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

Four letters written from London and Bordeaux in which Tudor relays his impressions of the London weather, and seeds and plants he will send home to Rockwood, as well as details about his capture by a French privateer.

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

Four letters written from Paris, in which he describes his capture by a French privateer and discusses virtues and vices of French society and culture. He also relays details about social visits, including a meeting with the Marquis de Lafayette. Included is an undated list of packages and trunks he was sending home. Content is obscured in some places from loss, and dates are missing from two of the letters, but presumably they were sent in the summer of 1800.

Letters from William Tudor to his brother, Frederic Tudor,

One letter written from London in which Tudor teases his brother for not writing him more often. A letter sent several months later chastises Frederic for his delay in entering college.

Letters from William Tudor to his brother, Frederic Tudor,

Three letters written while Tudor was in the West Indies attempting to gain exclusive rights to import ice.

Letters from William Tudor to his brother, Frederic Tudor,

Four letters written from London in which Tudor details his efforts to obtain licenses to export ice to Jamaica and Barbados from the British Board of Trade. He also comments on the Napoleonic Wars and the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty.

Letter from William Tudor to his brother, Henry James Tudor,

In this letter written to his youngest brother from London, Tudor promises when he returns to America, he will protect him from their siblings if they have been picking on him.

Letters from Henry James Tudor to his brother, William Tudor,

One letter written to Tudor from Ligorno, Italy, criticizes the contents his correspondence as containing a "dull, vapid succession of sentences"; it also contains a message to their mother regarding his extensive travels in Europe. One letter written from New Orleans addresses their brother Frederic’s health, and his ice business in Cuba and the West Indies.

Letters from William Tudor to his brother, John Henry Tudor,

One letter written from Rotterdam describing Tudor’s difficult voyage at sea, and one letter written from London addressing John’s plans after college, in which Tudor quotes Voltaire.

Letters from William Tudor to his father, William Tudor,

Four letters written from France in which Tudor reflects on the Coup of 18 Brumaire and expresses his admiration for Napoleon Bonaparte, writing, "Europe cannot at present boast so great a character, his indefatigueable industry, the prompt decision and austerity of his character are necessary joined to his eminent and various talents for the arduous situation he is placed in." He also details his travel plans and his activities with his employer, John Codman.

Letters from William Tudor to his father, William Tudor,

Three letters written from Paris and Bordeaux. Tudor again writes of his approval of Bonaparte, and offers observations on the weather, crops, and culture of France.

Note of monies received of Mr. J. Codman, John Codman Esq. in account current with William Tudor, Jr.,

Accounts of payment received by John Codman and other firms, as well as expenses incurred by Tudor while he was traveling in Europe as Codman’s agent.

Letters from Daniel Bates to William Jenks, May 1795-September 1798

Daniel Bates wrote these five letters to his friend and classmate, William Jenks, between May 1795 and September 1798. In a letter written May 12, 1795, Bates informs Jenks, who was then employed as an usher at Mr. Webb's school, of his studies of Euclid, the meeting of several undergraduate societies, and various sightings of birds, gardens and trees. In a letter written in November 1795 from Princeton, where he was apparently on vacation with the family of classmate Leonard Jarvis, he describes playing the game "break the Pope's neck" and tells Jenks what he was reading (Nicholson, Paley?, and Thompson) and what his friend's father was reading (Mirabeau and Neckar).

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.

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.

Papers of William Merchant Richardson, 1797-1806

The collection contains a four-page handwritten poem titled "Invention" composed by graduate William Richardson for the 1797 Harvard College Commencement, and an 1806 letter of introduction written by Richardson. The rhyming poem begins, “Long had creations anthem peal been rung…” and contains classical references, and mentions scientists and philosophers including Voltaire, Franklin and Newton. The poem is accompanied by a one-page handwritten letter of introduction for lawyer Benjamin Ames (Harvard AB 1803) written by William M. Richardson to Reverend William Jenks (Harvard AB 1797). The letter is dated November 10, 1806.