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Abigail Belden Whelpley papers

Call Number

MS 3067

Date

1807-1921, undated, inclusive

Creator

Whelpley, Abigail Belden, 1817-1880

Extent

.42 Linear feet in one document box.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The collection primarily consists of manuscripts written by the Protestant author Abigail Belden Whelpley in the mid-1800s, including prose and poetry pieces most prominently on Christian thought and scripture, contemporary social issues, and the godliness of the natural world. Whelpley's writings also include commentary on the Civil War, the Temperance Society, and international affairs. Additionally, the papers contain correspondence and ephemera, including documents that concern Whelpley's father and son.

Biographical / Historical

Abigail Belden Whelpley was born in Hartford, Connecticut on 19 June 1817, to parents Rev. William Belden and Abigail Frances Hatch. Whelpley lived in New York City with her parents for most of her life, though she later moved to New Jersey and then Massachusetts to live with her brother and nephew. In 1841 she married Rev. Samuel Waldo Whelpley, who came from a family of clergymen similar to hers, and gave birth to her first and only son, Henry Belden Whelpley, in 1842. Though she spent some time working as a housekeeper, Abigail Belden Whelpley spent most of her time writing and contributing to various periodicals, including The Christian Family Annual, The Family Circle and Parlor Annual, and Youth's Parlor Annual. She died in 1880, and is buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery.

Arrangement

The collection largely retains its original order as received at purchase by N-YHS, contained in one document box. The folders are arranged with book chapters first, followed by essays, articles, short stories, and then poetry, with miscellaneous fragments and drafts completing the section on Whelpley's writings. The collection ends with correspondence and ephemera, which are organized chronologically within their folders when applicable. Folder labels are Whelpley's given document titles unless in brackets, in which case there was no title for the given documents and the folder label was devised by the processing archivist.

Scope and Contents

The collection primarily consists of manuscripts written by the Protestant author Abigail Belden Whelpley in the mid-1800s. The manuscripts include book chapters, articles, essays, and poems on a variety of topics, most prominently Christian thought and scripture, contemporary social issues, and the godliness of the natural world. Whelpley's writings also include commentary on the Civil War, the Temperance Society, and international affairs. Additionally, the papers contain correspondence, primarily between Abigail's son, Henry Belden Whelpley, and his cousin, William Belden, who was involved in the stock market crash of 1869, and ephemera, including documents from the early 1800s.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Use Restrictions

This collection is owned by the New-York Historical Society. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as the Abigail Belden Whelpley papers, MS 3067, New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, March 2017.

Collection processed by

Zora Arum

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:47:20 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

The collection was processed by archival intern Zora Arum in 2018.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024