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ITEM — Box: 2, Folder: 22 Identifier: UAI 5.110, UAI 5.110, Volume 2, Item 74

Extract from the will of Isaac Royall, 1778 Digital

Scope and Contents

Extract from the will of Isaac Royall, endowing either a law professorship of law or of "physic and anatomy" at Harvard College, dated 1778. This document is a partial duplicate of an item that can be found in Harvard University. Corporation. Records of gifts and donations, 1643-1955 (UAI 15.400):

Dates

  • Creation: 1778

Researcher Access

Corporation papers, 1st series, supplements to the Harvard College Papers, Volumes 1 and 2, is closed for research use due to the collection's fragile condition.

Positive microfilm of the supplements to the Harvard College Papers, 1st series (UAI I.5.131.5) is available for research use.

Extent

.5 cubic feet (2 legal document boxes, 1 flat box)

Biographical / Historical

Isaac Royall, Jr. (1719-1781), a prominent colonist whose family wealth was generated through the transatlantic slave trade and sugar planting, moved from Antigua to Medford, Massachusetts, in the early eighteenth century. On December 28, 1752, Royall purchased part of a tract of land consisting of 928 acres from Massachusetts. The land was located in what came to be known as Royalston. Royall bequeathed his share of this land, approximated at 200 acres, to Harvard College, for the creation of a Royall Professorship of Law. When he died of smallpox in 1781, the land became the possession of the College.

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository

Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.

Contact:
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