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The collection consists of twenty-two letters and documents of Hugh Simm who traveled to America in 1768 with John Witherspoon. The correspondence provides a personal account of a British immigrant to North America during the Revolutionary era. The bulk of Simm's letters, postmarked from New Jersey or New York, are addressed to his brother, Andrew Simm, of Paisley, Scotland. The first letter, headed "from my cell princeton college decem 2 1768," explains how Simm got his bachelor's degree from Princeton after his arrival, and describes the graduation gown he had to purchase. In other letters, Simm writes about what is happening in America at the time, including Witherspoon and the College of New Jersey, the Stamp Act, the arrival in Boston of regiments from Ireland, the destruction to cities following the Spanish and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. In his letter dated 8 June 1769, Simm notes the accomplishments of Witherspoon at the College of New Jersey which was almost bankrupt at the time of his arrival. Simm also writes about the different positions he accepted, his marriage, the death at childbirth of two sons, and his joining the Loyalists and accepting a commission of Quarter Master of the regiment of Col. Rudolph Ritzina. Also included is a letter from Hugh Simm to Robert Atkin in Freehold; a document indenturing his brother, Andrew, to Robert Pollack and John Marshall, dated Paisley, 12 February 1747, signed by Andrew Simm, his father, John Simm, and others, and a document dated 1808 informing Andrew Simm that he has been chosen to serve in the Renfrew County Militia. In a letter dated New York, 2 October 1778, Simm gives statistics of the "present state of New York," which include the number of homes, inhabitants, and ships of war in the harbor.
Material is arranged chronologically.
The collection is open for research.
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under
Gift of John M. Brodie, Elmira, N.Y., on
No appraisal information is available.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Hugh Simm Collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
This collection was processed by Dina Britain in July 2007. Finding aid written by Traci Ballou-Broadnax on August 16, 2007. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.
Hugh Simm was a mechanic by trade in the town of Paisley in Scotland. He also studied the classics and divinity under the tutelage of the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon. When Witherspoon left Paisley to take the presidency of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1768, he took Simm with him. On Witherspoon's recommendation, Simm was hired by the trustees of the college to become Princeton's first librarian and inspector of rooms, for a salary of £5. Simm was awarded the honorary degree of Bachelor of Arts from the College in 1768. Simm received news about friends and family in Scotland from his brother, Andrew, and sent information about the growing community of people coming to America from Paisley and Glasgow, Scotland. Within a year Simm became a teacher at the grammar school, which was in the same building as the College, and following that he took another teaching position at a grammar school in Freehold, N.J., where he taught Latin, Greek, and natural philosophy, earning a salary of £50 to £55 per year. Simm left Freehold to teach at another grammar school in New York City, where he got married, then became the head of another school in Albany, N.Y. The advent of the Revolution caused a break in his relationship with Witherspoon. Simm was a loyalist to the British Crown while Witherspoon was a member of the Continental Congress. Simm finally returned to Paisley and was rewarded for his loyalty during the Revolution by the British Crown.
Andrew Simm, Hugh Simm's brother, was a weaver in Paisley, Scotland.
John Witherspoon was the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and, from 1776 to 1782, a leading member of the Continental Congress. He came from Scotland in 1768 to assume the presidency of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and held office there until his death, a quarter of a century later.
"Paisley" is world famous as the name of the teardrop pattern used on everything from clothing to a range of everyday domestic goods. However, the pattern did not actually originate in the town of Paisley, Scotland; it can be traced back 2,000 years to Indo-European cultures. It became associated with Paisley after soldiers returning from British colonies in India brought back cashmere shawls containing the pattern and weavers in Paisley adopted it for their own use. At the end of the 18th century a very large number of Scottish individuals and their families from Paisley immigrated to America seeking a better life. Their letters home provide a valuable source of information about the towns where they settled.
The College of New Jersey was initially chartered in 1746. The first classes were held in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in the parsonage of the president, the Reverend Jonathan Dickinson. Upon his death, the College moved to Newark, New Jersey, and was headed by the Reverend Aaron Burr, Sr. Since 1756, the College has been located in Princeton, New Jersey. For the first fifty years, nearly all College operations took place within Nassau Hall. Fires, fundraising difficulties, low student enrollment, and the Civil War challenged the vitality of the College in the early and middle nineteenth century, but the College grew vigorously under the leadership of President James McCosh, and it was renamed Princeton University in 1896. The Graduate School was established in 1900, although a limited graduate program had existed since the 1870s. Princeton enthusiastically supported the country (living up to its informal motto, "Princeton in the Nation's Service") during the First and Second World Wars, offering the expertise of faculty and campus space for training, as well as facilitating the early graduation of students so they could enlist. The post-World War II years brought dramatic changes to Princeton. The size and strength of the University's facilities and academic programs—especially for the applied sciences and public policy—were increased dramatically. Under President Robert Goheen, Princeton began to admit minority students in greater numbers in the 1960s and admitted women undergraduates in 1969. Today, Princeton is widely regarded as one of the top universities in the world.
Born at Gifford, Scotland, in 1723, and a descendant of John Knox, John Witherspoon became the leader of the conservative group of the Church of Scotland. Persuaded by Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton, both trustees of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), to come to America, he became the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (1768 to 1794) as well as a member of the Continental Congress (1776-1782) and the only active clergyman or college president to sign the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon also helped organize Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey.
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