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African American and African Diaspora Collection, 1729-1966 (bulk 1781-1865)
Series Overview
The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and various aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865.
Box 1: 1729 - 1815
- Samuel Coniard DS to Samuel Talcott, May 23, 1729
- John Wright ALS to John Tomlinson, January 7, 1742
- Jonathan Low DS to Seth Story, December 25, 1752
- John Bull DS to Sabinah Wilson, July 23, 1756
- Scipio Wood 5 DsS, December 3, 1757 - June 9, 1772
- Francis Bernard ALS to Charles Read, January 8, 1760
- John Mountague ADS to Charles Gordon, January 1, 1767
- John Madocks ADS, April 21, 1770
- Mary Murrin DS to Daniel Saint John, July 12, 1770
- Joseph Chandler DS, September 1771
- Chris Champlin and George Champlin ALS to Samuel Tuell, March 4, 1772
- Sip Wood ADS to Connecticut General Assembly, May 20, 1772
- Samuel Tuell ALS to Mr. Champlin, September 26, 1772
- Kudjo Holms ALS to William Redwood, November 20, 1773
- John William ALS to Robert Burton, January 3, 1776
- Th[ma]s Pollock DS to Hampton Lillebridge, July 20, 1776
- Manuscript document to Captain Thomas Farmer, August 1, 1776
- Yohannis Nagel DS to Hampton Lillebridge, September 5, 1776
- Ephraim Blaine ALS to John Ladd Howell, November 4, 1778
- Select Men of Norwich (Conn.) DS to Bena, June 25, 1781
- Charles Phelps partially printed document to Elisha Williams and Elisha Williams receipt, August 7, 1781, and September 26, 1781
- Philip Bradley Burr DS to Connecticut Committee of the Pay-Table and 2 accompanying receipts, November 21, 1781; December 27, 1781; and January 11, 1782
- [Quakers] Manuscript "A List of Free Negroes residing in the Southern District", July 22, 1782
- Dinah Archey Manuscript Document to Sir Guy Carleton, August 8, 1783
- Lach[la]n McIntosh ALS to John McIntosh, July 3, 1784
- New Jersey Council and General Assembly; William Livingston, Ephraim Harris, Maskell Ewing, and B. Reed DS to Peter Williams, August 31, 1784 - September 1, 1784
- Select Men of Norwich (Conn.) DS to Joseph Backus, January 20, 1785
- John Anderson DS to Nathaniel Willsin [i.e. Wilson], April 14, 1785
- Fredericksburg (Va.) Hustings Court DS to James Smock, November 6, 1786
- [Jean Jacques] Leguillon Manuscript Document, March 19, 1787
- Thomas Clarkson ALS to Harry Gandy, December 1, 1788
- New Jersey Council and General Assembly; William Livingston, John Beatty, Maskell Ewing, and B. Reed DS to Cato, November 24, 1789 - November 25, 1789
- Richard Randolph, Jr. ALS to David Meade, March 30, 1790
- Sam[uel] Brown ALS to William Vernon, January 30, 1793
- Burlington County (N.J.) Justices of the Peace and New Hanover (N.J.) Overseers of the Poor DS to Pompy Steward, January 20, 1794
- Sam[uel] Brown ALS to William Vernon, May 19, 1794
- S. Potter ALS to James D. Woolfe, December 22, 1794
- Sam[uel] Hopkins ALS to Nathaniel Massie, June 20, 1795
- A[lexander] McKee ALS to James McKee, September 14, 1795
- William Clarke ADS to John Swann, November 25, 1790
- Josa. Dorsey DS to Frederick County (Md.) Justices, 1795
- S[t.] G[eorge] Tucker ALS to Virginia House of Delegates Speaker, November 30, 1796
- Abolition Society DS to Ray Green[e], U.S. Attorney, District of Rhode Island, March 11, 1797
- William Tuck Partially Printed DS to Cato Freeman, April 10, 1797
- Framingham (Mass.) Coroner and Jurors Partially Printed DS, October 28, 1797
- Johnston, Robertson & Co. DS, October 31, 1799
- John Chester ALS to William Jepson, [18th Century]
- Virginia Militia (Orange County) 4 DsS, October 11, 1800-February 12, 1801
- Lawrence Frank Manuscript Document to Jaques Lasselle, July 6, 1801
- [Ahlbin Michel?] Partially Printed ALS to Henri Emery, April 29, 1803
- William Owings AD to Adam Rider, [December 21, 1804]
- William G. Blout DS to William King, August 27, 1806
- Manuscript Document regarding Spangler v. Packer, [before July 1809]
- W[illia]m Cummins ADS, August 17, 1810
- Great Britain. Privy Council Manuscript and Printed Document, March 26, 1812
- Samuel Wetmore ALS to Norwich (Conn.) Selectmen, June 8, 1812
- James Craig ALS to William Meredith, May 29, 1813
- James Craig ALS to William Meredith, June 19, 1813
- Richard Bland Lee Cy. to Virginia Court of Chancery (Fredericksburg), April 23, 1814
- Frederick County (Md.) 3 DsS of the County Court and Court of Oyer and Terminer, ca. December 1815
Box 2: 1818 - June 1838
- Fredericksburg (Va.) Overseers of the Poor DS to William Lewis, May 30, 1818
- Fredericksburg (Va.) Overseers of the Poor DS to William Lewis, May 30, 1818
- Fredericksburg (Va.) Overseers of the Poor DS to Thomas Crossley, March 4, 1819
- [ ]ane Thompson ALS to "Sister" [Susan Wright?], July 20 - August 6, [1819?]
- Quashe Babbitt ALS to Bathsheba Babbitt, September 7, 1819
- [Ira Moore] Barton ALS to Nathaniel Helme, February 20, 1820
- C[harles] A[nderson] Wickliffe ALS to Lewis Null, November 28, 1820
- Jos[eph] C. Hornblower ALS to Rosanna Stone, January 6, 1821
- Jno. Slidell [John Slidell] ALS to Sam[ue]l F. Jarvis, January 30, 1821
- John Gill Partially Printed DS to William Daley, November 23, 1821
- "Goodness and Greatness hostile to Slavery" Manuscript Address to "the Youth of the United States", September 10, 1822
- Ohio Court of Common Pleas (Jefferson County) DS, John Hutchinson v. William McCurdy, September 20, 1822
- Tho[mas] Rhett Smith DS to William Lenox Kirkland, January 4, 1823
- Ohio Court of Common Pleas (Jefferson County) DS, John Hutchinson v. William McCurdy, January 29, 1823
- Manuscript Essays, "The banishment of Napoleon..." and "On the immediate emancipation of the slaves", June 26 and 28, 1823
- Thomas Clarkson ALS to John Gibson, August 24, 1823
- Thomas Clarkson ALS, November 22, 1823
- American Colonization Society Printed Circular with Manuscript ANS, May 1824
- New Jersey Council and General Assembly DS, December 29, 1824 - December 30, 1824
- Lindley Murray ALS to Elizabeth Heyrick, August 30, 1825
- Fredericksburg (Va.) Overseers of the Poor DS to George Cox, September 26, 1826
- Brechin Castle Estates, [Trinidad] Partially Printed Document, August 1827
- Charles Miner ALS to Enoch Lewis, January 25, 1828
- Samuel Bowling, and J. H. Williams 2 Ms. Documents to George Alderson, June 2, 1828
- Ralph R. Gurley ALS to Thomas H. Gallaudet, October 20, 1828
- Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society ADf. to George Murray, November 28, 1828
- [John Russwurm?] AMs., [ca. 1828]
- John Russell Partially Printed Document, Incomplete to George Buist, March 8, 1830
- George Henry French; James Charles French; Nathaniel Snell Chauncey, Philip Monoux Lucas, and Charles Porcher Lang; and John George Nanton and Thomas Cayley DS, August 12, 1830
- Gilbert Austin ALS to James Austin, September 19, 1831
- George Reid and Eliza Reid ALS to William M[oultrie] Reid, October 5, 1831
- T[homas] Butler ALS to Matthew Carey, April 11, 1832
- Elliott Cresson ALS to M[athew] Carey, April 1, 1833
- John Beecham ADfS to Edward G. Stanley [14th Earl of Derby], May 22, 1833
- Banque des Citoyens de la Louisiane Partially Printed DS, "Certificat et Serment des Appreciateurs", August 10, 1834
- Cha[rle]s Colcock Jones ALS to Clark Perry, December 18, 1834
- Harriet Martineau ALS to [Benjamin Bussey Thatcher], [Winter 1834-1835]
- Seymour Allen ALS to Jonathan C. Allen, April 19, 1835
- C[harles] Stuart ALS to Gerrit Smith, April 1835
- E[dward] S[trutt] Abdy ALS to W[illiam] Tait, September 2, 1835
- B[enjamin] Lundy ALS to George Kimball, September 30, 1835
- Jane A. T. Ramsay ADS to Henry Rowe, September 6, 1836
- E[lizur] Wright, Jr. ALS to William M. Chace, February 18, 1837
- A[ndrew] P[ickens] Butler ALS to F[rancis] W[ilkinson] Pickens, February 9, 1838
- McInroy, Sandbach & Co. LS to Sandbach, Tinne & Co., June 23, 25, and 30, 1838
- E[van] J[ohn Murray] MacGregor MsCy to [Henry Charles Darling], June 30, 1838
Box 3: July 1838 - 1846
- McInroy, Sandbach & Co. ALS to Sandbach, Tinne & Co., July 13, 1838
- John Zug Ms. Journal, July 26, 183 - November 19, 1838
- B[enjamin] Lundy ALS to Thomas Gregg, August 23, 1838
- McInroy, Sandbach & Co. ALS to Sandbach, Tinne & Co., September 30, 1838
- T[homas] P[hilander] Ryder ALS to E. B. Dearborn [Edmund Batchelder Dearborn?], October 8, 1838
- Ms. Pages from a Journal or Account Book, 1838-1841
- W[illia]m Lloyd Garrison, Maria W[eston] Chapman, and Edmund Quincy Printed Circular to John Smith, March 1, 1839
- Thomas Clarkson ALS to [Henry Forster] Burder, May 6, 1839
- James Forten & Sons ALS to Richard S. Smith, November 26, 1839
- Inhabitants of the town of Lenox (Mass.) Printed DS to Senate and House of the United States, 1839
- Emma May Roath ALS to Mary E. Bulkeley, March 15, 1840
- T. J. Winchell ALS to Madison Winchell, April 17, 1840
- A. Willey ALS to John E. Godfrey, July 28, 1840
- A. Willey ALS to John E. Godfrey, August 14, 1840
- Julia ALS to Caroline Morgan, October 17, 1840
- Jacob Smalley, William G. Hedges, and William P. Payne DS, November 6, 1840
- W[illia]m B. Stephenson ALS to Otho Scott, February 8, 1841
- Geo[rge] W. Benson ALS to Charles Perry, February 16, 1841
- Dinah Rollins ALS to Samuel [Elliott] Coues, May 7, 1841
- C[harles] S[tewart] Renshaw ALS and Printed Circular to J. M. Ward, September 1, 1841
- L[ouis] Sheridan ALS to Benjamin [Hornor] Coates, December 29, 1841
- Nathan Chapman ALS to "son", January 10, 1842
- Elihu Burritt Partial AL to [Mr. Fechem and Mr. Harlow], [August 25, 1842?]
- New Hampshire Court of Common Pleas (Merrimack County) Partially Printed Document to Jonathan Page, March 4, 1843
- Charlotte H. L. Coues ALS to Nathaniel Rogers, April 23, 1843
- S. S. Miller ALS to Alfred M. Miller, June 20, 1843
- Onondaga County (N.Y.) Citizens Manuscript Meeting Minutes, August 22, 1843
- Friends of Temperance ADS, September 6, 1843
- Washington Temperance Society ADS, September 20, 1843
- T. J. Dobyns ALS to James Gordon Bennett, November 22, 1843
- Fanny ALS to Caroline E. Mackay, February 28, 1844
- Adams County (Miss.) Citizens DS to Adams County (Miss.) Board of Police, July 3, 1844
- Thomas Clarkson ALS, September 1, 1844
- F. A. Thompson ALS to G. W. McMillan, November 20, 1844
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catherine M. Moore, December 7, 1844
- E. H. Stow ALS to Robert Darragh, January 23, 1845
- Lewis Tappan, W[illiam] E. Whiting, W[illia]m H. Mowrey Printed Circular and J[ames] C. Jackson ANS to N. R. Chapman, [ca. January 1845]
- C[assius] M[arcellus] Clay ALS to A. M. Sannary, March 22, 1845
- L. Munsell ALS to N. R. Chapman, April 1845
- Nathaniel Baxter, Attorney General of Maury County (Tenn.) ADS, May 1845
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Eliza S. St. Clair, June 3, 1845
- W[illia]m Jackson DS to Hezekiah McWhiteker, July 5, 1845
- Clarissa Mitchell and Thomas E. Mahan DS, July 12, 1845
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Eliza S. St. Clair, July 30, 1845
- Nathaniel Baxter ADS, August 1845
- W[illia]m Wirt ALS to Lawrence Washington, October 21, 1845
- John J. Williams and Jacob Sanders DS, December 1 and December 19, 1845
- John Rankin ALS to Rev. A. S. Rankin, December 2, 1845
- Nathaniel [Peabody Rogers] ALS to Mary P[orter] Rogers, January 30, [1846?]
- Isaac Stearns ALS to John Selee, February 23, 1846
- Joseph Carpenter ALS to Esther P. Titus, August 21, 1846
- Manuscript Note, August 23, 1846
Box 4: 1847 - 1867
- W[illia]m Davis and Emeline Davis ALS to Margaret T. Davis, January 1847
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catharine M. Morse, May 6, 1847
- J. B. Hayden, Jr. ALS to James D. Perkins, October 8, 1847
- Ann Person, W[illia]m A. Person, and Tho[ma]s J. Person Manuscript Document to George G. Person, James P. Person, and Samuel B. Person, December 10, 1847
- Jeremiah Toole and C. Kennedy Partially pringted DS to Eliza Nalle, January 1, 1848
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catherine [M. Morse], February 12, 1848
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catherine [M. Morse], June 4, 1848
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catharine [M. Morse], September 25, 1848
- G[eorge] W. Turley ALS to Paris Seemes, October 29, 1848
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catharine [M. Morse], November 19, 1848
- G. B. Bate and Lucy Ann Gray Manuscript Document to William Gay, 1848
- Isaac and Joshia ALS to Roseanna, January 27, 1849
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catharine [M. Morse], February 23, 1849
- Joseph Charles Simon, Joseph Simon, Antoine Belanger, Francisco Grappe, and Zeno Messeres DS, February 23, 1849
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Catherine M. Morse, May 5, 1849
- Hiram Wilson ALS to Emily Howland, August 15, 1849
- Laura R. Stevens ALS to "Aunt Abby", December 31, 1849
- Jno. [John] Pierpont ANS to Charles H. Morse, September 21, 1850
- John L. Fuller ALS to Clement B. Grubb, March 11, 1851
- C. F. Dandridge DS to A.O. Harris, April 17, 1851
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Calvin Ingraham, May 27, 1851
- Ned [Edwin] ALS to Pierre [St. M. Andrews], November 15, 1851
- Alanson St. Clair ALS to Mrs. C. M. Ingraham, January 16, 1852
- E. Cowgill ALS to Thomas Garrett, March 22, 1852
- Lewis Tappan ALS to D[wight] Baldwin, July 9, 1852
- John C. Zabriskie and "Black Nel" DS, December 22, 1852
- D. Campbell ALS to Thomas Parkes, January 11, 1853
- Charles K. Post and Rebecca A. Post ALS to [Augustus Beach], February 16, 1853
- Elizabeth Johnson ALS to William H. Brown and Charlott W. Brown, April 7, 1853
- Walter C. Graham DS, September 29, 1853
- Thomas Washington ALS to W[illia]m H. Stephens, March 18, 1854
- Henry Lazenby ALS to Christopher Hiatt, August 27, [18]54
- L. A. E. Messinger ALS to Geraldine, December 30, [18]55
- [List of Members and Rules of Order] Manuscript, [1855?]
- J[oh]n Aldridge ALS to Andrew Aldridge, January 26, 1856
- John H. Dunlap ALS to John A. Beauhamp, March 26, 1856
- Frederick Douglass ALS to J[oseph] C. Hathaway, July 29, 1856
- Standish (Me.) Republican Town Committee Manuscript, August 25, 1856
- C. B. Lines ALS to Mr. Kingsbury, September 5, 1856
- W[illiam] B[uell] Sprague ALS to G. E. Ellis, April 3, 1857
- Fredericksburg (Va.) Coroner and Jurors 2 DsS, July 23, 1858
- Gerritt Smith ALS to Dyer Burgess, August 13, 1859
- Coleman S. Ratliff DS, [September 12, 1859]
- A. Wright ALS to "Andrew" [brother], December 6, 1859
- James F. Smith ALS to [Samuel Fenton?] Cary, February 2, 1860
- Nancy ALS to "sister", July 15, 1860
- Matilda A. Pleasant DS, August 21, 1860
- George Dennis DS, October 1860
- W[illia]m Lloyd Garrison ALS to J. M. McKim, November 5, 1860
- John M. Pettus and S. A. Pettus Partially Printed Document to E. [C.] Gillian, December 25, 1860
- John M. Pettus and S. A. Pettus Partially Printed Document to E. C. Gillian, December 25, 1860
- Gerrit Smith ALS to N. W. Green, February 28, 1861
- Gerrit Smith ALS to N. W. Green, March 14, 1861
- James A[lexander] Hamilton ALS to Samuel B[ulkley] Ruggles, December 20, 1861
- Henry ALS to Mr. Johnson, August 26, 1862
- Tho[ma]s Garrett ALS to "Esteemed friend", February 19, 1863
- James T. Bailey ADS, June 1, 1864
- E. Stephens ALS to William Conrad, September 24, 1864
- Nancy S. [Battey] ALS to "Mother" [Ruth Muzzey Battey], May 3, 1865
- W[illiam] Lloyd Garrison ALS to Benjamin Chase, July 24, 1865
- J. L. ALS to Joe, December 5, 1865
- W. J. McCalley and J. R. Wyly DS to Peyton McCalley, December 31, 1865
- Thomas Wentworth Higginson LS to Lewis G[eorge] Janes, February 1, 1866
- [P.] R. ALS to William C. Rives, Jr., April 8, 1866
- C[harles] C. Stevenson ALS to William F. Hall, April 13, 1867
Box 5: 1868 - 1966
- Texas District Court (Jefferson County) Document CyS, August 26, 1868
- J[ohn] C. Norris ALS to Rufus B. Bullock, November 13, 1868
- W[illia]m D. Forten ALS to James H. Whallon, June 26, 1869
- Edgar Clark ALS to Adin B. Clark, January 14, 1872
- W[illia]m Lloyd Garrison ALS to W[illia]m A. Wallace, [after 1872?]
- Wendell Phillips AQS, February 6, 1873
- Flo ALS to Mary J. Mayhew, December 2, 1874
- W[illia]m Lloyd Garrison ALS to Benj[amin] Chase, February 28, 1876
- [Jean Lowry Rankin] ALS to John [Thompson Rankin], October 29, 1878
- N. Y. Cavill ALS to S. A. Champion, February 17, 1879
- United States Army Partially Printed DS to Augustus Smith, February 25, 1880
- Ed [Parteneke?] ALS to "Uncle Henry", July 15, 1880
- Ebenezer S. Whittemore ADS, August 21, 1880
- United States Army, 25th Regiment Colored Infantry Partially Printed DS to Augustus Smith, January 19, 1885
- Mary Rankin Typed Biographical Sketch of John Rankin to Lucien V. Rule, [after 1886]
- B. H. Grierson, Jr. ALS to Mrs. A. K. Greirson, February 28, 1887
- Helen Douglass ALS to [Robert] Adams, March 4, 1888
- Frederick Douglass ALS to Robert Adams, September 6, 1893
- John R. Brooks ALS to "Patriotic Colored Women", October 5, 1898
- Cha[rle]s W[addell] Chesnutt ALS to Herbert Small, October 26, 1899
- Cha[rle]s W[addell] Chesnutt ALS to Jerome B. Howard, December 15, 1899
- Paris A[rthur] Wallace ALS to Samuel [Ward] Boardman, July 25, 1902
- John R. Williams TLS to Jack Zeller, April 27, 1942
- John Doar TLS to Mrs. Van H. Manning, November 16, 1966
- American Anti-Slavery Society Manuscript Membership List, Undated
- W[illiam] H[enry] Furness ALS, Undated
- James Madison Manuscript Memorial Signed to Virginia House of Delegates, Undated
- Oliver S[waine] Taylor AMsS, Undated
- Illustrated Manuscript Poem, "Poor little slave...", Undated