The David Rittenhouse Papers are now digitized in their entirety and available to view in the APS’s Digital Library. The collection contains around 30 objects ranging from correspondence, to receipts for taxes paid, to Rittenhouse memorial material from the early 20th century.
The David Rittenhouse papers cover from 1774 to 1932. The collection consists of 61 items and spans 0.25 linear feet. The items from the 20th century are memorial materials commemorating various members of the Rittenhouse, Abbot, and Sergeant families. A majority of the collection consists of correspondence, mainly between Rittenhouse and his family members, but also correspondence between Rittenhouse and various politicians and men of science. Also included are receipts, broadsides, and two genealogies: the Rittenhouse family’s, and the family of Rittenhouse’s son-in-law, Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant. The bulk of the collection was acquired in 1970, with one additional letter purchased in 2008.
The collection contains mainly correspondence but also interesting material like Rittenhouse’s Astronomical Calculations and a Rittenhouse Family genealogy.