Special Collections & University Archives Search

  • Special Collections

    The Perkins Family resided in Unity, New Hampshire. The principal figure of the family papers is Amos Perkins (1790-1885). He was a farmer by occupation but also worked as Secretary and President of Unity Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He also served as a justice of the peace, town selectman, and treasurer in Unity, N.H., and he was a Major in the New Hampshire state militia. Other members of the Perkins family are:…

    Collection NumberMC 27
    Formats
    • Broadsides
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Manuscripts & Typescripts
    • Sketches & Illustrations
  • Special Collections

    The Isaiah Piper family lived in Factory Village (Belmont), New Hampshire from 1836. Isaiah’s first wife Elisabeth died in 1864 aged 35 years leaving two children, Ahira Barney (born 1856) and Elmer Isaiah (born 1861). His second wife, Sarah Emeline Kilburn, gave birth to Ernest Kilburn (born 1871) and Fred Herbert (born 1873). Both Isaiah and Fred H. Piper were active in town government and affairs. All the Piper…

    Collection NumberMC 85
    Formats
    • Ledgers & Receipts
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Photographs, Slides & Negatives
  • Special Collections

    The Piscataqua Pioneers are descendants of the Piscataqua River basin’s original settlers. Families who moved to and helped develop any of the towns from Kennebunk to Dover Point and the Massachusetts border qualify. Across the United States, the Pioneers now number more than 2,000. The collection contains materials documenting the memberships, the administration of the group and member created genealogies.

    Collection NumberMC 231 [Stored offsite]
    Formats
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Newspapers & Publications
  • Special Collections

    The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. Established on 12 June 1800 during the administration of President John Adams, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is the oldest continuously-operating shipyard…

    Collection NumberMC 388
    Formats
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Military Papers
    • Photographs, Slides & Negatives
  • Special Collections

    Rice Rowell Whittier (1817–1897) was a deeply religious Free Baptist Elder, subscription agent, and missionary from Deerfield Centre, New Hampshire. During the years covered in the diaries Whittier lived in Greenwood, Illinois, 1862–1870, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1870–1872 (seventeen months), Greenwood again, 1872-1884, and finally moved back home to Deerfield Centre, New Hampshire, 1884-1896. The nineteen pocket…

    Collection NumberMC 242
    Formats
    • Diaries
    • Ledgers & Receipts
  • Special Collections

    Roland Douglas Sawyer, a Protestant minister and Massachusetts state legislator, was born in Kensington, New Hampshire on January 8, 1874. Sawyer graduated from Revere Lay College in 1898 and worked as pastor. During his ministerial career, Sawyer was involved with such organizations as the Christian Endeavor Society, the Anti-Saloon League, and other temperance organizations. In addition, he founded and…

    Collection NumberMC 148 [Series 17 Stored Offsite]
    Formats
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Manuscripts & Typescripts
    • Photographs, Slides & Negatives
    • Scrapbooks
  • Special Collections

    Ruth G. Stimson graduated from UNH in 1940 with a degree in Home Economics. She joined the Cooperative Extension as a Home Demonstration Agent-at-Large. Shortly after, she was assigned to the Rockingham County Office where she worked until she retired in 1982. The scrapbooks were created by Ruth G. Stimson and documented her life and service to Rockingham County, the town of Hampton, the Seacoast area and the state…

    Collection NumberMC 215 [Stored Offsite]
    Formats
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Newspapers & Publications
    • Scrapbooks
  • Special Collections

    Hazel and Clayton Sinclair operated Rock Rest, an inn primarily for African American guests in Kittery Point, ME. They also helped establish the first Seacoast branch of the NAACP. The collection consists of a small amount of material directly related to Rock Rest as an inn. The bulk of the collection is made up of correspondence and personal belongings of the Sinclairs, their families and friends.

    Collection NumberMC 216
    Formats
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Newspapers & Publications
    • Photographs, Slides & Negatives
  • Special Collections

    Members of the Sterns Family of Epping NH included: Rev. Josiah Stearns (1732-1788), wife Sarah (Ruggles) Stearns (1731-1808), their son Rev. Samuel Stearns (1770-1834), Jonathan Stearns of Andover, MA, and Ebenezer S. Stearns. Also included is Jonathan French (1690-1760). The Stearns Family papers collection primarily contains the papers of Reverend Josiah Stearns, 1732-1788, pastor of the church in Epping, N.H…

    Collection NumberMC 198
    Formats
    • Diaries
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Manuscripts & Typescripts
  • Special Collections

    In 1757, the first Stevens (Joshua, 1737-1816) settled in Nottingham, New Hampshire and for over one-hundred and fifty years the family occupied the same land. Town and local histories provide little information about the lives of the first three generations of family members, but these records suggest that they were farmers. In 1827, Daniel Barber (b. 1803), a third generation Stevens, married Betsey M. Butler (d…

    Collection NumberMC 122
    Formats
    • Diaries
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Ledgers & Receipts
    • Legal Papers
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Photographs, Slides & Negatives
  • Special Collections

    Harold Caswell Sweetser, son of John P. Sweetser, who was born May 19, 1897 in Portsmouth, N.H. He was employed as a Helper General at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in May of 1917 and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1918. After enlisting in the army in 1918 he eventually worked his way up to Supervising Naval Architect by his 1958 retirement. The Sweetser Collection contains the personal papers of …

    Collection NumberMC 90
    Formats
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Scrapbooks
  • Special Collections

    Sylvester Bingham (1901-1981) was a graduate of Dartmouth College, studied at Harvard Law School, earned a master’s degree from Harvard University and the Ph.D. from Yale University. He joined the faculty at the University of New Hampshire in 1936 and taught English Literature until his retirement in 1970. He chaired the department for 21 of those years. Bingham died on November 4, 1981. He was 80 years old. This…

    Collection NumberMC 284
    Formats
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Manuscripts & Typescripts
    • Photographs, Slides & Negatives
  • Special Collections

    This collection was primarily assembled by Mary P. Thompson (1825- 1894) and her nephew Lucien Thompson (1859-1924), Durham historians. Their prominent ancestors included “Judge” Ebenezer Thompson (1737-1802), and Benjamin Thompson (1806-1890). This collection consists of manuscript materials dated 1703-1924, which extensively document the Thompson family of Durham and surrounding towns through correspondence,…

    Collection NumberMC 1
    Formats
    • Genealogical Papers
    • Ledgers & Receipts
    • Letters & Postcards
    • Manuscripts & Typescripts
  • Special Collections

    The Willis family took root in New England when Job Willis emigrated from England and settled in Massachusetts. Individuals in this collection include Nellie Willis, her husband Eugene Willis, their daughter Lela Willis, Clarence Willis, Daniel Willis, Marinda Willis, Sylvia B. (Hazelton) Davis, Sylvia's sister Mrs. Daniel Willis (Marinda Hazelton). The collection consists of 45 personal letters written between…

    Collection NumberMC 168
    Formats
    • Letters & Postcards
  • Special Collections

    The Wilson family of Maine and New Hampshire bought and sold land during the 1850s-1910s, usually in the area of Berlin, Coos County, N.H. Members included: Mary Elizabeth Shaw Wilson (1814-1872), James B. Wilson (1840-?), George Shaw Wilson (1846-?), Julia Wilson (1849-1922), William Melville Wilson (1844-1891), Ina Crockett Wilson (1825-1863), Hallie Elizabeth Wilson (1873-1937), and Channing Weston Wilson (1874-1940). This collection consists of approximately 20 deeds and descriptions of…

    Collection NumberMC 328
    Formats
    • Legal Papers
  • Special Collections

    Southern New Hampshire town located in Rockingham County. The population was 753 in 1870. 1869 tax report from district 7 in Windham, New Hampshire that specifically mentions tax dollars spent to pay for the services of a teacher.

    Collection NumberMS 147
    Formats
    • Ledgers & Receipts