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Record Creator: | Hamilton, John William |
Title: | John William 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. He was licensed to preach in 1865, ordained a deacon in 1868 and ordained elder in 1870. Hamilton served in the New England Annual Conference in 1868 and pastored several churches in Massachusetts before becoming a Corresponding Secretary of the Freedman's Aid and Southern Education Society in 1892. He was elected bishop in 1900. This collection contains an episcopal address, correspondence, portraits, obituaries and academic hoods. |
Extent: | 0.63 cubic feet |
Identification: | drew.ms.gcah2767 |
dbtext | 2767 |
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 later he married Emma L. Battele, Julia's sister, on December 18, 1888.
He was licensed to preach in 1865, ordained a deacon in 1868 and ordained elder in 1870. Originally a member of the Pittsburgh Annual Conference, he transferred to the New England Annual 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 halp restore John Wesley's room at Lincoln College, Oxford University. Hamilton died on July 24, 1934 while living in Boston, Massachusetts.
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 included 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.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Items are arranged by record type.
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.
There are no restirctions on this collection. Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew.
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.
Joseph Crane Hartzell Papers
Microfilm Edition of the Missionary Correspondence of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Microfilm Edition to the Mission Biographical Files
Charles Henry Fowler Papers
Harold Sloan Papers
Bishop Gilbert Haven Papers
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 and Obituaries | 1934 |
- 2143-4-7: 5 | Memorial Tributes to Emma Battelle Hamilton | 1915 |
- 2144-4-1: 1 | Six Academic Hoods | Undated |