Barton, William Eleazar (1861-1930). Papers, 1888-1930, 1952-1953
Biographical History
William Eleazar Barton was born in Sublett, IL on 28 June 1861 and died in Brooklyn, NY on 30 December 1930. He graduated from Berea College in 1885, received his MA from Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in 1890 and was ordained in 1885.
He married Esther Treat Bushnell of Johnsonville, Ohio in 1885 and they had 5 children: Bruce Fairchild, Charles William, Helen Elizabeth Mary (later Stilwell), Frederick Bushnell, and Robert Shawmut Barton. Over the years he was a pastor at churches in Robbins and Helenwood, TN (1855-1887), Litchfield, OH (1887-1890), Wellington, OH (1890-1893), Boston, MA Shawmut Church (1893-1899), and Oak Park, IL First Church (1899-1924).
In addition to his role as pastor he also engaged in a variety of Congregational activities including: Chairman of the Commission on Congregational Polity, International Council in 1889, 1908, and 1920; Secretary of the Commission of Nineteen, 1910-1913; Moderator of the National Council of Congregational Churches from 1921-1923; Associate Editor of Bibliotheca Sacra from 1913-1917; Editor of The Advance (Pastor's Department) from 1904-1912; Editor and Chief The Advance from 1917-1930; and last but not least he was a lecturer and author on Ecclesiastical Law, including Pocket Congregational Manual (1910); Rules of Order for Religious Assemblies (1910); The Law of Congregational Usage (1915) and Congregational Creeds and Covenants (1917), as well as various books (parables) of Safed the Sage and various stories concerning Abraham Lincoln.
Scope of Collection
This collection consists of the papers of Congregational minister, author, and editor William Eleazar Barton and various Barton family members, including his son, writer and editor, Bruce Barton. The papers range from 1888-1953, however the bulk of the papers were created between 1888-1930. The papers consist of personal and professional correspondence of Barton and his family; writing of both Barton and his son Bruce, memorabilia and Barton's lantern slide collection. Of particular interest is the correspondence between Barton and his son Bruce.
Arrangement
The William Eleazar Barton papers are arranged into five series:
| Series I. Correspondence, 1890-1930, 1952-1953 | |
| Subseries A. Professional, 1890-1930 | |
| Subseries B. Family, 1908-1914 | |
| Subseries C. William Barton and Bruce Barton, 1909-1952 | |
| Series II. Writings of William Eleazar Barton, 1888, 1903-1930 | |
| Series III. Printed and Photographic Memorabilia, no date | |
| Series IV. Items of Bruce Barton, 1926-1928 | |
| Series V. Barton Lantern Slide Collection, no date | |
Related Material
The Autobiography of William E. Barton, by William E. Barton, with an introduction by Bruce Barton. (1932).
Thomas Hart Benton papers, 1826.
Most of William Barton's publications are accessible via the online catalog.
Access Terms
Barton, William Eleazar, 1861-1930
Authors, American - 20th Century
Boston (Mass.) - Church History
Congregational Churches - Massachusetts - Boston
Congregational Churches - Illinois - Oak Park
International Congregational Council - Boston, 1920
International Congregational Council - Bournemouth, England.
Oak Park (IL) - Church History
Oak Park, Illinois - First Congregational Church
National Council of Congregational Churches - Kansas City
North Brookfield, Mass - Union Congregational Church
The Kansas City Statement of Faith, 1913
World Conference on Faith and Order - Lausanne, 1927
Detailed Description and Container List
Series I. Correspondence, 1890-1930, 1952-1953 |
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| This series consists of both professional and personal correspondence of William Barton and family and pertains to their daily lives, Barton's careers as a pastor and all of his additional professional and personal activities. Of particular interest is the correspondence between Barton and his son Bruce who was an editor and write and who wrote the famous book, "The Man Nobody Knows," in 1925. | |||||
| Subseries A -- Professional, 1890-1930 -- Arranged by date. | |||||
| Box 1 | |||||
| Folder 1 | 1890-1907 | ||||
| Folder 2 | 1908-1914 | ||||
| Folder 3 | 1917-1930 (includes resignation from Oak Park, IL) | ||||
| Subseries B -- Family, 1880-1953 (bulk: 1906-1924) -- Arranged by date. | |||||
| Folder 4 | 1906-1907 | ||||
| Folder 5 | Undated, ca. 1907-1908 | ||||
| Folder 6 | 1908-1911 | ||||
| Folder 7 | 1921, 1924 | ||||
| Folder 8 | 1953, includes early manuscript Poems from 1880-1883 | ||||
| Subseries C -- Correspondence between WEB and Bruce Barton, 1909-1952 -- Arranged by date. | |||||
| Folder 9 | Concerning Billy Sunday | 1909, 1920 | |||
| Folder 10 | Concerning Christianity and politics | 1909 | |||
| Folder 11 | Concerning WEB publications | 1926-1930, 1952 | |||
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Series II -- Writings of William E. Barton, 1888, 1903-1930 |
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| Writings of William Barton include sermons and lectures, addresses to the National Council and International Congregational Council meetings. There are several folders relating to Barton's participation at the World Conference on Faith and Order in Lausanne, 1927, plus various essays on church union and notes on ecclesiastical law. | |||||
| Folders 12-15 | Ecclesiastical Law | ca. 1912 | |||
| Folder 16 | "The Council Creed: Its Origin and Purpose" includes photos of Commission of Nineteen and printing of Kansas City Statement of Faith |
no date | |||
| Folder 17 | "Newer Congregationalism", National Council Address | 1913 | |||
| Folder 18 | "The Origin of the Council Creed", Advance | 1915 | |||
| Folder 19 | "Three Centuries of Pilgrim History", National Council Address | 1917 | |||
| Folder 20 | "Two Boston Councils Compared", Advance | 1920 | |||
| Folder 21 | "The Unity of the Church", "Congregationalism: Continental and Catholic", National Council Address | 1923 | |||
| Folder 22 | "Report of the Committee on the Report and Proposal of the Committee of the Relations of our National Benevolent Societies to the Churches" | no date, later than 1913 |
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| Folder 23 | International Congregational Council, Boston; Commission on Congregationalism and its Polity |
1920 | |||
| Folder 24 | International Congregational Council, Bournemouth, England | 1930 | |||
| Folders 25-26 | Church Union | 1918-1927 | |||
| Folder 27 | World Conference on Faith and Order Plans. Correspondence | 1912-1914 | |||
| Folder 28 | World Conference on Faith and Order, Lausanne; Correspondence |
1927; 1926-1927 |
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| Folder 29 | "The World Conference in Retrospect" | 1927 | |||
| Folder 30 | World Conference / Church Union | 1927 | |||
| Folder 31 | World Conference on Faith and Order / Tour of Europe notes and clippings | 1927 | |||
| Folder 32 | Episcopal Church and Lausanne Controversy, Christian Century articles | 1929-1930 | |||
| Folder 33 | World Conference on Faith and Order. Verbatim Reports nos. 1-4, 7 | ||||
| Folder 34 | "Brief History of Congregationalism", Advance | 1917 | |||
| Folder 35 | "Men and the Christian Centuries: A series of Twenty Studies Arranged for Bible Class" | ca. 1930 | |||
| Folders 36-37 | "History of the Christian Church in Twenty Lessons" | no date | |||
| Folders 38-39 | "Twenty Christian Centuries: A Series of Twenty Studies Arranged for Bible Class" | ca. 1930 | |||
| Folder 40 | Ministers, ministry, preaching | ||||
| Box 2 | |||||
| Folder 41 | Evangelism, evangelists, Billy Sunday | ca. 1916 | |||
| Folder 42 | Conversion, ministry | ||||
| Folders 43-47 | Pilgrim / Forefathers Day Addresses. Churches and Congregational Clubs. | ||||
| Folder 48 | "Congregationalism as a Factor in the Making of Illinois"; Chicago City Missionary Society |
1918; 1914 |
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| Folder 49 | "300th Anniversary of Signing of Mayflower Compact"; Misc. writings on Paul Revere, Henry Ward Beecher |
1920 | |||
| Folders 50-52 | "New Testament Lectures / How the New Testament Came to be Written" | 1915-1916 | |||
| Folder 53 | Misc. concerning divorce, witchcraft, card playing, mouse-trap quotation | ||||
| Folder 54 | Archaeology lectures | ca. 1905 | |||
| Folder 55 | "Sermons, including, “Morality Before Moses"; articles published in "The Jewish Era" |
1903 | |||
| Folder 56 | Christian doctrine sermons | ca. 1910-1911 | |||
| Folder 57 | Sermons on education | ca. 1920 | |||
| Folder 58 | Sermons, including "Why I Believe the Bible"; "A Baccalaureate Sermon to the Human Race"; Christmas Sermon |
1903 | |||
| Folder 59 | "The Hand of God in History: A Series of Lectures on the Contribution of Various Nations to the Gospel of Christ" | ca. 1920/1930 | |||
| Folder 60 | "Lenten Meditations on Confession of Faith", Advance | 1914 | |||
| Folder 61 | Sermons published in Farmers Review | 1915-1916 | |||
| Folder 62 | Sermons published in Farmers Review | 1917-1918 | |||
| Folder 63 | Notes on Original Sin | no date | |||
| Box 3 | |||||
| Folder 64 | "The Atonement in History and in Scripture" | 1888 | |||
| Folders 65-67 | Parable of the Prodigal Son, sermons and notes | ca. 1910 | |||
| Folders 68-69 | "A Prophet in His Own County", unpublished fiction | ca. 1923 | |||
| Folders 70-71 | Sermons | ||||
| Folder 72 | Criticism of Bishop Potter and the Subway Saloon, NYC | ||||
| Folder 73 | North Brookfield, MA. Union Congregational Church Concerning Church which became part of Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts | 1905 | |||
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Series III -- Memorabilia -- Printed and Photographic, no date |
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| This series includes memorabilia, including published copies of sermons, lectures, scrapbooks, photographs, and biographical materials, arranged by type. | |||||
| Folder 74 | Abroad with the Mayflower Party | 1908 | |||
| Folder 75 | Announcements for Lectures of WEB | ||||
| Folders 76-77 | Published Copies of Addresses | ||||
| Folder 78 | Scrapbook of Prominent Individuals | ||||
| Folder 79 | Clippings of articles by WEB | ||||
| Folder 80 | Biographical materials, obituaries | ||||
| Folder 81 | Memorials. Barton Chapel; Barton's Pinnacle | ||||
| Folders 82-83 | Photographs, including family | ||||
| Folder 84 | Notes from lecture by Prof. Park, with proof texts | ||||
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Series IV -- Items of Bruce Barton, 1926-1928 |
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| This series includes items belonging to Bruce Barton, son of William Barton, who was an editor and a writer. Included are miscellaneous clippings, correspondence and typescript copies of some of his work, arranged by type. | |||||
| Folder 85 | Correspondence, re: "History of Business" typescript | 1926-1927 | |||
| Folder 86 | "History of Business" typescript | ||||
| Folder 87 | Clippings | ||||
| Folder 88 | Clippings and pamphlets | ||||
| Folder 89 | Articles for Good Housekeeping; "150th Anniversary of Foxboro, Mass."; Typescript of "Outline of Religion" |
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Series V -- Barton Lantern Slides, no date |
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| This series contains lantern slides collected by William Barton. While some of the collections are labeled, there is a large section of miscellaneous slides. Most of the individual slides are labeled and consist of images and text pertaining to religious artifacts and art and colonial American history and art. | |||||
| Box 4 | Miscellaneous | ||||
| Box 5 | "Good Samaritans" | ||||
| "Pilgrims Progress" | |||||
| Box 6 | "Hymns" | ||||
| "Religious Masterpieces" | |||||
| Box 7 | "Religious Masterpieces" | ||||
| "Christmas Vespers" | |||||
| "Chapel of Ascension" | |||||
| Box 8 | "Chapel of Ascension" | ||||
| Miscellaneous (Art) | |||||
| "Colonial" | |||||
| Box 9 | "Colonial" | ||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||
| Box 10 | Miscellaneous | ||||
| Box 11 | Miscellaneous | ||||
| return to series list | |||||
