Letters from Timothy Pickering to his brother and father, 1797-1798

These two handwritten letters by Timothy Pickering were written on February 14, 1797 and June 14, 1798 to his brother John Pickering and his father Timothy Pickering, respectively. The letter to his brother, John, discusses mutual friends, classmate Thomas Lee, and John’s recent attendance at a sermon by Dr. Joseph Priestley. The letter from Timothy to his father includes a discussion of Timothy’s expenses and the amount of money needed to pay his debts, a request for new shoes for commencement, the news of Timothy’s invitation to join honor society Phi Beta Kappa, and a few comments on his forensics course at Harvard.

Papers of Helen Lawrence Appleton Brooks, 1822-1985

Mostly correspondence between family members, beginning with Catherine Lawrence and Charles Appleton, the parents of Helen Brooks. Also records of Brooks' voluntary activities, her diaries and personal writings, and material collected by Grace Norton about Henry James.

Payment order for Daniel Parker on behalf of his son, 1783 July 10

Handwritten order to John Sale to pay scholarship funds to Daniel Parker for use by his son, signed by Charles Chauncey, John Clarke, Jonathan Williams, James Thwing, and Jacob Williams.

Diary of John Page, 1757-1781

Manuscript volume. The first thirty-nine pages include diary entries from Page's years as an undergraduate student at Harvard College. Dated July 1757 through March 1761, entries includes short notes about daily activities. Topics covered include expenses, academics, clothing, and travel to and from Cambridge. Twenty-two pages covering 1764 through 1781 contain brief listings of items, generally foodstuffs, received from male and female Danville parishioners identified by name in Danville. The final twenty-six pages contain notes listing area deaths, as well as his own thoughts on topics such as "of light" and "jealousy." The concluding pages include rules "Concerning Grammar."

Guarantee of financial support for student James Savage, signed by William Tudor and John Cooper, 1799 July 25

This legal agreement, a guarantee of financial support for entering student James Savage (A.B. 1803), was signed on July 25, 1799 by his two guarantors, William Tudor and John Cooper. The document was also signed by two witnesses, William Tudor's sons John Henry Tudor and Frederic Tudor. The agreement specifies that, in the event of Savage's failure to settle all financial obligations to the President and Fellows of Harvard College during the course of his studies, the two guarantors would be responsible for a payment of two hundred ounces of silver. It seems that the Tudors and Cooper were relatives of Savage, thus explaining their desire to assure his entry to Harvard by entering into this financial obligation.

Letter to John Kean, 8 December 1787

Letter to Kean, member of the Continental Congress, regarding the filing of a bill.

Lawyer's commonplace book, 1774-1783

Contains entries on a variety of topics arranged alphabetically and compiled by several individuals. Includes an index at the end.

Warrant to attach goods of Abel Taylor, 1783

A warrant to seize nine pounds, the equal in property, or the body of Abel Taylor of Stow, to answer charges of debt brought by Nathan Smith of Weston.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley (fragment), 1783

One folio-sized leaf containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning certain library acquisitions and including a transcription of a description of English Parliamentarian John Bourchier (1595-1660) from the Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow. The top of the leaf is torn and text is missing.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1783 December 1

Two leaves containing a four-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley providing a biographical description of English judge John Bradshaw (1602-1659).

III. Biographical notes on John Stark, [1810 March]

One leaf containing a page of handwritten biographical notes on Revolutionary War hero General John Stark in Bentley's hand. The note is written on the verso of a short letter from J. Pitcairn regarding a deliver for the "Rev. D. Bently" dated March 2, 1810. The notes were likely copied from the biographical sketch published in the Essex Register May 1, 1810.

Letters from Benjamin Welles to John Henry Tudor, 1799-1801

Benjamin Welles wrote these six letters to his friend and classmate, John Henry Tudor, between 1799 and 1801. Four of the letters are dated, and the dates of the other two can be deduced from their contents. Welles wrote Tudor four times in September 1799, at the onset of their senior year at Harvard, in an attempt to clear up hurt feelings and false rumors that he believed had caused a chill in their friendship. The cause of the rift is never fully explained, though Welles alludes to "a viper" and "villainous hypocrite" who apparently spread rumors and fueled discord between the two friends. In one letter, Welles asserts that "College is a rascal's Elysium - or the feeling man's hell." In another he writes: "College, Tudor, is a furnace to the phlegmatic, & a Greenland to thee feeling man; it has an atmosphere which breathes contagion to the soul [...] Villains fatten here. College is the embryo of hell." Whatever their discord, the wounds were apparently eventually healed; in a letter written June 26, 1800, Welles writes to ask Tudor about his impending speech at Commencement exercises. In an October 29, 1801 letter, Welles writes to Tudor in Philadelphia (where he appears to have traveled in attempts to recover his failing health) and expresses strong wishes for his friend's recovery and return to Boston. This letter also contains news of their classmate Washington Allston's meeting with painters Henry Fuseli and Benjamin West.

Commission of Noah Cooke, Jr., as chaplain in the Continental Army, signed by John Hancock, 1776 January 1

Commission of Noah Cooke, Jr., as chaplain in the Continental Army, signed by John Hancock, 1 January 1776.