Alger, William Rounseville. Notebooks, 1822-1905.
Overview
Notebooks and other items of Unitarian minister, abolitionist, and author William Rounseville Alger (1822-1905).
Dates
- Creation: 1822-1905.
Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
1 boxesThis collection consists of two series. Series I is comprised of William R. Alger's notebooks. Each notebook includes a handwritten title, and they are arranged alphabetically by this title. Series II consists of two miscellaneous items including the essay Religion and Science by an unidentified author, as well as an excerpt from Gary Scharnhorst's biography of Alger. This excerpt makes mention of 13 handwritten notebooks, 10 of which are in this collection.
Biographical / Historical
William Rounseville Alger (1822-1905) attended Harvard Divinity School from 1844-1847. In 1848, he was ordained as a Unitarian minister in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he served until 1855. He also served at the Bulfinch Street Church in Boston and, later at churches in New York, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Louisiana, and Rhode Island. He was a member of the Free Masons and was an active abolitionist, as noted in his 1857 Fourth of July address The Genius and Posture of America. He was a contributor to the publications Old and New and the Christian Examiner, the latter of which he co-edited during the 1860s. His major literary works included The Poetry of the East (1856) and A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life (1860). He was interested in eschatological themes and his work contributed to the growth of the nascent study of comparative theology.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series I. Notebooks
- Series II. Miscellaneous
Acquisition Information
Gift of Gary Scharnhorst, 1993.
- Title
- Alger, William Rounseville, 1822-1905. Notebooks, 1822-1905: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00565
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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