Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, July 14, 1802

Willard explains that he is very busy and discusses the poor health of his brother Ephraim Willard, and asks for more information about his current condition.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, June 22, 1803

Willard mentions his brother’s poor health, his plans to go to teach at Phillips Exeter, and describes various objects that he has sent to different family members, including a razor and books. In his post script, he asks to have a shirt mended.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Brunswick, Maine, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, February 18, 1804

Willard describes his trip from Petersham to Brunswick and complains that somebody stole his saddlebags.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, May 14, 1806

Willard asks his family to write to him more often, and discusses his plans to begin preaching at Hingham.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, April 16, 1807

Willard explains that the town of Deerfield has asked him to stay and preach for an extra six weeks, but he consented to stay four. He also asks his sister if she can send him some of his sermons.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, July 28, 1808

Willard apologizes for not writing or visiting in a long time, discusses a problem with getting his sister Sophronia to visit in Deerfield, and writes: “I think I have a wife, who will do everything in her power to make me happy.”

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, November 3, 1809

Willard informs his sister that he has sent her the chambray that he bought for her with money she had given to him to make the purchase.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, April [3?], 1810

Willard explains that he has been anxious to hear news about the family’s health so he sent a “lad that is living with us by the name of Leonard Smith to learn how it is with you + inform you how we are.” He also writes that his wife delivered a baby daughter last week; it was a difficult birth but she is recovering. He describes the baby’s weight and health, and also refers to some election results. At the end of the letter, he says that he has included a lock of his baby’s hair; the lock of hair is no longer enclosed in the letter.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, March 7, 1814

Willard mentions that there is a sickness going around town and that three people have died as a result, with others feeling “dangerous sick.” He also discusses “Dr. [Joseph] Lyman’s pamphlet” and ongoing issues with the council at Greenfield. Included in the letter is a message from Samuel’s wife, Susan Willard, to Catherine, in which she provides pleasantries and mentions the family’s good health in spite of the town’s sicknesses.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Belchertown, Massachusetts, July 19, 1814

Willard asks his sister to come visit in Deerfield to “spend a number of weeks.”

Deed of sale, 1716/7 January 1

Handwritten deed between Martha Daille and Andrew Bordman for "A Negro man slave named Cuffe." Witnessed by Benjamin Wadsworth, Phebe Manley, and Margaret Epes. A faded note on the verso reads: "Neither acknowledged or recorded."

Moses Parker's Release to Hopkinston [sic] Trustees, 1716 December 21

Handwritten copy of a deed between Moses Parker and the Trustees for the land originally purchased by Parker, et al. from John Owosamog in 1700.

Account book of Andrew Croswell, 1794-1802

Andrew Croswell kept this account book while an undergraduate at Harvard College. It contains entries from 1794, the year he entered, until his graduation in 1798. There is also one entry on the back cover apparently made in 1802. The entries, divided by school term, are very detailed. Croswell indicates the cost of the following, among many other expenses and purchases: transportation, most often to Hingham and Plymouth; payment for "passing the bridge"; candles; hiring a horse; wood and having it cut; laundry; quills and pencils; paper and ink; razors, haircuts, hair ribbons; a trunk; clothing and cloth for trousers; furniture; tickets to the theater; door locks; a bowl and spoon; "batts and balls" and "other necessaries"; tobacco; toothbrushes; shoe and boot repair; fruit; wine, brandy and rum; cheese; coffee and tea; butter; lemons; sugar; and wafers. There are also entries for college-related costs, including the payment of quarter bills, buttery bills, Hasty Pudding Club dues, and a fee to the President of Harvard College related to Croswell's graduation. There are also entries pertaining to the cost of celebrating various special occasions, including Election Day, Christmas Eve, "Independent Day," and George Washington's birthday.