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May Anti-Slavery manuscript collection

 Collection
Identifier: 4601

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Consists mainly of correspondence among American abolitionists, including many letters to Samuel Joseph May. Also included are May's diaries from 1859-1861 and 1865-1870; correspondence among members of May's family and the family of James Miller McKim; and some correspondence with Daniel Willard Fiske and George William Harris concerning the building of the May Anti-Slavery Collection at Cornell University. Correspondents include Lyman Abbott, John Brown, Henry Grafton Chapman, Maria Weston Chapman, David Lee Child, Lydia Maria Child, Daniel Willard Fiske, William Lloyd Garrison, D.C. Haynes, George William Harris, H.B. Holmes, Oliver Otis Howard, Oliver Johnson, Joseph May, Lucretia F. May, Samuel May Jr., Samuel Joseph May, James Miller McKim, William Forster Mitchell, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Wendell Phillips, Reuben Tomlinson, George Cabot Ward, and Theodore G. Wright.

Dates

  • 1749 - 1933
  • Majority of material found within 1840 - 1880

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Restrictions on Use:

Researchers may view one folder at a time.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Samuel Joseph May (1797-1871) was an American Unitarian minister and civil libertarian, one of the founders of the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832 and of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833; he also worked for women's rights.

Extent

1.5 cubic feet. (1.5 cubic feet.)

Abstract

Consists mainly of correspondence among American abolitionists, including many letters to Samuel Joseph May. Also included correspondence among members of May's family and the family of James Miller McKim; and some correspondence with Daniel Willard Fiske and George William Harris concerning the building of the May Anti-Slavery Collection at Cornell University.

COLLECTION ARRANGEMENT

This collection came in as a series of donations and has therefore been organized by donation into these series: Maria and Henry Chapman papers, Lydia Maria Child papers, letters and documents from other abolitionists, and Freedmen's Aid Organization.

RELATED MATERIALS

Diaries and other bound manuscripts are cataloged separately and can be found by searching the catalog for collection number 4601.

Physical Description

Correspondence, financial records,

General

Contact Information:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524rareref@cornell.eduhttp://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:
RMC Staff
Date completed:
July 2017
EAD encoding:
Marcie Farwell, July 2017
Date modified:
Marcie Farwell, October 2018

NOTES

Large book and pamphlet collection concerning slavery and the anti-slavery movement also held in the repository, including slave narratives; abolitionist tracts, sermons, and letters; poetry and hymns, and documents of state governments and organizations concerning slavery.

Status
Completed
Author
Compiled by RMC Staff
Date
July 2017
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Repository

Contact:
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-3530
607-255-9524 (Fax)