The Papers of Joseph S. Buckminster

Reference Department, Boston Athenæum

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© 2001 Boston Athenæum.

Descriptive Summary

Acquisition Information

The papers were given to the Boston Athenaeum by Mr. Thomas Lee, husband of Buckminster's sister, Eliza Buckminster Lee, who wrote the memoirs of both her father and brother, Memoirs of Rev. Joseph Buckminster, D. D., and of his son, Rev. Joseph Stevens Buckminster, in 1849. The Trustees Records of the Athenaeum mentions this acquisition in entries dated April 15, 1856 and April 28, 1856 and includes copies of letters written by Mrs. Eliza Buckminster Lee to the Trustees, and Mr. Charles Folsom, who undertook the acquisition.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series: Personal Papers, Student Papers and Sermons.

Related Materials

A listing of the James Munroe and Company, Boston, published works of Joseph Stevens Buckminster is included in the control file to the Buckminster Papers located in the Reference Department.

Biographical Information

Joseph Stevens Buckminster, (1784-1812), was one of Boston's foremost Unitarian ministers. Through his preaching, biblical analyses and criticism, introduction of German scholarship to America, and contributions as associate editor of the Monthly Anthology and Boston Review, (New England's first literary periodical of the century), Buckminster laid the foundation for future generations of New England and American scholarship. Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose father had worked with Buckminster in founding the Boston Anthology Club and the Boston Athenaeum, listed Buckminster with preachers like William Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, and Horace Bushnell, as among those whose work had been necessary to the advancement of eloquence in America.

Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Buckminster came from a long line of eminent clergymen on both sides of his family. His father, Dr. Joseph Buckminster, was a graduate of Yale College and an Orthodox Calvinist. His mother was Sarah Stevens Buckminster. Eliza Buckminster Lee, His sister, later compiled comprehensive biographies of both her father and brother, Memoirs of Rev. Joseph Buckminster, D. D., and of his son, Rev. Joseph Stevens Buckminster, published in 1849.

Joseph began the study of Latin Grammar and the first elements of the Greek New Testament when he was only four years old, under the tutelage of his father. In 1795, at the age of eleven, he entered Phillips Exeter Academy and his rapid progress enabled him to enter the sophomore class at Harvard College, at the age of thirteen. At seminary, he excelled in both the classics and in rhetoric while becoming fluent in French and Hebrew, which would prove invaluable to further Biblical study. In 1800, he graduated from Harvard with high honors at the age of sixteen. He was chosen to deliver the commencement oration, and his speech on "The Literary Characters of Different Nations" aptly displayed his beautiful writing and eloquent speaking abilities, qualities he would later become famous for throughout New England.

During his two year residence as an Assistant Instructor at Phillips Exeter Academy, Buckminster began serious study about the direction of the ministry. Previously dominated by his father's strong belief in the Orthodox Unitarian creed, Buckminster now explored the Bible in its historical context, relating its meaning to the events of the times and examining canon and inspiration in terms of its history. The Bible was not the work of God, believed Buckminster, but merely a vehicle for His work. His allegations that the Bible could not support the elaborate schemes of Orthodoxy, and his advocacy of New Testament Christianity provoked opposition and outrage from the Orthodox community, including his own father, Rev. Joseph Buckminster.

Due to an attack of epilepsy which plagued him through his short lifetime, Buckminster left Exeter in 1802 to tutor the sons of his relative, Theodore Lyman of Waltham. In 1804, Buckminster was offered the position of Assistant to James Freeman, minister of King's Chapel, Boston's first Unitarian Church. Disapproving of Freeman's liberal beliefs, the Rev. Joseph Buckminster opposed his son's appointment, and the assistantship was delayed. Nevertheless, on January 30, 1805, Joseph Stevens Buckminster was ordained and installed as the Pastor of the Brattle Street Church. He was not yet twenty-one years of age. Referred to as the "Seraph of the Pulpit," Buckminster's fervent eloquence earned him the title of Boston's foremost pulpit orator.

Another bout with epilepsy forced Buckminster to set sail for Europe in 1806 for a period of doctor-prescribed "diversion and rest." During his travels, Buckminster acquired a library of over 3,000 volumes, one of the rarest collections of books then to be found in any private library in New England. Prior to his departure, Buckminster had been active in the Boston Anthology Club, which he helped to found in 1805. A literary society of Boston's most distinguished gentlemen, the group met weekly for discussions and production of the Monthly Anthology and Boston Review, dedicated to promotion of literature, the arts and liberal education.

In May of 1806 Buckminster helped establish the Anthology Reading Room which later became the Boston Athenæum. Throughout his European travels, Buckminster faithfully submitted letters concerning all aspects of his trip for publication in the Anthology. The books he was commissioned to purchase for the Anthology Reading Room later became the core of the Boston Athenaeum's collection of rare, high quality books.

In 1809 Buckminster delivered the Phi Beta Kappa oration at Harvard's commencement exercises and published his first sermon. He also secured publication of the American Edition of Johann Jacob Griesbach's edition of the Greek New Testament. Griesbach's pioneering work in German criticism of the Greek New Testament and his textual criticism laid the foundation for much future Biblical analysis. In 1810, noted artist Gilbert Stuart painted identical portraits of Buckminster, one of these remains in the Athenaeum today.

Through Buckminster's avid promotion and an endowment, Harvard College established a course of study entitled "Biblical Criticism" in 1810 to promote critical knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. The next year, Buckminster was elected by the President and Fellows of Harvard College to the newly-created Dexter Lectureship on Biblical Criticism, the first American appointment ever made in Biblical criticism. Buckminster had sketched the preliminary course of lectures, but they were left unfinished when he died suddenly on June 9, 1812, after a severe epileptic seizure.

Scope and Content Note

The Buckminster papers are divided into three series: personal papers, student papers and sermons. Personal papers include journals begun as a student at Harvard, 1797, discussing lectures, books read, and outlining his course of study generally. The journals continue with a description of his trip to Europe, 1806-7, which was necessitated by poor health. These descriptive passages are amplified with essays on the character of the English, French and German people. During his tour Buckminster amassed a personal library of some three thousand volumes; his bibliographical notes form an important part of this series. Most of these books eventually went to form the nucleus of the Boston Athenaeum collection. Correspondence includes copies of outgoing letters as well as letters received, on such subjects as dueling, capital punishment and the system of education at Eton College. Papers from Buckminster's years at Harvard include essays on classical literature and the Bible, and chronologies. Sermons form the bulk of the collection date from 1803-12. For part of this time Buckminster served as minister of the Brattle Street Church in Boston.

Local Subject Headings

Belsham, Thomas, 1750-1829.

Buckminster, J.S. (Joseph Stevens), 1784-1812.

Pickering, John, 1777-1846.

Sullivan, James, 1744-1808.

Walter, Arthur Maynard, 1780-1807.

Boston Athenaeum--History.

Anthology Society.

Unitarian churches--Clergy--Correspondence.

Dueling.

Capital punishment.

Private libraries.

Series Description and Contents List

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