Wigglesworth, Edward

Person

Dates

Existence: 1732 - 1794

Biography

Edward Wigglesworth (1732-1794; Harvard AB 1749) was a commission merchant in partnership with William Blair Townsend (1723-1778; Harvard AB 1741) in Boston before his appointment as the second Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard College in 1765.

Townsend & Wigglesworth specialized primarily in retail and commission sales of goods imported from England and the West Indies. The firm dissolved in 1758, and Wigglesworth himself withdrew from business in 1762, turning over collection of his accounts to Deacon Thomas Hill and his son Henry Hill. After the death of his father Edward Wigglesworth (approximately 1693-1765; Harvard AB 1710), the first Hollis professor, Wigglesworth was elected to succeed him. Wigglesworth also was elected to the Harvard Corporation in 1779 and served as acting president of the College in 1780-1781.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Records of the Harvard College Library: Borrowing privileges correspondence

FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives

Collection Identifier: UAIII 50.6.1

Overview:

This collection contains correspondence to the Harvard College librarian asking for book borrowing privileges, primarily from faculty and other individuals with a connection to the college, dated 1775 to circa 1826, and a 20th century dealer catalog entry for a 1764 letter related to donated volumes. The records include the borrower's name, the titles of the books borrowed, the date of loans, and in some cases, the return of books.

Filtered By

Subject: Libraries--Massachusetts--Cambridge X