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This collection is made up of sermons, letters, documents, printed items, and writings by or pertinent to Methodist minister Benjamin C. Phelps of Connecticut. Among the papers are Phelps' appointments as Deacon (1838) and Elder (1840) in the Methodist Episcopal Church, a volume of 43 manuscript sermons by Rev. Phelps utilized throughout his active ministry (including while chaplain at the Connecticut State Prison as Wethersfield, 1859-1869), an address on the importance of chaplaincy to correctional facilities, and a biographical sketch of Rev. Phelps by his great grandson.

This collection is made up of sermons, letters, documents, printed items, and writings by or pertinent to Methodist Minister Benjamin C. Phelps of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Among the papers are Phelps' appointments as Deacon (1838) and Elder (1840) in the Methodist Episcopal Church, a volume of 43 manuscript sermons by Rev. Phelps utilized throughout his active ministry (including while chaplain at the Connecticut State Prison as Wethersfield, 1859-1869), an address on the importance of chaplaincy to correctional facilities, and a biographical sketch of Rev. Phelps by his great grandson.

The heart of this collection is a bound volume containing 43 manuscript sermons by Benjamin C. Phelps, originally written between 1837 and 1847, but with marginal notes by Phelps indicating his re-use of them between 1848 and the 1870s. Worn from repeated use, a heavy brown paper outer cover was added; the paper bears fragments of printed imagery and text. Laid into the volume is a printed advertisement, "The Book of Dual Blanks for Pulpit and Choir," sold by publishers S. C. Dunn & Co., Bordentown, New Jersey.

An example, "Sir, what must I do to be saved?" (on Acts 16:30), he originally wrote for November 23, 1838, and then delivered it again at Manchester in March 1848 and again in Scotland June 1854. Another, "Sermon I", "And he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief" (on Matthew 13:58), he wrote in the later months of 1837 and delivered again at the State Prison in May 1858.

Sermon 40 is notable for its conveyance of views on the forgiveness of sin, with commentary on Universalist teachings about sin. In it, Rev. Phelps argued using quotations from Thomas Whittemore's The Plain Guide to Universalism, Otis A. Skinner's Universalism Illustrated and Defended, and Isaac D. Williamson's An Exposition and Defence of Universalism, that Universalism "utterly denies" the doctrine of forgiveness of the punishment of sin.

• 1825 October 19. Zion's Herald, vol. III, no. 42. Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1838 June 10. Elijah Hedding partially printed vellum certificate, appointing Benjamin C. Phelps a Deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church; Boston, Massachusetts. 1 page.
• 1839 January 19. B[enjamin] C. Phelps manuscript article draft "For Zion's Herald"; s.l. 4 pages. Concerning the lives and morality of mariners/sailors.
• 1840 July 5. Elijah Hedding partially printed vellum certificate, appointing Benjamin C. Phelps an Elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church; Lowell, Massachusetts. 1 page.
• 1863 December 27. N. P. Humphrey telegraph to "B. F. Phelps" [i.e. Benjamin C. Phelps]; Oakham, Massachusetts. 1 page. From Noah Humphrey to his son-in-law Rev. Phelps at Wethersfield State Prison, relating "Mother is dead. Funeral at two (2) oclock Tuesday." The American Telegraph Company.
• 1865 March 31. B[enjamin] C. Phelps draft of an address or report to the Directors of the Connecticut State Prison; Wethersfield, Connecticut. 4 pages. On the value and importance of chaplaincy in correctional facilities, with information about religious conversions over the previous year, improvements in inmates' dispositions and character, education, development of the library, the state of the sabbath school, and visits to cells for religious consultation. Visits the "female department" and then closes the day with prayer in the hospital. "An unknown friend, who by meeting an exconvict who proposed to have been converted while here, has become so much interested in the moral and religious welfare of the prisoners, as to send three copies of the Witness to my address for one year, for the use of the men. It is an interesting religious periodical published in New York."
• 1867 September. Printed program, Prison Concert, Saturday, Afternoon, Sep. 21, '67 : For the Inmates of the Connecticut State Prison, Given by the South Church Quartette, of Hartford. Wethersfield, Connecticut. 3 pages. Mrs. Charles W. Huntington, Soprano; Miss Almira Whiting, Contralto; Mr. C. W. Huntington, Tenor; and Mr. W. H. Hunt, Basso.
• 1896 December 23. Zion's Herald, vol. LXXIV, no. 52. Boston, Massachusetts. Containing Benjamin C. Phelps' obituary on page 15.
• 1897 July 1. F. B. Noyes autograph letter signed to Charles Phelps; Stonington, Connecticut. 1 page. Address to Hartford, Connecticut, July 1, 1897. 1 page. Enclosing a copy of Noyes' "history of the Phelps family." With enclosed typed genealogy "Phelps Family". 5 pages.
• Undated. Typed biography of Benjamin C. Phelps by his great-grandson, titled "Behind the Clocks," 28 pages.

The collection concerns Lydia Haskell's spiritual life and involvement with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Maine between 1820 and 1857. Her papers consist of 27 journals, 12 bound packets of letters, memoranda, additional correspondence, a hymnal, and loose documents. Her papers record her evolving sense of salvation, call to ministry, and conflicts with ministers over her work and her views on the Eucharist.

The collection concerns Lydia Haskell's spiritual life and involvement with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Maine between 1820 and 1857. Her papers consist of 27 journals, 12 bound packets of letters, memoranda, additional correspondence, a hymnal, and loose documents. Her papers record her evolving sense of salvation, call to ministry, and conflicts with ministers over her work and her views on the Eucharist.

• The death of her daughter Sarah in October 1844
• Missionary efforts in China and the work of the Missionary Society (1846-1847)
• Ministers in the area who preach universalism (1847)
• Efforts to receive the Eucharist weekly during her chronic illness (1849-1857, especially 1855)
• Class meetings of the Methodist Episcopal Church

Series I: Correspondence, 1837-1856, n.d.

The bulk of this series is comprised of correspondence between Haskell and one of her most cherished pastors, Rev. Hezekiah C. Tilton, and his wife. In these letters, Haskell openly shared her afflictions and joys, communicated information about the local church and common acquaintances, discussed her views on church practices, particularly that of the Eucharist, and sent copies of her "exercises," with requests for correction. Tilton responded in kind, with a similar mix of family and church news and spiritual reflection. He shared his opinions about her son Willabe's educational prospects with particular detail.

The series also contains 12 pamphlets that Haskell made of her correspondence and bound together in the same format as her journals. Some of these pamphlets contain chronologically-arranged letters addressed to a series of recipients, while others contain a series of entries addressed to a single individual or a single, lengthy testimony directed to a local church congregation. In most of these pieces, Haskell provided an account of her personal spiritual condition and exhorted her correspondents to do the same.

Finally, Haskell's correspondence includes letters she exchanged with various members of the Methodist clergy and with her allies in local churches during the debate over her weekly practice of receiving Communion.

Series II: Memoranda, 1844-1853, n.d.

• 2 copies (one incomplete) of Hezekiah C. Tilton's memorial on the death of her daughter Sarah, dated December 1844
• 2 packets that record when, from whom, and with whom she received Communion between 1849 and 1853
• 3 relatively similar packets of scriptural passages, dated April 1837 to 1850 (and in one copy to 1852), upon which Haskell meditated as part of a daily spiritual exercise - she directed one of these booklets, with an explanation of her practice, to Hezekiah C. Tilton in June 1850
• 2 poems, one signed "N. A. Soule," and the other made up of extracts from several religious poems and hymns
• A packet on the care of pastors (see longer version in letter to members of the M. E. Church in Millbridge and Steuben, June 1849)
• A resolution by parents to pray for their children on Tuesdays and to meet together for support and prayer, signed by 12 individuals, including Lydia Haskell and acquaintances of hers from the Harrington area

Series III: Journals, 1820-1857

Lydia Haskell's 27 religious journals, spanning from 1820 to 1857, offer extensive personal reflection on her spiritual life from the time she was a late adolescent to her final years as an invalid. The entries tend to address her sense of spiritual well-being and trials, her concern over the welfare of unbelievers, her relationships with various ministers, or her religious practices of prayer, memorizing scripture, and attending church meetings. During the years of her public ministry, the entries also include details about her work.

She reflected at intervals on her unique position in the Methodist Church as a "poor unworthy female" working publicly for salvation and on her anxiety about being perceived as a nuisance to local ministers.

• A summary of a sermon in which different Protestant groups are characterized as the various companies of a divine army [6 October 1837]
• Her temptation in a dream to leave the Methodist Church for a community with a greater "willingness to recognize females as fellow laborers in the vineyard of the Lord," namely the Society of Friends [4 March 1845]
• Her anxiety over the presidential election of 1856 and whether "the oppressors will continue to hold the reins of government" [5 November 1856]

Haskell quoted scriptural passages or portions of hymns, usually without explicitly citing them. She also transcribed a long portion of Washington Irving's short story "Rural Funerals" on the subject of "sorrow for the dead," shortly after the death of her cousin Lucy [Journal, 1824].

Over the years, Haskell apparently revisited some of her earlier entries, such as those from the early 1830s, which are followed by "Remarks," mostly dated July 1846, in which she reflected back on her earlier state of mind.

Series IV: Books

The collection includes an 1849 Methodist hymnbook: Hedding, Elijah. Hymns for the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. ed. New-York: Carlton & Porter, Array.

The Thomas and Daniel Osborn family papers contain correspondence and documents related to the ancestors and descendants of Yale graduate Daniel Osborn of Cutchogue, New York. The items primarily concern his son Thomas Osborn, a doctor in Riverhead, New York, and his grandson Thomas Gilbert Osborn, a Methodist Episcopal minister in New York and Connecticut. The materials pertain to family relationships and news, religion, property, family history, and other subjects.

The Thomas and Daniel Osborn family papers (81 items) contain correspondence and documents related to the ancestors and descendants of Yale graduate Daniel Osborn of Cutchogue, New York. The materials pertain to family relationships and news, religion, property, and family history, among other subjects.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence to and between members of the Osborn family, particularly Dr. Thomas Osborn of Riverhead, New York, and his son, minister Thomas Gilbert Osborn of Suffolk County, New York; Connecticut; and New York City. Dr. Thomas Osborn provided his son with family news from Riverhead, New York. Thomas Gilbert Osborn wrote about his experiences at a seminary in New York in 1841 and travel to the Azores on board a whaling vessel in the fall of 1842. Thomas G. Osborn later told his wife Jerusha of his father's failing health and funeral in the summer of 1849. Their letters also refer to finances, local news, and other aspects of everyday life. Thomas G. Osborn's incoming letters from acquaintances frequently pertain to the writers' religious beliefs.

The nine Tomas Gilbert Osborn diaries cover selected months between November 1, 1841, and April 6, 1844. At the time, he lived in Riverhead, New York, and his writings pertain to his educational and social life, employment, and health. He documented his efforts towards entering the law profession, including working with a lawyer in Riverhead, attending a semester at Harvard Law School, and reading legal texts. Othe educational and personal improvement efforts include notes on books read, reflections on historical and prominent figures, religious commentary, resolutions towards upright living, and involvement with the temperance movement.

Thomas G. Osborn's medical ailments are also featured heavily, primarily his ongoing bowel complaints and efforts to adjust his diet and lifestyle to recover his health. Medical notes, excerpts of medical texts, different advice and diets are covered in relation to dyspepsia and chronic diarrhea. In an effort to bolster his health, Osborn went on a mackerel fishing expedition, which he documents in detail, and joined a whaling voyage against his parents' wishes (see esp. entries beginning September 19, 1842). Capt. Rose [Jetur Rose?] was master of the vessel, apparently called Caroline. His entries about the expedition and his role as steward provide insight into labor, personal relations, illnesses, and diet onboard. A subsequent diary relates his and several crewmates' stay at a hospital at Faial, Azores, as they recovered from dysentery and other ailments, as well as an unpleasant sea voyage back to America. Several entries relate to the African American book during that homeward voyage, and sporadic mentions of African Americans can be found throughout the volume. Upon his return home, Osborn's journals turn more to documenting social visits, religious matters, and his entrance into preaching.

The collection includes several documents and ephemeral items. Three indentures concern Daniel Osborn's acquisition of land from 1737-1739, and 2 certificates pertain to claims registered by Samuel and Chatfield Osborn at a land office in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1838. Three medical lecture tickets (1804-1805) and a certificate (August 7, 1806) relate to Dr. Thomas Osborn's medical career, and fragments include an undated item with a lithograph portrait of George Washington surrounded by Civil War-era military paraphernalia and a brief poem.

A notebook contains recipes and instructions for medical treatments and additional notes and accounts, dated as early as 1797 and referring to events as late as 1874. A group of genealogical charts, copied letters, and notes (11 items total) provides information about members of the Fanning, Jagger, and Osborn families from the mid-17th to late 19th century. Two copies of a broadside regard the sale of items from Daniel H. Osborn's estate (March 5, 1867).