Asa Messer papers 1791-1859 (bulk 1796-1826).

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Asa Messer papers 1791-1859 (bulk 1796-1826).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/84632217

Consists of letterbooks, correspondence, sermons, speeches, essays, prayers, lecture notes, diaries, and legal papers dating from 1791 to 1859, although the bulk dates from 1769 to 1836. The collection documents Messer's activites as President of Brown University; his sermons, prayers and religious essays; and his financial investments and inventions. Messer's roles as tutor and professor are sparsely documented. The Baptist church and the debate among Baptists regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ, including Messer's position on the topic, are also documented. Correspondents include David Benedict, Richard Furman, John Evans, James M. Winchell, and William Rogers. Brown University student topics documented include student behavior and Messer's subsequent disciplinary actions, which were usually rustication or dismission; financial matters; courses of study; conferment of degrees; and recommendations for study at the Andover Theological Seminary. Other Brown related topics documented include honorary degrees conferred, the appointment of tutors, salaries for fellows, and the library. The collection contains Messer's commencement addresses and other addresses, titled Essays, which he delivered at the college's Sunday chapel services. Messer was licensed to preach by the First Baptist Church in Providence, R.I. Although he was never a pastor, Messer preached in various churches in R.I. The collection contains his sermons, which are in notebooks that also bear the locations and various dates when the sermons were delivered. The collection also includes Prayers written by Messer, which were usually delivered at Baptist meetings and publc events. Baptist related topics documented in the correspondence include forms of baptism, foreign mission boards, religious revivals, and baptisms by Stephen Gano. Various beliefs about the divinity of Jesus Christ are mentioned throughout the correspondence, which includes references to Arianism, Socinism, and Unitarianism. Messer resigned from the Presidency of Brown amidst a controversy about his views on the divinity of Christ. The letters also document Messer's interests in politics and mechanics. His opinions on the Missouri Compromise are revealed in a series of letters to Samuel Eddy. Messer's interest in mechanics and natural philosophy are reflected in applications for patents for mill machinery, his lecture notes, and his correspondence on light refraction. He invested in the Wrentham Manufacturing Co., a Mass. cotton mill. There are some letters regarding his investment. Diaries created by Asa Messer Williams, grandson of Asa Messer, while he traveled in Germany and Italy in 1852 and 1853, are in the collection. Sermons written by Williams are also in the collection.

1250 items (1.7 linear ft.)

Brown University Archives, John Hay Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8324643

Related Entities

There are 15 Entities related to this resource.

Jesus Christ

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w628066c (person)

Eddy, Samuel, 1769-1839

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68368nf (person)

Benedict, David, 1779-1874

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm4xcd (person)

Messer, Asa 1768-1836.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s82vhj (person)

Furman, Richard, 1755-1825

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d51jh0 (person)

Baptist minister of Charleston, S.C., and Stateburg, S.C.; Doctorate of Divinity from Rhode Island College, 1799; member, S.C. General Assembly, 1790; founder, S.C. Baptist Convention, 1821; President of Religious Tract Society, Charleston, S.C.; founder of Claremount Academy, Statesburg, S.C.; son of Wood Furman (d. 1783) and Rachel Brodhead Furman; husband of Elizabeth Haynsworth Furman (d. 1787) and Dorothea Maria Burn Furman; father of Henry H. Furman, James Furman, Wood Furman, and at least...

Gano, Stephen, 1762-1828

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pp17dk (person)

Williams, Asa Messer, 1831-1859.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mm3sqp (person)

Rogers, William, 1751-1824

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jm2pkn (person)

Brown University.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gj37ms (corporateBody)

In 1917 the university established the Brown War Records Bureau, whose intention was to "collect and preserve a record of all Brown men who are serving in the present war". Brown faculty, students and alumni who were in the military were asked to fill out a small card called "Are you in the war?" and to send original letters, clippings or photographs which "have any bearing on the service of Brown men in the war." This collection is partly a result of that effort. From the guide to t...

Brown university. Library

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rj8gft (corporateBody)

Brown University Library periodically mounts exhibitions highlighting various materials in its collections. These exhibits range from small scale displays to large exhibitions accompanied by events and catalogues. From the guide to the Brown University Library Exhibition Labels, 1945-1986, (John Hay Library Special Collections) Records of the Library of Brown University. From the description of Records of the Library, 1783-1958. (Brown University). WorldCat recor...

Wrentham Manufacturing Co.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63c37z4 (corporateBody)

Messer, Asa, 1769-1836

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6183rm6 (person)

Third President of Brown University, 1804-1826; Acting President of the university (then Rhode Island College) from 1802 to 1804; Baptist clergy. ǂb Messer received an A.B. from Rhode Island College (Brown University) in 1790; he then held various teaching positions at the college: tutor, 1791-1796; professor of learned languages, 1796-1799; and professor of natural philosophy, 1799-1802. From the guide to the Asa Messer papers, Messer (Asa) papers, (bulk 1796-1836), 1791-1862, (John...

First Baptist Church (Providence, R.I.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xm3gjh (corporateBody)

Winchell, James M. (James Manning), 1791-1820

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qr6v3w (person)

Baptist minister. From the description of Sermons, 1816-1819. (Andover Newton Theological School). WorldCat record id: 12055385 ...

Evans, John, 1767-1827

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60g4gfs (person)

John Evans, British General Baptist minister. From the description of John Evans manuscript material : 1 item, ca. 1793 (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 183925748 From the guide to the John Evans manuscript material : 1 item, ca. 1793, (The New York Public Library. Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.) ...