This volume is the first half of a journal describing Sargent's trip from Boston to the Ohio country and back to Providence, R.I. This volume and the next recount his survey of the 5th Range of the Northwest Territory and contain daily measurements of the weather and passages on the danger from Native Americans.

This volume is the second half of a journal describing Sargent's trip from Boston to the Ohio country and back to Providence, R.I. Also included is a copy, in Sargent's hand, of a treatise on midwifery, possibly by the British physician and anatomist William Hunter (1718-1783).

This volume is an unbound, incomplete diary recounting Sargent's trip from Marietta to Cahokia in the company of Governor Arthur St. Clair. The diary discusses the creation of Hamilton and St. Clair counties (at Cincinnati and Cahokia) and includes descriptions of the settlements and geography of the Ohio and upper Mississippi Rivers, as well as Sargent's thoughts on relations between white settlers and the Native Americans.

This volume is a short notebook in Sargent's hand entitled "Informations from Mr. Maya." "Mr. Maya" was probably the French trader Jean Baptiste Maillet, one of the first settlers at Peoria, Illinois. The volume contains a description of the Illinois River and of the Native American people and settlements in the area.

This volume begins with Sargent's departure from Marietta and describes his organization of a government for the French settlement at Gallipolis, his voyage down river to Cincinnati, and reports of Native American raids.

This volume describes the preparations for and defeat of the St. Clair expedition against the Native Americans. Sargent copied the first part of the volume from an orderly book kept by a non-commissioned officer, but the entries beginning October 30 are his own. Also included is a drawing by Sargent of the army's troop formation.

This volume was presumably Sargent's original field copy of the orderly book above and is almost identical with the corresponding part of that volume. Also included are several troop rosters.

Sargent's diary of the St. Clair expedition was printed privately at Wormsloe, Ga., in 1851. The printed edition is included in this microfilm edition because the original diary has been lost. This volume describes the organization and mustering of the expeditionary force, the weather, the route of the march, the difficulty in obtaining provisions, the encampment of November 3, and the attack and retreat. In an appendix beginning February 1792, Sargent recounts his return to the scene of the battle with a party attempting to recover lost artillery.

This volume is described by Sargent as "Diary Vol 2d. Commencing at N York October the 1st 1793 and ending in Philadelphia the 1st. of Jany. 1796" and contains an index compiled by Sargent himself. The diary recounts Sargent's visits to Mount Vernon, Boston, and Philadelphia; his return to the Northwest Territory; his duties as acting governor; and problems arising from the Native American threat. Also included are brief cipher notations about his mistress and the birth of a child, as well as references to his indictment by the Hamilton County grand jury on charges of usurpation.

This unbound, incomplete logbook of Sargent's voyage down the Mississippi River provides a detailed record of weather, distances, and the locations of islands, currents, and shore lines.

This journal of "Agricultural Memorandams" describes planting and harvesting at Sargent's Grove and Belmont plantations south of Natchez and closes with a list of grains raised on the two plantations.

This volume describes Sargent's trip to the eastern states during which he defended his administration before President Jefferson and learned that he would not be reappointed. The diary includes the texts of complimentary letters from political friends in Mississippi; detailed descriptions of Sargent's voyage to New Orleans and Boston; accounts of visits with John Adams, Martha Washington, and Aaron Burr; criticism of Jefferson and the Republican party; and an account of Sargent's trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers back to Natchez. Also included are daily notations of the weather, as well as an index by Sargent.

This volume is a journal of Sargent's voyage to Palermo, Naples, and Leghorn on the ship Thomas.

This volume describes Sargent's battle with the gout and contains daily notations of the weather. Also included are references to a series of earthquakes during the winter of 1811-1812, a number of brief domestic entries, and an index by Sargent.

This volume covers Sargent's stay in Boston from April 1816 to January 1818, during which he took a house in Cambridge, revived old friendships, and placed his son at Harvard. The diary describes an interesting dream about a visit with George Washington (28 Aug. 1817) and contains reports of a yellow fever epidemic in Natchez during the fall of 1819. The last entry (31 May 1820) was written three days before Sargent's death.

The correspondence and other papers on this reel cover Sargent's search for a government appointment; his two surveying trips to Ohio; his part in the formation and promotion of the Ohio Company; and his appointment as secretary of the Northwest Territory. Correspondence includes letters from Jeremy Belknap (3), expressing curiosity about the western country; Edward Carrington (1), on his purchase of Ohio Company shares; Crevecoeur (3), suggesting a name for the proposed company town on the Muskingum River; Major John Hamtramck (2), on military conditions in the Northwest Territory; Elnathan Haskell (3), on the Ohio Company venture; Thomas Hutchins (5), on Sargent's work as a surveyor; Rufus King (3) and Henry Knox (7), relating to Sargent's pursuit of a government job; Robert Morris (1), criticizing schemes to encourage western settlement; George Turner (9), expressing his opinions of government, the Constitution, and the Ohio Company; and James Winthrop (1), enclosed with a report of barometrical observations made at Lake Champlain in 1786.

The reel also contains a number of letters on the formation of the Ohio Company, its negotiations for land, and its sales promotions. In this correspondence are letters from Manasseh Cutler (13), Sargent's associate in negotiations with the Board of Treasury; William Duer (2), referring to the relationship between the Ohio Company and the Scioto group; Samuel Holden Parsons (4), including his estimation of the West as a possible "Safe Retreat" from the confusion and folly of government in the eastern states; Richard Platt (16), on Sargent's private finances, as well as Ohio Company business; and Rufus Putnam (2), on rumors that Sargent and Cutler were seeking private profit in their land negotiations. Among the Cutler letters is one to Jeremy Belknap recounting an expedition to the White Mountains.

Scattered throughout the reel are papers related to the purchase of government land, as well as lists of Ohio Company receipts and shareholders. Among the latter is Sargent's stitched copy of the Articles of an Association by the Name of the Ohio Company (1786, 13 pages), with notations of the names of subscribers for whom he was agent.

Sargent's own correspondence includes letters to Crevecoeur; to Ebenezer Hazard, defending his and Cutler's financial negotiations; to Thomas Hutchins; and a letter to Richard Platt on the possibility of obtaining European investment in the Ohio Company. Sargent's copy of the Northwest Ordinance, signed by Charles Thomson, appears on this reel under the date July 13, 1787.

Also on this reel are maps and survey reports related to land holdings in Mississippi in the early 1780s, as well as two orderly books (20 Feb.-12 June 1779 and 6 Aug.-23 Sep. 1780) kept for General St. Clair's Pennsylvania Division.

The correspondence and other papers on this reel cover Sargent's activities as secretary of the Northwest Territory and agent for the Ohio Company. The reel includes letters from Jeremy Belknap (8), one of which describes the purposes of the Massachusetts Historical Society (14 Feb. 1794); from Edward Carrington (6); from John Heckewelder (5), related to plans for three Moravian Native American settlements in Ohio; from Samuel Hodgdon (13), Sargent's business representative in Philadelphia; private and official letters from Henry Knox (14); and letters from Governor Arthur St. Clair (4).

In his public capacity, Sargent received many reports on local military and administrative matters from magistrates and officers stationed in the territory. Among these are letters from John Stites Gano (6), Judge Joseph Gilman (7), Major John Hamtramck (13), R. J. Meigs (3), Oliver Spencer (9), Judge John Cleves Symmes (10), Judge George Turner (3), Henry Vanderburgh (10), Francois Vigo (4), General Anthony Wayne (1), General James Wilkinson (17), and Dudley Woodbridge (3).

Contracts, agreements, share lists, and other papers related to the Ohio Company are scattered throughout the reel, including letters from Joel Barlow in Paris (1), Joseph Crocker (5), Manasseh Cutler (6), Judge Gilman, Richard Platt (18), and Benjamin Tallmadge (10). Included are letters from some of the shareholders whose affairs in Ohio were handled by Sargent.

Among Sargent's own letters are those to Royal Flint, to Knox, St. Clair, Symmes, and Wilkinson. Papers related to Sargent's salary claims include memorials to Congress and letters to Alexander Hamilton, President Washington, and Uriah Tracy. The reel also contains a series of meteorological charts kept at Vincennes (1 Aug. 1790-31 May 1791), as well as a number of lists and tally sheets related to the defeat of the St. Clair expedition in November 1791. Throughout this reel and the next are several letters to Thomas Fitzsimmons related to his Georgia land speculations, written by business associates in Georgia.

The correspondence and other papers on this reel cover Sargent's last years in the Northwest Territory and the first half year of his administration in the Mississippi Territory. The reel includes a copy, in the author's hand, of William Dunbar's Account of the Commencement and Progress of the First 18 Miles of the Line of Separation (1798), written while he was Spanish commissioner in the party drawing the boundary line between Mississippi and West Florida.

Correspondence on this reel include letters written by Daniel Clark, Jr., from New Orleans (2); Samuel Hodgdon from Philadelphia (37); Rev. John Murray (1), describing a conversation with President Adams about Sargent's handling of the Zachariah Cox affair; Senator James Ross (5), on a proposed settlement near Fort Steuben; William Shattuck (1), on the status of his Yazoo land holdings; and Benjamin Tallmadge (2), on Ohio Company finances. Letters related to the administration of the Northwest Territory were written by such officials as Judge Joseph Gilman (1), Thomas Goudy (4), Nathaniel Massie (2), Henry Vanderburgh (11), and Francois Vigo (2). The reel includes a number of letters and petitions related to the selection of a county seat for the proposed Adams County (July 1797). Letters referring to the organization and government of Wayne County (Detroit) and to the conflict between British and American settlers include a long series from the county recorder Peter Audrain (23). A letter from General Wilkinson (6 Mar. 1798), enclosing a report by Lt. Matthew Ernest, documents the rivalry between civil and military officers at Detroit.

The reel also contains a number of letters from Mississippi, including letters from Daniel Clark (3); Zachariah Cox (2), complaining about his arrest and imprisonment at Natchez; Andrew Ellicott (10), American boundary commissioner; and Anthony Hutchins (2), Ellicott's political adversary. Among Sargent's own letters are two to General Wilkinson and one to his former mistress Mrs. Chapese.

The correspondence and other papers on this reel cover Sargent's governorship of the Mississippi Territory up to the time of his first trip to the eastern states. The reel includes letters from John Adams (1), praising Sargent's address to the people; Jacob Burnet (1), on St. Clair's court action against Sargent; Daniel Clark, Jr. (28), containing information on Spanish policies, especially toward the Creek and Choctaw Nations; Samuel Hodgdon (15); Evan Jones (6), with intelligence from New Orleans; John McCullagh (5), on Sargent's business affairs in Ohio; Timothy Pickering (1), on John D. Burke's removal to New Orleans; Richard Platt (5); and Senator James Ross (3).

Among the correspondence dealing with local administration and the military are letters from Judge Peter Bryan Bruin (3); Daniel Clark (16); William Dunbar (13), who also wrote on history and natural science; Lyman Harding (5), on Adams County court business; Henry Hunter (1), on the first territorial legislature; Major Zebulon Pike (4); and General Wilkinson (13). The reel also contains a series of letters from officials of the settlements on the Tombigbee River, including Sheriff Wilson Carman (8) and Captain Bartholomew Shaumburgh (5); letters from three Indian agents in the territory: Benjamin Hawkins (2), John McKee (15), and Samuel Mitchell (3); a series of Andrew Marschalk's letters (9) dealing with the printing of the first territorial laws; and a meteorological chart for 1799, with notes, by William Dunbar (16 Mar. 1801).

The reel includes two printed broadsides: a letter critical of the territorial legislature, signed "The Friend of the People," and endorsed in Sargent's hand (15 Nov. 1800); and a circular letter by Sargent (16 Nov. 1800) recommending measures to prevent insurrection of enslaved people in the territory. Among Sargent's letters are one to Aaron Burr and one to the secretary of state, referring to the efforts of political opponents to remove him from office.

The reel also contains four printed pamphlets: Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting Copies of the Laws of the Mississippi Territory (2 Jan. 1801, 16 pages); Papers in Relation to the Official Conduct of Winthrop Sargent (2 Jan. 1801, 29 pages); Report of the Committee on the Representation of the House of Representatives of the Mississippi Territory (19 Feb. 1801, 4 pages); and Report of the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Official Conduct of Winthrop Sargent, Governor of the Mississippi Territory (19 Feb. 1801, 10 pages), all published by the United States House of Representatives.

The correspondence and other papers on this reel cover Sargent's trip to Philadelphia and Boston; his dismissal from office and subsequent political retirement; and his land and cotton ventures in Mississippi. The reel includes letters from Gilbert Aspinwall (16), with information and advice on the cotton trade and eastern investments; Joseph Barrell (2), on the sale of land belonging to the New England-Mississippi Land Company; Jacob Burnet (6), on Sargent's legal affairs in Ohio, including the St. Clair suit; Joseph Dennie (1), inviting Sargent to serve as his correspondent on matters related to Spanish activity around the Mississippi; Dr. Robert Dow (19), on treatments for Sargent's gout; William Dunbar (4); Samuel Hodgdon (35); William E. Hulings (12), with political and trade news from New Orleans; Richard Platt (4); Samuel Tenney (4), writing from Washington; and others. A letter from Peter Walker describes the political situation in Mississippi during Sargent's absence in 1801.

The reel also contains two pamphlets published in 1801 by Winthrop Sargent. Papers in Relation to the Official Conduct of Governour Sargent (1 Aug. 1801, 64 pages) reprints letters and petitions defending Sargent against the charges of his political enemies. Political Intolerance, or the Violence of Party Spirit; Exemplified in a Recent Removal from Office (36 pages), an apologia for Sargent's long public service, contains an attack on Jefferson and the Republicans. Both pamphlets can be found on the reel under 1 Aug. 1801.

Among the correspondence related to Sargent's dismissal are letters from Andrew Ellicott (4), James Green (1), Henry Knox (2), and James Madison (1), the last informing Sargent that he would not be reappointed. Included are two letters from Sargent to Aaron Burr, asking his support, and two to Madison.

A number of business letters related mainly to the cotton trade are signed by the firms of Gilbert and John Aspinwall of New York (27), Chew and Relf of New Orleans (3), Hodgdon and Harris of Philadelphia (6), and Thomas and David Urquhart of New Orleans (4). The reel also contains letters referring to Sargent's land holdings in Ohio from John Belli (1), Charlotte C. Ludlow (1), and William Stanley (2). Among the other papers on the reel are documents concerning Sargent's property at Gloster Place; the disposition of the estate of Mrs. Sargent's first husband, David Williams (3 June 1810); and the series of earthquakes that hit the Mississippi Valley in December 1811.

The correspondence and other papers on this reel cover Sargent's retirement at Natchez and the finances of the Sargent estate. The reel includes undated material and some papers of other members of the family. Among the correspondence are 23 business letters from Gilbert Aspinwall; letters from T. B. Barclay (11), containing political and war news from Philadelphia; from Nicholas Biddle (3), related to property negotiations with Mary Sargent; from Levi Hedge (6), on the education of Sargent's son; and from Jonathan Thompson (1), announcing Sargent's death. A letter from Winthrop Sargent, probably to T. B. Barclay, describes the earthquakes of winter, 1811-1812, and includes a copy of Sargent's weather measurements and notations for December 1811, as well as an abstract of weather during 1810 and 1811 (12 Apr. 1812).

The reel also contains copies of the wills of Winthrop Sargent (1 Oct. 1818, with a codicil dated 21 Nov. 1819) and Mary Sargent (8 Mar. 1843). A letterbook kept by Lucius Manlius Sargent contains 692 letters written in his capacity as executor of the estate (1823-1840). Other documents related to Sargent's estate (checks, bills, tax receipts, etc.) are scattered throughout the reel.

Also on this reel are letters and papers of the Butler family of Providence, R.I., which apparently found their way into the collection while the Sargent papers were in the hands of Mary Butler (Duncan) Dana.

Other papers include a transcript of the court-martial of Alexander McBride, one of the Union soldiers accused of murdering Sargent's son, George Washington Sargent, in 1864; a small number of letters written to Sargent's grandson, the historian Winthrop Sargent (1825-1870), including two from Townsend Ward; correspondence related to Mary Butler (Duncan) Dana's search for genealogical information on the Butler family, including 20 letters from Charles E. Banks; a section of miscellaneous, undated papers dealing with Sargent and Butler genealogy; and, at the end, a number of undated papers, including Sargent's plans of Natchez and Gloster Place.