Papers, 1687-1868, [microform].

ArchivalResource

Papers, 1687-1868, [microform].

The collection is equally divided between letters written by members of the Otis family and letters and documents relating to them. The earlist item is a 17th century marriage settlement and there are a few letters written in the 19th century. The bulk of the collection, however is from the second half of the 18th century. The largest number of letters were written by Joseph Otis (1726-1810), his brother Samuel Allyne Otis (1740-1814), and their father, James Otis (1702-1778). There are a few letters from and relating to Joseph's more famous brother, James Otis of Boston (1725-1783) who was one of the more colorful and incendiary figures in pre-revolutionary New England. Also, letters and documents of George Washington, John Bradford, Josiah Quincy, and Edward Wigglesworth. The letters deal largely with legal and business matters, but there is some comment on events of contemporary interest.

1 positive reel (2 copies).1 master negative reel.

Related Entities

There are 10 Entities related to this resource.

Otis, Samuel Allyne, 1740-1814

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6359bsb (person)

Samuel Allyne Otis (November 24, 1740 – April 22, 1814) was the first Secretary of the United States Senate, serving for its first 25 years. He also served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and was a delegate to the Confederation Congress in 1787 and 1788. Born in Barnstable in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he graduated from Harvard College before engaging in mercantile pursuits in Boston. Otis served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as a member of the Board ...

Bradford, John, 1747-1830

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64j0hfm (person)

Printer, publisher, surveyor. Born in Virginia, John Bradford came to Kentucky in 1779 and settled in Lexington in 1787. In partnership with his brother Fielding, he published the KENTUCKY GAZETTE for a short time, and in 1792 published the acts of the first session of the Kentucky legislature, the first book printed in Kentucky. In 1799 he became the first chairman of the board of Transylvania University, serving until 1811 and again from 1823 to 1828. He played a role ...

Otis, James, 1702-1778,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63n2d3c (person)

Otis, Joseph, -1810

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rn3j39 (person)

Otis family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6717bvb (family)

Family of Hingham, Barnstable, and Boston, Mass. From the description of Papers, 1687-1868, [microform]. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122529257 ...

Quincy, Josiah, 1744-1775

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ks731c (person)

Otis, James, 1725-1783

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6db8c0k (person)

James Otis Jr. was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts on February 5, 1724/5. After receiving his B.A. in 1743 and his M.A. in 1746 from Harvard College, he went on to study law in Boston. Otis' work as a lawyer and writer helped the Revolutionary cause in the 1760s and 1770s. He served in the Massachusetts state government and continued as a lawyer while dealing with more and more pronounced mental illness. He died on May 23, 1783. His father, James Otis, Sr. (1702-1778) was a prominent Massachus...

Wigglesworth, Edward, 1732-1794

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vq329t (person)

According to a manuscript note (f. 4v) Wigglesworth wrote the sermon while a professor at Harvard College. Wigglesworth (A.B. 1749) succeeded his father, Edward Wigglesworth, as professor of theology in 1765. From the description of Sermon : manuscript, [not before 1765] (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612847034 Edward Wigglesworth (ca. 1693-1765), a Harvard professor, was born ca. 1693 in Malden, Massachusetts. He received an AB from Harvard in 1710 a...

Gay, Sydney Howard, 1814-1888

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p274wp (person)

Sydney Howard Gay (1814-1888) was an American journalist, author and abolitionist. He was an editor at the Anti-Slavery Standard, the New York Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Evening Post. His other activities included lecturing for the American Anti-Slavery Society and writing biographies and the multi-volume History of the United States (with William Cullen Bryant). From the guide to the Sydney Howard Gay papers, ca. 1837-1886, (The New York Public Library. Manuscrip...

Washington, George, 1732-1799

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r31qfk (person)

George Washington (b. Feb. 22, 1732, Westmoreland County, Va.-d. Dec. 14, 1799, Mount Vernon, VA) was the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. Washington came from a family of farmers and landowners. He had little education but showed an aptitude for mathematics. He used this talent to become a surveyor. At 15, Washington took a job as assistant surveyor on a team sent to map the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia. In his early 20s, Washington joined the Virgin...