Overview
The collection contains eight short handwritten works composed by three Harvard undergraduates Jeremy Belknap (1744-1798; Harvard AB 1762), Andrew Fuller (1743-1831; Harvard AB 1764), and Peter Thacher (1752-1802; Harvard AB 1769) in the mid-18th century. The documents include six compositions composed by Belknap consisting of two philosophical themes on morality, a disputation, an analysis of Luke 14, and a sketch on the death of John the Baptist, as well as a Latin disputation composed by Fuller and a translation of a poem about the burning of Harvard Hall translated by Thacher, both presumed to have been collected by Belknap. The compositions provide a resource for studying academic life of Harvard undergraduates in the 18th century, and offer information on the subjects and styles of student themes and orations.
Dates
- Creation: 1759-[1764]
Creator
- Belknap, Jeremy, 1744-1798 (Person)
Researcher Access
The Student compositions of Jeremy Belknap are open for research.
Copying Restriction
Copying of fragile materials may be limited.
Extent
.26 cubic feet (1 half legal document box)This collection contains eight handwritten works composed by three Harvard undergraduates in the mid-18th century. The collection is arranged into series by author and consists of six compositions written by Jeremy Belknap, a Latin disputation composed by Andrew Fuller, and a translation of a poem about the burning of Harvard Hall translated by Peter Thacher. Belknap's compositions consists of two philosophical themes on morality, a disputation, an analysis of Luke 14, and a sketch on the death of John the Baptist. All of the documents are written on unlined notebook paper and range from one to four pages. The compositions provide a resource for studying academic life of Harvard undergraduates in the 18th century, and offer information on the subjects and styles of student themes and orations.
The items were donated to Harvard by Belknap's granddaughter, and it is likely that Jeremy Belknap himself collected the compositions of Fuller, and Thacher (with whom he corresponded during Thacher's years at Harvard).
Biographical Note of Jeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap (1744-1798), a minister and historian, was born in Boston on June 4, 1744. He received an AB from Harvard in 1762 and an AM in 1765. He became the minister of the First Congregational Church of Dover, New Hampshire in 1767, and later served as minister at the Church in Long Lane, Boston. As a historian, Belknap published the History of New Hampshire (1784) and American Biography (1794). Belknap founded the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1791 and also served on the Harvard Board of Overseers. He died on June 20, 1798.
Biographical Note of Andrew Fuller
Andrew Fuller (1743-1831), a schoolmaster of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, was born on April 21, 1743 in Middleton, Mass. He received an AB from Harvard in 1765 and an AM in 1768. He served as schoolmaster in Lyndeborough for nearly fifty years, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1776. Fuller died in April 1831.
Biographical Note of Peter Thacher
Peter Thacher (1752-1802), a minister in Boston and Malden, Mass., was born in 1752 in Milton, Mass. He attended grammar school in Milton and was taught by Jeremy Belknap. Thacher received an AB from Harvard in 1769 and an AM in 1772. He was ordained on September 19, 1770 as the minister of the First Congregational Parish in Malden, and in December 1775, he was appointed the chaplain to the Provincial Council in Watertown, Mass. On January 12, 1785, Thacher was installed as the minister of the Brattle Street Church in Boston and became an ex-officio member of the Harvard Board of Overseers. Thacher was actively involved in local civic organizations, and helped to found the Massachusetts Historical Society with Belknap. Thacher died on December 16, 1802.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
- Compositions of Jeremy Belknap, 1759-1761
- Composition of Andrew Fuller, [1761]
- Series III: Composition of Peter Thacher, [1764]
Acquisition information
The collection was donated to the Harvard College Library on June 9, 1897 by Mrs. Jules Marcou of the Belknap Family. Jane Belknap Marcou was the granddaughter of Jeremy Belknap and wrote a biography of him: Life of Jeremy Belknap (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1847).
Online access
All of the papers have been digitized and are available online. Links accompany detailed descriptions.
References
- Shipton, Clifford K. Biographical Sketches of those who attended Harvard College in the classes of 1713-1721. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1942.
- –Biographical Sketches of those who attended Harvard College in the classes of 1764-1767. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1972.
- –Biographical Sketches of those who attended Harvard College in the classes of 1768-1771. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1975.
General note
This document last updated 2018 November 27.
Processing Information
The material was first classified and described in the Harvard University Archives shelflist prior to 1980. The material was re-processed in 2011. Re-processing involved a collection survey, re-housing in appropriate archival folders and boxes, and the creation of this finding aid.
This finding aid was created by Diann Benti in January 2011.
Preservation and description of the Student compositions of Jeremy Belknap was supported, in part, by the Arcadia-funded project Harvard in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.
Creator
- Belknap, Jeremy, 1744-1798 (Person)
- Title
- Belknap, Jeremy, 1744-1798. Student compositions of Jeremy Belknap, 1759-[1764]: an inventory
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua08011
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.
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