Vote of the President and Tutors May 19th and June 1, 1781 relative to the disorders, 1781 June 13

One-page handwritten document illegible due to faded ink.

Exhortation read to 27 of the Sophomore class, 1797 July 1

9-page handwritten copy of an address by Eliphalet Pearson read to twenty-seven members of the sophomore class after an incident on June 27, 1797 in which "in direct violation of College law a majority of the sophomore class repaired to the house of Richard Boardman in this town; that they did then & there indulge to a free use of wine" that incited them to drunkenly parade through town and disturb the evening church services of the College.

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.

Deposition of Abraham Hill against Nathan Prince, Nov. 1, 1740

Abraham Hill (A.B. 1737) claimed that Prince had come to his College chamber "smoaking a pipe of Tobacco" the previous summer and asked numerous unusual questions. Hill also testified that Prince had accused fellow Tutor Daniel Rogers of being someone who "never did know what a scholar was" and Tutor Henry Flynt of having been "superannuated long ago." This deposition was attested by Justice of the Peace Trowbridge.

Page of diary, Jan. 1-4, 1800

Contains very brief entries from the first four days of January. Verso contains numerical calculations labeled as "Recital del case from Oct. 1, [17]99."

Bond of Samuel Shapleigh to Ebenezer Bradish, July 1, 1793

Although it is known that Bradish was a tavern keeper in Cambridge, the circumstances precipitating this bond are unclear. Shapleigh's name has been cut out from the bottom of the document. It was "signed, sealed and delivered" in the presence of John Warland and Raham Richardson. Annotations on the verso indicate payments made in 1795 and 1796.

College Book 1, 1639-1795

This long and narrow leather-bound volume, sometimes referred to as the Long College Book, contains early records of Harvard's two governing boards, the Corporation and the Board of Overseers, as well as a miscellany of entries, made in multiple hands, on assorted topics. Although its proper title is College Book 1, the spine title reads "College Book 1 & 2" due to a nineteenth century labeling error. Proceedings from Corporation and Overseers' meetings were entered unsystematically in this volume, alongside financial statements and other records. The varied purposes of the individual quires which make up this volume, along with the early scarcity of paper, contribute to its disorganized nature. One scholar described it as "jumbled together in a haphazard way now impossible of explanation," although several other scholars have attempted to explain its organization. Some entries are in Latin.

[Letter from Thomas Clap to Royal Tyler,] 1764 August 1

One-page handwritten letter from Thomas Clap to Royal Tyler acknowledging his return of "Mr. Sewals Hebrew Grammar" to Tyler and noting that the work is "best especially for beginners." The letter is torn into three pieces and some text is missing. A portion of the missing text can be found in Box 4.

[Correspondence originally sewn into the front of Volume 1], 1771-1783

This folder contains three letters originally sewn to the front inside cover of Volume 1 of Sewall's bound lectures (HUG 1782 Box 3). A fourth letter is still glued to the inside front cover and listed with the volume. The three letters consist of a letter from B. Kennicott to Stephen Sewall, May 14, 1771 and two letters written in French from Antoine Court de Gébelin to Stephen Sewall, one written on March 3, 1780, and the second received on November 18, 1783. The letter from Benjamin Kennicott acknowledges Sewall's letter to him and offers instructions for paying for a subscription to Kennicott's work. A portion of the missing text from Box 1 can be found in this folder.

Lines in remembrance of Mr. Gannett--a tribute sincere, but unworthy of his character, undated

One-page handwritten remembrance written by "B. Kent," beginning "Hark, tis a voice on high--'Come to thy rest..."

IV. College bowl inscription, undated

Inscription likely composed in the eighteenth century by Boston attorney Josiah Quincy, Jr., father of Harvard President Josiah Quincy (1829-1845). There are no known records of this cup, but it may have been part of the College Plate. The inscription begins, "Crown high the Goblet," and references knowledge, truth, and virtue. The last line reads "inquit Quincy," which translates as "says Quincy."

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

Willard alludes to a situation regarding his father and praises him profusely.