Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

Jacob A. Kip, a Dutch-descended New Yorker, kept this account book between 1742 and 1780, recording his customers' purchases. Kip operated a tavern and ran a ferry across the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The accounts include debtors' names, goods or services, and prices. Tavern accounts contain ongoing purchases of mugs, drams, and other relatively small amounts of alcoholic beverages (such as beer, cider, rum, wine, gin, grog, sling, toddies, and punch), tobacco, occasional breakfasts, and dinners. Ferry-related charges include the number of people (e.g., transport of a man, a wife, and a servant) and horses, and/or the goods being transported. Kip wrote phonetically in English and Dutch, and a number of his clients had Dutch surnames. Rarely, Kip noted the professions of his customers (such as a schoolteacher and a clerk).

Jacob A. Kip, a Dutch-descended New Yorker, kept this account book between 1742 and 1780, recording his customers' purchases. Kip operated a tavern and ran a ferry across the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The accounts include debtors' names, goods or services, and prices. Tavern accounts contain ongoing purchases of mugs, drams, and other relatively small amounts of alcoholic beverages (such as beer, cider, rum, wine, gin, grog, sling, toddies, and punch), tobacco, occasional breakfasts, and dinners. Ferry-related charges include the number of people (e.g., transport of a man, a wife, and a servant) and horses, and/or the goods being transported.

Kip wrote phonetically in English and Dutch, and a number of his clients had Dutch surnames. Rarely, Kip noted the professions of his customers (such as a schoolteacher and a clerk).

This collection contains 21 sermons and sets of sermon notes compiled by Reverend James Cushing of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Plaistow, New Hampshire, between 1734 and 1756. Cushing, a Congregationalist minister, preached throughout northeastern Massachusetts on topics such as sin, vanity, and divine law.

This collection contains 21 sermons and sets of sermon notes compiled by Reverend James Cushing of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Plaistow, New Hampshire, between 1734 and 1756. Each sermon records the date on which it was first preached, as well as dates and places of subsequent delivery, which occasionally included private residences. Cushing traveled around northeastern Massachusetts, often preaching in Andover and Salisbury. The sermons include Biblical verses as a basis for discussion, and address topics such as vanity, sin, and divine laws. Several sermons include expanded sections titled "Improvements." Most of the sermons are bound, and some comprise over 30 closely written, two-column pages; many items contain the texts of multiple sermons.

The James Douglas papers are comprised of letters, letter books, logbooks, account books, and official naval documents relating to the career of Sir James Douglas, a British Admiral who was active in European and Caribbean waters and participated in the 1745 Siege of Louisbourg.

The James Douglas papers are comprised of letters, letter books, logbooks, account books, and official naval documents relating to the career of Sir James Douglas. Douglas rose to the rank of admiral and was active in European and Caribbean waters, and participated in the 1745 Siege of Louisbourg. The collection contains 7 letterbooks, 10 logbooks, 1 orderly book, 7 prize and account books, 1 book of sailing instructions (with notations by Douglas), 10 letters, 17 financial and official documents, and 2 genealogical documents (for an itemized list of the collection, see Additional Descriptive Data).

The Letter Books, Logbooks, and Account Books series contains the collection's bound volumes.

The letter books are comprised of copies of over 1,000 letters and orders to and from Douglas and his fellow naval officers. The letter book from Jamaica (1738-1745) includes letters and orders from Edward Vernon, Sir Chaloner Ogle, Thomas Davers, and Commodore Charles Brown, mostly addressed to naval store keeper George Hinde, concerning repairing and outfitting ships. The 1755-1759 letter book contains observations on ship movements and encounters, and letters from him to other naval officers, largely concerning European waters. The letter books from 1775 to 1777 hold copies of letters from Douglas, written when he was commanding the naval base at Spithead during the Revolutionary War. The letters are primarily addressed to Sir Philip Stephens, Secretary of British Admiralty, regarding naval administration and military news during the war in America (August 6, 1775-May 27, 1777).

• Tilbury, 1741-1742 (kept by Thomas Lempriere)
• Vigilant, 1745-1747
• Anson, 1755
• Bedford, 1755-1759
• Alcide, 1757
• Dublin, 1760
• SterlingCastle, 1760-1762
• Cruzer, 1770 (kept by Midshipman James Douglas, Jr.)
• Cerberus, 1770 (kept by Midshipman James Douglas, Jr.)

Topics of note include: an account of the British attack against the Spanish at Cartagena (Tilbury logbook, 1740-1741); the British capture of Dominica and Martinique, and the Siege of Havana, while Douglas was commander and chief of the Leeward Island Station (1760-1762 logbook); and a logbook for a captured French ship (1760-1761). The logbook of a French ship captured in the West Indies (December 16, 1761-May 1, 1762) contains sketches on the insides of the front and back covers. Depicted are fish and sea creatures; crude portraits of men and women, dressed in finery; silhouettes of faces; and drawings of two stately homes.

• Ledger of Douglas' private accounts (1770-1771).
• Two notebooks accounting for prizes taken by British ships in 1759 and 1762.
• A sederunt book of the trustees, relating to the settlement of Douglas' estate, created sometime after his death in 1787.

Also of note is a printed copy of Sailing and Fighting Instructions, heavily annotated by Douglas.

The Correspondence and Documents series contains 29 letters and documents, including: 8 letters concerning naval matters; 4 letters concerning Douglas' will, estate, and genealogy; Douglas' marriage agreement; 7 signed naval promotions on vellum; Douglas' appointment as baronet (1786); 3 memorials and petitions; 2 essays; 1 speech; 1 receipt; 1 legal disposition; and two genealogical items. Genealogy records include a family tree of Douglas' ancestor Douglas of Friarshaw (d. 1388) and a facsimile of the genealogical chart of Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane's ancestors going back to the 13th century.

James Duncan was a British naval captain who served during the Seven Years' War and the Revolutionary War. His papers contain information related to his military service, probate records, and a proposal for ending slavery in Britain.

The Duncan Papers include manuscripts relating to James Duncan's Revolutionary War service, principally his attempts to gain compensation for losses sustained while in the service of the British crown. The series of documents concerning the settlement of his estate are useful for study of English probate, and the remainder of the collection relates mainly to the legal affairs of the family. Of particular interest, however, are an account by James Duncan's ancestor, William Duncan (1613-ca.1673) about a shipwreck in 1631, and a draft of a manuscript written by James Duncan proposing a plan for ending slavery in Great Britain and ridding the country of its former slaves.

The James Moncrieff papers are made up of letters, documents, and reports partially documenting the military career of Moncrieff, a British engineer. In particular, the papers regard Moncrieff’s engineering work following the siege of Charlestown, South Carolina (1780 ff.), and in the West Indies in the early 1790s.

The James Moncrieff papers consist of 403 items, dated from August 2, 1710, to June 15, 1894 (the bulk dating between August 28, 1780, and April 4, 1804). The collection contains seven bound letter and account books, 38 pieces of correspondence, 244 documents pertaining to Works and Services for the Engineers Dept. of the British military, six military reports, 43 miscellaneous military documents, 10 documents pertaining to land holdings, 41 personal and financial documents, and 14 miscellaneous items.

The letterbooks and 38 individual letters pertain to the military career of James Moncrieff and regard military orders, personal purchases of Moncrieff, military purchases, military fortifications and other matters pertaining to the Engineer Corps. The 244 documents are numbered payment orders for Works Services in the Engineers Department of the British military. They include detailed lists of services and materials purchased for the operation of the Department. Each document is authorized and signed by the Commanding Engineer, James Moncrieff, by the sellers after payment, by the Paymaster, and by witnesses to the financial transactions. The 6 Military Reports (1791), initialed by G.B., G.D., B.P. and J.M., contain material regarding military engineering in the West Indies. Four of the reports contain James Moncrieff’s reports on military fortifications on Barbados, Dominica, St. Christopher’s and St. Vincent’s. The remaining reports are investigations into account fraud by bookkeepers on Barbados and St. Christopher’s.

The 43 miscellaneous military documents regard the Royal Engineer Corps. 10 documents pertain to land in Great Britain, several of which relate to the estate of George Moncrieff. The most extensive of the land documents is 13 pages in length and is titled “Search of Incumbrances on the Lands of Kingsbarns” (November 11 to November 20, 1887). The 41 documents related to personal affairs are almost exclusively accounts and receipts of James Moncrieff.

The 14 miscellaneous items include four bound volumes, including a manuscript book of poetry and notes by Moncrieff on the principles of war and on water drainage. The remaining 10 items are all undated and consist of: one printed fragment, one manuscript fragment, six unlabeled maps, one broadside and a print labeled “THE CASINO Promenade Concert Rooms.”

This collection contains business and personal papers of John Atkinson and his family, with the bulk of the items documenting their postwar business ventures in commercial trade, land speculation, and investments in the Bellows Falls Canal Company. The letters also describe contemporary reactions of British merchants before, during, and after the Revolution; events in New York City during the War of 1812; and domestic and social situations of a prosperous nineteenth-century family.

This collection contains business and personal papers of John Atkinson and his family, with the bulk of the items documenting their postwar business ventures in commercial trade, land speculation, and investments in the Bellows Falls Canal Company. Since Atkinson lived in New York City until 1819, the collection contains many detailed reports on the financing and operations of the canal company.

• Alexander Fleming (1790-1867), husband to Atkinson’s daughter, Emma Seton
• Francis Green, husband to Caroline Francis, cousin to Elizabeth Atkinson, and business partner with Alexander Fleming
• Isaac and Richard Smith, business associates of John Atkinson
• Charles Storer, Elizabeth's brother, who managed many of Atkinson's interests in Vermont and was the clerk of the canal corporation between 1804-1814
• Joshua Wentworth, Atkinson's shipping agent stationed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

• Betsy, John’s wife
• John's brothers, Francis and Hodgson Atkinson
• Daughters Mary Ann, Eliza, Emma, Caroline Francis
• Sons John Jr., George, and William
• George Atkinson, nephew of John

Beyond letters documenting Atkinson's business activities, this collection also accounts contemporary reactions of British merchants before, during, and after the Revolution. Letters from Joshua Wentworth, Atkinson's agent in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, describe difficulties procuring ships and transporting goods, before the war. John Atkinson, Jr. wrote several letters from New York City in the spring of 1813, in which he mentions events in the War of 1812, including the city's reception for the crew of the frigate United States, the blockading of the Atlantic coast, and seizure of coasters by the British. Many letters also contain domestic and social information written by Atkinson family women.

The Letter Books series contains three volumes of carbon copy letters concerning the management of George Atkinson’s property in America, including the canal company. They describe the toll that railroad traffic took on Bellows Falls Canal use. The first and second books, (October 10, 1836-September 17, 1840 and November 3, 1840-February 27, 1847, respectively) have alphabetical indexes of names mentioned in the books, while the third volume (March 12, 1847-September 15, 1849) has no index and is only ¼ full. The diary pages are extremely fragile and the texts are typically impressions from carbon paper copying except for the page numbers, which are in ink or pencil. The second and third volumes were kept by a J.L. Stackpole.

The Documents and Deeds series consists of various contracts, bills, inheritance documents, and land transfers. Included in this series are thirteen oversized items, all of which document the sale of land. Atkinson purchased land along the Delaware River in New York State; in Middle Island Creek in Ohio County, Virginia; in Ulysses, Pennsylvania; along the Cacapon River in Hampshire County, Western Virginia; and in Columbia Territory, Maryland. He sold land in Ontario, New York, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, to his son-in-law Alexander Fleming. The 1830 item is a deed recording the sale of Bellows Falls land by Fleming to his business partner Henry Green. These items not only document the transaction, but often describe the land's dimensions, characteristics, and previous ownership.

The Printed Items series consists of four newspaper clippings.

The Miscellaneous series holds one item: a detached book front cover with J. Atkinson's name printed on the inside.

The John Chaloner Papers consist of letters, documents, financial records, and additional materials of this Philadelphia merchant and his partners. His Revolutionary War work for the Continental Army commissary is touched on. The bulk of the papers date between 1781 and 1790, and regard post-war mercantile affairs, including privateering.

The John Chaloner Papers consist of letters, documents, receipts and other financial records, and additional materials of this Philadelphia merchant and his partners. His Revolutionary War work for the Continental Army commissary is touched on. The bulk of the papers date between 1781 and 1790, and regard post-war mercantile affairs, including privateering.

The Gorham collection consists primarily of materials pertaining to the military career of John Gorham in Nova Scotia. Gorham organized a very successful military unit called the Rangers who were known for their unorthodox tactics.

Material in this collection is concentrated in the years 1748-1750, when Gorham was in the vicinity of Halifax, N.S. With the exception of two deeds (dated 1772, from his son, Solomon) and one letter (1749 June) that concern the sale of property, and of the genealogical material, all items in the collection pertain to John Gorham's military career in Nova Scotia. Seven letters relate to his military activities around Fort Sackville in the Fall of 1749, describing his efforts and attempting to gain support among members of the government. Four letters include attempts to get back pay owed the Rangers.

The John Morin Scott family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, and other items related to multiple generations of the Scott family, including New York City lawyer John Morin Scott; his son, Lewis Allaire Scott; and his grandson, John Morin Scott, mayor of Philadelphia from 1841-1844.

The John Morin Scott family papers (3.25 linear feet) are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, and other items related to multiple generations of the Scott family, including New York City lawyer John Morin Scott; his son, Lewis Allaire Scott; and his grandson, John Morin Scott, mayor of Philadelphia from 1841-1844.

The collection's Personal Correspondence series (approximately 750 items, 1767-1889) is comprised primarily of letters between John Morin Scott and Mary Emlen Scott (whom Scott often addressed as "Bonny") from 1816 to the 1850s. During business trips to cities such as Harrisburg and Easton, Pennsylvania, John Morin Scott discussed his legal career, his work in the state legislature, political issues, and personal news; Mary Emlen Scott wrote about her life in Philadelphia. John Morin Scott also received letters from his children and from individuals respecting his term as Philadelphia mayor. Other correspondence includes an early series of letters to Mayor Richard Varick of New York City.

Lewis A. Scott's correspondence (132 items, 1868-1893) relates to the Scott family genealogy. Lewis A. Scott corresponded with family members about their ancestors and wrote to authors and publishing houses about printed accounts of the family lineage. Some letters pertain to Scott's attempts to locate documents about his early ancestors.

The collection's Legal Correspondence, Documents, and Financial Records series (approximately 800 items, 1764-1893) regard property, finances, and the legal affairs and estates of the Scotts and related families. John Morin Scott's legal correspondence (333 items, 1812-1844) contains business letters to Scott about court procedures, decisions, and financial matters. At least one item mentions a reward offered for the return of a captured slave (May 20, 1822). Documents include legal and financial contracts and agreements, financial accounts, bank checks, indentures, letters, and estate administration papers. Many items concern property in New York and one small group pertains to Revolutionary War surgeon Charles McKnight.

One small account book tracks the owner's expenses, and includes notes about the author's travels and activities, around 1850. A notebook contains a list of the Scott family silver in Mary Emlen's possession in 1874.

The Maps seriesincludes 19 surveyors' maps for land in Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and other locations. Many of the surveys relate to members of the Scott family and allied families; some pertain to Philadelphia real estate. Three undated survey notebooks pertain to land in "Orange County" and "Deer Park," and include notes about deeds and surveys conducted in these areas.

The Genealogical Materials series (47 items, [1887-1891]) largely concern members of the Scott family and they include essays, extracts from published histories, notebooks, loose notes, a family tree, and applications for the Pennsylvania Sons of the American Revolution. At least 2 items relate to the Emlen family. Sketches of two coats of arms are accompanied by descriptions.

The Printed Items series includes 2 advertisements for genealogical and historical works, Mary Scott's reprinted will, a poem by W. T. Meredith titled "Ancrum's Cross," and 12 newspaper clippings. The clippings are obituaries and biographical articles about the younger John Morin Scott, including an account of an assassination attempt during his term as mayor of Philadelphia (1843).

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.