Fan Favorites Include George Washington’s Log Book & the Poe Bell
The Walsh Library Archives and Special Collections contain many items of significance to the University, to New York City, and to the scholarly community around the world. However, there are two items in Walsh Special Collections that never fail to inspire interest, awe, and at times, mania, from those who see them.
George Washington’s Log Book
The then General George Washington kept detailed log books, or diaries, one of which includes the entry for July 4, 1776. Washington’s chief concern that day was getting his troops paid and he directed his regimental commanding officers to “make out pay abstract for the month of May.” Communication was slow in 1776 and it wasn’t until July 9 that he made note of the fact that the members of the Continental Congress “have been pleased to dissolve the connection which subsisted between this country and Great Britain and to declare the united colonies of North America free and independent states.” A nation was born.
The Poe Bell
American poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) lived in a cottage near Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx from 1846 to 1849. This area was farmland in the mid-19th century and Poe was able to hear clearly the ringing of the church bell from the Jesuit college (now Fordham University) that had just been established in 1841. He often walked down the hill (today’s Fordham Road) to dine and converse with the learned Jesuits who lived and taught there. The sound of the church bells is said to have inspired one of his most famous poems, “The Bells” with its repetitive
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells—
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
Learn more by eearching Online or visit Walsh (Rose Hill), Quinn (Lincoln Center) or Westchester Libraries.
