Overview
Papers of Universalist and Unitarian minister Edward Turner (1776-1853) including sermons, 1813-1843; essays; biographical sketches; correspondence, 1803-1848, including letters from leading Universalists and Unitarians such as Adin Ballou, Thomas Whittemore, Hosea Ballou, Paul Dean, and Samuel Joseph May. There is also Turner family correspondence, biographical material, and photographs.
Dates
- Creation: 1711-1873.
Extent
5 boxesSermons, 1813-1843; essays; biographical sketches; correspondence, 1803-1848, including letters from leading Universalists and Unitarians such as Adin Ballou, Thomas Whittemore, Hosea Ballou, Paul Dean, and Samuel Joseph May; Turner family correspondence, biographical material, and photographs.
Biographical / Historical
Edward Turner (1776-1853) was born in Medfield, Massachusetts, and became a Universalist in 1793. He studied with Hosea Ballou, and he and Ballou shared the southern Worcester County (Mass.) circuit until 1803. In 1811 he and Ballou co-founded the Gloucester Conference, a minister's colloquium for the discussion of theological questions. The Gloucester Conference published their discussions in The Gospel Visitant, which was printed by Turner in 1812. Turner was also influential in the founding of the Southern Association, which gathered pastors throughout southern New England. He served as Standing Clerk of the Association from 1815 to 1819. He also served as the Standing Clerk of the New England General Convention from 1815 to 1824. Turner served Universalist parishes in Sturbridge, Salem, and Charlestown, Massachusetts, as well as in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He effectively left the Universalist ministry in 1828 when he accepted a call to serve the Unitarian Church in Charlton, Massachusetts. He served other Unitarian parishes in Augusta, Georgia, and Fishkill, New York.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series I. Documentation About the Collection and Family Photographs
- Series II. Correspondence (1803-1848)
- Series III. Family Correspondence (1823-1872)
- Series IV. Biographical
- Series V. Letters, Circulars, Statements, etc.
Acquisition Information
Purchased, 1983.
- Title
- Turner, Edward, 1776-1853. Papers, 1711-1873: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00513
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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