Poem (manuscript copy owned by Jonathan Remington and Benjamin Parker), 1782

Paper notebook lacking covers with a handwritten copy of John Davis's 1781 Commencement poem titled “Poem. ” The verso of the last page is inscribed: “Benj’a Parker’s property Given him by Remington March 4th 1782.” The last page has a Latin phrase, "Finis cum fistilo jig," and the phrase, "He that has [some] hair cannot wear a wig."

A Poetical essay delivered at Commencement H. College, July 18th AD 1781, by Mr. Jno Davis (manuscript copy), ca. 1780s

Paper-notebook copy lacking covers with a copy of John Davis's 1781 Commencement poem. The Harvard College Library stamp is on the front page.

"Galli transgressi Alpes," 1768

Small paper notebook with a handwritten Latin essay beginning, "Galli transgressi Alpes..." "Anno Domini 1768" is written within the text on the third page.

Themes and reviews, 1788-1805

Small notebook with brown paper covers containing handwritten entries noting the essay topics given to students between 1788 and 1805 according to class. The prompts are in both English and Latin and are generally philosophical quotations or verse from poetry that students responded to in short essays. There is a small handwritten chart for "A Scheme for a Lottery for a New College" laid into the back of the volume.

List of students, 1789

Small notebook with brown paper covers containing handwritten lists of the members of the Harvard Classes of 1790, 1791, 1792, and 1793 (through Charles Jackson) with unidentified annotations next to some names of a, c, o, s, t, and x.

List of students, 1799-1800

Small notebook with brown paper covers containing handwritten lists of the members of the Harvard Classes of 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804 with unidentified annotations next to some names of a, c, o, s, t, and x.

Col. Mem., 1799 June

Small paper notebook containing one-and-a-half pages of Faculty meeting minutes for June 7 and July 4, 1799, and laid-pages with a three-and-a-half page account of a Faculty meeting to "consider absences." The laid-in pages focus on the Faculty's discussion on June 7, 1799 of the case of Henry Adams (Harvard AB 1802) who wished to be excused of an absence. The notebook pages contain a reference to a vote to remit Jarvis on June 7, 1799, and a discussion on July 4, 1799 of the proper discipline for students who attended a party at Bush's tavern. Most of the notebook pages are blank.

A Poetical Essay delivered at Commencement July ye 18th 1781 (manuscript copy), ca. 1780s

Paper notebook lacking covers with an unattributed copy of John Davis's 1781 Commencement poem. There are sums calculated on the back cover verso.

Members of the General Court, 1798-1799

Notebook with paper cover containing a handwritten list of the members of the Massachusetts General Court arranged by county and town. Pearson identified characteristics of the politicians including whether they were chosen by the people or Legislature, were for or against the College, were for or against the Virginia Resolutions, and whether they were "a good Federalist."

Sundry extracts on the subject of the taxation of College &c., ca. 1798-1801

Notebook with brown paper cover containing handwritten extracts from the charters and related legislation of New England academic, charitable, and commercial institutions regarding their ability to hold real estate and related tax exemptions. Most of the listed documents are dated in the 1780s and 1790s. The notebook also contains extracts from "Argument in the case of Poor's rate, charged on the College of Christ & Emmanuel in the University of Cambridge 1768." The item title is transcribed from a handwritten inscription on the back cover.

[List of newspaper articles], 1802-1805

Small paper notebook with a four-page handwritten list of newspaper articles generally from the New York Herald, Palladium, or Spectator. The article titles indicate various topics such as politics, history, religion, and agriculture and do not suggest a common theme.

Notes on Vol. I , undated

Octavo-sized notebook beginning with pages 17-19 of a handwritten summary of an unidentified work on existence and moral agency. The notebook is largely comprised of blank pages, and pages 1-16 are missing.

[Notes from the minutes of the Board of Overseers, ca. 1799]

Small notebook containing handwritten entries of actions for the years 1718-1799 recorded in Volumes I-IV of the Harvard Board of Overseers formal meeting minutes. The entries note the appointment of Committees of inquiry and votes related to salary increases and allowances.

E. Committee to frame rules, directions, and statutes of the Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory, 1804

This subseries consists of a paper notebook containing a handwritten draft of the report presented to the Harvard Corporation on April 30, 1804 by the Committee to frame Rules, Directions, and Statutes of the Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory. The handwritten report provides a numbered list of rules related to the Boylston Professorship and is dated April 16, 1804. The report is followed by a certification signed May 1, 1804 from President Joseph Willard that he was unable to attend the meeting of the Corporation to discuss the professorship.

Records of the Geographical Society, ca. 1796

This small blue-covered paper notebook contains four leaves with the handwritten records of the Geographical Society, an undergraduate organization at Harvard in the late 1790s. The records consist of ten handwritten "Laws of the Geographical Society" and a short list of fines dispensed on October 7th. A list of six student surnames is written on a scrap of paper and attached with pins to the notebook's inside front cover. The surnames likely correspond to six members of the Harvard Class of 1798: John Abbot (1777-1854), Isaac Adams (d. 1807), Francis Brigham (d. November 14, 1796), Humphrey Devereux (1779-1867), Joseph Emerson (1777-1833), and Artemas Sawyer (d. 1826). The notebook is undated but was presumably kept in 1795 or 1796 around the time of Brigham's death on November 14, 1796. While Brigham's surname appears in the list of fines, it is crossed out on the inside front cover.