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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 Matthew Simpson Hughes Papers

Prepared by Kristen D. Turner, Associate Archivist

United Methodist Archives and History Center
General Commission on Archives and History, Madison, New Jersey

11/18/2003


Overview of Records

Record Creator: Hughes, Matthew Simpson
Title: Matthew Simpson Hughes Papers
Dates: 1882- 1917Click here to view the finding aid format suitable for requesting material at the Archives.
Abstract: Matthew Simpson Hughes (1863-1920) was a Methodist Episcopal Church minister and bishop. Hughes was elected bishop and assigned to the Portland, Oregon area, and died there at the end of his first quadrennium, on April 4, 1920.
Extent: 1.68 cubic feet
Identification: gcah.ms.560



Biographical Note

Matthew Simpson Hughes (1863-1920) was a Methodist Episcopal Church minister and bishop. He was educated at Linsly Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia, and at the University of West Virginia. At the university, Hughes studied law and medicine, but did not graduate with a degree. Instead, he became the city editor of the Parkersburg Daily Journal.

In 1887, Hughes was ordained and joined the Iowa Conference, where his first appointment was to the Ewart circuit. A year later, he married Harriet Francis Wheeler. During the Spanish-American War, Hughes was chaplain of the First Minnesota Regiment.

Hughes held pastorates at Chestnut Street Church in Portland, Maine (1890- 1894); Wesley Church in Minneapolis (1894-1898); Independence Avenue Church in Kansas City, Missouri (1898-1908); and First Church in Pasadena, California (1908-1916). From 1908-1911 he was also a professor of theology at the Maclay College of Theology of the University of Southern California. In 1904, he was chosen as a fraternal delegate to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, meeting. In 1916 Hughes was elected bishop and assigned to the Portland, Oregon area. He died there at the end of his first quadrennium, on April 4, 1920.

Hughes published The Higher Ritualism, a collection of sermons, in 1907. He also wrote The Logic of Prohibition in 1915, as well as numerous articles in magazines.


Scope Note

This collection contains the sermons and prayers of Matthew Simpson Hughes. The sermons, given between 1888 and 1917, document his ministerial career. Hughes placed each of his sermons in an envelope on which he noted the title and the date and location where he preached the sermon. The majority of the sermons were given in Kansas City, Missouri, and Pasadena, California. He also preached in Iowa, Maine, and Minnesota. Most of the sermons are handwritten. Only a few are typed. Many of the sermons contained draft, revision, and alternate copies. There are approximately five hundred sermons in this collection. Some of the topics addressed by Hughes include missions and morality.

Twenty-four sermons have no text reference, and are arranged alphabetically. This includes a lecture on the evolution of women. News clippings, articles, and small note cards were also part of the envelopes. The clippings include Hughes' published sermons which appeared in newspapers, as well as articles and news stories that supported or related to his sermons. The note cards contain brief bibliographic references to works Hughes used in preparing a sermon. The clippings, articles, and note cards have been photocopied onto acid free paper. All the items related to the sermon were kept together and placed in an acid free mini folder with the title and text reference noted on the outside of the folder. The last folder in this collection contains fourteen prayers prepared by Hughes. Eight of these prayers are dated from 1898 and 1902. The remainder are undated.


Arrangement

Materials have been arranged in the following manner.

The Matthew Simpson Hughes Papers have been organized by record type. Sermons were divided by book of the Protestant Bible using the first text reference in the sermon. The sermons are arranged by book of the Bible and then by chapter and verse. Those sermons with no text reference are arranged alphabetically by title. The folder of prayers is arranged chronologically. Dated sermons and undated prayers have been separated by an acid free divider.


Preferred Citation

When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Matthew Simpson Hughes Papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, 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.


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 Material

For additional biographical materials on Matthew Simpson Hughes see the Records of the Methodist Church, Board of Missions, Biographical Reference Series

Additional material on Hughes is located in the Missionary Biographical Files

Eban Samuel Johnson Collection

Subject Terms

Subject Names - Corporate
Methodist Episcopal Church
Subject Topics
Christian life
Missions-Sermons
Women.
Subject Geographic
California.
Iowa
Maine
Minnesota
Missouri
Genre
Articles
Clippings
Prayers.
Sermons
Occupations
Bishop.
Educator
Minister


Container List

Call Number Folder Title Date(s)
1082-2-1: 1 Sermons: Genesis 1900-1917
1082-2-1: 2 Sermons: Exodus 1892-1916
1082-2-1: 3 Sermons: Deuteronomy 1913
1082-2-1: 4 Sermons: Joshua 1908-1911
1082-2-1: 5 Sermons: I Kings 1893-1917
1082-2-1: 6 Sermons: II Kings 1908-1913
1082-2-1: 7 Sermons: Job 1893-1915
1082-2-1: 8 Sermons: Psalms 1893-1915
1082-2-1: 9 Ecclesisates 1897-1902
1082-2-1: 10 Sermons: Isaiah 1888-1915
1082-2-1: 11 Sermons: Jeremiah 1897-1913
1082-2-1: 12 Sermons: Ezekiel 1893-1915
1082-2-1: 13 Sermons: Micah 1893-1906
1082-2-1: 14 Sermons: Zechariah 1908-1912
1082-2-1: 15 Sermons: Matthew (Part 1) 1893-1916
1082-2-1: 16 Sermons: Matthew (Part 2) 1889-1914
1082-2-1: 17 Sermons: Matthew (Part 3) 1892-1914
1082-2-1: 18 Sermons: Mark 1882-1914
1082-2-1: 19 Sermons: Luke (Part 1) 1893-1916
1082-2-1: 20 Sermons: Luke (Part 2) 1892-1916
1082-2-1: 21 Sermons: John (Part 1) 1892-1914
1082-2-1: 22 Sermons: John (Part 2) 1890-1916
1082-2-1: 23 Sermons: John (Part 3) 1892-1916
1082-2-1: 24 Sermons: Acts 1893-1915
1082-2-1: 25 Sermons: Romans 1887-1915
1082-2-2: 1 Sermons: 1 Corinthians 1894-1916
1082-2-2: 2 Sermons: 2 Corinthians 1902-1915
1082-2-2: 3 Sermons: Galatians 1901-1911
1082-2-2: 4 Sermons: Ephesians 1895-1912
1082-2-2: 5 Sermons: Philippians 1894-1915
1082-2-2: 6 Sermons: Colossians 1895-1915
1082-2-2: 7 Sermons: 1 Timothy 1894-1914
1082-2-2: 8 Sermons: 2 Timothy 1903-1914
1082-2-2: 9 Sermons: Titus 1907-1915
1082-2-2: 10 Sermons: Hebrews 1892-1914
1082-2-2: 11 Sermons: James 1893-1916
1082-2-2: 12 Sermons: 1 Peter 1908-1915
1082-2-2: 13 Sermons: 2 Peter 1895-1914
1082-2-2: 14 Sermons: 1 John 1897-1915
1082-2-2: 15 Sermons: Revelation 1907-1917
1082-2-2: 16 Sermon: The Advantages of Ministry Undated
1082-2-2: 17 Sermon: America as a Mission Field 1909
1082-2-2: 18 Sermon: Barnabas 1916
1082-2-2: 19 Sermon: Christ's Appeal to Youth 1913
1082-2-2: 20 Sermon: The Church and the Republic Undated
1082-2-2: 21 Sermon: The Distinctive Message of Christianity Today 1907-1910
1082-2-2: 22 Sermon: The Evolution of Woman 1896-1912
1082-2-2: 23 Sermon: Feed My Lambs 1903
1082-2-2: 24 Sermon: Homiletics for the Pew 1894-1900
1082-2-2: 25 Sermon: Intercessory Prayer 1913
1082-2-2: 26 Sermon: The Law of Service 1911
1082-2-2: 27 Sermon: The Leaven of the Pharisees-Traditionalism Undated
1082-2-2: 28 Sermon: The Leaven of the Sadducees Undated
1082-2-2: 29 Sermon: The Making of Man Undated
1082-2-2: 30 Sermon: The Man and His Calling 1900-1903
1082-2-2: 31 Sermon: The Mission of Death Undated
1082-2-2: 32 Sermon: The Mission of the Holy Spirit 1897
1082-2-2: 33 Sermon: Morality and Religion Undated
1082-2-2: 34 Sermon: The Sins of Good Nature Undated
1082-2-2: 35 Sermon: The Social Life of the Church 1913
1082-2-2: 36 Sermon: Temptation of Christ Undated
1082-2-2: 37 Sermon: The Theology of the Parable of the Prodigal Son 1900-1914
1082-2-2: 38 Sermon: Wells Without Water 1885-1905
1082-2-2: 39 Prayers 1898-1902