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For more results, go to The Collection.

4 November 1973

Enns, Paul H., (fl. 1973)

Typed letter signed

Title: to Congressman Carlos J. Moorhead

One letter from Paul H. Enns to Congressman Carlos J. Moorhead dated November 4, 1973. Paul H. Enns supports the impeachment of President Nixon. The letter is written by a pastor at Lancaster United Methodist Church.

GLC09613.02.0246

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circa 1400-1500

Unknown

Manuscript

Title: [Antiphon]

Single sheet of music. Date inferred. An antiphon is a verse usually from Scripture sung before and after a canticle or psalm as part of the liturgy.

GLC00496.124

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1493

Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506)

Pamphlet Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: Epistola Christofori Colom... de insulis Indie supra Gangem.... [exploration]

First edition, in Latin, second (corrected) issue, printed at Rome after 29 April 1493. Gothic type; 33 lines per page. Pamphlet printing letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain concerning his first voyage to America, the so-called Barcelona letter. The earliest printed Columbus letter, describing his discovery of the Caribbean islands of Juana and Hispaniola.

GLC01427

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4 May 1493

Alexander VI, Pope (1431-1503)

Broadside Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: [Demarcation bull, granting Spain possession of lands discovered by Columbus]

Broadside entitled "Copia de la bula del decreto y concession q[ue] hizo el papa / Alexandro sexto al Rey y la Reyna nuestros senores de las Indias conforme al capitu." Unique copy of second version possibly printed at Valladolio, by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba. Title in Spanish and text in Latin.

GLC04093

circa 1500-1930

Header Record Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: [Collection of Americana from Revolution & Civil War] Decimalized

[decimalized]

GLC00496

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21 June 1540

García de Loaysa, Francisco (fl. 1540)

Letter signed

Title: to Francisco Vásquez de Coronado [in Spanish]

Written on behalf of King Charles I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor), by the President of the Council of the Indies, Francisco García de Loaysa. Report of the Niza expedition. Authorizes Coronado's expedition to explore the heart of the North American continent.

GLC04883

1552

Casas, Bartolomé de las, (1474-1566)

Book Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: Aqui se Contiene una Disputa, o Controversia [Second Edition]

The fifth tract on the conquest of the New World and rights of the Indians. In Spanish.

GLC04220

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circa 1580

Grenville, Richard, Sir (1541?-1591)

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Blighe

Writes to his cousin to ask him to lend him money. In 1585 Grenville sailed to Virginia with 300 settlers that he successfully disembarked on Roanoke Island (off the coast of what is now North Carolina).

GLC00496.027

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1585-1763

Kneller, Godfrey, Sir (1646-1723)

Engraving Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: [Engraving of Samuel Pepys]

Engraving that appears to be based on the painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, created in 1689.

GLC00496.258.02

1585-1763

Wildes, John (fl. 1746)

Autograph document signed

Title: Petition to move training

GLC01450.248.04

1585-1763

Autograph document signed

Title: To Captain Nathanial Green

GLC01450.248.10

1585-1763

Unknown

Autograph document

Title: Recipe for consumption

GLC01450.600.015

n.d.

Unknown

Photograph Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: William Coddington [picture]

Print of William Coddington, who was an official in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island colonies in the seventeenth century.

GLC02150.53

1585-1763

Leisler, Jacob (fl. 1698-1700)

Document signed

Title: [Legal document between Francina Staats and Jacob Leisler]

Fragment of a land inheritance document between Francina Staats and her brother Jacob Leisler. Contains Jacob Leisler's seal and signature. Francina Staats and Jacob Leisler (Jr.) were the children of Jacob Leisler, the colonial governor of New York.

GLC02468.15

1585-1763

Allen Goerge

Autograph document signed

Title: Estate Inventory

Assets of Charles Allen (small edit where a word is added)

GLC02924.064

1585-1763

Allen Goerge

Autograph document signed

Title: Estate Inventory

Assets of Charles Allen (no edit)

GLC02924.065

1585-1763

Unknown

Autograph letter

Title: Extracts from deeds

GLC02924.072

1585-1763

Pope Seth

Autograph letter

Title: Land Grant

GLC02924.073

1585-1763

Unknown

Manuscript document

Title: "three things are to be helped in conscience fraud, accident, . . .

. . . things of confidence." Fragment of a larger document. Explains what constitutes an accident.

GLC03107.01338

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1585-1763

Livingston, Robert

Manuscript document signed

Title: to Arent Bratt re: case against John Barnard

The document outlines Christopher Estrat's complaint against John Barnard, who allegedly agreed to lease a piece of land to Jan Baptist and Estrat for 7 years, but then ran Estrat off of it before the lease expired. Estratt is therefore suing Barnard for damages. Livingston's description of the case is then followed by a note from Barnard to Arent Bratt, in which Barnard asks Bratt to attend his case at the Court of Common Pleas.

GLC03107.01822

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1585-1763

Davenport, Thomas

Manuscript document

Title: Account of Peeter Van Brugh & Johannes Cuyler

Van Brugh and Cuyler purchased shroud and some other materials.

GLC03107.01823

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1585-1763

Wessells, Dirk

Manuscript document

Title: "Dirk Wessells Esq: Mayor of the Citty of Albany to the Sherriffe . . .

Constables and other his Majes. officers greting show yee that wee the said Mayor have Lyncenced and" P.1 ends incomplete. P.2 contains an account. Docketed on verso.

GLC03107.01824

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1585-1763

Livingston, Philip

Manuscript document

Title: "a Lyst of Rents due to the estate of father Livingston"

GLC03107.01825

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1585-1763

Johnston, John

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Robert Livingston re: remedies for Livingston's illness [fragment]

Johnston prescribes some remedies to cure Livingston's maladies.

GLC03107.01826

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1585-1763

Unknown

Manuscript document

Title: "Reasons offer to the arbitrators why they ought not to allow . . .

of Jacob Harwoods sham sale of Robt. Livingstons Tallys of 1670." P.1 of the document outlines how Harwood's actions anulled any legitimate sale. P.2 is an account of how Robert Livingston came into possession of a part of the estate of Coll. Dongan. Docketed on verso.

GLC03107.01829

For more results, go to The Collection.

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Showing results 51 - 75

Former slave, Doctor Cuffee Wells, 1781

Sometimes a simple document can open the door to a great story. In this statement dated 1781, Richard Lamb and John Nutter verify that Cuffee Wells enlisted in the Continental Army in May 1777 and earned a bounty of 30 pounds, part of which was given to his master. Likewise, Justice of the Peace Benjamin Huntington confirmed that Cuffee’s commanding officer, Captain Jedediah Hyde of Norwich, "always understood that the money that was given to Wells at his Enlistment Purchased his Freedom." It is not clear why this document was created. It may have been necessary for the processing of some

"Document of the Month" - April 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Playing ball for the troops: Yankees/Dodgers/Giants exhibition benefit game, 1943

There’s no denying the important role that baseball has played in America’s past. It has always been considered more than a game, whether played by professional athletes or kids at the sandlot. This was never more obvious than during World War II. By 1943, the war was raging in Europe and the Pacific. American mothers and fathers sent their sons to war and those who stayed home made whatever sacrifices they could, great or small. President Roosevelt weighed in on the decision to allow baseball to continue in what is now known as the "green light letter" to Major League Baseball commissioner

Scholar’s Blog - Aaron Sheehan-Dean

March 31, 1863: Halleck Instructs Grant On March 31, 1863, Henry W. Halleck wrote an "unofficial letter" to Ulysses S. Grant "as a personal friend and as a matter of friendly advice."[1] As is often the case in communications between a superior and his subordinate—Halleck was general-in-chief of the Union army, Grant the commander of the Army of Tennessee—the "friendly advice" concerned serious matters: the policy of the Lincoln administration toward slavery and emancipation, the obligation of military officers to faithfully execute government policy, and the essential nature of the war

Robert E. Lee’s condolence letter to his son Rooney, 1864

In this beautifully written letter, Confederate general Robert E. Lee attempts to console his son William Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee on the loss of his wife. The letter demonstrates the emotion that Lee felt for his family and offers a glimpse of the strength that carried Lee through the war. His faith in God, his empathy for others’ misfortunes, and his belief in the Confederate cause, all granted Lee the fortitude he needed to endure the war. One can see all of these attributes in this single, short missive. Perhaps none of Lee’s children incited his paternal anxiety more than Rooney. Born on

"Document of the Month" - May 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Scholar’s Blog - Aaron Sheehan-Dean

April 30, 1863: Hooker Reaches Chancellorsville The bloody Union defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in December 1862 and the aborted "Mud March" along the Rappahannock River the following month demoralized the Army of the Potomac and caused a widespread loss of confidence in its commander, Ambrose Burnside. On January 26, 1863, President Lincoln replaced Burnside with Joseph Hooker, who reorganized the army’s command structure and raised its morale by improving camp conditions, providing better food, and granting furloughs. With 134,000 men under his command, on April 27 Hooker began an

Scholar’s Blog - Brooks D. Simpson

MAY 22, 1863: GRANT LAYS SIEGE TO VICKSBURG It had been a long and difficult winter for Ulysses S. Grant. For months his army had struggled in the bayous and swamps around Vicksburg, Mississippi, looking for some way to attack the Confederate citadel that blocked Union control of the Mississippi River. He had come under heavy criticism from many quarters, including some of his own subordinates. One of his corps commanders, the politically connected former congressman John A. McClernand, was busily intriguing to replace him by writing to President Lincoln about his shortcomings. Rumors

"Document of the Month" - June 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Robert E. Lee writes about friends and "the daughters of Eve" at Fort Monroe, 1834

This gossipy and personal letter captures the close friendship between Robert E. Lee and John "Jack" MacKay. It offers an example of letter writing in the days before the instant communication provided by telephones and the Internet. It also demonstrates the camaraderie and easy-going friendship of army officers as well as the relatively carefree life enjoyed by US soldiers prior to the Civil War. It serves as a reminder that even the greatest of historical figures were human and spoke of girls, babies, and "blushing." Lee and MacKay became friends while they were cadets at the US Military

Scholar’s Blog - Aaron Sheehan-Dean

JUNE 12, 1863: LINCOLN DEFENDS THE ARREST OF VALLANDIGHAM Clement L. Vallandigham, a Democratic congressman from Ohio, distinguished himself as one of Abraham Lincoln’s most vociferous critics. Although claiming a great love for the Union, he condemned nearly all the measures the administration undertook to save it. Vallandigham opposed conscription, constraints on civil liberties, and most of all, emancipation. In a speech in Congress he compared the draft to the seizure of infants under the pharaohs, warning that "like the destroying angel in Egypt," the government would "enter every house

"Document of the Month" - July 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Scholar’s Blog - Brooks D. Simpson

JULY 1–3, 1863: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG As the Army of the Potomac moved northward in late June 1863 to counter the Army of Northern Virginia’s invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, it passed by the battlefields of Manassas. Samuel W. Fiske, a brigade staff officer in the Second Corps, noted that he was "much shocked to find such great numbers of the bodies of Union soldiers lying still unburied" nearly ten months after the battle of the previous August. "Their skeletons, with the tattered and decaying uniforms still hanging upon them, lie in many parts of last year’s battle field, in long

"Document of the Month" - August 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Respected General turns traitor, 1780

Benedict Arnold, whose name is now synonymous with the word "traitor," was once a well-respected American officer responsible for key victories at Fort Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Fort Stanwix, and Saratoga. Arnold’s contemporaries were shocked when his plot to surrender West Point to the British was discovered in September 1780. Historical records indicate that Arnold’s betrayal had begun in the spring of 1779 when he handed over military intelligence to the British. On August 3, 1780, he assumed command of the garrison at West Point, New York, and began to secretly negotiate its surrender to

Scholar’s Blog - Brooks D. Simpson

SEPTEMBER 19–20: THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA: MISSED OPPORTUNITY In June 1863 the Union Army of the Cumberland under William S. Rosecrans commenced a skillful campaign of maneuver. In just over twelve weeks it drove the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Braxton Bragg out of its namesake state and into northern Georgia. Jefferson Davis compelled Robert E. Lee to detach two divisions from the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of James Longstreet and send them to reinforce Bragg in anticipation of a counterstrike. After several days of skirmishing, on September 18 the Confederates

"Document of the Month" - September 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - October 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Fredericksburg, Then and Now

by Elena Colón-Marrero, Christopher Newport University Class of 2014 One would think that growing up in a town rich in colonial and Civil War history would inspire an appreciation for that history. My experience living in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was quite the opposite. Fredericksburg’s history as a home for the Algonquian-speaking peoples, a port city in colonial Virginia, and a strategic location during the Civil War was all around me. However, I became desensitized due to numerous field trips to battlefields; constant references to George Washington and his mother, Mary; and my apathetic

Scholar’s Blog - Aaron Sheehan-Dean

OCTOBER 10 AND NOVEMBER 5, 1863: DAVIS TRIES TO RALLY CONFEDERATE MORALE The summer of 1863 had been a poor one for the Confederacy. Robert E. Lee’s army was not just repulsed from its invasion of Pennsylvania but bloodily beaten at Gettysburg. At the same time, William S. Rosecrans maneuvered Braxton Bragg’s Confederates out of Middle Tennessee at the cost of fewer than six hundred Union casualties. Farther west, Ulysses S. Grant had at last captured Vicksburg, the strongest Confederate citadel of the Mississippi, and delivered complete control of the "Father of Waters" to the Union. Lee

"Document of the Month" - November 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Scholar’s Blog - Brooks D. Simpson

NOVEMBER 23–25, 1863: THE BATTLE OF CHATTANOOGA On the afternoon of November 25, 1863, Ulysses S. Grant stood on Orchard Knob east of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and pondered what to do next. It was just over a month since he had arrived at the town where the Army of the Cumberland, in the aftermath of its defeat at Chickamauga on September 20, found itself besieged by the victorious Army of Tennessee under the command of Braxton Bragg. Grant’s job was to break the siege and defeat the enemy. It was a daunting task. The Confederates looked down upon their beaten foe from defensive positions along

"Document of the Month" - December 2013

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Scholar’s Blog - Brooks D. Simpson

JANUARY 2, 1864: GENERAL CLEBURNE PROPOSES THAT THE CONFEDERACY FREE AND ENLIST ITS SLAVES As 1864 began, both northerners and southerners believed that the coming year would prove decisive in the ongoing conflict. Although the Confederates had suffered several serious setbacks in 1863, they were far from finished. If they could just fend off and frustrate the Yankees in 1864, enough voters in the North might grow weary of the seemingly endless bloodshed and vote Abraham Lincoln out of the White House, paving the way for a negotiated settlement that would recognize southern independence. But

"Document of the Month" - January 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

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Showing results 51 - 75

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