This collection consists of the papers of Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814), author and patriot from Massachusetts. The contents include Warren's letterbook with copies of her outgoing letters from 1770 to 1800, loose correspondence includes letters dating from 1709 to 1841 sent between Warren and her husband James and sons Winslow, George, Henry, and Charles, as well as with Samuel Allyne Otis (1740-1814), Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810), Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), and James Freeman (1759-1835), and Warren's dramatic writings and her own poetry. Also included in the collection are her son Winslow Warren's letters and journals, 1781-1785. Warren wrote about her opinions of the political climate before, during, and after the American Revolution, brewing hostilities with England, news of the Revolution, the formation of a new government, state politics, and her own political satires.
This collection consists of the papers of Ezekiel Price (1727-1802), an attorney and clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Sessions in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The contents primary includes the records of the Society for Encouraging Trade and Commerce within the Province of Massachusetts Bay, which include petitions to England and letters related to trade regulations in the American colonies prior to the Revolution, the non-importation agreement, the Stamp Act, and regulations regarding fishing. Also included are the society's regulations and lists of members, subscriptions, plans, and other papers related to the employment of poor women and children at a linen manufactory; accounts of lumber and fish exported to the West Indies and other goods imported from England; Price's receipt book of insurance transactions, 1764-1774; and papers related to Boston town meetings and to deserters from a French squadron in Boston Harbor during the Revolution (1781).
This collection consists of diaries kept by portrait painter Sarah G. Putnam from the age of nine (26 November 1860) until near her death at the age of 61 (10 April 1912). The diaries document her career as a portrait painter and her extensive travels. Putnam also used the diaries as scrapbooks for programs, playbills, letters, postcards, and newspaper clippings, and lists of books read. Her career as an artist is documented through ink and pencil sketches and approximately 400 pasted-in watercolors, with lists and programs of her exhibited paintings. Pasted into the diaries are also 526 photographs corresponding to Putnam's written and painted entries.
For specific guidance on transcribing Sarah Gooll Putnam's diaries, please see these tips from our seasoned transcribers.
This collection consists of manuscript journals of Reverend Luman Boyden (1805-1876) documenting his missionary work in East Boston, Massachusetts. Boyden was a Methodist clergyman employed by the Boston City Missionary Society to visit and assist residents in poverty, including Protestant, Irish Catholic, African American, and immigrant families. Detailed, daily entries describe residents’ struggles with alcoholism, domestic violence and other crimes, suicide, and illnesses such as tuberculosis, smallpox, and typhoid fever. Boyden also describes his attempts at conversion, distribution of Bibles and tracts, and advocacy of temperance. Entries list names and addresses, including many tenement blocks, and paint a detailed image of urban life in East Boston during this period.
Historical manuscripts reflect the language, prejudices, and attitudes of their time, material which may be considered offensive today.
For specific guidance on deciphering Luman Boyden’s handwriting, please see these tips from our seasoned transcribers.
This collection consists of 12 diaries kept by prominent Boston merchant John Rowe from 8 September 1764-18 July 1779, with gaps from 18 August 1765-10 April 1766, 1 June-24 December 1775, and 19 November 1776-12 August 1778. The extensive entries note his opinions on the Stamp Act and other tariffs; his involvement in merchant, town, and other committees protesting the treatment of the colonies by the British; his reactions to the Boston Tea Party; the outbreak and progress of the war; and the end of the Siege of Boston and the evacuation of British troops. Also noted is his role in Boston society through his extensive involvement in public and private causes and his social life in the city, particularly before the Revolution. In addition to events and opinions, Rowe's diary also makes note of most of the prominent Boston and Massachusetts personalities of the day.
This collection consists of papers of Lt. Col. Charles F. Morse of the 2nd Mass. Infantry, primarily letters written by Morse during the Civil War to his father Robert McNeil Morse, his mother Sarah (Clark) Morse, his brother Robert McNeil Morse, Jr., and his sister Ellen Clark Morse. Letters written from various posts throughout the southern states describe camp life, military routine, battles, and campaigns, including the battles of Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Resaca, and the siege of Atlanta in 1864. Many of the letters include drawings.
