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Overview
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Preferred Citation
Restrictions on Access
Subject Terms
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| Record Creator: | Bangs, Nathan |
| Title: | Nathan Bangs Collection |
| Date Span: | 1802-1859 |
| Abstract: | Nathan Bangs was a Methodist Episcopal Church minister and publisher. The collection is made up of material relating to his work and life. |
| Extent: | 0.23 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: | drew.ms.2375 |
Nathan Bangs (1778 -1862), American minister and publisher, was born May 2, 1778 in Stratford, Connecticut. In 1799, he went to Canada. While there he practiced surveying and taught school for three years, even though he was self-educated.
Bangs was converted to Methodism in 1799, and two years later began preaching. Ordained in 1804, he traveled and preached through western Ontario and then in Quebec. He returned to the United States in 1806, and continued as an itinerant preacher.
In 1820, Bangs became the book agent for the Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining in this work for twenty years. While serving in this post, he edited The Christian Advocate, The Methodist Magazine, and The Quarterly Review.
Between 1838 and 1841, Bangs wrote a four-volume history of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It remained the standard history of the denomination for twenty-five years. In 1819, Bangs helped found the Mission Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, serving as its secretary and treasurer. Briefly he was President of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut. Bangs fell into denominational disfavor when he opted for a compromise on the issue of slavery in an effort to preserve the unity of the church. Bangs concluded his preaching career in New York City. He died May 3, 1862.
The Nathan Bangs Collection is composed of a manuscript journals and attached notebook (1802-1806); a partial manuscript autobiography ( undated); a typed transcription of his journal (1812-1817); and a letter from William Case to Bangs dated March 30, 1818. There are thirty-two letters from Bangs to his daughter, Mary E. Bangs (1810-1859).
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Arrangement is by record type, then chronological by calendar date.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Nathan Bangs Collection, Drew University Methodist Collection, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 2127-3-1: 1 | Journal/Note book | 1802-1806 |
| 2127-3-1: 2 | Manuscript - Autobiography | undated |
| 2127-3-1: 3 | Case Letter | 1818 |
| 2127-3-1: 4 | Mary E. Bangs Letters | 1810-1859 |
