Moody Kent Papers, 1779-1865

Title:

Moody Kent Papers, 1779-1865

Creator:

Kent, Moody, 1779-1866

Creator Role:

Author

Accession / Call Number:

2024.014

Object ID:

2024.014

Date:

1779-1865

Physical Description:

8 boxes ; 3.13 linear feet

Scope and Content:

The Moody Kent Papers consist of Kent's writings: his autobiography; biographies of people he knew; copies/drafts of his outgoing letters; "memoranda" (diary entries); poems; and a variety of essay-like pieces and notes. Some are bound, either sewn together with string or hard-bound, and he indexed many of the biographies, letters, and diary entries. The biographical writings and "memoranda" are of particular interest, for they are gossip-like: frank and sometimes very detailed. He describes how he knows people, their appearance, intelligence, childhood, education, occupation and whether or not the subject does it well, moral and mental strengths or weaknesses, and manner of death. He pays attention to wives, sisters, and daughters as well as the male who is usually the main subject. He spent the winter of 1835 in Washington, DC, and the memoranda for that period is a detailed record of his travels (places he stayed, people he met) and describes a "levee" at the "president's house," socializing with Daniel Webster and his family, visiting sessions of the senate, congress, and supreme court. He describes the appearance and personalities of officials he observed and expresses opinions about their competence. This collection also includes two wills, neither of which were in effect at the time of his death. His essays about "Insanity," "The Poor," and unhappy people who died in poverty, alone, or estranged from family are short indexed biographies in which, as in his other biographical writings, he describes as much about the people as he knows and ruminates on what happened to cause such unfortunate ends. The dates of the collection cover both the dates the material was written and the dates of the content of the writing.

Subjects:

Autobiography , Biography , Businessmen , Correspondence , Diaries , Education , Essays , Financial futures--United States , Genealogy , Law , Lawyers , Mental illness , Poetry , Poverty , Railroads , Real property , Shakers , Taxation , Travel

Locations:

Concord, NH
Maine
New York, NY
Pembroke, NH
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC

People:

Kent, Moody, 1779-1866 , Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852

Organizations:

United States. Congress. House
United States. Congress. Senate
United States. Supreme Court

Credit Line:

Gift of Paul Gaddis.

Restrictions:

Available for research.

Level Description:

Collection