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Collections of college and personal papers, as well as a select number of individual documents, have been briefly described in entries available for browsing and searching on this site. All collection and document descriptions contain a representative image and a summary of the contents. 

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"Cuban Liberty," by J. Douglas Wade
"Cuban Liberty," by J. Douglas Wade
July 12, 1855

J. Douglas Wade prepared this oration, entitled “Cuban Liberty" for the commencement ceremonies held July 12, 1855. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included...

Location: Orations-1855-W119c

Subject: International Affairs, Politics and Government

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon "Cuban Liberty," by J. Douglas Wade

Bachelor of Arts Diploma - Charles Himes
Bachelor of Arts Diploma - Charles Himes
July 12, 1855

Charles Francis Himes receives his Bachelor of Arts Diploma from Dickinson College on July 12, 1855.

Location: OC 2000.1, F4

Subject: Education

Format: Certificates and Diplomas

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Bachelor of Arts Diploma - Charles Himes

1855 Commencement Program
1855 Commencement Program
July 12, 1855

This copy of the printed program for the commencement exercises held on July 12, 1855 shows the members of the graduating class and the speeches that they were scheduled to deliver.

Location: Dickinsoniana Programs

Subject: Dickinson College Events

Format: Memorabilia and Ephemera

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon 1855 Commencement Program

Bachelor of Arts Diploma - Andrew Dill
Bachelor of Arts Diploma - Andrew Dill
July 13, 1855

Andrew Hemphill Dill receives his Bachelor of Arts Diploma from Dickinson College on July 13, 1855.

Location: Diploma Collection

Subject: Education

Format: Certificates and Diplomas

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Bachelor of Arts Diploma - Andrew Dill

Letter from Roger B. Taney to Taney Campbell
Letter from Roger B. Taney to Taney Campbell
August 18, 1855

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes his grandson, [Roger Brooke] Taney Campbell, and notes that he is glad to have heard so much from the Campbell family this summer. As Taney explains, he and his wife just this morning received...

Location: I-SpahrB-1965-7

Subject: Health and Medicine, Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Roger B. Taney to Taney Campbell

Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell
Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell
August 25, 1855

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes to J. Mason Campbell about the summer at Old Point with regard to the nearby outbreak of yellow fever and the construction of a new wharf. While his family is safe from the outbreak, Taney...

Location: I-SpahrB-1965-18

Subject: Business and Industry, Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life, Weather and Climate

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell

Diary of Horatio Collins King, Fall 1855
Diary of Horatio Collins King, Fall 1855
September - December 1855

Horatio Collins King's diary during the fall of his second year at Dickinson College. King is a member of the class of 1858. Transcript included.

Location: MC 1999.9, B2, F6

Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College Student Life, Education

Format: Diaries and Journals

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Editor's Note -- Diary of Horatio Collins King, PDF icon Diary of Horatio Collins King, Fall 1855 (Transcript)

Letter from Jacob Thompson to A. O. P. Nicholson
Letter from Jacob Thompson to A. O. P. Nicholson
September 22, 1855

Jacob Thompson writes to Colonel A. O. P. Nicholson and discusses how he expects to win the US Senate seat in Mississippi.  Thompson also notes that his speeches have been published in the Memphis Appeal. As Nicholson is also a newspaper...

Location: I-BeachW-1986-7

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Jacob Thompson to A. O. P. Nicholson

Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell
Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell
September 28, 1855

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes to J. Mason Campbell and discusses Mrs. Taney's ill health. "Maria -- who was sleeping the bed with her -- discovered that she was making an effort to raise herself in bed -- and was unable to...

Location: I-SpahrB-1964-8

Subject: Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell

Telegram from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell
Telegram from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell
September 29, 1855

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney sends a telegram to J. Mason Campbell: "Mrs Taney is dying. Charter a Boat from Mr Falls and send it for us as soon as possible."

Location: I-SpahrB-1964-8

Subject: Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Telegram from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell

Letter from James Buchanan to W. Hunter
Letter from James Buchanan to W. Hunter
December 14, 1855

James Buchanan, the United States Minister to the United Kingdom, writes to W. Hunter and encloses a communication of "an important religious subject" from Edward Ellice, a member of the House of Commons, to C. A. Davis of New York. Transcript...

Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F20

Subject: Politics and Government, Religion and Spirituality

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from James Buchanan to W. Hunter

Letter from James Buchanan to Eliza Watterston
Letter from James Buchanan to Eliza Watterston
December 28, 1855

James Buchanan, the United States Minister to the United Kingdom, writes to Miss Eliza Watterston and offers condolences regarding the death of her father and a Mrs. Baker. Buchanan also explains that he is ready to return home. "I long to return...

Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F20

Subject: International Affairs, Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government, Travel and Tourism

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from James Buchanan to Eliza Watterston

Diary of Horatio Collins King, Spring 1856
Diary of Horatio Collins King, Spring 1856
January - July 1856

Horatio Collins King's diary during the spring of his second year at Dickinson College. King is a member of the class of 1858. Transcript included.

Location: MC 1999.9, B2, F6

Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College Student Life, Education

Format: Diaries and Journals

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Editor's Note -- Diary of Horatio Collins King, PDF icon Diary of Horatio Collins King, Spring 1856 (Transcript)

Letter from Roger B. Taney to Joel Sutherland
Letter from Roger B. Taney to Joel Sutherland
January 25, 1856

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes to Joel Barlow Sutherland and discusses the legal distinction between letters being "in the mail" and "in the post office." Taney notes that he cannot conduct further research on the question...

Location: I-SpahrB-1962-5

Subject: Health and Medicine, Legal Affairs

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Roger B. Taney to Joel Sutherland

Letter from Albert Slape to James Munroe
Letter from Albert Slape to James Munroe
February 4, 1856

Albert Slape writes to James Munroe with news of the dismissal of four students on the charge of tarring Professor Henry Otis Tiffany's blackboard. Slape mentions that the dismissal of the students resulted in a "rebellion of the students." Slape...

Location: I-CowdreyM-1955-1

Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College History, Dickinson College Student Life, Education

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Albert Slape to James Munroe

Letter from James Buchanan to Mr. Tyler
Letter from James Buchanan to Mr. Tyler
February 15, 1856

James Buchanan, the United States Minister to the United Kingdom, writes to Mr. Tyler regarding his plans to leave London as soon as George Dallas, his successor, arrives. Buchanan is not looking forward to the trip back home. " I am a...

Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F21

Subject: Politics and Government, Travel and Tourism

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from James Buchanan to Mr. Tyler

Letter from Horatio Collins King to L. A. Thomas
Letter from Horatio Collins King to L. A. Thomas
March 1, 1856

Postmaster General Horatio Collins King writes to L.A. Thomas, Postmaster of New Haven, CT, about a recent position vacancy. Collins states that Hervey T. Dayton resigned from the job and recommends Nathan U. Brown as a replacement.

Location: I-BeachW-1976-1

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Horatio Collins King to L. A. Thomas

Letter from Roger B. Taney to Alice Campbell
Letter from Roger Brooke Taney to Mrs. Patterson
March 17, 1856

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney thanks his daughter, Alice Taney Campbell, for sending a letter that arrives on his 79th birthday. Campbell's "affectionate remembrance," as Taney explains, reminds him of her "affectionate &...

Location: I-SpahrB-1964-7

Subject: Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life, Weather and Climate

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Roger B. Taney to Alice Campbell

Letter from John Gilmore to "Lib"
Letter from John Gilmore to "Lib"
June 1856

John Calhoun Gilmore writes to "Lib" prior to the Dickinson College Commencement exercises about his class rank in the Class of 1856. Gilmore lists the full ranking of the class of 1856 in his letter. "You will see that my standing is high - I am...

Location: I-Original-1856-1

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from John Gilmore to "Lib"

Letter from Alexander H. Stephens to Thomas W. Thomas
Letter from Alexander H. Stephens to Thomas W. Thomas
June 16, 1856

Representative Alexander Hamilton Stephens writes to Thomas W. Thomas and discusses the 1856 presidential election. Stephens, a Democrat, supports James Buchanan and describes the reasons why the convention made the decisions they did with regard...

Location: I-SpahrB-1959-10

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Alexander H. Stephens to Thomas W. Thomas

"Authority," by Marvin E. Clark
"Authority," by Marvin E. Clark
July 10, 1856

Marvin E. Clark prepared this oration, entitled “Authority" for the commencement ceremonies held July 10, 1856. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included....

Location: Orations-1856-C594a

Subject: Education, Religion and Spirituality, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon "Authority," by Marvin E. Clark

1856 Commencement Program
1856 Commencement Program
July 10, 1856

This copy of the printed program for the commencement exercises held on July 10, 1856 shows the members of the graduating class and the speeches that they were scheduled to deliver.

Location: Dickinsoniana Programs

Subject: Dickinson College Events

Format: Memorabilia and Ephemera

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon 1856 Commencement Program

Letter from James Buchanan to John Cunningham
Letter from James Buchanan to John Cunningham
July 24, 1856

Democratic Presidential candidate James Buchanan (Class of 1803) writes John S. Cunningham about various political issues, including his support of President John Tyler's veto of the Bank of the United States in 1841. Buchanan also returns...

Location: I-Friends-2003-3

Subject: Economics and Finance, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from James Buchanan to John Cunningham

"Dickinson College," by Charles Collins
"Dickinson College," by Charles Collins
August 1856

President Charles Collins writes this short history of Dickinson College in 1856.

Charles Collins, "Dickinson College," The Ladies' Repository 16 (August 1856): 449-453.

Location: Special Collections Periodicals

Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College History, Education

Format: Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon "Dickinson College," by Charles Collins

Letter from Roger B. Taney to Taney Campbell
Letter from Roger B. Taney to Taney Campbell
August 10, 1856

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes to his grandson, [Roger Brooke] Taney Campbell, with family news and provides some advice on horsemanship. Taney provides his grandson with an explanation on why one should learn to ride in...

Location: I-SpahrB-1965-8

Subject: Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

View Item: PDF icon Letter from Roger B. Taney to Taney Campbell

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