III. Research materials used in William C. Lane's article, "Early Silver Belonging to Harvard College," [1923]

This folder contains transcriptions of archival materials used in Lane's research for the article, published by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts in 1923. Included are two letters from the papers of Harvard President Jared Sparks (1849-1853) regarding the christening basin and the role of the College steward in the care of the silver collection; and a 1781 inventory (see also in folder 7) and 1829 Corporation vote excerpted from College records. There are also two notes containing citations.

IV. College bowl inscription, undated

Inscription likely composed in the eighteenth century by Boston attorney Josiah Quincy, Jr., father of Harvard President Josiah Quincy (1829-1845). There are no known records of this cup, but it may have been part of the College Plate. The inscription begins, "Crown high the Goblet," and references knowledge, truth, and virtue. The last line reads "inquit Quincy," which translates as "says Quincy."

IV. Essay, undated

The undated handwritten essay begins, "I bles god that I have bene born under the gospel..." The essay is a two page personal exploration into Christianity and belief, including the sentences "I believe that there is one god in three persons father son and holy god. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of god and that he look upon him our nature and came into the world and dyed a miserable and cruel death for the sins of the elect."

III. Biographical notes on John Stark, [1810 March]

One leaf containing a page of handwritten biographical notes on Revolutionary War hero General John Stark in Bentley's hand. The note is written on the verso of a short letter from J. Pitcairn regarding a deliver for the "Rev. D. Bently" dated March 2, 1810. The notes were likely copied from the biographical sketch published in the Essex Register May 1, 1810.

VI. [Announcement for Elisha Sylvester], 1815 April 25

One leaf containing a one-page handwritten announcement for a Boston visit by book distributor Elisha Sylvester of Turner, Maine.

Collection of Harvard College bills sent to George Wingate, 1792-1796

This collection of bills, sent to George Wingate while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College from 1792 to 1796, includes quarter bills, butler's bills, and bills and receipts of payment from two women, Mary Hilliard and Mary Kidder, who provided Wingate room and board ("board and chamber"). The butlers bills were created by the two men who held that position during Wingate's time as a student, John Pipon and Timothy Alden. Caleb Gannett was the steward the entire time, and thus creator of all the quarter bills. Some of the bills indicate charges for sizings and fines for punishments, and a bill from Mary Hilliard indicates that Wingate purchased candles, blank books and sheets of paper from her.

Letters from Daniel Bates to William Jenks, May 1795-September 1798

Daniel Bates wrote these five letters to his friend and classmate, William Jenks, between May 1795 and September 1798. In a letter written May 12, 1795, Bates informs Jenks, who was then employed as an usher at Mr. Webb's school, of his studies of Euclid, the meeting of several undergraduate societies, and various sightings of birds, gardens and trees. In a letter written in November 1795 from Princeton, where he was apparently on vacation with the family of classmate Leonard Jarvis, he describes playing the game "break the Pope's neck" and tells Jenks what he was reading (Nicholson, Paley?, and Thompson) and what his friend's father was reading (Mirabeau and Neckar).

Letters from John Hubbard Church to William Jenks, 1795-1798

John Hubbard Church wrote these twelve letters to his friend and classmate William Jenks between 1795 and 1798. Church wrote the letters from Boston, Rutland, Cambridge, and Chatham in Massachusetts and from Somers, Connecticut; they were sent to Jenks in Cambridge and Boston, where for a time he worked as an usher in Mr. Vinall's school and Mr. Webb's school. Church's letters touch on various subjects, ranging from his increased interest in theology and his theological studies under Charles Backus to his seasickness during a sailing voyage to Cape Cod. Church also informs Jenks of what he is reading, including works by John Locke, P. Brydone, James Beattie, John Gillies, Plutarch, and Alexander Pope. He describes his work teaching that children of the Sears family in Chatham, Massachusetts, where he appears to have spent a significant amount of time between 1795 and 1797. Church's letters are at times very personal, and he often expresses great affection for Jenks and their friendship.

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.

Papers of William Merchant Richardson, 1797-1806

The collection contains a four-page handwritten poem titled "Invention" composed by graduate William Richardson for the 1797 Harvard College Commencement, and an 1806 letter of introduction written by Richardson. The rhyming poem begins, “Long had creations anthem peal been rung…” and contains classical references, and mentions scientists and philosophers including Voltaire, Franklin and Newton. The poem is accompanied by a one-page handwritten letter of introduction for lawyer Benjamin Ames (Harvard AB 1803) written by William M. Richardson to Reverend William Jenks (Harvard AB 1797). The letter is dated November 10, 1806.

Collection of Harvard College quarter bill and butler's bills sent to Charles Davis, 1793-1796

This collection consists of one quarter bill and three butler's bills, all sent to Charles Davis while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The quarter bill is from August 1795 and the butler's bills are from February and November 1793 and July 1796. John Pipon and Timothy Alden were the butlers at this time, and Caleb Gannett was the steward (responsible for the quarter bill).

Papers of David Sewall, 1753-1756

Three letters written to David Sewall (Harvard AB 1755). The first letter, written on September 21, 1753 by Samuel Sewall in York, to his brother at Harvard sends general news, asks after a hat sent to David, and requests he have a wig made for him. The second letter, written by Harvard student David Wyer on August 28, 1756, enthusiastically thanks Sewall for his past advice. The third letter, also sent from his brother Samuel in York on December 9, 1766, offers David advice on love. The two later letters were sent to Sewall while he was a schoolmaster in Wells, Maine.

Letters to Ebenezer Hancock from his mother, Mary Perkins, and his stepfather, Daniel Perkins, 1758 June 27 and 1758 November 16

These two letters were written to Ebenezer Hancock while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. His stepfather, Daniel Perkins, wrote on June 27, 1758 and his mother, Mary Perkins, wrote on November 16, 1758. Both letters were sent from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where the Perkins lived. The letters contain general greetings and wishes for Hancock's well being, as well as parental advice regarding his behavior and comportment.

Binding papers, 1775-1928

The binding papers contain lists of volumes bound for the Harvard library in the form of lists and bills. The books are generally identified by title, volume size (octavo, quarto, folio, etc.), or both. The series includes two 18th century documents. The first document is a one-page January 22, 1775 bill to Harvard College from "Dr. And'r Barclay" for the binding and numbering of books. Books are identified by volume size. The second document is a one-page "List of books belonging to the Library which it is necessary should be new-bound" with an initial list signed by James Winthrop the Librarian on December 13, 1786, an additional list made on April 7, 1787, and subsequent notes made in May 1787. The books are indicated by title and size.

Thaddeus Mason Harris' working documents regarding subject-based library catalog, ca. 1790

Thaddeus Mason Harris, who served as interim librarian of the Harvard College Library in 1787 and as its librarian from 1791 through 1793, is believed to have created these notes while helping compile the library's first printed subject-based catalog. The catalog, Catalogus Bibliothecae Harvardianae Cantabrigiae Nov-Anglorum, was published in 1790 and represented a significant change in approach to the cataloging of the library's collections, which had formerly been cataloged alphabetically. These documents, many of them on small scraps of paper, contain the titles and bibliographic information of books on a range of topics, from "Anatomici" to "Rhetorica."