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

The collection consists of correspondence related to the Griffin family of New York City and includes 58 letters that George Griffin and his family exchanged between 1833 and 1854 with author Lydia H. Sigourney of Hartford, Connecticut. Additional material includes letters written by Sigourney about her work and correspondence among members of the Griffin family that provides commentary on family life, two extended trips to Europe, Protestant theology, and higher education. The final series in the collection includes manuscript copies of several of Sigourney's poems, including one on the death of American poet John Trumbull and another on the "Death of a Missionary to Liberia."

The collection consists of correspondence related to the Griffin family of New York City and includes 58 letters that George Griffin and his family exchanged between 1833 and 1854 with author Lydia H. Sigourney of Hartford, Connecticut, as well as several other pieces of correspondence written by Sigourney and others. The second series of the collection includes several folders of correspondence among members of the Griffin family, especially letters of fatherly advice that George Griffin wrote to his sons Edmund Dorr Griffin (1804-1830) and George Griffin, Jr. (1811-1880). In addition to narratives of family life, the bulk of these letters involve accounts of two extended trips to Europe as well as discussions of Protestant theology and higher education. The final series in the collection is a 3-page manuscript copy of Sigourney's poem on the death, in 1831, of American poet John Trumbull.

Sigourney Correspondence, 1833-1854: This subseries consists primarily of Lydia H. Sigourney's correspondence with her close friend and intermediary, George Griffin, and his family in New York City. Thee letters from Lydia Sigourney, dated in 1857 and 1858, may or may not have been to Douglas Smith. In them, she offered a brief remark on her own aging and disclaimed the notion of striving to appear young; content on shipping books to the U.S. Consul; and an interest in agricultural sciences.

Much of Sigourney's correspondence with George Griffin directly involves her work as an author and her position as a woman in that profession. She frequently sent him copies of her written pieces, some of which had already been published in periodicals, asking for advice about the content of the work and about how she might pursue publication. In the course of doing so, she remarked upon her writing and revision process. These letters also specifically address her negotiations, often through Griffin's work as intermediary, with the Key & Biddle, Harpers, Leavitt, Lord & Co., D. Appleton, and Van Nostrand publishing firms, as well as the publication of her Letters to Young Ladies (1833 and 1841), Poems (1834), Sketches (1834), Girl's Reading-book (1838), and Letters to Mothers (1838). Additionally, a small number of letters from 1840 deal with Sigourney's trip to Europe.

Griffin, in turn, kept Sigourney apprised of developments with publishing firms as well as on the sale and review of her work. He candidly offered his response to works she had sent him, as well as general advice on the direction of her literary career. As a writer himself, he too sought feedback for his work, which took the form of theological essays. A manuscript copy of one of the reviews of his book, The Gospel its Own Advocate , appears in this series. Both correspondents also reflected on the challenges facing the publishing industry during the financial crisis of the late 1830s (especially the Panic of 1837) and shared their opinions on the state of American literary culture.

This series also includes letters that Sigourney exchanged with George Griffin's wife, Lydia Butler Griffin, and daughter Caroline. These pieces tended to relate family news and household matters but also included reflections on reading and Sigourney's involvement in various charitable societies. She briefly remarked on her relationship with her African American servant, Ann Prince. In addition, Sigourney conveyed in her letters to George Griffin that she valued the responses of his wife and daughters to her work. Finally, the series contains 2 letters composed by Charles Sigourney, Lydia Sigourney's husband, and ten letters written by Lydia Sigourney relating to her work, public appreciation of it, school celebrations, and social matters.

Griffin Family Correspondence, 1807-1885: The Griffin Family correspondence contains over 150 letters, dated between 1807 and 1885, that relate to George Griffin (1778-1860) of New York City and his family.

Most of the letters from the 1820s deal with Edmund Dorr Griffin (1804-1830), the second son of George and Lydia Butler Griffin. A handful of these items chart his religious convictions and pathway to becoming an Episcopal minister. The bulk of these letters, however, are ones that Edmund exchanged with his parents, siblings, and friends during the extended trip he took to Europe between October 1828 and April 1830. George Griffin's letters to Edmund during this trip are full of advice and directives about where to travel, what to observe, and practicalities about money. He also kept his son informed about matters that were unfolding among the Episcopal churches in New York and at Columbia College. Although George Griffin was the primary writer of these letters, many of them include notes from other family members as well, with accounts of family life, including the courtship and marriage of Edmund's older brother Francis to Mary Sands.

Edmund's letters home narrate his journey and impressions of Europe in extensive detail. George Griffin actively compiled his son's epistles to have them published in periodicals, and upon Edmund's death in September 1830, these travel accounts (not all of which are included in the collection) made up the bulk of the "Remains" compiled by Francis Griffin and published in his brother's memory in 1831. Letters pertaining to the preparation and reception of this document, as well as a 12-page account of Edmund's final days, can be found in Series I and II of the collection.

Another group of letters from 1830 chart George Griffin, Jr.'s (1811-1880) sudden religious awakening and decision to pursue ministerial training under the care of his uncle, Edward Dorr Griffin (1770-1837), a Congregational minister and the president of Williams College. Later letters in the collection reveal that George Griffin, Jr., eventually became a farmer in Catskill, New York, and deal with his efforts to sell his hay. He would also travel to Europe, in 1850, with his ailing sister Caroline (1820-1861). While they were away, their father conveyed advice regularly and procured letters of introduction, some of which remain in the collection.

Additional materials include subjects related to male and female friendship; family financial matter; the births, deaths, or marriages of family members; education; Protestant theology; health and medicine; early telegraph communication; and family genealogy. The handful of items that date to the 1870s and 1880s include a printed piece called "Dear Erskie!" which contains a series of riddles, and a fifteen-page booklet that includes two poems titled "Picnic" and "Archery."

Lydia Sigourney Poems, Notes, and Photograph

This series consists of six items: a 3-page manuscript copy of Sigourney's poem on the death of American poet John Trumbull in 1831; a manuscript copy of "Death of a Missionary to Liberia" written for theColonization Herald; her poem "Tomb of Josephine"; Sigourney's manuscript copy of an 1849 printed notice regarding Whisper to a Bride that she sent to an autograph collector; a "List of L. H. Sigourney's published poetical works" (ca. 1857? in her hand); and a carte-de-visite seated portrait of Lydia H. Sigourney. The photograph was published by E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., New York, from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. It is signed by Lydia H. Sigourney to her friend Mrs. E. Douglas Smith.

The David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography consists of over 100,000 images in a variety of formats including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite, cabinet photographs, real photo postcards, stereographs, and mounted and unmounted paper prints. The collection is primarily made up of vernacular photographs of everyday life in Michigan taken by both professional and amateur photographers from the 1840s into the mid-twentieth century. In addition to supporting local history research, the collection has resources for the study of specific events and subjects. Included are images related to lumbering, mining, suburbanization; the industrialization of cities; travel and transportation; the impact of the automobile; the rise of middle-class leisure society; fashion and dress; ethnicity and race; the role of fraternal organizations in society; and the participation of photographers in business, domestic, and social life. The collection is only partially open for research.

The subject contents of different photographic format series within the Tinder collection vary, depending in part upon how each format was historically used, and the date range of that format's popularity. For example, cartes de visite and cased images are most often formal studio portraits, while stereographs are likely to be outdoor views. Cabinet photographs are frequently portraits, but often composed with less formality than the cartes de visite and cased images. The postcards and the mounted prints contain very diverse subjects. The photographers' file contains many important and rare images of photographers, their galleries, promotional images, and the activities of photographers in the field. See individual series descriptions in the Contents List below for more specific details.

Included throughout are images by both professional and amateur photographers, although those by professionals are extant in far greater numbers.

This collection is made up of the papers of five generations of the Dwight, Willard, Alden, Allen, and Freeman families of the East Coast and (later) U.S. Midwest, between 1752 and 1937. Around 3/4 of the collection is incoming and outgoing correspondence of family members, friends, and colleagues. The primary persons represented are Lydia Dwight of Massachusetts and her husband John Willard, who served in the French and Indian War; Connecticut mother Abigail Willard along with her husband Samuel Alden, who ran an apothecary in Hanover, New Jersey; Allen Female Seminary School alumna and teacher Sarah J. Allen; American Civil War surgeon Otis Russell Freeman; Presbyterian minister and temperance advocate Rev. Samuel Alden Freeman; and prominent public librarian Marilla Waite Freeman. The papers also include diaries and journals, writings, school certificates, military and ecclesiastical documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, advertisements, business and name cards, invitations to events, and brochures for plays and other performances.

The collection is arranged first by family grouping, then by material type. These series roughly reflect the arrangement of the collection when it arrived at the William L. Clements Library.

The Dwight-Willard-Alden Family Papers are comprised of around 250 items, dating between 1752 and 1884. One fifth or so of this grouping is predominantly correspondence between Lydia Dwight/Lydia Dwight Willard, her father, stepmother, siblings, husband, and sons, 1752-1791. These intermarried families were based largely in Sheffield and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The letters include discussions about mending and cleaning clothing; feelings about their father/husband gone to serve in the French and Indian War; putting up a monument to replace faltering graves; the return of Elijah and Col. Williams from the field on account of sickness; coming and going of soldiers; moral and practical advice; teaching and boarding young students during the war; settling into (“no longer free”) married life; the death of Bathsheba Dwight; the meeting of local men in private homes and the training of minute men in Stockbridge; the prolonged case of smallpox experienced by Lydia’s son in 1785; and news of John Willard, Jr.’s admission to Harvard.

The remaining four fifths of this grouping are largely incoming correspondence of Abigail Willard Alden (1771-1832) and her daughter Abigail Alden (1809-1854). Their correspondents were located in Stafford, Connecticut; Hanover and Lancaster, New Hampshire; Lunenburg, Vermont; and elsewhere. They begin with letters from siblings and parents to the newly married Abigail Willard Alden (ca. 1800); Samuel Alden travel letters to New York City; and news of a Stafford doctor named Chandler who had promised marriage to a woman and then fleeced her for $500 before fleeing to parts unknown. A group of letters regard pharmacy matters, the burning of Samuel Willard’s drugstore (January-April 1802), and the state of Anti-Federalists and Federalists in Stafford (1802). A large portion the letters include content on sickness and health, with varying degrees of detail, including several family members sick and dying from measles in 1803. Other topics include Hanover, New Hampshire, gossip on local premarital sex; a debate on whether or not to hire a black female domestic laborer; comments on a local suicide attempt; a young woman deliberating on objections to women spending time reading novels (April 10, 1806); and treatment by a quack doctor. These papers also include two diaries, poetry and essays, two silhouettes, genealogical manuscripts, and miscellaneous printed items.

The Allen Family Papers are largely incoming letters to Sarah Jane Allen prior to her marriage to Samuel A. Freeman (around 300 items), and from her father-in-law Otis Russell Freeman (around 60 items) between 1860 and 1865. An abundance of the letters were written to Sarah while she attended the Allen Female Seminary in Rochester, New York, and afterward when she lived at Honeoye Falls, New York. They include letters from her parents, cousins, friends, and siblings. A sampling suggests that the bulk are letters by young women attempting to eke out a life for themselves through seminary education, teaching, and domestic labor. Among much else, they include content on Elmira Female Seminary, New York state travel, and female friendship and support.

The Otis Russell Freeman letters date between 1862 and 1865, while he served as a surgeon in the 10th and 14th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. He wrote about the everyday camp life with a focus on the health and sickness of the soldiers. His letters include content on the defenses of Washington, D.C., fighting at Cold Harbor and outside Richmond, Virginia, the surrender of Robert E. Lee, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln's body lying in state at Jersey City. Two carte-de-visite photographs of Otis Freeman are present.

A diary kept by Sarah J. Allen began on the day of her marriage, September 26, 1865, documents her honeymoon to Niagara Falls. It ends in November 1865. The remainder of the volume is filled with recipes for baked goods, pickles, and other foods. The printed items include ephemera from Sarah Jane Allen’s tenure at Elmira Female College five issues of the Callisophia Society’s newspaper The Callisophia (vol. 1, nos. 1, 3-6; March/April 1860-January/February 1861), as well as a Catalogue of Books in Callisophia Library, December 1862.

The Samuel Alden Freeman Family Papers include approximately 300 largely incoming letters to Presbyterian minister S. A. Freeman, plus printed materials, ephemera, photographs, and bound volumes, dating in the 1810s and from the 1860s to 1880s. Correspondence of his second wife Olive dates from the 1810s in central New York. The collection includes letters to S. A. Freeman from his first wife Sarah, daughter Abigail Alden Freeman (1873-1925), and Sara Harriet Freeman (1879-1946). These materials include courtship correspondence of Sarah Jane Allen and S. A. Freeman. A considerable portion relates to Presbyterianism and at least one temperance society pledge sheet is present. Approximately 50 photographs, about half of them identified, are largely of Samuel A. Freeman and the Freeman daughters Marilla and Abigail. Among the printed ephemeral items are advertisements for programming at Corinthian Hall (probably Rochester, New York), items related to a Sunday School Association (including a printed broadside catalog of books at a N.J. Sunday School), and pamphlets on Presbyterianism. A medicinal recipe book from the mid-19th century and a commonplace book of poetry are examples of the S. A. Freeman family bound volumes.

The collection concludes with letters, photographs, ephemera, and printed items comprising the Marilla Waite Freeman Papers. Around 600 letters are largely incoming to public librarian M. W. Freeman from female educators and librarians. They discussed their profession, books, reading, and intellectual topics. A small clutch of letters, about three dozen manuscript and typed poems, and a dozen or more newspaper clippings, 1900s-1910s, comprise poet Floyd Dell’s contributions to the collection. Marilla also corresponded with poets and writers Margaret Todd Ritter, Robert Frost and Mrs. Frost, and Marie Bullock about public and private recitations and lectures. Examples of subjects covered by the printed materials include orations, educational/school/college items, library-related items, newspapers and clippings, fliers, women's clubs, New York City theater, the American Library Association, Poetry Society of America, poems by various authors, such as Ina Robert and John Belknap, visiting and business cards, and travel.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s. Many of the items were once bound together.

The Correspondence series is comprised of around 60 incoming and outgoing letters related to Salem, New York, and to the history of the state of New York. Early letters between residents of Salem and other locales concern a wide range of topics including education, political offices and appointments, and legal cases. After 1856, most items are incoming letters to James Gibson, a native of Salem who was state senator, judge, and president of the Washington Academy. Three letters written during the Civil War concern military commissions and officers. Many of Gibson's incoming letters, particularly later items, relate to his genealogical work; some correspondents offered or requested information about their ancestors.

The Documents series contains over 140 indentures, financial records, petitions, and other items, primarily related to residents of Salem, New York, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the indentures concern land ownership in Washington, County, New York, and personal financial agreements. Other material relates to the Washington Academy, including a list of pupils. Legal orders largely concern private debts, and one document pertains to a local election. Some documents have newspaper clippings pasted onto them, and others were once bound together. One item is a diploma that the Washington Academy issued to James McEl. A group of land indentures is housed in a large bound volume.

The collection's Printed Items include articles, programs, and newspaper clippings. The majority of newspaper clippings concern the Washington Academy in Salem, New York. Other articles concern the "Bench and Bar of Washington County," the Bancroft Public Library, and the family of William Williams. Some clippings are pasted onto large sheets of paper, with manuscript annotations; a small number of complete newspapers are present. The series also has several copies of a program from the dedication ceremony of the Bancroft Public Library in July 1890.

The Photograph, Essay, Notes, and Fragments series is made up of items pertaining to Salem, New York. The carte-de-visite photograph depicts J. B. Steele. The various notes, essay, and fragments pertain to genealogy.

The Hoit Family Papers are made up of correspondence, diaries, documents, financial papers, photographs, and other items related to the family of New Hampshire state legislator Daniel Hoit (1778-1859) and Sally Hoit (1786-1837); their children Julia Maria, Eliza Flanders, portrait painter and artist Albert Gallatin, and Reverend William Henry Harrison Hoit; and their children-in-law Ira A. Bean, Susan Ann Hanson Hoit, and Enoch P. Sherman. The family was based in Sandwich, New Hampshire.

The Hoit Family Papers are made up of 965 letters; 21 diaries, account books, and notebooks; 11 speeches, poems, and other writings; 49 documents and financial papers; six photographs, and other items related to New Hampshire state legislator Daniel Hoit (1778-1859) and Sally Hoit (1786-1837); their children Julia Maria, Eliza Flanders, portrait painter and artist Albert Gallatin, and Reverend William Henry Harrison Hoit; and their children-in-law Ira A. Bean, Susan Ann Hanson Hoit, and Enoch P. Sherman. The family lived primarily in Sandwich, New Hampshire.

The Correspondence Series contains 965 letters, including 39 by Sarah "Sally" Flanders / Sarah "Sally" Flanders Hoit, dating between December 3, 1803, and January 30, 1837. She wrote largely from Loudon and Sandwich, New Hampshire. In her courtship letters to Daniel Hoit, she offered her thoughts on marriage, the state of their relationship, the future, virtue, and remarks on living a good life. After their marriage, the topics of her correspondence turned to the health and welfare of their family. To her daughters Eliza and Julia she gave motherly advice while they attended a female academy in Concord, New Hampshire (beginning in 1822).

Sally Flanders's husband Daniel Hoit authored around 300 letters from June 6, 1808, to June 19, 1859. He sent over half of them to his wife, Sally Hoit (between 1808 and 1835), and his daughters Julia Hoit Sherman (between 1821 and 1859) and Eliza Hoit Bean (between 1822 and 1856). In them, he showed concern for the education and welfare of his children and family, and advised his wife on home and financial matters. Daniel appears to have had a close relationship with his daughter, Julia. In over 70 letters to her, he reflected on the importance of parenthood and morality; discussed politics, his speeches, elections, and other business matters; and praised her for her academic prowess. To Eliza, he sent 37 letters on the health and welfare of family members and friends. Many of these were co-authored by other Hoit family members. Daniel Hoit's letters include content respecting the state legislature and a small number of items during and after the War of 1812 pertain to recruiting. He remarked twice on local extramarital relationships (June 18, 1815, and June 20, 1830) and attended public Shaker worship in Concord, New Hampshire (June 20, 1814).

The Hoit's oldest child, Eliza Flanders Hoit / Eliza Flanders Hoit Bean, sent 22 letters between April 27, 1822, and September 16, 1859. She wrote the first six letters to her mother and sister while attending school in Concord, New Hampshire, from April to September 1822. The remainder of the letters date from 1836 to 1859, mostly from Urbana, Ohio. These letters focus on the health of friends and family, housework, and her spiritual life. She wrote several travel letters to her father from Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Her husband Ira A. Bean wrote 30 letters, December 30, 1828-December 30, 1863, regarding his business and political endeavors, largely to his father-in-law, Daniel Hoit.

Julia Maria Hoit / Julia Maria Hoit Sherman sent around 110 letters to her mother, father, siblings, and other family members between February 3, 1827, and March 24, 1876. The majority of them originated from Sandwich, New Hampshire. In her often-lengthy correspondence, she discussed fashion, gossip about friends and family, weddings, marriages, clothing, and current events. She was independent and highly opinionated about the social behaviors of those around her. Particularly notable is her criticism of the fashion and diet of the women in Boston (1829). The Hoit Family Papers also contain around 50 political, financial, and property-related letters of her husband, Enoch P. Sherman, dating between June 9, 1828, and February 6, 1843, and around 10 from their son, Daniel H. Sherman between 1849 and 1873.

The Hoit's oldest son Albert Gallatin Hoit / Albert Gallatin Hoyt wrote approximately 110 letters between November 27, 1820, and October 21, 1853. His earliest correspondence, largely to his parents and sisters, covers his time at Effingham Academy, Wolfeborough & Tuftonborough Academy (1825), and Dartmouth College (1826-1829). In 1829, he established a school at Newport, Connecticut, but quickly found himself in debt. Struggling to remedy his plight, he took a trip to Rochester, New York, in 1830, where he decided to embark on a career as a portrait painter. He then wrote from Portland and Bangor, Maine, until 1839 when he settled in Boston with his wife Susan. His letters regard his everyday life, education, career, and relationship with his father. Susan A. Hanson Hoyt, originally of Conway, New Hampshire, wrote approximately 40 letters between March 28, 1837, and February 11, 1873. They focus on health and her daily routine, anxieties about her husband Albert's career as an artist, the art scene in Boston in the early 1840s, and the activities of her husband. Albert traveled a great deal, and stayed in Europe from 1842 to 1844 to paint. Susan also wrote about her stillborn children (i.e. March 30, 1845), concerns over the presidential election of 1844, sewing, dressmaking, and her efforts to learn how to draw. By 1853, she moved to Roxbury, Massachusetts, with her husband. In a series of letters from there, she wrote about the sickness and death of Albert in 1856. She then returned to Conway. In early 1872, she traveled to Minneapolis where she apparently remained.

William Henry Harrison Hoit / William Henry Hoyt's approximately 70 letters date from May 13, 1826, to November 15, 1882. Beginning at around age 11 with letters from school at Wolfborough & Tuftonborough Academy (where he studied along with his brother Albert), informed his parents about his studies and asked them to send books and educational advice. He then wrote to his parents, sisters, and brother-in-law while studying at Dartmouth College (1827-1831). From 1835 to 1836, he sent letters from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in New York, and, by 1838, he settled in to his parish at St. Alban's, Vermont. His conversion from the Episcopal Church to Catholicism in the later 1840s is the subject of a portion of his correspondence. The collection includes three letters by William Hoyt's wife, Anne Deming Hoyt, dated October 6, 1838; March 30, 1856; and July 11, 1867.

The collection's remaining 190 or letters are from almost as many correspondents. They are addressed to members of the Hoit family, particularly Sally, Daniel, Eliza, and Julia, from various members of their extended family and business associates. Updates on deaths, marriages, health, education, and children predominate in the letters by women. Of interest are letters pertinent to Albert Hoyt's debt in the early 1830s and five letters from Julia's niece, Frances Prescott, a teacher in Ellenburg, New York. She briefly remarked on her school and wages (late 1850s).

The Diaries, Account Books, and Notebooks Series includes 10 daily diaries and account books of Daniel Hoit (1814-1817, 1851-1859), one diary by Sally Flanders Hoit (1823, 1830), two diaries of Ira A. Bean (1829-1859), one volume of notes and accounts of Enoch P. Sherman's estate (1843-1849), three sparse diaries and two notebooks by Daniel H. Sherman (1870, 1873, 1878, 1900, and 1918), and one daily diary of Julia M. Hoit Sherman (1884).

The Speeches, Poems, and Other Writings Series includes a poem by William Burleigh to Mr. and Mrs. Hoit (March 4, 1812) a fragment of a verse by Sarah F. Hoit (undated), three essays by Albert G. Hoit (two from his school days and one entitled "Early Recollections" (undated), and a written renewal of vows to God by Julia M. Hoit on her 24th birthday (November 15, 1831). Also present are a temperance address by Ira A. Bean (October 1823), an incomplete address to the Franklin Society (November 1, 1824), and a 4th of July 1834 temperance speech by Daniel Hoit.

The Hoit Family Papers contain 49 Documents, Accounts, and Receipts, dating from [1809?] to 1863. The various financial papers include good documentation of the Hoit children's educational expenses and Albert G. Hoit's expenditures and debts of the later 1820s and early 1830s. Among the documents are Enoch P. Sherman's June 11, 1840, resignation from a colonelcy in the 19th Regiment New Hampshire Militia.

The Photographs Series is made up of seven carte-de-visite photographs, all bearing Civil War era tax stamps. Identified individuals include "Mrs. E. G. Weaver" and "A. J. Church & wife & daughter."

The collection includes two Maps:

• Rand Avery Supply Co. Map of Lake Winnipesaukee and Surroundings issued by Passenger Dept. Concord & Montreal R.R. [Boston]: Concord & Montreal R.R., 1891.
• [Tamworth Township, Carroll County, New Hampshire], 1870s.

The collection also contains 14 Printed Items, among which are The Dairyman’s Daughter (religious tract, 1831), a copy of a bill to extend an 1838 act to grant half-pay and pensions to certain widows (1841), Final Notes on Witchcraft in Massachusetts by George H. Moore (1885), a program for the Semi-Centennial celebration of the New Hampshire Conference Seminary and Female College (1895), The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, by Mrs. Hannah More, and a children's book Jocko and Minette (1846). See the box and folder listing below for a complete list of the printed materials.

This collection contains personal and business correspondence related to Philadelphia merchant George Fales, as well as documents, newspaper clippings, and correspondence pertaining to the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, which Fales's nephew, Samuel Bradford Fales, helped to operate during the Civil War.

This collection contains personal and business correspondence related to Philadelphia merchant George Fales (35 items), as well as documents, newspaper clippings, and correspondence pertaining to the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, which Fales's nephew, Samuel Bradford Fales, helped to operate during the Civil War (6 items).

George Fales received 4 letters from his brother Samuel between 1815 and 1835, which mainly concern financial and business matters. The first letter, written on December 4, 1815, provided a list of expenses, including money intended for the construction of a school for African Americans in Boston. Other letters from business associates discuss finances; business with Fales or with his firm, Fales, Lothrop & Company; and potential business ventures such as a wood-chopping enterprise. Fales also received 3 personal letters from his nieces Eliza F. Bridgman and Mary T. Monroe and 1 from his nephew Samuel Bradford Fales, who described his travels near Pittsburgh (April 22, 1836). Samuel B. Fales granted his uncle power of attorney in a document dated February 4, 1834.

The collection also contains 6 items related to Philadelphia's Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, including 2 letters addressed to historian Benson J. Lossing. Robert R. Carson encouraged Lossing to utilize the Union Volunteer Refreshment Committee's business card in his pictorial history of the war, and attached a newspaper clipping reporting a grand jury's approval of the project (April 7, 1862). Arad Bellows provided a list of corrections and additional information in response to Lossing's recent work (August 6, 1866). Samuel Fales wrote 2 letters to "Reverend Sibley" about the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, written on stationery bearing a letterhead engraving of the establishment and including the projected number of soldiers assisted (November 20, 1865). One of these letters is attached to a printed newsletter about the enterprise, entitled "The Fair Record of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon."

Three newspaper clippings, including 2 from The Philadelphia Inquirer and 1 from the Evening Bulletin, concern the history of the saloon and hospital, and contain testimonials. The collection also contains a carte-de-visite photograph of Samuel B. Fales and a broadside poem entitled "Lines in Memory of the Philadelphia Volunteer Refreshment Saloon," signed and inscribed by Samuel B. Fales for Benson Lossing.

This collection consists primarily of incoming personal and professional correspondence received by John Barbour, an Episcopal minister and professor at Berkeley Divinity School, concerning religious life in Connecticut in the late 1800s.

This collection consists primarily of approximately 1,150 incoming personal and professional letters received by John Barbour, an Episcopal minister and professor at Berkeley Divinity School, concerning religious life in Connecticut in the late 1800s. The papers also include 5 photographs, 4 printed portraits, and a small group of additional printed items.

The Correspondence series spans most of Barbour's career. The bulk is comprised primarily of letters John Barbour received between 1883 and 1899, reflecting the everyday lives of clergy in Connecticut and New England, as well as Barbour's work with the Episcopal Church and at Berkeley Divinity School. Many of the letters contain professional inquiries and reports of the writers' daily lives and work with local churches. Several relate to Barbour's role as the librarian of the Berkeley Divinity School, including factual questions and inquiries about specific volumes. Other letters request his services as a minister, including several from the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, Connecticut, and from other clergy requesting substitutes. Additionally, many of the letters concern religious education and mention prominent bishops and others in the Episcopal Church.

Two early items relate to John Barbour's father, Henry S. Barbour, and to administrative affairs of the town of Torrington, Connecticut, in 1852 and 1857. The series also includes a timetable for trains between Hartford, Connecticut, and New York City, and a manuscript complaint from attorney John R. Wittig to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Williams, issued against John Barbour, claiming that Barbour colluded with Wittig's wife in a conspiracy to "get rid" of him and seize his property (March 17, 1885).

The Photographs and portraits series holds 5 carte-de-visite photographs of members of the Barbour family, including Henry S., Sylvester, Herman H., Julia, and Joseph L. Barbour, as well as 4 printed portraits of Episcopal clergy.

The Printed items series contains biographical sketches of bishops, Episcopal clergy, and other figures, removed from published books and newspapers. Among those represented are Bishop John Williams and librarian Melvil Dewey. The series also includes approximately 20 invitations, programs, circular letters, and advertisements. One advertising card for the Fannie C. Paddock Memorial Hospital of Tacoma, Washington Territory, bears an engraved image of the facility.

The Anson Burlingame collection, compiled by Elliot C. Cowdin, holds correspondence, graphic material, ephemera, and a pamphlet related to the life and death of Burlingame, a United States diplomat. Much of the material relates to a dinner Cowdin gave in Burlingame's honor in June 1868.

The Anson Burlingame collection, compiled by Elliot C. Cowdin, holds correspondence, a photograph, an engraving, a pamphlet, and ephemera related to the life and death of Burlingame.

Several letters in the Correspondence series are personal letters Burlingame wrote to Cowdin, a friend, during his diplomatic career; on October 13, 1866, for example, Burlingame described his recent trip from New York to Shanghai, via California, the Sandwich Islands, and Japan. A number of items relates to a dinner Cowdin gave in June 1868, honoring Burlingame and his success in trade negotiations with China. These include a May 23, 1868, letter from a number of prominent residents of New York City, urging the diplomat to attend the banquet; several letters signed by those invited, either accepting or declining the invitation; and Burlingame's own acceptance (May 30, 1868). Other correspondents mentioned their own appointments with Burlingame, often set up by Cowdin, and their esteem for his accomplishments. On January 31, 1870, Burlingame told his friend of his imminent departure for Russia; a month later, he died there, and many of the later letters concern personal grief over his death, as well as to Cowdin's tribute to Burlingame's memory. Among other remembrances, Cowdin wrote a letter to his own wife on April 21, 1870, describing Burlingame's funeral.

The Photograph and Engraving series contains a cartes-de-visite photograph of Anson Burlingame, and an autographed engraving of Elliot C. Cowdin.

The Pamphlet is entitled Banquet to His Excellency Anson Burlingame And His Associates of the Chinese Embassy by the Citizens of New York On Tuesday, June 23, 1868.

The Ephemera series contains calling cards for Mr. and Mrs. Anson Burlingame, and a menu for Burlingame's honorary banquet, given on June 23, 1868.

Marie "Alida" Taber, wife of whaling Captain George Taber, kept daily records of wind direction, speed, weather conditions, geographic location, and crew activities during two whaling voyages: the Brig Magdalene's 174-day voyage from Honolulu to Connecticut, January-July 1853, and the Barque William Wilson's 1,192-day voyage from Rhode Island to the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean, May 1860-January 1861. The volume also contains personal journal entries kept by Marie Taber during her time in Acushnet, Massachusetts, while her husband served aboard the Barque William Wilson from October 1857 to 1859.

This logbook and journal contains 150 pages, 51 of which are blank and 99 of which contain writing by Marie "Alida" Taber, wife of whaling Captain George Taber. The opening flyleaf features a carte-de-visite photograph of Marie with the inscription "Alida Taber, Long Plain, Massachusetts, U.S.A." During conservation the carte-de-visite was temporarily removed, and the inscription "Elida Taber" was visible on the verso of the card. While most of the printed photographer's advertisement on the card was obscured, its location in New Bedford, Massachusetts, was present. The volume consists of three sections: two whaling expedition logs and a personal journal.

The first section is a daily record of the Brig Magdalene's return voyage from Honolulu to Connecticut carrying whale oil and bone from January 12 to July 4, 1853. During this voyage, the Magdalene went south from Honolulu, through the Pacific Cook Islands, around the southern tip and east coast of South America before making final port in New London, Connecticut, on Independence Day, 1853. Mentioned ports of resupply include Pernambuco, Brazil. All entries begin with "remarks on board" followed by the date, weather conditions, the ships geographic location, steering adjustments, and any crew or ship activities of note. She described riggings, repairs, spotting of other ships or land, and acquisition or removal of cargo and supplies. Most of her entries are structured into 'first' (12pm to 8pm), 'middle' (8pm to 4am) and 'latter' (4am to 12pm) parts of the day. Some entries include remarks on porpoises caught and harvested for oil, supplies thrown overboard, and processing of whalebone.

Her logbook entries largely conform to the following format:

Upper left margin: Number of days out

"Remarks on board" [Day of Week, Month, Date, Year]

[Part of the day]: wind strength and direction, weather conditions, sail and/or steering adjustments and sightings/activities of note

Bottom right corner: Latitude and Longitude coordinates

While most of the navigational and weather condition data recorded stayed largely consistent, she specifically mentioned ocean currents on April 13 and 14, 1853 (95 and 96 days out).

Since this voyage was a return trip from a whaling expedition, Taber did not mention whale pursuits or captures; the ship was already full of oil and bone. Although, during the latter entries the crew brought whalebone and oil to the deck to clean, bundle, and prepare the products for market. On May 17, 1853 (117 days out), for example, she wrote that they "Took on deck 22 bundles of bone, some in a damaged state."

The crew captured and processed porpoises on this leg of the voyage to provide lamp oil. Mentions of these porpoise captures can be found in the following entries.

• "Caught 4 porpoises" April 9, 1853 (89 days out)
• Boiling porpoise blubber. April 16 and 17, 1853 (95 and 96 days out)

As the Magdalene sailed closer to the eastern coast of South America and the United States, ship sightings became more frequent. These entries include:

• Bark sighting. January 25, 1853 (14 days out)
• "At 10am saw a merchant Bark steering to S.West" April 19, 1853 (99 days out)
• Unidentified ship, April 21-22 , 1853 (101-102 days out)
• "Saw a manawar steam brig" Saturday, April 30, 1853 (110 days out)

Other entries of interest include:

• Taking supplies on board, wood, pumpkins, coconuts, bananas, turkeys, ducks, fowls, and pigs, February 10 -12, 1853 (31-33 days out)
• "Note: during the night one half Barrel of Beef was thrown overboard by some of the crew," March 14, 1853 (63 days out)
• Leaking oil, March 25, 1853 (74 days out)
• "Found six bags of bread wet and rotten," April 1, 1853 (81 days out)
• "Rats almost got possession of the Brig," April 20, 1853 (100 days out)
• "Saw a comet, westward," May 7, 1853 (111 days out)
• Waiting for Portuguese holy days to pass, as business is prohibited during this period. Saturday, May 14-18, 1853 (124-128 days out)
• "Mr. Bolton ashore without permission from master," May 16, 1853 (126 days out)
• "Mr. Bolton still onshore," May 17, 1853 (127 days out)

The second section of the logbook contains Marie Taber's journal entries from January 1 to August 15, 1859. While Captain Taber was away on the Barque William Wilson, which left Warren, Rhode Island, in October 1857, Marie described her daily activities in Acushnet, Massachusetts, as well as detailed listings of her social activities. The largest portions of these entries list the names of whom she spoke with in person and through letters that day. The most common activities mentioned in these entries include sewing, cooking, baking, shopping, writing letters, and reading. Frequently she spent her days mending, cutting, quilting, and sewing garments for herself, family, and friends. Holding true to her logkeeping skills, she commented daily on the weather and wind, often noting specific wind direction and general conditions throughout the day. Marie noted births, deaths, weddings, and activities such as the circus, church events, and holidays. Marie often wrote of feeling weak or ill and complained of headaches, backaches, and stomach pains. In the latter portions of the journal, Marie's entries took on a more personal tone as she described her loneliness and sadness about town gossip about her--even among her husband's family. In these entries, she expressed her reliance on Christian faith to help her cope with illness and the emotional toll of being far away from home and from her own friends and family. The journal section provides insight into the events and residents of the community of Acushnet, Massachusetts, and the broader community of Bristol County.

The third section of the volume contains a daily record of the whaling voyage of Barque William Wilson, traveling off Rodrigues Island, from May 27, 1860, to January 5, 1861. Marie began the log about 2 years and 6 months into the whaling voyage (the complete voyage spanned October 1857 to January 1861). The log is of a similar format as that of the Brig Magdalene, but fewer entries contain specific latitude and longitude coordinates and it lacks a running count of the days passed since the voyage began. As in Mrs. Taber's earlier log, entries include weather conditions, wind direction, sail and steering adjustments, ships spotted, and specific activities. Days on which whale captures were attempted and successful are marked with black ink whale body stamps, the number of stamps equaling the number of whales killed. Instances where whales evaded capture are indicated with black ink tail stamps. Processing of the whales into product is described with phrases "employed boiling", "employed cutting", and "commenced cutting." These entries frequently made note of the vessel's specific distance from land or other ships and listed many of the ships spotted and communicated with by name.

Vessels mentioned include:

• Bark America (August 16, 1860)
• Bark John A. Robb (September 17, 1860)
• Barque Millwood (July 7, 1860 [incorrectly written in log as June]; August 2, 1860; August 22, 1860)
• Bark Ocean Pierson (August 23, 1860)
• Bark Pamelia (September 4, 1860; September 22, 1860)
• Bark Tyne (August 3, 1860)
• Bark San Francisco (August 17, 1860; August 22, 1860; August 30, 1860; September 24, 1860)
• Ship Alimire (August 23, 1860)
• Ship Elmiro (August 30, 1860)
• Ship Mercury (September 1, 1860; September 19, 1860)

At the beginning of this log, Marie wrote with a slightly more personal tone, including information about her general feelings of wellbeing, or feeling unwell (entries dated May 27 and 28, 1860). Generally, the entries in the first portion of this log (July-early October, 1860) emphasize the frantic chase and hunting of whales. Many entries refer to sightings of whales by species and note that when nothing was seen, they were actively "looking for whales." The latter half of the log (mid October 1860 to early January 1861) focuses on the goal of returning with the whale products. Most of these entries emphasize wind and sail orientation, navigation, and reading important geographic landmarks. On the return voyage ship maintenance was a priority and the crew painted and repaired parts of the ship.

Stamps indicating whale captures and escapes can be found in the following entries:

• June 6,1860
• July 9, 1860
• August 2, 1860
• August 15, 1860
• August 19,1860
• September 26, 1860
• 1 sperm whale killed, September 28, 1860
• 4 sperm whales killed, 1 escaped October 4, 1860
• 3 sperm whales killed, October 5, 1860

This volume also contains the following:

• 2 blank logbook pages with running header "Bark Sea Bird towards Cape of Good Hope"
• Inscription on inside back pastedown, handwritten in pencil, "Sadie Taber lived on Long Plain Rd Sunds Corner outside of New Bedford Mass"
• A list of New Bedford ships (pencil handwriting, differing from Marie Taber's script) on page 144. The names include:
  • Bark Millwood
  • Ocean River
  • Almira
  • San Francisco
  • Thomas Pope
  • St. Peter
  • Mercury
  • John A. Roff
  • Bark America
  • Tarmelia
  • Congress
  • Bartholomene
• Laid into the volume, between pages 92 and 93 is a handwritten slip of paper reading, [in ink]"See if you can find any vessel bound to the Cape of Good Hope or the island of Mauritius if any the price of passage and time of sailing" [in pencil] "first of week $150 or 125; 1 Brig 1st next week $150 Edmund Boynton, 1 vessel about a month $150 Isaac Taylor 16 Kirby Sr."
• A clipping of a poem "For the New York Mercury My Nelly's Eyes: Inscribed to Miss Ellen M.M, by: John F. Gilwee (September 7, 1858)," laid in between pages 132 and 133
• At various points in the blank section of the volume, pages have been ripped out.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a partial name index for the journal portion of the Taber journal: Partial Name Index .

This collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to members of the Marsh and Capron families of Rahway, New Jersey, and Walden, New York.

This collection contains correspondence, financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to members of the Marsh and Capron families of Rahway, New Jersey, and Walden, New York.

The Correspondence series (161 items) begins with letters to Caroline Capron ("Carrie") from her future husband, Edward Marsh, and other correspondence. Marsh wrote to H. B. Sears, a mutual friend, while living in Germany in the mid-1860s. Edward Marsh provided news of family members, described his travels, and discussed his studies in chemistry. Members of the Capron family later discussed Carrie's intention to marry Marsh and the couple's proposed move to Germany. Later items include business and personal letters to Rolph Marsh, and correspondence regarding his donation of land to a Rahway church.

The Bills and Receipts series (18 items) pertains to Rolph Marsh's finances. Three carte-de-visite Photographs include 2 studio portraits of unidentified men and a view of unidentified buildings. The collection also contains Calling and Business Cards (13 items) and Printed Items (11 items) pertaining to Catherine Marsh's funeral, religious associations and churches, property assessments, and other subjects.