About Digital Collections
Browse
Search only public domain materials
Search Browse About
Search only public domain materials
Items Collections Divisions
Digital Collections Using Images Using Data
Items Henry Laurens diary

Henry Laurens diary

More Details Cite This Item

Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Manuscripts and Archives Division

  • Francis Stanfell papers
  • Robert E. Lee engineering notebook
  • George Endicott diary
  • United States District Court of New York proceedings
  • George Washington notebook as a Virginia colonel
  • Compendio historico del los indios de Peru
  • James Maury letters
  • Daniel Phoenix, Jr. receipt book
  • Alexander Hamilton plan of a constitution for America
  • Adolph Philipse estate records
  • Title of executors & administrators by the Honbl. Tapping Reeve, Litchfield, Connecticut
  • New York State Comptroller memorandum book
  • Reports of the Board of Treasury
  • New York City Court of Aldermen records
  • Gouverneur & Kemble letter book
Previous Next

This Item

View this item elsewhere:

Title
Henry Laurens diary
Names
Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792 (Creator)
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1780 - 1781
Library locations
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Shelf locator: MssCol 1695
Topics
Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792
Tower of London (London, England)
Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1760-1789
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Prisoners and prisons
Merchants
Plantation owners
Statesmen
Genres
Diaries
Notes
Biographical/historical: Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a South Carolina merchant, plantation owner, and Revolutionary-era statesman. Laurens was president of the Continental Congress from November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778. On November 1, 1779 Congress elected him a commissioner to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with Holland. Laurens sailed for Europe on August 13, 1780, only to be captured at sea by the British on September 3, 1780. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London under the charge of treason from October 6, 1780 until his release on bail December 31, 1781. Laurens briefly joined the American peace commission, signing the preliminary Treaty of Paris on November 30, 1782. He returned to the United States in 1784, and was a member of the South Carolina convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788.
Funding: Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation
Physical Description
Extent: .21 linear feet 1 volume
Description
Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a South Carolina merchant, plantation owner, and Revolutionary-era statesman. The Henry Laurens diary, 1780 August 13-1781 December 6 (1 volume) is a manuscript notebook recording his voyage to Europe as U.S. envoy to Holland, his capture at sea by the British on September 3, 1780, his transfer to England via Newfoundland, and his imprisonment in the Tower of London. Pencilled entries briefly record day-to-day experiences, serving as the foundation of a subsequent narrative compiled by Laurens of his time abroad. The last entry is incomplete.
Type of Resource
Text
Languages
English
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21133359
MSS Unit ID: 1695
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 0c90c3e0-ea3a-0134-795e-076dd017a035
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1724: Creator Born
  • 1780: Created (Approximate)
  • 1792: Creator Died
  • 2021: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Henry Laurens diary" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1780 - 1781. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ae1a2680-0038-0135-8edb-7f714f83b6f3

Chicago/Turabian Format

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Henry Laurens diary" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ae1a2680-0038-0135-8edb-7f714f83b6f3

APA Format

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. (1780 - 1781). Henry Laurens diary Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ae1a2680-0038-0135-8edb-7f714f83b6f3

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ae1a2680-0038-0135-8edb-7f714f83b6f3 | title= (text) Henry Laurens diary, (1780 - 1781)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 19, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Henry Laurens diary