Letters from Andrew MacFarlane to William Tudor,

Two letters regarding MacFarlane’s claims on the Spanish government.

[Letter from Andrew Eliot to the Revd Mr. Appleton in Cambridge, 3 June 1769]

Short one-paragraph letter declining to write "in the paper" of the recent death of President Edward Holyoke, and suggesting Mr. Winthrop as the "most proper person."

[Letter from Andrew Eliot to "My Dear Sir," 14 September 1774]

Two-page letter to an unknown recipient discussing the effects of the Revolutionary War on Boston ("at present it's situation is melancholy"). The letter acknowledges the work of the Continental Congress and that its decisions "will be Law to America," and thanks the "munificence of our Friends in the Southern Colonies." In local news, Eliot mentions that Dr. Samuel Langdon will likely be appointed Harvard's next President, and notes the death of Thomas Hollis, a Harvard benefactor.

[Letter from Andrew Eliot to Alexander Hill, Newbury, November-December 1777]

One-page letter providing news about the Revolutionary War, including General John Burgoyne's arrival in Watertown, Mass., rumors of General Howe's army being taken prisoner, the success of General Stark, and the failed Rhode-Island expedition of 1777. Eliot also mentions the role of divine direction in the war.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1801 February 12

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing lunar tables, plans to publish, and a recent gem acquisition. The letter ends, "So Adams is OUT," referring to United States President John Adams's reelection defeat.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1801 July 21

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley with a brief reference to the skill of Mexican metal craftsmanship.

Letter from William Winthrop to William Bentley, 1801 January 14

Two leaves with a two-page handwritten letter from William Winthrop to Bentley discussing biographical questions about Harvard alumni Joseph Browne (AB 1666), James Bayley (AB 1669), and Joseph Gerrish (AB 1700).

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to William Willard and Katherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, April 4, 1801

Willard informs his parents of the death of Deacon Fairbank. He assures them that on his return to Cambridge, he was “received with great apparent cordiality both by the government + the president’s family.” He also reports on the health of President Willard, whose health has improved. Willard concludes the letter by asking for money to pay his expenses.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, May 1, 1801

Willard alludes to a situation regarding his father and praises him profusely.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Abigail Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, May 1, 1801

Willard thanks his sister for writing to him and asks her to write as often as possible. He also mentions his cousin Sophia Chadwick, who has been living with President Willard.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Catherine Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, June 26, 1801

Willard discusses various articles of clothing.

Letter from Samuel Willard, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to William Willard, Petersham, Massachusetts, October 16, 1801

Willard reports on President Willard’s travels and general well-being and asks his father to apologize to his sister for not writing to her often enough. He also tells his father that he is in debt, details his purchases, and asks for money.

Statement from Andrew Boardman to Harvard College, 1745-1764, 19 September 1764

Statement of Andrew Boardman III's account with Harvard College for the years 1745 to 1764.

Samford, Andrew, autographed letter signed to John Winthrop, 1 side (2 pages), undated

Correspondence soliciting Winthrop's advice for treating an illness in Samford's wife, whose symptoms included pain and weakness in her back and legs.

Letters from Benjamin Welles to John Henry Tudor, 1799-1801

Benjamin Welles wrote these six letters to his friend and classmate, John Henry Tudor, between 1799 and 1801. Four of the letters are dated, and the dates of the other two can be deduced from their contents. Welles wrote Tudor four times in September 1799, at the onset of their senior year at Harvard, in an attempt to clear up hurt feelings and false rumors that he believed had caused a chill in their friendship. The cause of the rift is never fully explained, though Welles alludes to "a viper" and "villainous hypocrite" who apparently spread rumors and fueled discord between the two friends. In one letter, Welles asserts that "College is a rascal's Elysium - or the feeling man's hell." In another he writes: "College, Tudor, is a furnace to the phlegmatic, & a Greenland to thee feeling man; it has an atmosphere which breathes contagion to the soul [...] Villains fatten here. College is the embryo of hell." Whatever their discord, the wounds were apparently eventually healed; in a letter written June 26, 1800, Welles writes to ask Tudor about his impending speech at Commencement exercises. In an October 29, 1801 letter, Welles writes to Tudor in Philadelphia (where he appears to have traveled in attempts to recover his failing health) and expresses strong wishes for his friend's recovery and return to Boston. This letter also contains news of their classmate Washington Allston's meeting with painters Henry Fuseli and Benjamin West.