Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1805 March 27

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley with miscellaneous information about Winthrop's Nautical Almanack collection of and a list of Roman coins.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Exeter, New Hampshire, to William Willard and Katherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, November 25, 1805

Willard describes his usual daily routines relating to teaching at Philips Academy and his plans to leave Exeter.

William Blair Townsend letter and receipt books, 1743-1805, bulk 1744-1777

The collection consists of two volumes, which date from 1743 to 1805, spanning his whole career as a merchant. Volume one is a letter book containing Townsend's business correspondence from November 23, 1743 to December 12, 1774. Most of the letters were written to American (many in North Carolina) and British (predominately in London) merchants. His earliest letters document his efforts to establish himself as a trader. Over time his letters turn to illustrate the common problems faced by many merchants: damaged goods, overpriced goods, embargos, and high freight costs. Particularly enlightening are his comments on the challenges of doing business throughout the French and Indian War and the years leading up to the American Revolution. He most frequently corresponded with London merchants Champion & Hayley, Lane & Booth, Lane Son & Fraser, Harrison & Ansley, and Leeds merchant Samuel Elam. In addition he frequently corresponded with Eliakim Palmer, colonial agent and merchant in London, as well as Dr. Walley Chauncy of North Carolina. He dealt in a wide variety of goods including molasses, rum, tar, medicines, pitch, saddles, tallow, hides, skins, pickled beef and pork, and wine. The letters also document Townsend's involvement in the slave trade through his occasional purchases of slaves.

C. Tax bills, 1785-1805

This subseries contains ten printed tax bills filled out in manuscript for William Croswell between 1785 and 1805.

D. Bank note, 1805

One bank note for the Bank of England, dated March 29, 1805.

Student mathematical notebook of William Tudor, 1795

Notebook containing the handwritten mathematical exercises of William Tudor, kept in 1795 while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The volume contains rules, definitions, problems, drawings, and tables on geometry, trigonometry, surveying, calculating distances, sailing, and dialing. Some of the exercises are illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams. The Menusration of Heights and Distances section contains color drawings of buildings and trees, and some have been altered with notes in different hands and with humorous additions. For instance, a drawing of a tower was drawn into a figure titled “Egyptian Mummy.” Some of the images are identified: “A rude sketch of the Middlesex canal,” Genl Warren’s monument on Bunker Hill,” “Noddles Island,” “the fields of Elysium,” and the “Roxbury Canal.” The annotations and additional drawings are unattributed.

Letters from William Tudor to his family,

Five letters written from St. Pierre, Martinique, include updates on Tudor’s attempts to secure exclusive commercial rights to import ice to the island, as well as his ideas for storing ice and methods of storing cargo onboard a ship.

Letters from William Tudor to his family,

Four letters written from St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Santo Domingo, in which he indicates his petitions for privilege to import ice have been successful except at St. Croix with the Danish government. He also decribes the architecture and cultural diversity of St. Thomas, which had been rebuilt after a fire in 1805.

Letters from William Tudor to his brother, Frederic Tudor,

Three letters written while Tudor was in the West Indies attempting to gain exclusive rights to import ice.

Letters from Penelope Sedgwick to William Tudor,

Three letters in which Sedgwick writes about education, the arts, and various social interactions.

Letters from Degen, Purviance & Co. to William Tudor,

Three letters attached to price circulars.

Letters from Strobel & Martini to William Tudor,

Four letters regarding market demand for items like sugar and coffee, and prices current. Two letters include duplicate correspondence from Gothard Martini and John A. Morton, whose firm Martini joined after Strobel & Martini apparently dissolved.

Letters from Thomas Dickason & Co. to William Tudor,

Two letters regarding bills outstanding.

Letters from Thomas & Henry Lynch & Co. to William Tudor,

Four letters regarding a shipment of fish, and market for flour and wheat. Includes one duplicate letter, and two bills of lading.

Letter from Thomas Vantandeloe to William Tudor,

One letter regarding articles of clothing Tudor ordered.