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Letters to Samuel Wolcott
Creator
Title
Letters to Samuel Wolcott, 1829-1874.
Physical Description
1 box (0.4 linear ft.)
Language
English
Notes
One letter in Syriac.
Provenance
Purchased from William Reese Co. on the Library Associates Endowment Fund, 1999.
Organization
Alphabetically arranged by correspondent.
Biographical / Historical Note
Samuel Wolcott (1813-1886), a native of South Windsor, Connecticut, was graduated from Yale College in 1833, completed his theological studies at Andover Theological Seminary in 1837, and was ordained in 1839. In that year he went to Syria as a missionary for the American Board for Foreign Missions, and remained there for three years. He subsequently served at various churches in New England and Ohio, and was secretary of the Ohio Home Missionary Society from 1874 to 1882. He was the author of "Separation from Slavery" for the American Tract Society, and a contributor to Eli Smith's Researches in Palestine (1843).
Summary
Letters from relatives, friends and professional contacts to the Rev. Samuel Wolcott. The earliest letters are two from his friend William Strong offering advice on Wolcott's studies and conduct while at Yale and describing his own experiences teaching in Burlington, New Jersey. Edwin David Sanborn discusses teaching at Dartmouth and opinions on Abolition and football there, while Samuel Wolcott Skinner details his studies at Gorham Academy and the Gorham Lyceum. Missionary work, particularly in Palestine, is the focus of letters from Elias Root Beadle and William Tipping, while Francis Bowen writes to solicit a missions-related article for the North American Review.
Approximately half the letters are from family members, including three from Wolcott to his wife Harriet, and contain much family news, descriptions of travels and visits in the Midwest, plans for Elizur Wolcott to journey to California (later abandoned), and commentary on sermons, church matters, and local events. A letter from Wolcott's brother Elizur, dated 17 October 1842, describes the Mormon settlement and temple at Nauvoo and discusses Mormonism and Millerism as "falsehoods incarnate." An 1861 letter, also by Elizur, condemns Lincoln as an "imbecile President" for his failure to pursue full abolition of slavery in the early stages of the Civil War. Later letters from "Henry" and "Sam" (probably Wolcott's sons) contain descriptions of Henry's work for the Des Moines Railroad in Summit and of Sam's life in Texas as a sheepherder.
Format
Archives or Manuscripts
Added to Catalog
June 01, 2002
Subjects
Occupation
Missionaries
Bookmark As
Citation
