Collection: The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859.
The Samuel Cooper to whom Adams refers is probably Revolutionary-era patriot pastor Samuel Cooper (1725-1783) of Boston's Brattle Street Church. Cooper was a strong supporter of the Revolutionary cause and wrote and preached extensively on the subject. Adams was one of Cooper's congregants. Shaw (1778-1826) was Adams's nephew and secretary. He was a prominent attorney and scholar, as well as a board member of the Boston Athenaeum. He was responsible for making the Athenaeum public, and served as its librarian until 1823. Soames Jennings refers to Soames Jenyns, a mid-18th century British author who wrote The Internal Evidences of Christianity and Theory of Moral Evil.
Electronic reproduction. Marlborough, Wiltshire : AM, 2014. Digitized from a copy held by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History