Overview
Correspondence and legal documents of the American politician John Lowell.
Dates
- Creation: 1629-1894
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1764-1803
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
Extent
5 linear feet (11 boxes)Contains professional correspondence and legal documents reflecting the careers of the two John Lowells, father and son. Includes depositions, testimonies and memoranda from legal cases; reports and petitions of congresses; and deeds, contracts, wills, accounts, receipts, and promissory notes. Also includes records of the Continental Congress, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, various Massachusetts courts, and New England town meetings, as well as correspondence and court documents concerning the senior Lowell's service on a commission to determine the Massachusetts-New York border, and much correspondence about land sales and debt collection. Also contains correspondence of other family members, including a younger John Lowell (1856-1922) who traveled in Europe in the 1870s, and correspondence of third parties.
Biographical / Historical
John Lowell (1743-1802) was a Massachusetts lawyer and judge. He received an AB from Harvard College in 1760 and he served in the Continental Congress (1782-1783). His son John Lowell (1769-1840) was a Massachusetts lawyer, agriculturist, philanthropist, and Federalist pamphlet writer. He received an AB from Harvard College in 1786.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabeticallly by author.
Physical Location
b, pf
Immediate Source of Acquisition
43M-897, 43M-898. Gift of Ralph Lowell, '12, James Hale Lowell, '14, John Lowell, '42, Ralph Lowell Jr., '45 and James Hale Lowell, 2d, ; received: 1943 August.
These papers were presented in the memory of John Lowell, '77, by his sons Ralph Lowell, '12, James Hale Lowell, '14, and his grandsons John Lowell, '42, Ralph Lowell Jr., '45 and James Hale Lowell, 2d (aged 5 years).
Processing Information
This finding aid was revised in 2024 to address outdated and harmful descriptive language. During that revision, contextualizing processing notes were added to the description of two items. For more information on reparative archival description at Harvard, see Harvard Library’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
- Title
- Lowell, John, 1743-1802. John Lowell papers, 1629-1894: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou01686
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
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