Letters from Daniel Bates to William Jenks, May 1795-September 1798.

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Letters from Daniel Bates to William Jenks, May 1795-September 1798.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/589226980

Daniel Bates wrote these five letters to his friend and classmate, William Jenks, between May 1795 and September 1798. In a letter written May 12, 1795, Bates informs Jenks, who was then employed as an usher at Mr. Webb's school, of his studies of Euclid, the meeting of several undergraduate societies, and various sightings of birds, gardens and trees. In a letter written in November 1795 from Princeton, where he was apparently on vacation with the family of classmate Leonard Jarvis, he describes playing the game "break the Pope's neck" and tells Jenks what he was reading (Nicholson, Paley?, and Thompson) and what his friend's father was reading (Mirabeau and Neckar). In a letter written on December 9, 1795, Bates recounts the "bedlam" then taking place at Harvard, including an account of the theft of candlesticks, a cushion and a Bible. In a letter written in March 1797, Bates encouraged Jenks to stay in Waltham, with a Mr. Dix, as long as necessary to fully recover from an illness from which he was apparently suffering. He also updated Jenks on what he was reading: James Ferguson's writing on eclipses and an unnamed work by Jean Jacques Burlamaqui. In the last letter, written September 22, 1798, Bates recounts a visit with a Dr. Eustice concerning a potential trip to Virginia. He mentions that William Ellery Channing was also a candidate for the unexplained journey; presumably Bates is referring to a position in Richmond, Virginia, tutoring the children of David Randolph. Channing, rather than Bates, ultimately accepted this position.

.03 cubic feet (5 letters).

Harvard University Archives.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7772979

Harvard University Archives.

Related Entities

There are 4 Entities related to this resource.

Jarvis, Leonard, 1781-1854

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm53nf (person)

Harvard College (1780- ). Class of 2006

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vt5qz0 (corporateBody)

The early 19th century was a time of student unrest at Harvard. Perhaps in reaction to the disturbances and protest of previous classes, Faculty Records vol. IX tell that President Kirkland announced early on in the Class of 1822's college years that no students were to have any meeting for the purpose of eating or drinking in college. Although the Class of 1822 is a serene one as compared with its generation, many of the students of the Class of 1822 received public admonishments as a result of...

Jenks, William, 1778-1866

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jh48tj (person)

William Jenks was born in Newton, Massachusetts on November 25, 1778. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1797, an A.M. in 1800 and an S.T.D. in 1842. He also received two degrees from Bowdoin College: an S.T.D. in 1825 and an L.L.D. in 1862. Jenks served as pastor of churches in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Bath, Maine before joining the faculty of Bowdoin College as professor of Oriental and English literature. He later returned to Boston, where he founded a mission for seamen and took...

Bates, Daniel, 1779-1799.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65b2s4w (person)

Daniel Bates was born in Boston on December 4, 1799. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1797 and died two years later, in 1799. William Jenks was born in Newton, Massachusetts on November 25, 1778. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1797, an A.M. in 1800 and an S.T.D. in 1842. He also received two degrees from Bowdoin College: an S.T.D. in 1825 and an L.L.D. in 1862. Jenks served as pastor of churches in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Bath, Maine before j...