Student essay composed by Thomas Mason, 1796

Three-page folio-sized handwritten student essay composed by Thomas Mason as a Harvard undergraduate. The verso of the last page is inscribed "Mason February 1796." A quotation from Edward Young appears at the top of the first page: "Heaven gives us friends to bless the present science; / Resumes them, to prepare us for the rest." The essay discusses friendship and the death of friends, and begins, "The author of our nature has so constituted it, that pleasure is unknown without the intervention of pain."

Power of Attorney, [?] Wellington for Thomas Durant, Sept. 22, 1787

Signed by Thomas Durant and witnessed by Ebenezer Bradish. It is possible that Shapleigh used this document as a guide when drafting his own power of attorney documents.

"Hollis Catalogue," 1787

This self-titled "Hollis catalogue" appears to have been compiled by a librarian in 1787. It is arranged alphabetically and possibly lists titles acquired through the endowed fund for the purchase of books created after Hollis's death in 1774, as most titles in the list were published between 1774 and 1787.

Power of Attorney, Samuel Shapleigh for Thomas Adams, Jan. 12, 1791

Signed by Thomas Adams and witnessed by Abraham Biglow and Daniel Clarke Sanders.

Power of Attorney, Samuel Shapleigh for Thomas Thompson, May 18, 1791

Signed by Thomas Thompson and witnessed by Thaddeus Mason Harris and Otis(?) Clarke.

Diary of Thomas Marsh, 1751

Diary kept in an interleaved almanac from 1751. Entries in the diary are brief and sporadic, recording events including travel, visitors, weather, sermons heard, holidays, illnesses and deaths. Occasional expenses are noted, including ones for hay, cider, bottles, shoes, and doctoring. A few dates of college events are noted, including the semi-annual Corporation meeting and Commencement. On the last page is a list of student names, presumably those tutored by Marsh.

Letter from John Quincy Adams to his brother, Thomas Boylston Adams, 1786 July 2

This letter was written by John Quincy Adams on July 2, 1786 to his younger brother, Thomas Boylston Adams, who was then staying with their uncle, the Reverend John Shaw, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. In the letter, John gives Thomas advice on life as a student at Harvard, instructing him to choose his friends carefully, to favor those who are virtuous and studious over those who are idle and prone to vice, to maintain an "unblemished moral reputation," and to spend as much as six hours each day studying in order to excel as a scholar.