bMS 674
Ware, William. Papers, 1813-1852.
Summary Information:
- Call Number: bMS 674
- Title: William Ware Papers, 1813-1852
- Repository: Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School. 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-1911
- Quantity: 4 boxes (1.40 linear feet)
Administrative Information:
- Preferred Citation: William Ware Papers, 1813-1852, bMS 674, Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School.
- Acquisition Information: Donated by Mary Ware Sampson (granddaughter of William Ware) and Henry G. Pearson.
- Processing Information: Processed by Jonathan Hauze, 2002
- Access: There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Biographical Information:
William Ware (1797-1852), writer, editor and Unitarian minister, was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Clark and Henry Ware, Sr. He graduated from Harvard in 1816, and then studied theology for three years with his father, who had been appointed Hollis Professor of Divinity in 1805. William Ware was ordained in 1821 and married Mary Waterhouse in 1823, and they had seven children. He was a minister in the First Unitarian Society in New York from 1821 until 1836, when he resigned due to health reasons and a desire to give himself to full-time writing. In 1838, he bought the Christian Examiner, and served as its editor for six years. He held several pastoral positions briefly in the Boston area (including Waltham, 1837-38, and West Cambridge, 1844-45) but did not return to the ministry again for any extended period of time. He wrote The Antiquity and Revival of Unitarian Christianity (1831) and three novels set in early Christian and biblical times: Zenobia, Probus, and Julian. His later works included the American Unitarian Biography (1851). After a series of epileptic attacks, he died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(from American National Biography, volume 22, pages 665-666).
Scope and Content:
This collection consists primarily of the family correspondence of William Ware, and it is organized alphabetically by correspondent. The bulk of the correspondence was written to William's brother, Henry Ware, Jr., who was Parkman Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care at Harvard Divinity School until his death in 1843. There are also a number of letters written by William's wife, Mary. The collection also includes biographical and personal materials, such as portraits of family members and an extensive family tree, and miscellaneous items related to William Ware's ministerial career and family.
Container List:
(Note: the collection number is bMS 674, the number after the slash is the box number, and the number in parentheses is the folder number.)
Personal Material
- bMS 674/1 (1) Biographical information - timeline
- bMS 674/1 (2) William Ware's death notice, clipping from Christian Register, 1852
- bMS 674/1 (3) 'Descendants of Henry Ware' (father of William Ware, includes family of William Ware)
- bMS 674/1 (4) Portraits, Ware family
- bMS 674/1 (5) Diary (fragment) from journey taken by William Ware, 1848-49?
- bMS 674/1 (6) Sketch by 'Uncle William Ware'
Letters from William Ware to:
- bMS 674/1 (7) Allen, Lucy Clarke Ware, 1818
- bMS 674/1 (8-9) Channing, William E., 1839-1840
- bMS 674/1 (10-12) Furness, William H., 1836-1839
- bMS 674/1 (13-14) Hall, Harriet Ware, 1815-1833
- bMS 674/1 (15) Ingersoll, Rev. E.E., 1830
- bMS 674/1 (16) Ware, Frederick, 1849
- bMS 674/1 (17) Ware, Henry (son of William Ware), 1820s
- bMS 674/1 (18-51) Ware, Henry, Jr. (brother of William Ware), 1813-1827
- bMS 674/2 (1-57) Ware, Henry, Jr. (brother of William Ware), 1828-1836
- bMS 674/3 (1-40) Ware, Henry, Jr. (brother of William Ware), 1837-1843; n.d.
- bMS 674/3 (41-55) Ware, Henry, Jr. (brother of William Ware), from William Ware and Mary Ware (wife of William), 1822-1834; n.d.
- bMS 674/3 (56-58) Ware, Henry Sr. (father of William Ware), 1822-1836
- bMS 674/4 (1-19) Ware, John (brother of William Ware), 1830-1848
- bMS 674/4 (20-22) Ware, Mary (wife of William Ware), 1833; n.d.
- bMS 674/4 (23-27) Ware, Mary L. (wife of Henry Ware, Jr.), 1828-1844
- bMS 674/4 (28-29) Ware, Mary L. (wife of Henry Ware, Jr.), from William Ware and Mary Ware, 1828; n.d.
- bMS 674/4 (30) Waterhouse, Benjamin, 1824
- bMS 674/4 (31) Waterhouse, Mary, 1822
- bMS 674/4 (32) Trustees of the First Congregational Church, N.Y., 1835
- bMS 674/4 (33-39) Unaddressed (no correspondent name given), 1845; n.d.
Letters from Mary Ware (wife of William Ware) to:
- bMS 674/4 (40-51) Ware, Henry Jr. (brother of William Ware), 1824-1834
- bMS 674/4 (52-59) Ware, Mary L. (wife of Henry Ware, Jr.), 1828-1844; n.d.
- bMS 674/4 (60) Unaddressed letter fragment
Miscellaneous Letters
- bMS 674/4 (61) Dewey, Orville to _____ (unaddressed), 1846
- bMS 674/4 (62) Robbins, Eliza to Henry Ware (son of William Ware), 1852
- bMS 674/4 (63) Russell, Deborah to _____ (unaddressed), 1777/1877?
- bMS 674/4 (64) Ware, Elizabeth (1st Wife of Henry Ware, Jr.) to Mary Waterhouse, n.d.
- bMS 674/4 (65) Ware, Henry, Jr. to Orville Dewey, 1835
- bMS 674/4 (66) Ware, Henry, Jr. to W. H. Furness, 1829
- bMS 674/4 (67) Ware, John to William Ware, 1815
Miscellaneous Items
- bMS 674/4 (68) Copy of Preamble and Resolutions passed at the Annual Meeting of the First Congregational Church in New York.
- bMS 674/4 (69) Certificate of Election, election of John F. Waterhouse to the Cabinet of Sciences.