Entries drawn from collection & document descriptions
This copy of the printed program for the commencement exercises held on June 26, 1851 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
William Charles Ford Reed receives his Bachelor of Arts Diploma from Dickinson College on June 26, 1851.
Location: Diploma Collection
Subject: Education
Format: Certificates and Diplomas
Time Period: 1840-1859
Charles Collins writes two letters to his wife, Harriet, regarding his trip to Portland, Maine, and shares news of their family and friends. Collins also mentions watching a doctor perform an operation with chloroform and listening to a lecture on temperance by John B. Gough. "[Gough] is a...
Location: I-EwigC-1990-1
Subject: Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality, Social Reform and Advocacy, Travel and Tourism
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
A description of this letter is not currently available. Transcripts included.
Location: I-Original-undated-15
Subject: Dickinson College Student Life, Education
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Dickinson College Professor Herman M. Johnson writes this letter to recommend a recent graduate, Martin T. Rohrer (Class of 1851), for a teaching position. Rohrer "is a young gentleman whom we believe to be... well qualified to fill the office of...
Location: I-SpahrB-1952-9
Subject: Dickinson College Alumni Affairs, Education, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Former Dickinson College Professor Thomas Emory Sudler (Class of 1840) writes this letter to recommend a recent graduate, Martin T. Rohrer (Class of 1851), for a teaching position. Rohrer "is a Gentleman qualified to give instruction" in subjects such as "Algebra, Geometry, [and] Trigonometry,"...
Location: I-SpahrB-1952-9
Subject: Dickinson College Alumni Affairs, Education, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Hetty Parker, James Buchanan's housekeeper, writes to James B. Henry, Buchanan's nephew. Parker reports news of various Buchanan family relatives and friends, including Miss Ward, Mr. Lane, Miss Harriet, and many others. Transcript included.
Location: I-Friends-2010-3
Subject: Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes to Henry A. Clover regarding the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election and the election prospects of Clover's relative. "Your relative General Clover is in no danger" because, as Buchanan explains, "his opponent, John Strohm is one of the fourteen in the House of...
Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F4
Subject: International Affairs, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Roger Brooke Taney, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, writes to Mr. William Prescott Smith: "Accept my thanks for the 'Scientific American,' and the two pamphlets.... I was so much impressed with what I saw in my brief visit to the Institute a few evenings ago...." An engraving...
Location: I-Friends-1978-6
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Science and Technology
Format: Engravings and Illustrations, Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes Charles H. Shriner regarding the status of the Democratic party in Union County, Pennsylvania. "What is the matter in Union County?," as Buchanan asks. Transcript included.
Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F5
Subject: Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
The Dickinson College catalog for the 1851-1852 academic year. Through the years, the annual catalog was variously titled "The Bulletin," "Catalogue and Register," "Course Catalog," and similar variants. The catalog typically includes the list of courses offered, requirements for enrollment,...
Location: Dickinsoniana Periodicals
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Education
Format: Books and Pamphlets
Time Period: 1840-1859
George Miller writes sixteen letters to Eli Slifer, Secretary of the Commonwealth during the Civil War, in which he discusses construction of the Sunbury and Erie railroad, repeal of the tonnage tax, the raising of a Corps of Engineers, developments in local elections, several legal cases, as...
Location: MC 2003.4, B8, F3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Legal Affairs, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
James Buchanan writes three letters to Henry A. Wise that focus largely on various political matters, including the 1852 Democratic Convention, the election of US Senators from Pennsylvania, and who to appoint to President-elect Buchanan's cabinet. Transcripts included.
Location: MC 1998.10
Subject: Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes five letters to James Campbell regarding Pennsylvania politics, the Democratic conventions, President Franklin Pierce's appointments, and Buchanan's experience working as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Buchanan also discusses the possibility of a war...
Location: MC 1998.10
Subject: International Affairs, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Simon Cameron writes to Reah Frazer, an attorney in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and requests copies of James Buchanan's speeches against the war, presumably the Mexican-American War. With them, Cameron explains that southern senators will demolish "the old sage." Cameron, a Pennsylvania...
Location: I-SpahrB-1957-5
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Andrew Curtin writes four letters to Eli Slifer in which he discusses a recent appointment bill and the potential impact on the political strength of the Democratic party as well as other political developments in Pennsylvania. Transcripts included.
Location: MC 2003.4, B3, F9
Subject: Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan (Class of 1809) writes to his nephew, James Buchanan Henry, and congratulates him for good grades in mathematics as well as offers advice for an upcoming exam. Buchanan also mentions his niece Harriet Lane, who is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but expected to return in the coming...
Location: I-AsbellY-2003-8
Subject: Education, Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Former Secretary of War William Wilkins writes California Governor John Bigler to recommends Samuel A. Dickey, the son of Representative John Dickey, for a position or an appointment. Samuel "is of good character and correct deportment," as Wilkins notes.
Location: I-Purchase-1998-1
Subject: Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Jesse Peck, President of Dickinson College, responds to A. W. Foote's request for an autograph.
Location: I-SpahrB-1963-6
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes to William L. Hirst recommending the appointment of Judge Campbell to a position rendered vacant by the death of Judge Coulter, under the rationale that it will benefit the Democratic party of Pennsylvania. Buchanan includes a copy of the letter he wrote to Pennsylvania...
Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F7
Subject: Legal Affairs, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes his nephew and legal ward, James Henry, to ask about "the results" of a class meeting at Princeton and discuss plans for an upcoming vacation. Buchanan also includes a brief report on their family, including how "Harriet [Lane] returned from Pittsburgh ten days ago in good...
Location: I-Friends-2010-2
Subject: Education, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
Thompson Prettyman Ege writes to his father, Oliver Ege, with updates on his life as a student and interactions with people in Carlisle. While "we will commence to review for [end of term] examination" in less than a month, Thompson assures his father that "I am very well and I am trying to get...
Location: I-StokesM-1964-3
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Religion and Spirituality
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes to Col John H. Wheeler regarding the 1852 Democratic National Convention, which is held in Baltimore, and who the delegates will select as the party's candidate for the 1852 Presidential election. "I think my prospects are fairer at present than those of any other...
Location: MC 1998.10
Subject: Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
James Buchanan writes to journalist and lawyer Edward McPherson regarding a list of members of the Lancaster County Bar that McPherson had compiled. Buchanan points out that the list mistakenly dates his admission to the Bar to 1809, when he was still a student at Dickinson College. "According...
Location: I-AsbellY-2005-5
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College Alumni Affairs, Dickinson College Student Life, Education, Legal Affairs
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1840-1859
John McCarty prepared this oration, entitled “A Word for the Poor," for the commencement ceremonies held July 18, 1852. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.
Location: Orations-1852-M123w
Subject: Politics and Government, Social Reform and Advocacy
Format: Speeches and Sermons
Time Period: 1840-1859
