Eleven manuscript collections were made available for research this past month, including two collections graciously donated by Dan Casavant and one by Sue and Mike Jandernoa!
Book Titles scrapbook, [ca. 1920s?]
An unidentified compiler made this scrapbook, likely around the 1920s, by clipping letters and images from periodicals and other sources to create rebuses of book titles. For example, From Log-Cabin to Whitehouse (1920) and Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1902) are represented.
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) Night Scavenger collection, 1866-1909
This collection is made up of six partially printed receipts by Brooklyn, New York, Night Scavengers, for the services of cleaning and disinfecting local privies and cesspools between March 27, 1866, and April 19, 1909. The labor was performed by John Wachtler, Andrew Wissel, Anton Seiler, Conrad Wissel, and A. & J. Fleig. Conrad Wissel’s September 20, 1889, receipt includes a header image of a horse-drawn tank “C W & S” beside men handling a pump, and advertising daytime services.
Canterbury (N.H.) school registers, 1858-1895
This collection consists of fifteen pre-printed New Hampshire School Registers filled out between 1858 and 1895 by teachers from Canterbury, New Hampshire, a region with a sizeable Shaker population. The volumes include printed directions for teachers along with lists of students, their attendance, conduct, and grades. Instructors also filled out sections inquiring about school curriculum, visits by school committees and others, and details about textbooks, maps, and other instructional materials used. Sections for teacher remarks include responses of varying lengths reflecting on the term, issues with classroom management, and methods of instruction. Some volumes include long lists of those who visited the classroom, with numbers coming from “Shaker Village” and from families known to have been members of the Shakers.
Cowan & Younglove ledger, 1811-1839 (majority within 1811-1819)
The Cowan & Younglove Account Ledger is a single volume in two parts, documenting the general/fine goods store of Moses Cowan and Lewis Younglove, of Union Village, Washington County, New York, between 1811 and 1819. Gift of Dan Casavant, 2026.
Paul Dresser papers, 1911-1952 (majority within 1929-1934)
The Paul Dresser Papers are made up of sermons, writings, notes, and publications related to Dresser’s (Swedenborgian) The New Church/Church of New Jerusalem ministry in early 20th century California. The papers also include a 19th century family photograph album, The New Church and other publications, and materials pertinent to Paul Dresser’s daughter Gwynne Dresser Mack’s work as an occupational therapist.
Edward Fifield cashbook and daybook, 1873-1882
This volume includes 29 pages of cashbook entries and seven pages of daybook entries kept by Edward Fifield, a riverman/ferry operator on the Androscoggin River near Milan and Dummer, Coos County, New Hampshire. Between 1873 and 1882, Fifield recorded the amount of money he took in from fares and for transporting mail, with a small number of scattered entries for Eastern Express, hay, and a pig.
Hollis Evangelical Sabbath School Society records, 1852-1872
The Hollis Evangelical Sabbath School Society Records (Framingham, Massachusetts) contain the constitution and articles of organization (April 6, 1852), a record of their meetings, annual reports, and the closing of their society on March 31, 1872. The society was established to raise funds for the benefit of the Sunday School’s library.
New Braintree (Mass.) Tavern and General Store daybook, 1816-1821
The New Braintree (Mass.) Tavern and General Store Daybook is 220-page volume dating between 1816 and 1821. Each entry contains the patron’s name, what they purchased and/or bartered, and the price of exchange.
J. Poppelwell Manuscript, “English History”, 1854
This 42-page bound manuscript with cover title “English History” by “J. Poppelwell” contains a political and monarchical history of England, beginning with the Roman Conquest in the 1st century AD and ending with the reign of Queen Victoria. It is undated, but the final entry on Queen Victoria mentions Pope Pius IX’s December 8, 1854, proclamation of the dogma of Immaculate Conception, suggesting the volume was written at some point after this date. The volume contains decorative calligraphic flourishes; genealogical charts outlining the line of succession, marriages, births, and deaths for various ruling families and houses; biographies of rulers arranged chronologically; and hand-colored manuscript maps of the British Isles and France delineating changing political boundaries.
Joseph J. Sleeper account book, 1819-1832
The Joseph J. Sleeper Account Book is a single, 452-page volume in four parts, documenting the leather and cobbler work of Sleeper and his changing partnerships in Burlington County, New Jersey, from 1819 to 1832. Gift of Dan Casavant, 2026.
Zoellner family scrapbook, 1918-1919, 1970-1977 (majority within 1918-1919)
The Zoellner Family Scrapbook contains correspondence sent by brothers Robert A., Anthony Frank, and Henry Anthony Zoellner to their family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I. The scrapbook is accompanied by 134 printed items, photographs, and realia, including 115 examples of international paper currency from over thirty countries, territories, and former colonies; a woolen First Sergeant rank insignia; a commemorative embroidered handkerchief; and printed documents and informational booklets pertaining to the Meuse-Argonne American Military Cemetery dated 1970-1977. Gift of Sue and Mike Jandernoa, 2025. Finding aid by graduate student intern Diana Baxter.