"Certificate respecting the Rev. John Seccombe," 1795 August

One leaf (pages 301-302) of the August, 1795 issue of Massachusetts Magazine with an editorial regarding the authorship of Father Abbey's Will. The article identifies John Seccombe as the author based on information provided by "Thaddeus Mason, Esq. of Cambridge, the only surviving classmate, and very intimate friend of the Rev. John Seccombe."

Letter from E. Carter to William Croswell, [1808]

One-page letter regarding payment.

Letter from William Croswell to John Jones, [1808]

Draft of a letter concerning Croswell's Mercator map.

Letter from William Croswell to [John] Bonnycastle, 1808 May 6

Draft of a letter to John Bonnycastle of the Royal Military Academy in Woolrich, England, requesting a recommendation.

Letter from William Croswell to John Bonnycastle, [1808 May]

Draft of a letter requesting help in publishing a map.

Letter from William Croswell to John C. Page, 1811 December 24

Draft of a one-page letter regarding Page's financial assistance to Croswell in Liverpool, with a laid-in leaf containing an accounting statement.

Letter from William Croswell to John Davis, 1818 December 5

Draft of a one-page letter to Judge John Davis regarding a mathematical problem.

Letters from William Croswell to John Thornton Kirkland, 1820 April-August

This folder contains copies of three brief letters from Croswell to Harvard President Kirkland, dated April 5, 1820, July 6, 1820, and August 28, 1820, requesting payment.

Letter from William Croswell to [John Quincy Adams], 1833 July

Four pages of notes and copies of letters including two rough drafts of a July 1833 letter presumably written to the former United States President John Quincy Adams.

Letter from William Croswell to John Quincy Adams, 1833 July 9

Two drafts on one leaf of a letter regarding the depreciation of currency.

Notes about cases heard as Justice of the Peace, 1784-1795

This small paper-bound notebook contains notes Winthrop made concerning the cases he heard between 1784 and 1795 as a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County. These notes provide insight into the nature of crimes being committed in Cambridge in the post-Revolutionary period, as well as the names and occupations of those accused and their victims. The cases involved the following individuals, among others: Samuel Bridge, Benjamin Estabrook, Joseph Jeffords, Cato Bordman, John Kidder, Spenser Goddin, Jacob Cromwell, Benjamin Stratton, Mary Flood, Bender Temple, John Willett, Joseph Hartwell, Nathaniel Stratton, Amos Washburn, Francis Moore, Thomas Malone, Thomas Cook, and Amboy Brown. The cases involved a range of offenses, and occasionally Winthrop decided that a case exceeded his jurisdiction and forwarded it to the General Court or the Supreme Judicial Court.

Journal concerning the bequest and division of James Winthrop's personal library, 1822-1826

As described in the above biographical note, Winthrop bequeathed most of his library – including his father John Winthrop's books – to the newly established Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. All the books in his library did not go to Allegheny, though, and Winthrop bequeathed over 500 books to two individuals, Thaddeus Mason Harris and Harriet H. Peck. This paper-bound journal contains three lists: one list of all the books which were part of this bequest, with notations indicating their financial value; another list of "Mrs. Peck's part in the division of the legacy" (i.e. the books she selected); and another list of "TM Harris's part of Judge Winthrop's Legacy" (the books he selected). The lists indicate that Peck and Harris chose books from the library on February 3, 1822, and that the few books which remained afterwards were sold by Deacon Hilliard and the profits returned to Peck and Harris.

Certificate to John Walton, guardian to Nathaniel Jarvis, 1804 November 22

This brief handwritten document certifies that the guardianship of Richard Nichols of Reading, Massachusetts, was granted to yeoman Thomas Hartshorn of Reading according to the records of the Probate Court in Framingham, Massachusetts. The document is attested by James Winthrop in his capacity as register of probate for Middlesex County.