ma125 Reverend James Taylor Papers, 1808-1832 Finding aid prepared by Graham Leach-Krouse. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, MA
© 2003

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarang Gopalakrishnan. 2003-12-03 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 ma125 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Reverend James Taylor Papers, 1808-1832 2003 June Graham Leach-Krouse 05, Student Encoding Assistant Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

© 2003 Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Taylor, James Reverend James Taylor Papers 1808-1832 1 archives box (0.5 linear ft.) Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Congregational minister, former Amherst College trustee. Papers consist of sermons, accounts, legal papers, and a leather folder. English. Biographical Note

Reverend James Taylor, a Trustee of Amherst College from its beginnings in 1821 until 1831, was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, the son of Colonel James Taylor, in 1783. He graduated at Williams College in 1803 and studied theology with Reverend John Taylor of Deerfield. He married John Taylor's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Terry, on July 22, 1807 and settled in Sunderland, Massachusetts. On October 11, 1831, after a ministry of nearly 25 years at the Congregational church in Sunderland, James Taylor died at the age of 48. The church prospered greatly under his ministry and enjoyed several powerful revivals of religion, especially in the years 1816 and 1831.

He early became interested in the founding of Amherst College from his membership in the Franklin Association and from his acquaintance with Colonel Rufus Graves, another founder and benefactor of the College.

Taylor's wife died on the day of her husband's burial leaving a large family of children.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

Sermons, accounts, legal papers, and leather folder belonging to Reverend James Taylor.

 Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into two series:

1. SERMONS 2. FINANCIAL AND LEGAL PAPERS Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

There is no restriction on access to the Taylor Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.

Requests for permission to publish material from Taylor Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in Reverend James Taylor Papers [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

 History of the Collection

The papers were donated by Reverend James H. Taylor, Pastor Emeritus of the Central Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., and great-grandson of Reverend James Taylor.

2003 June Graham Leach-Krouse 05, Student Encoding Assistant Search Terms Taylor, James, 1783-1831. Congregational churches--Sermons. Series 1: SERMONS

Series 1, SERMONS, contains 60 booklets of sermons, as well as one loose sermon in a Leather Folder used for sermon notes.

1 1 Sermons (60 booklets) n.d. SERIES 2: FINANCIAL AND LEGAL PAPERS

Series 2, FINANCIAL AND LEGAL PAPERS, consist of legal documents relating to Taylor's estate: papers inventory, Probate Court orders, and a Certificate of American Bible Society, as well as a book of accounts from 1808.

 1 2 Account book 1808 1 3 Estate of James Taylor- papers Inventory, Probate court orders, Certificate of American Bible Society. 1808-1832 1 4 Leather folder used to hold sermon notes, with a sermon inside. n.d.