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.
Sorted chronologically
Benjamin Rush writes to his sister-in-law, Susan Stockton, with directions for making a husband unhappy without incurring the character of a bad wife. Rush states, "in a word you must be opposite to him in everything." Transcript included.
Location: I-SpahrB-1953-23
Subject: Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: 
Letter from Benjamin Rush to Susan Stockton
A copy of the Last Will and Testament of Revolutionary War General William Thompson, certified on October 6, 1781.
Location: I-MoyermanS-1963-1
Subject: Legal Affairs, Personal and Family Life
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Last Will and Testament of William Thompson
Brigadier General William Irvine writes Colonel Richard Butler in Carlisle to address ongoing operations against the Indians, land speculation, and the limited prospects of frontier officers. Transcript included.
Location: I-Friends-2013-7
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Native Americans, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Irvine to Richard Butler
John Dickinson writes to Benjamin Rush and offers the idea for the commission of William Bingham, a trustee, to solicit funds for Dickinson College in England. Transcript included.
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.1
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from John Dickinson to Benjamin Rush
James Smith, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania, writes to Frederick Muhlenberg and complains that Mr. Lyon refuses to pay for cattle purchased to feed the troops at Carlisle. Transcript included.
Location: I-Purchase-1967-10
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay William Henderson, the Pay Master of the Cavalry of the Pennsylvania Line, for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the...
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for William Henderson
Two engravings of Dickinson College founder John Dickinson. The engravings, by B.B.E., are published by R. Wilkinson in London.
Location: I-SpahrB-1959-14
Subject: Visual and Performing Arts
Format: Engravings and Illustrations
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Engraving of John Dickinson
United States Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris writes to Don Luis Unzaga y Amezago, Governor of Cuba, about the return of Mr. Brown from his secret mission to Havana. Mr. Brown returns with the object that was the purpose of his mission...
Location: I-SellersC-1950-2
Subject: International Affairs, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from Robert Morris to Don Luis Unzaga y Amezao
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson writes to Thomas Smith, a loan officer, and explains settling the certificates that public officers used to pay for supplies, the payment of interest, and how to account for depreciation.
Location: I-SpahrB-1964-1
Subject: Economics and Finance, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from John Dickinson to Thomas Smith
Pennsylvania Governor John Dickinson asks Elias Boudinot, the President of Congress, for copies of the last two dispatches. Transcript included.
Location: I-SpahrB-1951-5
Subject: Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from John Dickinson to Elias Boudinot
Dickinson College founder John Dickinson signs a paycheck to Captain Jacob Bower of the 6th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line.
Location: I-AsbellY-2005-2
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Financial Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Paycheck from John Dickinson to Jacob Bower
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. "At present the...
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.2
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay James Butler, a Corporal in the Eleventh Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line, for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the...
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for James Butler
Warrant for wages from John Dickinson for Frederick Sneider's service as door keeper. Transcript included.
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-51
Subject: Economics and Finance
Format: Financial Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Wages from John Dickinson for Frederick Snider
The charter establishing Dickinson College, approved in the minutes of the Trustees of the College, September 9, 1783.
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.1.1
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College History, Education
Format: Meeting Minutes
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Charter of Dickinson College
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay Captain James Chrystie, of the Pennsylvania Line, for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the document as the treasurer...
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for James Chrystie
General William Irvine issues this discharge to James Girdler on September 30, 1783. This document warns that it "shall not avail the bearer as a discharge until the ratification of the definitive treaty of peace." Girdler served in the Third...
Location: I-SpahrB-1958-21
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Military Discharge for James Girdler
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay Captain Alexander Parker, of the Pennsylvania Line, for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the document as the...
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for Alexander Parker
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay Captain Isaac Vanhorne, of the Pennsylvania Line, for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the document as the treasurer...
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for Isaac Vanhorne
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay John Hays for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the document as the treasurer.
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-50
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Financial Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier's Pay from John Dickinson for John Hays
William Bingham writes to Thomas Fitzsimons on Britain's attitude toward the United States in political and commercial affairs. Bingham is a member of the Dickinson College Board of Trustees.
Location: I-SpahrB-1960-8
Subject: Business and Industry, International Affairs, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
William Bingham welcomes John Jay, an American politician and diplomat, to England and invites Jay to visit him in London. "I am happy at being informed of your Safe Arrival at Bath," as Bingham notes. Bingham serves as a member of the Dickinson...
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-19
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Bingham to John Jay
President of Pennsylvania John Dickinson signs this warrant to pay Captain James Gibbons, of the Pennsylvania Line, for his service as a soldier during the Revolutionary War. David Rittenhouse, Esquire, is listed on the document as the treasurer...
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for James Gibbons
William Bingham writes from London to the Dickinson College Board of Trustees concerning his attempts to get support from the British for the College. Bingham, who serves as a trustee from 1783 to 1803, admits that he has "been exceedingly...
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.3
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs, Travel and Tourism
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Bingham to the Dickinson College Board of Trustees
William Bingham writes to Benjamin Rush from London and discusses the state of financial support for Dickinson College. Bingham references the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, stating "the abdication of congress is a severe blow on the interests of...
Location: MC 2001.13, B1, F6
Subject: Business and Industry, Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs, Politics and Government, Science and Technology
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Bingham to Benjamin Rush