Manuscripts
Manuscript account of George Clymer
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George Willing Clymer letter to Mary Willing Clymer
Manuscripts
Letter sent by George Clymer to his mother while he sailed on the Constellation for his first deployment as a US Navy apprentice surgeon. The Constellation set sail from New York on August 14, 1829, and arrived in the West Channel near Cowes, England, on September 11. Clymer begins by briefly recounting the "gloomy epistle of a landsman" that he had sent to his father regarding the difficult ocean crossing, and relating his excitement at finally spotting land off the Isle of Wight. Much of Clymer's detailed and eloquent letter is devoted to describing the scenery and towns he saw in England, along with historical anecdotes. After being allowed to go ashore he explored Cowes, which he noted was "different from the towns I had seen in America, and wears and air and aspect of a city." He was also struck by the "roast-beef and porter corporations, and the ruddy faces of the well-fed Englishmen," and widely praised the island's roads and means of transportation. He visited West Cowes Castle and the Royal Yacht Club and gives an extended description of attending afternoon tea at a hotel. After being denied permission to travel to London, Clymer returned to the Isle of Wight, seeing Carisbrooke Castle, Appuldurcombe Park and Mansion, Parkhurst Forest, the Albany Barracks, Newport, and Norris and East Cowes Castles. On a subsequent shore leave he briefly traveled to Portsmouth Harbor, Portsea, Portsmouth, and Southampton. On returning to his ship for the last time, he wrote that "I can now declare that I have passed [in England] fifty of the happiest hours of my life." He later cooled his opinion somewhat, lamenting the "extravagant beyond expectation" costs in England (which he recorded in some detail) compared to those in the United States, the "knaves" who charged higher prices to Americans, and the necessity of tipping servants. He concluded that he found the English "polite, but grossly ignorant of America." After being refused a gun salute by British naval officers, the Constellation circumnavigated the Isle of Wight and set sail south on September 21. Clymer compares the Spanish and African coasts, writes of being impressed by the town and fortress of Gibraltar, describes the Mediterranean Sea, and notes passing the islands of Formentera and Majorca. The Constellation approached Mahon Harbor in Minorca, where they were to meet the ship Delaware, on October 15, but a major storm blew the ship back out to sea. It finally reached the harbor on October 18, and Clymer concluded that "we had performed a voyage of 1500 miles in 28 days; the time we required in sailing twice that distance from New York to Cowes."
mssHM 79957
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Edward Clymer journal of an expedition in the Wyoming Territory
Manuscripts
Journal kept by Edward Clymer during his 1877 expedition to the Wyoming Territory with George B. Chittenden and Dr. F.M. Endlich. Provides an account of Clymer's westward travels by railroad and his arrival in Cheyenne in late May 1877. The diary subsequently traces the small expedition's movements in and around Salt Wells, Pacific Creek, Fort Stambaugh, the Sweetwater River, Rawlins, and Strawberry Creek. During this time they climbed Fremont Peak, shot mountain goats, encountered a grizzly bear, participated in a buffalo hunt, and discovered Indian relics. The diary also records Clymer's trip through Salt Lake City and return to Pennsylvania in September 1877, as well as entries from his life in Berks County through December 1877 (there are no entries for October).
mssHM 75050
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Autograph letter of Doctor George Clymer
Manuscripts
The Cyane was launched in 1837 and served in the Pacific from November 1841 to October 1844, sailing again for the Pacific in August 1845 and serving in that theatre during the Mexican-American War. On July 7, 1846, her commanding officer, Captain William Mervine, led a detachment of Marines and sailors from Commodore John D. Sloat's squadron ashore at Monterey, California, hoisting the American flag at the Customs House and claiming possession of the city and all of present day California.
mssHM 80804
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George Gregory letters
Manuscripts
George Gregory wrote these 10 letters to his fiancée, Anne Hemings, in London after his arrival in New York. He talks in detail about: his attempt to find work, his financial problems, his lodgings, his meals, the trials of separation, etc. He also talks a lot about the Americans in New York, their manners and their clothes.
mssHM 81175-81184
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Daniel Bartlett Beard letter to Allen Frost
Manuscripts
Five page letter by Daniel Bartlett Beard to ornitholgist Allen Frost. In the letter he talks about his job at Everglades, birds he sees, and national parks in general. The letter was written from Coral Gables, Florida, on "United States Department of the Interior National Park Service" letterhead.
mssHM 82586
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George L. (George Leonard) Vose Letter to "My Dear Choate,"
Manuscripts
In this letter, Vose talks about his decision to leave his position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was dissatisfied with the engineering education at the school and felt that his opinions were being ignored. He mentions the previous president of the university William Rogers and former engineer professor John B. Henck.
mssHM 76729