Overview
Benjamin Peirce (1778-1831), a Harvard historian and librarian, was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He earned his AB from Harvard in 1801, and was a merchant and state legislator prior to his appointment as college librarian in 1826. This collection contains personal correspondence, student papers, political writings, and manuscripts, notes, and letters relating to Peirce's work on the history of Harvard University, dated 1787-1832.
Dates
- Creation: 1787-1832
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Use
Open for research.
Extent
.81 cubic feet (2 document boxes, 1 flat box, 1 pamphlet binder)This collection contains personal correspondence, student papers, political writings, and manuscripts, notes, and letters relating to Benjamin Peirce's work on the history of Harvard University, dated 1787-1832. Includes Peirce's 1797 admittatur to Harvard; essays he wrote as an undergraduate on topics like Thomas Paine and civil liberty; and correspondence from Harvard classmate Jacob Cummings and merchant Dudley Leavitt Pickman. Drafts of articles and political addresses during Peirce's tenure as a Massachusetts state lawmaker largely concern the War of 1812. The collection includes a number of notebooks and memoranda books that comprised Peirce's research for A History of Harvard University from 1636 to the American Revolution (1833); the volumes contain excerpts and copies of College laws, votes, curriculum, and other administrative records. He collected further information on Harvard history through his correspondence with politician Paine Wingate (Harvard AB 1759), dated 1830-1831. There are also some miscellaneous legal documents and manuscripts.
Biographical note on Benjamin Peirce
Benjamin Peirce (1778-1831), a Harvard historian and librarian, was born on September 30, 1778 in Salem, Massachusetts. He received an AB from Harvard in 1801, and following his graduation joined his father's shipping business; he also served in the Massachusetts General Court. In 1826, Peirce was appointed Librarian of Harvard. He compiled a Catalogue of the Library of Harvard University, which was published in 1830. Peirce's A History of Harvard University from 1636 to the American Revolution was published following his death on July 26, 1831.
Peirce married Lydia Ropes Nichols (1781-1868) in 1803; they had four children, Charlotte Elizabeth (1804-1888), John Nichols (1806-1810), Benjamin, Jr. (1809-1880), and Charles Henry (1814-1855). Benjamin Peirce, Jr. (Harvard AB 1829), was the Perkins Professor Astronomy at Harvard.
Arrangement
Series in the collection
- Admittatur
- Personal correspondence and papers
- Papers relating to the History of Harvard University
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Benjamin Peirce, 1846; Grenville H. Norcross, 1909; and Charles Wingate, 1942.
Iventory update
This document last updated 2020 September 14.
Processing Information
Processing involved rehousing documents and objects in appropriate archival folders and boxes, and the creation of this finding aid.
This finding aid was created by Brooke McManus in March 2018.
Titles were assigned by the archivist unless otherwise noted.
Preservation and description of the Benjamin Peirce personal archive were supported by the Colonial North America at Harvard Library Project.
Subject
- Harvard College (1780- ). Class of 1801 (Organization)
- Harvard University -- History -- Research (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Libraries -- Employees (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Regulations (Organization)
- Title
- Peirce, Benjamin, 1778-1831. Benjamin Peirce personal archive, 1787-1832: an inventory
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Date
- 03/15/2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua14018
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.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu