A Sneak Peak into the Archives

Facsimile: Handwritten protest (1680) by Roger Williams against the unofficial calling of a meeting, from the Early Town Records of Providence. The original protest is held at the Rhode Island Historical Society.

Roger Williams' Writings

Anna Franz, from the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University, offered RWU students an up-close look at Roger Williams' A Key into the Language (1643) and some of his other works. 

Watch Anna's talk, broken into 3 parts below:

(Videographer: Tubyez Cropper, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University)

Pamphlet: Winthrop, John. "Two lectures on comets," bound, 44 pp, appendix xviii pp. 8vo (22.5 x 14.5 cm ), missing half title

Additional Information:

John Winthrop (1714-1779) was a distinguished mathematician, physicist, and astronomer and the 2nd Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and Harvard College. The great-great grandson of John Winthrop, founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, this John Winthrop was one of the foremost men of science in America during the 18th century and had a major influence on Benjamin Franklin and other prominent individuals of the period.

In April 1759, he delivered two lectures, the first on the return of Halley's comet of 1682, which was the first predicted return of the comet. In a second discourse during the same month, he discussed the true theory of comets, according to the work of Newton's Principia, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and the predictions of Halley. 

Handwritten Manuscript: First page of letter from William Lloyd Garrison to Messrs. George T. Downing, John V. DeGrasse, and Robert Morris, dated May 13, 1861, regarding Haitian emigration. VisIt the archives to see the complete letter.

Additional Information:

George T. Downing (1819-1903), son of restaurateur and abolitionist Thomas Downing, was a civil rights leader and successful businessman himself. As a young man, George joined the anti-slavery movement and helped hide runaway slaves. In 1841 he married Serena Leanora DeGrasse, sister of John V. DeGrasse - another of the addressees in the above letter.

Following in his father’s footsteps George opened his own restaurant and continued advocating for racial equality. Later in 1854 he opened the Sea Girt House in Newport. He was a member of the 1855 Colored National Convention and in 1857 he began and financed a successful nine-year campaign to integrate public schools in Newport, Providence, and Bristol. During the Civil War, he managed the members’ dining room in the House of Representatives. In 1865, he and others financed the purchase of land for Touro Park in Newport. He continued to fight for civil rights until his death in 1903. In 2003 Downing was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

Handwritten Ledger:Accounts of Bennet and Nathaniel Munro with Thomas Palmer, 1751.

Single sheet (approx. 12¾" x 8") headed "A List of the sums that Bennett Munroe [sic] has credit for since the year 1751." Among the transactions listed on the first document is the transfer of a Negro boy from Bennet Munro to Thomas Palmer at Mount Hope in Bristol in 1766 for the price of 53 pounds, 6 shillings and 8 pence. 

Additional Information:

The archives also has a second document (approx. 9" x 7¼") headed: "Messrs Bennet & Nathl Munro in acct. with Thos. Palmer," including "rent of Mount Hope Farm from April 6, 1766 to April 6, 1770, the time when N. Munro quitted."

Blueprint Drawing:Electrical Distribution Plan for the Nike Missile Site (Bristol, Rhode Island), Battery 38. Launcher Area, Alterations and Additions, January 1958

Additional Information:

Did you know that the North Campus was home to a government missile site long before the North Residence Hall and parking garages were built? Roger Williams College acquired the property in 1976. The former barracks were converted into student housing. "Nike Hall" became the College's third residence hall on campus, offering special interest housing for architecture students. There are more plans in the archives.

To learn more, watch the "NBC Flashback" from January 10, 2018

Underwater Photography: Images photographed by William R. Mershon: Rhode Island, Florida, and the Cayman Islands

 View the collection here.

Additional Information:

William R. Mershon worked at Roger Williams University (then Roger Williams College) from 1973 to 1987. He helped develop majors in biology and marine biology. The photographs here include specimens he observed in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay and other locations taken during his tenure at Roger Williams.

Proposed Restoration: Ground Plan and Site Development of Fort Frederik, St. Croix - 18th century Danish fort

Additional Information:

Restoration of the fort to its1780 configuration was completed in 1976, under the directorship of Theodore R. Fletcher. The fort currently serves as an interpreted facility and local history museum. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.

Pamphlet: Report of the Trials of Oliver Cummins, Nathaniel G. Metcalf, Gilbert Humes and Arthur Farrier; who were indicted with six others for a riot, and for aiding in pulling down a dwelling-house, on the 18th of October, at Hard-Scrabble. Providence. Printed for the Purchaser, 1824.

See the compete report here.

Additional Information:

Hardscrabble was a predominantly African American neighborhood located in northwestern Providence during the early nineteenth century. On October 18, 1824 a white mob attacked black homes in Hard- Scrabble, after a black man refused to get off the side walk when whites approached.

Map: City Plan of New Bedford - from the Anne "Pete" W. Baker Collection

Additional Information:

Anne “Pete” W. Baker was a prominent historic preservationist who “collected” and preserved over two hundred 17th and 18th century homes and buildings in coastal Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The archives holds her correspondence with the building owners, architectural and historical drawings, and documentation concerning the restoration. See the item in the digital repository.

From The Quill: Remarks by Dean Salatino and President Gauvey 

Additional Information:

These two articles were written for commencement on June 8, 1967. Spring/Summer commencement ceremonies were traditionally held in June, until 1974. That was also the first year honorary degrees were awarded.

Visit our digital repository to see the complete student newspaper for that day. 

Handwritten Travel Journal: First page of Halsey DeWolf's Diary, "Bicycle Trip In England," August 10 - September 13, 1890

Additional Information:

Halsey and Edith DeWolf owned and operated Ferrycliffe Farm into the 1950s, when their daughter (Mary Howe) and son-in-law (Marshall Fulton) took over its management. In the mid-1960s, Mary Howe and Marshall sold 60 acres of the farm to Roger Williams College for its new campus in Bristol.

Visit the archives to see the complete journal (part of the Fulton/Howe Collection), describing Halsey's bicycling trip in England  with his friends Lowell, Strafford, and Charlie.

Pamphlet [cover image]: Whipple, Anna M., "Historical Facts and Stray Thoughts from The Old Elder Ballou Meeting House, in the Town of Cumberland, R.I.," 1897. [15] pages, 3 plates. Visit the archives to see the complete pamphlet.

Additional Information:

Printed by Charles E. Cook,Woonsocket, R.I. Donated to the library by Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr., in 1982, in honor of Marietta Burgess Wisbey.

Viewbook [cover image]: Murphy, J.F. (publisher), "Fifty Glimpses of Providence River and Narragansett Bay: Embracing Newport, Block Island, Narragansett Pier, Watch Hill, and the Shore Resorts of Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays," 1897. Visit tour digital repository to view the complete booklet.

Additional Information: 

String-tied viewbook with reproductions of photographs of Providence River and Narragansett Bay, as well as images of markets, rivers, steamboats, bays, club houses, parks, landmarks, landscapes, beaches, aerial views, islands, lighthouses, and hotels. Printed by the Continental Press Company, Providence, R.I.

Printed Book: Gordimer, Nadine. The Black Interpreters: Notes on African Writing. Spro-Cas/Ravan, 1973.

The Black Interpreters is Gordimer'saccount of the emerging literature of South Africa. This first edition (1973) was printed before censoring. Following the banning order (October 9, 1973) on the poet Mandlenkosi Langa, two passages on pages 54 and 60, were blacked out and redacted in later printings/editions. Few copies of this uncensored version exist.

Additional Information: 

Soft cover, 76 pages, with photograph by David Goldblatt on the front cover. ISBN: 0869750267

Included in the Fulton-Howe Collection are numerous valentine cards and notes written to the young Edith Howe from friends and famliy. This one was sent to her when she was 14 years old. Visit the archives to view more valentines and the complete collection.

Twenty five years ago, a group of five historic preservation students went to Harper's Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia over their Spring Break to help restore the Civil War Armory which was damaged during the hurricane of 1996.

Visit our digital repository to read more about this unique spring break and to see all of the student newspapers.  

Broadside: Public Auction at "Ferry Cliffe" Farm, ca. 1924

Additional Information:

In the 1960s, Roger Williams University  (then Roger Williams College) purchased about 60 acres of farmland from Mary Howe Fulton and her husband Dr. Marshall Fulton. The dairy farm was established in the 1870sby Mary Howe Fulton's grandfather, Dr. Hebert Marshall Howe.

Visit the archives to see the complete collection.

Brochure: Walking Tour and Guide to Selected Campus Trees, ca. 2005

 From CONTACT,  "Project Recall Newsletter" (RIC), Summer 1968.

Handwritten Manuscript: Mr. DeWolf's' 1823 Inventory of Plants 

Transcription:

Mr. [J] DeWolf

1823

• Ang[ur] Chitras
• Aquas Cassius
• Coffea Cruda
• Crocus Sativus
• Ranunculus Bulbosus
• Ranunculus Sceleratus
• Ranunculus Acris
• Ranunculus Repens
• Ranunculus Flammula
• Rhododendron [or Philodendron]
• Sabina
• Senega
• Teucrium Marum Verum
• Valeriana Mimosa
• Sabadilla

[Note: the list includes a variety of buttercups (Ranunculus).]

Handwritten Manuscript: Total Solar Eclipse, as observed by Halsey DeWolf

On January 24, 1925, a total eclipse of the sun was visible throughout much of New England. Mary Howe and her parents, Halsey and Edith DeWolf, went to Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to view the eclipse which lasted for about 2 and a half minutes. Her father bought her a  pair of special eclipse glasses and recorded their observations.

Photograph: Time-lapse photograph of solar eclipse , taken at 5 minute intervals.

Autograph Letter Signed

Handwritten letter fromAnnette Winthrop to her brother John upon his entering college in 1824:

For my dear Brother on his leaving me 
for College

Farewell! yet while the sad word lingers 
In broken accents on the tongue. 
May hope this consolation bring us 
That hours of absence be not long.

Farewell! yet while the heart’s o’er flowing 
with floods of grief that we must part. 
May hope its calm divine bestowing. 
Relieve the anguish heal the smart.

Farewell! yet while the tear drop’s starting 
and [trembles] on the mournful eye. 
May hope console us when we’re parting 
And cheer us when we say “good bye.”

Farewell yet tho’ tis said in sorrow 
and sadly quick our full hearts beat. 
Sweet hope points forward to the morrow, 
When we again in joy may meet.

Your affectionate 
Sister 
Annette

Additional Information: Annette and John were the children of John Winthrop (1778-1819) and Anne Winthrop (1783-1813) of Boston and were descended from John Winthrop (1599-1649), Governor of Massachusetts. The letter was donated to the archives by DeWolf Fulton, Anne's great-great grandson.