Diaries of Benjamin Guild, 1776, 1778

These diaries of Benjamin Guild document his travels as a Presbyterian pastor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The daily entries describe people Guild met and dined with, the food he ate (including strawberries, currants, watermelon, English cherries, and lobster), the funerals he attended, and the sermons he gave. Many entries relate to his health concerns (the ague and eye trouble), sleeping habits, and widespread public health concerns (including smallpox, dysentery, "nervous fevers," consumption, and "putrid fever"). The diaries also contain passing references to the activities of American, British, French, and German soldiers during the American Revolution; the invasion of Canada and battles occurring in New York are noted. In August 1778, after visiting Providence, Rhode Island, Guild comments on the disordered state of the city after American soldiers passed through it. He also recounts a visit by officers of the French fleet to the Harvard College library in September 1778 and describes his dinner on board the French man-of-war, Sagitaire. One entry describes an elaborate ball sponsored by John Hancock, held for French soldiers and "Boston ladies," and another refers to the "incursion" of Indians. Many of Guild's diary entries pertain to his work as a Harvard College Tutor; these entries describe his lectures at the College, meetings with colleagues, personnel decisions, and the examination of students. He also describes books he is reading and his opinions of them, the purchase and sale of books, and his desire to learn Hebrew and French. In addition, multiple entries refer to a man named Prince, who was perhaps Guild's slave. Prince sometimes accompanied Guild on his travels.

Index of Harvard graduates in the classes of 1642-1772, (manuscript notebook), ca. 1772-1791

Notebook containing an alphabetical index of Harvard graduates from 1642 to 1772. The author is unidentified, but the handwriting appears to be that of Harvard President Samuel Langdon (president from 1774 - 1780). The names are arranged alphabetically by surname. Each entry includes the graduate's name, additional degrees (Master, STD, MD, etc.), the year of graduation, and an asterisk if the individual was deceased. The asterisks are included for some graduates who died in 1791, indicating the work was created and updated between 1772 and 1791.

Alphabetical catalog of Harvard College graduates through 1767, 1767

This hard-bound manuscript catalog alphabetically lists the men who graduated from Harvard College between 1642 and 1767. It is believed to be the first such list compiled. Entries contain each graduate's surname (in English), given name (in Latin), year of graduation, and occasional additional information. Francis Foxcroft (A.B. 1712) compiled the catalog. Entries for those who graduated between 1764 and 1767 have been added at the end of each alphabetical section.

Triennial Catalogue annotated by Jeremy Belknap, 1791

The collection holds a heavily interleaved 1791 Triennial Catalogue annotated, in part, by Jeremy Belknap. A note by Harvard Librarian John Langdon Sibley, on the verso of the flyleaf, indicates a second annotator: "It should be observed that this catalogue is in the handwriting of two persons, Dr. Belknap & probably interlineations & additions by Rev. Dr. [John] Eliot. The interlineing part should not be too confidently relied on for accuracy. J. L. Sibley, April 14, 1848." The volume contains biographical notes, newspaper clippings, excerpts from manuscript and printed sources such as New England's First Fruits, the manuscript memoirs of Charles Chauncey, and John Winthrop's Journal, and a 1795 letter from Isaac Mansfield. In the letter, Mansfield references an item he believed to be written by his grandfather, Ames Cheever (Harvard AB 1707), and briefly describes his grandfather. A list of election sermon orators with dates is also pasted into the inside back cover, along with an obituary of the Rev. John Wales (Harvard AB 1728) from the Boston Post-Boy, March 4, 1765.

A collection of the most approved pieces of music from various authors: transcribed while member of Harvard University, from July 1789 to July 1793

John Pierce kept this journal while he was a student at Harvard College. It consists of manuscript musical scores with annotations indicating the occasions at which the music was performed. These occasions included commencements, public exhibitions and Dudleian lectures. A note indicates that one anthem was prepared by Samuel Holyoke at Pierce's request, to be performed at Pierce's class commencement exercises, held on July 13, 1793. Several annotations were made in May 1794, the year following Pierce's graduation. There is a table of contents on the last page.

Address of the resident officers and instructors of Harvard University,

This folder contains an original handwritten document and a nineteenth-century copy.

Title page of scrapbook with Harvard University Library bookplate

This bookplate indicates that the scrapbook was donated to the library by Edward L. Pierce in June 1893; it is not known who assembled the scrapbook, although it was presumanly either Pierce or the younger Sumner.

Valedictory poem delivered in the Chapel of Harvard University on the 21 June 1796: in the presence of the President Proffers & Tutors & the four classes of understudents at the request of the class who completed their college studies on that day

Handwritten draft of the Charles P. Sumner’s valedictory poem to the Harvard class of 1796, in a 19th century hardcover binding beginning “The youth by adverse fortune forced to roam…”. The poem mentions John Russell, a member of the Class of 1796 who died in November 1795. The copy includes edits and struck-out words.

Notebook of James Lovell, 1757-1760

Marbled paper-covered handwritten notebook of James Lovell. The volume contains three texts written in Latin, “Praecellentissime Domine,” dated 1757, an untitled text beginning, “Cogitanti mihi et superiorum revolti…” dated 1759, and Lovell’s funeral oration for Tutor Henry Flynt titled “Oratio funebris” dated 1760. The Latin texts are followed by blank pages and the volume ends with an untitled English text about orators that begins, “Ridiculous certainly is that Practice of some...” The last page of the text includes the marginal notes: “John Winthrop Esqr. Hollisian Professor” and, “For T.H. of Carolina.” There are verses attributed to the London Magazine written on the inside front cover.