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.

Accounts with Harvard College, 1745-1753, 1764

The folio-sized paper covered notebook contains Steward Andrew Bordman III's accounts with Harvard College from 1745-1753. The final page of text, signed on September 19, 1764 by Bordman's son, Andrew Bordman IV, settles the accounts.

Recentes approbati, 1764

List of the matriculating members of the Harvard Class of 1768.

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.

List of books received, Oct. 24, 1763 with 1764 addition

This document also lists volumes donated by a Mr. Bradstreet and Mr. Harris, as well as a list of "books saved [from the 1764 fire] by being borrowed" by individuals named Sewall, Parker, Cushing, Appleton, Brigden, Marsh, Cooke, Bowdoin, and Chardon.

List of books received, December 8, 1764

Document indicates that the books were transported by a Captain Scott.

List of books received, October 1764

Document specifies that the books were sent "by Thos. Hollis Esq. in two Boxes by Capt. Bruce who arrived in Boston October 1764."

Annotated almanac, 1764

Almanac with one laid-in leaf, and calendar pages with minimal, sporadic annotations. The laid-in leaf contains three entries by John Winthrop noting the firing of the house chimneys, and entries by both Winthrops listing deaths in the community and a bill of mortality. The bill of morality includes the note "In Boston Baptzd 367 a small nr by reesn of y small px."

Annotated almanac, 1764

Almanac containing interleaved pages with entries noting deaths in the community and sporadic notes about the travels of neighbors and local events. There is an entry noting the burning of Harvard Hall (January 24) and the smallpox inoculation of the Winthrops' children Johnny and Peggy (March 8). Some of the entries are in John Winthrop's hand, but the author of other entries cannot be conclusively identified as Hannah Winthrop.

[Letter from Thomas Clap to Royal Tyler,] 1764 August 1

One-page handwritten letter from Thomas Clap to Royal Tyler acknowledging his return of "Mr. Sewals Hebrew Grammar" to Tyler and noting that the work is "best especially for beginners." The letter is torn into three pieces and some text is missing. A portion of the missing text can be found in Box 4.