Samuel Dunster collection of papers by and about the Dunster family
Overview
Papers assembled primarily for Samuel Dunster's Henry Dunster and his descendants and other Dunster family papers.
Dates
- 1720-1876
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to most of the material in this collection.
Items (5), (8), (9) are restricted: fragile; consult curatorial staff.
Extent
1 linear feet (2 boxes, 1 volume)Primarily letters, genealogy materials, manuscript text, clippings, and other items relating to the descendants of Henry Dunster. Items were collected by Samuel Dunster for the writing of his book, Henry Dunster and his descendants, Central Falls, R.I. : E.L. Freeman & Co., 1876. Also includes materials by and about Rev. Isaiah Dunster (1720-1791) and other Dunsters, including an unidentified Dunster? manuscript.
Biographical / Historical
Henry Dunster (1609-1659?) was the first President of Harvard College, serving from 1640-1654. Samuel Dunster (1803-1889) was a descendant of Henry Dunster, born in Mason, New Hampshire, the son of Jason and Mary Meriam Dunster. He married Susan Perkins Dow Dunster (1806-1886). Samuel Dunster was a farmer and a textile manufactuer, primarily in Rhode Island. He retired to a farm in Attleboro, Massachusetts circa 1863 and became an avid genealogist and in 1876 published Henry Dunster and his descendants.
Isaiah Dunster (1720-1791) was one of the children of Henry Dunster (1688-1753) and Martha Russell Dunster. He received an AB from Harvard College in 1741 and married Mary Smith and later Hannah Dennis. Isaiah was a Congregational minister at Harwich, on Cape Cod, from 1748 until his death in 1791.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- I. Samuel Dunster collected papers for Henry Dunster and his descendants
- II. Other Dunster family papers
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Purchase with the Bright Legacy; received: 1920-1921. Some material recataloged from HU 337.41.
Digitization Funding
Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
- Title
- Dunster, Samuel,1803-, collector. Samuel Dunster collection of papers by and about the Dunster family, 1720-1876: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02552
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.
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