Special Collections
- Special CollectionsBetsey Kaime lived at Canterbury Shaker Village. A 120 page leather-bound book filled with occasional poems written over a period of two years (August 1846-October 1848) at Canterbury Shaker Village.
- Special CollectionsA Republican member of the NH State Legislature from Rollinsford, N.H., elected in 1920 via a write-in campaign by newly enfranchised women voters, Jessie Doe was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. She was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1932, and from 1934 until 1943…
- Special CollectionsN.H. printer and poet. Three page letter from Bela Chapin, Claremont, N.H. to George Wadleigh in which Chapin, the compiler of The Poets of New Hampshire, inquires about the life histories of several N.H. poets. He asks Wadleigh about Jeremy Belknap’s hymns, mentions his contact with Thomas Bailey…
- Special CollectionsPoet, professor of Literature and Modern Poetry at Tufts University for 28 years. Two letters written by Holmes. The first is addressed as an open letter to the Folio 1943 and describes Holmes’ passion for writing and the work of Carroll Towle and the…
- Special CollectionsManufacturer of marble and granite monuments, headstones, table tops, and mantelpieces in Portsmouth from around 1860-1895. March 9, 1871 receipt for an advertisement from Silas Philbrick to W.A. Greenough that promises payment for a half-page advertisement in the Portsmouth Directory.
- Special Collections14th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment was an infantry regiment that participated in the American Civil War. It was the last three-year regiment raised in New Hampshire, serving from September 24, 1862 to July 8, 1865. A small (2.5″ x 3.25″) diary for…
- Special CollectionsThe register, for a summer school class taught by Hannah C. Wood, includes wages, names of students, book lists, pedagogy, and studies. Based on names and ages of students, it may be from Nottingham, N.H.
- Special CollectionsFrances Parkinson Keyes was an author, poet and wife of Henry W. Keyes who was Governor of New Hampshire 1917-1919. Three letters from Frances Parkinson Keyes. The first, written in 1917 to Judge von Mosckzisher mentions Robert Frost and Frost’s book Mountain Interval. The second letter, addressed…
- Special CollectionsAmerican author and educator who was best known for his proponents of homeschooling. Typescript of John Caldwell Holt’s work “The Dignity of Children” – an article that discusses issues of self-respect, child psychology, and children’s self-perception…
- Special CollectionsResident of Deerfield, N.H 1839 bankbook of John M. Hoit of Deerfield, N.H., which documents his deposits and withdrawals. The account book also contains four printed pages that explain the design and rules of the New Hampshire Savings Bank in Concord, N.H.
- Special CollectionsProfessor of English and Director of the Center for New England Culture, University of New Hampshire, Durham. Includes correspondence from Carolyn Chute and Maxine Kumin. The Chute letters talk about the logistics of readings at the University of New Hampshire and thanks Watters for his favorable…
- Special CollectionsSusan Wilbur Jones, wife of Llewellyn Jones, a former literary editor of the Chicago Evening Post and later editor of the Christian Register, a magazine associated with the Unitarian Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, took short-story writing courses from May Sarton at Radcliffe College. The…
- Special CollectionsWalter Kittredge was born in Merrimack, New Hampshire. He was a self-taught musician who wrote over 500 songs throughout his career. His most famous song was "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground," which was sung by both sides during the Civil War. From Reeds Ferry, N.H. Walter Kittredge writes a letter…
- Special CollectionsA letter from Laura to Lucy Sweet of Lowell VT. in which she describes her work at the Industrial School in Manchester, N. H.
- Special CollectionsArtist, printer, sculptor and engraver best known for her abstract sculptures in wood. A Dec. 31, 1958 letter to William G. Gilger in which Abbe thanks Gilger for a Dec. 26th letter, suggests that Gilger write two Ithaca addresses for copies of her past books, and notes that “of the eight [books]…
- Special CollectionsKenison (1919-1971) was born in Methuen, Massachusetts and was a graduate of Kennett High School in Conway, N.H. and the University of New Hampshire, where he received a B.S. in entomology in 1940. He served with the Naval Intelligence Office in India…
- Special CollectionsFarmer in Langdon, N.H. aged 92 when he died. He married Fidelia Valena Holmes in September 1888. Their only child, Carl Ward Russell, died in infancy at age 2 months in 1896. The 394 manuscript ledger provides a detailed accounting of expenses and…
- Special CollectionsAuthor and poet who was born in Henniker, N.H. and wrote "Mountain Maid and other Poems of New Hampshire" A letter sent from Framingham, MA to Amos R. Wells in which Proctor expresses appreciation for Wells’ work in the Authors Club and promises to attend the Club’s meeting whenever she is in…
- Special CollectionsPrinter and publisher located in New York City A letter of thanks to Thelma Brackett, U.N.H. Librarian, from Frederic G. Melcher. Also includes a signed Christmas card and two pamphlets: Faith in Our Times (1955) and On Becoming Acquainted with Books (1962).
- Special CollectionsMeldrim Thomson Jr., 1912-2001, served as the Republican Governor of New Hampshire from 1973-1979. Program listing the events, speakers, and organizers of Meldrim Thomson’s 1976 re-election dinner. The program is signed by Thomson, Nancy Reagan, and Ronald Reagan, who gave the keynote address of…
- Special CollectionsAnonymous author. Hand-stitched pamphlet: “An Elegy upon the fall of 53 men, at Wilton, [N.H.,] September 1773" is an anonymous ballad recounting the occurrence in 1773 of the collapse, during the raising of its frame, of the meetinghouse in Wilton, New Hampshire, the death of five workers, and the…
- Special CollectionsFree Will Baptist roots can be traced to England as early as 1611. In 1780, under the leadership of Benjamin Randall, Free Will Baptists were established in the northeast at New Durham, New Hampshire. Free Will Baptist churches voluntarily organized…
- Special CollectionsDavid Lockhart of Tenerife, Portoratava, Canary Islands An April 25, 1740 letter written by David Lockhart of Tenerife, Portoratava, Canary Islands sent to John McCarrick and George Simpson. It instructs the two men how to smuggle Canary wine into Massachusetts. The ship Oratavo set sail from…
- Special CollectionsAmerican Poet, whose most famous poem was "The Man With The Hoe" which highlighted laborer's hardships. Two broadsides inscribed in 1929 by Edwin Markham to the Book and Scroll Club of U.N.H.: “Lincoln, the Man of the People” – a poem read at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922 – and “…
- Special CollectionsAuthor, poet, and composer. Personal letter to Edmund in Jaffrey, NH on Aug. 16, 1918 in which Aiken mentions the delayed delivery of “papers for T.C.R.” and a review of The Jig of Forshlin.
- Special CollectionsAmerican poet, New Hampshire resident and teacher Two-page letter and accompanying poem, “Forest Flowers,” from Robert Frost to Miss Myrtle Raitt at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, where Frost had previously taught. There is also a fourteen-page typed transcription of an untitled essay…
- Special CollectionsResident of Sharon, New Hampshire This 1847 dance caller’s 40 page manuscript book contains many well-known old dances, including Portland Fancy, Fishers Hornpipe, Tom and Jerry, Chorus Jig, and Hull’s Victory.
- Special CollectionsEmlyn Metcalf Gill, born in Walpole, N.H., was a sportman and writer. Five letters written by Emlyn Gill. Gill wrote three of the letters to Eugene V. Connett, sports writer and founder of the Derrydale Press. They rail against “worm fishing” and present a case for dry-fly fishing as opposed to wet…
- Special CollectionsBlacksmith of New Portland, Me. The account book documents the day-to-day life of a country blacksmith – noting everything from shoeing horses to repairing organs. Dennis recorded charges and payments for his work, household accounts and expenditures, and the salaries of hired laborers. The inside…
- Special CollectionsLocal historian and genealogist of Newfields, N.H. Fifteen page typescript history of Newfields, N.H. read by Harry K. Torrey at the Newfields town hall in August 1949.
- Special CollectionsHerbalist and doctor of Concord, N.H. Illustrated broadside sent by Dr. O.C. Gage of Concord, N.H. to Alex W. Young. The broadside contains information pertaining to Gage’s practice, examples of his “miraculous” herbal cures and words of comfort to the 'suffering, wearied, anxious and despairing'.
- Special CollectionsThis 50 page journal, primarily covering the years 1843-1844, contains entries on women’s rights and the works of the poet John Keats. In the back are genealogies of Eli Demerit(t) (1696) and Nathaniel Young (1794), suggesting that perhaps the author…
- Special CollectionsProfessor and biologist, retired in Durham, NH 1972. The Jackson Estuarine Laboratory is named for his father, C. Floyd Jackson. The four field notebooks (Nov. 1971-Nov. 1995) concern the operation of the sailboats WAH-WHO I and II in New Hampshire’s…
- Special CollectionsHenry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was a clergyman, Princeton University professor of English literature, and sports writer. Four (4) letters from angling author Henry Van Dyke to Eugene V. Connett, sports writer and founder of the Derrydale Press. The letters primarily concern Van Dyke’s commitments to…
- Special CollectionsThe Reverend Alvan Tobey was born in Wilmington, VT on April 1, 1808 and graduated from Amherst College in 1828 and at Andover Seminary in 1831. He succeeded the Rev. Robert Page at the Congregational Church in Durham, NH and began preaching there on…
- Special CollectionsIllustrator and author of children’s books; her home in Mason, N.H. served as a model for many of her illistrations. Two letters written by Elizabeth Orton Jones with negatives and preliminary sketches for a 1957 painting commissioned by U.N.H. in honor of Charlotte Thompson. The letters, one to…
- Special CollectionsEpsom is a New Hampshire town in Merrimack County. 1860 Epsom, N.H. tax list that documents the various amounts paid by non-resident land owners for Epsom’s annual tax assessment.
- Special CollectionsNew Hampshire town Bristol, New Hampshire post office directory listing names of residents presumably renting post office boxes.
- Special CollectionsAgent for the Boston and Maine Railroad at Pike Station, Alton, New Hampshire. The letter press books track John L. Davis’s correspondence from December 1899 to August of 1907. In 1901, he and his wife moved from Haverhill, New Hampshire to Alton, New Hampshire and he began work as the Alton…
- Special CollectionsEdwin Terry was a peddler from Granby, Conn. He was born in Harford 22 Oct. 1832, married Maryette Allen in June 1856, and died 6 Aug. 1893 in Springfield MA. His parents were Harmon Terry and Emeline Ellis. Account book kept by Edwin Terry between 1841 and 1878. Terry frequently travelled to New…
- Special CollectionsNative of Acworth N.H. born in 1815, son of Eliphalet Bailey, Universalist minister of Belfast, Me. Letter written on June 12, 1869 by Giles Bailey to C.R. Williams. Bailey states that his address presented for the centennial of Acworth was printed and made available in J.L. Merrill’s History of…
- Special CollectionsMining engineer, a summer resident of Durham, N.H., and benefactor of U.N.H. Copies of Hamilton Smith’s business correspondence. Many of the letters pertain to Smith’s numerous investments, which included mining operations in California, Alaska, South Africa, and South America, and the Central…
- Special CollectionsGrafton is a New Hampshire town in Grafton County. A list that documents the taxes owed to the town of Grafton, N.H. by non-resident land owners for the year 1816.
- Special CollectionsLabor Union of Concord New Hampshire and vicinities in Merrimack County. This group first organized in November 1891 to represent granite cutters, quarrymen, painters, printers, barbers, carpenters, cigar makers, tool sharpeners, plumbers, boot and shoe…
- Special CollectionsHarvard University graduate (1697) and Congregationalist minister. Manuscript sermon preached by Reverend Hugh Adams to the Congregationalist church in Durham, N.H. on Oct. 21, 1739.
- Special CollectionsNew Hampshire author who wrote Let Me Show You New Hampshire. A 9 page typescript of The Witch's Cavern, a story about three children who explore a dangerous cave.
- Special CollectionsGraduate of Yale (1785), member of Congress from 1805 to 1819, and political historian. One page letter in which Pitman informs Governor John Treadwell of Connecticut that he accepts his seat in the 12th Congress of the United States.
- Special CollectionsLetter written by “Willie,” a student at Northwood Academy in Northwood, N.H., to his parents. In the letter, Willie thanks his parents for various items they had sent to him in a package, asks about the family, and remembers life at home.
- Special CollectionsArtist unknown A survey of 114 bird species taken for the year 1911, primarily in the Middletown, Connecticut area, but also including Tilton, New Hampshire and a few places in between. Records temperature and wind direction and a few other details. Also records the dates when first and last seen…
- Special CollectionsJohn Lyon was an Elder of the North Family at the Enfield Shaker Community, in Enfield N.H. Sermon written by Elder John Lyon of the Enfield, N.H. Shakers. The sermon, titled “The Apocalypse Explained,” is a commentary on the Book of Revelations from the New Testament of the Bible.
