Letter from Judah Monis to the Harvard Corporation, 1734 June 1

One-page handwritten letter from Judah Monis to the Corporation discussing the potential long-term losses associated with a plan to advance twenty-five percent of the cost of the Hebrew Grammar to the College.

Petition of Judah Monis to the Harvard Corporation, 1733 September 14

A half-page handwritten request from Judah Monis to the Harvard Corporation on a folio-sized leaf requesting a salary increase due to the high cost of living. The petition was read to the Corporation on October 5, 1733.

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."

E. Committee to frame rules, directions, and statutes of the Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory, 1804

This subseries consists of a paper notebook containing a handwritten draft of the report presented to the Harvard Corporation on April 30, 1804 by the Committee to frame Rules, Directions, and Statutes of the Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory. The handwritten report provides a numbered list of rules related to the Boylston Professorship and is dated April 16, 1804. The report is followed by a certification signed May 1, 1804 from President Joseph Willard that he was unable to attend the meeting of the Corporation to discuss the professorship.

The Report of the Committee appointed to Consid'n of the Memorial of the Overseers of Harvard College, 1722 June 29

Two folio-sized leaves containing a handwritten copy of a June 29, 1722 report created by a Committee of the General Court responding to the June 13, 1722 memorial of the Board of Overseers. The report lists three points declaring that the Charter of 1650 intended the Tutors to be members of the Corporation "provided they exceed not five in number," that none of the Fellows be Overseers, and that the Charter of 1650 did not grant the Corporation the power to set salaries without the consent of the Overseers. The copy notes that the report was read and accepted on June 29, and signed by Governor Samuel Shute on July 2, 1722, with the stipulation that none of the current non-resident Fellows be removed from the Corporation.

Petition of Sever and Welsteed to the General Court (manuscript copy), [1723 June-August]

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten copy of the June 21, 1723 petition of Sever and Welsteed requesting the question of non-resident Fellows in the Corporation be readdressed by the General Court, and a one-page handwritten copy of the answer to the petition passed by the General Court on August 7, 1723. The text of the petition begins "Sheweth that we have formerly represented to the Overseers of the College the Difficulty we were under in the business of it by reason of our not being vested with the power of its Charter..." The petition is incorrectly dated as "June 24th 1722" instead of 1723.

The Lawes and Orders of Harvard Colledge, 1655-1708

The 21-page handwritten copy of the College laws is laid out in two columns, and lacks a cover. In the left-hand column, in an unidentified hand, are the Laws of 1655 in English with additions dated April 9, 1660, August 24, 1663, and December 5, 1667, and an order of the General Court dated Sept. 4, 1656. In the right-hand column, in the hand of President John Leverett, are the Latin Laws of 1642-1646, with an occasional reference to the Latin Laws of 1686 and 1692, and two extracts from the Corporation records about the reading of the Scriptures dated January 26 and May 27, 1708.

Vote related to the case of Packard, 1780 September 11

One-page handwritten draft of a vote of the Harvard Faculty forwarding the case of Asa Packard (Harvard AB 1783), who advanced money to the College steward on June 3, 1780, to the Corporation. The document is signed by Professor Edward Wigglesworth (1731/2-1794), who served as acting president of the College from 1780 to 1781. The document is missing text.

Meeting minutes maintained by the Secretary, Nov. 12, 1777

These minutes concern General William Heath's request for permission to house the soldiers of John Burgoyne – British prisoners of war – at Harvard. The Overseers voted to recommend that the Corporation allow the soldiers to occupy one or more College buildings, in spite of various hesitations. It has not been decisively determined whether or not the British troops were ultimately housed at Harvard. Some sources assert that no buildings were occupied, while others claim that Burgoyne and his soldiers lived in Apthorp House for a time.

Vote of Corporation, 4 January 1813

This document in John Kirkland's hand records the vote of the Corporation to begin surveying College lands for a new building to be constructed between Massachusetts and Harvard Halls to house commons halls. The vote also authorized engineers John Lowell and Loammi Baldwin to start making contacts for building materials.

Memorial of the President and Fellows of Harvard College to the General Court for the enlargement of their power to hold real estate. Copy, [1797 July 15]

Four folio-sized leaves containing a handwritten copy of a petition to the Massachusetts General Court from the Harvard Corporation requesting the College's amount of tax exempt real estate be enlarged.

No. 2 Extract from the Charter of 1650, [1799]

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten copy of the section of the Charter of 1650 providing tax exemptions to Harvard College officers. The transcription is signed as a "True copy" by President Willard.

No. 13 Statement of Col. purchases since last valuation--amount of Interest on all purchase monies within the last 10 years, & annual rent of all other rented real Estate belonging to College, [1799]

One octavo-sized leaf containing a short handwritten list of accounting figures.

Paid to Inhabitants of Cambridge For Supplies in the Hall, [1799 June]

One octavo-sized folded leaf containing a short handwritten list of payments made to Cambridge for supplies between 1796 and 1799.

No. 4 Petition of the Committee [sic] of the Town of Cambridge, 1799 January

Two folio-sized leaves containing a handwritten copy of a petition to the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the Committee of the Town of Cambridge (comprised by James Winthrop, William Winthrop, and Ebenezer Stedman). The petition includes eight points related to the tax exemptions of Harvard real estate and the personal property of College administrators and faculty, and requests further tax legislation to remove any ambiguity that prevents the College and associated individuals "from paying a just & equitable proportion of Town and Parish Charges."