This collection contains 4 letters that James Stokes Dickerson wrote to his brother, John S. Dickerson, while studying at Madison University (now Colgate University) in Hamilton, New York. He discussed many aspects of his life at school, such as his social activities and the boarding hall where he lived (May 23, 1846), and lamented his poverty and poor financial situation, which prevented him from taking full advantage of vacation periods. Dickerson expressed his joy at a recent religious revival in Hamilton and his hope that John would convert to Christianity (March 28, 1846), and some of his early letters concern his family and his childhood.
James Stokes Dickerson was born in Philadelphia on July 6, 1825, the son of John (ca. 1792-May 1836) and Eliza Ann Dickerson (October 19, 1798-February 11, 1830), both of whom died while James was young. His six full siblings and two half siblings included Anne Eliza (m. Gilbert Colgate), Thomas, Sarah Grace (m. Samuel B. VanDusen), and John. After the deaths of their parents, James and John were sent by their uncle, James Stokes of New York City, to attend school in Newburgh, New York, where they resided with "Mr. James" for three years. James S. Dickerson entered Madison University (now Colgate University) in Hamilton, New York, in 1842, graduating in 1848. He then moved to New York City, where for several years he worked as an editor for the Recorder, a bookseller, and a publisher. In 1856, he moved to Philadelphia, and he served as secretary for the American Baptist Publication Society until becoming pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Wilmington, Delaware, in December 1860. He continued his pastoral career in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1865-1870); Boston, Massachusetts (1870-1875); and Chicago, Illinois (1875-1876). He and his first wife, Julia P. Spencer, were married on June 9, 1852, and had four children, including James Spencer and Ada Pauline. After Julia's death, Dickerson married Emma Richardson (b. 1842), with whom he had two daughters, Florence and Grace. James Stokes Dickerson died on March 21, 1786.
