The binding of this book is made of otterskin, with decorations characteristic of Eastern Woodland Indians. It covers a Hebrew and Chaldean (i.e., Aramaic) dictionary owned by David Brainerd (1718–1747). Brainerd became a missionary after he was expelled from Yale University for making controversial religious statements. He preached for four years among Native Americans in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey before dying in the home of Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758), third president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Gift of Mrs. William F. H. Edwards. Edwards Collection, Rare Book Division.
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Charles Thomson served as secretary of the Continental Congress for 14 years. At Princeton, the first seat of Congress after the Revolution, he wrote this letter informing his wife Hannah (ca. 1729–1807) that Virginia had ceded its claims to land beyond the Ohio River to the newly sovereign United States. This territory, he says, “will give a great weight to the authority of Congress. It gives them the sovereignty and property of a country at least five hundred miles square.” Charles Thomson Letters, Manuscripts Division.
The diary kept by Philip Vickers Fithian (Class of 1772) while working as a tutor to the family of Robert Carter III (1728–1804) is a rich source of information about early Virginia plantation life. His diary is open to the conclusion of an entry dated December 21 describing the sounds of a harmonica being played after dinner, and to the beginning of an entry dated December 23 criticizing the treatment of slaves at Carter’s Nomini Hall and neighboring plantations. After the American Revolution, Carter came to believe that slavery was immoral and implemented a program of gradual manumission that freed his nearly 500 slaves. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Hitchcock. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 349, Manuscripts Division.
In 1768, John Witherspoon traveled from Scotland to New Jersey to become the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He was not only a scholar and administrator, but also an influential politician. From 1776 to 1782, he represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence and served on more than 100 committees. In his college lectures on moral philosophy, he cautioned undergraduates like John Ewing Colhoun (Class of 1774), who took these notes, against the excesses of tyranny and unjust government. Gift of John Adrian Larkin, Sr., Class of 1913, in memory of John Adrian Larkin, Jr., Class of 1944. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 233, Manuscripts Division.
John Trumbull served as an aide to General George Washington (1732–1799) during the Revolutionary War. After leaving the army, he studied with the great American history painter Benjamin West (1738–1820), who encouraged him to paint the war scenes he had experienced. Trumbull thus conceived his “national history” series of paintings, which included The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton. Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, Class of 1888. John Trumbull, Battle of Princeton Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
Louis-Alexandre Berthier joined the army of Comte de Rochambeau (1725–1807) to fight for the American cause during the Revolutionary War. A topographical engineer, Berthier produced more than 100 maps of the historic march of Rochambeau’s army from Rhode Island to Virginia in 1781. Displayed here is the army’s camp at Princeton from August 31 to September 1. The “Collège” is Nassau Hall. The crossroads at the lower part of the map is the current intersection of Nassau and Harrison Streets. Gift of Harry C. Black, Class of 1909. Louis-Alexandre Berthier Collection, Manuscripts Division.