Alphabetical catalog of Harvard College graduates through 1767, 1767

This hard-bound manuscript catalog alphabetically lists the men who graduated from Harvard College between 1642 and 1767. It is believed to be the first such list compiled. Entries contain each graduate's surname (in English), given name (in Latin), year of graduation, and occasional additional information. Francis Foxcroft (A.B. 1712) compiled the catalog. Entries for those who graduated between 1764 and 1767 have been added at the end of each alphabetical section.

compiled by Francis Foxcroft,

Formerly classified as HU 532, HU 21.16.2, and UAII 27.63.

Title supplied by cataloger.

Notations within this volume indicate that Francis Foxcroft donated it to the Harvard Board of Overseers in 1764; it appears that the Board later transferred the volume to the Harvard College Library. The catalog contains additions made through 1767 in Foxcroft's hand, though, rendering the date the volume actually entered Harvard's collection less certain. It probably entered the collection in 1767 or 1768.

Foxcroft's inscription reads: "The original of the following catalogue was, at a very great expence of time and labour, prepared by me, in the year 1761, in order for the more speedily finding the names of our worthy ancestors, whose memory is precious to me beyond what words can express. I have taken as fair a copy of it, as my poor state of health and hands, would admit of; and the same is, with the utmost respect, presented to you for your acceptance [...] N.B. This catalogue includes the names of the graduates in 1763."

Francis Foxcroft, a judge and longtime member of Harvard's Board of Overseers, was born on January 26, 1694/5 to Colonel Francis Foxcroft and Elizabeth Danforth Foxcroft. He attended Harvard College and graduated with the class of 1712. Following graduation, Foxcroft kept school in Beverly, Massachusetts for several years and considered entering the ministry, though he never did. He married Mehitable Coney on November 5, 1722 and they settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was appointed registrar of probate in 1719 and registrar of deeds in 1721. He was named justice of the peace in 1723 and later served as selectman and clerk of the House of Representatives. He was a judge in the Court of Common Pleas for Middlesex County for twenty-six years, beginning in 1738. Foxcroft also served on the Harvard Board of Overseers for many years, beginning in 1732. He died on March 28, 1768.