bMS 602

Attwood, Luther Weston. Diaries, 1892-1932.

Summary Information:

• Call Number: bMS 602
• Title: Attwood, Luther Weston. Diaries, 1892-1932.
• Repository: Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-1911.
• Quantity: 25 volumes (1.33 linear feet).

Administrative Information:

• Acquisition Information: Collection purchased in November 2004 from Carmen D. Valentino, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia, PA. 
• Access: There are no restrictions on access to this collection. 

Biographical Information:

Luther Weston Attwood (1857-1932) was born in West Minot, Maine. He graduated from Tufts College in 1891, and was ordained a Universalist minister at Tufts that same year. He became pastor of the Second Universalist Church in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1891, where he remained for twenty-one years. He married Mary Harris Shaw in 1899. Attwood was also a pastor in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and in Abington, Massachusetts. He retired from Abington in 1930. 

Scope and Content:

Collection consists of twenty-five diaries kept by Attwood from 1892 to 1932. Each diary represents one year, with the exception of the last volume, which represents the years 1929-1932. There are no diaries for the years 1894, 1895, 1897, 1917-1921, and 1924-1928. The diaries record Attwood's church work with named parishioners and colleagues, related statistics (e.g., attendance numbers, dollar amounts); his social interactions with other individuals; references to his missionary work in Japan; chronicles of his travels; and his thoughts and emotions on a number of subjects. Diaries dated 1892-1908 are in box 1, and those dated 1909-1932 are in box 2. See related collection bMS 177, the papers of Isaac Wallace Cate.