Elisha B. Sherwood letter, February 26, 1845

Elisha Barber Sherwood (1810-1905) was a Presbyterian minister. He began his career as a minister in the Church at Wilson, Niagara County, N.Y., subsequently becoming pastor at various churches in New York, Michigan, and Missouri. He is the author of Fifty Years on the Skirmish Line, a review of his ministerial work.

Book Review of Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology by John F. Galliher, Wayne H. Brekhus, and David P. Keys

As an undergraduate sociology major, the only thing I learned about Oklahoman Laud Humphreys's classic, Tearoom Trade (1970) was how it violated standards of informed consent in social science research. As Galliher, Brekhus, and Keys recount in their biography, Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology, sociology graduate student Laud Humphreys needed to supplement his (quite likely, participant) observational research of men who had sex in public bathrooms (i.e., tearooms) in St. Louis in the mid-1960s with a formal questionnaire. Knowing that these men would never agree if they knew they were selected because of their participation in highly stigmatized and criminal behavior, Humphreys recorded their license plates, got their home addresses, and interviewed them as part of a "community health survey." Herein lies the deception and the major source of the controversy. What I didn't fully appreciate when I was a student, however, and what the authors so deftly illuminate is the importance of this work not only for debates around ethical issues of social science research, but more importantly, perhaps, for the study of sexuality, deviance, and urban life.

"Hot spot" in the PROP1 gene responsible for combined pituitary hormone deficiency.

As pituitary function depends on the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, any defect in the development and organogenesis of this gland may account for a form of combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD). Although pit-1 was 1 of the first factors identified as a cause of CPHD in mice, many other homeodomain and transcription factors have been characterized as being involved in different developmental stages of pituitary gland development, such as prophet of pit-1 (prop-1), P-Lim, ETS-1, and Brn 4. The aims of the present study were first to screen families and patients suffering from different forms of CPHD for PROP1 gene alterations, and second to define possible hot spots and the frequency of the different gene alterations found. Of 73 subjects (36 families) analyzed, we found 35 patients, belonging to 18 unrelated families, with CPHD caused by a PROP1 gene defect. The PROP1 gene alterations included 3 missense mutations, 2 frameshift mutations, and 1 splice site mutation. The 2 reported frameshift mutations could be caused by any 2-bp GA or AG deletion at either the 148-GGA-GGG-153 or 295-CGA-GAG-AGT-303 position. As any combination of a GA or AG deletion yields the same sequencing data, the frameshift mutations were called 149delGA and 296delGA, respectively. All but 1 mutation were located in the PROP1 gene encoding the homeodomain. Importantly, 3 tandem repeats of the dinucleotides GA at location 296-302 in the PROP1 gene represent a hot spot for CPHD. In conclusion, the PROP1 gene seems to be a major candidate gene for CPHD; however, further studies are needed to evaluate other genetic defects involved in pituitary development.

Phenotypic variability in familial combined pituitary hormone deficiency caused by a PROP1 gene mutation resulting in the substitution of Arg-->Cys at codon 120 (R120C).

As pituitary function depends on the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, any defect in the development and organogenesis of this gland may account for a form of combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD). A mutation in a novel, tissue-specific, paired-like homeodomain transcription factor, termed Prophet of Pit-1 (PROP1), has been identified as causing the Ames dwarf (df) mouse phenotype, and thereafter, different PROP1 gene alterations have been found in humans with CPHD. We report on the follow-up of two consanguineous families (n = 12), with five subjects affected with CPHD (three males and two females) caused by the same nucleotide C to T transition, resulting in the substitution of Arg-->Cys in PROP1 at codon 120. Importantly, there is a variability of phenotype, even among patients with the same mutation. The age at diagnosis was dependent on the severity of symptoms, ranging from 9 months to 8 yr. Although in one patient TSH deficiency was the first symptom of the disorder, all patients became symptomatic by exhibiting severe growth retardation and failure to thrive, which was mainly caused by GH deficiency (n = 4). The secretion of the pituitary-derived hormones (GH, PRL, TSH, LH, and FSH) declined gradually with age, following a different pattern in each individual; therefore, the deficiencies developed over a variable period of time. All of the subjects entered puberty spontaneously, and the two females also experienced menarche and periods before a replacement therapy was necessary.

Bond between John Leverett and Elisha Cooke to John White, Treasurer of Harvard College, 1716 November 20

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half page copy of the bond between John Leverett and Elisha Cooke to John White, Treasurer of Harvard, for £200. The bond was witnessed by William Austin and Mary Gilbert. An October 3, 1726 receipt of payment from Nathaniel Byfield on the bond, signed by Treasurer Edward Hutchinson, is located on the verso of the first leaf.

A Chaldee grammar, founded upon the writings of Daniel and Ezra, ca. 1776

This manuscript grammar notebook, written in Chaldean Aramaic and English, appears to have originally belonged to William Bentley (Harvard A.B. 1777); Bentley's name and a date, "December 1776," appear on the volume but have been struck through, and the handwriting appears to be his. The names of Elisha Parmele and Polly Parmele are also on the volume; presumably it was given to Elisha by Bentley, and upon Elisha's death in 1784 it was passed to Polly.

A Syriac Oration: copy of Paul's oration to the Athenians, Acts 17th, ca. 1778

Edward Everett Hale has speculated that Parmele prepared this document, written primarily in Syriac, for an event at Harvard. It is unknown whether or not it was delivered.

Recommendation of Elisha Parmele as a candidate for ministry, July 3, 1781

This document describes Parmele's examination before an association of ministers in Berkshire County and records their subsequent decision to recommend him as a candidate for "the gospel ministry." Stephen West was the moderator of this meeting, and Daniel Collens was its scribe.

Notes/Observations on the Trinity by William Jones, ca. 1784

These appear to be Parmele's notes on a work by the scholar William Jones (1726-1800) regarding the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity.

Letter of recommendation for Elisha Parmele and Reuben Parmele, May 17, 1784

This letter, signed by Stephen West, Ezra Stiles, and Josiah Sherman, attests to the reputable character of Elisha Parmele and his brother, Reuben, who was also a minister. The signers explain the health concerns motivating the brothers' travels southward and request that those who encounter them treat them with "kindness and brotherly love."