1771-1849; bulk: 1776-1779
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Abstract
This collection consists primarily of letters from Lt. Col. Dudley Colman to his wife Mary (Jones) Colman while he served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Biographical Sketch
Dudley Colman (1745-1797) was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colman (1720-1797) and Ann (Brown) Colman (1724-1776). He graduated from Harvard in 1765 and worked as a tavern keeper and town clerk in Newbury, Mass. before serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Colman was stationed at Valley Forge, Pa. in the spring of 1778. He married Mary Jones (1749-1826) in 1770, and they had the following children: Polly (1772-1773), Polly (1774-1774), Bridget (1775-1858), Dudley (1778-1809), Nathaniel (1780-1791), Charles (1782-1849), Henry (1785-1849), and John Jones Colman (1787-1815).
Collection Description
This collection consists primarily of letters from Lt. Col. Dudley Colman of the 12th Regiment of Foot, Continental Army, to his wife Mary (Jones) Colman in Newbury, Mass. relating to personal matters of clothing, provisions, and Army activities and describing encounters with the British at Bennington, Vt.; Boston, Mass.; Newport and Providence, R.I.; New York City, Ticonderoga, and Fort Stanwix, N.Y.; Monmouth Court House, N.J.; Philadelphia and Valley Forge, Pa.; and other places. Material relating to Colman's son, Rev. Henry Colman, includes a sketch of his tomb erected in England by Lady Byron and her 1849 testimonial of him.
Arrangement
Oversize papers in this collection have been removed to an oversize folder (in drawers) but are digitized at their original location.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Henry Lee Shattuck, 1963, and Mrs. Frank Thurber, 1964.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Other Formats
Available as color digital facsimiles and on microfilm, 1 reel, P-798.
Detailed Description of the Collection
1771-Feb. 1776
Mar.-June 1776
July-Sep. 1776
Oct.-Dec. 1776
Apr.-Sep. 1777
Oct.-Dec. 1777
Feb.-June 1778
July-Aug. 1778
Sep.-Oct. 1778
1779-1798
1849
Oversize papers
NOTE: Oversize papers have been removed to an oversize folder (in drawers) but are digitized at their original location.
Preferred Citation
Dudley Colman papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
A daguerreotype of Henry Colman (Photo. #1.26) has been removed and stored separately by format.