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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Am 772

Willard family papers

Overview

Papers of Congregationalist minister and Harvard College president Joseph Willard and of his sons Augustus and Sidney.

Dates

  • Creation: 1797-1828

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Extent

.1 linear feet (1 envelope)

Consists of letters, a journal, eulogies, and a printed obituary.

Biographical / Historical

Joseph Willard (1738-1804) was a Congregational minister, scholar of ancient Greek, astronomy, and mathematics, and president of Harvard College (1781-1804). He had three sons, Augustus (1775-1799), Sidney (1780-1856), and Joseph (1761-1827), some of whose family and business activities are documented in the collection.

Arrangement

The constituent documents of this collection were glued by their edges to individual pages of bound notebooks or, in the case of Augustus Willard's journal, gathered together in a folder; contents descriptions were written on the covers. This was presumably done by the donor, a family member. The original arrangement has been preserved, viz.: notebook entitled "Letters of Augustus Willard", items (1)-(12); folder, "Journal of a voyage to the West Indies", item (13); notebook, "Funeral Address on Dr. John Clarke (H.C. 1774), item (14); notebook, "Letters from Sidney Willard (H.C. '98)", items (15)-(18).

Physical Location

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Immediate Source of Acquisition

No accession number. Gift of Miss Susanna Willard; received: 1916 April 18.

Digitization Funding

Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.

Processing Information

Processed by: Michael W. Austin

Title
Willard family. Willard family papers, 1797-1828 (MS Am 772): Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou02216

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440