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.

An English oration : 1783

Paper notebook containing a handwritten copy of an essay titled "An English Oration" composed by Harrison Gray Otis for the 1783 Harvard Commencement. The essay discusses the American Revolution and begins, “An Omission of the usual appeals..."

Letters from William Tudor to his father, William Tudor, approximately

Two letters in which Tudor carefully debates the merits of careers in law versus mercantilism, and discusses the business prospects of several young merchants, a journey Tudor took with his brother, Frederic, throughout New England, and the state of politics, including the election to Congress of James Otis, and Thomas Jefferson’s prospects for the presidency.

Letters from John Thornton Kirkland to William Tudor,

One letter regarding a stone chapel being built at Harvard, and one letter providing biographical information on James Otis.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Three letters, one in which Tudor suggests persuading the Episcopal Church to send a bishop to reside in Cambridge and establish a divinity professorship as a means to attract students from other states who are wary of Unitarianism. Tudor also makes inquiries regarding the title of Doctor for a Reverend Chaplin and asks about college records of James Otis.

Letter from William Bentley to William Tudor,

One letter from Bentley, a Unitarian minister in Salem, praising Tudor’s work on James Otis and offering his recollections of Otis from the late 18th century.

Letter from Alden Bradford to William Tudor, undated

One letter that was enclosed with a copy of a petition written by James Otis.

Letter from Thomas Fillebrown to William Tudor,

One letter regarding subscriptions for Tudor’s work on James Otis.

Letters from Samuel Gilman to William Tudor,

Four letters on topics including Gilman’s literary work, his upcoming move to Charleston, South Carolina, to become pastor of a Unitarian church, and his impressions of the city once there, as well as subscriptions for Tudor’s work on James Otis.

Letter from William Tudor to Thomas Jefferson,

One letter inquiring if the president corresponded with James Otis, or if he was aware of any fellow Virginians who had contact with Otis while he was alive. Tudor was seeking to obtain letters, or extracts of letters, that Otis had written. Following the onset of mental illness, Otis destroyed his personal papers, leaving few original materials documenting his life and career.

Letters from Joseph Lyman to William Tudor,

Two letters regarding Tudor’s research into James Otis.

Letter from George Ticknor to William Tudor, undated

One letter regarding the return of Tudor’s James Otis manuscript and offering advice on dealing with publishers.

Letters from John Vaughan to William Tudor,

Three letters regarding James Otis correspondence in the John Dickinson papers, and an American Philosophical Society publication Vaughan was sending to the Boston Athenaeum library.

Letters from Henry Warren to William Tudor,

Two letters providing information and historical sources on James Otis.

Letters from Benjamin Welles to John Henry Tudor, 1799-1801

Benjamin Welles wrote these six letters to his friend and classmate, John Henry Tudor, between 1799 and 1801. Four of the letters are dated, and the dates of the other two can be deduced from their contents. Welles wrote Tudor four times in September 1799, at the onset of their senior year at Harvard, in an attempt to clear up hurt feelings and false rumors that he believed had caused a chill in their friendship. The cause of the rift is never fully explained, though Welles alludes to "a viper" and "villainous hypocrite" who apparently spread rumors and fueled discord between the two friends. In one letter, Welles asserts that "College is a rascal's Elysium - or the feeling man's hell." In another he writes: "College, Tudor, is a furnace to the phlegmatic, & a Greenland to thee feeling man; it has an atmosphere which breathes contagion to the soul [...] Villains fatten here. College is the embryo of hell." Whatever their discord, the wounds were apparently eventually healed; in a letter written June 26, 1800, Welles writes to ask Tudor about his impending speech at Commencement exercises. In an October 29, 1801 letter, Welles writes to Tudor in Philadelphia (where he appears to have traveled in attempts to recover his failing health) and expresses strong wishes for his friend's recovery and return to Boston. This letter also contains news of their classmate Washington Allston's meeting with painters Henry Fuseli and Benjamin West.