Meeting minutes maintained by the Secretary, April 21, 1812; May 4, 1812; and June 3, 1812

These minutes pertain to discussions of the General Court's "act to repeal an act" (also called "the Act to alter and amend the Constitution of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, and to regulate certain meetings of said Board") in February 1812, which repealed changes made in 1810 to the Constitution of the Board of Overseers. The Overseers present at these meetings doubted the act's legality and discussed ignoring and/or attempting to overturn the act.

Vote of thanks and $100 for repairs of Massachusetts Hall, 15 December 1812

In this letter signed by President John Kirkland, the Corporation voted to honor Loammi Baldwin for his supervision of the repairs to Massachusetts Hall. Repairs included new doors, doorframes, and windows. These updates were likely delayed repairs of damage sustained during the American Revolution when American soldiers were quartered in Massachusetts Hall.

Front elevation and floor plans for first and second floors, ink and wash on paper, [ca. 1812]

Drawing by Charles Bulfinch of proposed plans for University Hall which were later rejected. Includes sketches of the front exterior view of the University Hall, and separate floor plans for the ground and second floors. Bulfinch designed a ground floor with a chapel and four dining halls each holding 100 students, a second floor with a gallery in the chapel and three rooms over the dining halls for public examinations and meetings of the Corporation and Overseers; and a basement under the halls intended for a kitchen under the dining halls and recitation rooms under the chapel.

Front elevation of cupola by Charles Bulfinch, [ca. 1812]

Pen and ink drawing by Charles Bulfinch of the proposed cupola of University Hall. Pencil drawing of interior of cupola on verso.

Sketchbook with floor plans and elevations, [ca. 1812]

Sketchbook contains four drawings of elevations and floor plans of University Hall. Includes floor plans for the ground floor and second story. Also contains exterior sketches of side view and end view and principal entrance. Each drawing is accompanied by notes indicating the scales measurements and designated rooms in Floor plan sketches.

Disputations, 1812-1825

A handwritten list of disputations delivered on Commencement and Exhibition Days between 1820 and 1825 and a two-page list of "Philosophical disputations, deliberative discussions, &c." delivered between 1812 and 1820.

Annotated almanac, 1742

Almanac containing calendar pages with sporadic annotations of unidentified measurements and interleaved pages with short handwritten entries about Winthrop's daily activities, and astronomical and meteorological observations. The entries include personal notes about travel, the weather, and occasional alcohol consumption. There is an entry listing the population and burials and baptisms in Boston (January).

1794, Triennial catalogues annotated by William Winthrop, 1794-1812.

Leather and marbled hardcover binding. Substantially annotated. The volume consists of pages from the published catalogues pasted into a blank volume. The bulk of the volume is comprised of the printed list of graduate names found in the Triennial Catalogue accompanied by handwritten biographical information, usually a sentence in length. It begins with a handwritten section titled "Settled Ministers (in the first Parish in Cambridge)." The entries generally contain a residence, date of death (abbreviated ob), age of death (abbreviated ae), and professional information. While the 1794 Catalogue comprises the majority of the volume, names were added from Triennial Catalogues through the 1812 edition. An example of an entry, for John Hancock (Harvard AB 1754), reads “Rep. for Boston, Maj. Gen. Militia. Ob. Octo. 8. 1793 AE 57 Son of Rev. John of Brantree [sic]." A March 27, 1798 letter to Judge Richard Cranch (1726-1818) from Jeremy Belknap (1744-1798, Harvard AB 1762) pasted into the back of the volume. Written only two months before his death, Belknap describes his plan to "go thro’ the whole Catalogue of the graduates of Harvard College, & relate all that’s proper to be related." Four leaves of biographical notes for the classes of 1642-1686 towards the beginning of the volume are in a different hand with the note "Rev Dr. Holmes's handwriting."

Interleaved almanac, 1742

The 1742 diary is interleaved in Nathaniel Ames’ An astronomical diary, or, An almanack for the year of our Lord Christ, 1742. The volume holds brief notes about Holyoke’s daily life, written on blank pages bound with the almanac. Each page, representing one month, is divided into three columns with a section for the weather, the direction of the wind, and finally notes on the day and Holyoke’s undeciphered shorthand. The diary begins before Holyoke’s admittance to Harvard and concludes in his freshman year. The earlier months have regular entries, he later stops recording the weather and makes only sporadic entries. Holyoke notes holidays, travel events, interactions with Harvard faculty, and infrequently, community events such as a burial or trial. On the last page, Holyoke provides "An account of our examination the 13 day of July 1742: viz: [Daniel] Foxcroft [Joseph] Green myself and [James] Putnam listing the specific examiners and the texts used for the exam.

Letter from Nathan Prince to Edward Holyoke, June 24, 1742

In this letter, Prince questions the legality of his dismissal.

John Lovell and Jeremiah Allen's statement regarding their visit to Nathan Prince, accompanying Edward Holyoke, July 12, 1742

Lovell and Allen accompanied Holyoke to Nathan Prince's lodging in Boston, to personally inform him that the Board of Overseers had voted for his dismissal and that his belongings had been removed from his chamber and were being stored in town until he chose to claim them.

Nathan Prince's pledge of indemnity towards Henry Prentice and Mary Prentice, ca. 1742

Although the context of this document is not entirely clear, it appears that the Prentices were responsible for storing Prince's belongings – recently removed from his Harvard chamber – until he could claim them. These included his "wearing linnen," "wearing cloathe & five or six papers," and "five or six books."