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Signers of the Declaration of Independence Collection
Notifications
Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The collection contains one or more letters and/or documents of each of thirty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence. Among those represented in the collection are John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Francis Hopkinson, Thomas Jefferson, Arthur Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Rush, James Wilson, and John Witherspoon. Included are several signed paper shilling notes issued by the colonies and the Provincial Congress.
From the Collection of John W. Garrett.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
In 2022, restrictions on the Button Gwinnett document and the Thomas Jefferson letter where researchers were required to use surrogates were lifted as part of a restrictions review project.
No appraisal information is available.
Organization
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2008
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
ALS to Samuel Huntington, President of Congress, 1781 July 11; ALS (Xerox) to Charles I. Ingersol; 1812 July 17; ALS to Rev. Jedediah Morse; 1822 March 2; signatures of Adams and Gerry Elbridge, undated
Physical Description1 folder
ADS, Resolution in the House of Representatives leading to the institution of a Committee of Correspondence, 1773 May 27
Physical Description1 folder
Order to the Treasury, signed by Bartlett as President (governor) of the State of New Hampshire, 1790 June 19; Order to the Treasury, signed by Bartlett as President (governor) of the State of New Hampshire, 1783 June 20; account sheet for expenses owed Barlett by the State of New Hampshire, 1787 February.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Jonathan Hudson, 1779 October 6.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to unknown (recipient illegible), 1779 May 31; check signed by Caroll, 1810 December 20; ALS to "Sir," 1826 May 6
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Thomas Johnson, 1777 September 13; ALS to Thoroughgood Smith, 1897 March 17; ALS to George Warfield, undated; page of notes, undated; two engravings of Chase, one from 1890.
Physical Description1 folder
ANS, 1770 May 10.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS from "E. Clymer", 1797; ANS, agreement between George Clymer and Samuel Meredith, 1800 June 6; ANS, agreement between George and Henry Clymer, 1802 September 7; ALS to Henry "Harry" Clymer, 1785.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Ray Greene, 1794 August 16; ALS to Thomas Arnold, 1794 October 15.
Physical Description1 folder
ADS, "The Commissioners from the United States are extremely concerned to understand that the Courts of Spain and France are offended with said states . . .,"1777 November 21, signed by Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to "My dearest Life," 1797 September 18; ALS, handwritten copy of a letter to "Honble Mr Granger," 1813 June 26; TDS, receipt for $56.23 worth of interest on stocks, 1790 July 7
Physical Description1 folder
DS (Xerox), contract between Gwinett and John Neufville, 1774 July 8; ANS (Xerox), memos regarding the agreement between Neufville, 1775 October 8 - 1777 November 29
Physical Description1 folder
ANS to Lt. John Meanly, 1783 September 20; ALS to General Green, 1783 February 24.
Physical Description1 folder
DS, Congressional appointment of James Moore to the position of Ensign, 1776 November 21.
Physical Description1 folder
Fifteen shilling note, 1776 February 20; six shilling note, 1776 March 25.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Robert R. Livingston, 1776 August 17; ALS to James Hogg, 1788
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Nathaniel Appleton, 1780 October 18.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Thomas Pinckney, 1793 April 26.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Thomas Nelson, 1781 October 9; ALS to "His Excellency the..." (rest cut off), 1784 December 24.
Physical Description1 folder
ADS regarding the case of William Earl of Stirling vs. Lucas Billy, New Jersey Supreme Court, 1766 December 17.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph of Lynch (and Xerox), undated.
Physical Description1 folder
On front, ALS to from John Donnaldson, 1800 October 15; on inside, ALS from McKean to "Gentlemen," undated.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to unknown recipient, 1783 May 22; ALS to "Mr. Otto, Chargé des Affaires de New York" 1786 November 19; ALS to unknown recipient1795 March 12.
Physical Description1 folder
ADS, Recognizance for John Dicks and John Taylor, 1761 November 26; Recognizance for Thomas Pheanix, 1763 June 22; ADS with the results of an Inquisition into William Shearer's property, 1769 January 2; ALS (2 Xeroxes), from Morton to unknown recipient, 1769 August 22; Two two-shilling notes, 1772 April 2-3; ADS (original and 4 Xeroxes),appointment of Robert Curry to Second Lieutenant, 1776 July 9; ADS, Indenture between John and Sophia Morton, and Isaac Updike, 1783 March 20; portrait of Morton, 1879; "Liberty: A Magazine of Religious Freedom," 1926; ALS from Gordon Guptill to Charles Terry regarding the purchase of Morton materials, 1927 January 28; Signature of Morton, undated.
Physical Description1 folder
ANS to James Hickley
Physical Description1 folder
DS, Receipt for Interest on Stocks, 1791 October 10.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS, Recpient unknown, 1773 October 25.
Physical Description1 folder
DS of expenses paid to Edward Shipper. 1765 March 10.
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Thomas Jefferson, 1792 January 26; ALS to Robert Stockton, 1793 January 8
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to "my dear Friend".
Physical Description1 folder
ADS for the "Surveyor of Charles County," 1782 March 18, with addenda on reverse dated 1785.
Physical Description1 folder
ANS for the payment of ￡60 to the Justices of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, 1776 September 14; ANS, receipt, 1778 January 21.
Physical Description1 folder
ADS to John Lawrence of the Colony of Connecticut, 1769 May 4.
Physical Description1 folder
ADS, Agreement between Wilson and Robert Martin et al., 1794 April 3; ALS to George Woods, 1794 June 7; ADS binding Wilson to pay George Eddy and Ebinizer Bowman a sum of ￡3,280, 1794 June 14, with separate envelope; ADS, agreement between Wilson and Jeremiah Jackson, 1795 July 9; ALS (Xerox) to Mr. Pollock, 1779 February 3; portrait of James Wilson, 1890; a copy of the same portrait; ANS to Jacob Zoll, undated;
Physical Description1 folder
ALS to Rev. Nesbit, 1767 May 25; ANS, receipt for exchange between Witherspoon and Elias Woodruff, 1780 May 1.
Physical Description1 folder
ANS, May 7, 1762; ANS, list of expenses, 1786 March 9
Physical Description1 folder