Leavitt, Dudley. Sermons
Collection History
Please note that as of January 2022, the Dudley Leavitt sermons, 1740-1751, and all future digital collections are now hosted on the library's new digital archive.
Rev. Dudley Leavitt (1720-1762) was originally from Stratham, NH. He graduated from Harvard in 1739. He was ordained and appointed minister of the Salem Tabernacle Church in 1745, where he remained until his death in 1762. He succeeded the controversial minister Rev. Samuel Fisk, whose dispute in 1735 with the First Church in Salem had led to the Tabernacle Church's creation.
The collection consists of two volumes of Rev. Leavitt's sermons, preached from 1740-1751 in Salem, Mass. The formatting is simple, with each entry headed by a bible verse and followed by unbroken sermon text. Scriptural passages are largely drawn from the New Testament. The second volume includes a foray into politics, with a diatribe against the Jacobite Uprisings in Scotland during 1746.
The original manuscripts in this collection are owned by our project partners, the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum. Further information about the collection can be found in the Phillips Library's catalog.
Digital Materials
This collection of loose documents comprises fifty sermons delivered in Salem by Rev. Leavitt. The scriptural passages are largely drawn from the New Testament and the book of Psalms.
This volume consists of twenty-four loosely bound individual sermons, all preached by Rev. Leavitt in Salem, Mass. These include a sermon delivered on 14 August 1746 regarding the Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland.
Related Materials
Fisk, Samuel. Papers, 1731-1755
Salem, Mass. First Congregational Church, 1629-1843
Salem, Mass. Tabernacle Church, 1743-1850
Special Thanks
These digital resources have been made possible in part by the Council on Library and Information Resources, through a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant.Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this resource do not necessarily represent those of the Council on Library and Information Resources.