w^in THE EXHIBITIONS AT HARVARD COLLEGE FOUNDED PRIOK TO 1800. ^<& ^UQ 23 1811 J THE EXHIBITIONS AT HARVARD COLLEGE FOUNDED PRIOR TO 1800. BY ANDREW McFARLAND DAVIS. [Reprinted from the N. E. Historical and Genealogical Register for July, 1892.] BOSTON : DAVID CLAPP & SON, PRINTERS, 115 High Street, 1892. '^^xs> V >:} THE EXHIBITIONS OF HARVAED COLLEGE PRIOR TO 1800. The histories of Harvard College all furnish information concern- ing the several funds given to the Coll-ege for the purpose of estab- lishing exhibitions at Cambridge. Eliot gives a tabulated statement which purports to contain all the gifts received by the College down to the year 184^5. This statement was also published in pamphlet form. The exhibitions are not, however, separately collated in any of these publications. There is enough of historical interest con- nected with the early exhibitions to justify the publication of a list composed exclusively of beneficiary trusts for students received by the College prior to 1800, showing the sources whence they came and the specific purposes to which their founders dedicated them, even if such a list should contain but little information that is new. Lady Mowlson Gift. The first scholarship at Harvard was founded in 1643 by Ann Mowlson of London. The money was received by Thomas Weld, Pastor of the Roxbury Church, whose authority in this behalf was derived from the General Court of Massachusetts Bay. The amount of the gift was £100, and payment was made by Weld to the Country Treasurer. Interest on this fund was paid to the College by the Colony until 1685, when for some reason it lapsed; but in 1713 payment of principal and interest was made to the College Treasurer. The College is in possession of a document setting forth over the signa- ture of the founder of this scholarship her purpose in establishing it. By the terms of this document it appears that the yearly revenue of this fund was "according to her good and pious intention" "to be and to remain a perpetual stipend for and towards the perpetual maintenance of some poor scholar who shall be admitted into the said College by the said trustees or the major part of them, which poor scholar is to enjoy the said yearly stipend only until such time as such poor scholar doth attain the degree of a Master of Arts and no longer, and then the said yearly stipend shall by the said trustees be bestowed upon another poor scholar of the said College whom the said trustees shall think best deserving, so the said stipend to go in succession from one poor scholar to another, therefor and towards their yearly maintenance in perpetuum in manner and form as aforesaid." Such facts as are known relative to the history of this scholarship are published in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society for October, 1887. It is unquestionably the oldest and most interesting foundation of the kind in this country. Its age would entitle it to respect even in England.* It is unfortunate that no information as to the founder has been obtained; and it must be regarded as somewhat remarkable that from the day of its foundation to the present time, fate seems to have determined that the Lady Mowlson scholarship should not have an inde- pendent existence-t John Glover Fund. In 1653, John Glover of Boston left to "Har- vard College at Cambridge for and towards the maintenance of a Fellow there, five pounds a year forever." It is stated in the Treasurer's Report that this annuity is accumulating. Edward Hopkins Bequest. In 1657, Edward Hopkins, Governor of Connecticut, left a sum of money " for the breeding up of hopeful youths both at the Grammar School and College for the public service of the Colony in future times." This bequest has figured in the courts, both sides of the ocean, but is now in the hands of trustees and the College receives a part of the income from it.| Its history has been repeatedly published. * Since the publication of the paper in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, entitled " The first Scholarship at Harvard College," I have been watchful for anything which might help me in identifying Lady Mowlson. I found in Brown's Genesis of the United States that Thomas Moulson was present, April 15, 1614, at the Court of Assistants of the Grocers' Company. The fact that the name is not a common one, and that it occured in connection with American ventures, led me to the conclusion that the reference was worth preserving. Mr. John Ward Dean has kindly called my attention to the fact tliat Sir Thomas Moulson, Lord Mayor of London in 1634, was knighted at Greenwich on the 1st of June in that year. Through his assistance I am able to trace in the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1633-6, enough of the career of Sir Thomas to disclose the fol- lowing facts. In March, 1634, the Lord Mayor of London died. Thomas Moulson, at that time an alderman, was chosen " to succeed in that government." After his term of office as Lord Mayor was completed, he again served as alderman. His name appears in reports to the Council, and communications to him are to be found, from the hands of the Commis- sioners of Pious Uses and from the King. In Fuller's Worthies of England, Nuttall's Edition, 1840, vol. i., p. 282, Moulson is classified as a native of Cheshire and it is there stated that " this Thomas Moulson founded a fair school in the town where he was born," and in a note Nuttall states that " he founded a chapel at Hargrave-Stubbs and endowed it with 40 1. a year. He also endowed a school adjoining with 20 1." Nuttall refers to Lyson's Cheshire for his authority. Turning to this volume, which is the second part of the second volume of Lyson's Magna Britannia, we find references to Sir Thomas on pages 400 and 798. The school which he founded was "for the government, education, and instruction of youth in grammar and virtue." He directed " the overplus of rents arising from certain lands, then by him given, to be applied to the relief of such poor persons as the majority of the feoffees shall think fit." The name is generally spelt Moulson, but it occurs once in the Calendar of State Papers " Mowlson." It appears in the list of Sheriffs/or London and Middlesex, given in Fuller's Worthies, vol. ii., p. 407. 21. James I. These facts bring before us a successful merchant and a public-spirited man, whom his fellow citizens delighted to honor. His interest in American aflTairs which led him to be present at the meeting of the Court of Assistants of the Grocers' Companj'- has brought his name into an American book published nearly three centuries after the meeting in question. He recognized his obligations to his fellow men and sought to provide for the welfare of posterity out of the fortune which he had accumulated. Is there any connection between Lady Ann Mowlson, the London widow, who in 1643 founded the first scholarship at Harvard, and Sir Thomas Moulson, Lord Mayor of London and founder of the school at Hargrave-Stubbs ? This question can be easily answered by British antiquaries. t Newgate Annuity. An annuity left by John Newgate in 1650, although by its terms not an exhibition, was often treated as such by the College authorities. J Allusions to this Bequest, more or less elaborate, will be found in many of the general histories. Quincy gives some details in his History of Harvard College. For further par- "flOlllRl'S SPG * N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., vol. 38, pp. 315, 316. A Brief Account of the Funds that came from the Estate of Edward Hopkins from the Report of the School Committee of Cambridge for the year 1885. Cambridge, 1886. [Pre- pared by John Lewis Hildreth.] An Account of the Trust administered by the Trustees of the Charity of Edward Hopkins, by Charles Pickering Bowditch. Privately printed, 1889. Trumbull's Connecticut. Vol. I. Appendix. John Doderidge Annuity. In 1659, John Doderidge by will, duly proved at London, England, left an annuity to the College. The clause in the will relating to the exhibition is as follows: " Also I give and bequeath unto ye College in New England towards ye maintenance of scholars there, ye yearly sum of ten pounds to be forever offering and going forth out of my said Rectory of Fremington in ye County of Devon." This annuity was paid until 1685. In 1720, steps were taken to test the legal rights of the College. This was the cause of considerable ex- penditure of money without return of any sort. In 1737, the quest was abandoned as hopeless by advice of Counsel. Robert Ketne House. In 1659, Robert Keyne of Boston left to the College a legacy of £100 and ''also the one moiety or halfe part of a house situate in Boston near to the old meeting house vallued at one hundred and forty five pound ten shillings." This house was sold to Col. Paige, July 8, 1696, for £100. The testator's desire was that the bequest should be " improved and used for the use and help of poor and hopeful scholars " ; but he left the disposal of the property to the discretion of the " President, Trustees and Overseers." The income was frequently dis- tributed among poor scholars. Henry Webb Legacy. In 1660, Henry Webb left the College by will a house in Boston, " the rent to be forever for the maintenance of some poor scholars or otherwise for the best good of the College." He also left £50 to be invested in pasture ground or a house, the yearly income of which was to be applied to the same ends. The house stood where Little, Brown & Co.'s book store now stands. The property still belongs to the College. The liberal character of the foundation leaves the application of the income of the fund entirely under the control of the College authorities. It may be that more useful applica- tion can be made of this income than in the establishment of ordinary scholarships; yet it would seem that a suitable recognition of the liberal founder of this trust would require the association of his name with some scholarship, so that it might be spread upon the pages of the Catalogue each year as a permanent record of the gratitude of the College. William Pennoyer Scholarships. The will of William Pennoyer, through which the College was put in possession of an annuity, of which it still receives the benefit, was executed in 1670. The income is for the benefit of " two fellows and two scholars," one of them to be of the posterity of Robert Pennoyer as often as occasion shall present; the other to be of New Haven Colony if conveniently may be. When the clause in the will containing these provisions was transcribed for the aid of the College authorities in assigning these scholarships, an error of chirography served to puzzle the College fathers for nearly fifty years. The phrase in the original will, " the other the Colony of now or of late called New Haven," became when transcribed " the other the Colony of Nox or of late called New Haven." The history of this curious error, so far as it may be gathered from the records of the College, may be found in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society for April, 1887. A description of the scholarship will be found in the College catalogue. Elder Pen Annuity. In 1671, Elder Pen left an annuity of £10 per annum for poor scholars at the College, but neither the funds nor the distribution were under the control of the Corporation. 6 Richard Bellingham Reversionary Interest. In 1672, Richard Bellingham left a reversionary interest which was to be administered " to be an annual encouragement to some godly ministers who may be such who shall be by my trustees judged faithful to those principles in Chh. discipline which are owned and pracitzed in ye first chh of Christ in Boston of which I am a member, a main one whereof is that all ecclesiasticall jurisdiction is coriiitted by Christ to each particular organical Chh., from which there is no appeal, visible saintship being the matter, and express covenanting ye form of ye Chh." The third instruction which he gave to the trustees was as follows : " That four or six, more or less, young students be brought up for ye ministry as the estate will bear." A copy of this will has been preserved ; but no mention of the College having reaped any benefit from its provisions appears in the records. Richard Russell Bequest. In 1679, Richard Russell of Charles- town executed a will which contained the following clause : " To Harvard College in Cambridge I do give and bequeath one hundred pounds and my last will is that it shall be improved for (the) purchase of some real estate or otherwise so as to bring in an annual revenue and the principal revenue shall be allowed to two poor students that may need the same, for their furtherance in good literature, and before payment thereof, security shall be given my executors for the fulfilling my will in this relation to the content of my overseers." Of this legacy £31 13s. 4d. was received in provisions, and for many years the balance figured in the College accounts as a debt due the College. No mention is made in the records of know- ledge of any trust being attached to this partial payment. Samuel Ward Legacy. In 1681, Samuel Ward left Bumkin Island to the College. " His mind" was, according to the will, that the income derived from the island should be applied " for the easement of the charges of the dyet of the students that are in commons." This island, which is situated in Boston Harbor, is still owned by the College. Browne Scholarship. In 1681, William Brown of Salem bequeathed £100 to the College for the bringing up of poor scholars. William Brown is described in the Catalogue as the founder of this scholarship to which subsequent contributions were made by Benjamin Brown, Major William Brown and Col. Samuel Brown. These will be referred to in detail in chronological sequence. Nathaniel Hulton Gift. In 1691, Nathaniel Hulton of Newing- ton Greene wrote to Increase Mather as follows: "It is my resolution to give one hundred pounds, I say £100, which is as much as I can do considering my estate and the many poor relations I have, and this £100 I do wholly and absolutely leave to you to lay it out upon something that will bring in a yearly revenue forever, and that upon a true title that will last, and as soon as you have found a place you may charge me with £100 sterling money, and I shall pay it if I be alive, or if I be (lead I will take care to leave order that it be paid when you charge j(; " * * * a I leave it wholly to you to lay it out and have ye income shall be bestowed so as may do most good." Hulton executed a codicil to his will to the following effect : " I give and bequeath to Mr. Increase Mather Minister of ye Gospel in New England ye sum of one hundred pounds lawful money of England for ye use of ye College of which he is President." At a meeting of the Corporation held June 1, 1709, it was proposed by Mr. Increase Mather that one of his son Walter's children might have the benefit of the above legacy while at the College, which was assented to. The fund was treated for many years as an exhibi- tion fund.* Sewall Scholarships. In 1696, Hon. Samuel Sewall of Boston, and his wife, gave the College a farm in the Naragansett Country, the income thereof to be appropriated to the support and education of youths of in- sufficient means, those from Petaquamscot, if any, to be preferred. These scholarships are described in the Catalogue. Stoughton Scholarship. In 1703, William Stoughton left to the College by will twenty-three acres of pasture land and four acres of marsh land in Dorchester, the yearly income to be for the benefit of some Dor- chester scholars ; if none such are at the College, then to some Milton scholar, and in want of such to any well deserving that is needy. This scholarship is described in the Catalogue. Captain Richard Sprague Bequest. In 1703, Captain Eichard Sprague of Charlestown left £400 to Harvard College, to be disposed of for the benefit and advantage of the Corporation, according to the direction of Vice President Willard, John Leverett, Rev. William Brattle and Rev. Simon Bradstreet. In 1726, Bradstreet, being then the only survivor of the trustees, resigned his power of disposing of the donation, into the hands of the honored and reverend Corporation of Harvard College. This be- quest, although not specifically an exhibition, was so administered for many years. Benjamin Brown Bequest. In 1708, Benjamin Brown bequeathed two hundred pounds for the support of poor scholars, preference to be given to Salem scholars. This bequest is included in the Catalogue under the scholarship described as the Browne scholarship. Thomas Brattle Bequest. In 1713, Thomas Brattle bequeathed £200 " towards the maintenance of some Master of Arts and especially of such a one as is best skilled in mathematics and shall by all proper methods endeavor the improvement thereof; as by reading and teaching the same and making observations and communicating them to the learned abroad as in some manner I have done, respect and preference being ever- more given to such as shall be akin by blood unto me above and before all others."! Major William Brown Bequest. In 1716, Major William Brown, second brother to Benjamin Brown, bequeathed £100, the income to be used to help support his descendants while students at the College; if none there, then to help maintain poor scholars from Salem. This bequest is included under the scholarship described in the Catalogue as the Browne scholarship. * Major John Richards Bequest. In 1694, Major John Richards bequeathed to Har- vard College £100 •' the yearly profit to be towards the maintenance of poor scholars at the discretion of the President and Fellows for the time being." In Treasurer Brattle's statement for 1696 this legacy appears as a debt due the College, but inasmuch as no men- tion is ever made of the bequest among the annual exhibitions it is not probable that it was ever collected. + Thomas Richari>s Legacy. Quincy (Vol. II. p. 526) classifies a legacy of Thomas Richards in 1714 among the exhibitions. The following is the language of the will: •* Item I give to Harvard CoUedge Thirty Pounds." 8 Rev. William Brattle Bequest. In 1717, William Brattle be- queathed £250 " with this proviso and in expectation and confidence that said President and Fellows and whosoever shall succeed or come in their stead and room for the improvement and use of said money, do, will and shall take effectual care forever that £15 annually be disposed of to one or more of students at ye discretion and pleasure of said President and Fellows unless said student or students be nominated and appointed by some of my kindred related to me by blood." There is another clause in the will in which he gives to the College £250, " with the same purpose and proviso that are before mentioned in this will with respect to my former legacy to said College." The College apparently received £250 under this will.* Col. Samuel Brown Gift. In 1720, Col. Samuel Brown gave £150 to be used for the support of poor students. This gift is included in the " Browne Scholarship " described in the Catalogue. HoLLis Scholarship. The remittances of Thomas Hollis to Harvard College began in 1719. By his correspondence it appears that his sole purpose at first was to assist poor and pious young men in their studies for the ministry. When in February, 1720-21, he founded the Professorship of Divinity, he provided in the same instrument for one exhibition of ten pounds a year for a student for the ministry and for the division of the surplus income into as many more exhibitions of ten pounds each as the annual income would bear. The details concerning these scholarships were more thoroughly fixed in 1722 and are given in the Hollis Statute, recorded in the Hollis Book. "Dunces, Rakes and persons reasonably judged able to maintain them- selves " are there declared " not fit to partake of this bounty." The scholar- ship is described in the Catalogue. Rev. Henry Gibbs Legacy. In 1722, Rev. Henry Gibbs of Water- town left a legacy of £100 to the College, " The yearly interest to be exhibited to such members of the College as need it, firstly to my children's posterity if they desire it." Capt. Ephraim Flynt Bequest. In 1723, Capt. Ephraim Flynt bequeathed £100 to Harvard College "to be applied at the discretion of ye Corporation yt is to say ye income thereof to ye benefit of ye scholars there who are studious, well disposed and want help." Thomas Danforth Gift. In 1724, Thomas Danforth made the following communication to the Corporation: "To Harvard College on the condition hereafter named I do give, and when they have a President settled will confirm by deed, these three tenements at Framingham etc. etc. to have and hold ye same forever to their only use and behoof. The con- ditions are as followeth: i.e. 1. That the Annual Rents shall be for the support of such students as * Mrs. HrxcHixsox Gift axd Johx Wallet Legacy. Quincy [Vol. II. p. 526] classifies a gift of £10 by the widow of Eliakim Hutcbinson and a legacy of £100 by John Walley among the exhibitions. Hutchinson died in 1717. For several years previous to his death he had annually given the College £10. In 1718 the same amount was received from his widow. Leverett records the fact that "the President asked her whether she was pleased to give him any directions about the disposition of it, she said no, and so left it with him." The terms prescribed for the disposition of Walley's legacy were " for the use of two scholars £15 per annum for three years after taking their first degree, £10 towards the charge of their second degree." Of course these assignments could not be made from the income of this bequest. shall from time to time use and improve one of the studies in ye new lodgings erected by Mr. Stoughton. 2. That ye nomination of said person shall be by my heirs resident in ye Province. 3. That such student shall be exempt from paying study rent and detriment. 4. If such lodgings shall not be from time to time got and kept in good repair, or if any prelatical injunction shall be imposed on said Society, yt in such case my gift shall revert to my heirs. I shall advise of a meet form for such an instrument as soon as a Col- lege is gathered." In a codicil to his will Danforth left these leases to the College "on such conditions as I shall name." Beginning with the year 1730, the Danforth or Framingham leases figure regularly in the list of exhibitions. For many years no single ex- hibition on the list equalled this in value. In 1806 in a list of exhibitions for sundry legacies and donations amounting to $5,016.66, this appears as one. Anne Mills Legacy. In 1725, Mrs. Anne Mills left the College a legacy of £50, " which fifty pounds my will is should be improved towards ye bringing up of such scholars as shall most need it." This fund figured as an exhibition for many years. Saltonstall Scholarships. In 1730, Madam Mary Saltonstall, widow of Gov. Gurdon Saltonstall of Connecticut, bequeathed to the Col- lege £1000, the income of which was to be given to two persons without means, of bright parts and good diligence (always dissenters) to fit them for the Church of Christ ; those related to the giver by consanguinity to be preferred. These scholarships are described in the Catalogue. Col. Samuel Brown Bequest. In 1731, Col. Samuel Brown, the same who in 1720 gave £150 for an exhibition, bequeathed his estate in Hopkinton, the income thereof to be used for bringing up poor scholars, those recommended by his posterity to be preferred. This bequest is included in the scholarship described in the Catalogue as the Browne Scholarship. Nathaniel Hollis Gift. January 27, 1731-2, Nathaniel Hollis transmitted £350 in Province Bills to give an exhibition for two more scholarships subject to the same rules and orders as the ten established by his late brother, Thomas Hollis. " What I chiefly intend is yt they be both Indian students, now and at all times if they can be had; but if not I leave yt to ye College to fill up with such persons as they judge piously inclined, useful to ye ministry." Described in the Catalogue under Hollis Scholarship. Dorothy Saltonstall Scholarships. In 1733, Dorothy Saltonstall bequeathed £300, the interest thereof to be employed yearly for the bene- fit of two poor scholars according to the discretion of the President and Fellows of said College for the time being. These scholarships are de- scribed in the Catalogue. Thomas Fitch Legacy. In 1737, the College received a legacy of £300 from Hon. Thomas Fitch " for the education of scholars of good capacity for the work of the ministry." This was treated as an exhibition. 10 President Wadsworth's Charity Bag. In 1737, President Wads- worth bequeathed out of the money in his charity bag £110, "six pounds of the annual income thereof to be for the support of some poor scholar or scholars residing at the College (tho to no dunce or rake) at the dis- cretion of the Corporation. And if any relative to me by blood should be at the College and need, I would have such one preferred." John Ellert Bequest. In 1738, £150, old tenor, was left by John Ellery " for the maintenance of any of the students that may stand in need of such help." This legacy was treated as an exhibition and appears upon the annual lists in the records for many years. Daniel Henchman Gifts. In April, 1742, Daniel Henchman gave the College 100 oz. of silver, the annual income to be added to the salary of the Hollisian Professor of Divinity. In October of the same year, he gave £150 for the same purpose. It was to be applied in this way so long as the Professor should be a man of the Congregational or Presbyterian Church and would profess and teach the principles of the Christian religion, according to the well known confession of faith drawn up by a synod of the churches in New England. Failing either of these points, it was to be used for the benefit of some deserving student of said College whose parents should not be able to bear the charges of his public education and who should also be approved by the pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, for the time being, preference being given to a child of Boston. In 1758, Henchman also gave JC66 13s. 4d., the interest of which was to be given to the Hollis Professor of Mathematics. President Holtoke Gift and Legacy. In 1743, President Hol- yoke gave £100 old tenor to the College, the income to be for the use of. the College until further directions were given for the disposal of the same. By his will he left £13 6s. 8d. lawful money, " the income at present as the Corporation shall see meet, but my will is that when at any time here- after there shall be one or more related to me by consanguinity, shall be a member or members of said College, the income of this my bequest as also of that gift which I gave the College about two and twenty years ago, viz. one hundred pounds O. T. shall be given to such relative or relatives of mine, if they shall stand in need or want thereof, such want to be judged by the corporation of said College." Henry Flynt Bequest. In 1760, Henry Flynt, the venerable tutor, bequeathed £700 old tenor, or £93 6s. 8d. lawful money, the annual in- come to be for the four senior tutors as an addition to their salaries. He also left a legacy of £112 10s. old tenor or fifty Spanish dollars, "the yearly interest to be paid to one or more needy scholars who are diligent and virtuous at the discretion of the Corporation. My relatives of the blood to have the preference." These bequests are recognized in the Treasurer's report. Rev. Dr. Joseph Sewall Gift. In 1765, Rev. Dr. Joseph Sewall gave £20 lawful money. Mr. Hubbard informed the Corporation that Dr. Sewall signified to him that he desired the income of this donation should be disposed of to needy scholars. Rev. Dr. Appleton Gift. In 1772, Rev. Dr. Appleton gave to the President and Fellows of Harvard College £30 lawful money, " desiring and expecting the annual interest thereof be every year exhibited to some 11 well deserving student at the College, whose circumstances shall need such charitable assistance; and whenever any of my posterity shall be at the College that they shall have the benefit of this donation if their parents or guardians shall desire it; and this donation is instead of ye legacy given to said College in my last will and testament." Notwithstanding this last clause, the College received in 1784, £26 from the estate of Dr. Appleton for the same purpose. The clause under which this was taken was as follows : " I give to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the interest thereof to be by them given to some poor but well deserving scholar agreeable to my directions with respect to a former donation to said corporation." Mary Lindall Legacy. Mary Lindall by will, proved June 17, 1776, left the College £100, "the interest to be by them applied and annually exhibited to such scholar or scholars at said College of good character whose circumstances call for such charitable assistance, and that the preference be always to such who shall be related to me by blood, and in want of such to some scholar or scholars of the town of Salem." This legacy was paid in 1812. Alford Scholarship. Joanna Alford in 1785 bequeathed £100 sterling to the College, the income to be appropriated for the education of those students who are under low and indigent circumstances. This scholarship is described in the Catalogue.* It would be interesting to pursue the study of these exhibitions to a later date ; but the beginning of a new century nearly coinci- dent with a change in the form of government of the country fur- nishes a suitable stopping place. When the College was founded, and for nearly a century and a half thereafter, the accounts were kept in single entry. During this period, annual assignments were made of the specific income of the several scholarships, and the lives of these scholarships can be traced through the records. When the system of double entry book-keeping was adopted, the existing exhibitions of which the Treasurer had any knowledge were bunched in a single account termed the " Exhibition Account " ; and there- after their history was consigned to the oblivion of that account. Some of them have since been rescued and re-instated upon separate bases. The majority survive only in the general account. It is a satisfaction to be able to state that I have been able to trace into the exhibition account all the gifts or legacies mentioned in the foregoing list which can properly be defined as exhibitions, and payment of which to the College can clearly be shown, with the exception of the Lady Mowlson Scholarship and the Richard Russell Bequest, f In the case of the former, the fact that the College treasurer was not made the custodian of the fund until seventy years * West Boston Bridge Appropriation. When the West Boston Bridge was estab- lished the Legislature provided that the annuity granted the College for the revocation of its vested rights in the Charlestown ferry should be appropriated towards "defraying the tuition of indigent scholars, or for the reducing the expense of tuition to all the other scholars." The terms of this enactment were altered a few years thereafter. t I ought perhaps to add that I have made no effort to follow the Mary Lindall legacy, as it "was not paid till 1812. 12 after the foundation of the scholarship furnishes an explanation for the evident ignorance of the College officers of the conditions at- tached to the gift.* In the latter case, it may be inferred from the absence of any allusion in the records to the intention of Russell to found an exhibition, that the College treasurer was ignorant of the terms of the will. The partial payment of which we have knowledge was apparently the only payment made to the College. If it is unfortunate that the titles of any of these foundations should be lost from sight, still it must be a source of congratulation that the funds have survived the extraordinary fluctuations to which investments of that period were exposed. Eliot, in a memorandum following his entry of Thomas Brattle's bequest, referring to his attempt at ex- pressing the value of the gifts in sterling and in currency, says : "At this period began the depreciation of the currency of the Province, in consequence of the issue of bills of credit by the government. Specie disappeared, and the bills increased in num- ber and diminished in value till after 1750, when a large sum in silver was received from England to reimburse the expenses of the colony in the French War, and formed a sufficient basis of circula- tion till the Revolution, The rate of depreciation is adopted gener- ally on the authority of Mr. Felt : though memoranda in the Col- lege records and some private sources of information have been con- sulted, and occasionally followed. Probably prices in the money market were not so definite as they would have been in a larger and more wealthy community ; and the rates here given must be con- sidered as generally rather than universally correct." This crisis was by no means the most perilous of the hazards which current investments of that day had to meet. After having passed through the time when they were tested as to value by * An examination of the paper on the Lady Mowlson Scholarship, printed in the Pro- ceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, to which reference has been made, will show that the College fund amounting to £162 16. 4. in the hands of the Treasurer of the Province, was, in the latter part of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century, invariably spoken of as consisting of gifts to the CoUese. It is evident that the Overseers did not then have knowledge of the existence of the document from which quotation has been made in the text, nor were they conscious that the Magistrates of the Colony had in 1655 dissented from the conclusion of the Deputies to pay the same over to the College, on the express ground that the Lady Mowlson gift was for the establishment of scholarships. Both these points will appear from an examination of the record of an Overseers' meeting held at Cambridge, July 25, 1712, taken from the Leverett Book, in which record the fund is spoken of as a donation, and in which it is stated that two memorials, referring probably to recent petitions, had been preferred to the General Court. The following is Leverett's account of the meeting in question : •' The President represented to the Overseers that there was the sum of £162. 16. 4. due being the donation of the Lady Moulson &c. to the College, due from the Countrev ; that the Countrey had oblig'd themselves to pay the College £15 P. annum in Countrev pay for ye Interest of the sd sura of £162. 16. 4 so long as it remained in the Publick Treasury, that ye sum of £15 had been so paid unto the year 1685. That the Principal and Interest had bin detained from the College unto this day, and that tho the Treasurer of the College by the order of the Corporation had twice prefer'd a memorial in behalf of the College to the General Court of the Province, and moved that the Overseers wil be pleased to take the matter into their consideration and advise what is to be done in the premisses. The Overseers were pleased to view the College records, by which it seemed to be evid't that such a sum was due, and they were of opinion that the Countrey w*d be obliged in Justice to produce a discharge for the said sum or to pay the principall with the Interest in arrear. But the Secretary was desired to search the Countrey records that what light they afford might be produced, if further sh'd be demanded, w'ch he was pleased to undertake." 13 examining whether they were payable in bills of old or new tenor, in lawful money or in sterling, they were exposed to the conditions of a currency which may be measured by the titles of the following accounts coexistent on the books of the Harvard College Treasurer : Paper Currency, Continental Loan Certificates, Bills on France, Difference of Exchange, Depreciation Notes, Bills of New Emission and Bills of Old Emission. As if to add to the confusion of affairs, it is difficult to say what was the real currency unit in use in the country. Contributions to a subscription circulated in 1766 were made payable in Guineas, Dollars, Joannes, Spanners, Pounds and Shillings. The Exhibition Account still figures in the Treasurer's report. The amount to the credit of the Account in recent reports is between nine and ten thousand dollars. It is an open question whether it would not be more in accordance with the general policy of the Col- lege with reference to gifts, if it should distribute this fund, or the greater part of it, crediting such exhibitions as may be supposed to have lost their identity through its establishment with proportionate amounts, and leaving them to accumulate until they can be used for beneficiary purposes. It would seem as if some of these accounts have a right to separate existence on the books of the College. If, for instance, it should be concluded that the Lady Mowlson Scholar- ship is to be found in the Exhibition Account, it would be an easy matter to revive it by name. If, however, it should be determined that this Scholarship was never covered into that Account, then an appeal might be made to some of the wealthy alumni to furnish the funds for the establishment of a scholarship of that name. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 029 892 544 8