Clergy in support of gays, Left-right: Rev. C. Edward Egan Jr., Rev. Roy Birchard, Rev. Robert E. Carter S.J., Rev. Gerad Lee, O.F.M., Rev. John D. Carnwale, O.F.M.

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Receipt book for legal services, 1798-1810

A receipt book containing fees charged for legal services of John Rowe who practiced in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Account book of David Townsend, 1774-1791

Account book kept by Dr. David Townsend (1753-1829) that records patients treated, illnesses, and fees charged in Boston, Massachusetts, and neighboring towns from 1774 to 1791. His patients included a number of soldiers and sailors, as well as figures like the French-American writer John Hector St. John (1735-1813). Townsend's treatments typically consisted of delivering cathartics or emetics. For the family of Samuel Appleton, Townsend administered smallpox inoculation in 1776, charging him 4 pounds, 4 shillings. Townsend sometimes recorded the occupation or race of the patient. For example, he attended the delivery of a child of Sappho Henshaw, "black girl," in 1786; in 1787 he attended to an unnamed "black man at [who lived at the] corner of Board Alley" in the North End of Boston. Other patients included John Hancock (1736-1793) and members of Hancock's household, as well as Federalist publisher John Fenno (1751-1798).

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.

Surveyors' division of Kittery farm between Nicholas Shapleigh and John Shapleigh, Jan. 12, 1739/40, with paper wrapper from 1798

Paper wrapper reads: "Nicholas Shapleigh & John Shapleigh / Division of farm at Kittery / Recorded January 31st, 1798 / 17 cents duty." The legal document establishing the division of the land is signed by each of the three surveyors: Nicholas Morrell(?), William Fry, and Daniel Emery.