Guarantee of financial support for student James Savage, signed by William Tudor and John Cooper, 1799 July 25

This legal agreement, a guarantee of financial support for entering student James Savage (A.B. 1803), was signed on July 25, 1799 by his two guarantors, William Tudor and John Cooper. The document was also signed by two witnesses, William Tudor's sons John Henry Tudor and Frederic Tudor. The agreement specifies that, in the event of Savage's failure to settle all financial obligations to the President and Fellows of Harvard College during the course of his studies, the two guarantors would be responsible for a payment of two hundred ounces of silver. It seems that the Tudors and Cooper were relatives of Savage, thus explaining their desire to assure his entry to Harvard by entering into this financial obligation.

Title supplied by cataloguer.

The Massachusetts Historical Society has papers of James Savage in its collections. There are also other materials in the Harvard University Archives collections related to Savage, including one of his student themes and a letter he received from Daniel Upton.

John Cooper (1765-1845) was a merchant, sheriff, public official and brigadier general of Machias and Cooper, Maine.

James Savage (1784-1873) was born in Boston on July 13, 1784. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1803 and an A.M. in 1806. He then studied law, and began practicing in 1807. He became a well known lawyer, genealogist, and antiquarian, publishing the "Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England" and annotated editions of John Winthrop’s "History of New England." He also served as librarian and president of the Massachusetts Historical Society. James Savage died in Boston in March 1873.

William Tudor (1750-1819) was a lawyer in Boston. He also served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and in the State Senate, and was secretary of state for the Commonwealth. He acted as attorney for many Tory sympathizers during the Revolutionary War.