Call Number:

003.005

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.25 linear ft. (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Henry Society records (HCQ.003.005), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1854-1860 (inclusive)

Creator:

Haverford College. Henry Society

Abstract:

The Henry Society records (1854-1860) include one volume of constitution and by-laws (1856), one minute book (1855-1860), and an oration presented to the Society by Cyrus Mendenhall in 1854.

The Henry Society (1855-1860) was a student-led literary society, focused on pursuing the Haverford mission through exploration and enrichment of literary knowledge. According to their constitution and by-laws, the Henry Society worked under the belief in "the great influence of sound learning in disciplining the mind and maturing the understandings and decisions of cultivating a correct taste in Literature and other similar accomplishments." The Society met at first each week during winter term, and once every three weeks during their summers, though this less frequent arrangement became the norm towards their disbandment. In order to enrich their literary education, the Henry Society organized oration exercises, "literary exercises," debates, and other spaces for improving general literary intuition. Since the Henry Society was primarily focused on writing and reading, they possessed a collection of books that was adopted by the final Secretary, Benjamin H. Smith, upon the dissolution of the Society in 1860.

The Henry Society records (1854-1860) include one volume of constitution and by-laws (1856), one minute book (1855-1860), and an oration presented to the Society by Cyrus Mendenhall in 1854. The oration by Cyrus Mendenhall precedes the official documentation of the operation of the Henry Society, indicating that the Society may have been convening before the actual creation of records.

The collection is arranged and described in two small volumes and one pamphlet, ordered by subject and type, and organized into separate folders.