Special Collections

  • Special Collections
    A letter from Laura to Lucy Sweet of Lowell VT. in which she describes her work at the Industrial School in Manchester, N. H.
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    Artist, 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 Collections
    Kenison (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…
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    Farmer 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…
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    Author 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…
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    Printer 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).
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    Meldrim 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…
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    Anonymous 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…
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    Free 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…
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    David 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…
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    American 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 “…
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    Author, 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.
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    American 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…
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    Resident 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.
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    Emlyn 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…
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    Blacksmith 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…
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    Local 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.
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    Herbalist 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'.
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    This 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…
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    Professor 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…
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    Henry 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…
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    The 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…
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    Illustrator 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…
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    Epsom 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.
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    New Hampshire town Bristol, New Hampshire post office directory listing names of residents presumably renting post office boxes.
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    Agent 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…
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    Edwin 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…
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    Native 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…
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    Mining 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…
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    Grafton 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.
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    Labor 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…
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    Harvard 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.
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    New 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.
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    Graduate 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.
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    Letter 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.
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    Artist 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…
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    John 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.
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    Professor of Fine Arts at Reading University and biographer of English Art Critic John Ruskin. Letter written Sept. 20, 1911 to Alfred E. Richards by Collingwood in which he describes his general health, and criticizes those “people who give their opinions on Ruskin,” so soon after his death. Also…
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    Lemcke was an author and resident of New York City. Two letters and a map from Ernest G. Lemcke, which accompany handwritten manuscripts of his three works: Tribal Hidage, or the First English Census; The Early History of the Gervisse, later called West Saxons (494-597); and The Burghal Hidage and…
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    Printer and politician of Concord, N.H., who lived from 1789 to 1851. Letter (1838) in which Hill lists the names of several blind students resident in Concord. In this Apr. 7, 1838 letter Hill discusses the expenses of several individual pupils and lists the appropriations given to each one.
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    Viola C. Codman (1832-1931) may have been a Shaker for some period of her life, though she later married and had children. She may or may not be the original author of the music portion of the book. Has the name Viola C. Codman of Brattleboro, Vermont written inside. About half the book is…
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    Shaker of Enfield, N.H., musician, and poet. Composer of the popular Shaker song "Millenial Praise". Music book kept by James Russell of Enfield, N.H. The first 56 pages of the book contain a 12 section lesson on the principles of music. Pages 58-145 contain hymns and poems Russell wrote for the…
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    Author, Irish poet and collector of folklore A letter written in New York City by Colum on Jan. 19, 1921 in which he discusses meeting Mr. and Mrs. Kershaw in Peterborough, N.H., while visiting the MacDowell Colony.
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    British artist and illustrator, who lived for a time in the home of Elizabeth Yates and William McGreal in Peterborough, N.H. Three Christmas cards (1950-1960) from Nora Spicer Unwin, Elizabeth Yates and William McGreal to Thelma Brackett, U.N.H. Librarian. The cards primarily express good wishes…
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    Town of Marlborough New Hampshire, Cheshire County. One page description of the town of Marlborough, N.H. The document contains information about the town’s boundaries and geography, roads and schools, churches and ministers, notable residents, and a brief history of its settlement and…
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    Seacoast New Hampshire historian, member of the Northam Colonists. Historical notes on various Strafford County persons, places, and events read by Bertha G. Simpson at the Field Day of Northam Colonists held June 20, 1938 at Simpson’s Pavilion in Dover, New Hampshire.
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    Civil War soldier. Four page letter written from Berryville (Va.) by J.A. Blodgett, Civil War soldier, to his brother. The letter describes skirmishes with Confederate troops around Berryville, Va. during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August-November 1864.
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    A Children’s book author who wrote "Courage of Sarah Noble" and "Bears of Hemlock Mountain." Both won Newbury Honors. Letter written by Alice Dalgliesh from Salt Box, Brookfield, CT on July 8, 1952 to Thelma Brackett, U.N.H. Librarian. In the letter, Dalgliesh thanks Brackett for her kind words…
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    Prolific author of children's books who lived in Peterborough, NH. Letter from Elizabeth Yates to Mrs. Prugh informing her that she and Nora Spicer Unwin are unable to speak at a PTA meeting due to prior commitments.
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    Portsmouth, N.H. newspaper published between July 4, 1827 and Jan. 1, 1828 for the “old school republicans,” dedicated “to the principles of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.” Broadside announcing the publication of Signs of the Times. It briefly describes the paper, lists the terms of subscription…