Payment order for Nathanael Gardner on behalf of his son, 1737 July 1

Handwritten order to John Sale to pay scholarship funds to Nathanael Gardner on behalf of his son Nathaniel Gardner (Harvard AB 1739), signed by Thomas Foxcroft, Charles Chauncey, Samuel Marshall, Thomas Waite, and Cornelius Thayer.

Payment order for Nathanael Gardner on behalf of his son, 1738 July 17

Handwritten order to John Sale to pay scholarship funds to Nathanael Gardner on behalf of his son Nathaniel Gardner (Harvard AB 1739), signed by Thomas Foxcroft, Charles Chauncey, Samuel Marshall, Thomas Waite, and Cornelius Thayer, and Jonathan Williams.

Letters from Daniel White to Andrew Hall, March 23, 1799

These two letters, both written on the same document, appear to be White's response to accusations from the father of one of his students at the Medford grammar school. Andrew Hall appears to have accused White of punishing his son too severely. In the letters, White denies Hall's accusations while defending his apparently strict approach to discipline. It is not certain whether both these letters were intended for Hall, or if one was written to another (unnamed) upset parent.

III. Diary, 1799

This diary, which John Henry Tudor titled A Registry of College Adventures, documents his life as a student at Harvard College. The entries describe his daily activities and notable events, including trips to the theater, hunting outings to "shoot Robbins," adventures with other students in local taverns, visits with his family in Boston and at the family estate, Rockwood, and the illumination of Cambridge in honor of George Washington's birthday. Tudor created and recorded a humorous classology, describing his peers at Harvard in a sometimes scathing manner, and also recorded information about those obliged to leave the College, usually following pranks or other unacceptable behavior. He also recounts his own involvement in pranks and other antics, which he believed to be the only antidote to the dullness of college life, and in one entry he describes an evening when he and several friends "disguised [them]selves like Negroes" and wandered into scholars' rooms without detection. Tudor was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club and the Porcellian Club ("the Pig club") while at Harvard and describes club meetings in several entries. There are also more reflective and personal entries, describing Tudor's feelings about his aging grandmother, his brother William's departure for Holland, and his desire for a "wife who shall make [him] happy[,] an affectionate dog [and] a farm & garden."

"A competence is vital to content; Much wealth is corpulence, if not disease" (manuscript essay), 1799 March 30

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster with a story about a wealthy young Englishman named Francis who discovers that money is not the source of happiness. The essay is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem, "The Complaint." Buckminster's essay begins, "Francis was the son of a rich English nobleman."

"Conscience is the best casuist" (manuscript essay), 1799 September 10

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the subject of conscience told through a story about a young man named Henry who saves a starving woman. The essay begins, "The disquisitions of the metaphysical world upon the origin and nature of conscience are quite unnecessary to a complete comprehension of the significancy of our motto." The essay is titled with a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile, Or on Education.

"Procrastination is the thief of time" (manuscript essay), 1799 November 26

Four-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the consequences of procrastination. The essay begins, "Moralists of every age & nation, from wise, proverbial Solomon to 'poor Richard' of our own times, have united in recommending industry, as one of the most necessary virtues." The essay is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem, "The Complaint," and ends with two lines from Horace beginning, "Est modus in rebus ; sunt certi denique fines..."

Expense bill, 1799

One bill for the date span November 29, 1798-February 22, 1799. The workers named on the bill are James Fillebrown, Peter Waters, and Betsy Thomas.

The Laws of Harvard College, 1798-1799

Bound copy of the 1798 College Laws printed by John & Thomas Fleet, in a modern hardcover binding. The copy is interleaved with unlined pages that include handwritten notes about the laws, often dated in late 1799. The annotations are attributed to a Latin tutor at the College.

[Admittatur of William Lawrence (Harvard AB 1743)], 1739

Notebook with a handwritten copy of the 1735 College laws in English prepared by Harvard undergraduate William Lawrence and signed by President Edward Holyoke, Fellow Nathan Prince, and Tutor Daniel Rogers on September 9, 1739.

F. List of items carried to College, 1799 September 16

This subseries contains one short handwritten list of dishware, cutlery, and a set of money scales and weights brought to Harvard College by Loammi Baldwin on September 16, 1799.

Contributions for a bath in Charles' River, 1799 & 1800, 1800

Includes contribution totals from personal subscribers, individual donors, the Harvard Corporation, and the Humane Society for the construction of a bath on the Charles River. Also contains estimated costs for materials and labor.

Floor plan and notes for proposed building with chapel and hall, [ca. 1799]

Possibly drawn and written in the hand of President Joseph Willard. The proposed building would house a chapel, halls, chambers for scholars, and was to be built on the site of the first Stoughton Hall which was torn down in 1781.