1853-1854 New York to West Indies travel diary kept by William Henry Harison, son of Alexander Hamilton’s law partner and Constitution delegate.

“Gale. Decks underwater. Slapping Seas. Water comg. into cabin…”

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Travel diary of the Rev. William Henry Harison (1795–1860), son of Richard Harison (1747–1829), Alexander Hamilton’s law partner, proponent of adopting the Constitution at the New York Convention, the first U.S. Attorney for the District of New York, Columbia College trustee, buried in the family vault in Manhattan’s Trinity Church. Note, the family name is spelled with one ‘r.’

Rev. William H. Harison lists his home address in his diary as No. 64 East 17th Street. Historical records reveal that by 1854, he was involved with Trinity Church, served as a Columbia College trustee, and served as a trustee of the Leake and Watts Orphan House, near 10th Avenue and 111 Street, a pioneering charitable institution for needy children.

Harison’s diary covers the period of November, 1853 to July, 1854. He traveled from New York to Bermuda, St. Thomas, St. Croix and Cuba.

His entries are brief, but they reveal interesting details of his trip: A gale hits, submerging the decks and causing water to infiltrate the cabin (“Gale. Decks underwater. Slapping Seas. Water comg. into cabin. R.‘s room floor underwater. Casks on deck loose & rolling from side to side over head.” —November 8, 1853); the ship hits a reef, he experiences tremors from earthquake; he receives books (“Family Adventures by the Author of the Fairy Bower. Life of [Bishop Thomas] Kent by a Layman 2 Edn. Pickering. The Churchman’s Year Book for 1852 – D[itt]o for 1853. The Divine Master 2d Ed. Penny Post 1853.” —January 18) and he sends out correspondence via ship mail. In February, the ship physician states that his lungs are free from congestion suggesting that Harison’s trip was taken for health reasons. The journey ends on July 2, 1854 as Harison’s ship arrived in New York, an event he marked with a simple “Laus Deo!”

A recipe for “Cholera Medicine” is found on the final leaf, signed “R.K.H,” along with two pages recording travel expense entitled “How the Money Goes,” and monies loaned and repaid with a Rev. Hawley, a fellow traveler. A loose leaf contains a list of the names of preachers who delivered sermons at Trinity Church during October and November 1852, including Drs. Berrian, Higbee, Weston, Haight, Wyatt, and others.

Price: $350.00