Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- This collection contains the papers of the family of Baptist minister John Stutterd (1750-1818) of England, dating from 1768 to 1823. The collection chiefly contains Studderd family correspondence and is a rich source of information about the social, economic, and religious worlds of a lower middle class extended family in the Midlands and North of England in the later 18th and early 19th centuries.
- Extent:
- 857 pieces in 20 boxes
- Language:
- English.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of a small number of manuscripts, mainly dealing with religious or family subjects; the bulk of the collection is made up of correspondence between the Stutterd family members, mainly John, Thomas and his wife, Mary, and Jabez. The collection is a rich source of information about the social, economic, and religious worlds of a lower middle class extended family in the Midlands and North of England in the later 18th and early 19th centuries.
The papers consist of the following series:
1. Correspondence & Manuscripts (Boxes 1-16) are arranged chronologically. This material makes up the bulk of the collection, with the majority being correspondence between the Stutterd family members, mainly John, Thomas and his wife, Mary, and Jabez. There is also a small amount of manuscripts in the collection, mainly dealing with religious or family subjects.
Of particular interest is a large group of letters to and from various Baptist ministers and church leaders, relaying sermon notes, and discussing church and doctrinal matters, including lists of supply preachers for the various churches and chapels; these letters also include a small number of letters from women. There is also a significant group of letters dealing with the wool and woolen goods business; these include letters to and from W. & J. Whitacre (Firm), and various other businessmen involved in the woolen trade throughout England, but mainly concentrated in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
The Stutterd family letters are also an excellent source for subjects relating to the medical issues of the 18th century in Northern England; especially smallpox, childbirth and infant mortality, and the many and various ways people died during this time. Death is very present in these letters, but, mainly because of their strong religious beliefs, the Stutterd family and their circle, accepted death as the fulfillment of God’s plan for a person’s life rather than something to be feared.
2. Diaries & Sermon Notes (Boxes 17-18) are arranged chronologically. This series includes the personal diaries of Jabez Stutterd (covering the years 1792-1823), as well as five volumes of notes for sermons (1790-1817). There is only one folder of sermon notes for John Stutterd (1748, Feb. 15), and three volumes of diaries and sermon notes for Thomas Stutterd (1783-1805).
3. Stutterd Volumes & Ephemera (Box 19) are arranged chronologically. This series includes three “Stutterd Volumes” (numbered 1-3), which are later copies and transcriptions of Stutterd letters, sermon notes, and miscellaneous (1785-1805). Also in this box are 16 folders of Ephemera, including miscellaneous items, fragments and pieces of letters, and Printed Material.
4. Oversize Correspondence & Ephemera (Box 20) are arranged chronologically. Included in this box are correspondence, manuscripts, and one piece of ephemera which were removed from Boxes 1-19, so the call numbers are not consecutive.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Jabez and Margaret Stutterd came to England from Perth, Scotland, to settle in Lancashire, sometime before 1748; they had three sons and one daughter: John Stutterd (1750-1818), Thomas Stutterd (1752-1815), Mary (b. 1753), Jabez Stutterd (1762-1827).
John Stutterd was a schoolmaster and ordained Baptist minister, who founded the Colne Baptist Church in 1769, and ministered there for 51 years. Thomas Stutterd was first a schoolmaster, then went to work as a travelling wool buyer and seller for the firm of W. & J. Whitacre; he travelled extensively throughout England, and would often be asked to preach in various Baptist churches on his route, always as a layman as he was never ordained. Jabez Stutterd seemed to have had several professions, including a bookkeeper for W. & J. Whitacre, a weaver, and a Baptist preacher; he moved quite a few times, and was first a Methodist, then Baptist, then Methodist depending on where he lived.
Following is a list of the principal Stutterd Family members:
Father: Jabez Stutterd (m. Aug. 29, 1748; d. May 4, 1767, aged 61). Mother: Margaret (Tattersall) Stutterd (d. Sep. 16, 1790, aged 65).
Sons:
John Stutterd (1750-1818)
- Married three times:
- 1. Betty Coor (b. 1753; m. Apr. 4, 1774, d. Mar. 12, 1804).
- Children: Jabez (d. aged 1 year & 7 months, date unknown), John (b. 1785, d. 1789).
- 2. Mary Stutterd (m. May 10, 1806, d. Apr. 20, 1810) [no children].
- 3. Sarah Holgate (m. Dec. 29, 1814; John Stutterd was 65 years of age and Sarah was 20) [no children].
Thomas Stutterd (1752-1815)
- Married two times:
- 1. Grace Turner (m. May 29, 1774, d. 1780, after the birth of twins).
- Children: Polly (real name Mary, b. 1775?), Jabez (b. 1780, a twin died).
- 2. Mary Cordingley (m. Oct. 11, 1780; d. 1820, July)
- Children: John (b. before 1785), Hannah (b. 1785), Thomas (b. 1787), Bessy (Elizabeth, b. 1789), Joseph (b. 1792).
Mary Stutterd (b. 1753)
- Married: John Sugden (m. 1780/1781).
- Had at least four children.
Jabez Stutterd (1762-1827)
- Married Betty Dyson (m. Feb. 21, 1782; d. Dec. 18, 1821).
- Children: John (b.1782, d.1783 of smallpox), John (b.1784), Thomas (b.1787, d.1791 of smallpox), Sarah (Sally, b.1789), Jabez (b.1790), Thomas (b.1793).
- Acquisition information:
- The Stutterd Family Papers were acquired in two purchases: the first lot was purchased from Phillips, Sale #25.759, October 24, 1985; the second lot was purchased from Salendine Nook Baptist Church, Huddersfield, England, through the agency of Dr. David Vaisey, retired Librarian of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, July 1, 2010.
- Processing information:
-
1. This collection comprises two large acquisitions, which were then cataloged as one unified collection. In order to retain the distinction in provenance, manuscripts from Salendine Nook are labelled: “Purchased from Salendine Nook Baptist Church, Huddersfield, West Yorks., July 1, 2010,” on the folder; and this is noted by “(SN)” in the Finding Aid.
For the earlier acquisition, it was decided to retain information about the original organization of the archive by preserving a record of the contents of each separate bundle as they came from Phillips. These numbers (“v.4/13”) can be found in the bottom right corner of the folder. Please note these do not refer to bound volume numbers but are simply the original order of the bundles organized by Phillips; it was decided not to include these numbers in the Finding Aid, but only on the folders. The number is not part of the current manuscript call number.
2. A large number of letters by Thomas, John, and Jabez Stutterd are preceded by diary extracts (“Memorandums”), mainly concerning sermons preached or heard, and places they had visited. It was decided to catalog these as letters with a notation on the front of the folder and in the Finding Aid, “Letter preceded by Memorandums, Nov. 25, 1789-Nov. 29, 1789;” these extracts are not indexed in any additional manner.
3. A large number of letters between the Stutterd family members have multiple authors and addressees. It was decided, for cataloging purposes, each letter would have one main author, and the others would be given separate Added Entries on the folders and in the Finding Aid.
4. Some of the letters and manuscripts were “re-used” as scratch paper by the author or recipient; they used the versos for making list of figures or notes for business or personal purposes. These were not noted on the folder or in the Finding Aid unless substantive. Also, some of the letters have been trimmed down, the endorsement pages cut away, or the wax seals removed; unfortunately, this sometimes resulted in damage to the letters, with some loss of text.
5. As some point in the past, the owners of the Salendine Nook material decided to organize the Stutterd material by gluing several letters or printed items together on one page, often on the verso of a Stutterd letter. It was decided to not try to separate all of this material but to catalog the Stutterd letter as the Main Entry and note the other letters as Added Entries on the folder and in the Finding Aid.
6. Some of the Stutterd letters were quoted or reproduced in a book by Percy Stock entitled: Foundations: [a History of Salendine Nook Baptist Chapel, Huddersfield] (Halifax: Edward Mortimer Ltd., 1933); these quotes were noted on the folders and in the Finding Aid. This book is now part of the Rare Books Department (call number RB 613976); it’s purchase was also facilitated by Dr. D. Vaisey. It is an excellent resource for information about the Stutterd family, as well as a history of the Baptist Church and nonconformist movement in the north of England in the 18th-20th centuries.
- Arrangement:
-
Organized in the following manner: Correspondence & Manuscripts (Boxes 1-16); 2. Diaries & Sermon Notes (Boxes 17-18); 3. Stutterd Volumes & Ephemera (Box 19); 4. Oversize Correspondence & Ephemera (Box 20); arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Bible -- Study and teaching -- Baptists
-- History -- 18th century.
Bible -- Study and teaching -- Baptists -- History -- 19th century.
Childbirth -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Childbirth -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Dissenters, Religious -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Dissenters, Religious -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Evangelicalism -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Evangelicalism -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Infants -- Mortality -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Infants -- Mortality -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Smallpox -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Smallpox -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Wool industry -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Wool industry -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Woolen goods industry -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.
Woolen goods industry -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
Business letters -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Business letters -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Diaries -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Diaries -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Ephemera -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Ephemera -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Family papers -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Family papers -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Manuscripts -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Manuscripts -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Personal papers -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Personal papers -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Sermons -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Sermons -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191