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THE REV. HARRY EDWIN WOODCOCK, 1816-1911
PAPERS, 1838-1911
SCOPE AND CONTENT

The papers of the Rev. Harry Edwin Woodcock chronicle Woodcock's youth and Congregational ministry from ca. 1820 through the first years of his Kansas pastorate (1868-70). Miscellaneous materials date from his final years in Kansas City, Missouri (1886-1911). The missionary service in Jamaica (1853-76) of Lucy Angela Woodcock, Harry Woodcock's sister, is well documented in this collection.

Woodcock's papers mainly consist of three autobiographical accounts in his hand, written from 1896 to 1907, which record Woodcock's life story through 1870. "My Inheritance" tells of his youth on the family homestead in Independence, New York (to 1837) and of his years at Oberlin College (1839-48). Woodcock describes the primitive farm life of his childhood, the growth of his religious and moral convictions, the recreation and social life of his family, and his time at coeducational, anti-slavery Oberlin College. A second account, written on four tablets, repeats the story told in "My Inheritance" and extends the narrative through 1868 to include Woodcock's first twenty years as a minister in New York state (1848-68) and his first year (1868) in Tonganoxie, Kansas. He writes of the death in 1852 of his first wife, Elizabeth Hurlbut, and of his remarriage in 1853 to Lucy Thayer. (Henry Woodcock's courtship letters to Lucy Thayer are housed in Series I, Correspondence.) A third autobiographical account (1907), designated by the donor as a "Condensed Autobiography," includes an essay entitled "Exegesis." Typed transcriptions of these autobiographical writings, prepared by H. E. Woodcock's granddaughter, the donor of these papers, are located in Series IV. Other writings of Woodcock in these papers includeessays, sermons, and poems.

Lucy Angela Woodcock's letters to her brother describe her missionary work among the emancipated slaves of Jamaica. The correspondence includes thirteen original letters (1858-71) and copies of letters (1853-56) made by Harry Woodcock into the last ninety pages of his autobiographical account, "My Inheritance." Taken together, Lucy's letters are highly descriptive of missionary life and the Jamaican people. Photocopies of select letters are housed in Series IV.

The remainder of Harry Woodcock's incoming correspondence (1871, 1894, 1905-09) consists of eleven letters written mainly by well-wishers who had heard him preach. Included is oneletter (1894) from James Harris Fairchild (1817-1902), and one letter (1908) from Henry Churchill King (1858-1934), both Presidents of Oberlin College. The Fairchild letter describes the circumstances of the arrival in Oberlin of Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875); the King letter concerns a disputed point of theology.

The balance of this small collection includes Woodcock'scertificates of ordination (1847-48) and commissions from the American Home Missionary Society (1852-53, 1868-78); books, pamphlets, and periodicals collected by Woodcock, including two copies of a 1900 illustrated brochure for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and two photographs of H. E. Woodcock and his family (1875).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Correspondence, 1853-1910, n.d. .1 l.f.

Correspondence of Harry E. Woodcock, organized into two subseries of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Within subseries, correspondence is chronologically arranged. In Subseries 2, Lucy Angela Woodcock's letters precede those of other correspondents.

Series II. Writings, 1856-60, ca. 1896-1907 .4 l.f.

Arranged into two subseries by genre. Subseries 1, Autobiographical Writings, includes six volumes of ms. drafts in bound and tablet form and two ms. typescripts. Arranged in the order received: chronologically by contents of the manuscripts. These writings are available on microfilm. Subseries 2, Sermons and Other Writings, includes loose papers, tablets, and a paper-bound journal. Items are chronologically arranged.

Series III. Miscellany, 1838-1911, n.d. .2 l.f.

Organized into two subseries by type of material. Subseries 1, Biographical Materials, includes clippings, two photographs, and miscellaneous ms. and printed items, arranged alphabetically by type of material. Subseries 2, Collected Publications, contains books, pamphlets, and single issues of periodicals, arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Series IV. Files Relating to the Woodcock Family, Compiled by the Donor, 1980, 1983-84, 1987, n.d. .2 l.f.

Clippings, ms. typescripts, photocopies, and transcriptions of manuscript writings; arranged alphabetically by type of material. Originals are located in Series I, Correspondence and Series II, Writings.

PROVENANCE

The papers of Harry Edwin Woodcock were transferred to the Oberlin College Archives under deed of gift in 1973. Subsequent accessions occurred in 1987 and 1989.

RELATED MATERIALS

For additional materials relating to missionary work in Jamaica, consult the Student File (28) of Ralph Tyler (Sem. 1837-38), a missionary in Jamaica. For George N. Allen's 1863-64 journal of his trip to Jamaica, consult Record Group 30/67. Miscellaneous materials relating to the American Missionary Association are located in Record Group 38/1. For other collections of the papers of women missionaries, consult the Guide to the Women's History Sources in the Oberlin College Archives (1990).