Letter from William Bingham to John Montgomery

Letter from William Bingham to John Montgomery
Date
August 10, 1783

William Bingham writes from London to John Montgomery in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Bingham discusses the prospect of British aid to the new college and comments on the conflict between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Location
RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.2
Time Period

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate
Date
April 17, 1786

Benjamin Rush signs this affidavit that attests that William Ford's payment certificate for service as a soldier is the property of Dickinson College. Ford's certificate, which is worth $80, is no. 77369 and dated July 1, 1784.

Location
I-Original-1786-1
Time Period

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate
Date
May 12, 1786

Benjamin Rush signs this affidavit that attests that Albion Guest's payment certificate for service as a soldier is the property of Dickinson College. Guest's certificate, which is worth $44, is no. 74942 and dated July 1, 1784.

Location
I-SpahrB-1940-3
Time Period

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate
Date
April 17, 1786

Benjamin Rush signs this affidavit that attests that Arthur [Gillas'?] payment certificate for service as a soldier is the property of Dickinson College. Arthur's certificate is no. 77395 and dated July 1, 1784.

Location
I-SpahrB-1951-6
Time Period

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate

Sworn Affidavit of Benjamin Rush about a Soldier's Pay Certificate
Date
April 17, 1786

Benjamin Rush signs this affidavit that attests that Christopher Finnigan's payment certificate for service as a soldier is the property of Dickinson College. Finnigan's certificate is no. 75525 and dated July 1, 1784.

Location
I-SpahrB-1960-7
Time Period

Promissory Note from Charles Biddle to the Trustees of Dickinson College

Promissory Note from Charles Biddle to the Trustees of Dickinson College
Date
April 11, 1786
Vice-President of Pennsylvania Charles Biddle writes this note, which orders the Treasurer of Pennsylvania to pay £500 to the Trustees of Dickinson College. Benjamin Rush acknowledges the receipt of this note on behalf of the trustees.
Location
I-SpahrB-1966-19
Time Period

Letter from Charles Nisbet to Alexander Nisbet

Letter from Charles Nisbet to Alexander Nisbet
Date
December 11, 1801

Charles Nisbet writes to his son Alexander, an attorney in Baltimore, and offers advice on various topics. "Taverns," as Charles explains, are "the slaughter-houses of the most part of the youth of this country" and should be avoided.

Location
I-McIntoshM-1965-3
Time Period

Letter from William Bingham to Benjamin Rush

Letter from William Bingham to Benjamin Rush
Date
February 6, 1784

Statesman William Bingham writes Benjamin Rush and compares the conditions in England with those in the United States in terms of government, economics, and immigration.

Location
I-BonisteelR-1958-3
Time Period

Letter from Joseph Priestley to Jean-Frédéric Perregaux

Letter from Joseph Priestley to Jean-Frédéric Perregaux
Date
April 12, 1801

Joseph Priestley to Jean-Frédéric Perregaux in Paris regarding the annual income from "Mr. [John] Wilkinson's donation" and "the probable state of your funds in the future...as it is my wish to reside some time" in France.

Location
I-BeachW-1986-10
Time Period

Letter from William Bingham to the Dickinson College Board of Trustees

Letter from William Bingham to the Dickinson College Board of Trustees
Date
December 29, 1783

William Bingham writes from London to the Dickinson College Board of Trustees concerning his attempts to get support from the British for the College.

Location
RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.3
Time Period

Alexander Biddle family papers

Alexander Biddle Family Papers
Date Range
1793-1926

Alexander Biddle, the patriarch of the collection, was born on April 29, 1819 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas A. Biddle and Christine Williams Biddle. A member of a prominent and wealthy Philadelphia family, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1838 and became a successful lawyer—a profession that ran in his family and would continue in later generations. He married Julia Williams Rush in 1855—the granddaughter of Founding Father Benjamin Rush—which allows for both the Williams and Rush families to be well represented in this collection. It is Alexander, his wife Julia, and his seven children—Alexander, Henry, Julia, Wilmer, Louis, Marion, and Lynford, that make up a majority of this collection.

The Biddle Family Collection is housed in 11 document boxes. This collection consists primarily of correspondence between both friends and members of the Biddle Family as well as business associates. The collection is centered around Alexander Biddle (April 29, 1819—May 2, 1899), starting with him and progressing into an emphasis on his wife and children (Alexander, Henry, Julia, Wilmer, Louis, Marion, and Lynford) as well as other family members. The Rush family, via Alexander marrying into it, is also well represented.

These materials are arranged into the following 9 categories: Correspondence, Financial Materials, Legal Materials, Clubs/Societies, Invitations, Animal Business, Ephemera, Miscellaneous, and Photographs. This collection was generously donated by Samuel and Anna D. Moyerman.

Location
MC 2014.1

Board of Trustees papers, 1833-1879

RG 1/2 - 10.1.12 The Statutes of Dickinson College, 1853
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1833-1902

The papers of the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College, 1833-1879, include correspondence, reports, financial statements, printed materials, and legal documents, and have been arranged into thirteen series.

Series 1 – Membership contains correspondence regarding membership on the Board of Trustees, lists of members, and attendance records.
Series 2 – Reports to the Board of Trustees consists of reports by the college president on the overall status of the college as well as reports from the heads of the college departments.
Series 3 – General Business includes bound and loose copies of minutes of the trustees’ meetings, resolutions passed by the various trustee committees, and correspondence in which general business is conducted.
Series 4 – College Personnel includes materials dealing with the college presidents.
Series 5 – Physical Plant consists of deeds, mortgages, certificates, bills, and correspondence dealing with the construction of the campus buildings.
Series 6 – Financial Affairs contains reports of the treasurer, ledger books, student accounts, and other financial materials.
Series 7 – Scholarships contains hundreds of scholarship certificates as well as correspondence and reports related to the sale of scholarships to raise funds for the college.
Series 8 – Conferences consists of materials which pertain to the control of the college by the Baltimore and Philadelphia Conferences of the Methodist Church.
Series 9 – Honorary Degrees contains correspondence relating to the granting of honorary degrees to prominent individuals.
Series 10 – Publications contains printed materials produced for use by the general community such as lists of college rules and regulations.
Series 11 – Dickinson Preparatory School contains reports of the principal to the Board as well as such financial materials as the treasurer’s list of students.
Series 12 – Dickinson Commercial College includes ledger books used in conducting the business of the commercial department of the college.
Series 13 – Executive Committee contains two bound volumes of the minutes of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

A fuller description of each series is given before each series inventory.

Location
RG 1/2

Board of Trustees papers, 1783-1833

Plan of Education for Dickinson College - RG 1/1, 3.2.8
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1783-1837

The papers of the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College, 1783-1833, include correspondence, reports, financial statements, printed materials, and legal documents, and have been arranged into seven series.

Series 1 – Membership contains correspondence regarding membership on the Board of Trustees, as well as a membership list, c1826.
Series 2 – Reports of the President consists of reports made to the Board by Presidents Nisbet, Davidson, and How.
Series 3 – General Business contains materials such as correspondence between trustees, mandamus to the faculty, and committee reports.
Series 4 – College Personnel includes correspondence to and from faculty members, including presidents.
Series 5 – Physical Plant contains land deeds and construction and service bills for the campus buildings.
Series 6 – Financial Affairs contains reports of the treasurer, subscription lists, and other financial materials.
Series 7– Publications contains printed materials such as college catalogues.

A fuller description of each series is given before each series inventory.

Location
RG 1/1

George W. Bowman family papers

Stock receipt, 1857 (Box 1, folder 4)
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1854-1932

This collection contains materials documenting the personal and business lives of George W. Bowman (1809-1887) and his son Harry Leader Bowman (1848-1915). It also documents the death of George's wife and Harry's mother, Ann Leader Bowman (1813-1885).

The photographs series in this collection includes images of family members and Dickinson College students. Several folders contain carte de visites of Dickinson graduates from the Classes of 1867, 1868, 1869, 1871, 1872

Location
MC 2008.3

James Buchanan papers

Letters, 1856 (Box 3, folder 23)
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1808-1991

James Buchanan was a graduate of Dickinson College, Class of 1809, who went on to become the fifteenth president of the United States. The majority of this collection is comprised of correspondence between Buchanan and his business and political associates; over four hundred letters penned by Buchanan are included in the collection. Drafts of speeches, printed pamphlets, and various memorabilia are also represented.

Location
MC 1998.10

Edward Shippen Burd family papers

Receipt for taxes, 1816 (Box 1, folder 9)
Collection Inventory
Date Range
1792-1870

The collection includes business letters and legal papers of the Burd family, early deeds and patents, settlement of the Edward Shippen Burd estate 1848-1870, and correspondence concerning bequests for St. Stephen's Church, Philadelphia, the Burd memorial there, and the "Burd Orphan Asylum."

Location
MC 1999.10