Letters from Timothy Pickering to his brother and father, 1797-1798

These two handwritten letters by Timothy Pickering were written on February 14, 1797 and June 14, 1798 to his brother John Pickering and his father Timothy Pickering, respectively. The letter to his brother, John, discusses mutual friends, classmate Thomas Lee, and John’s recent attendance at a sermon by Dr. Joseph Priestley. The letter from Timothy to his father includes a discussion of Timothy’s expenses and the amount of money needed to pay his debts, a request for new shoes for commencement, the news of Timothy’s invitation to join honor society Phi Beta Kappa, and a few comments on his forensics course at Harvard.

Certificate of parent, 1807 June 6

This brief handwritten note, signed by the parent of a Liverpool student, certifies Croswell's proficiency as an instructor.

Agreement between William Croswell and Charles Turner, 1807 September

Draft of an agreement between Croswell and Turner related to their evening school in Liverpool.

Evening Education, [1807]

Printed advertisement for the evening classes of William Croswell and Charles Turner in Liverpool with handwritten notes on the verso.

Letter from William Croswell to James White, 1807 March 6

One-page draft of a letter from Croswell, in Liverpool, to James White of London requesting help in finding work.

Financial bills and receipts, 1807-1808

This folder contains five bills and receipts for purchases made by William Croswell in Liverpool, England.

[Draft of an advertisement for subscriptions for a celestial map, 1807?]

One-page document containing a draft of a proposal for subscriptions for the printing of a celestial map.

Proposal and recommendations for a celestial planisphere, or, map of the heavens, 1807-1810

This folder contains a broadside with an 1807 printed proposal for a Mercator celestial map that is appended with a handwritten list of subscribers, dated December 1810, as well as two copies of printed recommendations for the map.

Liverpool travel documents, 1807

This folder contains five documents related to Croswell's voyage and stay in Liverpool, England.

Daily pocket journal of John and Hannah Winthrop, 1766-1779

Small printed daily pocket journal repurposed by both John and Hannah between 1766 and 1779 to record household accounts including livestock pasturing, income received, and payments to servants, merchants, and tradesmen for food, livestock, clothing, linen, etc. Many of the pages are unused. The January-April pages contain account records from 1766-1779, one page in June has a few accounting notes from September 1779, the rest of June-November is empty, and three books are listed on a November page. The last three calendar pages contain lists of books in Hannah's handwriting dated 1773 and August 1768.

Confession of students for walking out of commons, April 1807

This document, signed by 108 students, contains a confession for their part in the 1807 student rebellion. Students were required to sign this confession in order to avoid expulsion.

A statement of facts, relative to the late proceedings in Harvard College, Cambridge, published by the students, Boston, April 10, 1807

Written in defense of the students’ actions, this publication sought to clear the students in the eyes of the public. They argued against the stern disciplinary stance of the Corporation, warning that "it is possible to kill the spirt by too rigorous an adherence to the letter of the law." According to the students, the cause of the upheaval was the "black, nauseous and intolerable" food served in Commons. Although they admitted that there were some students who "delight in mischief, anarchy, and confusion," they argued against the whole student body being charged for the crimes. Instead, they held that their offense, "retiring peaceably from the hall," should be punished, as usual, only by the "small fine of fifty or one hundred cents."