Papers of George Godfrey, 1739-1792

The bulk of this collection consists of brief records of civil actions heard by George Godfrey as a justice of the peace for Bristol County, Massachusetts. With only a few interruptions, these records run from February 1754 through the early 1780s. The other documents include several small volumes and loose pages of household accounts, as well as a handful of pages of court records and marriages heard by George Godfrey and his father, John Godfrey.

The summary of a course of experimental lectures in natural philosophy by Dr. John Winthrop (manuscript copy), 1772-1774

Notebook with a handwritten copy of lecture summaries for a physics course given by Harvard Professor John Winthrop. The notes were made by Timothy Foster in 1772 and 1773. The volume contains twenty-five lectures with some diagrams.

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.

Letter from John H. Ladd to Delia Tudor Stewart,

Letter to Delia in the care of her brother, William Tudor, in Rio de Janeiro.

Letter from Frederic Tudor to his brother, John Henry Tudor,

Letter facetiously addressed to "Juan."

Letter from John Russell to William Tudor,

One letter briefly describing Russell’s studies at the home of Rev. Dr. McClintock in Greenland, N.H., where he was staying during a nine-month suspension from Harvard for theft of college property. Tudor, who was also found to be involved, was suspended for six months. Russell also inquires about fellow classmates, some of whom participated in the theft.

Letters from John Leighton Tuttle to William Tudor,

Two letters describing the social and cultural atmosphere in Amherst and Northampton, Massachusetts.

Letters from John Thornton Kirkland to William Tudor,

One letter regarding a stone chapel being built at Harvard, and one letter providing biographical information on James Otis.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters written from Birmingham, England, in which Tudor suggests changes to Harvard’s grounds and facilities, hiring practices for tutors, and university publications. He also alludes to the War of 1812.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters written from Boston regarding plans to establish a new literary periodical, the North American Review. Tudor asks Kirkland to contribute to the periodical and describes plans to establish a lecture series at the Boston Athenaum.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Six letters written from Boston mainly discussing Tudor’s efforts to obtain content for the North American Review and printing deadlines.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Five letters mainly regarding the status of the North American Review. Tudor asks Kirkland to submit content and also inquires whether the Review could be made an official publication of Harvard. Other topics include a project to unite the libraries of local literary institutions and create a classification scheme, and the defense of Harvard’s Unitarian principles.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters regarding the North American Review, as well as Tudor’s request to be considered for a position as Smith Professor of French and Spanish Languages and Literature at Harvard.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Three letters, one in which Tudor suggests persuading the Episcopal Church to send a bishop to reside in Cambridge and establish a divinity professorship as a means to attract students from other states who are wary of Unitarianism. Tudor also makes inquiries regarding the title of Doctor for a Reverend Chaplin and asks about college records of James Otis.

Letter from John Cooper to William Tudor,

One letter regarding the death of Tudor’s father and the acreage of his estate.