Collection on British Wesleyan Conference Presidents A Guide to the Collection Overview Creator: Bridwell Library Title: Collection on British Wesleyan Conference Presidents Inclusive Dates: 1773-1950 Bulk Dates: 1790-1900 Abstract: Bridwell Library’s collection on British Wesleyan Conference Presidents comprises three scrapbook albums containing printed likenesses, biographical sketches, autographs, correspondence, and other documents relating to every British Wesleyan Conference president who served between 1790 (John Wesley) and 1905 (Charles H. Kelly). The collection represents the convergence of British Victorian interests in Methodistica and scrapbooking. To the original scrapbooks Bishop Frederick DeLand Leete added materials by and about ten additional twentieth-century Conference presidents. Accession No: BridArch 302.26 Extent: 6 boxes (3.5 linear feet) Language: Material is in English Repository Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University Historical Note Conference Presidents in the Methodist Church of Great Britain serve one year terms in which they travel throughout Great Britain preaching and representing the denomination. Conference Presidents may serve non-consecutive additional terms. John Wesley personally presided over 1 Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University annual conferences of ordained ministers and lay preachers serving in connection with the Methodist movement beginning in 1744. The office of President was instituted after Wesley’s death in 1791. Bridwell Library is the principal bibliographic resource at Southern Methodist University for the fields of theology and religious studies. Source: “The President and Vice-President,” Methodist Church of Great Britain website http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/structure/the-president-and-vice-president, accessed 07/23/2013 Scope and Contents of the Collection The engraved portraits, biographical notes, autographs, and letters in this collection represent every Conference president who served between 1790 and 1905. The first series (“Buckled Album”) also includes items by or relating to these additional twentieth-century presidents: Dinsdale Thomas Young (1915); John T. Wardle Stafford (1920); Herbert B. Workman (1930); William Christopher Jackson (1936); Charles Ensor Walters (1937); Robert Bond (1938); Walter J. Noble (1943); A. W. Harrison (1946); William Edwin Sangster (1949); and Howard Watkins- Jones (1952?). The albums in the collection demonstrate a hobbyist approach to collecting. No one subject is covered in depth. However, the historical research value of the collection is enhanced by the ability to review the combined assets of all three albums. Arrangement of the Collection The collection contains three series. Each series comprises a separate album of materials. Series 1: F. D. Leete Buckled Album, 1780-1950 Series 2: F. D. Leete Red Album, 1773 - circa 1950 Series 3: Frederick E. Maser Album, 1774-1899 2 Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University Restrictions Access to Collection: The collection is open for research use. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection. Publication Rights: Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the Bridwell Library. Copyright Statement: It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization. Access Terms This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms. Methodist Church -- Great Britain -- Clergy. Methodist Church -- History. Letters -- England. Leete, Frederick DeLand, 1866-1958. Maser, Frederick E. Related Material Digital reproductions of materials in the Collection on British Wesleyan Conference Presidents are available electronically at http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/all/bridwell/. The Bridwell Library Collection on Methodism in the United Kingdom and Ireland also includes correspondence with Wesleyan Conference presidents. A. M. Broadley Album on Brian Bury Collins, Bridwell Library Special Collections, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University 3 Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University Wesleyan Methodist Church Presidents Scrapbook, George Osborn Collection, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey Administrative Information Preferred Citation [Item identification,] Collection on British Wesleyan Conference Presidents, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Acquisition Information Acquired, ongoing. Processing Information The albums in the first two series were disbound and the contents were placed in acid-free folders within archival boxes. The album in the third series was not disbound, but the manuscript letters were removed for scanning and placed in archival folders and boxes. Processed by Timothy S. G. Binkley, 2013. Finding aid written by Timothy S. G. Binkley, 2013. Encoded by Ada Negraru, 2014. 4 Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University Detailed Description of the Collection Series 1: F. D. Leete Buckled Album, 1780-1950 Frederick D. Leete’s album “Autograph Letters and Portraits of Wesleyan Presidents” (also known as “the buckled album”) features printed likenesses, biographical sketches, and autograph letters of 86 men who served as British Wesleyan Conference presidents from the 1790s to the 1890s. After purchasing the album from Sotheby’s in 1950, Bishop Leete added items from other scrapbooks that he owned, a carte-de-visite, and his own personal correspondence with twentieth-century Conference presidents. The contents of this album were not physically attached to the pages. Instead they were carefully placed in the binder in letter-file fashion. The organization of the materials within the album reflects the succession of the Conference presidents. Roughly half of the folders in this series contain pages removed from a copy of Wesley and His Successors: A Centenary Memorial of the Death of John Wesley (1891) The following manuscript letters were removed from series 1 (the “buckled album”) and added to other collections created by Bridwell Library staff in the 1980s: John Wesley letter to Joseph Benson, 1773 September 10; and Thomas Coke letter to the Assistant or Resident Preacher 1792 April 26. Box Folder 01 01 Album provenance data, 1950 02 Lists of Wesleyan Conference presidents, circa 1950 03 Wesley family prints and biographical statements, 1891 04 John Fletcher print and biographical statement, 1891 05 William Thompson print and biographical statement, 1891 06 William Thompson letter to Joseph Benson, 1794 October 7 07 Alexander Mather print and biographical statement, 1891 08 Alexander Mather letter to William Marriott, Jr., 1793 October 17 09 John Pawson print and biographical statement, 1891 10 John Pawson letter to unidentified “My Dear Brother,” 1780 May 26 11 Thomas Hanby print and biographical statement, 1891 12 Joseph Bradford print and biographical statement, 1891 13 Thomas Taylor print and biographical statement, 1891 14 Thomas Coke print and biographical statement, 1891 15 Joseph Benson print and biographical statement, 1891 5 Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University 16 Joseph Benson letter to Mr. Everett, 1818 November 30 17 Samuel Bradburn print and biographical statement, 1891 18 Samuel Bradburn letter to Mr. Taylor, 1794 April 15 19 James Wood print and biographical statement, 1891 20 James Wood letter to Joseph Benson, 1798 May 21 21 Joseph Taylor, Sr. print and biographical statement, 1891 22 Henry Moore print and biographical statement, 1891 23 Henry Moore letter to Mrs. Moore, 1810 July 5 24 Henry Moore letter to Miss Taylor, 1830 February 5 25 Adam Clarke print and biographical statement, 1891 26 Adam Clarke letter to unidentified “My Dear Brother,” 1827 December 7 27 Adam Clarke letter to the Rev. J. Birdsal, 1828 October 8 28 John Barber print and biographical statement, 1891 29 Charles Atmore print and biographical statement, 1891 30 Charles Atmore letter to Jabez Bunting, 1824 April 10 31 Joseph Entwisle print and biographical statement, 1891 32 Joseph Entwisle letter to John Simpson, 1809 April 29 33 Joseph Entwisle letter to Mr. Wood, 1830 May 18 34 Joseph Entwisle notes on Luke 10:42, 1836 March 2 35 Joseph Entwisle letter to Isaac Keeling, 1836 May 24 36 Walter Griffith print and biographical statement, 1891 37 Richard Reece print and biographical statement, 1891 38 Richard Reece letter to J. B. Finley, undated 39 Richard Reece note to William Marriott, Jr., undated 40 John Gaulter print and biographical statement, 1891 41 John Gaulter letter to Thomas Chubb, 1819 September 1 42 Jonathan Edmondson print and biographical statement, 1891 43 Jonathan Edmondson letter to Allen Edmondson, 1834 July 3 44 Jonathan Crowther print and biographical statement, 1891 45 Jonathan Crowther, Sr., letter to Jonathan Crowther, Jr., undated 46 Jabez Bunting print and biographical statement, 1891 47 Jabez Bunting letter to George Marsden, 1822 September 14 48 Jabez Bunting letter unidentified “My dear Brother,” 1827 September 21 6 Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University 49 Hymn text “Acquaint thee, O mortal!” by William Knox signed by Jabez Bunting, 1834 April 2 50 Jabez Bunting, letter to James Fildes, 1843