Letter from John Leverett to an unidentified recipient (fragment), 1721 August 28

Three octavo-sized leaves containing a handwritten letter from President Leverett to an unidentified recipient with detailed notes and extracts of Harvard Corporation votes related to non-resident Fellows of the Corporation. The names of the non-resident Fellows are listed in page margins. The letter begins: "Rev'd & Dear Sr. Pursuant to your desire I have collected the names of the non-resid't Fellows of the Corporation..." The fourth leaf containing the seventh page of text is no longer with the item.

[Admittatur of Benjamin Dolbeare (Harvard AB 1763)], 1760

Notebook with a handwritten copy of the 1734 College laws and additional laws approved by the Corporation between 1756 and 1760 in English prepared by Harvard undergraduate Benjamin Dolbeare and signed by President Edward Holyoke, Tutors Belcher Hancock and Thomas Marsh, and William Kneeland and Josephus Jackson on January 12, 1760.

[Admittatur of Joseph Willard (Harvard AB 1765)], 1762

Notebook with a handwritten copy of the 1734 College laws and the additional laws approved by the Corporation on March 29, 1757 in English prepared by Harvard undergraduate Joseph Willard and signed by President Edward Holyoke, Tutors Belcher Hancock and Thomas Marsh, and William Kneeland and Ebenezer Thayer on May 6, 1762.

Buildings records, bound volume, 1811-1838

This bound volume, likely assembled by the Corporation in the 1850s, contains documents related to Harvard buildings which have been pasted onto the pages. The volume consists of correspondence and memoranda pertaining to the construction of Holworthy Hall, 1811-1812; contracts and correspondence relating to the construction of University Hall, 1813-1814; and correspondence regarding repairs to Massachusetts Hall overseen by Loammi Baldwin in 1812. Additional records pertaining to the construction of Gore Hall, 1834-1838; and the repairs to the Medical College on Mason Street in Boston, 1824 are also located in this volume.

Vote of thanks and $100 for repairs of Massachusetts Hall, 15 December 1812

In this letter signed by President John Kirkland, the Corporation voted to honor Loammi Baldwin for his supervision of the repairs to Massachusetts Hall. Repairs included new doors, doorframes, and windows. These updates were likely delayed repairs of damage sustained during the American Revolution when American soldiers were quartered in Massachusetts Hall.

Receipt from Isaac Bradish to Caleb Gannett, 18 October 1781

Receipt for $280 for all materials, except stones, to build Stoughton Hall, to Caleb Gannett, College Steward on behalf of the Corporation, from auctioneer Isaac Bradish. The receipt also gives the purchase price in British pounds sterling, £84.

Front elevation and floor plans for first and second floors, ink and wash on paper, [ca. 1812]

Drawing by Charles Bulfinch of proposed plans for University Hall which were later rejected. Includes sketches of the front exterior view of the University Hall, and separate floor plans for the ground and second floors. Bulfinch designed a ground floor with a chapel and four dining halls each holding 100 students, a second floor with a gallery in the chapel and three rooms over the dining halls for public examinations and meetings of the Corporation and Overseers; and a basement under the halls intended for a kitchen under the dining halls and recitation rooms under the chapel.

Vote of Harvard College, 9 May 1814

Signed by President John Kirkland, this Corporation vote acknowledges that Loammi Baldwin has given his notice that he can no longer oversee the construction of University Hall. The Corporation votes to pay him seven hundred dollars for his services.

Extract from legislation passed 1799 February 7

One fragment of a leaf containing a handwritten extract from unidentified legislation stipulating that a section of the bill "should not be so construed as to exempt" the real estate of the College or its officers from payment of local taxes beyond that exempted in the Charter of 1650 and the state Constitution. The text includes the note, "passed 7 Feb'y --99" and presumably refers to the bill referenced in President Willard's letter to Samuel Phillips that "passed the House, and is now before the Senate." The section did not become part of the tax law.

First Draught of substitute, [1799 February]

One folio-sized leaf containing a handwritten draft of the substitute clause providing Cambridge a year to provide evidence that Harvard exceeded £500 in real estate income. The clause was included in the annual tax act, approved on February 28, 1799 (Chapter 75).

Substitute, [1799 February]

Fragment of paper containing a handwritten copy of the substitute clause. The clause was included in the annual tax act, approved on February 28, 1799 (Chapter 75).

New Draught of a Bill, [1799]

One folio-sized leaf containing a handwritten draft of a bill section regarding the College's amount of tax-exempt real estate income, with the income values left blank.

Queries, [1798 June]

One octavo-sized leaf containing handwritten questions in the hand of Professor Pearson regarding the taxation of real estate in Cambridge. A note on the document verso: "Allen 2nd June 11th 1798" indicates Pearson used a student's assignment paper and the date suggests the queries may have been created in preparation for the June 20, 1798 meeting with the Committee of the Town of Cambridge.

[Yearly account statement from 1785 to 1799 January]

One folio-sized leaf containing a handwritten unidentified statement with calculations by year between June 1785 through January 1799. The entries include a yearly figure and "deduct" amounts, and amounts include cents suggesting the figures represent income or repair amounts, as opposed to rents.

A Catalogue of estates in Cambridge belonging to Harvard College, 1799 January 11

Two folio-sized leaves containing a handwritten list of Cambridge real estate belonging to Harvard and the amount of related rents, signed by President Willard.