Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Ebenezer Thresher papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Ebenezer Thresher papers
- Date
- 1823-1864, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Thresher, Ebenezer, 1798-1886
- Extent
- 0.09 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Baptists -- Clergy.
- Baptists -- Education.
- Baptists -- Sermons.
- Church membership.
- Letters.
- Religion
- Religious education
- Slavery and the church -- Baptists.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0194: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Ebenezer Thresher papers, 1824-1864, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Ebenezer Thresher II (1798-1886) was born in Stafford, Connecticut to Ebenezer Thrasher (1756-1832) and Hannah Blodgett (1762-1840). Thresher was a Baptist preacher who served at the First Baptist Church in Portland, Maine and the First Baptist Church of Ohio in Dayton. In 1827, he married his first wife, Elizabeth Fenner (1802-1860). Together the couple had at least seven children, Elizabeth (1829-1852), Thomas Fenner (1831-1907), Sarah (1833-1880), Mary (b. 1835), Helen Maria (1937-1895), Maria (b. 1840), and Ebenezer III (1842-1913). Thresher's wife, Elizabeth, passed away in 1860, and in 1861, he remarried to Martha Snyder (1823-1884). They had two children together, Mary Martha (b. 1865) and Laura Henderson (1867-1951). Thresher moved from Portland, Maine after being forced to resign from his congregation and spent time in Massachusetts giving sermons along the New England Coast. In the early 1840s Thresher moved the family west to Ohio and began to work at a sawmill, eventually becoming a partner in Thresher, Packard, and Company, who built railroad cars until, his retirement in 1874. Ebenezer was active in the Baptist church, he was corresponding secretary for the Northern Baptist Education Society and was appointed trustee of Denison University in 1857.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Ebenezer Thresher papers (dated 1824-1864, undated; 0.09 cubic feet; 4 folders) comprise a diary, bank notes, photographs, and letters that document the life and religious work of Ebenezer Thresher II in New England and Ohio during the mid-nineteenth century. The diary covers a three year span in Ebenezer's life, 1829-1832, where he describes sermons given, marriages presided over, the health of his wife, the birth of his children, and thoughts on his work as a preacher. The bank notes are mainly written by Ebenezer, promising to pay specific amounts of money to persons and institutions, but there is one bank note written to Ebenezer for pew rental at the First Baptist Church of Ohio. There are two photographs in the collection, one is a portrait of Ebenezer, the other is a portrait of his daughter Laura from his second marriage. The letters are primarily written between Ebenezer and his brother, James Thresher, while Ebenezer attended Columbia College in Virginia. Ebenezer describes his impression of southerners, how they were prejudiced against northerners and that their economy, manners, and customs were miserable. There is a letter from Ebenezer's son, Thomas, the describes how he was expelled from Denison University for drinking and gambling in 1850. Additionally, there are letters to Ebenezer appointing him to preach in Portland, Maine and letters from Ebenezer welcoming his son and son's new wife home.
- The Ebenezer Thresher papers are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
