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Roger Sherman (1721-1793) collection

 Collection
Call Number: MS 447

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, reports, legal records, financial documents and genealogical material of Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Included are both family letters and political correspondence. Of special interest are the letters to Governor Jonathan Trumbull on the relationship of Connecticut to the prosecution of the war (1777-1780). Among Sherman's writings are a report from the Constitutional Convention (1787), a note on the proposal for a national bank (1791) and a printed copy of his Almanac for 1760. Genealogical and other papers assembled by Sherman's grandson, George Frisbie Hoar (1826-1904) are also in the collection. Major correspondents are Oliver Ellsworth, Samuel Hopkins, Titus Hosmer, Samuel Huntington, Stephen Mix Mitchell and William Williams.

Dates

  • 1749-1904

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

In part, transferred from the Baldwin Family Papers (MS 55), and gift of Charles, Hugh, and Rockwood Foster and the estate of Frances Hoar Foster.

Arrangement

The Papers of Roger Sherman (1721-1793) are divided into two parts. The first consists of about two hundred items which were taken from the Baldwin Family Papers. Included here are correspondence for the years 1783-1793, financial records, and a survey map made by Roger Sherman in 1753. A folder list in this register provides an over-all guide to these materials. In addition, each item is individually catalogued in the Manuscripts and Archives catalogue under the heading, Roger Sherman, 1721-1793.

In 1975 Yale University Library acquired the second part, ninety items, as a gift from Charles H. W. Foster, Hugh K. Foster and Rockwood H. Foster. These comprise correspondence for the period 1770-1790, writings, including notes on the Constitution and on proposals for a national bank, a printed almanac compiled by Sherman in 1760, and materials on the Sherman family. An itemized list of these materials is in this register under the title, ROGER SHERMAN COLLECTION, ADDITION.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0447

Additional Description

Abstract

Correspondence, reports, legal records, financial documents and genealogical material of Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Included are both family letters and political correspondence. Of special interest are the letters to Governor Jonathan Trumbull on the relationship of Connecticut to the prosecution of the war (1777-1780). Among Sherman's writings are a report from the Constitutional Convention (1787), a note on the proposal for a national bank (1791) and a printed copy of his Almanac for 1760. Genealogical and other papers assembled by Sherman's grandson, George Frisbie Hoar (1826-1904) are also in the collection. Major correspondents are Oliver Ellsworth, Samuel Hopkins, Titus Hosmer, Samuel Huntington, Stephen Mix Mitchell and William Williams.

Biographical / Historical

Roger Sherman was born in 1721 in Newton, Massachusetts, and early moved to Stoughton, Massachusetts, where he attended the public schools and later learned the shoemaker's trade. He moved to New Milford, Connecticut, in 1743 and became surveyor of New Haven County in 1745. During this period Sherman was engaged in the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1754. He was a member of the Connecticut Assembly in 1755, 1756, 1758-61 and 1764-66. As Justice of the Peace for Litchfield County (1755-1761), he issued the warrant for the arrest of Timothy Hurlburt. He served as judge of the New Haven Superior Court and was a member of the State Senate. He served as Treasurer of Yale College from 1765 to 1776. He was a member of the Continental Congress 1774-1781, 1783, and 1784, and signed the Declaration of Independence as a member of the committee which drafted it. He was also on the committee which drafted the Articles of Confederation, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As such he became the only person to sign all the great American state papers: the Articles of Association, of 1774, the Declaration of Independence of 1776, the Articles of Confederation in 1783, and the Constitution in 1787.

Appendix: Persons Mentioned in the Collection (Part I)

  1. Adams, John, Pres. U.S., 1735-1826
  2. Allen, Benjamin
  3. Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801
  4. Austin, David
  5. Baldwin, Ebenezer, 1790-1837
  6. Baldwin, Simeon, 1761-1851
  7. Barclay, Andrew
  8. Bogert, Rudolph
  9. Brady, James
  10. Butler, Zebulon, 1731-1795
  11. Chauncey, Charles, 1747-1823
  12. Denison, Nathan
  13. Edwards, Pierpont, 1750-1826
  14. Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745-1807
  15. Franklin, John, 1749-1831
  16. Franklin, W.
  17. Gibbs, Henry, 1749-1794
  18. Goodhue, Benjamin, 1748-1814
  19. Gray, Samuel
  20. Guno, Nathan
  21. Hazen, Moses, 1733-1802
  22. Herox, James
  23. Hillhouse, James, 1754-1832
  24. Holmes, Temperance
  25. Howell, Joseph
  26. Humphreys, David, 1752-1818
  27. Huntington, Samuel, 1731-1796
  28. Hurlburt, Timothy
  29. Imlay, William
  30. Johnson, William Samuel, 1727-1819
  31. Lanning, Henry
  32. Leavenworth, Jesse
  33. Leavensworth, I.
  34. Lynde, Joseph
  35. Mallet, Peter
  36. Mason, George, 1725-1792
  37. Mitchell, Justus, 1754-1806
  38. Mix, Jonathan, 1753-1817
  39. Noble, Stephen
  40. North, Charles
  41. Ogden, Robert, 1746-1826
  42. Otis, Samuel Alleyne, 1740-1814
  43. Payne, Col.
  44. Pearson and Glover, firm, New Haven
  45. Prescott, Henry
  46. Safford, Samuel
  47. Sherman, Elizabeth, 1765-1850
  48. Sherman, Elizabeth, 1778-1834
  49. Sherman, Harriet, 1776-1795
  50. Sherman, Isaac, 1753-1819
  51. Sherman, John, 1750-1802
  52. Sherman, Maria, 1774-1857
  53. Sherman, Rebecca (Prescott), 1742-1813
  54. Sherman, Roger, 1721-1793
  55. Sherman, William, 1751-1789
  56. Si1kin, George
  57. Spencer, Joseph
  58. Squiers, Samuel
  59. Strong, aoseph, 1753-1834
  60. Swift, Heman, 1733-1814
  61. Toller, Daniel
  62. Toller, Lazarus
  63. Wales, Nathaniel
  64. Whiting, William Jos.
  65. Whi tman, Mary
  66. Williams, Nathan, 1735-1829
  67. Willis, Roswell
  68. Winched, Azariah
  69. Wooster, David, 1711-1777

Appendix: Persons Mentioned in the Collection (Part II)

IndividiualFolder Number
Adams, Simon, 1722-18037
Ames, Ellis, 1809-188433
Boutwell, George Sewall, 1818-190532
Butler, Zebulon, 1731-179512
Ellery, William, 1727-182010
Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745-18076,8,16
Gerard, Conrad Alexandre, 1729-17906
Griswold, Matthew, 1714-179917
Hoar, George Frisbie, 1826-190429-33
Hosmer, Titus, 1737-17806, 16
Huntington, Samuel, 1731-17969
Jameson, John Franklin, 1859-193729
Jay, John, 1745-18296
Jefferson, Thomas, Pres.U.S., 1743-182611
Johnson, William Samuel, 1727-181817
Lee, Thomas Sim, 1745-181910
Mitchell, Stephen Mix, 1743-183517
Osgood, Samuel, 1747/48-181310
Sherman, Elizabeth, 1765-18501
Sherman, Isaac, 1753-18192
Sherman, Nathaniel, 1724-17973
Sherman, Rebecca (Prescott), 1742-18134
Sherman, William, 1751-178915
Stiles, Ezra, 1727-179511
Trumbull, Jonathan, 1710-17856
Williams, William, 1731-181111
Wolcott, Oliver, 1726-179717

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Roger Sherman (1721-1793) Collection
Status
Under Revision
Author
compiled by Ruth Gay
Date
January 1976
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/
Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)

Location

Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

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