College Books, 1636-1827

This collection contains College Books 1, 3, 4, and 6-10. College Book 2, which contained records of the Board of Overseers, was destroyed by fire in Harvard Hall in 1764. College Book 5, which contains Treasurers' records, is now included in the Records of the Treasurer of Harvard University:http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua05009. Although the College Books primarily contain records of the Corporation, many entries also document the activities and decisions of Harvard's other governing body, the Board of Overseers, and of various individuals acting on behalf of the College and its administration. College Books 1, 3, and 4, in particular, contain somewhat unsystematic entries on many topics, written in multiple hands; these have been described as "the most important sources for the history of Harvard College in its first half century." Later records, in College Books 7-10, consist primarily of minutes from Corporation meetings. College Book 6 contains records related to donations to the College by Thomas Hollis. Benjamin Wadsworth's index to College Books 1-6, while useful in discovering entries on certain topics, is far from comprehensive.

It should be noted that the College Books overlap chronologically, e.g. multiple volumes contain entries made the same year – often on the same topic – and entries within a volume are frequently out of chronological order. For these reasons, chronological arrangement of the volumes is not possible and multiple volumes should be consulted to find all entries from a given date or year. It should also be noted that entries in many of the volumes have been marked in the margins with a pencilled "X." This appears to indicate that the marked entry contains information about a book or books donated to the Harvard College Library. It is not known who made these marks, though it seems likely that it was done by a single individual, as the marks are found in almost all of the College Books, rather than in just one.

Since its creation in the mid-17th century, the Corporation has held meetings. Those meetings appear to have become more regular in the 18th century, when the Corporation met to discuss complex policy issues as well as the day-to-day management of the College. The votes and orders of the Corporation often reflect their fiduciary role through the disbursement of gifts, donations and income; the allocation of funds for various purchases, projects, and services; and the management of extensive land and property holdings. As a result of this control over the College's money, the Corporation minutes regularly record orders to the treasurer, list students selected to receive scholarships and college employment, changes in tuition and fees, and the appointments and dismissals of faculty and staff, along with salary and wage decisions. The College Books are a valuable resource in finding the names of individuals either employed by or attending the College, including students, faculty, Stewards and Butlers, Librarians, and community members who worked for the College as servants, merchants, and tradesmen. Corporation minutes also frequently refer to those who leased College properties or held bonds or mortgages with Harvard.

While Corporation meetings often focused on routine financial decisions and position appointments, those assembled also made policy decisions, disciplined students, set College laws and academic requirements, and addressed broader institutional issues. The College Books also served as a repository for copies of official documents drafted by the Corporation, including memorials and petitions to the General Court, inaugural addresses of Harvard presidents, College laws, and correspondence (including that with King George and with Thomas Hollis and his descendants). Similarly, wills naming Harvard as a beneficiary are often copied into the minutes. The Corporation relied on committees to investigate broad institutional issues, and often committee reports and the subsequent Corporation responses are recorded in the minutes.

The College Books are also a resource for studying the College's actions during the American Revolutionary War and include votes related to its temporary move to Concord, a transcription of the honorary degree given to General Washington in 1776, a memorial to the General Court about repairs needed at the College after its occupation by the Continental Army, and Corporation votes and correspondence documenting the College's strained relationship with Treasurer John Hancock. They also contain many entries on the Charlestown Ferry, one of the College's primary sources of income, and the challenges it faced in maintaining revenue when two bridges were constructed across the Charles River. In addition, information about commodity prices can be gleaned from entries related to the Steward and Butler, and many entries relate to Harvard's support of missionaries among Indian tribes. Numerous important historical and political events, and their effects on the Harvard community, are reflected in the Corporation minutes kept in the College Books.