IV. Reminiscences of life as an undergraduate at Harvard College from 1793 to 1797, 1837

This memoir, written by White in 1837, describes his undergraduate years at Harvard from 1793 to 1797. It contains lengthy passages about a wide variety of experiences White had as a student. He wrote about his classes and professors, student life, American politics, politics in the world at large, food, his classmates, and many other topics. The memoir includes passages from a diary that White seems to have kept as a student, as well as reflections clearly written later in life. White wrote this memoir in 15 separate notebooks, each embossed with "Platner & Porter, Congress" in the upper left-hand corner. Platner & Porter was the manufacturer of the notebooks.

III. Diary, 1799

This diary, which John Henry Tudor titled A Registry of College Adventures, documents his life as a student at Harvard College. The entries describe his daily activities and notable events, including trips to the theater, hunting outings to "shoot Robbins," adventures with other students in local taverns, visits with his family in Boston and at the family estate, Rockwood, and the illumination of Cambridge in honor of George Washington's birthday. Tudor created and recorded a humorous classology, describing his peers at Harvard in a sometimes scathing manner, and also recorded information about those obliged to leave the College, usually following pranks or other unacceptable behavior. He also recounts his own involvement in pranks and other antics, which he believed to be the only antidote to the dullness of college life, and in one entry he describes an evening when he and several friends "disguised [them]selves like Negroes" and wandered into scholars' rooms without detection. Tudor was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club and the Porcellian Club ("the Pig club") while at Harvard and describes club meetings in several entries. There are also more reflective and personal entries, describing Tudor's feelings about his aging grandmother, his brother William's departure for Holland, and his desire for a "wife who shall make [him] happy[,] an affectionate dog [and] a farm & garden."

"A competence is vital to content; Much wealth is corpulence, if not disease" (manuscript essay), 1799 March 30

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster with a story about a wealthy young Englishman named Francis who discovers that money is not the source of happiness. The essay is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem, "The Complaint." Buckminster's essay begins, "Francis was the son of a rich English nobleman."

"Conscience is the best casuist" (manuscript essay), 1799 September 10

Three-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the subject of conscience told through a story about a young man named Henry who saves a starving woman. The essay begins, "The disquisitions of the metaphysical world upon the origin and nature of conscience are quite unnecessary to a complete comprehension of the significancy of our motto." The essay is titled with a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile, Or on Education.

"Procrastination is the thief of time" (manuscript essay), 1799 November 26

Four-page handwritten essay in English by Buckminster on the consequences of procrastination. The essay begins, "Moralists of every age & nation, from wise, proverbial Solomon to 'poor Richard' of our own times, have united in recommending industry, as one of the most necessary virtues." The essay is titled with a quote from Edward Young's poem, "The Complaint," and ends with two lines from Horace beginning, "Est modus in rebus ; sunt certi denique fines..."

Expense bill, 1799

One bill for the date span November 29, 1798-February 22, 1799. The workers named on the bill are James Fillebrown, Peter Waters, and Betsy Thomas.

The Laws of Harvard College, 1798-1799

Bound copy of the 1798 College Laws printed by John & Thomas Fleet, in a modern hardcover binding. The copy is interleaved with unlined pages that include handwritten notes about the laws, often dated in late 1799. The annotations are attributed to a Latin tutor at the College.

[Admittatur of Samuel F. McCleary], 1837 August 28

Printed copy of the 1833 abstract of laws and regulations with the admittatur of undergraduate Samuel F. McCleary signed by President Josiah Quincy on August 28, 1837.

F. List of items carried to College, 1799 September 16

This subseries contains one short handwritten list of dishware, cutlery, and a set of money scales and weights brought to Harvard College by Loammi Baldwin on September 16, 1799.

Contributions for a bath in Charles' River, 1799 & 1800, 1800

Includes contribution totals from personal subscribers, individual donors, the Harvard Corporation, and the Humane Society for the construction of a bath on the Charles River. Also contains estimated costs for materials and labor.

Floor plan and notes for proposed building with chapel and hall, [ca. 1799]

Possibly drawn and written in the hand of President Joseph Willard. The proposed building would house a chapel, halls, chambers for scholars, and was to be built on the site of the first Stoughton Hall which was torn down in 1781.