bMS 685
Bigelow, Andrew. Papers, 1823-1861.
Summary Information:
- Title: Bigelow, Andrew. Papers, 1823-1861.
- Repository: Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-1911
- Quantity: 1 box
Administrative Information:
- Access: There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
- Processing Information: This collection was processed by Robert Swartz, July 2007.
Biographical Information:
Andrew Bigelow (1795-1877) was born in Groton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1814 and studied law before turning to divinity. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1817 and spent some time in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was ordained as an Evangelist in 1820 and subsequently ministered in Eastport, Maine, for one year. In 1823 he was installed as a Unitarian minister at First Parish, Medford, Massachusetts, and afterward led congregations in Washington, D.C.; Taunton, Massachusetts; South Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts; and Boston. He married Amelia Sargent Stanwood on January 26, 1824. In 1846 he resigned his post at Pitts Street Chapel to become a minister at large. From that time until his death he was known for his work among the poor. During his lifetime he published two books and a number of sermons. He died in Boston on April 1, 1877.
Scope and Content:
This collection includes professional and personal correspondence. The latter category contains letters from Bigelow's wife, Amelia; his father, Timothy; his sister, Elizabeth; his son, Timothy; the younger Timothy's wife, Louisa; their daughter, Louise; and Andrew's niece, Katherine Bigelow Lawrence, concerning her engagement and the death of her father, Abbott Lawrence. The collection also includes an obituary for the elder Timothy, a signed contract for Andrew Bigelow's second book, Travels in Malta and Sicily, with Sketches of Gibraltar in 1827, and a handwritten biography of Mary Whitwell Hale, a member of Bigelow's congregation in Taunton and author of a collection of poems. Sermons, personal ledgers, political writings, and academic material are also included in this collection.
Container List:
- bMS 685/1 (1) Sermons
- bMS 685/1 (2) Sermons
- bMS 685/1 (3) Correspondence to, c.1817-1874
- bMS 685/1 (4) Correspondence to, c.1817-1869
- bMS 685/1 (5) Correspondence from, c.1819-1854
- bMS 685/1 (6) Recommendations, 1816
- bMS 685/1 (7) Ledgers and inventories
- bMS 685/1 (8) Papers written at Harvard
- bMS 685/1 (9) Letters of Amelia Bigelow to Andrew Bigelow, c. 1822-1823
- bMS 685/1 (10) Elizabeth Bigelow correspondence, c. 1825-1862
- bMS 685/1 (11) Journal of Elizabeth Bigelow
- bMS 685/1 (12) Louisa Bennett Bigelow (daughter-in-law of Andrew), correspondence
- bMS 685/1 (13) Timothy Bigelow, correspondence
- bMS 685/1 (14) Obituary of Timothy Bigelow, 1821
- bMS 685/1 (15) Biography of Mary W. Hale
- bMS 685/1 (16) Political Writings?
- bMS 685/1 (17) Contracts and Receipts
- bMS 685/1 (18) Miscellaneous notes, poems, and other writings
- bMS 685/1 (19) Letter to Louise Bennett Bigelow (granddaughter of Andrew) from Olivia (?), c. 1920
- bMS 685/1 (20) Letters to Katherine Bigelow Lawrence (niece of Andrew), c. 1854-1855