The Manuscripts Division has made a dozen collections available for research this past month, including a pocket diary kept during Cornelius D. Bowers’ service in the 84th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment and a manuscript journal penned by a currently unidentified supercargo while aboard two smuggling expeditions between August 1808 and March 1809.
Cornelius D. Bowers diary, 1861-1864
Cornelius D. Bowers of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, kept this pocket diary through his three years of service in the 84th Pennsylvania Volunteer (William G. Murray’s) Regiment. He wrote entries on everyday activities in the Army ranging from brief to reflective, including 12 pages on the Battle of Winchester/Kernstown. There, he witnessed the death of his commanding officer and suffered a battlefield injury that required a lengthy recovery at Winchester and Philadelphia hospitals. Private Bowers often reflected on faith, God’s mercy, mortality, and family.
This diary was a generous gift from Prudence F. Heikkinen, 2025.
Horace Claggett letters, 1898-1899
This collection consists of five letters written by Horace Claggett between 1898 and 1899 to his mother, Mary E. Claggett, while serving with Company H of the 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Philippine-American War. He described preparations to deploy to the Philippines, military life while in Manila, his unit’s struggles with dysentery and combat, and ocean travel back to the United States.
Edward Cunningham ledger books, 1812-1847
This collection is made up of three account ledgers of Edward Cunningham, a tanner and cobbler of Harmony and Athens, District of Maine/Maine, dating 1812-1821; 1831-1843; and 1844-1847. The double-entry accounts are a record of his work making and repairing shoes and boots for men, women, and children, as well as his work tanning and marking hides or skins.
Maria H. Cunningham mathematics exercise book, 1850
Maria H. Cunningham of York, Ontario, Canada, created this mathematics exercise book or cipher book of mathematical operations, rules and theorems, and example problems. The title page bears several leaf impressions and reads “Maria H. Cunningham / Common School No. 10 / York 29 April 1850.” Sections labeled with colored calligraphic lettering include arithmetic, Cloth Measure, Troy Weight, Time, Reduction, Vulgar Fractions, Proportions, Bills of Parcels, Tare & Tret, Interest, Discount, Commission, Purchase of Stock, Equation of Payment, and others. The exercises include mercantile problems of wine merchants, weights and measures, servants and masters, shoemakers, bales of cloth, boys and their marbles, and more, taking place in largely non-Canadian geographical locations–such as London, Dublin, St. Petersburg, Philadelphia, and elsewhere.
Wilhelm Eckmayer, “Erlebnisse die Markgräflich Ansbach-Beyreuthischen Truppen im Solde Englands Während des Nordamerikanischen Freiheits-Krieges” manuscript, [19th century]
This volume is a 19th-century handwritten copy of Wilhelm Eckmayer’s “Erlebnisse die Markgräflich Ansbach-Beyreuthischen Truppen im Solde Englands Während des Nordamerikanischen Freiheits-Krieges,” giving an account of Margrave Christian Alexander’s Ansbach-Beyreuth troops hired for service in the British Army in North America.
Peter Folsom account books, 1838-1881
This collection is made up of two volumes of accounts kept by Peter Folsom of Harmony, Maine, dating 1838-1839 and 1842-1881. The first volume (264 pages) is the daybook of a general store, containing a record of the sale of a wide variety of goods, ranging from cloth and articles of clothing to foodstuffs, to hardware and household supplies. The second volume (200+ pages) consists of diary-like account entries spanning nearly 40 years, while Folsom at various times operated a saw mill, farmed, worked as a blacksmith, served as justice of the peace, and speculated in land.
Harriet E. Bagg Loomis papers, 1792-1991 (majority within 1874-1914)
This collection includes letters, diaries, writings, photos, and more relating to Harriet Elwell Bagg Loomis of West Springfield, Massachusetts, and her extended family. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1870s through the early 20th century, detailing her childhood, education, and romantic interests. In particular her courtship with William Fox, Jr., is well represented, with their correspondence and diaries included in the collection through the duration of their relationship. For several years they wrote while Fox was working in southern Russia, documenting his observations of the region and the difficulties of long-distance relationships leading up to the dissolution of their courtship. Later materials in the collection relate to Loomis’s work as a genealogist and historian, with a particular focus on her work with the Loomis Genealogical Association.
This collection was a generous gift from Marcia L. Day, 2025.
An abundance of handmade paper dolls can be found in the Harriet E. Bagg Loomis Papers, as well as a beautiful mid-century peg doll.
Jacob Piel, “Geschichte des Hochlöblichen Fuselier-Regiments von Lossberg in Form eines Tagebuchs Angefangen” manuscript, 1776-1783
This volume is a 19th-century handwritten copy of Hessian Lieutenant Jacob Piel’s “Geschichte des Hochlöblichen Fuselier-Regiments von Lossberg in Form eines Tagebuchs Angefangen,” 1776-1783. The diary reflects Lt. Piel’s service in Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg’s Regiment, as Brigade Adjutant under Col. Johann Gottlieb Rall, at the Battle of Trenton, and as a prisoner of war.
Springfield Canal Company cash book, 1834-1840
The Springfield Canal Company’s cash book includes brief, nearly daily entries between September 1834 and July 1840. It is a record of expenses for the company town of Springfield, Massachusetts, including entries pertinent to numerous local businesses, customers, and employees. The documentation includes, for example, transactions for the Machine Shop, with purchases of tools, freight, coal, lumber, rope, rivets, knives, and horses, as well as payroll accounts, rents received, tenements built, and expenses for boarding laborers.
Supercargo journal, 1808-1809
This manuscript journal was penned by a currently unidentified supercargo while aboard two smuggling expeditions between August 1808 and March 1809. The volume appears to be a copy made after March 17, 1809, with various strikethroughs and revisions. Under command of Captain Murphy, the first expedition (pages 1-25) departed from Newcastle, Maine; loaded illicit cargo near Columbia, Maine; then sailed to the Caribbean, French Guiana, and Suriname before returning to New York. The second expedition (pages 26-30), aboard the Ann Pennock, departed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; was detained at Marcus Hook and again at Reedy Island on suspicion of evading the Embargo Act; and was interrupted near Charleston, South Carolina, when the vessel sustained significant damage. The journal concludes in Savannah, Georgia, as the Ann Pennock underwent repairs.
Wall Street Wine and Coffee auction catalogues, 1844
This collection is made up of seven printed and partially printed fliers advertising sales of wine and coffee by auction. The fliers variously include terms of sale, lot numbers, marks, quantities, brands, and descriptions. Several items include pencil notations. Among the products sold were quantities of Madeiras, Sherries, Lisbon wines, German wines, Port wines, and Champagnes. Others include Red Wine, peach and cherry Brandy, Monongahela Whiskey, and Rio Coffee, as well as sardines, “Bay Water,” cigars, Havana Tobacco, and vinegar. The sales took place at 85 Wall Street, 91 Wall Street, or at the corner of Wall and Water streets between August 1, 1844, and December 14, 1844.
Watt & de Saulles papers, 1851-1853
The Watt & de Saulles Papers contains correspondence dating from 1851 to 1853 relating to the Louisiana mercantile firm, its riverboat operations along the Mississippi River, and its trade in the area, including with various cotton plantations in the area. They were involved in the trade of cotton, pork, molasses, and miscellaneous goods, including those to supply plantations.
A “Catalogue of Fine Madeira, Sherry, Port, and German Wines” for sale at a December 14, 1844 auction.