"Certificate respecting the Rev. John Seccombe," 1795 August

One leaf (pages 301-302) of the August, 1795 issue of Massachusetts Magazine with an editorial regarding the authorship of Father Abbey's Will. The article identifies John Seccombe as the author based on information provided by "Thaddeus Mason, Esq. of Cambridge, the only surviving classmate, and very intimate friend of the Rev. John Seccombe."

Receipts related to the dispersal of the Croswell estate, 1785-1788

Seven handwritten receipts dated between 1785 and 1788.

Letter from William Croswell to Dr. Dingley, 1795 July 9

One-page letter from Croswell to Dr. Dingley in New York City, requesting information on teaching opportunities in the area.

Note from William Croswell to Mrs. Crocker, [1795] July 30

Note regarding the return of Mrs. Crocker's books.

Letter from William Croswell to Redford Webster, 1820 February 24

Draft of a one-page letter declining a request by Webster.

Letters from William Croswell to Redford Webster, 1821 January

This folder contains drafts of two one-page letters, dated January 5, 1821, and January 9, 1821, regarding financial assistance.

Letter from William Croswell to Dr. Webster, 1823 September 16

Draft of a letter regarding aid from the Pemberton Fund.

Financial bills and receipts, 1795

This folder contains three receipts.

Plan for arranging library catalogues,1795-1800; 1822

This paper notebook contains six pages of financial entries made by Croswell between 1795 and 1800, followed by a bibliographical plan for the arrangement of the Harvard College Library, dated September 1822.

Notes about cases heard as Justice of the Peace, 1784-1795

This small paper-bound notebook contains notes Winthrop made concerning the cases he heard between 1784 and 1795 as a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County. These notes provide insight into the nature of crimes being committed in Cambridge in the post-Revolutionary period, as well as the names and occupations of those accused and their victims. The cases involved the following individuals, among others: Samuel Bridge, Benjamin Estabrook, Joseph Jeffords, Cato Bordman, John Kidder, Spenser Goddin, Jacob Cromwell, Benjamin Stratton, Mary Flood, Bender Temple, John Willett, Joseph Hartwell, Nathaniel Stratton, Amos Washburn, Francis Moore, Thomas Malone, Thomas Cook, and Amboy Brown. The cases involved a range of offenses, and occasionally Winthrop decided that a case exceeded his jurisdiction and forwarded it to the General Court or the Supreme Judicial Court.

Payment order for Rowland Cotton, 1726 October 17

Handwritten order to Penn Townsend to pay scholarship funds to Rowland Cotton on behalf of his son Ward Cotton (Harvard AB 1729), signed by Thomas Foxcroft, John Marion, Samuel Marshall, and Jonathan Williams.

Payment order for Theodore Dehon, 1795 July 1

Handwritten order to John Sale to pay scholarship funds to Theodore Dehon for use by his son Theodore Dehon (Harvard AB 1795), signed by John Clarke, David Tilden, and James Morrill.

Themes, 1795-1797

This is a paper-bound volume of themes White composed on many subjects, including flattery, the human condition, liberty, the importance of sleep and repose, procrastination, honesty, death, labor, justice, the triumph of folly over reason, and the importance of choosing one's friends wisely. On the last page, White copied several passages from Shakespeare's Richard II.

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."