Abstracts of legislation relating to Harvard College governance (manuscript notebook), ca. 1723

Octavo-sized notebook containing handwritten abstracts of Massachusetts General Court legislation between 1650 and August 24, 1723 related to Harvard governance. The volume contains informal notes with extracts and summaries of legislation that established or amended the makeup and power of the Harvard Corporation. The authors of the volume are unidentified, but the notes appear to be in two different hands. The volume was presumably created during the fellowship controversy that erupted in the early 1720s after tutors Henry Flynt, Nicholas Sever, and Thomas Robie presented a memorial to the Board of Overseers calling for the tutors' right of fellowship in the Corporation.

Harvard College Lottery Book, 1794-1797

The long hardcover account book contains handwritten records of the Harvard College Lottery in the hand of College Treasurer Ebenezer Storer. The volume begins with a transcription of the Massachusetts General Court June 13, 1794 legislation sanctioning the lottery, and a note that the managers of the lottery gave security bonds to the Corporation. The bulk of the volume records the activities of the four classes of the lottery including lists of the individual tickets returned by the managers Benjamin Austin Jr., George R. Minot, Henry Warren, and John Kneeland, and the accounts of prizes drawn and tickets returned. The volume has a table of contents and there is a note pasted onto the third page calculating the sum raised if all tickets had been sold.

A catalogue of books [donated by Jasper Mauduit] in the library of Harvard College [at]: Cambridge in New England, 1765

This leatherbound volume lists books donated to the Harvard College Library by Jasper Mauduit, who served as an agent in London on behalf of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay. Entries are arranged alphabetically and by format; i.e. the first page lists all folios whose author, title, or keyword begin with "A," the next page lists all quartos beginning with "A," and the following page lists all "octavo &ca" volumes beginning with "A." The volume continues in a similar manner for each letter of the alphabet. Following a devastating fire in 1764 which destroyed most of the books in the Harvard College Library, Mauduit donated books, as well as money for the purchase of books, to the College. He also acted as an agent of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England and Parts Adjacent, using the £300 they donated for the rebuilding of the College library to select and purchase a large number of books. It is not known if the books listed in this catalog are those donated by Mauduit himself, or if they are the donations he purchased on behalf of the Society. The creator of this volume is unknown; although all entries are made in the same hand, the identity of the writer has not been determined. The label attached to the front cover, which refers to the Lime Street address of Mauduit's business in London, suggests that the list might have been prepared by Mauduit himself.

An account of my quarter bills, charges &c from July 11th 1743 to July 13th 1748 at Harvard College

Handwritten account book kept while Storer was a student at Harvard College. The well-organized volume is arranged by expense type and then date and was updated periodically, usually quarterly. The information offers a glimpse at the expenses of a Harvard student and provides information about the larger community that supported student life. The precise entries indicate the lifelong habits of Storer as a careful and methodical financial manager that would prove so valuable when he served as Harvard's treasurer more than thirty years later. Storer documents accounts with the steward, butler, sweeper, glazier, barber, and lists these individuals by name. The volume also includes notes on expenses for boarding, transportation, wood, and pocket expenses. While most entries do not list specific purchases, Storer provides details on the cost of a Harvard Commencement in 1747 (including the cost of a diploma, money to the President, hiring a house, a boat, a woman, and "2 Negroes"), and a specific accounting of the different food purchased for the event; Storer also lists expenses for an 1748 "supper for the graduates."

The report of the committee about Harvard Coledge: presented to the Generall Court held the 3 of (3) month, 1654

Two folio-sized leaves with a handwritten draft of the May 3, 1654 report of a General Court Committee authorized to investigate the financial state of Harvard College. The report responds directly to eight questions raised in the September 10, 1653 Order of the General Court that established the Committee. The report provides summaries of Harvard's income sources and disbursements, offers recommendations regarding the President's salary and the allowances for the academic Fellows, steward, butler, and cook, and indicates specific contributions from local towns.

Alphabetical catalog of Harvard College graduates through 1767, 1767

This hard-bound manuscript catalog alphabetically lists the men who graduated from Harvard College between 1642 and 1767. It is believed to be the first such list compiled. Entries contain each graduate's surname (in English), given name (in Latin), year of graduation, and occasional additional information. Francis Foxcroft (A.B. 1712) compiled the catalog. Entries for those who graduated between 1764 and 1767 have been added at the end of each alphabetical section.

An abridgment of what I extracted while an undergraduate at Harvard College, 1766-1769

The bound volume contains excerpts copied by Benjamin Wadsworth from books he read as a student at Harvard in the late 1760s. The volume includes almost no personal commentary on the readings. The excerpts are arranged by year of study for the academic years 1766-1769, beginning when Wadsworth was a sophomore. Each entry begins with a title indicating the book title and author for the passage, and there is an alphabetical index at the end of the volume. Wadsworth selected “extracts” from both religious and secular texts including several histories of England, American histories (with a focus on Puritans), the Bible, and in his senior year, “the Koran of Mohammed.” He also read several books on the art of speech and the art of preaching. There are few science texts included, though the final five-page entry is titled, “What I thought fit to note down from Mr. Winthrop’s experimental Lectures” and contains notes both on the content of Professor John Winthrop’s lectures as well as the types of experiments being performed in class. Wadsworth’s commonplace book offers a window on the state of higher education in the eighteenth century and offers a firsthand account of academic life at Harvard College.

[Certificate from M. Everett to the Governors of Harvard College], June 1780

Handwritten certification from [Moses] Everett that Philip Draper lived in Dorchester and kept the town grammar school.

Harvard College Master of Arts diploma of Samuel Mather, 1701 July 3

This diploma was awarded to Samuel Mather on July 3, 1701, when he received an A.M. from Harvard College. It is signed by Increase Mather (then-President of Harvard), Samuel Willard, Henry Flynt, Jabez Fitch, and Nathaniel Saltonstall.

Letter from Thomas Hollis to the Curators of Harvard College, 1762 July 21

Thomas Hollis V (1720-1774), widely known as Thomas Hollis of Lincoln’s Inn, was a very generous donor to Harvard College, particularly its library. This letter, which appears to have accompanied a package, demonstrates that he also donated prints to the College. Hollis wrote: "N.B. the Ludlow, Sydney, Marvell, & Cleopatra are struck on paper made from white & colored silk rags, the produce of premiums of the Society, the noble Society for promoting arts & commerce."

Collection of humorous verses and sketches relating to Harvard College, 1769

Manuscript volume in various hands containing three general sections: satirical poems about Harvard tutors, a section of "last words & dying" speeches of Harvard tutors, and a copy of the Book of Harvard."

Diary of Henry Flynt, 1723-1747

This diary, effectively a commonplace book, documents Flynt's daily activities and personal reflections from 1723 to 1747. Many entries concern his dealings with family members, business associates, acquaintances, ministers, and political officials. The diary includes a list of books Flynt loaned to others from 1723 to 1743 and detailed financial entries from 1724 to 1747. These entries provide information about the costs of goods and services, as well as Flynt's consumption habits; they detail where he traveled, what he ate and drank (including, apparently, many pounds of almonds), what he read, and many other aspects of daily life. The diary also contains entries related to Flynt's land holdings and other investments, as well as copies of meeting minutes from several sessions of the Harvard Board of Overseers.

A poem delivered at Harvard College, September 29th, 1789

Eight-page untitled handwritten poem attributed to Harvard student Benjamin Whitwell (Harvard AB 1790). The poem begins “The brow of age is soften’d into smiles” and contains classical and militaristic allusions. An annotation indicates that a set of stanzas beginning, “On thee, our common parent! Guardian! Friend! His mildest warmth, his brightest beams descend….” refers to Harvard President Joseph Willard. The text includes edits and annotations.

A proof of Jesus Christ's being the ancient promised Messiah: a sermon preached in the Chapel of Harvard College at Cambridge in New England, June 23, 1756

The hand-sewn notebook contains a 24-page manuscript draft of the second Dudleian lecture, delivered by John Barnard on June 23, 1756. The copy includes a small number of edits and struck-out words adopted in the printed version published by J. Draper of Boston in 1756. The sermon begins with the Biblical text Mark 14:61, 62. The covers are no longer with the item.

Popery a complex falsehood: or an attempt to clear and evidence, that it is so, in a lecture had at Harvard College in Cambridge, New England, on May 10th, 1769

The hand-sewn notebook contains a 30-page manuscript draft of the Dudleian lecture delivered by Samuel Mather on May 10, 1769 at Harvard College. The sermon begins with the Biblical text 2 Thess. 11:11, 12. The copy includes a small number of edits and struck-out words. The item has unattached pages and is in fragile condition. The lecture was never published.