Papers, 1795-1870.

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Papers, 1795-1870.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/191259564

The collection reflects activity of Rejoice Newton and the members of his family during the period 1795 to 1870. Most of the material revolves around Worcester, Cambridge, and Boston, Mass., and consists of eleven diaries written by Levi Lincoln Newton from 1837 to 1843; one folder of his letters and those of other family members from 1835 to 1870; one folio account book of Rejoice Newton from 1823 to 1824, and six folders of his business papers from 1795 to 1860. The account book lists sales at auctions of goods of Jonathan Wood ( - ) in Worcester, Mass., conducted by Rejoice Newton, for the period 1823 to 1824, and includes the purchasers of goods, prices paid, and a list of Wood's creditors and amounts owed. The six folders of business papers concern Newton's varied activities, especially as an attorney and magistrate, through letters from clients, fellow lawyers, and business partners. Several items of note are letters from the trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston concerning land left to them by Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831), Newton's appointments as trustee of the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester from 1842 to 1854, references to his financial involvement with the Blackstone Canal Co., his dealings with partner William Lincoln and Agent Ichabod Buckman ( - ) as a landlord of "eastern lands" in Columbia, Me., and as a speculator in the Kennebeck Lumber Co. in Somerset, Me. The folders also contain many legal documents, such as land deeds, arrest warrants, insurance policies, official appointments to various state offices, partnership contracts, an indenture creating Chandler Street in Worcester, and many receipts and bills from a miscellany of partners, clothiers, tax offices, and from Worcester Gas Light and other companies. The eleven diaries of Levi Lincoln Newton were written during his years at Harvard and later as bank cashier and provide much insight into Worcester and Cambridge society and politics. Typical comments concern his extensive social activities on campus and at home, the rioting and violence at Harvard during the 1830s, lectures, professors, schoolwork, abolition meetings, speeches by Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), temperance meetings, which Newton regularly attended, "freak" shows, the partaking of "Exhilarating gas" by Harvard students, and his extensive interest in botany and horticulture. After his return to Worcester in 1839, Newton made observations on Whig politics, loco-foco activities, the Presidential campaign of 1840, and the city's political and Fourth of July celebrations. Includes also are materials on the Liquor License Law controversy, his frequent visits to the American Antiquarian Society, Charles Dickens' (1812-1870) visit to America and Levi's meeting him, lectures by eminent literary figures, court trials, and the activities of the Worcester Militia. Newton frequently refers to the "Dorr Rebellion" of 1842, and the economic depressions of the late 1830s and 1840s. A folder contains letters written by Levi Lincoln Newton to his mother and sister, Hester, from 1834 to 1847, with many references to Harvard, especially its 200th celebration in 1836, disputed city elections, and a descriptive trip to Newport, R.I. In 1847, a trip South for his health resulted in detailed descriptions of Richmond, Va., and a slave auction. The folder also contains a few letters written by Rebecca Lincoln Newton and Rejoice Newton to their daughter, Hester, and several written by Rejoice's nephew, James W. Newton ( - ), with references to the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), the attack on Fort Sumter, and the march of Massachusetts troops to Washington, D.C., in 1861.

2 boxes.11 v. ; octavo.1 v. (70 p.) ; folio.

Gadsden Public Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 6957690

Gadsden Public Library

Related Entities

There are 20 Entities related to this resource.

Harvard University

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64n9x97 (person)

Harvard College was founded by a vote of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts on October 28, 1636 that allocated “400£ towards a schoale or colledge.” Subsequent legislative acts established the Board of Overseers, but it was the Charter of 1650 that created the Harvard Corporation as the College's primary governing board and defined its composition and authority. The College Charter became a contentious target for College officials, the Massachusetts Governor and General C...

Newton family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62c7xkp (family)

Rejoice Newton (1782-1868) graduated from Dartmouth College in 1807 and settled in Worcester, Mass., to practice law in partnership with William Lincoln (1801-1843). He was appointed County Attorney, Justice of the Peace, became first president of the Worcester Mutual Fire Insurance Company, served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate from 1829 to 1834, and was given several other positions in state government. Newton married Rebecca Lincoln (1792-1855) of Worcester, a sister...

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jn025d (person)

Epithet: novelist British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000429.0x0002c9 English writer. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Office of All the Year Round, 26 Wellington Street, Strand, London, W.C., to Frederick Lehmann, 1863 Nov. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270125432 English novelist and publisher. From the description of ALS : Broadstairs, Kent, to Mr. Cullenford, 18...

Kennebeck Lumber Company.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64f70c4 (corporateBody)

Newton, Levi Lincoln, 1820-1847.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66m4qv9 (person)

Buckman, Ichabod.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t740x9 (person)

Blackstone Canal Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62v7mnp (corporateBody)

American Antiquarian Society

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j718s6 (corporateBody)

The American Antiquarian Society was founded in Worcester, Mass., in 1812, largely through the efforts of Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831). The Society's original stated purpose was to "encourage the collection and preservation of the Antiquities of our country, and of curious and valuable productions in Art and Nature [that] have a tendency to enlarge the sphere of human knowledge." AAS from its inception attempted to be national in its collecting and its membership, which is by election....

Massachusetts general hospital

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jd8rnk (corporateBody)

Dr. James Jackson and Dr. John C. Warren initially sought funds for a hospital in Boston, Mass. which would also be made available to student s of the Harvard Medical School for clinical training. It was incorporated in 1811 as Massachusetts General Hospital, and in 1817 Jackson and Warren were appointed as acting physician and surgeon, respectively. The first patients were admitted in 1821. McLean Hospital was chartered in 1811 and opened in 1818 as the psychiatric facility of Massachusetts Gen...

Newton, James Williams, 1740-1826

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66t23x2 (person)

Wetherell, Hester Newton, 1823-1899

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gf29tw (person)

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz44c1 (person)

Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky-died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the sixteenth President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination. He was the son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Thomas Lincoln, and Nancy Hanks. In 1816, Lincoln moved to Pigeon Creek, Indiana, where he worked on his family's farm. Following his mother's death two years later, he continued working on farms until moving with his father to New Sa...

Worcester Bank

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zh1z13 (corporateBody)

The Worcester Bank was organized in 1804 when 183 subscribers pledged $150,000 for shares in the company. The bank received its charter from the state in March 1804, and Daniel Waldo (1724-1808) was chosen the first president. Land was purchased on Main Street and a brick building was constructed. Daniel Waldo, Jr. (1763-1845) was elected the second president and the new bank was opened in October 1804. In 1812 the bank's charter was renewed by the state and its capital was increased to $200,000...

Newton, Rebecca Lincoln, 1792-1855.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bz7p66 (person)

State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vb3f0j (corporateBody)

In 1830, in order to provide care for the mentally ill in Worcester County, the governor of Massachusetts ordered the erection of a hospital on Summer Street in Worcester. Commissioners appointed to oversee the new building were Horace Mann (1796-1859), Bezaleel Taft, Jr. (1780-1846), and William Barron Calhoun (1795-1865). Dr. Samuel Bayard Woodward (1787-1850) served as the first superintendent/physician of the Worcester Lunatic Asylum. The hospital was enlarged in 1835 and was considered one ...

Lincoln, William, 1801-1843

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62v34d7 (person)

Wood, Jonathan, 1945-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b86rv8 (person)

Thomas, Isaiah, 1749-1831

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64b2zq8 (person)

Thomas was a New England printer and bookseller who strongly supported the American Revolution. He was also a founder of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts. From the description of ALS: Worcester [Massachusetts], to Mr. Bress, 1795 Aug. 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 86160118 Caleb Alexander was born in 1755 in Northfield, Massachusetts, a town founded by his grandfather. He attended Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown Universities, receiving degrees fro...

Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66h4g1m (person)

Wendell Phillips (born November 29, 1811, Boston, Massachusetts – died February 2, 1884, Boston, Massachusetts), orator and reformer, was one of the leaders of the abolitionist movement in Boston, Massachusetts, wrote frequently for William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator, and eventually became president of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He contributed much to the cause through inflammatory speeches favoring the division of the Union and opposing the acquisition of Texas and the war with Mexico. ...

Newton, Rejoice, 1782-1868

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w10hvn (person)

Rejoice Newton was a prominent Worcester attorney and Massachusetts state legislator. He was born of father Isaac Newton on 11 Oct. 1782 in Greenfield, Mass., and died on 4 Feb. 1868 in Worcester. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1807 and completed his legal studies in Northampton shortly after. Newton opened a successful practice in the city of Worcester and was appointed county attorney in 1818, a post which he held for six years. A law partnership with his brother-in-law William Lincoln...