Charles Collins records his thoughts and activities during the early years of his tenure as president of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After his "first sermon in Carlisle," Collins notes how he "was somewhat embarrassed." "I could not for a while banish the thought that I was...

Jacob C. Bomberger writes thirteen letters to Eli Slifer, Pennsylvania State Treasurer and later Secretary of the Commonwealth during the Civil War, regarding various financial transactions, politics issues, local and federal elections, Pennsylvania bank business, and other local news....

Rev. Charles Collins, the eleventh president of Dickinson College, writes this short biography of Rev. Charles Nisbet, the first president of the College, in 1853.

Charles Collins, "Rev. Charles Nisbet, D. D., First President of Dickinson College," The Ladies Repository 13, no....

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 included. 

Clarence G. Jackson prepared this oration, entitled “Posthumous Glory," for the Junior Prize (Grigg Prize) contest held on July 9, 1859. Transcript included.

John H. Grabill prepared this oration, entitled “Intellectual Achievement," for the commencement ceremonies held July 12, 1860. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Thomas William Dick writes five letters to his friends and family describing his experience as a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. Dick discusses daily life in the military camp, in addition to encounters with the "rebel" army. "Our religious privileges here are very limited: we...

M. Chamberlin writes Eli Slifer, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, to recommend the Hon. F. Gearhart as a chaplain for the Union army. While "many of the Chaplains have been Wofully deficient in the Religious influences they Exert," Chamberlin explains that "I have the fullest Confidence in [...

Former President James Buchanan writes to his nephew, James Buchanan Henry, regarding Isabella Lynch, the daughter of one of his late friends. As Henry is an attorney, Buchanan asks him to look into Lynch's situation at the Convent of Visitation in Brooklyn. "The letter of Isabella Lynch gives a...

Abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher writes to Horatio Collins King about King's apparent change of mind on becoming a publisher for Christian Union. Beecher accepts King's decision regretfully after admonishing that "backward" steps can be taken if they lead to "better promise in the future...

S. Homer Dosh writes to his mother, Mrs. J. H. C. Dosh, about life in Carlisle as a student at Dickinson College. He comments on the Presbyterian church, saying that the ministers are boring and that there "is not fire enough in the meetings." In addition, Dosh expresses an interest in possibly...

Nahum Capen writes to Horatio King to decline an invitation and to discuss the philosophy of dreams. Capen was postmaster of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1857 to 1861 while King served as Assistant Postmaster General from 1854 to 1861 and as Postmaster General from February 12, 1861 to March 7,...