsides subseries (14 items) contains many of the collection's printed broadsides. Half of the items are related to revolutionary activities in Boston, including a broadside that recounts the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 26, 1775). See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Newspapers and Clippings subseries (12 items) is comprised of fragments of newspapers from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina from 1773 and 1774. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Pay Lists of British Army Officers subseries (31 items) consists of officer pay lists spanning 1759-1775. The lists contain officer's names, regiments, ranks, days served, and amounts owed for the pay period.

The Letter Books and Account Books Series (17 items) contains four of Gage's official letter books from 1759 to 1763, 12 account books from 1763-1773, and a list of bills spanning 1769-1773.

The letter books contain copies of official communications from Gage to other military outposts in North America and to officials in London. These volumes hold only outgoing letters. The first volume covers "Winter Quarters" in Albany, from January 20 to April 27, 1759 (69 pages), and from December 14, 1759 to May 5, 1761 (119 pages). The second volume concerns Gage's time at Fort Oswego from August 19 to November 20, 1759 (78 pages). The third and fourth letter books contain letters from his time as military governor of Montréal, and consist largely of letters written to other northern military forts and to Commander-in-Chief Jeffrey Amherst. The third volume spans August 21, 1761-December 23, 1762 (92 pages), and the fourth January 15-October 24, 1763 (61 pages).

The Account Books group consists of 12 account books documenting expenses for Transport Services, Incidental Expenses, Secretary's Office, Engineers Department, Naval Department on the Lakes, Indian Department Southern District, Indian Department Northern District, Quartermaster General's Department Albany and New York, Commissary General's Department, Deputy Paymaster General, Crown Account, Warrants, Cash and Contra, Commission of the Treasury, Secretary of War, and Contingent and Extraordinary Expenses from forts throughout North America.

Account Books:
  • Account Book 1 (14 pages) 1763-1766
  • Account Book 2 (31 pages) 1763-1766
  • Account Book 3 (21 pages) 1763-1769
  • Account Book 4 (33 pages) 1765-1766
  • Account Book 5 (24 pages) 1765-1768
  • Account Book 6 (12 pages) 1766-1767
  • Account Book 7 (36 pages) 1766-1769
  • Account Book 8 (42 pages) 1767-1770
  • Account Book 9 (28 pages) 1770-1773
  • Account Book 10 (43 pages) 1770-1773
  • Account Book 11 (39 pages) 1767-1773
  • Account Book 12 (39 pages) 1767-1773

This series also contains a loose list of bills "Drawn by General Gates" on behalf of the officers under him in North America (1769-1773). The categories are "By Whom Drawn," Number of Bills, In Whose Favor, Sums Drawn for (New York Currency), Dates of Acceptance, and Sums Paid.

The Thomas Gage Warrants Series (10 linear feet), a collection of additional administrative and financial records spanning 1763 to 1775, are described in a separate finding aid entitled Thomas Gage warrants. The warrants document payment of the army's departmental salaries and expenses, and represent a large source of information relating to hospitals, victualling, frontier expeditions, the building and repair of fortifications and barracks, transportation of troops and stores, wages for civilian workers, and disbursements to the Indians.

The Maps Series (87 manuscript maps) includes maps on the exploration, settlement, and fortification of the interior of British North America before the Revolution. They cover the years from 1755 to 1775 and were created for the British authorities. The maps portray rivers, lakes, and waterways throughout the continent, the coastlines and ports along the Atlantic, fortifications, and roads and routes between forts and cities. Of note are 12 maps of the Southern District and of the Mississippi River, created by Captain Philip Pittman. These maps are located in the Clements Library's Map Division - search the University of Michigan catalog for "Gage Maps."

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created three other research aids:
  • The Correspondence Inventory lists the bulk of the collection's contributors and inventories each item sent or received from them to Gage.
  • The Subject Index provides access to events, people, places, and topics discussed in the collection. The index also contains a list of contributors, a list of the collection's maps, and an itemized list of volumes 137-139 of the American series.
  • The Volume Descriptions provide brief overviews of the content of each volume in the collection.
Collection

Estes Howe family letters, 1835-1893

0.25 linear feet

The Howe family letters are made up of personal correspondence related to the family of Dr. Estes Howe of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Family members and friends wrote about subjects such as domestic and international travel, their social lives, and family news and health.

The Howe family letters (95 items) are made up of personal correspondence related to the family of Dr. Estes Howe of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bulk of the collection consists of letters by and to Dr. Howe in Cincinnati; Pomeroy, Ohio; and Cambridge, and to members of his family, particularly his wife Lois and their children James Robbins ("Robb") and Lois.

The collection includes letters to Lois Howe from a niece in Pomeroy, Ohio, in 1885, and undated correspondence from James Robbins Howe ("Robb") to his sister, Lois, pertaining to his experiences at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In a bundle of around 35 letters, Chester Wright wrote to "Louis" about his travels in Germany, England, and Scotland from July 7, 1892-May 14, 1893. Other items are personal letters to Mary White from Maria Denny Fay about her life in England in the 1850s. Fay commented on her transatlantic voyage and reported on dances and other social activities around "The Moor." Mary White’s letters are accompanied by typescripts. The collection includes a single newspaper clipping with an illustrated poem entitled "The Sultan."

Collection

Pamelia Keith Wright papers, 1876-1903 (majority within 1887-1893, 1897-1903)

0.75 linear feet

The Pamelia Keith Wright papers contain correspondence addressed by Wright to her brother, Sumner Keith, and his family in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. In addition to providing updates on her personal and social life, she frequently wrote of trips taken with her husband to locales in Egypt and England.

The Pamelia Keith Wright papers contain correspondence addressed by Wright to her brother, Sumner Keith, and his family in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Though she wrote most of her letters to Sumner, she also sent news to her sister-in-law Sarah and her nephews, Edwin and Charles. Throughout her letters, she provided frequent updates on her social life in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts. Though she most often discussed visits to friends and news of their families, she occasionally mentioned contemporary political issues and provided detailed descriptions of late-19th century Cambridge. In one letter, for example, she blamed former Secretary of War Russell A. Alger for the "embalmed beef" scandal during the Spanish-American War (January 24, 1899). Childless themselves, the Wrights often entertained students from the nearby seminary at their home, and maintained a variety of other social acquaintances. Several series of letters and postcards within the collection chronicle the couple's international travels, including a lengthy voyage through Egypt and the Middle East in 1887, an 1892 journey to Scotland and England, and a 1903 trip to England; the Wrights also visited Jacksonville, Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana, which Pamelia also described in detail.

The Ephemera series includes a dinner invitation for Charles Keith and a printed advertising card for Sunday services at the Church of the New Jerusalem in Cambridge.

Collection

Frederick Knapp family letters, 1824-1850 (majority within 1838-1848)

0.25 linear feet

This collection contains correspondence addressed to members of the Knapp family of Walpole, New Hampshire, between 1824 and 1850. Frederick Newman Knapp received the majority of the letters from acquaintances in Walpole, Boston, and other places in New England, while attending Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School between 1838 and 1847. His parents, Jacob and Louisa Knapp, also received personal letters from family and friends.

This collection contains 78 letters addressed to members of the Knapp family of Walpole, New Hampshire, between 1824 and 1850. Frederick Newman Knapp received approximately 50 of the letters from acquaintances in Walpole, Boston, and other places in New England while attending Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School between 1838 and 1847. His parents, Jacob and Louisa Knapp, received personal correspondence from family and friends.

The bulk of the collection is made up of Frederick Knapp's incoming correspondence between 1838 and 1847. He received letters from friends at Walpole, New Hampshire; Harvard College; Newburyport, Massachusetts; and other New England towns. Fellow Harvard students provided Knapp with updates from Boston and Cambridge during his visits to New Hampshire. His Walpole friends occasionally reported news about their social lives and mutual friends. Some students commented on their educational experiences at Harvard, and one described a visit by Charles Dickens (February 13, 1842). Some letters are addressed to both Frederick and his brother Francis, who also corresponded individually with Frederick.

Frederick's parents Louisa and Jacob Knapp received around 25 letters from relatives and acquaintances between 1824 and 1850. The letters primarily concern the writers' personal lives in New York and around New England, and provide news from Walpole during the Knapps' time away from home. Frederick Knapp wrote 2 letters to his parents in 1848 and 1850. Louisa and Jacob's nephew Henry wrote one letter about the cotton industry around Mobile, Alabama (February 14, 1838). Later letters addressed to Jacob Knapp include one from Thomas Hill, who discussed the invention of the telegraph and the inventions of Samuel Colt (November 9, 1846).