Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Gentleman’S Companion. New York City. In 1870, Anonymous, Paul Royster (Depositor)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

This is a pocket-sized guide to the prostitution industry or sex trade in New York City in 1870--a directory of its brothels, barrooms, and houses of assignation. It is a remarkable record of the demimonde in the post-Civil War city that housed an estimated 20,000 prostitutes.

In the following pages some shadows, dirt spots, and microfilm scratches have been removed, but the text remains unaltered. The pagination appears unorthodox in places due to interpolated advertisements for various establishments.

A copy of the work held in the New-York Historical Society is reprinted online with commentary at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/documents/a-vest-pocket-guide-to-brothels-in-19th-century-new-york-for-gentlemen-on-the-go?mcubz=0

One is impressed not …

Two Biographical Sketches Of Gabriel Furman, The Faust Club Of Brooklyn, William Gowans, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

The following two biographical sketches of Gabriel Furman (1800–1854) appeared in the reprint edition of Notes, Geographical and Historical, Relating to the Town of Brooklyn, on Long-Island published in 1865 by the Faust Club of Brooklyn. The first is by the (unidentified) editor and compiler of that volume; the second is by the publisher and bookseller William Gowans.

Gabriel Furman was a Brooklyn lawyer, judge, and state senator, and an eminent scholar, book collector, compiler, and antiquarian. He led an eccentric and solitary life, and died in poverty, the victim, some said, of an opium addiction.

His published works consisted …

"Introduction" And "Notes" To 1845 Gowans Edition Of Daniel Denton's A Brief Description Of New-York (1670), Gabriel Furman, Daniel Denton, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Furman’s introduction and notes to Daniel Denton’s A Brief Description of New York (1670) are less an attempt to elucidate that original work than an occasion for disquisitions on a variety of subjects; not, however, without their own charm and intrinsic interest.

Gabriel Furman (1800-1854) was a Brooklyn lawyer, justice, and state senator, as well as an antiquarian, collector, and lecturer. He published Notes, Geographical and Historical Relative to the Town of Brooklyn in 1824, and was a lifelong compiler of research, manuscripts, and documents, many of which were edited for publication after his death as Antiquities of Long Island …

David Cusick’S Sketches Of Ancient History Of The Six Nations (1828), David Cusick, Paul Royster (Editor & Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

This very early (if not the first) account of Native American history and myth, written and published in English by an Indian, is valuable on that score alone. This online electronic edition (in pdf format) was transcribed from digital images of the 1828 edition in the Library of Congress. No attempt has been made to correct or regularize spelling and punctuation or to standardize the language of the original; some typographical errors have been corrected, and these are listed in the notes.

The history begins at the Creation, with the twin brothers Enigorio and Enigonhahetgea (the good spirit and evil …

Notes Geographical And Historical, Relating To The Town Of Brooklyn, In Kings County On Long-Island. (1824) An Online Electronic Text Edition., Gabriel Furman, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Furman’s work is one of the earliest compilations of historical documents (with commentary) about an American city, in this case his native Brooklyn. It is an invaluable source of information on the early Dutch and English settlements of Brooklyn, Flatbush, Bushwick, New Lotts, Canarsie, Bedford, New Utrecht, Jamaica, and New Amsterdam, and their controversies with one another and with the Governors of New York and the crown of England. Included are original documents relative to the Indian purchases, original boundaries, water rights, ferry rights, wood rights, and forms of town government. Sections include: Situation of the Town of Brooklyn, Ancient …

The Life And Surprising Adventures Of Mary Ann Talbot, In The Name Of John Taylor (1809), Mary Ann Talbot, Paul Royster (Transcribed And Edited By)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

"Comprehending an Account of her extraordinary Adventures in the Character of Foot-Boy, Drummer, Cabin-Boy, and Sailor. Also of her many very narrow Escapes in different Engagements, while in the Land and Sea Services, and of the Hardships which she suffered while under cure of the Wounds received in the Engagement under Lord Howe, June 1, 1794, &c. &c. &c."

An important document in the history of cross-dressing, transvestism, male impersonators, and women soldiers, this autobiographical narrative tells the life story of an orphan girl who was trapped into service in the British army and …

Washington's Farewell Address: The President’S Address To The People Of The United States, Announcing His Intention Of Retiring From Public Life At The Expiration Of The Present Constitutional Term Of Presidency, George Washington

Electronic Texts in American Studies

This is a digital “facsimile” edition of a contemporary pamphlet version of President George Washington’s “Farewell Address,” first issued in the Philadelphia Daily Advertiser newspaper on September 19, 1796. Co-authored with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, it expresses Washington’s decision to decline a third term of the presidency and offers his parting advice to his “friends and fellow-citizens.”

Washington’s “farewell address” emphasizes the importance of Union, the danger of partisanship, the threat of parties allied to foreign countries or interests, the accomplishment of a national government, the precedence of national over sectional interests, the maintenance of the public credit, the …

'Farewell' Address To The People Of The United States, Announcing His Intention Of Retiring From Public Life At The Expiration Of The Present Constitutional Term Of Presidency, George Washington

Zea E-Books in American Studies

President George Washington’s farewell address “To the People of the United States” was delivered to the public through the medium of the Philadelphia Daily Advertiser newspaper and was immediately reprinted in other newspapers and in pamphlet form throughout the country, and in England, Ireland, and Scotland as well. All contemporary editions derived directly or indirectly from the Daily Advertiser newspaper source.

The composition of the address was a collaborative effort, with James Madison co-authoring with Washington an early draft that was reviewed and revised at least twice to incorporate suggestions by Alexander Hamilton. The final draft, in Washington’s handwriting, was …

The Journal Of Major George Washington, George Washington

Zea E-Books in American Studies

In October of 1753, George Washington, a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, volunteered to carry a letter from the governor of Virginia to the French commander of the forts recently built on the headwaters of the Ohio River in northwestern Pennsylvania. The French had recently expanded their military operations from the Great Lakes into the Ohio country, and had spent the summer of 1753 building forts and roads along the Allegheny River, with the design of linking their trade routes and sphere of influence down the Ohio to the Mississippi. Virginia governor Robert Dinwiddie believed them to be in …

De Bestiis Marinis, Or, The Beasts Of The Sea (1751), Georg Wilhelm Steller, Walter Miller (Translator), Jennie Emerson Miller (Translator), Paul Royster (Transcriber And Editor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Steller’s classic work, published in Latin in 1751 and in German in 1753, contains the only scientific description from life of the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), as well as the first scientific descriptions of the fur seal or “sea bear” (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller’s sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris).

Steller’s sea cow was a sirenian, or manatee, inhabiting the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. It was first discovered by Europeans in 1741 and rendered extinct by 1768. It was a 30-foot long, plant-eating aquatic mammal, weighing …

The Constitutions Of The Free-Masons (1734). An Online Electronic Edition., James Anderson A.M., Benjamin Franklin, Paul Royster (Editor & Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

This is an online electronic edition of the the first Masonic book printed in America, which was produced in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1734, and was a reprint of a work by James Anderson (who is identified as the author in an appendix) printed in London in 1723. This is the seminal work of American Masonry, edited and published by one of the founding fathers, and of great importance to the development of colonial society and the formation of the Republic. The work contains a 40-page history of Masonry: from Adam to the reign of King George I, including, …

A Two Years Journal In New-York: And Part Of Its Territories In America (1701), Charles Wolley A. M., Edward Gaylord Bourne, Paul Royster (Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

This description of the city and inhabitants of New York and its environs was written by the Anglican chaplain who resided there in the years 1678–1680, who published it twenty years after his return to England. A large portion concerns the life and manners of the Native inhabitants, obtained both by direct observation and conversation, and by reports from the official government interpreter. The remainder concerns the habits and commerce of the largely Dutch inhabitants of the city. It is an anecdotal description, sprinkled with quotations from English and classical writers, but very homely in its accounts of such diverse …

A Brief History Of The Warr With The Indians In New-England (1676): An Online Electronic Text Edition, Increase Mather, Paul Royster (Editor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

The following pages represent a new edition of Increase Mather’s influential contemporary account of King Philip’s War, between the English colonists in New England (and their Native allies) and the Wampanoag, Naragansett, and other Indian nations of the region, beginning in 1675. Mather’s account runs through August of 1676, when hostilities in southern, central, and western New England ended; fighting continued in the region of Maine until 1678. The war was disastrous for both sides, but particularly for the hostile Native Americans, who were brought very close to extermination.

Mather describes his history as “brief” (it runs to 89 pages …

A Relation Of The Indian War, By Mr. Easton, Of Rhode Island, 1675, John Easton, Paul Royster (Editor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

John Easton (1617-1705) was deputy governor of Rhode Island in the winter of 1675-1676 when he wrote this account of the beginnings of King Philip’s War. One copy of the document was sent to Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of New York, and it was preserved in the state archives and is the original source of the version presented here. Jenny Hale Pulsipher writes that Easton "also may have sent copies of the narrative to England, proving to authorities that, contrary to Massachusetts’s repeated protests, the colonies, not the Indians, bore responsibility for the conflict." The "Relation" apparently circulated among …

The Cry Of Sodom Enquired Into; Upon Occasion Of The Arraignment And Condemnation Of Benjamin Goad, For His Prodigious Villany. (1674) An Online Electronic Text Edition., Samuel Danforth, Paul Royster , Editor

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

This is a well-known execution sermon from seventeenth-century Massachusetts, delivered on the occasion of the sentencing to death of a young man convicted of bestiality—specifically of copulation with a mare, in which he was discovered in the open in broad daylight. Samuel Danforth, who wrote and delivered the sermon, would have known the condemned young man very well. Benjamin Goad had been born into Danforth’s congregation at Roxbury and had grown up under his pastoral care. Danforth was also familiar with the anguish of a parent over the death of a child, having suffered the deaths of eight of his …

A Brief Recognition Of New-Englands Errand Into The Wilderness: An Online Electronic Text Edition, Samuel Danforth, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Editor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Samuel Danforth’s election sermon of 1670 is a classic example of the New England jeremiad. Addressed to the assembled delegates on the occasion of the election of officers for the Massachusetts General Court, it asks the very pointed question: “What is it that distinguisheth New-England from other Colonies and Plantations in America?” The answer, of course, is that the Puritan colonies (Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven) were founded for the pursuit of religious ends by the reformed Protestant churches of England:

“You have solemnly professed before God, Angels and Men, that the Cause of your leaving your Country, Kindred …

A Brief Description Of New-York: Formerly Called New-Netherlands (1670), Daniel Denton, Paul Royster , Editor & Depositor

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Denton’s work was the first English account intended to promote settlement of the region recently seized from the Dutch. It is of particular interest for 1) its description of the geographic and topographic features of the region from Albany in the north to the mouth of the Delaware Bay in the south, and from the eastern tip of Long Island to the interior of modern-day New Jersey; 2) its enumeration of the plants, animals, and commodities of the area; 3) its impressive and extended account of the customs and livelihood of the Indians of the region; 4) its early suggestion …

An Astronomical Description Of The Late Comet Or Blazing Star; As It Appeared In New-England In The 9th, 10th, 11th, And In The Beginning Of The 12th Moneth, 1664. Together With A Brief Theological Application Thereof. (1665) An Online Electronic Text Edition., Samuel Danforth, Paul Royster (Editor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Samuel Danforth’s 1665 book on his observations of the great comet of 1664 (C/1664 W1) was one of the first works of astronomy printed in America. Danforth’s explanations of the various phenomena show his currency with contemporary knowledge: that the comet was a celestial body more distant than the moon; that it was not on fire, but that its flaming tail represented the reflection of the sun’s rays off exhalations from the head; that the tail always pointed away from the sun; that its motion in its path was uniform; and that it reached its perigee on December 18 (December …

A Declaration Of The Sad And Great Persecution And Martyrdom Of The People Of God, Called Quakers, In New-England, For The Worshipping Of God, Edward Burroughs

Zea E-Books in American Studies

From 1656 through 1661, the Massachusetts Bay Colony experienced an “invasion” of Quaker missionaries, who were not deterred by the increasingly severe punishments enacted and inflicted by the colonial authorities. In October 1659, two (William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson) were hanged at Boston; in June 1660, Mary Dyar (or Dyer) became the third; in March 1661, William Leddra became the fourth (and last) to suffer capital punishment or “mar-tyrdom” for their Quaker beliefs.While members of the Society of Friends rushed to Massachu-setts to test the harsh sentences under the newly enacted laws, other Friends in England simultaneously petitioned Parliament and …

The Christian Commonwealth: Or, The Civil Policy Of The Rising Kingdom Of Jesus Christ, John Eliot

Zea E-Books in American Studies

John Eliot (1604-1690), the Puritan missionary to the New England Indians, developed this plan of political organization for the Christianized tribes that he converted. In the late 1640s, he adapted it for English use and sent a manuscript copy to England, where it appeared in print 10 years later, in 1659, following the death of Cromwell and before the accession of Charles II.

Eliot’s “Preface” to the work was far more radical and troublesome than the utopian theocracy described in the main body. “Much is spoken of the rightful Heir of the Crown of England, and the unjustice of casting …

The Christian Commonwealth: Or,The Civil Policy Of The Rising Kingdom Of Jesus Christ. An Online Electronic Text Edition., John Eliot, Paul Royster (Editor & Depositor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

John Eliot, the Puritan missionary to the New England Indians, developed this plan of political organization for the Christianized tribes that he converted. In the late 1640s, he adapted it for English use and sent a manuscript copy to England, where it appeared in print 10 years later, in 1659, following the death of Cromwell and before the accession of Charles II. Eliot’s “Preface” to the work was far more radical and troublesome than the utopian theocracy described in the main body. “Much is spoken of the rightful Heir of the Crown of England, and the unjustice of casting out …

Samuel Danforth's Almanack Poems And Chronological Tables 1647-1649, Samuel Danforth, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Editor)

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Samuel Danforth’s poems from the Almanacks for 1647–1649 are some of the earliest examples of “secular” poetry published in New England. Danforth (1626–1674) was a fellow of Harvard College and an astronomer and mathematician as well as a poet. Although these were not the first almanacs printed in America (the first was by William Peirce, printed at Cambridge in 1639), they are the earliest surviving examples. Danforth’s first printed almanac, for the year 1646 (which survives only in one partial copy), contained no poetry; instead the foot of each month’s page held a running essay on astronomy and the calendar. …