29 July 1774

Adams, Samuel, 1722-1803

Letter signed

Title: to Ezekiel Williams

Written by Adams as a member of the Massachusetts General Court (he would join the First Continental Congress on 5 September 1774) to Williams as Deputy Commissioner of Prisoners in Connecticut and a Sheriff for Hartford County. References Williams's letter of 25 July 1774. Says the letter was referred to a committee in Boston that was appointed to receive donations for the relief of the poor. Thanks him for the town of Wetherfield, Connecticut's donation of 34 3/4 bushels of wheat, 248 of rye, and 390 of Indian Corn. The donation was made because of the closing of Boston Harbor. Claims "…

GLC06657.01

October 25, 1774

Boston (Mass.). Committee of Donations

Broadsheet

Title: [Request for donations for the poor of Boston]

Broadside listing the twenty six members of the committee (including Samuel Adams, Thomas Boylston, and John Adams) seeks donations in accord with their mission to relieve the "Poor, suffering by means of the Act of Parliament, commonly called the Boston Port-Bill." Discusses the plans and projects supported by the committee. Accompanied Samuel Adams's letter to Ezekiel Williams seeking a donation (see GLC06657.01). The verso mentions a meeting on 25 October 1774 in which ten members joined the committee; their names are listed.

GLC06657.02

February 23, 1776

Wolcott, Oliver, 1726-1797

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Ezekiel Williams

Written by Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as a Continental Congressman from Connecticut, probably to Ezekiel Williams as Connecticut Commissioner of Prisoners and Wolcott's son-in-law. Notes already in Past Perfect said this document is from the papers of Ezekiel Williams, which could not be confirmed from the collateral files. But the content of the letter makes Williams a likely recipient. Wolcott says he forgot to mail a previous letter requesting a list of prisoners. Is now asking for an updated list in order to liquidate Connecticut's accounts with Congress.…

GLC06659

1774

Great Britain. Acts.

Pamphlet

Title: An act to discontinue... shipping... within the Harbour, of Boston [Port Bill]

The Boston Port Act. Paginated 515-522 + unpaginated title page. [one of the five "Intolerable Acts"]

GLC00402

December 28, 1774

Adams, John, 1735-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Catharine Macaulay

Adams describes the effects of the Boston Port Bill upon the government and people of the colony. He warns that the arrest of Parliament's opponents "will produce Resistance, and Reprisals, and a Flame through America, Such as Eye hath not yet Seen, nor Ear heard nor hath it entered into the Heart of the Minister or his Minions to conceive." He prophesies resistance and reprisals.

GLC01788

December 29, 1774

Warren, Mercy Otis, 1728-1814

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Catharine Macaulay

Warren describes the resolve of the people to resist "the strides of Wanton power" and fears the results, "an innocent Land Drenched [in] Blood." Believes that surely this destruction and anger can't continue much longer, particularly the blockade of Boston. Encourages future correspondence and support.

GLC01800.01

1 November 1776

Hawkes, W., fl. 1776

Map

Title: The Country twenty-five miles round New York

Irregular shaped paper. Engraving with letterpress chronological table of events from 1773-Oct. 1776, engraved by J. Barber and printed by W. Hawkes. Irregularly shaped. Nebenzahl, Battle Plans of the American Revolution, 110, who notes that a later state is printed by Sayer & Bennett; Streeter Sale 2: 786.

GLC02005

June 1775

Urban, Sylvanus, 1745-1826

Newspaper

Title: The Gentleman's Magazine

Printed for D. Henry at St. John's Gate, London. Includes a fold-out regional map of Boston area and dramatic "Account of the proceedings of the American Colonists Since the passing the Boston Port-Bill," including Lexington and Concord. Also has articles on the proceedings of Parliament, a copy of the letter of Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull to Thomas Gage and Gage's response, a travel essay by Lithgow, and a series of poetical essays, as well as others. Paginated 257-304. Seems to have been torn from original binding.

GLC02360

14 May 1774

Longman, Thomas, 1731-1797

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Indicates that he has received the bill of Thomas Boylston and an order for books. Acknowledges the implementation of the "Boston Port Bill," which closed the Boston Harbor in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party. Expresses concern at how it will affect their business. Also includes his hope that "the measures taken by Parliament will not materially affect my good friends in Boston." Longman was a London bookseller.

GLC02437.00146

26 June 1774

Rivington, James, 1724-1802

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Requests that Knox buy and send him soap. Also asks Knox to write him a letter describing the state of things in Boston; at the time, the British had just passed the Intolerable Acts, including the Boston Port Bill, which closed Boston Harbor on 1 June 1774. Suggests that committees in New York and Philadelphia will urge payment for the tea, possibly referring to either the tea tax or the tea destroyed at the Boston Tea Party. He believes such an action "will go a great way towards a conciliation of these unhappy Distractions." Congratulates Knox on his marriage. Indicates that he will…

GLC02437.00157

4 July 1774

Knox, Hugh, 1727-1790

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Asks Henry to help him acquire subscribers for his new publication, which will be printed in New York shortly, possibly referring to "Moral and religious miscellany; or, Sixty-one aphoretical essays, on some of the most important Christian doctrines and virtues." Commenting on the recent passage of the Boston Port Bill, Hugh speculates that it must be damaging to "literary, as well as Mercantile matters." If the proposal is acceptable, he asks that Henry send word to a bookseller in New York named Samuel Loudon. Also asks Henry to respond to him when convenient. Henry was recommended to…

GLC02437.00161

13 July 1774

Fletcher, Thomas, fl. 1774

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Tells Knox that he referred a friend, Hugh Knox, to him for the purpose of obtaining subscriptions for his upcoming publication of religious essays. Although Fletcher feels that the world has enough of such treatises, he thinks it may be of use to local readers, one-hundred of which have already subscribed. Offers sympathy for "the new measures pursued by great Britain," in reference to the Boston Port Bill. Hugh Knox's letter to Henry Knox on the subject was written on 4 July 1774 (see GLC02437.00161).

GLC02437.00163

14 July 1774

Wright, & Gill, fl. 1753-1798

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Indicates that they received Knox's payment. In regard to the Boston Port Bill, they write that they "are extremely sorry for the Situation of our Friends at Boston, and heartily wish that every Difference was so far settled, as that a mutual good will and affection might ever subsist between Brittain and her Colonies." Thanks Knox for making Wright & Gill his exclusive stationary supplier. Wright & Gill was a London stationary company operated by Thomas Wright and William Gill.

GLC02437.00164

3 September 1774

Brown, Christopher, fl. 1772-1774

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Reports shipment of publications to Knox from Thomas Longman, with Brown writing on Longman's behalf. Reports that there have been no recent shipments from Boston. Longman was a London bookseller.

GLC02437.00179

6 October 1774

Brown, Christopher, fl. 1772-1774

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Reports shipment of publications to Knox from Thomas Longman, with Brown writing on Longman's behalf. Reports that there have been diminished shipments from Boston. Mentions that parliament dissolved, which may work to America's advantage. Longman was a London bookseller.

GLC02437.00183

9 November 1774

Waldo, Jonathon, fl. 1721-1779

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William Knox

Makes a lengthy, poetic comparison of the reception of Knox's last letter to a lost sailor finding land. Also gives a lengthy explanation for why he has not written sooner and apologizes for being remiss. Continues with a discussion of friendship, love, and beauty. Notes that they have received the resolutions from the First Continental Congress. Offers lofty praise of the virtuous and resolute Bostonians and the American movement for freedom, and denounces the Intolerable Acts and the "Tyranny of Kings." The First Continental Congress ended on 26 October 1774. It had voted to cut off…

GLC02437.00185

19 November 1774

Rivington, James, 1724-1802

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Indicates that he is in desperate need of printing ink and wants Knox to procure it for him. Discusses pricing for Rivington's edition of Lord Chesterfield's Letters, asking Knox to find purchasers immediately because the resolutions for non-importation issued by the first Continental Congress will soon take effect. Mentions that a fire and legislative action have caused a delay in a lottery Knox had a ticket for. Rivington was a bookseller, printer, and journalist who came to America in 1760. He published Rivington's New-York Gazetteer.

GLC02437.00187

1774/06

Broadside

Title: (Boston Covenant). Calling for cessation of all trade with Great Britain

Blank form, leaving empty the name of the town. Calls for a complete cessation of trade with Britain until repeal of the Boston Port Bill.

GLC04071

1774/05/16

Great Britain. Parliament. Boston Port.

Broadsheet

Title: Boston evening post. Supplement [printing Boston Port Act]

Slight text loss to newspaper banner at top.

GLC06743