Collections

The Williams, Jonathan mss., 1738-1869, consist of letters and papers of Jonathan Williams, 1750-1815, merchant and soldier, grand-nephew of Benjamin Franklin and first superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The Vernon mss., 1737-1740, consists of contemporary copies and extracts of the correspondence between Admiral Edward Vernon, 1684-1757, and the Great Britain Navy Board.

The U.S. History mss., 1612-1977, consist of individual items acquired separately either as a gift, purchase, transfer, or removal from a variety of sources, relating to the United States. Additions continue to be made.

The Signers of the Declaration of Independence mss., 1848, consists of materials pertaining to the members of the Continental Congress who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Sharpe mss., 1733-1755, consists of papers from the office of John Sharpe, 1700-1756, London solicitor for the British West Indies, relating to the enforcement of the 1733 Molasses Act.

The Meigs mss., 1794–1831, cpnsists of letters and papers of Return Jonathan Meigs, 1764–1825, governor of Ohio, United States senator, and postmaster general during the administrations of Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.

The Mayhew mss., 1775-1782, consists of letters written to Betsy (also called Elizabeth or Eliza) Mayhew by Mary or Polly, sometimes referred to as Mary Palmer, 1746-1791.

The Lafayette mss. IV, 1825-1860, consist of two letters. One is written by the Marquis de Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, 1757-1834, general, to Elisha Ely. The second is written by John F. Ely to John Stoner Ely regarding the Marquis de Lafayette's travel plans.

The Lafayette mss. II, 1774-1957, are individual letters and documents relating to the Marquis de Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, 1757-1834, general, which have been acquired from several sources.

The King mss., 1815-1863, consists of the correspondence of Rufus King, 1755-1827, member of the Continental Congress and of the Constitutional Convention, U. S. senator and minister to Great Britain, and of members of his family.