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Overview

Biographical Note

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Preferred Citation

Restrictions on Access

Restrictions on Use

Related Material

Subject Terms

Container List [ + ]

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Guide to the John William Hamilton Papers

Prepared by Myong Shin Jeon, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist

United Methodist Archives and History Center
General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church
(Published for the Drew University Methodist Library)

08/03/2011


Overview of Collection

Record Creator: Hamilton, John Wiilliam
Title: John William Hamilton Papers
Title: Hamilton Papers
Date Span: 1915-1934
Abstract: John William Hamilton (1845-1934), Methodist Episcopal Church bishop, was born in Weston, West Virginia, on March 18, 1845 to the Reverend William C. P. and Henrietta M. Dean Hamilton. During the 1900 General Conference, delegates elected him bishop to which he actively served until 1916. This collection contains an episcopal address, correspondence, portraits, obituaries and academic hoods.
Extent: 0.65 cubic feet
Resource ID: drew.ms.2505



Biographical Note

John William Hamilton (1845-1934), Methodist Episcopal Church bishop, was born in Weston, West Virginia, on March 18, 1845 to the Reverend William C. P. and Henrietta M. Dean Hamilton. John served briefly in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Afterwards he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Union College, Ohio, in 1865 and Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Boston University in 1871. On December 24, 1873, Hamilton married Julia E. Battele. They were married until Julia’s death in 1883. Five years late he married Emma L. Battele, Julia’s sister, on December 18.

He was licensed to preach in 1865, ordained a deacon in 1868 and ordained an elder in 1870. Originally a member of the Pittsburgh Conference, he transferred to the New England Conference in 1868 and served several churches in Massachusetts before becoming a Corresponding Secretary of the Freedman’s Aid and Southern Education Society in 1892. He was a delegate to five General Conferences from 1884 to 1900.

During the 1900 General Conference, delegates elected him bishop to which he actively served until 1916. Hamilton never truly retired from church work which is evident as the chancellor of American University from 1916 to 1922. Three years later at the age of eighty, Hamilton chaired the American Methodist commission to help restore John Wesley’s room at Lincoln College, Oxford University. Hamilton died on July 24, 1834 while living in Boston, Massachusetts.


Scope Note

This collection contains an episcopal address, correspondence, portraits, obituaries and academic hoods. The episcopal address was delivered by Hamilton to the 1916 General Conference. The correspondence consists of four letters (two handwritten and two typed), written to and from Hamilton. The portraits include a silhouette of a standing Hamilton and two photographs. Obituaries and published memorials are included for both Hamilton and his wife. There are six academic hoods from various schools.


Arrangement

Materials have been arranged in the following manner.

Material is arranged by record type.


Preferred Citation

When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, John William Hamilton Papers, Methodist Collection - Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.


Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding this collection. Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew.


Restrictions on Use

Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.


Related Materials

Joseph Crane Hartzell Papers

Microfilm Edition of the Missionary correspondence of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church

Microfilm Edition of the Mission Biographical Reference Files

Charles Fowler Collection

Harold Paul Sloan Papers

Index Terms

Subject Topics
Bishops
Clergy
Women, Methodist
Subject Geographic
United States
Genre
Clippings
Correspondence
Lectures
Memorials
Obituaries
Photographs
Subject - Corporate Names
Methodist Episcopal Church


Container List

Call Number Folder Title Date(s)
2143-4-7: 1 Episcopal Address 1916
2143-4-7: 2 Correspondence 1918-1932
2143-4-7: 3 Photographs 1915-1934
2143-4-7: 4 Memorials/ Obituaries 1934
2143-4-7: 5 Memorial Tributes to Emma Battelle Hamilton(Mrs. John Hamilton) 1915
2144-4-1: 1 Six Academic Hoods Undated