Account of attendance at the Library, 1813

Five leaves containing handwritten accounts of William Croswell's attendance and absences from his job at the Harvard Library in 1813.

Contract for the great College, 6 May 1813

This is a contract signed between Loammi Baldwin, acting on behalf of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Josiah Moore, Esquire; John Walton, Housewright; Thomas Mason, Housewright; Samuel Mason, Housewright; and Joseph Holmes, Housewright, for the construction of University Hall. The agreement was witnessed by William Jenison and Josiah Nottage.

Letters from William Tudor to his mother, Delia Jarvis Tudor,

Two letters written from Birmingham, England, in which Tudor describes the town and his lodgings: "My establishment consists of a woman cook well recommended, [and] a housemaid....I am looking out for a cat, and have already a Newfoundland dog of Herculean dimensions." He also writes of his plans to leave England for New York.

Letters from John Thornton Kirkland to William Tudor,

One letter regarding a stone chapel being built at Harvard, and one letter providing biographical information on James Otis.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters written from Birmingham, England, in which Tudor suggests changes to Harvard’s grounds and facilities, hiring practices for tutors, and university publications. He also alludes to the War of 1812.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters written from Boston regarding plans to establish a new literary periodical, the North American Review. Tudor asks Kirkland to contribute to the periodical and describes plans to establish a lecture series at the Boston Athenaum.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Six letters written from Boston mainly discussing Tudor’s efforts to obtain content for the North American Review and printing deadlines.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Five letters mainly regarding the status of the North American Review. Tudor asks Kirkland to submit content and also inquires whether the Review could be made an official publication of Harvard. Other topics include a project to unite the libraries of local literary institutions and create a classification scheme, and the defense of Harvard’s Unitarian principles.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters regarding the North American Review, as well as Tudor’s request to be considered for a position as Smith Professor of French and Spanish Languages and Literature at Harvard.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Three letters, one in which Tudor suggests persuading the Episcopal Church to send a bishop to reside in Cambridge and establish a divinity professorship as a means to attract students from other states who are wary of Unitarianism. Tudor also makes inquiries regarding the title of Doctor for a Reverend Chaplin and asks about college records of James Otis.

Letter from William Tudor to Mr. Reeves,

One letter concerning an English legal manuscript, probably John Reeves’ History of the English Law.

Letter from Henry Higginson to William Tudor,

One letter from the Boston merchant in England regarding experiments in ship construction and Frederic Tudor’s ideas on designing sailing vessels to transport ice.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 March 29

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly describing a painting of General William Pepperrell, and mentioning Mrs. Dunlap, the mother of Andrew Dunlap (Harvard AB 1813) and thoughts regarding the display of a print.

Letters from John Hubbard Church to William Jenks, 1795-1798

John Hubbard Church wrote these twelve letters to his friend and classmate William Jenks between 1795 and 1798. Church wrote the letters from Boston, Rutland, Cambridge, and Chatham in Massachusetts and from Somers, Connecticut; they were sent to Jenks in Cambridge and Boston, where for a time he worked as an usher in Mr. Vinall's school and Mr. Webb's school. Church's letters touch on various subjects, ranging from his increased interest in theology and his theological studies under Charles Backus to his seasickness during a sailing voyage to Cape Cod. Church also informs Jenks of what he is reading, including works by John Locke, P. Brydone, James Beattie, John Gillies, Plutarch, and Alexander Pope. He describes his work teaching that children of the Sears family in Chatham, Massachusetts, where he appears to have spent a significant amount of time between 1795 and 1797. Church's letters are at times very personal, and he often expresses great affection for Jenks and their friendship.