Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Abigail Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, May 1, 1801

Willard thanks his sister for writing to him and asks her to write as often as possible. He also mentions his cousin Sophia Chadwick, who has been living with President Willard.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to William Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, October 16, 1801

Willard reports on President Willard’s travels and general well-being and asks his father to apologize to his sister for not writing to her often enough. He also tells his father that he is in debt, details his purchases, and asks for money.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, July 28, 1808

Willard apologizes for not writing or visiting in a long time, discusses a problem with getting his sister Sophronia to visit in Deerfield, and writes: “I think I have a wife, who will do everything in her power to make me happy.”

Montague, Abigale, autographed letter signed to John Winthrop; Hadley, Mass., 1 side (2 pages), 1663 July 19

Correspondence about her seven-year-old daughter, who was suffering from inflammation and discharge from her eye, in which Montague requests Winthrop's advice on whether sarsaparilla root or English barley boiled with herbs would be an effective treatment. Montague adds a postscript about her own health, writing she has a "thick rotten fleame rising out of my stomach" but no cough.

Letter from Benjamin Colman to Edward Wigglesworth about John Leverett, 1728 March 4

Benjamin Colman wrote this letter to Edward Wigglesworth on March 4, 1728; it was sent from Colman, in Boston, to Wigglesworth, in Cambridge. The letter concerns their mutual friend, John Leverett, who had died several years before. It appears that Wigglesworth was charged with writing an epitaph for Leverett and had solicited input from Colman. Colman writes of his great admiration for Leverett, praising his "virtue & piety, wisdom & gravity [...] majesty & authority [...] eye & voice, goodness & courtesie."

Teenager reads letter

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

Teenager reads letter

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].