Sermon on redemption by David Tappan, 1781

Sewn notebook containing a forty-six page handwritten sermon composed by David Tappan based on the Biblical text Isaiah 65: 17, 18 and the subject of redemption. Tappan delivered the sermon multiple times as evidenced by the note on the first page, "March 11, 18, 25 Spring April 1781 Frisbee July 1782, Byfield July 1783, Lynn, Kimball. Dr. Huntington, Deerfield, French, Merrill, Dana."

Records of the Debating Club of Resident Graduates, 1792-1793

This journal contains minutes from meetings held from February 1792 through October 1793. These minutes include the names of participants and the questions and arguments which were debated, including: whether or not French slaves in the West Indies should be emancipated; whether or not reading novels was beneficial; whether sermons were more effective when memorized than when simply read; whether theater contributed to corrupt morals; whether drunkenness or gambling was more detrimental to society; and whether or not French assistance to the colonies in their Revolutionary War provided sufficient cause for the United States to join with France in its own wars. Most of the topics of debate centered on religion, government and education. Several entries also include notes on related topics of discussion, including the reasons for Native American tribes' hostilities against federal authorities, and there are several references to published works which were cited and consulted in the course of debate.

A collection of autograph letters and original documents relating to the Island of Barbados in the 18th century, ca. 1730-1778

A miscellaneous collection of letter and legal documents relating to Barbados, especially prize causes, inheritance and slaves.

Sermon notes compiled by Solomon Prentice, 1724-1726

Leather top-bound volume containing notes kept by Solomon Prentice on sermons he attended between April 1724 and December 17, 1726, while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The volume contains one-to-two page entries on specific sermons and provides the biblical text and related questions and conclusions.

Notification from William Cutler to the selectmen of Cambridge, Massachusetts, that Dr. Philip Brukowitz and wife were inhabiting his father's house in Cambridge, 1758 April 25

Single page notification addressed to the selectmen of Cambridge, Massachusetts, dated 25 April 1758, in which William Cutler writes that he took into his father’s Cambridge house as tenants Dr. George Philip Brukowitz and his wife, from Woburn, Massachusetts. After the Boston smallpox epidemic of 1721, the town of Cambridge enacted a requirement in 1723 that no resident would receive or admit any non-resident family into their homes for the space of a month without informing the town selectmen. The penalty for failing to do so was twenty shillings.

Commonplace book of Hector Orr, 1789-1804

Hector Orr began recording entries in this commonplace book during his first year as a student at Harvard and continued writing in the volume sporadically until 1804. The entries written while he was a student, from 1789 to 1792, include themes written on the following topics: Time, Discontent, Patriotism, Virtue, Conscience, Patience, Avarice, Compassion, Mortality, Self-knowledge, Benevolence, Morning, Anger, Profanity, Bribery, Autumn and Winter, Hermitage, Conscience and Anticipation. He also wrote detailed entries about the forensic disputations in which he and his classmates participated, explaining both the affirmative and negative positions. One of these disputations involved discussion of the Stamp Act, which was then quite recent history. Orr's entries about the disputations list the names of students involved and specify their position in the argument.

To Mary Ann [passages copied from several poems, written by an unknown student on November 21, 1790]

The creator of this document is unknown, though he was presumably a student at Harvard College, as the name of the college appears on the document twice. Both sides of the document are filled with passages of poetry, including one from Tobias George Smollett's "The Adventures of Roderick Random" and another from John Tapner's "A New Collection of Fables in Verse." The creator seems to have intended the document for someone named Mary Ann.

Settlement of chambers, 1741-1764

The book is comprised of folio-sized pages conserved in a modern soft-cover binding. The volume consists of yearly handwritten lists of dormitory room assignments for the years 1741-1753 and 1761-1764. Students are listed by last name and building names are often abbreviated as "M" for Massachusetts Hall, "S" for Stoughton Hall, and "O" for Old College or Harvard Hall. The organizational pattern varies by list, some are alphabetical, others arranged by building and room number. The lists for 1743, 1748, 1749, 1761-1764 also note students living outside of the College and their locations. The lists for 1761-1764 also include the waiters and monitors for the academic year.

A catalogue of books in the College library: [which Benjamin Welles wished to read], 1797

In this small paper-bound catalog, Benjamin Welles (1781-1860) listed books in the Harvard College Library which he wished to read. He presumably compiled the list by consulting the Library's 1790 printed catalog, as the works are categorized according to subjects outlined in that catalog (Antiquities, Astronomy, Ancient Authors, Biography, Sacred Criticism, Ethics, Geography, Geometry, History, Nature, Travels / Voyages, Natural Law, Logic, Metaphysics, Miscellaneous Works, Dramatic, Phililogy, Natural Philosophy, Poetry, Rhetoric, and Theology). The final pages of Welles' catalog, which he titles "Another Selection," list additional volumes he wished to read. These are listed alphabetically, A - G. Some titles throughout the catalog have been marked with a "+" perhaps to indicate that Welles had read them.

Student mathematical proofs by Edward Stephen (?) Wigglesworth, 1788

Sheet with two handwritten mathematical proofs signed "Wigglesworth, 1788," likely referring Harvard student Edward Stephen Wigglesworth. The first proof, titled "Problem 1st," examines a prompt beginning, "Given the distance between the Centers of the Sun and Planet, and their quantities of matter; to find a place where a body will be attracted to neither of them." The second proof, titled "Problem 2d," begins "A & B having returned from a journey, had riden [sic] so far that if the square of the number of miles..." and asks "how many miles did each of them travel?"

A plan of Cambridge Green, 1780 September 14

Small pen-and-ink and watercolor drawing of Cambridge Green created by Harvard senior John Davis, presumably as part of his undergraduate mathematical coursework. The map surveys Cambridge Commons and includes a few rough outlines of College buildings and the Episcopal church, and notes the burying ground, and the roads to Charlestown, Menotomy, the pond, Watertown, and the bridge. The original handwritten text is faded and was annotated with additional text by Davis including the note "[taken in my Senior year at H. College Septr 1780] Surveyed in concert with classmates, Atkins, Hall 1st, Howard, Payne, &c.- J. Davis." There is a note that "Atkins afterwards took the name of Tying." Davis refers to Dudley Atkins Tyng, Joseph Hall, Bezaleel Howard, and Elijah Paine, all members of the Harvard Class of 1781.

Report of committee for the form of quarter bills, 1778 December 12

This one-and-a-half page handwritten draft of a report on a folio-sized leaf outlines a six-point process for drafting and authorizing student quarter bills. The procedures consolidate the billing areas, detail the Treasurer's responsibilities, and expand the oversight of the President and Tutors. The report, dated December 12, 1778, is signed by President Samuel Langdon. The draft includes two differently worded versions of the sixth proposal, one of which is struck through.

Student mathematical textbook of James Freeman, 1774

Manuscript volume containing portions of text copied from Nicholas Saunderson’s Elements of algebra, Nicholas Hammond’s The elements of algebra, and John Ward’s The young mathematician’s guide. The volume is divided into two main parts: the first is titled Concerning the parts of Arithmetick (p. 1-98) and the second, The elements of Algebra, extracted from Hammond, Ward & Saunderson (p. 99-259).

Diary of Henry Flynt, 1723-1747

This diary, effectively a commonplace book, documents Flynt's daily activities and personal reflections from 1723 to 1747. Many entries concern his dealings with family members, business associates, acquaintances, ministers, and political officials. The diary includes a list of books Flynt loaned to others from 1723 to 1743 and detailed financial entries from 1724 to 1747. These entries provide information about the costs of goods and services, as well as Flynt's consumption habits; they detail where he traveled, what he ate and drank (including, apparently, many pounds of almonds), what he read, and many other aspects of daily life. The diary also contains entries related to Flynt's land holdings and other investments, as well as copies of meeting minutes from several sessions of the Harvard Board of Overseers.

Diaries of Benjamin Guild, 1776, 1778

These diaries of Benjamin Guild document his travels as a Presbyterian pastor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The daily entries describe people Guild met and dined with, the food he ate (including strawberries, currants, watermelon, English cherries, and lobster), the funerals he attended, and the sermons he gave. Many entries relate to his health concerns (the ague and eye trouble), sleeping habits, and widespread public health concerns (including smallpox, dysentery, "nervous fevers," consumption, and "putrid fever"). The diaries also contain passing references to the activities of American, British, French, and German soldiers during the American Revolution; the invasion of Canada and battles occurring in New York are noted. In August 1778, after visiting Providence, Rhode Island, Guild comments on the disordered state of the city after American soldiers passed through it. He also recounts a visit by officers of the French fleet to the Harvard College library in September 1778 and describes his dinner on board the French man-of-war, Sagitaire. One entry describes an elaborate ball sponsored by John Hancock, held for French soldiers and "Boston ladies," and another refers to the "incursion" of Indians. Many of Guild's diary entries pertain to his work as a Harvard College Tutor; these entries describe his lectures at the College, meetings with colleagues, personnel decisions, and the examination of students. He also describes books he is reading and his opinions of them, the purchase and sale of books, and his desire to learn Hebrew and French. In addition, multiple entries refer to a man named Prince, who was perhaps Guild's slave. Prince sometimes accompanied Guild on his travels.