Henry Clay Trumbull correspondence

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0238

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains 120 letters written by various members of Henry Clay Trumbull's family. The majority of the letters are between Trumbull and his parents and siblings. Several were written between his father and brother as well as between his mother and wife. The letters span 1844 to 1892, but the bulk are from 1851 to 1852 and 1864 to 1865. These cover part of Trumbull's time in Hartford and most of his Civil War service. They primarily deal with family news and requests but there is also information on religion, Connecticut state legislative action, and Trumbull's feelings towards those who paid for proxies during the war. Letters from April 1861 from Thomas Trumbull tell of his campaign to obtain letters of recommendation to support his application for the Consulship at Tunis.

A list of family names follows:

Trumbull, Henry Clay

Trumbull, Gurdon, father

Trumbull, Sarah Anne (Sally), mother

Trumbull, Charles, brother

Trumbull, James Hammond, brother

Trumbull, Alice Cogswell, wife

Trumbull, Thomas, brother

Prime, Mary Trumbull, sister

Noyes, Mrs. Fanny, grandmother

Dates

Creation: 1844-1892
Creation: Majority of material found within 1851-1865

Creator

Trumbull, H. Clay (Henry Clay), 1830-1903 (Person)
Trumbull, Alice Cogswell Gallaudet, -1891 (Person)
Trumbull, Gurdon, 1790- (Person)
Trumbull, Sarah Ann, 1799- (Person)
Trumbull, Thomas Swan, 1835-1865 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

Biographical / Historical

Henry Clay Trumbull (1830-1903) was a noted author, editor, and Sunday-school missionary. Trumbull was born in Stonington, Connecticut to a prominent family. His brother, James Hammond Trumbull, was a noted historian, philologist, and bibliographer. Trumbull attended Stonington Academy and Williston Seminary. He moved to Hartford, Connecticut, at age 21 and worked for the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill Railroad as a clerk. In 1854, he married Alice Cogswell Gallaudet, the daughter of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who was named in honor of Alice Cogswell, a daughter of Dr. Mason Cogswell and first deaf pupil of Gallaudet's.

In 1852, Trumbull joined the church and became the superintendent of a mission Sunday-school, continuing to work at the railroad. After working at several different jobs, in 1858 he became the state Sunday-school missionary for Connecticut.

Trumbull was ordained in 1862 and became the chaplain of the 10th Connecticut Regiment, stationed in North Carolina. He was held by the Confederates for four months in 1863, and after his release served in Virginia until his discharge in August 1865.

He then became New England secretary for the American Sunday-school Union. In 1875, he and his family moved to Philadelphia where he became editor of the Sunday School Times. Trumbull was the Lyman Beecher Lecturer at Yale Divinity School in 1888.

During his life, Trumbull wrote thirty-three books, including Kadesh-Barnea, about a historic site he identified in Palestine, and The Knightly Soldier, a biography of his friend Henry Ward Camp.

Malone, Dumas (ed.). Dictionary of American Biography. Volume 10. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964. pp. 8-9.

Extent

.33 linear foot (115 items)

Additional Description

Abstract

Henry Clay Trumbull (1830-1903) was a noted author, editor, and Sunday-school missionary. The collection contains 120 letters written by various members of Henry Clay Trumbull's family. The majority of the letters are between Trumbull and his parents and siblings.