American Unitarian Association. Letterbooks, 1825-1914 (copies of letters).

Summary Information:

Call Number: bMS 388
Title:American Unitarian Association Letterbooks, 1825-1914.
Repository: Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard Divinity School
45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-1911
Quantity:7  boxes (2.45 cubic feet)

Administrative Information:

Hollis Number:7559265
Preferred Citation:American Unitarian Association Letterbooks, bMS 388, Andover-Harvard Library, Harvard Divinity School.
Acquisition Information:Gift of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Access Restrictions: There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Historical Information:

The American Unitarian Association was formally organized on May 25, 1825. Before this date, there was a club in Boston which consisted of some twenty liberal-minded and public-spirited citizens called the Anonymous Association. At a meeting of this club, a discussion arose concerning the advisability of forming an association to publish books and tracts setting forth the opinions and principles of the liberal party in the Congregational churches. The object of the proposed association was "to promote the growth of Christian truth and Christian charity, and the increase of religion in the land." The specific objects of the association, were declared to be: "a) to collect and diffuse information respecting the state of Unitarian Christianity in our country, b) to produce union, sympathy, and co-operation among Liberal Christians, c) to publish and distribute books and tracts, d) to supply missionaries, especially to such parts of our country as are destitute of a stated ministry, and e) to adopt whatever other measures may hereafter seem expedient, such as contributions in behalf of clergymen with insufficient salaries or in aid of building churches."(from the 1900 Unitarian Yearbook). 

The correspondence in this collection was usually directed to the various secretaries, assistant secretaries, and treasurers of the AUA. A list of  AUA secretaries is as follows:

Scope and Content:

This particular collection of AUA letters consists of copies of letters sent to the AUA Secretary from 1825-1914. The first box contains handwritten copies of letters, and the rest of the letters are carbon copies. See related collections of official AUA correspondence in bMS 571, bMS 419, bMS 496, bMS 11070, and bMS 11127. 

Container List:

bMS 388/1 (1) Handwritten copies of letters, 1825-1830

bMS 388/1 (2) Handwritten copies of letters, 1834-1835, plus one letter from 1848

bMS 388/1 (3) Handwritten copies of letters, 1848, (in poor condition)

bMS 388/2 (1) July 8, 1860-May 21, 1866

bMS 388/2 (2) June 8, 1866-August 9, 1867

bMS 388/3 (1) August 12, 1867-July 30, 1868

bMS 388/3 (2) August 5,1868-January 3, 1870

bMS 388/4 (1) August 17, 1873-January 21, 1885

bMS 388/4 (2) August 11, 1874-February 5, 1884

bMS 388/5 (1) March 26, 1885-July 1,1891

bMS 388/5 (2) January 26, 1885-April 2, 1892

bMS 388/5 (3) February 16, 1887-September 20, 1892

bMS 388/6 (1) April 2, 1892-April 23, 1898

bMS 388/6 (2) April 27, 1898-May 11, 1905

bMS 388/7 (1) April 13, 1904-January 18, 1909

bMS 388/7 (2) June 1, 1905-December 30, 1914

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