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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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August 18, 1781
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-SpahrB-1953-23
Subject: Personal and Family Life
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from Benjamin Rush to Susan Stockton
August 27, 1781
A copy of the Last Will and Testament of Revolutionary War General William Thompson, certified on October 6, 1781.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-MoyermanS-1963-1
Subject: Legal Affairs, Personal and Family Life
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Last Will and Testament of William Thompson
November 24, 1782
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-Friends-2013-7
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Native Americans, Politics and Government
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Irvine to Richard Butler
1783
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.1
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from John Dickinson to Benjamin Rush
February 24, 1783
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-Purchase-1967-10
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
April 17, 1783
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 document as the treasurer.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for William Henderson
May 15, 1783
Two engravings of Dickinson College founder John Dickinson. The engravings, by B.B.E., are published by R. Wilkinson in London.
Format: Engravings and Illustrations
Location: I-SpahrB-1959-14
Subject: Visual and Performing Arts
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Engraving of John Dickinson
May 30, 1783
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-SellersC-1950-2
Subject: International Affairs, Politics and Government
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from Robert Morris to Don Luis Unzaga y Amezao
June 14, 1783
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-SpahrB-1964-1
Subject: Economics and Finance, Politics and Government
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from John Dickinson to Thomas Smith
June 27, 1783
Pennsylvania Governor John Dickinson asks Elias Boudinot, the President of Congress, for copies of the last two dispatches. Transcript included.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-SpahrB-1951-5
Subject: Politics and Government
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from John Dickinson to Elias Boudinot
July 14, 1783
Dickinson College founder John Dickinson signs a paycheck to Captain Jacob Bower of the 6th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line.
Format: Financial Documents
Location: I-AsbellY-2005-2
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Paycheck from John Dickinson to Jacob Bower
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. "At present the British are smarting under the wounds that the Secession of So great a Part of their Empire," as Bingham explains. Both Bingham and Montgomery are members of the Board of Trustees. Transcript included.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.2
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs
Time Period: 1780-1799
August 14, 1783
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 document as the treasurer.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for James Butler
September 1, 1783
Warrant for wages from John Dickinson for Frederick Sneider's service as door keeper. Transcript included.
Format: Financial Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-51
Subject: Economics and Finance
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Wages from John Dickinson for Frederick Snider
September 9, 1783
The charter establishing Dickinson College, approved in the minutes of the Trustees of the College, September 9, 1783.
Format: Meeting Minutes
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.1.1
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College History, Education
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Charter of Dickinson College
September 30, 1783
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.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for James Chrystie
September 30, 1783
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 Pennsylvania Regiment for four years and seven months. Transcript included.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1958-21
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Military Discharge for James Girdler
October 3, 1783
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 treasurer.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for Alexander Parker
October 6, 1783
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.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for Isaac Vanhorne
October 8, 1783
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.
Format: Financial Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-50
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier's Pay from John Dickinson for John Hays
November 29, 1783
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.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-SpahrB-1960-8
Subject: Business and Industry, International Affairs, Politics and Government
Time Period: 1780-1799
December 2, 1783
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 College Board of Trustees. Transcript included.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-19
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Travel and Tourism
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Bingham to John Jay
December 3, 1783
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.
Format: Legal and Government Documents
Location: I-SpahrB-1949-3
Subject: Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Warrant for Soldier’s Pay from John Dickinson for James Gibbons
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. Bingham, who serves as a trustee from 1783 to 1803, admits that he has "been exceedingly disappointed in my expectations." The American revolution is one of the causes for Bingham's lack of success. "The material change of situation that the two countries have undergone," as Bingham explains, "is the principle obstacle to successful application." Transcript included.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Location: RG 1/1 - 3.2.1.3
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Economics and Finance, Education, International Affairs, Travel and Tourism
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Bingham to the Dickinson College Board of Trustees
January 1, 1784
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 Philadelphia..." He also discusses the political situation in the United Kingdom, including the "Radical Reformation" of the East India Company. Bingham also mentions recent advancements in hot air balloon technology. "Air Balloons... have been made capable of Supporting the Weight of Several Persons, who have been Suspended thereto, & who have traversed the Distance of Forty Miles in the Regions of the Air," as Bingham notes. Transcript included.
Format: Letters/Correspondence
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
Time Period: 1780-1799
View Item: Letter from William Bingham to Benjamin Rush