Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 2
1786-04-27
A List of the Present, junior Sophister Class1
William Lovejoy Abbot.
*Abiel Abbot
*John Quincy Adams.
Jonathan Amory
Samuel Angier
*William Amherst Baron
*Benjamin Beale
*James Bridge.
*Josiah Burge
John Chandler.
Thomas Chandler
*Gardner Leonard Chandler
Caleb Child
22*William Cranch
*Joshua Cushman
Peter Eaton
*Oliver Fiske
John
Bossinger
**Nathaniel Freeman
Timothy Fuller
Thomas Hammond
*Thaddeus Mason Harris
Walter Hunnowell
Joseph Jackson
Asa Johnson
Ephraim Kendall
Nathaniel Laurence
Ebenezer Learned
*Moses Little
James Lloyd
James Lovell.
William Mason
Daniel Mayo
Samuel Mead
Ephraim Morton
*Hezekiah Packard
Nathaniel Shepherd Prentiss.
Samuel Putnam
Isaac Rand.
John Sever
Solomon Vose
John Jones Waldo
Francis Welch
Leonard White
Richard Whitney
Samuel Willard.
Samuel Williams.
No reciting this day, nor indeed this week. The Scholars that live near Cambridge, commonly come and enter their names in the Buttery, and then go home again, and stay the remainder of the Week. I went down to the President's in the morning to carry a Letter to him. Spent my Time in writing, reading, and playing on the flute. Lodg'd with my brother.
JQA's classmates are identified under the “character sketches” which he included in the diary entries of his senior year. In addition to those listed here, the class of 1787 included three other students—William Samuel Judd, Samuel Kellogg, and John Phelps, who were transfer students from Dartmouth and Yale. They entered Harvard in the months following this entry. The asterisks apparently denote members of the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa inducted before 11 Dec. 1786. Putnam and White were also members, but their names are unmarked and were presumably missed because the list continues on the verso of the Diary page. The meaning of the double asterisk before Freeman's name is uncertain (MH-Ar: Phi Beta Kappa Records, 1 :passim).
1786-04-28
The weather fine, but rather cool.
Somewhat unwell, and had a bad head ache in the afternoon. My Cousin, and Leonard White, both came. We had been anxious for Leonard, as we heard he was sick: he was so in the beginning of the Week, but, has now pretty well recovered. About half 23the College, are now here. The bill at prayers, is not kept,1 till the Friday after the Vacation ends.
That is, bills of absence and tardiness. See entry of 19 Aug., note 1 (below).