College Book 7, 1750-1778

This volume contains a fair copy of minutes from Corporation meetings held from Sept. 17, 1750 through April 23, 1778. It begins with an alphabetical index and contains entries related to a wide range of topics, including the challenges of operating the Charlestown ferry (due to the river freezing, fear of smallpox, and other issues); increases in "pecuniary mulcts" (fines) for breaches of specific College laws; the establishment of the Dudleian lecture; the selection and financial support of missionaries to various Indian tribes; honorary degrees awarded to Benjamin Franklin and George Washington; gifts to the library as it was rebuilt in the wake of the fire of 1764 (many entries provide the title and author of books donated); the management of land and property belonging to Harvard; Treasurers' reports and other financial accounts; changes in the College laws; gifts to the College, ranging from two Egyptian mummies to a solar microscope; the construction of the First Parish Meeting House in Cambridge and the use of adjacent College property by parishoners; rules of endowed professorships; salaries and appointments; closures due to the threat of smallpox; rules governing Commons and the College Library; reports of various Visiting Committees; class schedules, according to subject; student disorders; the establishment of a designated museum space to display "Curiosities"; the effects of the Revolutionary War on Harvard, including repeated requests to the General Court after the war for compensation for damage to College buildings; the cost of various foods and changes in what was served at Commons; and the danger of the chapel's roof, built of too-heavy slate, falling in. Also of interest are minutes from a May 5, 1761 meeting, which note that the General Court voted to pay for Hollis Professor John Winthrop to travel to Newfoundland to observe the transit of Venus "over the Suns disc."

College Book 8, 1778-1803

This volume contains a fair copy of minutes from Corporation meetings held from May 5, 1778 through October 14, 1803. It begins with an alphabetical index and contains entries related to a wide range of topics, including changes in the College laws; lists of Harvard graduates; historical information about the College and its governance; memorials to the Massachusetts General Court about currency concerns, the West Boston Bridge, and other matters; the establishment of medical professorships and selection of professors to fill them; land and property belonging to Harvard; the settlement of accounts with former College Treasurer John Hancock; support of missionaries to several Indian tribes; the establishment of a student dress code; the Charlestown Ferry, and its revenue troubles following the construction of the West Boston Bridge; the purchase of a wooden sloop for transporting students' "fuel" (presumably firewood); the creation and distribution of library catalogs; the commission of a lucernal microscope for the College Apparatus; Oneida Indian Isaac Solegwaston and Harvard's financial support of his studies at the Hamilton Oneida Academy; transcriptions of a letter (October 23, 1789) from the Corporation to President George Washington and of Washington's response; a petition to the General Court for the establishment of a public infirmary to serve the indigent; individuals who were granted permission to instruct Harvard students in the French language outside the established curriculum; and Thomas Welsh's excused absence from his Harvard graduation, granted June 14, 1798, because of his imminent departure for Berlin to serve as Secretary to John Quincy Adams, then Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin.

Letter from William Croswell to an unidentified recipient, 1827 July 9

Draft of a letter discussing Croswell's claims for compensation from the Harvard Corporation.

Memorial to the Boston School Committee, 1827 January

One draft of a letter.

Petition to the City of Boston, 1827 June 18

Two drafts of a letter.

Letter from William Croswell to the City Council of Boston, 1827 September 4

Drafts of a letter concerning Croswell's June 1827 petition to the City Council.

Memorial to the Harvard Corporation, 1827 September 17

Two drafts of a letter.

Memorial to the Harvard Corporation, 1827 December 19

Four drafts of a letter.

Financial bills and receipts, 1827-1832

This folder contains five bills and receipts.

Attempts in penmanship, 1826-1827

This folder contains two drafts of a document describing Croswell's experiments with penmanship.

Payment order for Phillips Payson on behalf of his son, 1778 July 1

Handwritten order to John Sale to pay scholarship funds to Phillips Payson for use by son, signed by Charles Chauncey and Jonathan Williams. Payson's name is spelled "pason" in the document.

Student accounts in commons, 1772-1778

This small volume, sewn without a backing, contains student accounts in commons, with the dates students entered and left the College.

Draft of report from Committee appointed by the Corporation to revise the Laws relating to Commons at the meeting of April 6, 1778, April 17, 1778

This report contains changes to the regulations proposed by a Committee of the Corporation at the April 6, 1778 meeting of the Corporation (these regulations can be found in the College commons records, Box 1). The proposed changes were to the articles concerning the reporting of damages to utensils by the waiters, and the requirement for the Steward to present a quarterly inventory of the utensils.