Rules and orders relating to a Professor of the Mathematicks, of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, in Harvard College, 18 January 1726

This folder contains a single document describing the "rules and orders" of the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. The document begins by defining the subjects to be taught by the Hollis Professor including natural and experimental philosophy, elements of geometry, and the principles of astronomy and geography. It then outlines the number of public and private lectures to be given to students, how much extra time the professor should spend with students reviewing any difficulties they may encounter understanding class subject matter discussed, and stipulates that the professor's duties shall be restricted solely to his teaching activities and not involve him in any religious activities at the College or oblige him to teach any additional studies other than those specified for the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Furthermore, the rules establish the professor's salary at £80 per year and allow the professor to receive from students, except those students studying theology under the Hollis Professor of Divinity, an additional fee as determined by the Corporation and Board of Overseers, to supplement his income. Moreover, the rules assert that all professorship candidates selected by the Harvard Corporation must be approved by Thomas Hollis during his lifetime or by his executor after his death. Finally, the rules state that the Hollis professor take an oath to the civil government and declare himself a member of the Protestant reformed religion. This document is signed by Thomas Hollis and four witnesses, John Hollis, Joshua Hollis, Richard Solly, and John Williams.

Payment order for Rowland Cotton, 1726 October 17

Handwritten order to Penn Townsend to pay scholarship funds to Rowland Cotton on behalf of his son Ward Cotton (Harvard AB 1729), signed by Thomas Foxcroft, John Marion, Samuel Marshall, and Jonathan Williams.

Copy of receipt to Samuel Sewall and William Welsteed, 1726/7 March 4

This copy of a receipt documents funds received by Harvard College from Samuel Sewall and William Welsteed, the executors of the estate of Bridget Usher, for the purchase of books for the College Library.

Letters from Daniel White to Andrew Hall, March 23, 1799

These two letters, both written on the same document, appear to be White's response to accusations from the father of one of his students at the Medford grammar school. Andrew Hall appears to have accused White of punishing his son too severely. In the letters, White denies Hall's accusations while defending his apparently strict approach to discipline. It is not certain whether both these letters were intended for Hall, or if one was written to another (unnamed) upset parent.

A Mourning Ditty: On the Conflagration of Harvard Hall in Cambridge New England. On the 24th Day of January 1764, [1764]

One-page handwritten copy of "A Mourning Ditty" signed "Philomusus Or A lover of the Muses"describing in a classical style the burning of Harvard Hall. The transcription is signed "Correctly Translated from the Printed Copy, by Peter Thacher." Thacher's translation is of the Latin poem "Threnodia" that appeared on the front page of the Massachusetts Gazette on February 2, 1764.

[Admittatur of Thomas Bartlett Hall], 1840 August 25

Printed copy of an undated abstract of laws and regulations with the admittatur of undergraduate Thomas B. Hall signed by President Josiah Quincy on August 25, 1840. The admittatur identifies Hall as a freshman.

[Certificate of admission of Thomas B. Hall], 1840 August 27

Printed copy of an undated abstract of laws and regulations with the admittatur of undergraduate Thomas Bartlett Hall to the Sophomore class on probation signed by President Josiah Quincy on August 27, 1840. The admittatur identifies Hall as a sophomore.

First Floor, Old Harvard Hall 1667-1764, 1935

Floor plan of the first floor of Old Harvard Hall drawn by H.R. Shurtleff in 1935. Includes the hall, kitchen, buttery, and two chambers

Second Floor, Old Harvard Hall, 1677-1764, 1935

Floor plan of the second floor of Old Harvard Hall drawn by H.R. Shurtleff in 1935. Includes student chambers, tutor chambers, and the library.

Engravings of a plan and an exterior view of Harvard Hall drawn by Pierre Eugène du Simitière, (photographic prints, photostats, and negative photostats), [ca. 1764]

The floor plan details all three floors of Harvard Hall, including its cellars, kitchen, chapel, and library. The items in this folder were reproduced from "The Burning of Harvard Hall, 1764, and its consequences," presented by F. Apthorp Foster at the April 1911 meeting of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, and published in the Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume XIV. The floor plan and exterior views were created by Pierre Eugène du Simitière in circa 1764. The original drawings are held in the Pierre Eugène du Simitière collection in the Ridgeway Branch of the Library Company of Philadelphia.